Chapter 19
As the moon rose above the horizon, the two brothers Zhang Pingyin had already ambushed at the village entrance.
After waiting for a long time without seeing the Rakshasa, the villagers in the distance became anxious and began to whisper.
"Here it comes!" someone shouted.
Everyone looked toward the village entrance and saw a red-haired monster emerging from the fog. It was, indeed, Yang Ming's Rakshasa. This Rakshasa had reached full maturity, its fur red, its eyes glowing bloodshot, and it stood over four meters tall, a stark contrast to Yang Baoku's white-haired Rakshasa.
The Zhang brothers also saw the Rakshasa. They had traveled all over the country but had never seen a Rakshasa before. They looked at each other and thought: So this is what the Rakshasa looks like.
The two men immediately jumped out and faced Rakshasa face to face.
The Rakshasa had become psychic and self-aware. It felt threatened by the Zhang brothers and actually wanted to run away.
The Zhang brothers naturally couldn't let him get away like this, so they stood in front and behind, trapping Luosha in the middle.
Seeing no escape, Luosha lunged at the impassive Zhang Pingyin. Zhang Pingyin snorted coldly, unsheathed his sword, and slashed at Luosha's waist. This sword wasn't made of ordinary iron, but a powerful magical weapon second only to the Celestial Master Sword. It was called the Young Master Sword. If the Xuanmen knew, the bearer of the Young Master Sword was undoubtedly a Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion, no ordinary person.
But the Rakshasa didn't understand any of this and continued to attack Zhang Pingyin with his fangs and claws. As a result, he collided head-on with Zhang Pingyin's Shao Shi sword and was cut in half.
This Rakshasa has a strong vitality and is not dead even after being cut in half.
Its vaunted steely bones proved useless against Zhang Pingyin, so its upper and lower bodies simultaneously attacked Zhang Pingyang. Zhang Pingyang, in a fit of rage, unleashed a Five Thunder Curse. This curse, far more powerful than the Five Thunder Talisman, shattered the rakshasa's body into pieces. Even so, the rakshasa wasn't dead yet, its shattered remains still writhing on the ground.
Zhang Pingyin put away the Shaoshi Sword, pressed his right ring finger to the base of his thumb, and chanted: "The Moon Palace, Taiyin, shines with clear light, mysterious and profound, nourishing the yin, the Taiyin Emperor's laws and orders."
The moon in the sky cast a cold white light, and Rakshasa's body suddenly caught fire under the white light and was burned clean in just two or three seconds.
What Zhang Pingyin was reciting was the "Taiyin True Fire Curse". Taiyin True Fire was extremely yin and soft. According to legend, it was born from the Emperor of Heaven Di Jun and the Moon God Chang Xi. It was the original fire of the twelve months. Not to mention dealing with a mere Rakshasa, even a flying zombie that was more powerful than it could be no problem.
The Rakshasa that had driven the villagers from their homes had died just like that. The villagers couldn't believe their eyes. Back then, the Taoist priest from the county town had killed the white-haired Rakshasa along with it, but now the red-haired Rakshasa had been destroyed so easily by the two brothers.
It can also be seen from here that there is a huge gap between small sects and famous orthodox sects like the Tianshi Mansion.
The villagers came forward to check and saw that there was nothing left where Rakshasa had died, so they cheered.
They had no desire to sleep, so they built a bonfire at the entrance of the village, brought over the few sheep in the village, slaughtered them, and then feasted the Zhang brothers.
Seeing that they could not refuse the hospitality, the Zhang brothers sat down and drank with everyone.
Grandpa Zhong then asked, "The last time a demon appeared in our village, a Taoist priest died. I never thought you two would be so powerful. I hope you can leave your names so that we can erect a monument to express our gratitude."
The Zhang brothers' extermination of the Rakshasas was a life-saving act. At the time, many people would have died on the road if they had moved. Now that they don't have to move and have preserved their family business, it's not an exaggeration to erect a monument in their memory.
Zhang Pingyang said, "My brothers are the authentic descendants of the Tianshi Mansion. As for erecting a monument, there is no need for them. Exorcising demons and defending the Way is the responsibility of our Tianshi Mansion."
When everyone heard that he was from Tianshi Mansion, they admired him even more.
Everyone ate until the early morning, drank too much, and then went home.
The Zhang brothers stayed at Grandpa Zhong's house. When Grandpa Zhong woke up the next day, the two had already left, leaving only a note:
After a period of sixty years, the evil spirits will again trouble the place. If you notice anything unusual, report it to the Heavenly Master's Mansion immediately, and they will send people to exorcise it again.
What this sentence means is: Sixty years later, evil spirits will invade the villagers again. If you find anything unusual, you need to tell us as soon as possible and we will send people to eliminate the evil spirits.
Since the Zhang brothers left, the village hadn't seen another incident of a Rakshasa cannibalism incident, and they had lived in peace for sixty years. Until a month ago, Grandpa Zhong was paying homage to his old friend Wang Qi, who had been dead for two months. He was also a witness to the Rakshasa incident. After his death, Grandpa Zhong was the only one who knew about the Rakshasa incident.
He walked to Wang Qi's grave, reminiscing about the past. When he mentioned Yang Ming, he suddenly realized that Wang Qi had been buried for two months, and the area around the grave was bare. He immediately remembered the events of the Yang family. He was so scared that he dared not talk to Wang Qi's grave anymore. He hurried home and asked his granddaughter to write a letter to the Tianshi Mansion.
Communication methods are much more convenient nowadays than when Grandpa Zhong was young, but Zhong Xi thinks that this is all nonsense and says that Grandpa is just old and confused.
Grandpa Zhong was indeed a little confused at this time, but he also had moments of clarity. Seeing that his granddaughter didn't believe him, he had no choice but to write a letter himself and ask the villagers to mail it.
After Zhong Xi finished speaking, he looked at us, then at his grandfather. He was confused again, shouting, "Rakshasa, eat people, don't eat me."
Zhong Xi hurried forward to comfort Grandpa Zhong.
After hearing about this Rakshasa's story, I couldn't help but be impressed by the abilities of the Zhang Tianshi brothers. They could actually calculate everything that would happen sixty years later.
After receiving the letter, the Tianshi Mansion sent Liu Danchen to check. At that time, Liu Danchen was in Xinshi. He heard that I was in Shishi, which was close anyway, and he was bored in Sichuan, so he came to Shishi to ask me to accompany him.
Liu Danchen and I decided to visit the Wang Qi grave that Grandpa Zhong had mentioned. Grandpa Zhong had regained consciousness by then, and he led us to Wang Qi's grave. It was indeed bare, standing out from the lush green grass. Liu Danchen and I then asked Grandpa Zhong to take us to the former Yang family ancestral grave. Over the years, it had been neglected and now covered in vegetation, blending seamlessly with the surrounding hills.
Liu Danchen and I retreated to the foot of the mountain and looked at the entire mountain. This is called "looking at qi", which is the basic skill of Taoism. I am quite good at it now. In addition, I can use ghost spirits to attach to my eyes, so I can tell whether it is good or bad luck at a glance.
The entire mountain, from the midsection upwards, was shrouded in dense fog, the summit completely invisible. Even in the sunlight, the fog wouldn't dissipate—a hallmark of miasma. Wherever there's miasma, there's always something sinister. It seemed Zhang Tianshi hadn't miscalculated; there was indeed something strange here.
Liu Danchen also noticed it. The two of us circled the mountain, and it took us a whole day.
During this period, we did not find the source of the miasma, so it seems we can only wait until tomorrow to go into the mountains to look for it.
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