Achieve immortality on the verge of death? Or get stewed and eaten?
Seeing the burly man's fierce expression, Xu Yi knew he was telling the truth and quickly advised, "This dog is so nice. It must have bitten a bad person last time. How can you stew it?"
"Bad guys?" The burly man sneered. "The ones who give us money are bad guys? Then who are the good guys? That mangy dog with rotten skin?"
Xu Yi wanted to try to persuade him further, but Wu Zi had already shaken his head at her.
Xu Yi felt a mix of emotions. He thought the strong man was blind, unable to see even a true immortal; he felt indignant for the mangy dog, how could a half-immortal Taoist be killed and eaten by mortals? He was even more resentful, the mangy dog had wholeheartedly protected this farmer for so long, how could he be killed so easily?
Overwhelmed by a flurry of emotions, Xu Yi grew increasingly angry, and began to faintly emit ghostly energy... Just then, Xu Yi felt a vast and clear spiritual energy enter her mind, and she instantly regained her clarity... She looked gratefully at the mangy dog, feeling indignant for it, and angry at her own powerlessness to change the situation... and burst into tears.
The crying startled the burly man who was chatting with Wu Zi. Of course, ordinary people wouldn't understand, so he just walked over and asked softly, "Little girl, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you scared by the dog?" Without asking any questions, he went over and kicked the mangy dog, shouting, "Get lost, get away from me!"
"You...you don't kick it, don't chase it away..." Xu Yi sobbed, trying to stop him, but the burly man wouldn't listen and kicked the mangy dog again. Xu Yi unconsciously raised her voice: "I said, don't kick it..."
Xu Yi was anxious and unconsciously aroused the ghostly energy within her body. The ghostly energy made Xu Yi's voice sound both deep and cold, like a giant beast lurking in the abyss roaring... Just speaking made people fear. The burly man unconsciously broke out in a cold sweat and said ingratiatingly, "Okay, little sister, don't be angry. I won't kick it anymore."
Wu Zi tugged at Xu Yi, shook his head at her, and heard the old voice of the mangy dog in his mind: "Don't get angry."
Xu Yi's initial emotions dissipated almost instantly. Looking at the mangy dog's calm eyes, she slid weakly to her knees and murmured, "How could this happen? Why did this happen?"
Instead, the mangy dog advised Xu Yi, "It is fate, young friend, there is no need to complain."
"Not resentful?" Xu Yi repeated, but unexpectedly became even more heartbroken: "How can I not resentful? Why can you not resentful?"
Wu Zi sighed and gently patted Xu Yi's back, whispering, "Fate and destiny have their reasons. You'll understand later; these resentments and hatreds are the most useless things."
Xu Yi didn't understand anything, and just stared at Wu Zi with wide eyes. Wu Zi patted her head and turned to the burly man to explain, "My sister has been quiet since she was little and her mind is not stable. So she often shouts and yells. Please don't mind her, brother."
The burly man chuckled awkwardly, "No problem, no problem." Then he glared at the mangy dog and went to the kitchen.
The eldest son looked at Xu Yi, then at Wu Zi, and finally picked up Da Huang and took him to his room.
Xu Yi looked at the empty courtyard and remained silent.
Wu Zi patted Xu Yi's back again before speaking: "Xu Yi, look, you meant to help Da Huang, but because of your emotions, it ended up getting kicked by its owner again... If you continue to let your emotions control you, you'll cause a big disaster sooner or later."
Xu Yi thought Wu Zi meant that she was prone to becoming a vengeful ghost when she was in a bad mood, so she replied in a low voice, "I understand."
By the time the farmer's wife had finished cooking, Xu Yi had returned to normal. The farmer's wife glared at her husband, then came over and warmly greeted Xu Yi: "I just made some simple dishes. If you want anything else, little sister, just tell me and I'll make it for you."
Looking at the plate of bright red cured meat, several dishes of different colored vegetables, and the bowl of refreshing soup on the table, Xu Yi knew that this was already quite a feast for a farmer, so she shook her head and said, "Sister-in-law has made so many dishes that we can't finish them all. There's no need to make any more."
“Okay,” the peasant woman touched Xu Yi’s face and sighed, “This little voice is so sweet, even softer than my daughter’s. Okay, if you say you don’t want to do it, then we won’t.”
Perhaps the burly man had said something to the farmer's wife, because during the meal the farmer's wife kept asking Xu Yi if it suited her taste and kept putting food on Xu Yi's plate, which made the little ones keep looking at Xu Yi, and they ate faster than the next one, afraid that there would be no food left in the next second... Xu Yi naturally noticed this, so she smiled sweetly at the farmer's wife: "The dishes you make are all delicious, sister-in-law. I can hardly finish what's in my bowl. If you put more food on my plate, I won't be able to eat anymore."
The peasant woman was very easy to talk to and smiled as she replied, "Alright, alright, I won't put any more food on your plate. You can eat your food."
After dinner, Xu Yi sat in the room that the farmer's wife had cleaned up, gazing at the bright moon outside the window in deep thought. Wu Zi simply followed Xu Yi's example and sat down beside her to look at the moon together.
The two listened to the crying of a child and the soothing of a peasant woman coming from the next room. Finally, as the sounds from next door gradually subsided and faded into silence, and the candlelight next door was blown out, the mangy dog came to their room under the cover of night.
Xu Yi quickly opened the door, and the mangy dog walked into the house. Wu Zi then set up a soundproof array and bowed to the mangy dog, saying, "Senior, you've arrived."
“Hmm,” the mangy dog spoke, “You came to find me because of this little girl’s ghostly aura?”
“Yes,” Wu Zi nodded and said respectfully, “We met Li Niang by chance and heard about you, so we came to ask if there is any way to help Xu Yi control the ghost energy in her body.”
The mangy dog nodded and walked up to Xu Yi. Xu Yi quickly squatted down. The mangy dog raised its paw, separated a wisp of spiritual energy, and placed it between Xu Yi's eyebrows. After a while, the spiritual energy circulated throughout Xu Yi's body and returned before it spoke: "You are a vengeful ghost, but you died innocently, so you can't stand the suffering of the human world and are easily angered."
Xu Yi nodded, and then listened as the mangy dog continued, "Wraiths are inherently evil and are not tolerated by Heaven and Earth. But your experiences are special, and you have the protection of the Mountain Lord. As long as you don't do bad things, you won't be afraid of divine punishment. The key is that when you are in your vengeful ghost state, your emotions dominate and your will is dormant, which is why you are somewhat out of control. So, I will infuse you with some spiritual energy to keep your mind clear, and naturally you will no longer be out of control. Also, you need to constantly sense your own ghostly energy. Only when you know where it is can you know how to use it."
Xu Yi nodded and, together with Wu Zi, thanked the mangy dog: "Thank you for your guidance, senior."
“It’s nothing,” the mangy dog waved its paws and then closed its eyes.
A wisp of pure white spiritual energy flowed from the mangy dog's body... and slowly condensed in front of the mangy dog, transforming into a humanoid spiritual energy form resembling an old man...
The translucent spiritual energy clearly showed a golden wisp of celestial energy at the very center, filling the entire body like a spine...
Xu Yi only thought the golden aura was beautiful, but Wu Zi stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
The old man, who was actually a mangy dog, raised his hand and condensed a ball of spiritual energy with golden immortal energy in the middle, which he then injected into Xu Yi's brow. A force that could not be ignored entered from between the brows and gradually smoothed Xu Yi's meridians. After the spiritual energy smoothed to the toes, it then flowed back up to Xu Yi's brow and returned to the old man's hand.
The spiritual energy had been greatly depleted, and the returning energy cluster was very weak, with even the golden light of the immortal energy in the center being much dimmer.
Even if Xu Yi didn't understand, she knew that the old man had spent a lot of effort, so she quickly knelt down and thanked him: "Thank you, senior."
Wu Zi also knelt down and solemnly repeated, "Thank you, senior."
The old man waved his hand, and then his spiritual energy dissipated and gradually returned to the mangy dog's body. Xu Yi's eyes reddened again, and she asked the mangy dog, "How about we pay you to buy you and set you free?"
“No, no…” The mangy dog shook his head: “A few months ago, my life was already coming to an end. It was enough that Li Niang pleaded for me to postpone my departure. This time, you must not interfere in this cause and effect again. Everything is fate, there is no need to force it.”
"Even if he hates you to the core and is determined to kill you, skin you alive, and devour you, you should still follow him?" Xu Yi truly couldn't understand: "Is fate really so cruel?"
"Heaven's will is ruthless, that's why it can be done. You'll understand eventually, young friend." After saying this, the mangy dog broke the magic array set up by Wu Zi and turned to leave.
Xu Yi couldn't sleep because of the thought of the mangy dog being stewed the next day. Wu Zi sighed and stayed up all night with Xu Yi.
The next morning, they heard the peasant woman getting up and busy in the kitchen, and the strong man telling her to boil a large pot of water to stew meat...
Xu Yi resignedly closed her eyes, and after a long while, she held back her tears and went out with Wu Zi to look at the mangy dog in the yard whose legs were tied. The mangy dog did not open its eyes, as if it were sleeping soundly...
Xu Yi heard the peasant woman ask the burly man, "Are you really going to eat it?"
The burly man said matter-of-factly, "What's the point of not eating it? Are we just going to let it get in our way and hinder our fortunes later?"
After saying that, he picked up the kitchen knife and walked out. Xu Yi saw the burly man's eldest son run out of the room, reach out to stop the burly man, and cry sobbing uncontrollably: "Father, don't eat Dahuang... Waaah... Dahuang is a good dog..."
"Get out of the way." The burly man glared at his eldest son.
The child didn't move, only pleading with his father, "Don't eat the rhubarb, Father. I promise I'll keep a close eye on the rhubarb from biting anyone again..."
The burly man sneered, "Then why didn't you keep an eye on it beforehand, letting it bite the rich businessman? Don't you dare blab, or I'll beat you up too."
The burly man tried to pull his eldest son away, but the son resisted. Enraged, the man grabbed his son by the collar and pulled him to the ground, ignoring his cries...
"Father, no... Father..." The eldest son's desperate pleas only earned him a cold look from his father.
The burly man walked straight towards the mangy dog, the cleaver in his hand radiating a hint of murderous intent...
The mangy dog remained as if asleep, offering no resistance whatsoever, only letting out a few whimpers as its throat was slit.
Xu Yi and Wu Zi watched as the mangy dog bled away, its body gradually stiffening...
They watched as the burly man skinned the mangy dog and tossed it aside with disgust, then swiftly chopped the dog's body in half... watching the execution continue until it was finally put into the pot...
The water in the iron pot was boiling and bubbling, and a wonderful aroma was gradually wafting out...
They heard the burly man exclaim, "This dog meat is so delicious..."
Xu Yi was in tears, but she didn't cry out loud... She just silently said goodbye in her heart: Senior, goodbye.
Wu Zi took out a handkerchief to wipe away Xu Yi's tears, and silently led her away from that ordinary courtyard.
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