Chapter 127: Fake Immortal Master
It was not until Li Wan chanted the spell that Shen Yuexi realized the impact Meipu had brought to Xiaogang Village.
What do you think of Mep?
She didn't ask Li Wan, but went out of the yard and asked Aunt Sun, who was squatting under the shade of a tree peeling garlic.
It was Aunt Sun who told her about the Dongji Town shopkeeper giving her silver. This aunt couldn't control her mouth and had to tell it once she knew it.
Aunt Sun looked hesitant at first, but she couldn't resist Shen Yuexi's nagging and secretly told her the situation.
The villagers had already spread the rumor, Yang Cong's mother being the most enthusiastic, that the prince of Xiliang was possessed by an evil spirit. Not only did they worship the old statue in the village's newly built temple, but they also secretly posted spells on their doors to ward off evil spirits.
The villagers kept all this a secret from her and Mep.
She was escorting prisoners to the border and wasn't in the village. Mei Pu was the crown prince of Xiliang, and no one could afford to offend him. Only Lady Li, noticing everyone's strange thoughts, asked Aunt Sun for the reason and wrote a spell to ward off evil spirits for Li Wan.
After Shen Yuexi learned all this, she looked back at her own courtyard. There was also a spell posted in the corner of the door. She hadn't noticed it before, so it was probably Madam Li's.
She was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
No wonder there was no one outside Meipu's yard all day. She thought the village head was being kind and told everyone not to disturb the patient. It turned out they were afraid of being possessed by an evil spirit.
Just leave the spell on and don't tear it off. Ancient people were quite superstitious. Before wars, they worshipped gods to make crossbows and arrows. Now that the battle is over, the gods have switched to protecting everyone from illness. They're truly almighty.
This was also good, she could focus on treating Meipu. Once he was cured, she would tell everyone that the prince had recovered, and the matter would be over.
However, what happened next made her unhappy.
The next morning, before dawn, Yang Cong came knocking on the door.
"Madam, get up quickly," Yang Cong whispered through the crack in the door. "Something happened in the village."
Shen Yuexi was sleeping soundly with the quilt in her arms. Yang Cong called her several times before waking her up.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Shen Yuexi stretched and thought: Yang Cong usually knocks on the door quite loudly, why is he so sneaky today, like a thief?
She got up from the bed and opened the door for Yang Cong. She closed her eyes and said, "Why are you so..."
"Shh..." Yang Cong almost reached out to cover her mouth, "Madam, please speak softly, don't let the people in the next yard hear."
The yard next door?
It seems that this matter is related to Mep.
Shen Yuexi went back to her side and put on her clothes while saying, "I won't speak loudly. Tell me what happened in the village."
"Madam, a child has also been possessed by an evil spirit. Everyone says it's the evil spirit from Prince Mei that's come out at night to cause trouble." Yang Cong said as he looked at the courtyard next door, as if the evil spirit would jump over the wall at any moment. "Now everyone is gathered at the temple."
"Yang Cong, didn't I tell you that Prince Mei just has a disease called leprosy?" Shen Yuexi quickened her pace to put on her clothes. "Other people don't understand, why are you confused too?"
"But something is wrong. The child was fine at night, but suddenly in the middle of the night, a lot of big bumps appeared on his body..."
"Ah... is there such a thing?"
My child suddenly developed a large bump. What's going on? I'll go check it out later.
"Everyone thinks it's a sign of being possessed by an evil spirit, and that you'll end up being as terrifying as Master Mei," Yang Cong said worriedly. "No wonder the young master won't let you get close to Master Mei. He's afraid you'll be possessed by an evil spirit... Oh, could that Miss Li already be possessed by an evil spirit?"
Yang Cong thought of Li Wan bringing meals to Mei Pu every day and helping him take his medicine. It was inevitable that he was haunted by an evil spirit.
Shen Yuexi smiled and pushed her: "Stop talking nonsense, look how scared you are."
Ever since she arrived in Xiaogang Village, she'd been with Yang Cong. They'd been pursued by the Xirong people together, and they'd fought against them together. After spending time together, she'd come to think Yang Cong was a good person. It was just that she was a bit uneducated, believing everything others said.
Seeing her indifferent expression, Yang Cong said anxiously, "Why don't we move quickly..."
"Okay, let's not talk about this for now," Shen Yuexi took the lead and walked towards the door, "Let's go to the temple and take a look."
"But ma'am..."
"Oh, I told you not to mention it. I'm here."
The two men went out in the dark and walked along the street towards the center of the village.
As the population continued to grow, Xiaogang Village also grew in size. To honor the deity who had helped manufacture crossbows during the battle against the Western Rong, a small temple was built next to the village square to house the deity.
When Shen Yuexi and Yang Cong arrived at the square, it was already packed with people, hundreds of torches lighting it up like daylight. Everyone seemed afraid of evil spirits, speaking only in whispers. Only the sound of a child's cries echoed loudly through the temple.
It seems that the sick child is in the temple.
"Wulian Tianzun."
The sudden shout from the temple almost frightened Shen Yuexi to the ground.
Firstly, the sound was too sudden, and secondly, it sounded familiar to her, causing her concentration to wander and she almost tripped over a stone under her feet.
Yang Cong was about to yell at the people ahead to make way when Shen Yuexi pulled her back, signaling not to disturb everyone. The two of them went around the back of the crowd and approached the temple.
This voice is slow and sounds so familiar.
"Village head, if I want you to exorcise the evil spirit for this child, I'll charge you one thousand taels of silver. If I want you to subdue the evil spirit, I'll charge you three thousand taels of silver. If I do both, I'll give you 20% off the four thousand... four hundred and eighty-three-two... that's three thousand two hundred taels of silver."
"Three...three thousand two hundred taels!" The village head gasped and stammered, "Master, how can we get so much silver?"
The slow voice said:
"If this evil spirit is not subdued, it will possess one person every night. Children, whose yang energy is weak, are the first to be possessed. That's 365 people a year. If you do the math, it's less than ten taels per person. It costs another ten taels to hire a doctor for a late-night consultation... Besides, you invited me from Baixiu Mountain so late at night. Why would you invite me here if I don't have money? I'm not doing charity."
Shen Yuexi was stunned for a moment.
Bai Xiushan, isn’t this the place that the owner of the Dongji Town pharmacy mentioned yesterday?
The special medicine for Meipu contains an ingredient called Xuanming Powder, which is only available in Baixiu Mountain. Where did this master come from? Isn't that place occupied by bandits?
The more she listened, the more curious she became, so she nudged Yang Cong to move a bench over. She stepped on the bench and looked inside.
In the light of the fire, a Taoist priest wearing a Taoist robe and carrying a peach wood sword stood at the entrance of the temple. He was about thirty years old and looked quite respectable. He was talking to the village head with confidence.
It’s a pity that Shen Yuexi knows him.
Wasn't this Doctor Hua's son, the doctor at Baohetang Pharmacy in the county seat of Daliang Village? How could he appear here, disguised as a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits and defraud people?
A woman in the crowd already shouted, "Village head, for the sake of our village, let the Taoist priest heal the child first, and then cast a spell to subdue the evil spirit."
"Sister, that's three thousand two hundred taels of silver." said another woman.
"Money is nothing. To cure the disease, we must get rid of the root cause. That person is in the village, and the evil spirit comes to harm people every day. It's no use just exorcising the evil spirit for the child."
"That's right... Li Zheng, if we all chip in, three taels per family, that'll be enough."
After a while, the village head's voice rang out: "In that case, everyone, please be quiet for a moment. We will collect money for the Taoist priest later. Let's ask him to exorcise the evil spirit for this child first."
"You all want them, right? I'll give you a 20% discount. First, take 200 taels for this child. After we subdue the evil spirit, I'll give you the remaining 3,000 taels."
Shen Yuexi was angry.
Everyone worked hard to cultivate crops and mine ore, and finally their lives were starting to improve. But this fake Taoist priest came and swept away all the wealth in the village.
This bad guy must be punished.
She was just thinking about what to do when the fake Taoist priest pointed and poked at her with a peach wood sword, saying as he gestured:
"Village head, which person is the evil spirit on? Just tell me directly, and I won't have to waste my mana."
"Yes...it's the Prince of Xiliang." The head of the village said hesitantly.
The fake Taoist priest froze in his tracks, and the peach wood sword in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.
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