Chapter 289 Jinjiang (1)
The old man could tell that the young man who had “got lost” at his doorstep was a living soul.
But the living people he knew in the past were all terrified and fearful of ghosts and gods, and most of them accepted everything submissively. Even when faced with Fengdu's obviously unequal judging rules, they dared not say anything.
Although he was helpless about the situation, he was also very clear that living people did not have the power to fight against ghosts and gods.
But because of this, the old man left a kind but timid evaluation of strangers.
But he never expected...times have changed!
Even the ghost exorcists in the human world were not what he imagined, let alone someone as unique as Yan Shixun among ghost exorcists.
The old man was a little slow to realize that he had been tricked by a young man.
——What the hell! This guy was just pretending, he was just trying to trick him!
The old man was so angry that he was panting and almost crushed the door frame with the force of his hands.
Yan Shixun saw the old man's anger after he realized he had been cheated, but he didn't take it to heart at all.
He put one hand in his pocket and held the teacup in the other hand, raised his glass to the old man from a distance, then chuckled and walked calmly towards the old man with his long legs, which were straightened by his suit pants.
"Thank you for your hospitality, let's go."
He stopped in front of the door, looked at the old man who was holding the door to block his way, and tilted his head: "Why, the ghost also wants to deny what he said? Didn't he invite me enthusiastically just now?"
"The world is going downhill, and the devil's heart is no longer the same as before."
Yan Shixun shook his head slowly, sighing.
The old man's pupils instantly contracted when Yan Shixun revealed his identity.
He looked at Yan Shixun in shock, unable to recover from his shock.
This identity... has been buried for thousands of years. During this long time, no one has called upon this identity. Even the people and ghosts who once knew about it have all died, leaving only him.
How could...
What is the identity of this kid?
The old man looked serious and looked at Yan Shixun with cold eyes.
In a short period of time, his mood fluctuated greatly. Without even realizing it, he had been following Yan Shixun's pace, and was completely affected by Yan Shixun's emotional ups and downs. He could no longer drink tea and pick his feet leisurely like he did at the beginning.
Yan Shixun also allowed himself to be looked at, and stood in front of the old man with confidence, looking pure and innocent, as if he was really a sincere and handsome young man.
Only in the eyes, which were half-hidden by the slightly drooping thick eyelashes, there were ripples of smile, vaguely revealing a bit of truth.
He released the information he had bit by bit, controlling the rhythm precisely so that the other party could not figure out how much of the truth he knew.
If you want to see his true colors, you must follow his rhythm and let the other party hand over the control to him without realizing it.
Even if the other party realized that this was a scam, Yan Shixun didn't care at all.
This was an open conspiracy.
——Because the other party is a ghost messenger, his deep attachment to the old Fengdu is his most obvious weakness.
Therefore, even if the other party sees through this trap and has no other choice but to take the initiative to step in.
There is a risk when others see through your mind and know your weaknesses.
Yan Shixun calmly surrounded the old Fengdu ghost from all sides, leaving him with no way to retreat. Even though he knew there was a trap ahead, he had no choice but to jump in.
He stood slowly in front of the ghost, patiently waiting for him to think about it for a while.
Then... the ghost catcher will find that the only path left is the one he left for him.
The old man looked at Yan Shixun with a very unfriendly look, and he ground his teeth so hard that they made a squeaking sound, which made people's teeth ache.
But after a long while, he could only reluctantly let go of his hand on the door frame, moved sideways to make room, and motioned Yan Shixun to go in.
"Just eat if you want to, no more nonsense."
The old man snorted in annoyance. He didn't want to see Yan Shixun's handsome face again and make himself angry without being able to punch him to vent his anger, so he could only turn around and walk inside angrily.
But from Yan Shixun's perspective, the old man's back now looked just like the cat in the cartoon he had once glanced at, strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
He smiled and shook his head, then stepped into the hut.
The light dimmed instantly.
The sky over the mass grave was always dark and low, with no sunlight.
This place seemed like a makeshift hut that was built casually, and the lighting was even worse.
The dim room was small and cramped, with dust floating in the sparse light that came in. At first glance, it was all grey, dead silent and hopeless.
It seemed as if the owner's mood also affected the appearance of the house, which was gloomy and lifeless.
Yan Shixun had seen such a house in a poor mountain village.
But when the owner of the house is the old Fengdu ghost catcher who once held a high position, it seems extremely incongruous.
Yan Shixun stood at the door of the house, listening to the old man cursing while looking around the layout of the house in front of him calmly.
The house is not big and you can see the end at a glance.
In this small space, there are simple beds, tables and chairs, and the kitchen is attached to the side. Any free space is filled with things like books.
Although it is difficult to see what is written on it, from the side, the old paper has already turned yellow and spread out, and it seems that it will break into ash if touched.
Somewhat different from the strong atmosphere of life in the yard outside, the room looks more like there are people with obsessions who are pursuing something and refuse to give up.
The owner has no time to take care of his daily life and all his time is spent flipping through the books that fill the corners of the room, trying to find something inside.
——The owner’s personality and situation can also be clearly seen from the layout and items in the room.
But what attracted Yan Shixun's attention the most was the furniture in the room, which was not made of wood.
Shiny, cool and smooth, with a hint of aged yellow.
It's bone.
Whether it is the cabinets or the tables and chairs, they all have sections of bone protrusions, which look like they are made of human thigh bones and ribs.
Only these things made Yan Shixun feel somewhat real and clearly aware of where he was now.
But this did not surprise Yan Shixun much.
After all, this is the lower hell of old Fengdu. There are no trees or stones on the mass grave outside. The most common materials are bones that can be found everywhere.
As an old Fengdu ghost catcher, it was reasonable for him to use this kind of material, just as he guessed.
Yan Shixun raised his eyebrows with interest. He walked into the house, casually placed the teacup in his hand on the bone table, and then naturally picked up the half-opened book on the table, as if he was really just wandering around with nothing to do.
Only after picking up the scroll did Yan Shixun see a skull mask embedded on the table top underneath the scroll.
The eye sockets without eyeballs were deeply sunken, and two black holes looked straight upwards, like a gaze from death.
Yan Shixun was caught off guard by such a pair of eyes, but after a slight surprise, he immediately smiled again.
He even smiled and waved at the skeleton.
That leisurely posture is just like when you are visiting someone's home and see that the family has a pet dog, so you just say hello and play with it.
Skeleton: “…………”
The upper and lower jaws of the ghost face opened up unconsciously, as if its mouth was wide open in shock.
Then, it tried to twist its skull, trying to look in the direction of the old man on the table, and asked him in horror what kind of creature was this!
The bones collided, making a slight crackling sound.
The old man was mumbling something indirect but he also moved his ears and keenly heard the sound coming from the side.
He glanced up nonchalantly, then continued to lower his head and vigorously process the ingredients in his hands.
He was still muttering and cursing, muttering "young people nowadays don't know how to respect the elderly and love the young", "people who lie should go to hell", "especially those who lie to an old man like me".
But it seemed as if he didn't notice Yan Shixun's movements at all.
Yan Shixun glanced at the old man out of the corner of his eye and noticed the old man's attitude of turning a blind eye.
He chuckled quietly in his heart, knowing that the old man was probably also curious about his identity and wanted to use this incident to test his background and see how much he knew.
They, one man and one ghost, are now fully aware of the unusualness between each other, and each is using his own method to try to find out something from the other.
Whoever reveals his cards first loses.
Yan Shixun knew it very well, but he had no intention of stopping it. He just kept doing his own thing.
His slender fingers moved down along the yellowed, fragile paper, reading every word on the scroll.
Thanks to Li Chengyun's rich collection of ancient books, Yan Shixun adapted well to all fonts and old-fashioned wordings, and had no difficulty reading any book, no matter how old it was.
Therefore, he soon realized that this book was not a book at all, but a register that had been used in the old Fengdu.
Just like the Book of Life and Death in folk legends, whoever's name is on the book will be captured by the underworld.
But for the underworld, the so-called Book of Life and Death is actually a work note that lets the underworld know what work content is assigned to them.
What Yan Shixun was holding in his hand at this moment was the list that had been used by the old Fengdu a thousand years ago.
Although the judgment is made by the Emperor of Fengdu in Beiyin, the actual execution is done by the ghost messengers below. This list is equivalent to their work diary, recording why a person died on a certain day in a certain year, what sins he committed, and what kind of punishment he was given.
Yan Shixun raised his eyes and glanced at the books stuffed in the corners.
They were all of the same format as the roster in his hand.
It seems that this ghost messenger has been collecting the lists of people from that year and reading them one by one since he returned to the old Fengdu.
Yan Shixun didn't know much about the old Fengdu, but there were people around him he could ask.
Whether it is Zhang Wubing and Jing Xiaobao, the King of Hell, or Ye Li, the Lord of Fengdu.
From them, Yan Shixun could get sincere and detailed answers to all his questions about the underworld.
Although Yan Shixun didn't know before that Zhang Wubing was the reincarnation of the King of Hell's residual soul, but because Jing Xiaobao had just taken over the underworld, although his strength was enough to support the operation of the underworld, he was too young when he died, and now he was playful, so Yan Shixun was worried that he would not be able to handle the complicated affairs of the underworld, and tested Jing Xiaobao several times about the work of the underworld.
And through Jing Xiaobao's stammering and guilty narration, Yan Shixun had heard a lot and had a general idea of how a place like the underworld worked.
Each Yincha has its own job to do.
In order to prevent the Yincha from interfering in human affairs and disrupting yin and yang, they only know what they have to do but don't know the content of other people's work.
It is similar to the current confidentiality method.
This working method was left behind by the previous King of Hell, and it kept the underworld running in an orderly manner for a hundred years after his death.
If it weren't for the fact that some of the underworld officials coveted the power of the underworld due to lack of supervision for a long time, and thus stole the power, causing unrest in the underworld, then according to the arrangements left by the previous King of Hell, the underworld could continue to operate.
Jing Xiaobao thought for a long time with his clever little brain, but couldn't come up with a better way. So he clapped his fat paws and happily decided to use all the things left by the previous King of Hell, and then happily rushed to hell to play with evil spirits.
At that time, Yan Shixun felt angry and amused.
But now, after knowing the relationship of checks and balances between the King of Hell and Ye Li for thousands of years, he had other guesses in his mind.
Fengdu and the underworld should adopt similar working methods.
No matter how high the gods and ghosts are, those who go to the human world to detain ghosts and take them to the underworld are all ghost messengers.
This method can indeed ensure that their work proceeds in an orderly manner.
But one thing is obvious: judging from Yeli’s anger a thousand years ago, the old Fengdu ghost messenger who participated in that battle would not be let off by the general.
What's more, in the general's view, those old Fengdu ghost messengers also bear the consequences of their actions, which indirectly prevents the ghosts who died with resentment from seeking revenge, so there is no need to keep them.
All the old Fengdu ghost messengers who participated in the battle died on the battlefield a thousand years ago.
The ancestor of the Bai family was a dying ghost who was found at his doorstep.
According to Master Bai, the ancestor of the Bai family was saved by ghosts and gods who were passing through the dense forests and leaving the southwest when he entered the dense forests in the southwest...
Yan Shixun’s thoughts turned around and he frowned slightly.
He guessed that the person who saved the ancestor of the Bai family was Ye Li, who had just killed the Emperor of Beiyin Fengdu.
But judging from Ye Li's style of doing things, he would not be kind-hearted and let a ghost go for no reason.
Just from the King of Hell's narration of what happened a thousand years ago, Yan Shixun could feel the anger of Ye Li at that time.
What’s more, Ye Li was the person involved and was already very angry.
No old Fengdu ghost can escape from the battlefield.
They all paid the price for their former high and mighty arrogance. As the law of cause and effect goes, just as they used to watch the ghosts crying and begging for a chance for revenge without doing anything, now they are crying and begging the hundred thousand ghost soldiers to let them go.
But in the end, the loyal soldiers, filled with anger, swung their swords hard and chopped his soul into pieces.
If this is the case, then the ghost who escaped death and fell at the door of the Bai ancestor must not have been responsible for the battle in the old Fengdu.
It could be logistics or clerical work.
Yan Shixun was not sure.
But just by looking at the mountains of books in the ancestor's room, Yan Shixun could tell that it was not easy for the ghost catcher to collect these materials that were not originally part of his job in the chaos after the old Fengdu fell from power.
Moreover, the yellowing degree of those scrolls varies. Some are well preserved, while others are tattered and look like they have gone through a lot of wear and tear.
The ghost must have found these volumes from the ruins bit by bit like a mouse moving house, and took them home, hoping to look for something in the roster from that year.
What are you looking for?
Yan Shixun's eyes dimmed.
He noticed that there was a person's name circled by the ghost on the list in his hand.
A person who died thousands of years ago.
The cause of death was death in battle.
The crime is... hatred.
Yan Shixun suddenly remembered the battle between Ye and Li a thousand years ago.
He had seen the 100,000 ghost soldiers following Ye Li. They were all soldiers who had followed Ye Li during his lifetime and had died on the battlefield with Ye Li. They had followed Ye Li from the human world to the underworld and remained loyal to him.
Is this deceased person who is being paid special attention by the ghost catcher one of the 100,000 ghost soldiers?
Yan Shixun looked through the entire book carefully and quickly, and found that many names were circled by the ghost.
These people have different surnames and birthplaces.
But they have distinct commonalities.
——They all died in battle in Ye thousands of years ago.
Crime, hatred.
...In other words, these people were really the soldiers who followed Yeli back then.
Yan Shixun's fingers paused as he was about to turn the page of the book, and his back stiffened slightly.
The purpose of the ghost collecting these death lists is to find out who were the people who followed Yeli back then, or to check their crimes and find out why they attacked the old Fengdu back then?
Yan Shixun first ruled out the possibility that the ghost wanted revenge.
After being rescued and brought home by the ancestor of the Bai family, the ghost not only did not do anything to the ancestor of the Bai family, but also gave him a large amount of gold. He compiled the events that happened on the battlefield and in Fengdu into a ghost play, taught it to the ancestor of the Bai family, and let him pass it on without interfering.
A ghost seeking revenge would not be so peaceful and methodical.
Then... could it be that the ghost wants to know the truth about the fall of old Fengdu?
After all, no matter how you look at it, Ye Li, who was a mortal who had never come into contact with ghosts and gods, should not have defeated Beiyin Fengdu.
Even today, a thousand years later, the mainstream view is still that mortals cannot fight against ghosts and gods. Yan Shixun has only seen his colleagues offering sacrifices respectfully, but has never seen any exorcist stepping on the statue and cursing.
After all, those people still rely on the power of ghosts and gods from all directions to drive away evil spirits and protect people's safety.
How could it offend ghosts and gods?
But unfortunately, something that no one thought could succeed, finally happened.
Even when the King of Hell recently brought up the old events of a thousand years ago to Yan Shixun, his tone was filled with emotion and surprise.
No one, god or ghost, was optimistic about Ye Li. Everyone was waiting to see Ye Li's joke and to see how this ignorant general would regret his actions when he failed.
Unfortunately, everyone's idea of having fun was dashed, and the result shocked everyone.
Not only did Yeli defeat Beiyin Fengdu, but it also gained recognition from heaven and earth in a fair and open manner. It even stripped away the power that the old Fengdu had never possessed from the Great Dao and became the Lord of Fengdu who was in charge of death and judgment.
The old Fengdu ghost who was at the center of the vortex should be the most shocked.
If the ghost wanted to restore the truth about the fall of the old Fengdu, it would make sense.
Yan Shixun frowned slightly, his eyes full of caution.
He suddenly realized that someone was looking at him secretly.
With his face half covered by his falling hair, Yan Shixun managed to conceal the slight emotion that had accidentally leaked out during his deep contemplation under a calm cover.
He calmed himself, distanced himself from the events of a thousand years ago, and refocused his attention on the old man, preparing to deal with the old man's doubts and temptations towards him.
Yan Shixun was not afraid of the old man's temptation.
It should be said that this is what he must do when guiding the old man.
If the old man didn't express himself, there would be no flaws. In that case, the old man himself would be an iron wall, unable to let Yan Shixun see any leaked information.
But Yan Shixun still wanted to know from the old man about Li Chengyun and the ebony statue.
And the secrets of old Fengdu.
Although the cause and effect between Yan Shixun and Li Chengyun did not lead him to Li Chengyun's whereabouts, it made him meet the former Fengdu ghost in a mass grave.
But Yan Shixun soon realized that this was the perfect opportunity to know how to completely destroy the old Fengdu.
Since the old man was not the ghost messenger in charge of fighting in the old Fengdu, and he has consulted such a huge amount of books over the past thousand years, he must be well aware of the situation in the old Fengdu.
Perhaps, now that the old Fengdu is in decline, only the elderly know about this.
Yan Shixun thought so and quickly made up his mind. Then a kind smile appeared on his lips. He slowly raised his head and looked frankly in the direction where the sight came from.
The moment the old man's eyes met Yan Shixun's, he couldn't help showing a hint of surprise, but he quickly returned to normal, calmly turned his gaze back, and continued to prepare the meal.
He probably didn't expect that Yan Shixun would be so sharp even when he was absorbed in reading a book, and he dared to look back at him openly.
"He doesn't know how to respect the elderly and love the young."
The old man was so angry that he muttered unhappily: "You saw me working here, but you didn't come over to help me. Young people nowadays are so corrupt."
Yan Shixun paused, and when he heard a sentence structure that was very similar to what the old man had just said, a genuine smile appeared in his eyes.
I didn’t expect that the old man was still so vindictive and was determined to “retaliate”.
Not only was Yan Shixun not angry, but he relaxed his muscles and was no longer secretly wary of the old man as he had just been.
Because of the old man's outward emotions, Yan Shixun at least confirmed one thing - the old man was not standing against him.
People who have deep thoughts and want to do bad things will not reveal their emotions so easily.
I have to regain my verbal ground too… I’m more like the retired grumpy old man in the park.
Yan Shixun smiled and shook his head, then stood up from behind the table and walked towards the old man: "Old man, this is not my fault. Guests should follow the host's wishes. You just acted like you were the master and had full authority to handle the matter. How dare I offend your authority?"
“This is actually your fault.”
Yan Shixun's expression was very sincere: "I thought you just liked cooking, so I didn't dare to disturb you. Who would have thought that you still needed my help? You didn't say it."
elder:"???"
His mood, which had been gradually getting high because of Yan Shixun's previous praise, fell back down.
Isn't this outrageous? I'm the one blaming you, why is it that now you're the one blaming me?
He just blinked. What happened and why did it turn out like this?
The old man was puzzled, and because of his mood swings, he almost suspected that a ghost had appeared.
How could a living soul tease him so skillfully... Could it be that something really happened? ?
Just as the old man began to doubt himself, Yan Shixun walked over slowly.
He raised his hand to take off his black coat, threw it casually, and placed it conveniently on a chair beside him.
Then, he nonchalantly took off the cuffs of his black shirt, casually put them in his pocket, and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his beautifully toned arms.
"Look, now that you said you needed help, here I am."
Yan Shixun walked into the already small kitchen without saying a word, with the distance between him and the old man less than a foot.
"So, what do you want me to do for you?"
Yan Shixun smiled sincerely: "I thought about it. Old man, you are so kind that you are willing to take me in. I can't just sit and watch you busy. I still have to do something to repay your kindness. So tell me, what do you want me to do?"
The old man's expression was dull for a moment.
He never expected that this living soul would play completely different from his expectations.
He pointed casually at the stove next to him and said with a suspicious expression: "Light the stove, can you do it?"
Yan Shixun looked in the direction he pointed.
Under the small stove full of black and gray ash, a piece of white finger bone protruded from inside, buried powerlessly in the ash.
What the old man used as firewood and ignited was actually human bones.
Yan Shixun calmly shifted his gaze to the side and saw that there were indeed a few bones piled next to the stove, which looked like human arm bones.
The old man stared at Yan Shixun's face, trying to find some evidence that he was scared, so that he could feel satisfied.
However, what the old man did not expect was that for Yan Shixun, this kind of scene was already commonplace.
Being a ghost exorcist means dealing with ghosts. What's more, Yan Shixun has the appearance of an evil ghost, and he also has Zhang Wubing by his side who is much more useful than the evil navigation.
It simply produces an effect where one plus one is greater than two.
Although Yan Shixun is young, the number and quality of evil spirits he has seen are probably more than that of many exorcists in their entire sects combined.
Not to mention that one of the ways Nanming Mountain deals with bones is to let the villagers of Changshou Village burn the bones as firewood.
Yan Shixun was already used to it.
So he nodded, walked over without any hesitation, dragged the corpse over swiftly, held both ends of the bone with both hands, exerted force suddenly, and heard a "crack!" sound.
The bone was broken in half.
The old man let out a "hiss!" and felt a toothache.
Yan Shixun squatted down without changing his expression, stuffed the bones in his hand into the furnace, then turned around and asked the old man how to make a fire.
The old man looked dazed, and felt that he might not have been to the human world for too long. Was he out of touch with the human world?
Are people outside so horrible now? Seeing this behavior of burning the bones of their own kind, not to mention not having any negative emotions at all, are they actually accepting it?
The old man had a sense of unreality on his face. He handed the fire starter to Yan Shixun in a daze and watched in a daze as Yan Shixun started the fire. Soon, crackling sounds of burning fire were heard in the furnace, and the orange-red flames illuminated the dim house.
At this moment, the old man had countless speculations about Yan Shixun's true identity, and even suspected whether Yan Shixun was the King of Hell, or the leader of some evil spirits.
Otherwise, how could he know about the change from the old to the new thousands of years ago and yet be able to do such a thing without batting an eyelid?
The old man even felt that the speculation that Yan Shixun was a stranger was the most unreliable.
"Old man, have you always lived here?"
Yan Shixun calmly stared at the fire in front of him, the flames jumping and reflected in his eyes: "Have you ever thought about moving away from here?"
"Although Old Fengdu has its own set of rules, given your understanding of Old Fengdu, it shouldn't be difficult for you to leave, right?"
The old man was stunned by Yan Shixun's question, and then his old eyes dimmed, as if he was worried about something.
"It's hard to leave your hometown, and fallen leaves return to their roots... It's not that easy to leave."
The old man sighed, and when he touched upon something that bothered him, no matter how vigilant he was, he couldn't help but reveal a trace of his true emotions: "After all, I am also a ghost messenger of Fengdu, and I should live and die with Fengdu."
The corners of Yan Shixun's lips curled up slightly, and when the old man didn't even notice, the corners of his lips had already drooped down, making a look of understanding and concern.
"Indeed, if you leave too, there will be no one left to protect Old Fengdu."
"But is it meaningful to spend all your time on this kind of thing?"
Yan Shixun's tone was mixed with compassion and sympathy: "Guarding a pile of corpses, there is no telling when it will end. This city has long been without an owner. Even if it continues to survive, there will always be a time when it will be discovered by the Great Dao, right?"
"Do you really want to perish together with the old Fengdu?"
Yan Shixun said: "You have already gained your freedom, so you should think about yourself."
The old man's hands moved slower and slower, and finally stopped.
He stood in front of the stove and looked up at the roof with emotion.
"Young man, you are young, you don't understand..."
He sighed softly: "I can't leave. I have things to do."
Yan Shixun raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He could tell that the old man was not lying to him, but really had a plan for what to do and a clear goal.
For people, the best way to arouse the other party's desire to explain is to question them with wrong statements.
The old man's words "fallen leaves return to their roots" have already helped Yan Shixun confirm his identity.
Even as the ghost messenger of the old Fengdu, not only did he not want revenge, he also guarded the old Fengdu and said that there were things he had to do, and he had been investigating Yeli...
Could it be that the old man also noticed that the ghost was about to be born and wanted to stop it?
After all, when he mentioned that the old Fengdu would disappear under the avenue, he noticed that the old man curled his lips and looked disdainful of this statement.
His master had predicted many years ago that the ghost would happen, and now it seems that the ghost also knows it.
His master disappeared in Baizhi Lake again, and when he appeared again, he was dead.
Yan Shixun doesn't believe in coincidences.
He reasonably suspected that he was led to the ghost catcher by karma because his master had once had contact with the ghost catcher, and his master hoped that he could take over the unfinished business between him and the ghost catcher.
Li Chengyun's death was too sudden for Yan Shixun, and he didn't even leave him a word.
But after all, he had been with Li Chengyun day and night and had been taught by Li Chengyun for so many years. Li Chengyun was his first experimental subject when he tried to explore human psychology.
As long as he can find clues, it will not be difficult for Yan Shixun to guess his master's true thoughts before his death.
Yan Shixun's thoughts turned over twice, and he immediately adjusted his tone, pretending to be depressed and nostalgic.
"You remind me of an old friend."
Yan Shixun lowered his eyelashes, and his calm voice could not hide his sadness: "My master is very similar to you."
Master?
The old man turned around and looked at Yan Shixun in surprise.
He was confused as to why Yan Shixun suddenly changed his attitude towards him and even used a respectful title. You know, this kid was very polite to him just now.
But at the same time, he was also wondering, how could his guess be wrong? If there is a master, then it can't be the King of Hell or a ghost, right?
It’s not a ghost disguised as a living soul, but a real person who entered the old Fengdu from outside... It’s over!
The old man realized something and his face changed drastically.
The ghost way is really starting to take effect in the outside world!
"My master once said that he had predicted the birth of the ghost, and he wanted to prevent it from happening. Just like you, he had things he had to do."
Yan Shixun lowered his head, his expression could not be seen through the gaps between his scattered hair: "You didn't lose Fengdu, but I lost my master."
The old man stared at Yan Shixun blankly. Even though he was on guard, he couldn't help but be infected by Yan Shixun's emotions and felt really sad for him.
Because Yan Shixun sincerely compared the old man to his master, the old man, under the influence of this true emotion, actually felt that he was Yan Shixun's master.
The look he gave Yan Shixun gradually softened, no longer as alert as before.
The old man sighed deeply and said, "Even if there are tens of thousands of people... I will go."①
"Your master must be a very powerful person."
Tell ideals to those who hold ideals, and preach morality to those who uphold morality.
No matter how strong the armor is, it has its weak points.
Once someone understands your psychology, they can easily determine where your weak points are and then launch concentrated attacks, causing all of the opponent's psychological defenses to collapse.
Under Yan Shixun's conscious manipulation of emotions, the old man had begun to lean towards Yan Shixun without even realizing it, and was thinking about the problem from Yan Shixun's perspective.
Yan Shixun curled the corners of his lips and continued, "But my master failed."
"The world is merciless. My master died under the avenue."
"But as his disciple, I have to take over what he has not completed and carry it on my shoulders to continue fulfilling his wishes before he died."
Yan Shixun slowly raised his head, looked at the old man seriously, and asked solemnly: "So I came here to ask for your help."
"You may think it's ridiculous for a stranger like me to want to do such a thing, but please forgive me for insisting."
"Fengdu is changing, and the ghosts are wailing. And if the road is changing, it will only cause more and more sorrow and crying, just like the mess after the battle of Fengdu... Do you want to see the scene of the past reappear?"
"So please help me."
Yan Shixun stood up slowly.
He stretched out his palm, which was still covered with ash, to the old man and said solemnly: "Please. Please let us complete this task together and prevent the past scene from happening again."
Real emotions are the most touching.
Although Yan Shixun manipulated the rhythm and direction of the conversation, he allowed the only remaining old Fengdu ghost to walk into his trap without him noticing.
But the emotions he expressed when talking about Li Chengyun were all real.
Between truth and falsehood, even the most experienced ghost catcher was frightened by Yan Shixun.
The old man looked down at the hand that Yan Shixun extended to him, but did not shake it immediately. Instead, he was thinking about something.
Yan Shixun did not feel the embarrassment of being left out at all, but instead had an attitude of standing in the snow outside the door of a scholar, and would insist as long as the old man did not agree.
After a long while, the old man asked in a hoarse voice: "Your master... is Li Chengyun?"
Sure enough! His master had indeed come to the old Fengdu and met the ghost.
Yan Shixun's heart trembled.
He showed a surprised expression: "Do you know the master?"
"Li Chengyun...does he still have disciples? He never mentioned this matter."
The old man closed his eyes and sighed, "It's more than just knowing each other, it's more than knowing each other!"
He raised his skinny arm, pointed at the piles of corpses outside the window, and said to Yan Shixun: "Do you see the corpses outside?"
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