IMMFBCG Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Wandering Sorcerer

When Zhang Tianshi attained enlightenment, he left behind a sword for his disciple; the male sword came into the hands of Ye Yangyun and was later passed on to Ye Xue.

The female sword, however, was used to suppress the Ronggui Well and was surrounded by a protective array, guarded by a group of disciples from the Zhengyi Sect.

But now, the female sword had gone missing.

Ye Yangyun’s tone remained serious as he continued, “Originally, the spirits suppressed beneath the Ronggui Well are all vengeful and malicious ghosts. The ancestors of the Zhengyi Sect have always placed those evil spirits that cannot be subdued into the Ronggui Well and set up formations around it, using the Zhanxie female sword to suppress them while numerous disciples recite incantations day and night to resolve the resentment within them. This practice has been passed down from generation to generation, and countless vengeful souls have been suppressed within the Ronggui Well. Of those, aside from those whose resentment has dissipated and have reincarnated in the underworld, there are still three hundred and twenty-four remaining…”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xue couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Master, what about the vengeful spirits currently in the Ronggui Well?”

If the female sword is missing, wouldn’t the suppressed ghosts also become restless?

But Ye Yangyun’s next words reassured her: “Fortunately after the Taoist Association detected the anomaly, they promptly sent some seniors from the Zhengyi Sect to investigate. Because they acted swiftly, most of the vengeful souls remain in the well, though there are still a few that have managed to escape. The Taoist sect has already reported the situation to the underworld and sent people to set spells to track the whereabouts of the escaped spirits. It shouldn’t be long before they find out where they have gone. But right now, the most troublesome issue is the whereabouts of the female sword…”

At this point, Ye Yangyun paused slightly and asked seriously, “Disciple, do you know the functions of the male and female swords?”

Ye Xue answered without hesitation, “When Zhang Tianshi ascended, he gave the male sword to his disciple. The female sword embodies the yang energy, which can guide the souls of the deceased; the male sword has a majestic spirit, capable of slaying demons and evil beings. Thus, the disciple of Tianshi used the female sword to subdue the evil spirits and placed it in the Ronggui Well, while the male sword was passed down to future generations to eliminate demons.”

Ye Yangyun nodded in approval, “Correct, and this is one of the reasons I entrusted the male sword to you. You are the most gifted among this generation, and the Zhanxie sword will exhibit its maximum power in your hands. Now it seems that my choice was not in vain; however, it’s unfortunate that…”

The old man sighed and continued, “As for the female sword, the disciples guarding the Ronggui Well were all carefully selected by the Taoist sect. Who would have thought that one of them, lacking resolve, was misled and switched the positions of the formation, stealing the female sword in the process? By the time the seniors from the Zhengyi Sect arrived, the disciple who had stolen the sword was already dead, and their soul had disappeared without a trace, along with the female sword.”

If the living soul has vanished, it means someone has used Taoist methods to capture their three souls and seven spirits, preventing their soul from entering the underworld and being traced.

With their soul scattered, they don’t even qualify for reincarnation.

“I had originally planned for you to return during the National Day holiday to see how your cultivation is progressing, but now that such a significant event has occurred, it would be better for you to remain in Haicheng,” Ye Yangyun advised her.

The Taoist temple in Haicheng has a large crowd and many talented individuals, making it the safest place for Ye Xue.

Ye Xue nodded solemnly, “Alright, I understand, Master. You can rest assured that I will protect myself.”

Before long, the Zhengyi Sect informed all Taoist temples of the situation to collectively pursue the whereabouts of the Zhanxie female sword, and the Xuanzhen Temple also learned of the sword’s theft.

As for Bai Liu, he had an additional task; he had to accompany other spirits to pursue the vengeful spirits that had escaped from the Ronggui Well.

This left Bai Liu quite overwhelmed.

He had initially only worked part-time, occasionally leaving his body to lure in new souls, but now he had essentially turned from a part-time worker into a full-time employee.

Moreover, Wei Xingteng would always arrive without prior notice and without regard for time or place, taking people away at a whim.

Sometimes, while Bai Liu was explaining the scripture to devotees, he would suddenly lose consciousness and nearly faint, almost scaring the worshippers out of their wits.

When Ye Xue was present, Wei Xingteng would occasionally restrain himself a bit, greeting Bai Liu before taking him away; however, in urgent situations, he often couldn’t afford to be considerate.

Bai Liu’s repeated protests were in vain.

To avoid causing a negative impact on the Xuanzhen Temple, Bai Guan Zhu simply allowed his son to “work” in his room and prevented him from scaring others outside.

Fortunately, most of the worshippers believed Bai Liu’s fainting was due to exhaustion and didn’t think anything further. They even kindly suggested to Xu Zhou that the Xuanzhen Temple should hire more Taoists to prevent anyone from getting overworked.

Bai Ziang agreed with this sentiment.

As the business of the Xuanzhen Temple flourished, more and more people came to offer incense, and a few of them couldn’t manage it alone.

However, since Ye Xue still held the Zhanxie sword, Bai Ziang was hesitant to recruit new people randomly, especially after the recent theft of the female sword. He decided to first announce the recruitment notice, screen candidates carefully, and then make plans.

One day, Bai Liu, noticing that the wraiths hadn’t come looking for him, dragged Ye Xue out for some fresh air.

The main purpose of their outing was to buy joss paper and ghost money.

They had nearly used up what the temple had purchased earlier, and since Ye Xue had two ghosts to support, their expenses had been higher than usual. The savings Ye Xue had, aside from what she sent back to the village and her usual pocket money, were almost depleted.

Ye Xue had never been more eager to make money than she was at this moment; she even crazily contemplated competing with the underworld for business, hoping to capture all the escaped spirits from the Ronggui Well and claim the rewards from the Taoist Association.

As they walked, Ye Xue chatted with Bai Liu, “Nephew, how is your search for the vengeful spirits going lately?”

Bai Liu carried several bags of ghost money in his hands, thinking about offering some to Wei Wuchang later to prevent Wei Xingteng from taking him away without warning.

How negatively would that impact his reputation?!

Now, the devotees at the Xuanzhen Temple were quickly shifting their impression of him from “a good-looking young man” to “the frail Taoist who faints at the drop of a hat.”

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before “fainting frequently” turned into “sudden death” at the Xuanzhen Temple.

Bai Liu had dark circles under his eyes, and his expression was haggard.

He heard Ye Xue’s words and sighed deeply, saying weakly, “Uncle Master, you don’t know how clever those ghosts are. I can’t help but suspect they were street vendors in their previous lives; dodging the wraiths is like avoiding city inspectors. Sometimes, we haven’t even arrived at a location, and the ghostly shadows have already disappeared. During the National Day holiday, I’ve been chasing ghosts almost without sleep, and I’ve only managed to catch one with Wei Xingteng. That’s not even the worst of it—the problem is, those wraiths don’t give me a moment to catch my breath!”

Bai Liu sighed again, “If only there were some way for me to get a heads-up before Wei Xingteng arrives.”

Ye Xue thought it was simple enough—couldn’t he just give the person a good beating?

No problem can’t be solved with a good punch.

If there is, then it just requires two punches.

…

The incense shop was close to the tourist attraction, and on their way back, they happened to pass by the scenic area.

As the crowd began to grow, Ye Xue and Bai Liu stopped discussing ghosts and started chatting about everyday matters.

The park in the scenic area was bustling with activity, and because of the holiday, many children were playing on swings and slides.

There were also numerous vendors setting up stalls along the roadside.

Ye Xue’s keen eyes spotted a stall in the distance with a banner that read, “Know the Affairs of the World.” It seemed to be run by a fortune-teller.

Bai Liu noticed it too and joked to Ye Xue, “This person must think of himself as a roaming sage, proclaiming he can ‘know the affairs of the world.’”

Ye Xue replied, “Maybe he thinks he’s Feng Menglong?”

In Feng Menglong’s Awakening of the World, there’s a saying, “To know the affairs of the world, one must read the books of the ancients and moderns.”

Unfortunately, Bai Liu, being a bit of a “literary illiterate,” didn’t grasp Ye Xue’s reference and looked at her with confusion.

Perhaps it was because they were holding joss sticks and ghost money, which made them appear overly superstitious, that the vendor sensed a potential customer and called out, “Please, stay a moment, you two!”

At first, Bai Liu didn’t even realize the fortune-teller was calling them, but Ye Xue stopped and asked with interest, “Sir, are you calling us?”

The fortune-teller, holding a folding fan and trying to look impressive, snapped it open with a flourish, waved it slightly, and with a mysterious demeanor, smiled, “This young brother beside you must be troubled by something recently, am I right?”

This was a psychological tactic used in scams.

The Ghost Festival had just passed, and Bai Liu was holding joss paper and ghost money. If there hadn’t been a family funeral, then he must have been experiencing bad luck and was looking to appease the spirits to drive away misfortune.

Considering his current haggard appearance, the fortune-teller naturally targeted him.

Bai Liu had indeed been quite annoyed by Wei Xingteng lately, and upon hearing these words, he pulled Ye Xue to the stall, took two chairs, and sat down without courtesy.

Bai Liu sighed and said, “It is indeed quite bothersome.”

The fortune-teller looked at him knowingly and asked, “You must be worrying about how to resolve your troubles, right?”

Bai Liu nodded in agreement, “Yes.”

The fortune-teller then asked, “Would you like to solve it?”

Bai Liu gave him a look that clearly said, “Isn’t that obvious?” “Of course I want to, but it needs to be feasible.”

That wraith would not listen to anything and always acted on its whims.

“I have a method here.” Saying this, the fortune-teller pulled out two swords from beneath the stall and stated, “As long as you take them home and keep them, within half a month, your problems will be resolved.”

Bai Liu looked at the swords with skepticism and asked, “Where did you get these? Are they really that effective?”

Ye Xue couldn’t help but glance at the sword on the table, examining it closely; it looked somewhat familiar to her.

The fortune-teller stroked his beard, smiling at them, “Have you ever heard of Zhang Daoling, the Master Zhang from Longhu Mountain?”

He was Ye Xue’s ancestor, so of course, they had heard of him.

Ye Xue and Bai Liu nodded in response.

The fortune-teller, still stroking his beard, said with a mysterious smile, “I am a disciple of Master Zhang.”

“Eh?” Bai Liu’s eyes widened as he looked at Ye Xue and then back at the fortune-teller, seemingly realizing he had encountered a scammer.

Where would a disciple of a celestial master set up a stall in a park?!

Isn’t this just a joke at his expense?

Ye Xue glanced at the items laid out at his stall and couldn’t help but say, “I see that everything here is for divination. Isn’t it said that the Zhang family’s lineage is best at talismans? Have you switched professions, sir?”

The fortune-teller waved his hand dismissively, saying, “The world is vast, and there are all kinds of wonders. You’re not a descendant of the Celestial Masters; how would you know that none of us are skilled in divination?”

Ye Xue replied, “Uh…”

This was the first time she had been questioned about her identity as a Celestial Master by a scammer.

“Hahaha!” Bai Liu laughed out loud. When the fortune-teller’s gaze turned to him, he quickly composed himself, adopting a solemn expression, and said, trying to suppress his laughter, “I just recalled something amusing.”

Ye Xue couldn’t be bothered to argue with the scammer and followed his lead by asking, “A disciple of Master Zhang, and then? What about these two swords?”

Despite her words, she already had a faint suspicion in her mind.

The fortune-teller began explaining the origins of the swords: “Master Zhang left behind three or five male and female swords for future generations. The slaying evil sword can drive away all demons and malevolent spirits, and these two swords before you are the famous male and female slaying evil swords!”

Ye Xue: “…”

Goodness, it’s one thing to scam people by claiming to be a Celestial Master, but now he’s trying to fool them with fake slaying evil swords.

Ye Xue smiled brightly and asked in a good-natured tone, “Sir, I heard that the female sword from the Zhengyi sect was stolen by thieves. How did it come into your hands?”

The man’s face stiffened, and he was about to argue, “Uh, well…”

Before he could finish, Ye Xue turned to Bai Liu, “Nephew, what’s the reporting number for the Dao Association? I heard there’s a reward if the female sword is found…”

“Three million!” Bai Liu quickly chimed in, clearly excited, “Uncle Master, isn’t this a stroke of luck? Let’s call them right away!”

With Ye Xue and Bai Liu singing off each other, the scammer realized he had encountered experts.

He turned pale, quickly recognizing he was in deep trouble. He hurriedly grabbed a roll of yellow cloth, abandoning his stall, and took off, saying, “I just remembered I have some important matters to attend to. Excuse me, gentlemen!”

With that, he fled in a panic.

Bai Liu called after him, “Slaying evil sword, driving away evil spirits—what’s next? Hey, don’t go! We can split the reward; I’ll take sixty, you take forty!”