章節 40: Took Note
編輯: Dragon Boat Translation
After picturing their future together, Hui Neng finally noticed the words 'black girl' on Han Li's face. "What's this?"
Fang Zhou recounted the recent events to Hui Neng, leaving out the part about his ability to smell the scent of grass.
Upon hearing this, Hui Neng's face became serious. "I didn't expect those spirits to start causing trouble again."
Fang Zhou asked, "Chief, does your temple have a history of hauntings?"
Hui Neng nodded, explaining the situation to Fang Zhou and Han Li.
Apparently, this place, now known as the Wild Tomb Ridge, was formerly called the Immortal's Tomb. It was a prized spot where many high-ranking officials of the former dynasty were buried, including a certain emperor, it's said.
However, since the fall of that dynasty, seemingly influenced by the nation's destiny, the Immortal's Tomb's fortune was disrupted. The spirits of the buried started to gather, nourished by the earth's yin energy, and gradually turned into ghosts.
The Lanruo Temple was tormented by these spirits and had to move, leaving the original site to decay.
Fang Zhou glared at Hui Neng, "Chief, you never mentioned this when we arrived."
Hui Neng put his palms together and sighed, "Alas, those spirits haven't been active for many years. Their reappearance tonight might be due to the high number of outsiders visiting our temple this year."
Fang Zhou was about to say something when suddenly, there were screams from a distance.
Hui Neng hurriedly said, "The two of you go and see what's happened first. Wait for me to change my clothes, and I'll be right there."
Fang Zhou and Han Li exchanged a glance, then left the small courtyard, heading in the direction of the screams.
The source of the screams came from the front courtyard of Lanruo Temple, where many trees stood. By the time the two arrived, they found many people hanging from the trees. All of them were outsiders who had come in search of treasures. Not a single monk was among them.
The limbs of these individuals were twisted in the opposite direction, causing immense pain in their joints that made them scream. Their struggles filled the entire Lanruo Temple with noise.
The outsiders who weren't hanged had also been disturbed. As anticipated, their faces were either marked with words written in a green liquid by the ghost or painted with an image of a turtle. The most unfortunate one even had his long hair dyed green.
With such unsettling events, tension filled the air. Han Li mused that if the ghost could silently mark or write on their faces, then killing them would be even easier.
It wasn't until the monks appeared that the people on the trees were rescued. Hui Neng, who had changed her clothes, also hurried over.
"Chief Monk, what on earth happened?"
"Monk, you owe us an explanation!"
Seeing Hui Neng's appearance, the outsiders immediately confronted her, especially those who were mysteriously hung up in their sleep.
Seeing the confusion, Hui Neng had no choice but to bring everyone to the main hall to explain about the ghost.
However, after listening, the crowd wasn't convinced. "Why are none of the monks affected?"
Indeed, the monks hadn't been hung up, and there were no marks on their faces.
With a wry smile, Hui Neng patiently explained, "Years ago, the temple was frequently disturbed by ghosts, and we monks were often pranked. I too have been hanged on a tree in the middle of the night. But later, the ghosts disappeared, perhaps losing interest in us. I'm afraid it's because of your recent arrival, with strong energies, that the dormant ghosts have become active again."
While this explanation made some sense, someone stood out and pointed at Fang Zhou. "Why is he unharmed?"
That person was the martial attire woman lived not far from Fang Zhou, with several markings drawn on her face.
Fang Zhou's face darkened. He didn't expect this woman to single him out and point the finger at him. He felt more sure that she bore a grudge against him, but he didn't know where this hostility came from.
The rest of the crowd turned their attention to Fang Zhou. Among all the faces with various colors, his clean face stood out.
"That's right, why is he fine?"
Another person jumped out. It was one of the four women who had provoked Fang Zhou during dinner. "Did he collude with the monks, planning to monopolize the treasures?"
Sure enough, after sobering up, these women were resentful, thinking Fang Zhou had taken advantage of them. Now, they took the opportunity to make trouble, even accusing him of conspiracy.
Fang Zhou quietly took note of these five people and thought about how to explain.
At that moment, Han Li, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "Mr. Fang Zhou is not okay."
She pointed to the back of Fang Zhou's neck, "Mr. Fang Zhou also has a mark here."
Fang Zhou realized that the ghost had indeed touched his neck earlier, but he hadn't noticed the mark. Han Li must have seen it when she followed him earlier.
As he turned around, everyone saw a green mark on the back of Fang Zhou's neck.
With this, the accusations from the five women against Fang Zhou no longer held.
Hui Neng also stepped forward at the right time, "Everyone, don't panic. Although the ghost has been causing trouble, it hasn't harmed anyone, at most it just left hard-to-clean marks on our bodies."
Indeed, there were no casualties tonight. But hearing that the marks were hard to clean, everyone was immediately thrown into panic.
"What should we do, Chief?"
"Don't panic."
Hui Neng smiled, "As long as you wash with the ash water from our temple, you can get it off."
She felt an urge to charge for the ash water, but in the end, she held back. If she asked for money, this group might tear down the Lanruo Temple.
Seeing that the crowd's attention was diverted and they couldn't frame Fang Zhou anymore, the woman in the martial attire shrugged regretfully, showing Fang Zhou a malicious smile, which was very annoying.
Fang Zhou silently watched her, feeling an urge to launch a fireball and blast her face away.
As for the remaining four, he would deal with them when he had the chance.
After Hui Neng used ash water to clean the mark on everyone's faces and repeatedly assured them there was no danger to life, everyone finally dispersed.
Fang Zhou and Han Li returned to their room and found Ling Xiaoyue waiting for them.
With a frown, Fang Zhou inquired, "Where did you run off to this time?"
"You impudent apprentice, mind how you speak to your master!" Ling Xiao Yue replied, hands on her hips, "I went after that ghost."
Fang Zhou and Han Li were both taken aback and said in unison, "Did you catch it?"
However, Ling Xiaoyue just laid down, propping her legs up and whined, "Oh dear, I chased so far that my feet are sore now. It'd be great if someone could give me a massage."
Fang Zhou took a step forward to kick her, "Speak up!"
Ling Xiaoyue skillfully avoided it, continued to raise her leg, twisting her foot.
Han Li hesitated, "Should I..."
"No need!"
Interrupting her, Fang Zhou, with flames of anger in his eyes, snapped, "Step aside, I'm her apprentice, it's only right for me to do it!"
He grabbed Ling Xiaoyue's foot, he channeled his Qi Gathering Technique, sending spirit energy into his fingers. Then, using all his might, he squeezed her calf tightly.
With that grip, he could've crushed a stone.
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