The King of Curses

Chapter 208 The Dark Wind
"hiss……"

A cold wind blew in my face, and the girl next to me was flashing with electric sparks all over her body like Pikachu.

The moment she noticed something unusual, Jiang Yunmei couldn't help but hold her breath.

But after that, nothing happened.

"Hey, what's going on..."

The girl murmured to herself. She still felt stiff all over, her scalp was cold and painful like a needle prick; and at this moment, Song Yutang suddenly held her hand.

The warm energy from the outside world poured into the body, and the ice and snow in the meridians melted.

After Jiang Yunmei said "it's okay", the girl beside her let out a breath and her tone became relaxed.

"Don't worry, it's not a big problem. When a spell master first starts learning, he or she will be easily stimulated by the external Yin Qi. Especially since you are good at spiritual perception and your senses are more 'sharp', this reaction may be more sensitive... At this time, as long as someone helps to transfer some true Qi, there will be no sequelae."

Jiang Yunmei was surprised to hear her tell all the details.

"How do you know this?"

"My master told me. He told me the precautions after you joined the team." Song Yutang replied, "So that I can look after you at the critical moment."

"Hey~ What a meticulous man. You can't tell from his appearance."

Jiang Yunmei laughed.

"...Yes, and it can be seen that he is very experienced." Song Yutang said softly, "I really don't know how he did it. Master always said that 'traditional spell-forbidden masters don't have much advantage over people of this era'. But if he hadn't received combat training as a spell-forbidden master since he was a child, it would be hard to believe that he is the same age as us."

Both Song Yutang and Jiang Yunmei, when they were still novices, they completely accepted Cen Dongsheng's guidance and teachings and grew up in ignorance, and did not find anything strange; but as their understanding of the profession of curse masters and this new world gradually deepened, sooner or later they would realize that this man was hiding a curious secret.

"...But isn't my situation a bit bad? I feel like I've become a burden."

Jiang Yunmei still felt a lingering fear. She looked up at the statue covered in yellow cloth. The interior of the main hall of the ancestral hall seemed to be converted from a cave. The light was dim and the atmosphere was cold. There were only a few red candles flickering on the altar. Walking in in broad daylight would make people feel their hair stand on end.

"Just don't wander around randomly. As long as you act with me or Master, who are both 'human immortals', there will be no problem. We will protect you."

Song Yutang let go of their hands.

"As your strength improves and you have enough true energy, this situation should get better. Or... I think Master will think of other ways to make up for your shortcomings."

……

There are more than one statue of ancestors enshrined in the ancestral hall, a total of three on the left, middle and right. There is a stone tablet under each statue introducing their life story.

These three are obviously the most outstanding representatives in the Jiang family's hundreds of years of history.

The one in the middle is one of the earliest ancestors of the Jiang family, a man of the Ming Dynasty, who was the top scorer in the imperial examination and also served in the cabinet, the highest official position; the one on the right is a general in armor with one hand on a sword.

Both of them are ancient people who lived a long time ago, and the one on the left really caught their attention.

Just by looking at the statue's attire, you can tell that this person was not an emperor or a general in his lifetime. He is wearing cloth, a square scarf on his head, and holding a compass in his hand. He has a thin face and a gentle smile, and looks a bit like an immortal.

"He looks like a Taoist priest... or a Feng Shui master."

The most recent period of activity for this ancestor of the Jiang family was during the late Qing Dynasty.

It was a time of turmoil and chaos in the world. This man was gifted but did not like to study. He was taught by a wild fox when he was young, and wandered around the world when he grew up. He had studied in several sects, but he could not study for long each time. He had been a monk and a Taoist, shaved his hair, and received ordination. He also had close contacts with missionaries and knew all kinds of strange skills, among which the "Watching the Falling Yin" method was the most famous. It is said that he had once been a guest of a governor.

One day, this man suddenly realized his life span. He felt that it was time to return to his hometown, so he said goodbye and returned home.

After returning to his hometown, he did not give up his skills and worked as a Feng Shui master, helping people with divination, fortune-telling, and choosing auspicious days, and his work was usually effective. Occasionally, he would also work as a fortune teller to call back the souls of children or help people exorcise ghosts, and was deeply trusted by his fellow villagers.

This Feng Shui master never married and had no offspring. Ten years after returning to his hometown, he died peacefully in his own house at the age of fifty. After his death, he requested to be buried in a simple manner and his tomb was different from the ancestral tombs of previous generations.

It is said that this ancestor believed that doing this job would damage his virtue, and he did not take the exam in the ancestral tomb because he was worried that it would destroy the feng shui and affect future generations.

"Yutang, look here."

Jiang Yunmei was sharp-eyed and pointed out the key point.

From the above biography, it is hard to see why he is valued and qualified to be placed side by side with the other two ancestors; but the few words on this stone tablet point out the true status of this person in the Jiang family:
"The Jiang family's ancestral home was designed and built by this ancestor. He was also in charge of the construction of this ancestral hall, and even the relocation of the ancestral tomb..."

*
Cen Dongsheng naturally noticed the cold wind blowing out from the hall.

He could tell at a glance that it was the remnant of some evil magic, but it would not have much impact on people.

But this is enough to prove that this ancestral hall is indeed unusual.

"Are these old gentlemen from the village?"

Cen Dongsheng approached a few elderly people who were burning incense and asked questions with a smile.

"You are……"

"We are from Tianhai City and we are also members of the Jiang family."

"Oh, it's from the master's side..."

Seeing his friendly attitude, the elderly people were not averse to communicating with him.

Cen Dongsheng learned from the conversation that some of them came from Jinjiang, some came from the neighboring city, and none of them were native to Jiangtun Village or from the host family in Tianhai City.

It can be seen from this that the Jiang family has many branches, so it is not difficult for Cen Dongsheng to play the role and he is not worried about being seen through.

"Young man, is this your first time here?"

"Yes, this is really the first time we come here. Our parents' generation never came here."

He answered in a serious tone.

"But I think the Jiang family's roots are still here, so I took advantage of the holiday to come and take a look."

"you are still in school?"

"Yes, I'm from Tianhai University."

"Oh, you have good grades then."

Cen Dongsheng was enthusiastic, and as a top student from a prestigious university, he soon started chatting and laughing with the elderly people. After a while, he got to the point:
"Do you come to the ancestral hall regularly? I don't think today is an auspicious day. We just came here by chance. I didn't expect to run into a few old gentlemen."

"..."

The expressions of the old people changed. After a moment of silence, one of them whispered:
"…It was a dream."

Ok?
"What does it mean?"

"During this period, we all had the same dream, dreaming about our ancestors." Another person answered, "When I saw the man wearing a square scarf, cloth clothes and cloth shoes, holding a Feng Shui compass, and a goatee, I immediately remembered who he was."

They can be said to have seen the image of this ancestor since they were young. Although this person was active in the late Qing Dynasty and passed away in the early 20th century during the Republic of China, the old people can still vaguely remember the respect on their faces when they heard their elders talk about this legendary figure when they were young.

"Everyone says he can tell the difference between yin and yang, and can communicate with ghosts and gods. He is an extraordinary person. I never thought..."

An old man sighed.

"But we asked a group of people around us, and only a few old guys were visited in dreams. It's useless to tell others." "Do you know the reason?"

"Maybe he's just annoyed that we haven't come to visit him for a long time."

The old people sighed.

"I didn't expect that after all these years, only this elder still remembers us."

Cen Dongsheng kept smiling and listened to them reminiscing about the past.

It seems that for the old man, the meaning of "dream" is very simple, and it is not accompanied by other strange events, otherwise he would not be so calm at this moment.

But it's definitely not that simple...

*
After saying goodbye to the elders, Cen Dongsheng and the two girls left the ancestral hall together. On the way, they used the "Tian Ertong" to briefly exchange information.

Apart from confirming that a certain ancestor of the Jiang family was extremely suspicious, there was no other gain.

"Is the next step to go to the ancestral home?"

"We have to go check out the ancestral graves, ancestral houses, and places related to that Feng Shui master."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"Including his own grave. From the words of his two fellow sorcerers, he is still in the 'grave'... He is not buried in the same place as the ancestors of the Jiang family, which is very suspicious."

……

As they walked out of the ancestral hall gate, they ran into the village secretary Jiang Dafu who had just returned.

"I have arranged accommodation for you all."

The other party said with a smile.

"The guesthouse in the town is a bit far from here. I have cleaned up an empty room. If you three don't mind, you can stay in the village tonight."

Cen Dongsheng agreed immediately.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's not hard, it's not hard." Jiang Dafu waved his hand, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. "Come with me."

……

The appearance of the three young men caused some ripples in this small village that was as calm as a lake.

Along the way, many villagers noticed them, whether they were sitting by the river washing clothes, passing by on tricycles, or chatting and drying grain in their own yards...

The appearance of Cen Dongsheng and his group was too eye-catching. The fashionable and beautiful young girls and the tall and strong young men were obviously young people from big cities. Some people also noticed that the person who was leading them was the village secretary, which was an unusual treatment.

"You heard it all along the way, how did it feel?"

Cen Dongsheng asked.

With Jiang Yunmei around, collecting intelligence wouldn't be so troublesome.

Even eight years later, when they were executing their work, they often had to do visits and investigations. Even when the Governing Bureau was selecting front-line members and assessing them, they would take into account the ability to communicate with civilians and folk spell-casters. Just now, Cen Dongsheng was able to get in touch with the old people who came to burn incense after just a few words. This was something he had experienced back then.

But the existence of "clairaudience" can greatly shorten this process.

"Yeah. The villagers were just chatting about family matters, and I couldn't hear anything wrong... But some people talked about us, guessing that we might be reporters or something."

"So, this village is really fine?" Song Yutang said, "There is no dangerous place or evil spirit here. We just need to find the place where the ancestor is hiding."

Jiang Yunmei frowned and did not respond immediately.

Her teammates waited patiently, and after a long pause, the girl murmured.

"...No. I just feel like something is wrong with this village, but I can't really put my finger on what it is. It's more like an atmosphere..."

Although she hadn't awakened her next ability, Jiang Yunmei's spiritual perception was still sharp. At least better than him and Yutang, Cen Dongsheng would not ignore her "intuition".

"Where is the source..."

Jiang Yunmei looked around, and to others it seemed that she was looking at the scenery, but only her friends knew the reason.

"Don't worry, we're not in a hurry."

Cen Dongsheng comforted.

"If there really is a ghost in this place, when that ancestor makes a move, there is no way the village will not react."

"……All right."

Jiang Yunmei's gaze moved from the village to the sky. It seemed that in the girl's eyes, even the dark clouds floating in the sky seemed a little suspicious, and she looked unable to let it go.

Cen Dongsheng was very used to her behavior and even felt a sense of security.

The excellent colleagues of the Ghost Immortal Department who were good at spiritual perception that he had met in the past when he was on joint missions were almost all of this type who were suspicious wherever they went; and in the end, facts often proved that the other people in the team were able to survive thanks to this seemingly excessive caution.

"Then Master, our next step is to go to..."

"It's hard to refuse such a kind invitation. Let's stay in the village first. After we put our luggage down, we'll see if we have time to explore the ancestral tombs."

*
The three of them took the luggage from the car and followed Jiang Dafu to a white-walled and red-tiled house in the eastern corner of the village, which was divided into two entrances, inside and outside.

"There used to be a small shop here, but later that family left and the house was left to the village committee. It's usually used to store sundries and the like." Jiang Dafu introduced, "There are beds and mattresses, and all the furniture is quite complete. I've had it cleaned up. Do you think it's okay?"

"Yeah, it's pretty clean inside."

Jiang Yunmei walked into the room, turned around and came out again, answering with a smile.

"That's good. You are all from the city, and the conditions in a small place are not good. I'm afraid you won't be able to get used to it... But to be honest, the conditions of the guesthouse in the town are just like this, and the hygiene is hard to guarantee."

"It's okay, we can get used to it."

"Then I'm leaving. As for the luggage..."

"We'll move it ourselves and not trouble anyone else. If you have something to do, go ahead and do it."

……

After Jiang Dafu left, the young people looked at each other, until Song Yutang spoke hesitantly:
"I see this house is not big, there are several rooms inside..."

"There's only one bedroom, but there are two beds."

Jiang Yunmei put her hands behind her back with a smile on her face.

"——It seems that we have to decide on the allocation of beds first."

(End of this chapter)