Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 24 A bunch of nonsense
Lu Zheng was several feet away from the figure under the tree. He greeted them, "Hey, fishing here so late at night?"

The man under the tree tilted his head slightly, his body was hidden by the shadow of the tree, and his face was not very clear.

"Yes, little brother, are you also fishing here?" the man said softly.

Lu Zheng shook his head slightly and said, "No, I just happened to be passing by here. Did you catch anything big?"

The man laughed and said, "No, I just started fishing, how can I catch fish so quickly!"

As he spoke, the man lifted his fishing rod, and the hook slowly emerged from the water. The earthworm bait was still on it, so he put it back down.

Lu Zhengjian was curious, so he simply put down the bookcase and sat there staring at the river.

Seeing this, the man asked, "Looking at your attire, little brother, are you a scholar?"

"I went to school for a few years, but dropped out a long time ago. I can barely be considered a scholar," said Lu Zheng.

The man nodded. "That's great. Where are you going at night?"

"Baisha Village." Lu Zheng replied.

Baisha Village is a nearby village. Since Lu Zheng came out to study, he naturally wanted to visit those villages.

The man heard, "Baisha Village, then just follow the river. But I heard there's a tiger in the mountain to the east, so you'd better go around it from the mountain to the south..."

The man stretched out his finger and pointed the way to Lu Zheng enthusiastically.

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for the reminder, brother. It seems you are quite familiar with the area."

The man smiled and said, "I usually like to go fishing, so I'm quite familiar with this area."

As he spoke, the fishing rod shook slightly.

Seeing this, the man quickly grabbed the fishing rod and lifted it up, and a black ball was thrown onto the shore.

Lu Zheng took a closer look and found that it was actually an old turtle bigger than a bowl.

"Brother, you caught a good catch!" said Lu Zheng.

The man smiled and said, "I'm lucky today, but I don't like eating this. Why don't you give it to me, little brother, so that you can replenish your body."

"That's not necessary." Lu Zheng waved his hand and refused.

"Hey, don't be polite!" The man said as he pulled out some grass and tied up the old turtle he had just caught tightly.

Lu Zheng watched the man's actions and said, "I want to ask you something."

"What's the matter?" the man asked subconsciously.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Do you know that you are dead?"

As soon as the words came out, the atmosphere around him became quiet.

The moonlight was bright, and a ray of moonlight fell on the man, passing directly through his slightly illusory figure without reflecting his shadow.

Also under the moonlight, Lu Zheng's shadow was very long.

In fact, Lu Zheng had already seen at a glance that this man was not human.

He was just very curious about what the other party was doing here.

The man slowly raised his head, revealing a pale face with a sinister smile. "I didn't expect that my little brother would see through it."

After a pause, the man said quietly, "I've known for a long time that I'm a ghost... As the saying goes, if you often walk by the river, you'll get your feet wet. I was fishing by the river and accidentally drowned. But this is my only hobby. After death, I'll still fish by this river. I won't drown again now, will I?"

The man recounted his experience with a sigh, as if trying to win Lu Zheng's sympathy.

"Really?" Lu Zheng said calmly, "But you don't look like a water ghost to me, do you?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?" the man asked curiously.

Lu Zheng said slowly: "I heard that when a drowned person turns into a ghost, his ghost body will be stained with water or fish smell. You don't seem to have this smell on you? I guess you are not a water ghost who died of drowning." When the man heard this, a trace of unnaturalness flashed across his pale face.

He said sinisterly, "Oh, it seems that little brother is very knowledgeable. Then what do you think of me?"

"Have you heard of an idiom?" Lu Zheng asked.

"What?" The man listened attentively.

Lu Zheng looked at the man and smiled, "You are an accomplice to the tiger."

Lu Zheng did not notice any smell of water on the man, but he found that he had a murderous aura and a faint breath of a monster.

Considering the man's "kind" guidance just now, he has already determined that the other party is most likely an accomplice of the evildoer.

This minion is pretending to be a fisherman here. I'm afraid a real fisherman was killed by it before.

Hearing Lu Zheng's words, the ghost could no longer maintain his composure. He bared his green face and fangs, grinning fiercely, "Not bad, you are indeed a scholar. You can actually tell the difference between ghosts and monsters."

As he spoke, the ghost strode towards Lu Zheng.

However, before he got within ten feet of the distance, the words on the bookcase emitted a ray of light, and a ray of righteous energy instantly shot towards the evil spirit.

The evil ghost was caught off guard and was directly hit by the righteous energy. A hole appeared in his chest and smoke continued to come out.

"what!"

The ghost let out a sharp and shrill scream.

At the same time, Lu Zheng moved quickly and was already close to the ghost.

Seeing this, the ghost was terrified and wanted to escape.

But Lu Zheng grabbed the ghost's shoulder with his big hand.

The ghost suddenly found itself unable to move, and it quickly swung its sharp claws towards Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng exuded a righteous spirit all over his body, resisting the attacks of the evil spirits.

When the ghost's sharp claws touched the righteous energy, it was like touching a red-hot iron. Green smoke instantly ignited from the ghost's claws, and the ghost quickly retracted its hand in pain.

"Scholar, spare my life! I was forced into this situation..."

The evil spirit never expected that Lu Zheng, who had previously been inconspicuous and looked ordinary, actually had such powerful abilities. He could control him as easily as controlling an ant.

Under the power of righteousness, the whole ghost was in great pain and had lost its previous arrogance.

Lu Zheng's expression was indifferent. He didn't want to listen to the horrible ghost howling. He said coldly, "Shut up. I ask, you answer!"

"Excuse me, scholar!" The ghost's face became even more hideous and distorted due to the pain.

"How did you die?" Lu Zheng said.

The ghost quickly said, "I was killed by a tiger in the mountains. It ate me and imprisoned my soul, forcing me to do things for it and deceive passers-by... I am also a victim. I beg the scholar to show mercy and help me!"

"How many people have you harmed?" Lu Zheng asked again.

"Two, just two. The closest one is the fisherman here..." the ghost replied.

"Hmm?" Seeing that the ghost's expression was unnatural, Lu Zheng couldn't help but release a ray of righteous energy from his hands.

Suddenly, more green smoke came out of the ghost's body, and the ghost became a little more illusory.

"Hiss..." The ghost's eyes widened and he cried out in pain, "Five, really only five!"

Only... Lu Zheng's eyes looking at the ghost became more and more gloomy.

Ghosts that harm people are ultimately evil ghosts. Even if they have suffered misfortune in their lifetime, they do not deserve sympathy.

(End of this chapter)