Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 8: Destroying the Yin House

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a gentle, rhythmic knock on the door.

Lu Zheng was resting with his eyes closed at the desk. When he heard the sound, he got up and opened the door.

Outside the door, the innkeeper was standing there with a tray of tea and cakes.

When Lu Zheng opened the door, the shopkeeper looked at him carefully and asked with a smile, "Sir, are you the scholar Lu who went to the Confucian Temple to pay homage to the saints yesterday?"

The shopkeeper heard about the emergence of a talented scholar in the county, and remembered that a young man named Lu Zheng had checked in yesterday. This morning, Lu Zheng had asked the waiter to buy some good study tools.

The shopkeeper guessed that Lu was the scholar who was widely rumored outside.

Now that I have come over and taken a closer look, I have already confirmed it.

Lu Zheng had used his old ID to register for the room, but he was still recognized so quickly.

He explained, "I've been so popular lately that it's inevitable that someone would come to disturb me, so I came here to hide. Please, boss, don't spread the news."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly said, "I won't go around spreading rumors. Our county has finally produced a talented scholar. It's my honor that you can stay at my inn! You can stay here as long as you want, and the room fee will be waived in the future..."

As he was speaking, the shopkeeper came in with tea and a smile on his face, and poured water for Lu Zheng attentively.

"That's not necessary. You still have to pay the rent." Lu Zheng said.

"Young master, have some tea! And live here peacefully. No one will come back to disturb you. If you need anything, just let me know." The shopkeeper respectfully served a cup of tea.

"Thank you." Lu Zheng took the tea and took a sip, then said, "Does the shopkeeper know of any bad houses in this city?"

"A bad house?" The shopkeeper looked puzzled.

Lu Zheng explained: "A haunted house or a house with ghosts."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper couldn't help but ask, "Why would you choose a place like this, sir?"

Lu Zheng tapped the teacup with his fingers and said calmly, "I want to go and take a look. If the shopkeeper knows, please let me know."

After he wrote a few pieces of calligraphy, he naturally had to test the effects, so he wanted to find a house like this to experiment with.

The shopkeeper was puzzled, but still said, "If you're looking for a house like this, I happen to know one!"

"Oh, where?" Lu Zheng became interested.

The shopkeeper slowly explained, "Last month, there was a revenge murder in the city. The four members of Butcher Zhang's family were killed in the south of the city, and the house has become a haunted house. Butcher Zhang's relatives wanted to sell the house and even asked a Taoist priest to perform a ritual, but the evil spirit still lingered, so no one dared to buy it... A few days ago, the pawnbroker asked me to keep an eye out for anyone who wants to buy the house. I can sell it at a low price."

Lu Zheng thought about it and vaguely recalled that there had indeed been such a case of family annihilation.

The shopkeeper added, "I happen to have the key to the house's main gate. If you'd like to go take a look, I can take you there."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you, shopkeeper."

Lu Zheng went to the desk, rolled up a few pieces of paper and stuffed them into his arms, then followed the shopkeeper out of the inn.

The inn was near the south city gate, just two streets away from the butcher's house.

The two soon arrived at a closed old house.

The shopkeeper took out the key and opened the dilapidated door.

Slowly pushing open the door, a cold wind blew in my face.

The yard is overgrown with weeds, giving it an eerie feeling even in broad daylight.

Lu Zheng entered the house and found that there was indeed yin energy here, but it was not as strong as the yin energy in the mass grave.

The house is not big, including the yard and open space, it is about 150 square meters.

Lu Zheng walked around but didn't see any ghostly aura. So, there weren't any ghosts here, just some lingering yin energy. He figured the butcher Zhang's relative hadn't been willing to pay for a proper Taoist priest, or perhaps they'd encountered a fake one, otherwise why wouldn't they be able to clear the house of yin energy?

Lu Zheng took out a piece of inscription with the word "Zheng" from his pocket and pasted it on the main door of the room.

After sticking it on, Lu Zheng stepped back a distance.

The negative energy in the house immediately affected Wen Bao.

The big word "正" instantly emitted a white halo, and a surge of righteousness surged out, and the surrounding negative energy quickly dissipated.

Soon, all the Yin energy within a ten-foot radius of Wen Bao was cleared away.

Lu Zheng took out three more cultural relics and placed them in three other locations of the house.

The aura released by the four "Zheng" character treasures almost enveloped the entire house.

The negative energy that had been gathering in the house disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A rustling sound echoed throughout the yard and the room.

Many snakes, rats, insects and ants came out from the darkness and fled from the house.

Apparently, even these pests cannot withstand the power of righteousness.

When the shopkeeper saw this scene, his mouth opened wide and he was shocked.

He also had some knowledge and knew that those papers were Confucian treasures. This piece of paper and this single word could have such a powerful effect.

Lu Zheng actually took out four cultural treasures to clear the negative energy here.

The shopkeeper felt a little sad when he saw this. He felt that a cultural treasure was more precious than this house where someone had died.

But in just a moment, the gloomy aura of this tomb disappeared, and the eerie feeling was gone. It became no different from an ordinary house.

The evil aura around was gone, and the light of the four treasures slowly faded, but some of the great aura still remained to protect the house and ward off evil spirits.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng was very satisfied. The things he produced were indeed not bad.

When he returns and covers his house with inscriptions of cultural relics, those demons and monsters will surely not dare to trespass.

Lu Zheng put away the four treasures and turned to the shopkeeper beside him and said, "I hope the shopkeeper won't mention this matter to anyone else."

He just came here to do an experiment and didn't want to get involved in anything.

"Don't worry, sir. I won't gossip." The shopkeeper said quickly.

He looked at the used treasure in Lu Zheng's hand and said, "I wonder if you can sell this used treasure to me?"

Even if the cultural treasure of the scholar of heaven and earth has been used, keeping it at home may bring some literary elegance and good luck.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly when he heard this. "How can I give this used thing to others? I'll give you a new one!"

Lu Zheng took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper's eyes were burning with enthusiasm, but when he heard that Lu Zheng was going to give it to him, he couldn't reach out and said, "This is too valuable. Sir, name a price and I'll buy it!"

Lu Zheng disagreed. "It's just a word, how much can it be worth? Consider it a thank you gift from the shopkeeper for bringing me here."

The shopkeeper thought to himself that this word was not an ordinary word, but a literary treasure, and it was written by a scholar of heaven and earth.

He had just witnessed the power of this treasure. If it were sold on the market, it would be worth no less than twenty taels of silver.

"Thank you very much, sir!" The shopkeeper took the treasure carefully.

He could see that Confucian scholars like Lu Zheng valued reputation over profit, so it was not appropriate to talk about money. He decided to accept the gifts first and return the gift later.

(End of this chapter)