Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 20 The Bearded Guest

Chen Ji turned around and found that the person who spoke was a strong man with a curly beard. He was wearing a scholar's robe, but he had no bookcase. Behind him was a square box wrapped in black cloth.

He looked at Chen Ji with a gaze like lightning, took two steps at a time, grabbed Chen Ji's arm, and pulled him out.

"You seem like a scholar, but you're really ignorant of your own life. You actually dare to come to such a dangerous place."

"I……"

Before Chen Ji could say anything, he saw a flash before his eyes and found himself about ten feet away.

It's magic!
So he swallowed the words he had prepared and let the strong man pull him away for hundreds of steps. He stopped and let go of his hand before he said what he wanted to ask.

"Are you a human or a ghost?"

"What do you say?"

The bearded man laughed heartily, took out a wine gourd from his waist and drank it in one gulp, exhaling a full and hot breath.

Chen Ji knew that the strong man was a human just by smelling the scent.

After all, no demon or ghost would drink realgar wine on its own initiative.

"Can you smell it? It seems you are no ordinary person!"

The bearded man looked at Chen Ji, first with surprise, then with confusion.

"I am a human, but I have to ask, are you a human or a ghost?"

"My shadow is so thick, so I must be a human."

Chen Ji pointed at his own shadow in the moonlight.

Unexpectedly, the bearded man laughed again.

"Which sect of Taoism did you learn, scholar? Could this technique have been taught by your master's wife?"

"what do you mean?"

The bearded man had a strange look on his face.

"You know, human shadows are thicker during the day, but ghost shadows are thicker under the moon, right? Your shadow is so thick, you're almost saying you're a ghost."

"If you didn't have some energy, I wouldn't have rescued you just now."

"..."

Chen Ji opened his mouth.

Indeed, no one...well...no demon had ever told him this.

Those two ghosts just now seemed to have no shadows either. What was going on?

Chen Ji was a little confused for a moment.

But the bearded man still had to answer.

"I don't have a master. I learned everything on my own."

"I see."

The bearded man suddenly understood.

"That was my abruptness."

"You are wearing a Confucian robe, so you must be a monk from a famous family, right?"

Chen Ji asked the question, but found it funny.

I was wearing a Taoist robe, but the person in front of me asked me where I was a scholar. The man with a curly beard was wearing a Confucian robe, but I asked him where he was a Taoist priest. This is really unreasonable.

The bearded man didn't think too much about it and just smiled.

"I'm not from any famous mountain or grand place, I'm just a casual cultivator in Qingliang Mountain."

"Qingliang Mountain, what a coincidence!"

Chen Ji muttered to himself, thinking it was indeed a coincidence.

Mr. Su asked him to go to the Taoist priest in Qingliang Mountain to collect the debt. He was still wondering when to go up the mountain, but he didn't expect to meet a Taoist priest coming down the mountain.

"what happened?"

The bearded man looked at Chen Ji strangely.

"I would like to ask if you know Qingfeng Temple?"

"The Qing in Qingliang Mountain is the Qing in Qingfeng Temple. This is the most important temple in Qingliang Mountain. I know it naturally. I have even been there to discuss Taoism."

The bearded man replied.

"That would be even better."

Chen Ji was very happy.

"Then when you return to the mountain, could you please introduce the Taoist priest from Qingfeng Temple to me?"

"What are you going to do? They are very strict in accepting disciples. With your age and physique, it will probably be difficult."

The bearded man said simply.

I just thought that Chen Ji was a seeker of immortality who wanted to become a disciple.

"It's not a discipleship."

"That is?"

"An elder in my family asked me to go and collect a debt."

Chen Ji said slowly.

The bearded man was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and cheered.

"Okay, okay, I've long disliked those arrogant people at Qingfeng Temple. This is a rare opportunity. I'll definitely take you there when I get back from town!"

The bearded man was full of promises.

"That's settled then."

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief. The matter of going down the mountain had been pushed forward. Next, it was time to go to the town.

"Are you going to town too?"

The bearded man laughed when he heard where Chen Ji was going.

"Then we can go together."

After saying that, he thought of something and looked at Chen Ji seriously.

"Looking at your age, this must be your first time going out. Remember to avoid places like that in the future. If you weren't lucky this time and the two evil spirits weren't there, you would have died in the wilderness."

"Could you please tell me more about the two ghosts?"

Chen Ji asked curiously.

Although he subdued the two ghosts, he really didn't know where they came from.

Judging from what the bearded man said, it seemed that he knew it very clearly.

"Actually, there's not much to say."

"The area has broken rocks and bitter water, and the feng shui is bad. A few years ago, an old woman selling tea couldn't make a living there, so she jumped into the river and drowned."

"Originally, it only dared to show up during the Ghost Festival. However, recently, the Earth Dragon turned over, disturbing the evil spirits of the earth veins. This place has become a place of great yin, which has allowed this old woman ghost to gain some spiritual wisdom and can go out to harm people."

"I heard that he had murdered quite a few people recently, and recently he had taken a woodcutter under his wing, specifically targeting pedestrians at dusk." "How did you learn of this?"

Chen Ji asked.

If what the bearded man described was true, it would be similar to what he had just experienced, except for the ending.

I didn't lose my life, but two ghosts were lost.

"I originally came here for this reason. A woodcutter's family in town went to the mountains to find a master to catch ghosts, and offered ten taels of silver as a reward."

The bearded man spoke truthfully.

Ten taels? It doesn’t seem like a lot.

Chen Ji thought.

White girl buys herself...

Bah! To redeem myself...

No, it doesn’t seem appropriate.

In short, a donkey is worth five taels of silver, and catching two murderous ghosts only gives you ten taels of silver, which is indeed not a lot.

Chen Ji sighed.

"Ordinary people don't have much savings, let alone doing good deeds and accumulating virtue. This is what we cultivators should do. Besides... I'm almost out of money."

The bearded man whispered.

Chen Ji suddenly realized that this made sense.

Independent cultivators also need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, and they also need money.

However, the woodcutter's family probably didn't want to find a casual cultivator like him at the beginning.

"really."

The bearded man nodded, then shook his head and sneered.

"Those Taoist priests in the temple are really impressive. They charge twenty taels of silver for a ritual to save the deceased, and fifty taels for catching ghosts."

"They really turned a deaf ear to the words of the ancestors. I think these 30,000 Taoist scriptures will be nothing but empty money by the time they get to them."

Chen Ji remained silent.

This is Qingliangshan’s own business and has nothing to do with him.

He just had a little doubt.

"May I ask how a drowned ghost harms people?"

"Usually they would drag someone into the river. If they encountered someone with weaker Qi and blood, they would be scared out of their wits and souls, and could even die from it."

"Can you kill someone with an axe?"

"Never heard of it."

"Then you are wrong. The woodcutter was not killed by the drowned ghost, but by the axe."

Chen Ji said firmly.

The bearded man stared at Chen Ji with leopard eyes.

"Why are you so curious about ghosts and gods at your age? Shouldn't this be the time to read the classics of the sages? Why do you say I'm wrong?"

"Besides, how do you know about this ghost?"

"Because the ghost is here."

Chen Ji shook the water bag, and there was a splashing sound inside.

Slightly pulling open the cork, a spooky ghostly aura instantly emanated.

The bearded man's expression tightened, and he squinted his eyes and looked at Chen Ji again, as if he was using some magic.

After a moment, he relaxed his brow.

"How strange! I clearly smell the scent of evil and ghosts on you, but upon closer inspection, you appear to be calm and peaceful, as pure as orchids, the demeanor of a righteous person. How do you do it?"

Chen Ji smiled and said nothing.

Whether it is Miss Bai, Senior Huai, Mr. Su, or the squirrel demon.

Except for the two souls that were just captured, all the demons and ghosts that he had come into contact with were righteous and upright. It would be strange if they were not.

"Well, since it's a cultivation method, it's better not to talk about it."

The bearded man clasped his fists.

This time he pinched the Ziwu seal with his hands and said the word "mercy".

"I didn't realize it was you, the Taoist, who was catching monsters. I was so rude."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't. It's because you're so eager to save people, so kind-hearted and chivalrous. You don't see that often these days. Blame me for not explaining it clearly."

"Could you please release the two ghosts and see?"

"can."

Chen Ji used the soul-binding technique again to capture the two ghosts.

His appearance was even worse than before, but the original appearance of the wound could still be seen.

"Great fire magic! Great soul-binding magic!"

"No wonder you, at such a young age, dare to come to this dangerous place and eliminate harm for the people. This is truly a chivalrous act."

The bearded man stared at the woodcutter ghost for a few breaths, and suddenly uttered a word of praise.

Chen Ji felt a little embarrassed.

He was really fooled at first.

"Judging from the deeds rather than the heart, fellow Taoist, now that these two ghosts have been eliminated, passersby can now live in peace for a few years."

"Fellow Daoist, you can take back the two ghosts."

The bearded man bowed.

Only after Chen Ji had captured the two ghosts did the bearded man speak.

"This woodcutter ghost was indeed injured by a knife and axe. It seems that the rumors are wrong. There is something else hidden in this matter. I need to find someone to ask more clearly."

"It's a pity that time is running out now. Otherwise, it would be best to hold a ritual and ask the judge of the underworld to come and ask for clarification."

"It's too late tonight. Let's go to town and prepare some things. I will ask for clarification another day."

"Then let's go, otherwise we'll really have to sleep in the wilderness."

So the two set off again.

Chen Ji was thinking about what the bearded man said.

A ghost without a shadow under the moon, whose death was mysterious, opened an altar to seek help, and asked the judge of the underworld...

This is something that doesn't happen on the mountain.

The fox was right.

It’s dangerous down the mountain!
(End of this chapter)