Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 22 Asking the Judge

Having taken advantage of Yan Yuan for nothing, Chen Ji used the soul-binding technique and the two ghosts appeared in the house again.

The woodcutter ghost had only a bit of skin hanging from his neck with his head, empty and dripping with blood.

The drowned ghost was covered in black water, and the whole inn was filled with a strong stench of corpse as he stood there.

The bloody face was filled with horror and a ghostly aura that instantly oppressed everyone to the point of suffocating them. Some of the timid ones even wet their pants on the spot.

The one who was shouting the loudest just now, now saw a real ghost, his face turned pale and his legs trembled, he couldn't move at all.

Some people even fainted after seeing the ghost.

"Master, please retract your magical powers! Otherwise, this business will be unsustainable..."

Although the shopkeeper was afraid, he still forced himself to ask Chen Ji to stop, secretly blaming himself for only watching the fun and not considering that this was still an inn.

If news of a haunting spreads in the future, I'm afraid no one will dare to live here.

"Don't panic, just wait until she has seen it and then take it back."

Yan Yuan spoke.

No one in the inn refused to pay his respects, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Then Yan Yuan looked at the woman.

"You should take a few more looks. Ghosts cannot stay in the human world forever. Something might happen to you later."

Chen Ji also looked over.

She bit her lip and stared at the woodcutter ghost.

Tears welled up in his eyes, five parts of reluctance, three parts of lingering affection, and two parts of fear, all crushed and slid down his cheeks. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But for a long time he could only make wheezing sounds and couldn't utter a complete word.

In the end, he covered his face and cried, unable to bear to look at the evil spirit in front of him.

The woodcutter's ghost eyes seemed to fluctuate, but he just stared at the woman without taking a step.

"Go back, and see if there's any trouble."

"Brother, please capture the two ghosts."

Yan Yuan spoke, so Chen Ji used the soul-binding technique again, and the two ghosts returned to the water bag. The stench of the corpse and the black water disappeared completely.

If it weren't for the unbearable smell of fluid dripping from the guest's body, it would be as if nothing had happened.

The remaining people took a long time to calm down, and only when their complexion recovered did they shudder.

"Ghosts are so scary. I just hope I don't have nightmares tonight."

Everyone shuddered and couldn't help shaking their heads.

It’s hard not to have nightmares after seeing such a fierce ghost!
Let’s see again, Yan Yuan spoke again.

"Next, I will open the altar and invite the judge of the underworld to come. If you are curious, please stay."

Now the onlookers didn't dare to delay and ran away, fearing that if they stayed behind, they would be caught and taken back to the underworld.

Only the woman kept looking back, looking extremely distraught.

After everyone had dispersed, the innkeeper came over with a mournful face.

"Master Yan, what you just said couldn't be true, could it?"

"Which one?"

"Please ask the judge of the underworld to come here."

"This is real."

Yan Yuan nodded seriously.

"The woodcutter's death was suspicious. It must be reported to the underworld for investigation. The judge will come."

The innkeeper's expression froze, and he lowered his voice after a long time.

"Master Yan, can you try this method somewhere else? If people knew this place was haunted by ghosts and the underworld, my little shop wouldn't be able to withstand the chaos."

Yan Yuan laughed.

"I wonder what you're worried about. Don't worry, it won't happen here. I'm too excited and I'm worried about offending the judge."

"Go prepare a guest room for us to sleep in at night. We have our own place to do this, and it won't interfere with your business."

As he said this, he put down a dime.

"Is the price for one night enough?"

"That's enough, there's more."

"Then don't look for it. Just pack some food for me. I'll write you a note and buy the required amount."

"must!"

The innkeeper politely agreed and left respectfully, not forgetting to serve the two of them a pot of good tea and a few plates of cakes.

Yan Yuan looked at Chen Ji.

"He still needs some time to shop, so if you have anything to say, just speak up."

Seeing such frankness, Chen Ji spoke directly.

"The woman clutched the ten taels of silver until they turned pale. It's obvious that she sold all her family's property. She was already extremely pitiful. Why did you let me accept it?"

"I don't think you are someone who is short of money or greedy for wealth."

Yan Yuan was stunned for a moment and shook his head helplessly.

"I didn't explain it clearly, thinking you knew, fellow Daoist, that Zigong redeemed people!"

Yan Yuan spoke slowly.

Chen Ji understood instantly.

There are demons and ghosts everywhere in this world, so exorcising demons and catching ghosts is also a business.

The Taoist priests from Qingliang Mountain asked for fifty taels of silver, while the independent cultivators only wanted ten taels of silver.

Although it is a sky-high price for ordinary people, it is the best choice for those who are willing to risk everything to catch ghosts.

Even if you give away your family fortune, you will still be grateful.

"Why not make it cheaper?"

Chen Ji asked. "You put it so lightly, fellow Daoist."

Yan Yuan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Catching ghosts and eliminating demons is not like cutting grass or wood. Not every practitioner has the skills of a fellow Taoist, raising one hand to capture a soul and closing one hand to capture a ghost."

"If ordinary practitioners are not careful, they may even lose their lives."

"Ten taels of silver is already very low."

"I was abrupt."

After hearing this, Chen Ji felt that he had thought too simply.

"Besides...how many pitiful people are there in the world?"

Yan Yuan sighed again.

"I've done things like not accepting cash a few times."

"But they will think that you don't accept money and have other motives. Maybe you are the source of this harm, feeding ghosts to commit crimes and catching ghosts for money. It's even more chilling."

Chen Ji was silent.

This kind of thing is indeed common.

If you really want to gamble that you won't meet someone who will repay you with a favor or a grudge, it would be better to accept ten taels of silver.

"It's a pity for that woman. Her husband was killed by a ghost. If she doesn't have any money, she might not make it to the beginning of autumn..."

"Don't worry, you'll know in two days."

Yan Yuan just smiled and said nothing more.

Soon, the innkeeper came back with what Yan Yuan wanted.

Yan Yuan took it and counted it, then asked Chen Ji to leave.

"Let's go! Come back and rest after you finish your work."

"But now I don't want your ferry pass anymore."

Chen Ji was not sleepy at first, but at this moment he admired Yan Yuan's methods.

With this approach, who would be so blind as to dare to check their identity certificates? They just wish these two plague gods would leave as soon as possible.

It took about half an hour to walk.

Yan Yuan took Chen Ji to a place southwest of the town.

Yan Yuan looked around and showed a happy expression.

"It's right here. It would be most appropriate to ask the judge to come."

"Fellow Daoist Yan, would you like to invite the judge here?"

Chen Ji looked around. It was just ordinary scenery, nothing special. He didn't understand why Yan Yuan chose this place.

Yan Yuan laughed out loud.

"Fellow Daoist, why do you care about these external things?"

"Those who eat grain are wise, those who eat air are long-lived, and those who do not eat are divine and immortal."

"Although the Judge of the Underworld is a divine official, he is also close to being a god. How could he be picky about the place where we meet? As long as our hearts are sincere, that's enough."

"As for choosing this place, it's simply because Kai Xiu was injured and Du Jing died, shocking the eight gates. Today, at this moment, this place happens to be the location of the Death Gate."

"But when you came, didn't you say you needed to investigate thoroughly before calling in a judge? Why are you suddenly so anxious?"

"There's something wrong with those two ghosts!"

Yan Yuan said firmly.

"Is it a shadow?"

Chen Ji said suspiciously.

"So you, fellow Daoist, have discovered it too?"

"I initially suspected they were ghosts because of their shadows."

"I see."

Yan Yuan suddenly understood why Chen Ji said that the shadow under the moon is a person.

The ghosts he had seen actually had no shadows.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Chen Ji asked.

"Maybe there is, maybe not, but I think it should be, so I would like to ask the judges to take a look."

"Do you have any questions, fellow Daoist?"

"I'm done for now."

Chen Ji shook his head.

"Then please step aside and protect me. I will ask the judge to come up."

Chen Ji stepped back a few steps and watched Yan Yuan's movements carefully.

With loose ink and yellow paper, he wrote the petition in a flash.

The blue stone served as the altar, yellow candles and agarwood were burning, and Yan Yuan was muttering something.

Chen Ji couldn't hear what the spell was, he just felt the surface burning out, and from the moment the clear air sank into the ground, a layer of black air surrounded Yan Yuan, but it was different from ghostly air, but it gave off a solemn and dignified feeling.

The moonlight flickers and the mountain wind blows.

After Yan Yuan finished chanting the spell, he suddenly opened his eyes and bowed to pray.

"Random cultivator Yan Yuan respectfully invites the judge to come to the mortal world to judge the ghost case!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a wisp of green smoke floated out from the place where the document was drilled into the ground, and gradually condensed into a vague human figure.

Before his face appeared, a sound like muffled thunder was heard.

"Chixia, I haven't seen you for several months. Why did you call me?"

(End of this chapter)