Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 265 Ghost Hunting? Us?
Zhu Ye's words made a lot of sense, and they also made Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli look troubled.

The situation had clearly reached a stalemate. Neither the Mountain Lord's retaliation nor the information Zhu Ye had painstakingly gathered about the 'pass key' left the group of martial artists helpless.

"It's hard to say about other things, but why don't we go to the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple and ask the temple keeper for some information?"

Jiang Wanli proposed a solution that was hardly a solution at all.

Shi Yizhi nodded and said, "At worst, I'll eat sparingly these next few days and go to the temple keeper to buy the most expensive talisman. That way, he'll surely tell us something, right?"

Zhu Ye looked up at the sky and frowned, saying, "But it's getting dark. If we go out now, we might not be able to get back in time tonight."

Shi Yizhi was unwilling to waste time and said, "Then let's stay at the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple. Didn't the village headman say before that if we have nowhere to go, we can stay at the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple and nothing will happen to us?"

Jiang Wanli was somewhat timid and didn't quite support Shi Yizhi's decision: "This, will this work?"

Zhu Ye said in a deep voice, "If we leave now, we can still go to the inn to buy some food. If we wait any longer, it will be too late."

Surprisingly, his tone also showed support for Shi Yizhi.

Both of them wanted to go, and even though Jiang Wanli was unwilling, he had no choice but to comply.

Putting everything else aside, the reason Shi Yizhi was targeted and held a grudge by the mountain lord was because of him, so of course he was embarrassed to do whatever he wanted.

Having reached an agreement, the three immediately left the hot spring villa, bought a dozen or so of the cheapest flatbreads from the inn along the way, and hurriedly went to the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple.

The temple keeper, seeing the three of them, looked somewhat unwelcoming: "Why are you here again!"

He was about to close the door, his movement still in the position of having just closed half of the door.

Jiang Wanli said somewhat awkwardly, "We..."

Zhu Ye took over the conversation, respectfully cupping his hands and saying, "We wish to ask Master Huang some questions. We wonder if Master Huang has the time?"

The temple keeper of the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple is surnamed Huang, a fact Zhu Ye learned from a tea shop that afternoon.

"Alright, then you can come in first,"

The temple keeper opened the door and welcomed the three into the temple before closing it. He then pasted a talisman on the door and said, "Judging from your appearance, you'll probably be staying in this temple tonight, right? Luckily, the Peach Blossom Goddess is kind-hearted and willing to protect you; otherwise, I wouldn't have taken in outsiders like you!"

Zhu Ye quickly flattered, "The temple keeper Huang is kind-hearted; it is we who have troubled him."

The temple keeper nodded in satisfaction, poured a bowl of tea for each of the three, and asked, "Speak, what is it?"

When the temple keeper asked the question, the three of them fell silent. Shi Yizhi glanced at Zhu Ye, Zhu Ye glanced at Jiang Wanli, and Jiang Wanli glanced at both of them. No one dared to speak first.

Finally, Zhu Ye, relying on the fact that what she wanted to ask was related to the 'key to clearing the level', spoke first: "Let me go first!"

He cleared his throat and carefully chose his words before asking, "Does the Temple Master Huang know anything about the Mountain God in the mountains? What exactly is this Mountain God? How could he have turned the old fisherman's son in this village into a vengeful spirit? Doesn't the City God care?"

"Hmm, you've asked about a truly formidable monster!"

The temple keeper stroked his beard and said.

"monster?"

The three of them were quite surprised to hear this.

“That’s right.” The temple keeper poured himself a bowl of tea before slowly saying, “The Mountain Lord was originally just a vicious tiger on the mountain, and he had eaten several people, but that was several hundred years ago.”

"Later, a passing deity enlightened it, and the mountain king finally understood the matter and learned to cultivate by connecting with the local rocks, attempting to become a mountain god."

Judging from the temple keeper's tone, he was very disdainful of the mountain king. Although Zhu Ye and the others were puzzled, they did not speak rashly, but waited patiently for the temple keeper to continue "telling the story".

"It's a pity that this beast has been cultivating for hundreds of years, its obsession has become deeper and deeper, and its connection with the rocks here has become closer and closer, but it has never been able to attain enlightenment and become a mountain god. For this reason, it even forced the people of Xiaoyang Village to build a mountain god temple for it, which damaged its foundation. If it hadn't been for Bao Chenghuang to demolish its mountain god temple, it would probably have completely degenerated into a demon and would have been dealt with by Bao Chenghuang and Peach Blossom Goddess together!"
“This beast is narrow-minded and vindictive. Do you know why Zhang the butcher in the village became a butcher? He was originally a very skilled hunter, but when he was hunting, he shot a deer that the mountain lord was chasing, and the mountain lord drove him out of the mountain, preventing him from ever entering the mountain again.”

Jiang Wanli curled his lip upon hearing this: "Isn't that a bit too domineering!"

The temple keeper sneered, "Who says otherwise? With its current level of cultivation, it should have been worthy of being a mountain god long ago. But with its temperament, it has the cultivation but doesn't cultivate its mind. I'm afraid even if it cultivates for hundreds of years, it will never become a true mountain lord!"

Zhu Ye pondered for a moment and said, "The illusion is right here, doesn't it know that itself?"

"You yourself said it's a delusion. Putting aside the fact that those involved are often blinded, just considering the nature of this beast, how could it possibly believe or listen to ordinary people?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yizhi said, "If we help him cultivate into a mountain god, wouldn't that appease him and allow us to ask him to release the old fisherman's son?"

The temple keeper looked at Shi Yizhi with a smile, his eyes filled with mockery: "Hehe, it's good for young people to have ideas, but if those ideas are too unrealistic and far-fetched, then they're just foolish."

Jiang Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Does this mountain lord have any favorite things? Or any regrets or obsessions?"

"What are you thinking? No matter what, that beast is still a great demon. It can hunt the meat it likes to eat itself, so don't even dream about it! As for regrets and obsessions? They're just about how to become a mountain god!" The temple keeper's words immediately deflated everyone.

Jiang Wanli had spent the entire day either frantically climbing stairs, desperately running away, or constantly being frightened. He was utterly exhausted, and now he couldn't help but groan, "Ah! This 'Trial Array' is too difficult! Not only do I have no clue whatsoever, but I've also gotten myself into a huge mess!"

Upon hearing this, the temple keeper raised an eyebrow: "What, have you offended that beast?"

Jiang Wanli hurriedly recounted what had happened that afternoon, and at the end he said indignantly, "You think you can be a mountain god with this much? So petty!"

After hearing the whole story, the temple keeper gloated, "Hehehe, you're in big trouble! That beast holds grudges. He said three days, and he probably really means three days at most. Even if you hide in the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple, he can still use his accomplices to lure you out! Oh dear! What a disaster!"

Seeing the temple keeper's behavior, Shi Yizhi was not angry at all. Instead, he stood up and bowed deeply to the temple keeper, saying, "Temple keeper Huang is a temple keeper under the Peach Blossom Goddess. He must also be a half-immortal with great supernatural powers. I wonder if Temple keeper Huang has any way to deal with this and could give us some guidance? We would be extremely grateful!"

Huang Miaozhu was somewhat pleased by Shi Yizhi's flattery. He stroked his beard, shook his head, and said, "Seeing how sincere you are, I will show you the way."

"Back then, that beast forced Xiaoyang Village to build a mountain god temple for him. After the truth came out, it was Bao Chenghuang who destroyed that lewd shrine."

"However, in addition to demolishing the so-called 'Mountain God Temple,' Bao Chenghuang also gave the beast a good beating in order to teach it a lesson, and it took more than a year for it to recuperate before it could leave the mountains again."

"Therefore, what that beast fears most is actually Bao Chenghuang. As long as you become Bao Chenghuang's honored guests, you will naturally not be afraid of that beast."

Upon hearing that there was real hope, Jiang Wanli eagerly asked, "Then how can I become a guest of honor of the City God Bao?"

The temple keeper didn't keep him in suspense and readily replied, "The City God is in charge of all matters concerning the living and the dead in this place. However, because the City God's men are insufficient, there are many ghosts lingering in the mortal realm. If you can capture them and help deliver them to the City God's temple, after a few times, given the City God's nature, he will naturally know that you have a request of him, and he will naturally find time to see you."

Jiang Wanli's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief: "You mean...we're going to catch ghosts!? Huh!?"

These martial artists don't even understand the Dao of Immortality?
If they understand the ways of immortals and can exorcise ghosts, what are they doing at the Immortal Destiny Conference?!

What's going on?!
Jiang Wanli declared loudly and confidently, "We don't know how to catch ghosts!"

The temple keeper glanced at Jiang Wanli with disdain and said, "Ghosts are nothing compared to the human heart. Catching ghosts isn't difficult either. Ordinary ghosts can be dealt with by anyone with a slightly stronger yang energy. More powerful ones can be killed by many extremely yang objects. And for the most powerful ones, I have a thunder talisman in my hand, which guarantees that even the most powerful little ghost will be utterly destroyed!"

Hearing the temple keeper speak so casually, Jiang Wanli rubbed his nose with his index finger somewhat awkwardly before asking, "But didn't you say that we have to catch the ghost and then send it to the City God Temple before it will work?"

The temple keeper shrugged: "Yes! So how exactly to catch it is your business!"

After saying that, he kindly pointed in the direction of the temple gate and added, "It's already dark now. If you want to find ghosts, this is the perfect time to go out!"

The temple keeper's "good intentions" left the three of them feeling somewhat helpless.

Although the temple keeper spoke lightly, none of the three had ever seen a ghost, let alone knew how to catch one, so they dared not venture out rashly.

Besides, Miss Hu said that one cannot leave between midnight and dawn...

"Um!?"

Shi Yizhi suddenly straightened up, looked at Zhu Ye and Jiang Wanli, and raised his voice, "If I remember correctly, Miss Hu seemed to have said that we cannot leave the village after midnight and before dawn, but she didn't say that we can't walk around in the village, did she?"

Upon hearing Shi Yizhi's words, Jiang Wanli's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, yes! That seems to be the case!"

Zhu Ye reopened his folding fan, gently fanning himself, and said, "Senior Brother, Brother Jiang, do you mean we should go out for a walk and see if we can encounter any 'ghosts'?"

"Hey, you three little brats!" Seeing their excited expressions, Huang Miaozhu shouted at them, "Didn't you just say you didn't know how to catch ghosts? Now you think you can do it? You're just like newborn calves that don't fear tigers!"

"Isn't it precisely because they're afraid of tigers that they have no choice but to be unafraid of ghosts?"

Jiang Wanli said helplessly, "We can't just wait for the mountain lord to come knocking on our door for revenge, can we? Since you've shown us a way, we should give it a try!"

“Alright, you’ve got some guts,” the temple keeper said, taking out a golden compass from his sleeve and handing it over. “This is the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Compass. You can borrow it for a few days. There are not only ghosts in this village, but also spirits, monsters, demons, and spirits. If you make a mistake, you’ll be doing more harm than good.”

After Zhu Ye took the compass, the temple keeper thoughtfully explained, "The more the needle on this compass shakes, the stronger the yin energy. If the needle is redder, the stronger the evil energy."

"Places with strong yin energy often harbor ghosts, and places with strong evil energy are vengeful spirits, so it's best to avoid them."

"However, I have lived in this village for most of my life and have never encountered a vengeful ghost, so I should be fine."

"Oh, right, ghosts and humans are different. Even if a close relative becomes a ghost after death, they are not the same person they were. You should know that the phrase 'full of ghost stories' refers to these ghostly words, which are absolutely unbelievable. Ghosts in the world who can control themselves have long since cultivated into ghost immortals, like Bao Chenghuang. As for the ghosts that linger in the mortal world and hide, they are those who cannot control themselves and have stayed only because of their obsession. Not a single word they say can be believed. Remember, not a single word can be believed."

The temple keeper talked on and on, repeatedly reminding everyone that "ghost stories are not to be believed," which warmed the hearts of Zhu Ye and the other two, who were extremely grateful.

Just as the three were about to express their gratitude, the temple keeper suddenly said, "Also, although this Yin-Yang Bagua compass is being lent to you, it's not for free. The rental fee is thirty coins per day, which is a friendly price! After you've used it, you'll be charged for the number of days you used it! Do you understand?"

Zhu Ye, Shi Yizhi, and Jiang Wanli: "..."

(End of this chapter)