Ita Era

Chapter 179 Will-o'-the-wisp
Ding Shi pushed Sha Bi away and said, "Get up and get to work now that you're awake."

When Sha Bi opened his eyes and saw his situation, he immediately jumped up: "Give it back to me, give it back to me."

Ding Shi gestured towards the ashes on the ground, while Sha Bi flew into a rage. Ding Shi raised his fist, and Sha Bi froze for three seconds before asking, "Brother Ding, what's going on now?"

Ding Shi said, "Let's talk as we walk, let's get to work."

Silly Bike said, "No way, I'm still fishing for ghosts here. I'll give you the money and give you an IOU."

Ding asked, "How many did you catch?"

Silly Dagger said helplessly, "One."

Ding Shi said, "The Soul Slave Talisman has been burned, where are you going to fish?"

Sha Bi said, "You can get a Sanskrit Soul Slave Talisman for free at the village shrine."

"Damn it, I knew the village shrine was useful, but I never expected it to be for this." Ding Shi said, "Hurry up and get dressed. After I explain the situation, you definitely won't have any other ideas. By the way, have the evil spirit and the ghost shadow you caught merged?"

Sha Bi said, "I haven't learned the skill yet. I'll bring the skill book onto the bus on the eighth day before I can learn the skill."

Ding Shi asked curiously, "Where is your Ghost Control Technique skill book?"

Sha Bi said, "I won't tell you. Hurry up and tell me what's going on."

While the two were rushing to the Jinshi's residence, Ding Shi rattled off the situation, and Sha Bi gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, Heaven is blind! Doesn't it know that you are the culprit responsible for dozens of deaths?"

Ding Shi replied, "From a legal perspective, I don't think I did anything wrong. I was just offering a reward for the capture of the suspect."

Sha Bi said, "Don't talk to me about after the era. Just say it before the era. You killed more than 40 ordinary people. Don't you feel guilty?"

Ding Shi said, "Do you know the casualty rate of mercenaries? Mercenaries know that they are in danger when they are paid to fight, and they are facing vicious enemies. Ordinary people know that they are going to catch suspects, but their goal is not to catch the suspects, but the reward after catching them. My only problem is that I did not explain the risks clearly. But I am not a bank or a securities company, I do not need to explain the risks to investors."

Ding Shi said, "So you asked me if I would feel guilty? I'm sorry, no. I'm a fool, I've always been lenient with myself."

Silly Dagger saw through everything: "No way, you wouldn't say you're a Soul Egg, but would instead stomp on these dead people and say they deserved it."

Ding Shi chuckled: "If that's how you think, there's nothing I can do about it."

……

The residence of a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).

Sha Bi, Ding Shi, and the monk stood on the shore, the monk holding a rope in his hand.

The fool looked at the monk and asked with a smile, "You want a little girl to go into the mud to retrieve a Taoist nun?"

The monk declared confidently, "I can't swim."

As he spoke, the rope tightened, and the monk hurriedly pulled him outwards. Soon, the little nun was dragged out of the water and then to the shore. The little nun was filthy, with seaweed and withered leaves in her hair.

Xiao Ni said, "Found it, right in the middle, there's a coffin underneath."

Ding Shi asked, "A coffin or a wooden coffin?"

Xiao Ni said, "I don't know, the silt is two meters deep. Ding Shi, your Force equivalent is high, can you get the coffin up?"

Ding Shi looked at Sha Bi: "Can your ghost dive?"

Foolish Bone refused: "It is a noble drought demon."

Ding Shi: "We are grasshoppers on the same rope."

Foolish Bone: "Just open the coffin lid and fish the Taoist nun out."

Ding Shi moved his foot away, picked up a stone he had just stepped on, and said, "It's useless and hurts my foot. If I don't get rid of it first, it might delay my footing." After saying that, he threw the stone into the pond.

This is a threat of not wearing clothes: you're useless, and I still have to guard against you, so I might as well deal with you first to avoid causing more trouble.

The fool thought that as long as he didn't understand, he wouldn't lose face, so he said, "I'll give it a try, after all, it's a good ghost." His inner thoughts could fill a novel.

Sha Bi knelt down on one knee, and the ghostly figure rose from his body, stepping into the pond. To Ding Shi's surprise, Sha Bi no longer needed to guide the ghostly figure to perform the same actions through his own movements, but instead controlled the ghostly figure through his mind.

So, he has the perspective of a ghost.

This is a brilliant move; it allows the ghost to scout ahead of any potentially dangerous location.

No wonder Ghost Cultivator is a hidden class; it seems to have a hidden strength that allows for gradual development. Thinking about it, Ghost Cultivator is practically cheating. For example, if Wang Meng wants to enter the Ninja Dungeon, he needs the corresponding item to unlock it. Ghost Cultivators only need to farm Ghost Dungeons; perhaps those dungeons will even contain the skills they need.

How powerful is Ghost Shadow? We can tell from Yuan Shan, who was killed by Foolish Dagger. It can flatten a head with a single punch and smash half of it into the ground.

Sha Bi said, "Go, tie the rope to the coffin."

Ding Shi asked, "Can't you lift it?"

Sha Bi said, "It's very heavy. I wonder what it's made of."

Xiao Ni went back into the water, and Ding Shi praised her, saying, "Girls who can swim are very pretty."

Xiao Ni rolled his eyes, grabbed a few bundles of rope, and dived into the water. A moment later, Xiao Ni surfaced, and Sha Bi withdrew his ghostly shadow.

Ding Shi carefully observed that the side effects of Sha Bi summoning ghost shadows were gradually decreasing. Initially, it might have required eating raw meat, and later, although raw meat was no longer necessary, recalling the ghost shadows would cause a painful backlash. Today, Sha Bi recalled the ghost shadows with greatly reduced side effects, not only shortening the backlash time but also reducing the pain of the backlash.

Ding Shi didn't know that this situation was called compatibility, and that the higher the compatibility, the lower the cost.

One person grabbed a rope and dragged a large coffin out of the pond.

This is a coffin made of natural wood, reaching a height of 1.5 meters, resembling a small mountain, and looking quite majestic.

The coffin lid fit perfectly. Ding used his palms to rub the lid upwards, then lifted it up. The other three people simultaneously exerted force at the other end, lifting the coffin lid together and carefully placing it on the ground.

Although it was submerged in water and mud, there were no water stains inside the coffin. Inside the coffin was a brocade quilt, and on the back of the brocade lay a long mosaic.

The three men asked in unison, "What is it?"

Xiao Ni glanced at the three men, understood what was going on, and said, "A Taoist nun without clothes." After saying that, she looked at her soaked clothes, then at the three men. None of the three men showed any mercy to a woman?
Ding Shi was the most obedient, and immediately took off his coat: "Put it on her."

Silly Bike, being obedient, took off his coat and said, "Here, this is for you."

When the monk saw everyone looking at him, he also wanted to take off his outer garment, but Ding Shi pointed to it and said, "Pants."

The monk, exasperated, took off his pants.

The three men retreated and left. Xiao Ni entered the coffin to dress the Taoist nun. When she looked again, Mosaic was already dead, and the living Taoist nun appeared.

Although she was alive, the nun was in a coma. Ding Shi began to move his hands and feet, and under the puzzled gazes of the monks and the young nun, Ding Shi grabbed the nun by the collar, lifted her up, and then began to slap her repeatedly.

Seeing something was wrong, Sha Bi hurriedly grabbed Ding Shi's hand and said, "No, she's not in a normal coma. You could kill her and she wouldn't wake up." Ding Shi asked, "How do you know?"

Sha Bi said, "With your strength, one slap won't wake him up, and ten slaps won't wake him up either."

Ding Shi said, "Last time I slapped you ten times before you woke up."

Sha Bi asked, "Is it possible that you attacked too fast and I was stunned?"

Ding Shi didn't pick up on that topic, and asked instead, "Then she... holy crap..."

Ding jumped three feet high and flew backwards, landing five meters away. This was not lightness skill, but something even better.

The other three were baffled, and Xiao Ni was even more confused. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Sha Bi's eyes widen and lose focus, and the monk did the same.

The fool lay on his back and began to swim on his back on the damp ground beside the pond. The monk walked around the pond with a wooden stick in his hand, turning the stick as he walked and chanting incantations.

Xiao Ni looked back at Ding Shi, who had already jumped onto the roof. Ding Shi said, "Run away, don't get dragged into the illusion."

Then Ding Shi saw Xiao Ni sitting on the ground with unfocused pupils, her right hand seemingly holding a pen and writing rapidly, saying, "I want to just coast along and wait to die, I don't want to work hard." She put the meaningless homework aside with her left hand and continued writing rapidly with her right hand, tears streaming down her face as she wrote: "It's so hard, studying is so hard, I don't want to be a human in my next life."

A strange power surged forth, and the yin-yang symbol on Ding Shi's forehead flashed before vanishing instantly. Ding Shi touched his forehead, not knowing what had happened, but he was grateful to Aunt Cuihua.

What do we do now? Just wait and see?

After waiting for 10 minutes, Ding Shi slapped Sha Bi, tugged at the monk's ear, and glanced at Xiao Ni's eyes, but did nothing to wake them up.

Just as Ding Shi was at his wit's end, a commotion arose at the entrance of the mansion. Ding Shi walked to the fourth gate hall and saw dozens of villagers who believed in the Ghost Mother carrying farm tools walking into the hall, about to enter.

A fierce glint flashed in Ding Shi's eyes, and his primal force circulated throughout his body. The Ghost Mother dared not show herself and sent out cannon fodder instead. Did she really think that she dared not kill anyone?

Heaven's Way? Heaven's Way also has to consider cause and effect. If someone wants to kill me, or someone wants to kill my friend, am I not allowed to fight back?
Ding Shi pointed at the steps below the hall door and shouted, "Those who leave the hall will die." It's not a bad thing to deal with this group now; it's better than them being possessed by evil spirits after sunset. At least for now, they are still mortals, and their fighting power is limited to the level of ordinary people.

The villagers remained silent, standing neatly inside the hall, just a foot away from the outside.

Clearly, their commanders were also weighing the pros and cons. Was it a gamble to see if Ding Shi had the urge to kill? If someone were an ordinary person, a fledgling, even with immense power, it would be difficult to muster the courage to carry out a massacre.

Instead of retreating, Ding Shi stepped forward and walked to the edge of the hall. He was no more than a meter away from the nearest villager, who was holding a sickle, about to strike.

Ding Shi reached out and grabbed the hand holding the sickle. With a forceful pull, the sound of bones shattering rang out. Amidst the villager's agonizing screams, Ding Shi removed the sickle, casually swung it, and severed his head.

Ding jumped five meters to avoid the spray of blood, then pointed his blood-stained scythe at the ground: "Either die or get lost."

The villagers' expressions were uniform, like parts produced in a factory: indifferent, with empty eyes, silently watching Ding Shi.

Ding Shi: "Three, two..."

All the villagers turned around, the front group became the rear group, and left the Jinshi's residence without anyone speaking.

Ding Shi jumped onto the locust tree above the Jinshi's residence to keep watch. He saw that the villagers no longer blocked the road to the tile kiln; they returned to their homes like zombies. Among them, a strong figure went against the current, heading towards the Jinshi's residence.

Ding Shi crouched on the wall, waiting for the figure to approach. As the figure drew near, Ding Shi realized that the person was Wang Wu, a street urchin with four evil spirits inside him.

Wang Wu stood at the entrance of the mansion, looking up at Ding Shi who was squatting on the wall: "The lord asked me to pass on a message: as long as you leave Tianmen Village, you can name whatever conditions you want."

Ding Shi asked, "What sir?"

Wang Wu replied: "Master Ghost Mother."

Ding Shi asked, "What do the adults in your family have? Money? Or something else?"

Wang Wu said, "Our lord can give you five thousand knives."

Ding Shi said, "Five thousand is not bad, but it's too little for the four of us to divide."

Wang Wu said, "They've been dragged into an illusion and won't wake up for at least half an hour. For every person you kill, my master will add a thousand more knives."

Ding Shi laughed and said, "It's not that I look down on your master, but does your master have that much money?"

Wang Wu said, "If you agree, I can deliver the money here within 20 minutes."

Ding Shi said, "Okay, if you really have that much money."

Twenty minutes later, Wang Wu brought a wicker box. He opened the lid, revealing stacks of 50-yuan bills inside. With his left hand, Wang Wu sprinkled some powder around the box, and with his right hand, he lit a tinderbox, saying, "Here are 5000 bills. You can light some." He then grabbed the box with his left hand.

Wang Wu's meaning: I've already sprinkled accelerant; once the tinder is lit, all the money will become worthless. As long as you don't rob me, you can check the amount to see if it's correct.

Ding Shi jumped down from the wall, stopped three meters away from Wang Wu, looked at Wang Wu and said, "Listen to me, your name is Xia Shen."

Wang Wu asked in confusion, "What did you say?"

You failed to identify player number 13. You can only try again after midnight tonight. You only have one chance per day.

Ding Shi took a step closer, studied Wang Wu for a moment, and said, "Do you know? I've used this method to kill someone before. The other party thought I was worried about the money being stolen, but actually I was worried that the other party wouldn't steal the money. Because I put a small bomb in the money box."

After saying that, Ding Shi kicked the bottom of the box, and the coins inside flew up. Ding Shi could see clearly that only the first one was a coin, and the rest were all blank paper.

The box smashed onto Wang Wu's head, causing an explosion and bursting into flames. Ding Shi jumped back to avoid it. Wang Wu's upper body was engulfed in black flames, and no matter how much he patted it or rolled on the ground, the fire wouldn't go out. Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, he knelt before Ding Shi. Ding Shi walked over and beheaded him with a sickle.

Interestingly, the fire went out out of nowhere as soon as Wang Wu died.

Ding Shi leaned closer to get a better look, when a black flame shot out from Wang Wu's eye socket, heading straight for Ding Shi. The seasoned veteran Ding was prepared and easily dodged it with a quick movement.

The black flame hovered in mid-air; it was a flame no bigger than a matchbox, with a pair of fiery red eyes.

"Damn it, it's Nine-Refined Ghost Fire."

Before the man with the dagger arrived, his voice preceded him, urgently saying, "Don't kill it, this is a high-level artifact used by ghost cultivators."

Ding Shi said, "First of all, I haven't figured out how to kill it yet. Secondly, what do you plan to use to carry it? Finally, this dungeon doesn't have an inventory, so you can't take anything out."

As Sha Bi walked, he pondered. Even when he reached Ding Shi's side, he still hadn't figured it out. He said, "Three questions in a row, good questions. I don't know. But wait for me, don't kill it, and don't get close to it, and you'll be fine."

After saying that, Sha Bi ran away, running all the way to Tie Zhu's house. He rummaged through the firewood pile in the kitchen for a while, then took out the Ghost Control Technique skill book, which was a reward from the mission, and started to look through it.

Nine-Refined Ghost Fire is obtained by refining ghost fire nine times in the Yellow Springs Furnace. Its characteristic is that it extinguishes the five elements. To contain Nine-Refined Ghost Fire, a container of the five elements must be used.

Master Huang's commentary: Glass is a container for the five elements.

A glass bottle is needed. There were many glass products and glass bottles during the Republic of China period, mainly used for storing perfumes and medicines.

Sha Bi searched through Tie Zhu's house and actually found a glass medicine bottle with "Er Tiantang Pharmacy" written on the front.

Great, one problem solved. Only two problems remain. First, how do I get this thing out of the instance? Second, did Ding Shi kill Blackfire?
If it were anyone else, Shabi would only worry about whether they would be killed by the will-o'-the-wisp. But if it were Ding Shi, Shabi would only worry about whether the will-o'-the-wisp would be killed by Ding Shi.

(End of this chapter)