When I stopped licking, the lady panicked.

Mu Ling said, "An evil spirit has possessed this place. Now, I'm going to drive it out!"

As he spoke, Mu Ling closed his eyes, muttered something to himself, and stepped back to a safe distance.

Then, Mu Ling suddenly opened his eyes, roared "Evil spirits, begone!" and threw out his rusty sword.

The sword pierced the stone carving, and red runes began to appear on the paper strip wrapped around it.

"Ah!" The owner of the house screamed in fright.

Meanwhile, the fat man hiding outside the courtyard blew his whistle even louder to make the scene more realistic.

However, at that moment, the fat man suddenly felt a cool sensation on his leg. Looking down, he saw that a snake had somehow crawled up his calf.

"Holy crap! Holy crap!"

The fat man screamed, and the scream immediately carried into the yard.

Hearing the screams, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances, with Mu Ling looking particularly embarrassed.

What's that fatso doing? Wasn't he supposed to just blow the whistle? Why is he adding all this drama?!

As Mu Ling was trying to explain this strange phenomenon, the owner of the house seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "So it's a male evil spirit attached to it!"

"Huh?" Mu Ling was taken aback for a moment, then quickly followed up, "Ah, right, it's a male evil spirit. I'll drive it away right away!"

I breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, this family was easy to fool.

Thus, through Mu Ling's elaborate and mysterious actions, the so-called evil spirit was dispelled.

The family also offered Mu Ling money and a plate of dumplings.

This is the rule for Mu Ling's exorcisms: not only money but also a plate of dumplings are required. Therefore, every family that invites Mu Ling to exorcise evil spirits prepares these items in advance.

Mu Ling put the money into his pocket, took the tray, smiled knowingly, and said, "Thank you."

Then he left immediately and met up with the fat man at the agreed location.

"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to just blow the whistle?" Mu Ling scolded.

The fat man said, looking aggrieved, "No, there's a snake..."

Did it bite you?

"No……"

"What's the point of yelling without you!"

The fat man pouted and asked, "How much money did you get this time?"

"No money!" Mu Ling said irritably. "If this family weren't so stupid, I would have been finished this time!"

The fat man chuckled and said obsequiously, "Brother Mu, we've been partners for so long, you can't just not share anything with me, can you? I know you're not that kind of person."

Mu Ling snorted, took out the fat man's share of money from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "If you cause trouble again next time, you won't get a single penny!"

"Alright, alright," the fat man said with a grin, stuffing the money away. "Brother Mu, what are we going to do from now on? We can't keep lying to people, can we?"

"What else do you want to do? We've always had a legend of ghost cultivators here. If we don't make good use of it, what else do you want to do?" Mu Ling said angrily.

The fat man said, "But the ghost cultivator doesn't have a good reputation..."

"Who cares about reputation? As long as it solves the problem, that's good." Mu Ling said this, but a trace of loneliness flashed in his eyes.

Deep down, he didn't seem to like this life of deceiving others.

Just then, they heard the sound of horses' hooves behind them.

Mu Ling turned around and saw a magnificent carriage approaching them.

Upon seeing this, Mu Ling immediately beamed with joy.

This carriage is so luxurious; the people inside must be very wealthy.

Mu Ling was just thinking about how to swindle some money when the carriage stopped in front of them.

Lin Xuan drew back the curtain, looked at Mu Ling outside the carriage, and said, "You're Mu Ling?"

Mu Ling was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "You know me?"

Lin Xuan smiled and said, "The famous ghost cultivator Mu Ling, who wouldn't know him?"

"Ghost cultivator?" The fat man was stunned for a moment, looking at Mu Ling blankly.

Mu Ling's expression changed drastically, and he said, "What ghost or cultivation nonsense? You must have mistaken me for someone else!"

"Aren't you Mu Ling?" Lin Xuan asked.

He had met Mu Ling in his previous life and witnessed his methods firsthand, so Lin Xuan would not mistake him for someone else.

Mu Ling replied, "I am Mu Ling, but I am not a ghost cultivator. I am the exorcism master here."

"If you encounter any trouble, you can ask me to exorcise the evil spirits for you."

"Of course, you need to prepare money and dumplings."

Seeing that Lin Xuan stopped talking, Mu Ling said again, "You don't have any money, do you? Damn, you can't even afford such a nice carriage, what bad luck."

After saying that, Mu Ling left with the fat man.

At this moment, Liu Yao leaned close to Lin Xuan and whispered, "Master, is he really the person we're looking for?"

Lin Xuan nodded and said, "It's him."

"It doesn't seem very reliable..." Liu Yao said.

Lin Xuan was also puzzled. This Mu Ling was different from the one he had met in his previous life. What was going on?

……

Mu Ling and Fatty quickly returned to their village.

It is said that this village is the birthplace of ghost cultivators, and that the ancestors of ghost cultivators comprehended the path of ghost cultivation here.

The village is small, and the houses are old and dilapidated, but the people here live a life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, living a peaceful and contented life.

However, although this is the birthplace of ghost cultivators, there is not a single ghost cultivator in the village. It seems that after the ancestor comprehended the way of cultivation, the ghost cultivators here left with him.

"Brother Mu, why do you always order a plate of dumplings? Is it some kind of ritual?" the fat man asked.

Mu Ling walked to her front door and said reproachfully, "Is it not allowed for my mother?"

After saying that, Mu Ling opened the door and went home.

"Mother, I'm back."

As Mu Ling spoke, he placed the dumplings on the table, only to find that there was another plate of dumplings left on the table, but they had grown mold because they hadn't been eaten for a long time.

Mu Ling frowned, picked up the plate of moldy dumplings, and said, "Mom, why haven't you eaten again?"

An old woman's voice came from the inner room: "We were just waiting for you to come back and eat."

"Don't wait for me, just eat first. It's not edible now that it's moldy, but it's okay, I brought you some fresh ones."

As Mu Ling spoke, she carried the moldy dumplings outside. Just as she poured the dumplings out, Lin Xuan's carriage stopped at the door.

Mu Ling frowned, watching Lin Xuan and the other person get out of the car, and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Lin Xuan cut to the chase, saying, "I'd like to ask for your help."

"Exorcising evil spirits? Do you have the money?" Mu Ling asked, pursing his lips.

Lin Xuan said, "It's not about exorcising evil spirits."

"Then I can't help you. Mu Ling doesn't know anything except exorcising evil spirits." Mu Ling shrugged.

Lin Xuan frowned, feeling very puzzled. Why had Mu Ling become like this? In his previous life, when Lin Xuan met him, he was very calm and mature.

"Do you know about the Minghun Sect?" Lin Xuan asked.

"I don't know, is it related to exorcism?" Mu Ling asked.

"There is some connection." Lin Xuan nodded.

Mu Ling then asked, "Do you have money?"

With a slender waist, she calmly took out gold and silver jewelry.

Upon seeing this, Mu Ling immediately beamed and said, "You should have said so earlier! Please come in."

Lin Xuan and Liu Yao entered Mu Ling's small, dilapidated house together.

As soon as she entered, Liu Yao frowned and said, "Master, why does it smell strange?"

Lin Xuan replied, "The smell of burning rhinoceros horn."