You were made to take the blame and go to jail, but you weren't made a master of both medicine

Afterwards, Qin Ran and the Ma brothers went to the reed forest that the village chief had mentioned earlier.

This reed grove is behind the village.

Upon closer inspection, it was found to be very lush inside.

These reeds are about the height of a person.

Qin Ran and the Ma brothers went inside to take a look.

There was nothing inside.

They found no trace of anything.

Finding nothing of interest, the three walked out of the reeds.

At first, Qin Ran and his two companions had no idea why so many strange things were happening in this village.

They've figured it out now.

Whatever happened next didn't surprise them.

The problem the three of them face is solving the problem.

Afterwards, Qin Ran and the Ma brothers went to the village chief's house.

"The three of you, did you just go to the reed forest?" the village chief asked respectfully.

Ma Jitao nodded: "Yes, we did go to the reeds, but we didn't find anything."

"It's not time yet. There will be noises inside at night. Many ghost soldiers will be training inside. It's terrifying."

Qin Ran continued, "Village chief, we have a general understanding of the situation. These strange things didn't happen in your village for no reason; someone is watching you."

"Who? Who's eyeing our village?" The village chief's throat bobbed.

Qin Ran continued, "This is an evil cult called the Yinshan Sect!"

Why are they targeting our village?

"We can't be sure yet. Maybe they have what they're looking for in this village, or maybe there's some other reason," Qin Ran told him truthfully.

Ma Jitao continued, "The reason they targeted the village was likely to scare you away; to put it simply, they wanted you to move away."

"That won't do. We've lived in this village for generations. This is our root. How can we move away?" The village chief was very resistant.

At the same time, Qin Ran felt even more certain that he hadn't guessed wrong.

The village chief had mentioned before that this was an ancient village.

It has a history of over a hundred years.

Since it is an ancient village, there is a high probability that there are ancient relics.

There must be something the Yinshan Sect wants here.

Seeing that Qin Ran and the Ma brothers remained silent, the village chief said again, "Three exorcism masters, please help us to the end and see this through to the end. You must help us resolve this matter completely."

Ma Jisong picked up the thread: "Village chief, we've explained the situation very clearly. The current situation is a bit complicated. We've already taken care of the brat for you. Tonight, we'll help you resolve the trouble in the reed forest."

"As expected, once we've solved your problem, the Yinshan Sect will show up, and we'll have to help deal with them."

"With all this back and forth, the service fees can be quite high..."

Ma Jisong is a straightforward person.

He says whatever he thinks.

They are exorcists, and they charge a service fee for each job they take on, depending on the circumstances.

Given the current situation, the labor costs will certainly not be low.

The village chief also realized the problem, and he looked at Ma Jisong: "Excuse me, approximately how much will the labor fee be?"

"At least one million, that's the minimum."

Ma Jitao didn't say anything.

The younger brother did not quote a random price.

That is indeed the price.

The village chief sighed, "What? One million? You couldn't raise one million even if you sold your whole family."

"Old man, I don't like hearing you say that. We are exorcists, not philanthropists. If you don't have money, why are you hiring exorcists?" Ma Jitao said irritably.

The village chief was speechless.

What they said makes sense.

But one million is really too expensive.

They simply can't produce it.

"You three, please wait a moment. I'll go and discuss this with the villagers."

The village chief left after he finished speaking.

Ma Jisong complained, "This old man is complaining that our fees are too high. In other places, we definitely wouldn't do this job for less than three million."

Qin Ran smiled and said, "They have no way of coming up with a million."

"Then let's run away. We're in business, and we have to strictly follow the standards. If we don't follow the standards, and word gets out, people who come to us will start haggling over prices!" Ma Jisong said with a sneer.

Qin Ran nodded without saying anything.

Since it's a business transaction, the prices should be made public.

Ma Jisong is right.

Ma Jitao sighed, "If they really can't come up with the money, we can accept a smaller amount."

How much are you planning to charge?

"Ten thousand or twenty thousand will suffice," Ma Jitao said, taking a sip of tea.

"Brother, did I hear that right? We can't break the rules. If word gets out, customers will all try to lower the price, and we won't be able to make a living."

Ma Jitao said, "It's not as serious as you say. We're dealing with a special case. If it were a rich person, I wouldn't ask for a penny less."

Ma Jisong sighed, expressing his helplessness.

Since his elder brother had said so, he had no choice but to accept it.

Qin Ran is here too.

Ma Jisong didn't want Qin Ran to think he was a heartless person.

At this moment, Qin Ran looked at Ma Jitao with approval.

I have to say, Brother Tao is truly a man of honor.

This friendship was worthwhile.

The village chief returned shortly afterward.

"The three of you, I just discussed it with the villagers, and we really can't come up with a million. The most we can manage is 100,000."

"Ten thousand it is, it's settled then." Ma Jitao looked at the village chief.

"Thank you all very much. We hope you can help us get rid of these filthy things and protect our home."

Ma Jitao nodded: "Don't worry, we will do our best."

For the rest of the time, Qin Ran and the Ma brothers wandered around the village.

Gradually, Qin Ran realized something was wrong.

There seems to be a mysterious force beneath this village.

This force is yin.

Perhaps this is what the Yinshan Sect is looking for.

Time flew by and it was evening.

The night was deep and quiet, and the whole village was eerily quiet.

Qin Ran noticed that the black miasma on the back mountain was becoming increasingly intense.

He had a bad feeling.

According to the village chief, the sounds of ghostly soldiers drilling could only be heard from the reeds behind the village in the latter half of the night.

It's still early.

Qin Ran and the Ma brothers sat in the main room meditating and cultivating.

Seeing this, the village chief did not disturb them.

Before we knew it, it was already past midnight.

Qin Ran and the Ma brothers prepared to go to the reed forest again.

The village chief and several daring young men from the village followed.

As the night deepened, Qin Ran felt an increasingly heavy yin energy in the room.

The entire village was shrouded in an invisible force.

Qin Ran became increasingly curious.

He was determined to get to the bottom of things.

Soon, the group arrived at the reed thicket.

The village chief and several young men hid behind Qin Ran's Ma brothers.

Ma Jitao took out a compass.

He pointed the compass directly at the reeds.

Time passed second by second.

Suddenly, the compass needle began to spin.

At the same time, the reeds began to stir.

Footsteps could indeed be heard coming from inside.

Qin Ran discovered that the entire reed forest was surrounded by a gloomy aura.

The footsteps in the reeds grew heavier.

And it's very regular.

The compass needle in Ma Jitao's hand was also spinning rapidly.

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw pairs of eyes flashing with an eerie light appear in the reeds.

The village chief and the young men were so frightened that they turned and ran away.

Seeing that the time was ripe, the Ma brothers prepared to make their move.

Ma Jisong cast the giant net he had prepared into the reed forest.

The moment the giant net was cast, a crackling sound echoed through the reeds.

A mysterious force quickly enveloped the reed forest.

At the same time, the yin energy was gradually dissipating.

Suddenly, several spears shot out from the reeds.

"Watch out!" Qin Ran shouted.

The Ma brothers dodged in time and were not stabbed.

"I've burned down the reeds. I want to see what kind of people you are."

After Qin Ran finished speaking, he formed a hand seal with one hand and silently recited a spell.

A yellow paper talisman appeared in his hand.

Qin Ran continued chanting the incantation, and the paper talisman began to burn, igniting a ball of purple flame.

Seeing that the time was right, Qin Ran threw the paper talisman into the reeds opposite.

The reeds were instantly engulfed by the purple flames of the rising sun...