In this bizarre world, I can extract supernatural powers.

"And who are you?" Xu Bai asked, sizing up the newcomer.

The tall, thin man was wearing a straw raincoat and a straw hat.

The rain fell in a continuous stream, dripping from the raincoat and splashing onto the ground.

"My name is Ding Huan." The tall, thin man took off his straw raincoat and leaned casually against the wall next to him. "We're in the same line of work."

After saying this, Ding Huan took out a token from his pocket and waved it in front of Xu Bai.

Upon seeing the token, Xu Bai nodded and said, "Brother Ding seems to know quite a bit about Qianyun Village."

Ding Huan nodded, stepped forward to stand in front of Xu Bai, and asked, "May I ask how I should address you, brother?"

Xu Bai gave his name and asked, "Together?"

The implication is whether or not to cooperate in completing the task.

Ding Huan fiddled with the long sword at his waist, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Of course, two hundred merit points, even if we split it in half, will still take quite a while to accumulate."

As he spoke, Ding Huan approached the villager and grabbed him by the neck.

The villagers' faces suddenly turned red, like pig liver.

Ding Huan said calmly, "Brother Xu, take a closer look. What is this?"

Xu Bai then followed Ding Huan's gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Embroidered shoes?"

A pair of women's embroidered shoes were visible beneath the hem of the villager's clothes that had been lifted up.

Ding Huan released his grip, letting the villager fall to the ground, and said, "Brother Xu, would you like to hear the story of Qianyun Village?"

Xu Bai smiled and said, "Of course I want to hear it."

Since Ding Huan spoke in this way, he must know the villagers' background.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said such a thing.

The two sides have already cooperated in order to complete the mission of exorcising the ghost hunters, so Xu Bai is naturally interested in the clues.

Ding Huan sneered, "Everyone who has been harmed by strange occurrences has a cause and effect at play. After that new bride married into your village, what did her husband do to her? Will you tell us, or should we tell you?"

Upon hearing this, the villager trembled violently, saying, "At that time... that villager's family was poor, and the fields yielded no harvest, so... so..."

Xu Bai raised an eyebrow and asked, "So what?"

The villager gritted his teeth and said, "So they made the bride entertain the men of the village and charge them a certain amount of money."

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Xu Bai took a deep breath and clenched his fingers slightly.

He never expected that such a thing would happen.

According to the villagers, a scene appeared in Xu Bai's mind.

In the night rain, in a simple and dilapidated house, the long line of men and the low moaning of a woman inside were the only sounds besides the rain.

Ding Huan gripped the hilt of his sword and said slowly, "Not long after, that woman contracted syphilis and died. And you people are merely atoning for your sins."

The villagers lowered their heads and remained silent, but the fear in their eyes grew deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, the villager's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

Apart from this villager, all the other male villagers were also lying on the ground unconscious, just like him.

Xu Bai turned his gaze and discovered that there were strange auras flowing around these villagers.

"It's entered my dream," Ding Huan explained. "This strange creature likes to kill people in their dreams, and it's very difficult to solve."

As Ding Huan spoke, the villagers began to behave strangely.

They all wore sinister smiles, their bodies curled up and arching, as if they were doing something filthy.

A moment later, accompanied by screams, the villagers who had fallen asleep all rolled their eyes back and lost their life force.

"If you hadn't left the village, you might not have died so quickly," Ding Huan said after examining the bodies. "But if you had left, she would never have let you go."

The remaining female villagers trembled, looking at the corpse on the ground, hiding in a corner and wiping away their tears.

Ding Huan turned to Xu Bai and said, "Brother Xu, how about we go into the village together?"

The rain had subsided considerably by now.

Xu Bai nodded and said, "Of course."

Since the two have become allies, they should go in together.

At this moment, the rain began to gradually subside and stopped shortly afterward.

Afterwards, Xu Bai arrived outside the Taoist temple and glanced at the group of female villagers behind him.

Neither Xu Bai nor Ding Huan spoke, and they headed towards Qianyun Village on their own.

……

Qianyun Village was shrouded in dark clouds at this moment.

Although it was still noon, no one was moving around in the village at that moment.

Every household kept their doors tightly shut, as if something terrifying was outside.

Xu Bai and Ding Huan arrived outside the village and, after looking around, both frowned.

"Such a strong sense of resentment."

An invisible force surrounds the village.

Ordinary people cannot see it, but cultivators can see it clearly.

That was resentment, a terrifying resentment that sent chills down one's spine.

"At least the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm," Ding Huan pondered. "Perhaps even higher, but we'll only know once we go in and see."

Xu Bai rubbed his chin and said, "Let's go."

Both men were clean-cut and efficient, so they didn't waste any words and quickly walked into the village.

As soon as you enter the village, an intensely strong sense of resentment hits you.

Xu Bai narrowed his eyes, carefully sensing the surroundings, and then asked, "Where should we begin?"

He was a newcomer participating in the mission for the second time, while Ding Huan was obviously a veteran, so Xu Bai naturally wanted to ask Ding Huan for his opinion.

Ding Huan shook his head and said, "Find a place to stay, and the strange things will naturally come looking for us."

This is the simplest and most effective method.

The two said no more and then walked towards one of the rooms.

Ding Huan stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Footsteps could be heard coming from inside the house.

A short while later, a haggard-looking woman opened the door.

When the woman saw Xu Bai and Ding Huan, she immediately shuddered and tried to close the door.

Ding Huan reached out, pressed the door open, tossed out a money pouch, and said casually, "Stay for a few days. The money in here will last you a long time."

Xu Bai raised an eyebrow slightly.

This approach coincided with his own ideas.

To deal with these villagers, you either have to give them money or use force to intimidate them.

Ding Huan chose the former.

The woman saw the money bag being thrown to her, instinctively caught it, glanced at it cautiously, and then her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Gentlemen...the village is poor, why do you choose to live here?"

Ding Huan sneered, "One room is enough. I don't need to explain anything else to you. Do you want money? If not, we'll go to another room."

The woman quickly said, "Sir, yes, you can have this house."

After saying this, the woman took out a package from the side and, taking advantage of the early hour, quickly left the village.

Xu Bai shook his head and said, "It seems you were prepared long ago and planned to leave today. You just happened to have given me enough money for the journey."

Ding Huan didn't care and walked into the house: "If she has no karma, she can leave safely. If she has karma, she won't leave alive."

Xu Bai sat opposite Ding Huan.

Ding Huan was about to speak when a teasing voice rang out.

"I didn't expect you to be with someone else. How interesting."