How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

dong dong dong.

Just as Shuisheng was happily munching on a melon and some dry rations, there was a series of knocks on the door.

"Guests are always welcome." This phrase suddenly popped into Shui Sheng's mind. Although he forgot who taught him to say it, Shui Sheng still respectfully opened the door.

"Come in and have a seat," he said.

But when Shui Sheng looked up at the person who had come, he was drawn to the person's strange appearance.

This man had red hair and beard, a long beard and cloud-like hair, and although his large eyes looked fierce, his features were kind. He held a whisk in his hand and had an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Young master, I am honored to greet you," the red-haired Taoist priest said, bowing.

"This humble Taoist priest, traveling the world, has come across this place and feels parched. I would like to ask for a bowl of water. I wonder if you, young benefactor, could do me this favor?"

Shui Sheng found the red-haired Taoist somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place when he had seen him before. However, seeing his polite demeanor, Shui Sheng respectfully led him in.

"Please wait a moment." Shui Sheng called to the red-haired Taoist, poured a bowl of water from the teapot, and brought it to the table.

The red-haired Taoist took the porcelain bowl, covered it with his sleeve, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ah...sweet and refreshing, good water."

The red-haired Taoist chuckled. Seeing that no one had come out of the house for a while, he asked, "Young benefactor, where are your elders? Are they perhaps toiling in the fields?"

"My family...my family?" Shui Sheng was a little confused.

He knew he should have an adult; he remembered that all the other children around him had adults at home. But his head was throbbing so badly that when he heard the red-haired Taoist ask him a question, he couldn't remember anything.

Seeing Shui Sheng's troubled expression, the red-haired Taoist seemed to have guessed what was going on.

He stretched out his left hand, did some calculations with his fingers, and a look of astonishment immediately appeared in his eyes.

"When the Hurting Officer meets the Official, it signifies loneliness and widowhood, and shallow ties with relatives. How pitiful!" The red-haired Taoist realized that there were probably no adults left in this house.

He subconsciously glanced around to see how the child was doing.

When he noticed the altar on the wall, his gaze suddenly darkened, and his expression changed several times.

"Child, I see black mist swirling around there. Could it be that some unclean thing was released there?" the red-haired Taoist asked.

Shui Sheng frowned and thought for a long time, stammering, but couldn't come up with a clear answer. Finally, he could only hesitate and say, "I...I don't know."

Seeing Shui Sheng's appearance, the red-haired Taoist's expression grew even more grave. He murmured,

"Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, the net of heaven and earth, it's all about timing and fate." The Taoist sighed, pulled down the corners of his mouth, and extended two fingers of his right hand to touch Shui Sheng's forehead.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared at the tip of the red-haired Taoist's fingertip, and then vanished in an instant.

Shuisheng suddenly felt much better; his head no longer hurt so much, and he felt refreshed and full of energy.

"Child, think again? What have you seen these past few days?" The red-haired Taoist patted Shui Sheng's head and comforted him.

Holding the cucumber in his hands, Shui Sheng stood in front of the red-haired Taoist and began to recall the events in detail.

At this moment, the red-haired Taoist suddenly noticed that Shui Sheng had chilblains on his hands for some reason. Although it was early spring and cold, it was impossible for chilblains from winter to have survived until now.

Moreover, the sore doesn't look like it was caused by prolonged exposure to cold; it's more like it was caused by acute exposure to cold in a short period of time.

Seeing that Shui Sheng remained silent for a long time, the red-haired Taoist priest began to guide him, "Child, have you recently encountered some filthy thing that froze you like this?"

Shui Sheng was in a daze, but following the guidance of the red-haired Taoist, he tried hard to recall what had happened in the past few days.

"Cold," Shui Sheng recalled painfully with his eyes closed. "So cold."

"Yesterday I think I saw the moon in front of me, a beam of light shone on me, and then I fainted."

"Yes, I fainted!" Shui Sheng finally remembered some key clues and was instantly astonished. "The moonlight was so cold."

"Hmm." The red-haired Taoist stroked his long beard and nodded.

"A few nights ago, I saw a celestial dog devour the moon, and the moon goddess was beheaded. The incident occurred in the east."

"You must have encountered that Moon Fairy in disguise these past few days, and unfortunately, she injured you like this."

The red-haired Taoist priest analyzed the situation while frantically calculating with his fingers. The more he calculated, the angrier he became, and finally he slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed:

"Yes! It was that Moon Fairy who transformed into a demon and severely injured you!"

Shui Sheng couldn't understand the red-haired Taoist's actions or what he was saying. He just nodded blankly and looked at him with some suspicion.

"It is fate that we meet. Find a basin and some clean water, and I will exorcise the evil spirits for you." The red-haired Taoist patted Shui Sheng's shoulder and said with some resentment in his eyes.

Shui Sheng didn't know what the red-haired Taoist was up to, but he felt that from the moment the Taoist entered, he exuded a magnetic field that made people want to get close to him, and his words sounded like they were for his own good.

So Shui Sheng followed the instructions of the red-haired Taoist and brought a wooden basin filled with clear water.

The red-haired Taoist carried the basin to the courtyard outside the gate and stayed there until dark, until the moon was high in the sky, before he finally spoke:

"Come on, child, pee in this basin."

Shuisheng did as he was told, taking off his belt and taking a dump.

The clear water slowly turned yellow, and the moon reflected in the water also looked brownish-yellow, lying quietly in the water along with the foam in the urine.

Seeing this, the red-haired Taoist nodded, took out a copper coin sword from his pocket, made a sword incantation with his hands, and began to mutter something.

"I humbly submit that the money falls to the ground, the precious horse leaps into the air, the fire of Li is used to burn it, and the wind of Xun is used to scatter it."

The incantation was initially chanted peacefully and gently, but the red-haired Taoist stared intently at the moon's reflection in the basin, and the incantation grew increasingly urgent and fierce.

"Relying on the power of the Dao, and taking this as a virtuous cause, with sincere devotion, we recite the name of the Heavenly Venerable, and the flying clouds carry his blessings—the merit is inconceivable!"

After reciting the last sentence, the red-haired Taoist lit a talisman and threw it into the air. He then grabbed the copper coin short sword, crouched down, and forcefully shoved it into the basin!

chap——

Shui Sheng clearly heard a sound like something being pierced, but there was nothing in the basin except urine and water, so how could it make such a sound?

Shui Sheng was somewhat puzzled, but then he saw the red-haired Taoist suddenly release his grip on the copper coin sword.

Without a hand to support it, the copper coin sword stood perfectly upright in the basin, directly in the reflection of the moon in the water.

The sword stuck in the reflection can stand upright as if it were stuck in a real object.

This was quite a strange thing, and Shui Sheng was somewhat stunned by what he saw.

But then he was surprised to find that the moon's reflection in the basin, where the sword was stuck, was slowly bleeding, gushing out of the basin and then overflowing onto the ground.

A fishy, ​​foul smell suddenly assaulted Shui Sheng's nose.

And in that short time, the moon in the basin had turned from pale yellow to a blood-red hue.

Could it be that the moon reflected in this basin was actually killed by this red-haired Taoist?

But since the reflection is not a real object, how can it be killed and bleed?

Shui Sheng was terrified, but also felt an indescribable sense of pleasure.

"Hmph, I have severely injured Yue Xian Hua Sui, and she will soon pass away."

Having ended all of this, the red-haired Taoist stroked his long beard, his expression one of disgust, and said...

"Let these evil spirits know what it means to reap what you sow, what it means for good to be rewarded and evil to be punished, the cycle of cause and effect, and that retribution is inevitable."

He let out a long sigh and gave Shui Sheng some instructions.

"Sprinkle this water in the yard. If any evil spirits come near and see this bloodstain, they will be afraid and dare not lay a hand on you again."

Shuisheng quickly agreed, picked up the basin, and walked around every corner of the yard, sprinkling some in each place.

Seeing that Shui Sheng was quite clever, well-behaved, polite, and had a good sense of propriety, but was living alone in the house at the young age of five, the red-haired Taoist felt a pang of pity.

He stretched out his right hand and calculated again, then suddenly a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Born with divine bones and divine favor, truly blessed by the ancestral master."

"Child, come here." He beckoned to Shui Sheng.

When Shui Sheng walked up to him, he said, "I see that you have a deep affinity for the Dao and are blessed with great fortune. Would you be willing to become my disciple and follow me as a wandering Daoist?"

Shui Sheng blinked while holding the basin, and after realizing what the Taoist was talking about, he immediately threw the basin aside and knelt down with a thud.

He bowed respectfully three times and said, "Master."

"Hahaha, very good, very good." The red-haired Taoist laughed heartily, stroking his beard, and looked at Shui Sheng kneeling before him, then continued...

"My surname is Zong, my secular name is Shanyue, and my Taoist name is Mingxin. Since our connection is due to this moon spirit, from now on I shall call you Yuehua."

Shui Sheng was overjoyed. He was incredibly excited to have such a powerful master.

The two chatted idly in the courtyard until dawn, and the red-haired Taoist also taught Shui Sheng some basic Xuanmen mental techniques.

When it was fully light, the red-haired Taoist decided to get up and leave.

"Master, where are we going?" Shui Sheng asked curiously.

"I am a Ghost Suppressor and a Fighting Officer. A few years ago, I lost a treasure in Zhongzhou. That treasure was a bronze bell that was tainted by foul air and transformed into a human."

"My purpose in coming down from the mountain is to find that bell and bring it back to the department." The red-haired Taoist frowned as he spoke.

"But the object's whereabouts are unpredictable. I've calculated that it's in the northeast, but I don't know its exact location. We'll have to proceed one step at a time."

Shui Sheng nodded, carrying the two people's meager luggage on his back, and followed behind the red-haired Taoist with uneven steps.

……

"Good brother, just say I'm like a god, it won't hurt you!" Chi Yue clung to Li Hu like a little shadow, tugging at his clothes and refusing to let go.

"I'm not in the mood for that today."

Li Hu waved his hand, letting her pull him along as she did, and walked forward at a leisurely pace.

"Good brother, once I've cultivated this yellow skill, I'll serve you every day!" Chi Yue said all she could, but Li Hu still ignored her.

"Let's discuss it again."

Li Hu simply closed his eyes.

Li Hu had no intention of backing down on this matter. Not to mention the damage that helping her obtain the title would do to him, he would not easily agree to it when Chi Yue's origins became unclear.

We've already covered more than half the distance to Blackwater Mountain.

The group maintained their previous formation, but the distance between Qi Yuehong and Li Hu increased slightly in unison.

With Chi Yue joining the group to keep everyone entertained, the journey wasn't so tedious anymore.

Qi Yuehong walked alone at the front of the group, keeping a distance from everyone else.

But as they walked, Li Hu suddenly noticed that a layer of crimson had suddenly spread across Qi Yuehong's back, as if she had been injured somewhere inside her clothes.

Judging from the speed at which the crimson color spread, it was as if an invisible weapon had stabbed him hard in the back; for an ordinary person, this would be a fatal wound.

"Ah!" Qi Yuehong suddenly cried out in pain at this moment, and then knelt down on the ground, clutching her chest.

"What's going on?" Wong Tai Sin immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly rushed over to ask.

Old Yuan and Flowery Mouse were quite frightened, thinking they had encountered another expert. In a panic, they hid behind Li Hu and looked around.

Li Hu looked around but saw no threat. He slowly stepped forward and looked at Qi Yuehong's pale face.

In no time, Qi Yuehong's entire upper body was stained red. Li Hu stepped forward and pulled open her clothes, revealing a wound that had pierced through her heart.

The wound was so deep that the skin and flesh were turned inside out, as if it had been pierced by a not-so-sharp sword.

Li Hu was shocked. There was indeed no threat around, but what was going on with the wounds that suddenly appeared on Qi Yuehong's body?

Li Hu gave Yan Yang a wink.

Yan Yang nodded, drew his sword, looked around cautiously, and carefully searched the surroundings before finally shaking his head at Li Hu.

There was no one around.

Li Hu looked down and saw that in just a short while, Qi Yuehong was already drowsy and seemed to be losing consciousness.

"Oh no, this big brother is going to die!" Chi Yue covered her mouth, her eyes filled with unconcealed sorrow.

"Hey! You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting!" Yuan Sou angrily slapped Chi Yue on the back of the head, then went to Qi Yuehong's side, bent down and put his ear to his chest to listen.

"A demon has harmed you; Commander, you are possessed!" Old Man Yuan suddenly looked up and said.

Everyone was astonished. They had only ever heard of mortals being possessed by evil spirits, so how could the moon spirit be possessed today?

Everyone immediately fell into chaos.

Qi Yuehong, seeing that she had no strength left, still struggled to reach out a hand and grip Li Hu's arm tightly, as if using all her remaining strength to say:

"Brother Li, save...save me."

Li Hu frowned slightly, somewhat surprised.

Among this group, Li Hu and Qi Yuehong had the worst relationship, but unexpectedly, at this critical moment of life and death, Qi Yuehong would ask him for help instead of the others.

In other words, in Qi Yuehong's heart, Li Hu was the most reliable person.

"I, Li, leave no room for trouble. I've kept track of Brother Qi's attitude behind my back these past few days." Li Hu kept his eyes down, waiting for Qi Yuehong to continue.

"Brother Li, I...I..."

Qi Yuehong's face turned red and then white, then red again. She had very little strength left, and under the torment of the excruciating pain, she couldn't utter any coherent words.

"Brother Qi, if you bow your head and admit your mistake, I'll let this matter go and I'll still call you Brother Qi in the future." Li Hu didn't intend to take advantage of the situation and offered a way out.

"Brother Li, this matter is likely a scheme by the Sword Immortal, intended to damage our brotherly relationship..."

Qi Yuehong suddenly coughed violently. After a long pause, she finally cupped her hands and said, "I was misled by the Sword Immortal in this matter. I have been disrespectful in many ways. Please forgive me, brother."