The ultimate master in the city

By the time she came to her senses, the old man was already gone.

The landlady knew from her time in the Miao village that the old man was very honest and would never lie about something like this, and besides, the man in her household was indeed acting strangely.

But now there's a "husband" here too, and she can't feel at ease until she figures out what's going on.

She was in a daze and didn't dare go home that night. She spent the night in a restaurant and the next morning went to Liushui Temple on Duyun Mountain outside the city to pray to Buddha. She asked an old monk for advice, and the old monk pondered for a while and said, "Don't panic, let me take you to see him first."

The landlady took the old monk home, but didn't dare go inside. She just stood downstairs staring out the window. After a while, Asigong went out onto the balcony to sunbathe.

The old monk squinted at him for a while, then said, "He really is not your husband. What a wicked beast. We'll subdue him tonight."

As he spoke, he took out a strange incense stick from his pocket and handed it to the landlady, saying, "Take this. Light it secretly while he's asleep tonight, and this beast will reveal its true form. Then this humble monk will come and take it away."

Remembering the old monk's words, the proprietress packed the incense and worked hard at the restaurant all day. That evening, she mustered up her courage and returned home. Ah Xigong was already waiting for her, looking at her with a reproachful expression, asking her why she hadn't come back last night.

The proprietress was terrified and tried to explain with a forced smile. Fortunately, Asi-gyo didn't ask any more questions. The two ate a little something, and before going to bed, Asi-gyo started asking her what she used to like to do, whether she liked to hide things, and so on. The proprietress could only give vague and perfunctory answers.

When Asi-gung realized he couldn't get any useful information, he seemed quite agitated and soon fell into a deep sleep on his bed.

The landlady called him twice but received no response. She then quietly took out the incense the old monk had given her from her purse, lit it by the bedside, and then stared wide-eyed at the bed.

Strangely enough, the incense was sandalwood, and the smoke it produced was very calming. The landlady was already drowsy, but the one on the bed was scratching her head and tossing and turning, as if she was in great discomfort. Not long after, she let out two shrill cries and in the blink of an eye transformed into a large gray rat, rolled over, and darted around with her little eyes.

The proprietress was terrified. She scrambled to her feet and ran to the door, too afraid to move.

The large rat looked at her and suddenly spoke in a human voice, "Whose slander have you listened to in order to harm me?"

"No, no!" the proprietress hurriedly shook her head, then mustered her courage to ask, "But... why were you impersonating my husband?"

The giant rat said, "How could a mortal woman like you know my divine plans? Why don't you take away the incense and wait for me to eat you?"

The proprietress was startled and dared not disobey. She walked over shakily, preparing to put out the incense.

Just then, a deep, resonant sound of a wooden fish drum came from outside the door, followed by the old monk's voice chanting Buddhist prayers: "Amitabha! You wicked child, how dare you cause trouble?"

The gray rat was taken aback, rolled to the ground in a flash, and knelt down in a human-like manner, kowtowing, "I dare not! I dare not! Master, spare my life!"

The old monk pushed open the door, nodded to the landlady, and then sternly rebuked the large rat: "What kind of monster are you, and why are you impersonating this benefactor's husband?"

The large rat dared not conceal the truth, "I dare not lie to you, Master, I was sent by the Miao chieftain, Atupa. I have a curse inside me; if I reveal my purpose, I will die!"

The old monk's expression changed, and he stopped asking questions. He took a cloth bag from his waist and put it over the big rat. Strangely enough, the bag was not big, but it could fit a rat the size of a person inside, and it didn't seem to take up much space.

After collecting the rat, the old monk said to the landlady, "Amitabha! This spirit has some connection with an old friend of mine. I must go and inquire about it myself. I am ashamed that I cannot answer your question!"

The proprietress repeatedly said, "It's alright, it's alright, thank you, Master!"

The proprietress gave a wry smile and shook her head.

Zhou Fengchen then asked, "When that debt-collecting ghost appeared in your shop, why didn't you ask the old monk for help?"

The landlady sighed and said, "I went to look for him, but unfortunately, that eminent monk was a wandering monk who traveled all over the world, without a fixed abode. He only stayed at Liushui Temple for a short time, and then he left. He may never come back. Alas! Where can you find such an eminent monk?"

"Hey, hey! Learn from him. We're both just wandering around aimlessly, but this old monk is so much more impressive!" Zhou Fengchen mocked Monk Yuanzhi, then asked the proprietress, "Do you know what this high monk's name is? He sounds really powerful!"

The proprietress thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be called something like 'Law Book'."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Monk Yuanzhi banged on the table beside him. "Have you two gone off-topic? We were talking about getting the corpse, how did we get onto the topic of the old monk exorcising demons? Keep going!"

The proprietress then continued with a stern face: "After I subdued that rat demon, I was in a hurry to go back to see my husband, so I took the train back to my hometown overnight. When I arrived three days later, I was told that... my husband's body was missing. My husband's parents had died long ago, so I asked my uncles what happened. They looked worried and said that the man was indeed dead and had started to stink, but he ran away on his own in the middle of the night. More than a dozen people couldn't stop him, and they didn't know where he went."

I was completely stunned and didn't know what to do. I thought of my husband's fellow apprentices from back then, so I went to find them. But... but all of my husband's fellow apprentices, including the old man A-Kui who had told me the news earlier, were all dead..."

At this point, the proprietress seemed to have thought of something terrible, and her whole body began to tremble.

Zhou Fengchen quickly patted her back, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, continue."

Monk Yuanzhi also said, "Yes, don't be afraid. With an enlightened monk like myself and a reclusive master like my brother here, no demons or monsters dare to touch you, no matter what!"

The landlady nodded. "Their deaths were all gruesome, like they'd been bitten by venomous tongues. The worst part was that my husband was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. I was completely distraught and cried for three days straight, utterly hopeless. Then... a nephew from my family rushed over and told me he'd seen my husband in Hejia Town. I was shocked. Wasn't he dead? I immediately ran to Hejia Town to search everywhere, and sure enough, I found him. He was a walking corpse, following behind a very pretty girl."

I rushed over and grabbed my husband's hand, and then... I don't know how, I just fainted. When I woke up, I found myself naked, dancing in the middle of the street, with many people watching. My husband's body and that witch were gone.

I even contemplated suicide and almost did something rash, but my family stopped me. My husband's uncles and aunts also advised me, saying that I had offended a witch and that I should just let it go, as I couldn't afford to offend her!

I was indignant, so half a month later I returned to Donghai City and spent a lot of money to hire two Taoist priests from Maoshan to help me retrieve my husband's body. I couldn't let him be desecrated even in death. Unfortunately... the two priests died mysteriously before they even reached western Hunan!

The proprietress paused at this point.

Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi waited for a long time without any further news, then blinked and asked, "That's it?"

The proprietress nodded: "That's all!"

Monk Yuanzhi clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I'm completely confused. What are you talking about?"

Zhou Fengchen picked up the last piece of beef and ate it, saying, "Yeah, it's all so abrupt and incoherent!"

The proprietress said with a pained expression, "Wasn't I clear enough?"

"Of course I don't know! It's a complete mess!" Monk Yuanzhi glared and said, "First of all, you didn't explain what your husband encountered while transporting corpses. Secondly, you didn't explain what he took from them, or whose things he took!"

Zhou Fengchen added: "Also, how did your husband die? How did his fellow disciples die? And what was that... Aunt Tu's purpose in sending the rat spirit to probe your background? Could she have killed them all?"

The boss's eyes reddened, and his face was filled with sorrow. "I really don't know!"

"Alright!" Monk Yuanzhi shrugged. "He knows nothing about anything!"

Zhou Fengchen thought for a moment and asked, "You must know why those two Maoshan Taoist priests died, right?"

The proprietress's expression changed. "Of course I know that! They were killed by zombies!"

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".