With virtue

Chapter 99 In short, burn it first.

After comforting the younger sister, I went out to the window to check on her condition.

Whether it was a shadowy figure or a monster, they had all vanished. If it weren't for the mess on the ground, it would be impossible to tell that a monster had just been here.

While standing outside, Zhao Yunshu flipped his hand, and a ball of fire appeared in his palm. By the light of the fire, he opened the yellow book again, wanting to see if any information had been revealed after the fierce battle.

After opening the book, I flipped through the pages to the latest one. On the paper, I could see that the previously blurry ink stain had become much clearer, and at least I could make out what it depicted.

In the image, you can see many faces. It is a dark mass, like silt or a deep pool of water.

You can see a core covered by layers of black mud or black hair. Around this core, many muddy hair strands grow, and among them are many half-open eyes. Some of these eyes have half a face as a backdrop, but most are just eyes. Some eyes are completely blood red, and some are grayish-white. Occasionally, from the twisted parts, many thin and twisted arms protrude.

In the occasional gaps, a few heads, half-melted, were vaguely entangled, with mud beneath them, much of which had turned into mud or hair.

The painting is still incomplete. If you look at it as a whole, it looks like a mosaic layer has been added. You can see the clearer parts, but the blurry parts are even more difficult to recognize. It's like a nearsighted person looking at something; you can see things more clearly when you get close, but you can't see things when you're far away.

If I had to describe the whole picture, it would be like looking at the moon in the water or seeing flowers through the mist; the moon is still the moon, and the flowers are still the flowers.

However, the text explanation section next to it is still completely empty, without a single word.

The fact that the most important thing was missing annoyed Zhao Yunshu, but the young Taoist priest still managed to glean some information from it.

After all, he wasn't stupid enough to rely solely on the Yellow Book. In reality, he had mastered most of his skills on his own and had indeed fought that monster. He didn't need the Yellow Book to summarize his experience. The Yellow Book was a cheat code, but a cheat code is ultimately an external accessory.

You need to be strong yourself to forge iron.

Based on the images in the yellow book and his own speculation, the young Taoist priest felt that the monster might be divided into two parts.

Part of it was that wet thing, and the other part was those dark shadows.

The dampness might be the core of something, while the shadows are some shadows or, in other words, souls imprisoned by it?

No, it shouldn't be a soul. If it were a soul or even a ghost, it would have been easily suppressed by the Six Jia Talisman long ago. It must be something else, something even more ethereal and elusive.

But—what is that?

It's not clear yet; he's never seen anything like this before.

He stared at the painting for a while, but couldn't figure out what it was.

It was neither ghost, nor evil, nor soul, nor spirit, and it was ethereal and indistinct, so much so that even the sword light of the Six Jia Talisman could not truly illuminate it.

He thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with any ideas, so he simply stopped thinking about it, put his hands together, closed the yellow book, and put it into his pocket.

Since we lack clues now, we can't figure it out by just thinking about it. We might as well find out more about this family first.

Yes, this family.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of this family seem to be fine, but—after all, a monster has been here, and the place is indeed very strange. Whether it's checking on their life or saving them, or killing them if they find something wrong, they have to go and see.

He hung the iron sword back on his waist, straightened his clothes, and turned to Bai Qian, saying, "The monster is gone. You and Yaomei pack some luggage. I'll go to the main room to see how things are going."

Bai Qian, holding her sword, nodded. She knew why Zhao Yunshu was going; in fact, if Zhao Yunshu hadn't gone, she was prepared to go herself.

After all, although Bai Qian also felt that there was definitely something wrong with this family, and everything about them seemed strange, no matter what, they had stayed in their house and avoided the cold wind all night, and there was even straw on the floor, so it was indeed worth going to take a look.

However, she still had her youngest sister by her side, and she had to take care of the child. Packing her luggage was also important, so she decided to let Zhao Yunshu go instead.

Although she didn't say it aloud, she had sparred with her sword once before, and she still had some special moves. However, she lost slightly on their first meeting, and her opponent also possessed magic, making him a true Taoist.

Then it would indeed be more appropriate for him to go.

So Bai Qian didn't stop him, but said, "Be careful. If anything goes wrong, just shout. I'll take the little girl over the back wall and hide her before I come back to help you. I won't hold you back."

She spoke frankly, truly embodying the spirit of a chivalrous person.

Zhao Yunshu nodded: "Mm".

After saying "okay," he walked towards the door.

The fire within him hadn't been extinguished; it continued to burn slowly in his chest and abdomen. Although it was indeed burning him quite painfully, and the fire was almost rising to his throat, he felt as if he could exhale a plume of smoke if he opened his mouth.

However, it's safer to keep it.

He pressed down slightly to prevent it from escaping his throat.

Although the enemies were gone, this place was too eerie and looked rather strange. The young Taoist priest preferred to suffer more.

Even if it's tough, I have to keep this life-saving measure in my hands.

He walked to the door of the main room and gently knocked twice on the door panel.

There was no response from inside; it was completely silent.

Could it be that he has already been murdered?

Zhao Yunshu wanted to call out "Auntie" twice, but the anger brewing in his chest was getting stronger and stronger. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would spit out his anger, so he simply pushed the door open halfway and went in to see what was going on inside.

The main room was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The moonlight outside seemed unable to penetrate, with only a cool night breeze blowing in from behind him, causing Zhao Yunshu's hair to sway slightly.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Zhao Yunshu felt that the chill was somewhat similar to the sticky, fishy smell emanating from the monsters and shadows he had encountered around the room earlier.

So Zhao Yunshu lifted the hem of her clothes, stepped over the threshold, and went inside.

The room was indeed pitch black, so dark that not even light could penetrate it. Inside and outside the threshold seemed like two different worlds.

As soon as Zhao Yunshu stepped inside, the surrounding darkness pressed down heavily, making the surrounding sounds seem less clear. It felt like sinking into water, with no sound, no light, and even breathing became heavy.

Sigh, it's impossible to ignore the strange thing about this place.

Think back, it wasn't like this when I was facing the old lady in the main room.

Zhao Yunshu focused on his inner vision, controlled his breath, then closed his organs, keeping only a breath of true energy in his chest and abdomen to keep himself moving. He then carefully took a few steps into the main room.

Although it was dark, he actually remembered the layout of the main room. He had already memorized most of it from his previous visit.

If you walk forward, there's a table. To the left is the inner room. If you walk four steps to the left, there should be a curtain separating the inner room. That's where the woman was having her postpartum confinement.

He followed the map in his mind, trying to find the table first.

But—it took two steps.

did not find.

Where there should have been a table, there was nothing there now.

What are you doing? Trying to scare me?

He couldn't find the table, nor could he find the old woman.

He remembered the size of the main room clearly; it wasn't large. You could walk five or six steps and reach the end. When he came during the day, it wasn't exactly empty; there was at least a table and two stools, and a wooden chest—the kind of thing you'd find at the bottom of a trunk—was a common household item.

marry.

But at this moment, he opened his eyes wide in the darkness, pricked up his ears, and paced back and forth. After taking seven or eight steps, he didn't bump into anything, only the thick, impenetrable darkness before him.

There were no outlines or edges in the darkness, and even his outstretched hand seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness. He couldn't see what he would touch.

Zhao Yunshu was deep in thought. A ball of true fire, already prepared, was brewing within his chest and abdomen. Therefore, he dared not use fire magic now, as his focus was entirely on controlling the true fire.

They didn't dare to speak, for fear that if they opened their mouths they would unleash their fury.

Without light or the ability to speak, what should we do? Should we continue moving forward?

The young Taoist priest pondered.

But just then, the old woman's voice suddenly rang out from ahead.

No, it wasn't from the front, it was from the side, but upon closer listening, it sounded like it was close to the back of his neck.

Damn! How come there's 3D surround sound? Are they going to add reverb too?

But regardless of where the voice came from, it was undoubtedly the old woman's voice, softly addressing Zhao Yunshu: "Daoist Master, what's wrong? Why are you in this room in the middle of the night? Are you not sleeping well over there?"

Zhao Yunshu was a bit timid. Although he couldn't see the other person's face, this old woman—why was she speaking so calmly?

If an ordinary person were to have someone sneak into their room without a sound late at night, wouldn't they be terrified?

But this old woman was surprisingly calm—

He looked around, trying to find the old woman.

However, it was not found.

It was too dark around him, so he couldn't find it.

He had developed a layer of fine goosebumps on the back of his neck.

The old woman's voice slowly rose again, still with that same 3D surround sound, sometimes coming from the left wall, sometimes from the roof beam. Anyway, she said, "Taoist priest, why aren't you saying anything? Do you think it's too dark in this old woman's room? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the oil lamp was blown out by the wind. My legs aren't good, and I'm too lazy to light it again. If you need anything, just say so, I can hear you."

The acting was terrible; it didn't sound like the voice of an old woman who had been startled awake by an uninvited guest in the middle of the night.

There was no fear, no confusion, and not even the slightest feeling of being woken up from sleep.

It was as if they already knew Zhao Yunshu would come, so they just moved a stool and sat there, waiting for him to open the door.

Zhao Yunshu did not move, because he was gripping his sword in a defensive stance and listening intently.

The first thing you hear is naturally your own heartbeat.

However, he quickly ignored the sounds inside his body and turned his attention to the outside world.

The outside world—you can't hear breathing, you can't hear the rubbing sounds a normal human would make when turning over in dry hay.

The woman who had frantically brought them hay and was so frightened by Bai Qian that she knelt on the ground should be in the inner room recovering from childbirth, along with a child, but at this moment it was as if none of them had ever existed.

The only sounds in the entire hall were his own breathing and that voice that seemed to drift from nowhere.

The moment he moved his hand, the old woman's voice rang out again: "Taoist priest, who are you looking for, me or my wife?"

Zhao Yunshu frowned. He suddenly felt that the voice was closer to him.

It was still the same 3D surround sound, with sounds coming from above and below, but—it was a little closer.

He stood motionless. Although he couldn't hear any footsteps, he seemed to sense that something was standing no more than a foot in front of him, with eyes that he couldn't see, looking him up and down.

However, he wasn't sure what was standing in front of him.

The voice came again, it was the old woman's voice, asking cautiously, "Taoist Master—it's a bit dark, can you see me?"

Since that was the case, the young Taoist priest no longer hesitated. He kept his facing direction the same, but his steps were completely opposite, and he retreated step by step back the way he came.

They retreated slowly and lightly, tiptoeing like a cat in the darkness. As they retreated, the old woman seemed to disappear as well, and she didn't make a sound again.

Zhao Yunshu wasn't sure of the direction, after all, he didn't have a gyroscope in his brain, but when he opened the door earlier, there was a breeze blowing in. Now he followed the direction of the wind and backed away until he could clearly feel the cool breeze blowing. He stuck his heel out and kicked the door frame.

Without hesitation, he left the main room.

Air and light reappeared in my senses, and something seemed to be reaching out from the darkness before me.

Zhao Yunshu's chest heaved violently. The true fire in his abdomen had reached its peak. He no longer suppressed it, opened his mouth, and spat out a bright, hot white flame!

Who wants to fight you at close range? Bring on my real fire!

The flames turned from white to gold, and before they even touched the ground, a wave of heat startled the surrounding air, causing a fierce wind to rise!

After brewing for so long! The real fire had been burning up to his throat for ages, and now, as it erupted, it carried almost all of Zhao Yunshu's...

Some people get angry!

With a loud bang, flames crashed against the door of the main room, and the fire wave, like an angry dragon stirring the sea, engulfed the entire doorway in the blink of an eye.

The wooden beams, windows, cabinets, floor, and roof were transformed into a torch in the blink of an eye!

Flames soared into the sky, illuminating the courtyard as bright as day, but strangely, there were no screams from inside the house, no one tried to put out the fire, and no one escaped.

Only the fire is burning.

Zhao Yunshu himself was forced back two steps by the heat of the real fire, squinting as he stared into the darkness of the room.

Where is the darkness now? Flames soar to the sky, let all the demons and monsters writhe in the fire.

However, he felt a void in his stomach, which was because he had expelled all the fire from his abdomen and was now feeling a bit empty.

Bai Qian sensed the commotion and rushed over alone with his sword. He was blinded by the firelight as soon as he emerged, turned his head, and asked, "What happened? Where is that thing?"

Zhao Yunshu didn't turn around, only staring at the sea of ​​fire, and said in a low voice, "We'll know once it's burned a little."

As he said this, he opened the yellow book.

The page with the previous black shadow in the book remained unchanged, but a new page suddenly appeared!