I am a wandering immortal in the mortal realm.

"Alas, layman, this is not a matter of money. This thing is extremely ominous, and my magical power is too weak to do anything about it!" Shen Yuan maintained his dignified demeanor, but his words were full of reluctance.

Zhuang Ping seemed to only then realize there was a Taoist priest beside him. He immediately turned around, grabbed Shen Yuan's wide Taoist robe, and cried with tears streaming down his face, "Taoist Master, you must have mercy and save us!"

Zhuang Da's children echoed his sentiments, kneeling down and pleading, "Yes, yes, Daoist Master, please help us just this once! The Yiyuan Temple is so dilapidated, yet you dared to become its abbot alone; you must have real skills. Please, let my father rest in peace, stop making trouble!"

Shen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, but he couldn't just leave in front of Zheng's father, so he could only helplessly find an excuse: "Your father's condition must have a reason. I don't know the cause and effect, so how can I prescribe the right medicine to let him rest in peace?"

Zhuang Ping's eldest sister immediately shouted, "Yes, yes, the Taoist priest is right! Little brother, quickly tell the Taoist priest what you did to make Father so angry?"

Zhuang Ping glared at him, annoyed, and said, "Big sister, how can you say that I'm the one who caused this?"

He was already slovenly and haggard, and with that glare, coupled with the bloodshot eyes, he truly revealed his fierce nature.

Zhuang Ping's older sister was startled and muttered, "What if it's like what others are saying, that you're deliberately being unfilial while Dad is sick? We're not around, how would we know?"

"So you know you weren't by Father's side?" Zhuang Ping laughed angrily. "Let me ask you this: Father's been sick for so long, how many times have you actually come to see him? Every time you bring a bunch of vegetables, you subtly pry into Father's private affairs while I'm not around. Do you think I'm deaf and blind? I think Father's resentment today is all because of you!"

Zhuang Ping's eldest sister grew anxious and retorted, "It's not just me who's been asking about Father's private affairs; my second sister did the same. Why don't you say it was she who angered Father?"

Zhuang Ping's second sister immediately objected, jumping out and shouting, "Eldest sister, don't make false accusations! When did I ever inquire about Father's private affairs?"

Zhuang Ping's eldest sister snorted and said, "Don't think I don't know. Last month, after you saw Father, you immediately bought the most fashionable floral fabric in Pingjiang Prefecture to make clothes. If my husband hadn't seen it, you would have kept it a secret forever. I know very well what kind of life you live, always complaining about being poor. If you hadn't taken Father's private money, where would you have gotten the spare money to act all cute and pretty?"

"Did I offend you by dressing up and being coquettish?" Zhuang Ping's second sister said, hands on her hips. "You're allowed to wear new clothes, but I'm not allowed to buy floral fabric? I can spend my own pocket money however I want, it's none of your business!"

"What?!"

Before Sister Zhuangping could speak, a kind-looking middle-aged man next to her called out first.

He stared intently at Zhuang Ping's second sister, gritting his teeth as he said, "Didn't you tell me that the dress was given to you by your third sister because she thought the sleeves were torn and she was too lazy to mend them?"

"Master, I..." Zhuang Ping's second sister lowered her head, twisting her handkerchief, her eyes flickering.

"What do you mean, 'what are you talking about!'" the man said angrily. "I'll just ask you one question: I'm the only one working in the family, and we barely make ends meet. You stay home all day doing nothing. Where do you get the money to buy such expensive floral fabrics?"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall's eyes lit up, eager to listen.

Shen Yuan was also dumbfounded. Good heavens, I only asked one question, how did such a big scandal come about?

Zhuang Ping's older sister probably knew she had caused trouble, and she cowered and hid in the back.

Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, Zhuang Ping's second sister rolled her eyes and exclaimed, "I...I'll borrow the money from my third sister!" After saying that, she quickly winked at the woman next to her.

"What?"

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Ping's third sister's husband also jumped up upon hearing this, shouting, "You stupid woman, how dare you borrow money behind my back?"

"I didn't, sir..."

"..."

What a farce! Shen Yuan was completely dumbfounded.

The eerie wind in the mourning hall seemed to be blowing even stronger; perhaps the old man couldn't bear to watch any longer.

"shut up!"

In the end, it was Zheng's father's loud shout that silenced everyone.

"Shut up! Look at the state of yourselves! Your father is still lying here, how can you act like children?"

The Zhuang siblings all lowered their heads, looking like they were obediently accepting punishment.

Father Zheng snorted, then approached Shen Yuan and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting: "Daoist Master!"

"Layman!" Shen Yuan returned the greeting.

Father Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I didn't know about today's events..."

"As I just stated, we need to understand the cause and effect before we can treat the illness accordingly. Otherwise, even if we forcibly bury Master Zhuang, his soul will be restless, and he will inevitably bring misfortune to his descendants in the future!"

Upon hearing that this would bring misfortune upon the descendants, Zhuang Ping's brother-in-law immediately exclaimed, "This won't do! Daoist Master, if our married daughters have children who bear a different surname, are they still considered descendants of the Zhuang family?"

Shen Yuan was speechless, then saw Zheng's father's face instantly turn cold as he said, "Then you can ask Chen-ge'er yourself if he still acknowledges him as his maternal grandfather!"

The man blushed and remained silent.

Father Zheng then turned to Zhuang Ping and asked, "Ping-ge'er, I can overlook your usual scheming nature, but given the current situation, you wouldn't lie to me. Tell me, what exactly did you do to make your father so restless?"

"Uncle Zheng, I really didn't!" Zhuang Ping cried out, feigning innocence. "Our two families live together like this. If I had done something, wouldn't you know? Even when Father passed away, you were always by his side, and you never heard him say a word about it!"

After thinking about it, Zheng's father concluded that although Ping-ge was stingy and petty, he was not a bad person at heart, and he was decent enough in terms of filial piety.

Brother Zhuang is a magnanimous person and would never hold a grudge against the children over such trivial matters.

So what is the purpose of his fussing like this today?

Mr. Zheng couldn't help but turn his attention to Zhuang Da's three daughters, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

These three are incredibly stupid; they certainly don't have that kind of ability!

Father Zheng frowned and pondered for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a solution. Finally, he could only plead with Shen Yuan: "Daoist Master, is there really no other way?"

Shen Yuan said calmly, "If it only treats the symptoms and not the root cause, then why bother treating it at all?"

Father Zheng remained silent for a while, glanced at the sun that had disappeared behind the clouds, and knew that the auspicious time was about to pass. If the person was not buried soon, there might be another change in the situation.

Immediately, he gritted his teeth, stared at Shen Yuan, and said, "Daoist Master, what if we only seek a temporary solution?"

Shen Yuan's expression froze: "This..."

Father Zheng said, "I observed that the Taoist priest remained calm and composed throughout, indicating that he had a plan in mind. We only ask for a swift burial and request the Taoist priest's assistance. Even if problems arise afterward, we will absolutely not seek revenge on the Taoist priest!"

"Yes, Daoist Master, please make a move!"

"Master, I beg you!"

"..."

The mourning hall was filled with weeping and wailing. Even the old laborer, Chen, came over, cupped his hands to Shen Yuan, and said righteously, "I have heard that the Taoists have always taken it upon themselves to eliminate demons and protect the Way. Now that evil spirits are causing trouble, only the orthodox methods of the Xuanmen can suppress them. Your intervention, Taoist Master, is truly timely!"

Master Shen, a member of the orthodox Xuanmen sect: "..."

Well, they've even brought up the matter of exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path. Shen Yuan is now completely cornered.

He could guess that if he dared to run away today, the townspeople would dare to go up the mountain and demolish Yiyuan Temple tomorrow.

Shen Yuan regretted not bringing Boyi down with him. After all, it was a fire-breathing ox, not some ordinary ghost that could be easily fooled.

However, he wasn't entirely without support!

Touching the wooden sword on his back, Shen Yuan felt inexplicably calmed down.

A divine sword that can stun a fire-breathing bull, surely it can't deal with a little new ghost like you?

Thinking this, Shen Yuan drew his wooden sword and said solemnly, "Very well, since that's the case, I can only give it my best! If it fails, I hope you will all forgive me!"

"How is that possible?"

"No! No!"

"You jest, Taoist priest..."

Everyone exchanged polite greetings, but all their eyes were fixed on Shen Yuan's actions.

The Taoist was naturally elegant and refined, and now, with his sword pointed diagonally, he truly possessed the air of a sword immortal from a folk tale.

The women standing nearby blushed and turned their heads away, while the men all looked on with awe and admiration.

"Please, Taoist priest, exorcise this evil spirit!"

Old Chen suddenly shouted, startling Shen Yuan so much that he shrank back and almost lost his composure.

Why is the old man so easily startled?

Shen Yuan mentally complained, but his body had already moved.

He held a long sword, took a step forward, and was about to strike down on the coffin.

Suddenly I wondered if I was being too rough, since the coffin bearers were singing.

He slowed his pace slightly, recalling the original owner's memories. He then realized that this person had absolutely no experience in exorcising evil spirits.

Ah, as expected, a scholar is utterly useless!

Since that's the case, this Taoist priest will have no choice but to copy it!

Then everyone saw Shen Yuan, who had already rushed to the coffin, suddenly twirl his sword, take a series of magical steps, make hand seals, and chant a long, loud voice:

"Nine Heavens Mysterious Temple, transformed into divine thunder, its majestic heavenly power drawn forth by the sword!"

"Old Deng, take this!"

A wooden sword, seemingly unleashing the power of a thousand troops, lost control and struck the coffin, nearly bringing tears to Shen Yuan's eyes.

The grains of rice that Old Chen had previously thrown onto the coffin were instantly shaken several feet away.

Before anyone could even be shocked by the force, they faintly heard a piercing shriek suddenly ring out, sending chills down their spines.

But soon, the faint whistling sound vanished, and the lingering eerie wind stopped instantly.

The chill in the room vanished instantly, as if by divine intervention, drawing gasps of admiration from everyone present.

"This...is this the true method of Xuanmen?" Father Zheng stared blankly, muttering to himself.

Old Chen, the porter, stood to the side, staring intently at Shen Yuan, his eyes revealing envy, jealousy, and admiration...

Only Shen Yuan tenderly stroked his greatsword, then turned to meet the two old men's infatuated gazes.

He frowned immediately and said impatiently, "What are you all standing there for? Carry the coffin!"