I am a wandering immortal in the mortal realm.

Under constant questioning from the adults at home, the two children finally told the whole story, but omitted the part about deliberately following Zheng Baoyu.

After all, the other party is now seen as an extraordinary master, and they absolutely cannot afford to offend him.

But after hearing the part about Da Niu drinking a boy's urine and being forced to kiss a ghost, Da Niu's parents' gaze towards him changed.

A sudden sneer rang out from the side. It was Zheng Baoyin, who had been pretending to be mute for a while, who jumped out and stared at Da Niu, whose face had turned pale, and mocked him: "You can even bite ghosts, tsk tsk tsk. I never thought that a small town like Linquan would produce two such outstanding talents as you two. You are truly something else!" As he spoke, he gave a thumbs up.

Tie Zhu was alright, but Da Niu's face looked even worse, and in the end, he burst into tears again with a "waaaah".

His father smacked him twice on the bottom and yelled, "Cry, cry, cry! You filthy, brainless brat! You licked poop when you were little, and now you're kissing ghosts! If word gets out, your father will be infamous because of you! And you still have the nerve to cry!"

Zheng Ren couldn't bear it. Although the two families had some disagreements before, he still stepped forward to persuade him, "Li Da, why are you hitting the child? How old is he? It's normal for a child to panic and do something rash when faced with trouble. He just wants to live!"

Li Da had been waiting for these words. He turned around, grabbed Zheng Ren's hand, and pleaded, "Brother, I was wrong just now. I apologize. Please do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this. That brat will be looking for a wife in two years. If people find out he kissed a ghost, I'm afraid no girl in the surrounding villages will want to marry into our family."

"Wow……!!!"

Before Zheng Ren could react to his words, Da Niu cried even harder: "I don't want to be an old bachelor! If an old bachelor dies, there'll be no one to break his bowl, and he'll definitely be bullied when he's old. Dad, Mom, I want to get married, I want to do 'that,' I want to carry on the family line..."

Zheng Baozhu blushed slightly upon hearing this, and her mother couldn't help but spit out a curse, muttering irritably, "Such a young child, already thinking about that kind of thing, the adults in the family must be pretty immoral too!"

Da Niu's parents never expected that their son would say such outrageous things in his haste, which not only made them blush but also caused them to stammer out what they were about to say.

The Zheng family members standing nearby exclaimed in amazement: "He really is a fierce person who dares to kiss a male ghost! That brat is a born lecher, who knows if he has a taste for this kind of thing!"

Zheng Baoyu quietly distanced himself from Da Niu. He was just gentle, but not interested in men. He didn't want to get involved with such filth.

Tie Zhu stepped forward and patted his brother on the shoulder, comforting him, "It's alright, Brother Da Niu. If you can't find a wife by then, I'll have a few more sons and adopt one for you to break the pot!"

His mother quickly covered his mouth and scolded him in a low voice, "It hasn't even come to that yet, what's it to you?"

Upon hearing this, Da Niu was overcome with grief, and the tears he had just stopped flowing again.

Zheng Ren's head throbbed from the noise. His eyes twitched, and he forcefully pulled his hand away from the other person's grasp, saying helplessly, "Don't worry, my Zheng family has no one so talkative..."

"I naturally trust my brother's character..." Li Da chuckled dryly, but didn't elaborate, only glancing at the rest of the Zheng family behind him.

Zheng Baozhu pouted, but Zheng Baoyin, standing beside him, wasn't about to tolerate him and immediately sneered, "Li Da, are you being suffocated by your son's stinky mouth? Your eyes are rolling so fast, aren't you afraid they'll pop out?"

Li Da's face turned red. If he hadn't needed the other person's help, he would have argued with them.

"Say less!"

Zheng's mother gently patted her son's shoulder. She was never one to argue or compete with others, and she was afraid that if the other party didn't say something right, the two families would start fighting again.

Zheng Baoyin snorted, turned around, and swaggered into the house.

Along the way, Zheng Ren had overheard the two children cursing Zheng Baoyu, and he was seething with anger. He said, "If you ask me, these two boys of yours are used to talking without thinking. Who knows, we won't even need to spread the word; they'll probably tell everyone themselves!"

"That's impossible!" Li Da shook his head violently, taking it as the other party being pretentious. He turned around, glared at his son, and slapped him so hard he knelt on the ground, yelling, "Don't you have any sense? Don't you know how to apologize to your Uncle Zheng?"

Zheng Ren was so exasperated by his shameless behavior that he finally said, "Fine, fine, we won't say anything, okay? And don't torment the child anymore!"

"Hehe, big brother, thank you! Thank you!"

The two families quickly stepped forward to express their gratitude, showing no trace of the previous quarrel.

Zheng Ren waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, my family needs to prepare dinner. We didn't bring any rice for you, and besides, the children were frightened. Go home early!"

After saying that, he added, "The two children suffered at the hands of a ghost, and we don't know what the consequences will be. If possible, it's best to have someone arrange for them to be reunited!"

"Yes! Yes! We should find someone to take a look!" The parents' expressions changed, as if they had thought of something.

Zheng Baozhu's heart stirred, and she stepped forward with a smile, saying, "Master Shen of Yiyuan Temple is quite skilled. My brother was able to bring your child back safely thanks to a peace talisman he obtained from his temple."

"Didn't they say he was just trying to gain fame and fortune, and even made things difficult for Old Master Zhuang after his death?" someone asked doubtfully, their tone hesitant.

Zheng Baozhu retorted angrily, "That was all someone deliberately splashing dirty water on us, believe it or not!"

"Hehe, we believe you, Sister Zhu, we believe you!" The two families said awkwardly.

Zheng Baozhu rolled her eyes, immediately noticing the perfunctory look on the other person's face.

Once this matter was settled, both sets of parents prepared to leave with their children.

Unexpectedly, the two brothers suddenly broke free from their restraints, ran to Zheng Baoyu, and looked at him expectantly.

Zheng Baozhu's heart tightened, thinking that the two children were incorrigible and were going to bully her third brother again.

But then Da Niu said earnestly, "Big brother, can we come visit you sometime?"

Zheng Baoyu pursed his lips. He was usually gentle and introverted, and rarely had he been asked questions like this in person. For a moment, he was quite at a loss for words.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Baozhu immediately tried to shoo them away, her face stern as she said, "How old are you? How old is my brother? Do you think you're so bored that you want to play with me? Besides, have you forgotten what happened this afternoon?"

"Big brother, I'm sorry!" The two brothers lowered their heads in shame and apologized sincerely.

Zheng Baozhu was about to say something more, but unexpectedly Zheng Baoyu spoke first.

"So... will you still bully others?"

Da Niu's eyes lit up, and he quickly pledged his loyalty, patting his chest: "Of course! From now on, whoever Big Brother tells us to beat up, we'll beat up!"

"Yeah, beat them up!" Tie Zhu chimed in.

Zheng Baoyu's face immediately darkened: "Then it seems we're not on the same wavelength. Let's not associate with each other anymore!"

"No! No!" The two children were terrified and hurriedly changed their tune, "We won't bully anyone anymore, okay?"

Zheng Baoyu looked at them solemnly and said, "In this world, no one likes to be bullied, and no one deserves to be bullied. If you don't change your ways, one day someone even more powerful will come to bully you!"

"this……"

The two brothers looked at each other and thought to themselves, "That's right. We were just thrown into the river that afternoon, and then we encountered a ghost. Could it be that we've done too many bad things and are now being punished?"

The two brothers thought about it more and more and felt that this was true. They couldn't help but shudder. They then looked at Zheng Baoyu, nodded seriously, and said, "Big brother, we'll listen to you from now on!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Baoyu immediately smiled and said, "Alright, if you can do that, you can come and play with me from now on, and I'll give you candy!"

"Really?" Tie Zhu's eyes lit up, and his mouth watered instantly at the thought of the taste of candy.

Da Niu, however, remained defiant, raising his chin and declaring, "I don't want candy, I want to learn skills from Big Brother!"

"I?"

Zheng Baoyu smiled, knowing exactly what they were thinking, and thought to himself, "If you love embroidery, I can teach you."

The adults behind them were already calling, so the two brothers had no choice but to bid each other a reluctant farewell: "Big brother, we're leaving now, we'll come find you again tomorrow!"

Zheng Baoyu waved and watched the two of them jog off to reunite with their parents and family.

Zheng Baozhu took two steps forward and stood beside him. Watching the Li family's departing figures, she suddenly patted her third brother and laughed, "Well done, brother! You're a man of few words, but when you do speak, you amaze everyone. You even have the audacity to take 'Ghost's Sorrow' as your underling."

She was referring to the Li brothers, who were so fierce that they were hated by gods and ghosts, hence the nickname "the devil's nightmare".

Zheng Baoyu smiled and shook his head: "Little sister, please don't make fun of me. It's all because the Taoist priest's talismans are powerful. It has nothing to do with me."

"Wrong, wrong..." Zheng Baozhu disagreed, and instead said, "No matter how powerful the talismans are, without Third Brother's compassion, those two boys wouldn't have been able to come back safely. So what saved them wasn't any supernatural power, but Third Brother's kindness!"

Zheng Baoyu blushed at her praise, and the last trace of resentment in his heart vanished.

Zheng Baozhu chuckled, then suddenly said, "But what I'm most curious about is, Third Brother, why did you agree to play with them? What were you thinking?"

Zheng Baoyu looked at her, smiled, and said in a very serious tone, "Just like Father said, I can't always stay cooped up in my room. Going out and taking a look around might be quite nice, you know?"

Zheng Baozhu was taken aback, and a hint of joy welled up in her eyes.

"Oh, right, don't forget about the talismans!" Zheng Baoyu suddenly reminded him.

"I know, I know!" Zheng Baozhu waved her hand and caught up with her father, asking, "Dad, if Chen Junzhen really becomes a ghost, should we talk to Sister Cui first?"

Zheng Ren frowned: "The government hasn't given us any word yet, so let's just leave it at that for now. What if it's not true? We don't want to scare your sister-in-law, Cui. Luckily, her aunt came today and took her away, otherwise I wouldn't know how to comfort her!"

Zheng Baozhu said, "But our two towns aren't far apart. Who knows, Sister Cui might have already received the news?"

Zheng Ren sighed softly, his brow furrowed with worry, and said, "If that's really the case, then there's nothing we can do about it."

Zheng Baozhu's eyes darted around, and she asked in a low voice, "Is Sister Cui really abandoning Zhuang Ping?"

Zheng Ren glanced at her: "How can she, a mere woman, be managed? How could she possibly manage her?" After saying that, he sighed again, "If it weren't for that incident, your sister-in-law Cui wouldn't be so heartless..."

Zheng Baozhu snorted, "Should I help you invite the Taoist priest down the mountain?"

Zheng Ren's face stiffened, and after a long while, he shook his head: "Forget it. When we buried your Uncle Zhuang, we made a three-point agreement with the Taoist priest that we would never cause trouble afterward. What kind of trouble would it be to ask someone to come down the mountain now?"

Zheng Baozhu teased, "Perhaps you can't afford to hire a Taoist priest?"

Zheng Ren immediately flicked his forehead, saying irritably, "How dare you mess with your father like that!"

Zheng Baozhu wasn't annoyed; she held up a silver ingot: "Look!"

"Where did you get the money?" Zheng Ren asked in surprise.

"Given to me by my third brother!"

Why did your third brother give you money?

"He's going to buy talismans for our whole family!"

"this……"

Zheng Baozhu looked at her father and suddenly spread her hands: "Father, strange things are happening frequently in town these days. You all work long hours and need talismans for protection. But if that's the case, the money should come from the public funds. I'll return the silver to Third Brother, and you can give me the money, okay?"

Zheng Ren blushed with embarrassment, knowing that his daughter was once again criticizing him for paying money for the dealer.

"Hmph!" Zheng Baozhu glanced at him and snorted coldly, "Father, I know you dote on your eldest nephew, and I won't stop you from being a good person. But my elder brother is still waiting for the money to arrange his marriage. If you want to act like a big shot again, just think about those five taels of silver that went down the drain!" With that, she strode away.

Zheng Ren stood there, watching his children go back to their rooms. Thinking about what had happened, he felt both regret and pain in his heart.

He only cared about so-called loyalty and affection, but he didn't realize that his repeated help would eventually exhaust his children's patience.

If there is another chance, my children will become estranged from me.

Zheng Ren remained silent for a long time, watching his wife busy in the kitchen. After a long while, he sighed softly and hunched over as he went into the house.

……

late at night.

The county town, the mortuary.

"Bang bang bang!"

A series of rapid knocks sounded at the door, followed by an aged voice from inside: "Who is it?"

"Master Liu, it's me!" came the voice from outside the door.

"It's Inspector Lu!"

A moment later, the lights came on in the room, and then the door opened, and an old man with a limp stumbled out.

"Inspector Lu, what brings you here so late?"

Inspector Lu, heavy with the smell of dew, bowed slightly upon hearing this and said expressionlessly, "There's something wrong with a corpse. The county coroner is afraid to open it, so I'd like to ask you, Master Liu, to take a look!"

"Oh?"

Master Liu was taken aback, stared at Inspector Lu for a moment, and then said, "Old Wang is a veteran coroner, he knows everything about the profession inside, is there any corpse he wouldn't dare to open?"

Inspector Lu stated succinctly: "Coroner Wang burned nine incense sticks, and each stick severed his head!"

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Master Liu's cloudy eyes, and he stepped aside: "Come in!"

Inspector Lu waved his hand, and several constables carried in a corpse.

Master Liu glanced at it and scoffed, "A violent death? No wonder it was so brutal!"

Inspector Lu did not answer, but simply laid the body out quietly and stepped aside.

Master Liu didn't delay and lit the oil lamps one by one. After the hall was brightly lit, he lit three sticks of incense.

As soon as the incense stick was inserted into the incense burner, the smoke immediately shot up to the top in a chaotic manner, as if someone were covering it, and the flame visibly dimmed.

Master Liu sneered, "What, so resentful that you won't let anyone touch you?"

Suddenly, he reached out, took out an ink line, and flicked it on the corpse's forehead and ankle.

With ink stains on his body, the world seemed to close off, and all supernatural phenomena vanished.

The yamen runners, who were trembling with fear, stared wide-eyed in amazement.

Master Liu acted as if nothing had happened, taking out tools such as knives, axes, and chisels from the box, then washing his hands, covering his face, and holding incense sticks in his mouth.

He approached the corpse and muttered to himself, "Let me see what secrets you have that you can't reveal to the world?" With that, he sliced ​​the blade across the chest, and blood splattered out.

Master Liu opened his belly and looked inside. His eyes widened suddenly, and then he burst out laughing.

"So that's why! He's a heartless scoundrel!"