Xuan Yun Shows Off

The mountain rain came fast, and it stopped just as quickly!

At the warm invitation of Qiao Mingyuan, the County Lieutenant of Qingshui County, Mo Chuan readily agreed to descend the mountain and head to Qingshui County to investigate the truth behind Magistrate Qin's beheading.

After being cleansed by the Skywater, Huayin Mountain was as fresh as if washed, and as green as jade.

Although the deep mountain scenery was beautiful, the mountain paths were rugged and difficult to traverse.

With Mo Chuan possessing the body of Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen, the journey down the mountain was particularly arduous.

Fortunately, with the help of Qiao family servants, the mountain path, though steep, eventually came to an end as they moved slowly.

As dusk began to fall, the group finally reached a farmstead at the foot of the mountain. They decided to rest for the night and proceed into the county town the next day.

Before Mo Chuan could settle in, someone from the Qiao family came to visit – it was the younger brother of Qiao Yuhong.

He wanted Mo Chuan to perform a ritual to help his niece, who had died tragically.

It turned out that Qiao Yuhong's daughter had died in such a horrific manner that anyone who saw her was terrified. They even worried that her corpse might reanimate and turn into a zombie or a fierce ghost.

To appease the public, Qiao Yuhong's brother had no choice but to resort to this plan, respectfully inviting Mo Chuan to perform the ritual.

Mo Chuan saw no reason to refuse and nodded his assent.

In this era, unmarried girls who died suddenly were not eligible to have a memorial tablet or be buried in the ancestral graveyard.

Even though the Qiao family was a prominent clan, they could not break the rules.

Therefore, the Qiao family only set up a simple mourning shed in front of their gate, with a plain coffin. The next day, she would be sent to the water burial grounds, which was the mass grave.

Under the awestruck gaze of the Qiao family, Mo Chuan recited a chapter of the Taishang Jiuku Sutra, conjured a few talismans out of thin air, and put on a show to calm people's hearts before returning.

The night was like water, with the chirping of insects.

Under the dim candlelight, Mo Chuan took out the Thunder-Struck Peachwood Five-Thunder Token and examined it carefully. He couldn't help but show a look of disappointment.

This Five-Thunder Token, obtained from Chong Shizi, had become an ordinary object after its stored Nine Heavens Thunder power was activated.

Only a trace of thunderous aura remained, like a wine jug that had once held fine wine, with a lingering scent.

"This item is of no use to me anymore. If I gave it to a mortal, it wouldn't be able to ward off great disasters, but it could scare away minor spirits! Unfortunately, its origin is questionable, and I fear it would bring undeserved disaster to whoever possesses it!"

Mo Chuan thought for a moment, then tossed it back into the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, considering it a collectible.

There was no incident throughout the night.

The next morning, at the invitation of County Lieutenant Qiao Mingyuan, Mo Chuan got into his carriage.

The two of them discussed scriptures and the Dao along the way.

Having been influenced by Fu Luan Temple, Mo Chuan was considered half a Daoist disciple. He didn't have much knowledge, but it was enough to impress laypeople.

When the carriage reached the execution ground, Mo Chuan called for it to stop. He looked out the window and then told the driver to continue.

"Daoist Master, have you discovered something?"

"Has Qingshui County ever executed any troublesome bandits?"

"Qingshui County has clean governance and rarely carries out the death penalty by beheading... I remember, about ten years ago, they executed a notorious bandit named Qian San."

"That's likely him."

"What do you mean, Daoist Master?"

"Magistrate Qin was beheaded in broad daylight at the execution ground. It's highly likely that a headless ghost possessed him and caused this. I just observed the execution ground, and there's a faint residual ghostly aura. The conclusion should be more or less the same."

Mo Chuan said calmly.

He remembered that the Qingshui constables had visited Fu Luan Temple.

It was likely that Qingshui County had invited all the cultivators from the surrounding villages and towns.

Since that was the case, it would be better to report the findings early and gain an advantage.

If Qingshui County was grateful, perhaps after this body of Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen died, he could even secure a prime spot for his burial, which would be a fitting gesture for borrowing the body.

"A headless ghost?" County Lieutenant Qiao Mingyuan looked astonished. "Daoist Master, are you saying that headless ghost is Qian San?"

"A headless ghost is one of the four great evil spirits in our Daoist tradition. It's difficult for them to take form without being a bloodthirsty person, so it's highly likely to be him."

Mo Chuan explained.

"There's such a saying?"

Qiao Mingyuan murmured in astonishment. After a while, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Daoist Master, for clarifying. May I ask, Daoist Master, have you found any trace of that headless ghost?"

Mo Chuan shook his head. "Not here. Logically speaking, a headless ghost would linger around the execution ground. So, either the headless ghost satisfied its resentment after killing Magistrate Qin and vanished; or..."

"Or what?"

"Or it was captured by a powerful expert!"

"Daoist Master, is it possible that the headless ghost is hiding and will come out to harm people at night?" Qiao Mingyuan asked worriedly.

"It's possible, but unlikely."

These words were as good as saying nothing.

Qiao Mingyuan continued to press for details until the carriage arrived at the Qiao residence, at which point he stopped asking questions.

After alighting from the carriage, and at Qiao Mingyuan's respectful invitation, they proceeded directly into the main hall.

Mo Chuan was surprised to discover that the hall was already filled with distinguished guests. Besides officials from the county town, the hall was packed with people from all walks of life.

He even spotted two familiar figures in the crowd.

—The old Daoist priest from Fu Luan Temple and Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy.

When Qiao Mingyuan entered, everyone rose to greet him.

Looking at the guests filling the room, Mo Chuan felt a sense of disappointment and suddenly realized his perception might have been mistaken.

There were over thirty guests in the hall.

Monks, nuns, Daoist priests, Daoist nuns, and even coarsely dressed peasant women... the list was endless.

However, most of them had a dim aura and showed no spiritual light.

Only a very few had barely perceptible fluctuations of mana, and even those were extremely weak, much like the Thunder-Struck Peachwood Five-Thunder Token in his hand that had lost its efficacy.

He wondered if these were powerful individuals hiding their strength, or if it was due to the legacy of their ancestors.

In other words, most of the people here were either impostors or had lost their heritage.

Mo Chuan had reason to believe that Qingshui County had gathered all the skilled individuals from the surrounding ten villages.

There might be a few who slipped through the net, but certainly not many.

Yet, even with this gathering of elites, the presence of so many ordinary people made him realize that cultivators were even rarer than he had imagined.

No wonder the old Daoist priest from Fu Luan Temple was so excited after drawing the Ghost Subduing Talisman.

His mistaken perception stemmed from the fact that every time he had intercepted ownerless incense offerings, he had almost always encountered spirit monsters and fierce ghosts.

He had even encountered powerful individuals like Chong Shizi, naturally leading him to believe that cultivators in this world were formidable and that ghosts were everywhere.

He didn't realize this was akin to working in a crematorium; seeing dead people every day would naturally make one feel that the world was full of malice.

Returning to the main topic.

As Mo Chuan surveyed the crowd, everyone's gaze was fixed on him.

This was because, among all those present, he was the only one who had received such courtesy from the County Lieutenant.

Not only had they arrived in the same carriage, but he had also been invited to the seat of honor.

However, no one voiced any objections.

This was because Mo Chuan's current appearance was quite impressive.

Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen was on his deathbed, but to the eyes of the crowd, he looked more like an enlightened master.

Coupled with the new Daoist robe he had changed into before his death, his appearance was even more distinguished thanks to the saying "clothes make the man."

"Today, I have invited all of you here, and I believe you already know why. The death of Magistrate Qin has caused widespread panic in Qingshui. To appease the people and address their concerns, I bear this responsibility. I implore all of you to assist me in investigating the truth and restoring peace and order to Qingshui."

Qiao Mingyuan's impassioned speech brought everyone to the main topic.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone eagerly stepped forward.

"County Lieutenant, in my opinion, this matter was definitely caused by a villain. I have a technique that can observe the trajectory of the crime. May I be allowed to closely examine the Magistrate's body to find the culprit?"

"Certainly!" Qiao Mingyuan nodded, saying nothing more.

"County Lieutenant, in my opinion, Magistrate Qin was clearly possessed by an evil ghost. I have a method to deal with it!"

"Oh? Do you have any proof?"

"This..."

"County Lieutenant..."

For a moment, the hall erupted with various opinions, with everyone eagerly speaking out.

The chaotic scene, resembling a vegetable market, completely stunned Mo Chuan.

Well, after all his efforts to seize the initiative, it turned out to be a wasted effort.

However, it wasn't entirely useless.

Amidst the clamor, four or five individuals confidently asserted that Magistrate Qin had been possessed by a Headless Ghost.

One of them particularly caught Mo Chuan's attention.

This person looked like an old rural woman, timid and shy, but her eyes held a cunning glint.

When the Daoist priest from Tianling Temple directly stated that a Headless Ghost was responsible, she quickly agreed.

When others asked her how she could prove it, she claimed her sect leader had told her.

It turned out this woman was a disciple of a Chuma Immortal, whose sect leader was a Ghost Immortal.

Speaking of Chuma Immortals, their practice bore some resemblance to the spirit-medium techniques of the Fu Luan Temple.

The difference was that the Fu Luan Temple invoked their ancestors.

Chuma Immortals invite spirit immortals, often composed of "Hu Huang Chang Mang Ghosts," also referred to as a "hall."

They capture those with spiritual connections as disciples, form halls, receive incense offerings, and handle matters of the underworld.

After the Tianling Temple Daoist spoke of the Headless Ghost, Magistrate Qiao finally became interested and asked, "May I ask, Daoist Priest, is this Headless Ghost still around?"

The Tianling Temple Daoist replied, "To answer the esteemed Magistrate, I carefully observed the marketplace today and saw no sign of the Headless Ghost. I believe this Headless Ghost was transformed by Li Guanqi, and once its resentment dissipated, it vanished."

Magistrate Qiao subconsciously looked at Mo Chuan. These words sounded quite similar to what Mo Chuan had said.

However, Mo Chuan had said the Headless Ghost was the great bandit Qian San, and also mentioned the possibility of it being taken in by a powerful individual.

As Magistrate Qiao was pondering, he suddenly heard a child in the hall boasting, "The Headless Ghost is one of the four great evil ghosts of the Daoist sect. How could it simply dissipate after its resentment is gone? To tell you the truth, that Headless Ghost was actually taken by my Ancestral Master... Ugh..."

Before the child's boasting could finish, his mouth was covered.

The one boasting was none other than Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy.

And the one covering his mouth was the old Daoist priest of Fu Luan Temple.

The old Daoist priest of Fu Luan Temple covering his mouth only made things worse, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.