The Ritual

Fellow villagers!

There is a large open space in front of the village chief's house, which used to be the place where people in Longmen Village gathered to discuss matters. Rong Tianding also used it as the place for performing rituals.

Rong Tianding doesn't know how to perform rituals, but he can paint pictures of pig-headed deities.

This is a painting he has drawn hundreds of times; he can now paint it with his eyes closed.

A large canvas was secured firmly with four fixed wooden poles, and Rong Tianding and Zhang Xuezhou started shouting their encouragement.

"Wang Fu'an was harmed by the water ghost. It wasn't that the painting's Law Power was weak; it was that the water ghost he encountered was too fierce, breaking the painting's protective Law Power!" Rong Tianding shouted loudly. "Today, this painter will personally paint a portrait of the Patriarch, the Nine Heavens Supreme Father, the Five Directions General Manager, the Northern Pole Left Wall Supreme General, the Grand Marshal, and the True Lord True Lord, to subdue the water ghost and completely eradicate this harmful water ghost from Longmen Village!"

Rong Tianding dipped his pen in pig's blood and then launched into a passionate speech.

It's not that his paintings are bad, but that buyers didn't spend money on paintings with stronger Law Power.

Of course, painting immortals with even greater Law Power would be too laborious, so Rong Tianding is risking his life to paint today.

Rong Tianding spouted nonsense, using all the tricks Zhang Xuezhou had taught him.

This set of rhetoric is not difficult to learn. Not to mention the constant influence of Zhang Xuezhou's parents, who had suffered more than ten years of entrepreneurial failure, you can basically hear similar rhetoric whenever you go to a real estate sales office.

The core message is how difficult it was for me, how I considered your needs, and how I secured the best possible outcome for you—something I achieved at a great cost...

Watching Rong Tianding's performance, Zhang Xuezhou felt that his cousin was extremely qualified in sales.

He glanced briefly at the ever-growing crowd.

Wang Baoli, the previously identified murderer, was also among them.

Seemingly because everyone attributed Wang Fu'an's death to a water ghost, Wang Baoli showed no sign of malice on his face, appearing no different from the other villagers.

"Master Rong, can your divine paintings really catch water ghosts?"

The village chief of Longmen Village is an elderly man who is nearly sixty years old.

These farming and herding villages are completely different from Zhang Household Village. The village chiefs and elders are all elderly people, and the older the better, while in Zhang Household Village, they are young and strong hunters.

He looked at Rong Tianding with a respectful yet slightly apprehensive expression, fearing that Rong Tianding's painting of immortals would fail to capture the water ghost.

"This artist commissioned the painting of a deity from the patriarch of ghost-catching, the Nine Heavens Supreme Father, the Five Directions General Manager, the Northern Pole Left Wall Supreme General, and the Grand Marshal Tianpeng True Lord. If this deity cannot subdue the water ghost, I can only suggest that your village relocate immediately to avoid future misfortune!"

Rong Tianding's threatening remark immediately silenced the village chief of Longmen Village, Ruru.

Some people don't believe in gods, immortals, Buddhas, or ghosts, but others are deeply immersed in them, even kneeling and praying devoutly to a clay sculpture or a painting, without the slightest disrespect.

Rong Tianding's paintings are an example of this.

Zhang Xuezhou and others could casually mock the painting's mediocre skill, but the old village chief bowed deeply, showing extreme respect.

This attitude has even influenced many people.

More than a hundred people gathered to watch Rong Tianding paint and perform the ritual, but there was very little discussion among them.

Even because of the strange cries of police officer Li Shuang last night, coupled with the unswept traces of pig's blood on the ground, the villagers were extremely eager for this religious ceremony that had come of its own accord.

Like rain after a long drought, Rong Tianding's ritual might have been a bit strange, unlike the ritual performed by the Wooden Daoist with his altar and sword, but the timing of the arrival was perfect.

Many people focused their attention on Rong Tianding's brush, watching when he would paint and when he would catch ghosts.

"That's about enough!"

Nearly half of the people from Longmen Village came, and most importantly, Wang Baoli was among them. Zhang Xuezhou felt that it was time to begin the ritual.

He reminded Rong Tianding, which caused Rong Tianding to begin walking with an air of utter disregard for family ties, constantly chanting the names of deities.

Like a drunkard, he swayed and twisted for a while before Rong Tianding finally made a stroke on the canvas.

After finishing a stroke, Rong Tianding started wriggling again.

The ritual cannot be too simple, lest people think that no effort has been put in, but if it is to be more complicated, no one knows how to do it, so they can only use this drunken appearance to draw pictures to buy time.

While squandering the congealed clump of pig's blood in the center, Rong Tianding pointed east and west, south and north.

Although his movements were deliberately affected, he had been drawing pigs for many years and could draw a pig's head even with its eyes closed.

Before long, a ferocious pig's head appeared on the canvas.

Once Rong Tianding had regained his composure and carefully added the lower half of the human body and armor, the painting of Tianpeng True Lord was complete.

"Hey! Grand Master Tianpeng, the Supreme Father of the Nine Heavens, the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Directions, the Supreme General of the Northern Pole Left Wall, the Grand True Lord, please descend to the mortal realm to capture the ghost!"

Once the paint was dry, Rong Tianding flicked his brush and immediately grabbed the canvas, which was over a meter long.

He glanced at Zhang Xuezhou and the others, and seeing that they were somewhat wary, he tore down the canvas and shouted.

"The patriarch said that a water ghost has infiltrated the village!"

Rong Tianding shouted, which made Rong Li grip the butcher knife. Then, patrolman Li Shuang struggled to his feet and carefully pushed open the window to watch.

Upon hearing Rong Tianding's shout, many villagers were thrown into a panic, constantly glancing around nervously.

"The patriarch said that the water ghost used Law Technique and possessed someone's body!"

Rong Tianding shouted again, startling many villagers. Their attention shifted to the direction of Wang Fu'an's house, and some even focused on Wang Fu'an's wife.

"Did the patriarch say who the water ghost possessed?" the old village chief asked, mustering his courage.

"Our patriarch possesses profound Law Power, but he is not omniscient or omnipotent. He may know many names in Longmen Village," Rong Tianding shouted. "But as long as you call out your names, our patriarch will surely be able to identify whose body the water ghost has possessed!"

"Shout! Shout it out, all of you! State your names one by one!" the old village chief shouted. "This old man... Wang Lide greets the Ancestor!"

The old village chief gave orders to the villagers and then bowed and called out the name of the deity painting.

"To keep it short, just say 'Wang Lide'!"

Rong Tianding waved his hand, and an elder from the village swallowed back the words of greeting he was about to say, and called out "Wang Lixin".

With the village chief and elders taking the lead, most villagers cooperated obediently, and few dared to stand out or act differently.

"Wang Baoli!"

A response came from among the villagers.

Wang Baoli's voice was unremarkable, blending in with the other villagers like that of an ordinary person.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Rong Tianding shouted loudly.

"A water ghost! The patriarch said a water ghost is possessing this man named Wang Baoli!"

Rong Tianding's hands trembled slightly, but he reacted quickly, pointing out the person as soon as Wang Baoli finished speaking.

"The water ghost has possessed a person and taken on a physical form. Now is the perfect time to catch it! Quickly, grab that water ghost!"

Zhang Xuezhou called out, and Rong Li had already drawn her butcher knife and rushed out.

Suddenly, a fierce-looking woman came rushing towards him wielding a pig-slaughtering knife, and Wang Baoli felt a chill run down his spine.

Wang Baoli knew very well that he was not a ghost, but this accusation was difficult for him to refute.

Public opinion can be incredibly powerful.

While he could ignore the rumors and gossip, being wrongly accused of being a water ghost could very well cost him his life.

"I'm not a water ghost!"

Wang Baoli shouted in protest, but no one listened to his argument.

"Water ghosts are afraid of fire, burn him to death!"

The village chief's trembling shout sent chills down Wang Baoli's spine. He forced his way through the crowd and ran.

"These scholars are ruthless and their methods of framing people are truly vicious. No wonder my mother told me not to offend Master Li, lest I find myself being targeted without even realizing it!"

Inside the side room, Officer Li Shuang confidently closed the window he had opened.

He touched the wound on his waist and realized that he couldn't mess with scholars, nor could he afford to mess with those tigresses.

If he had hesitated even a second longer in begging for mercy, Rong Li would have ripped his kidneys off with a single stroke.

Besides being used for sexual intercourse, kidneys are also the source of a person's vital Qi and Blood and strength. If a kidney is stabbed, even if the person doesn't die instantly, they will inevitably lose all their strength immediately.

In normal martial arts training, the throat and chest are common striking points, making it difficult to target the opponent's kidneys.

Rong Li, who was slaughtering pigs, clearly treated people like pigs, and her fighting style was completely different from normal, which is why he suffered a silent loss after several moves.

"Thank goodness it's saved!"

Li Shuang murmured something.

He managed to save his kidneys from Rong Li's butcher's knife, but it's hard to say for Wang Baoli.