Chapter 89

If Chu Ci had God’s perspective and saw the scene in the desolate forest outside Beiguo Town, he would definitely be chilled to the bone and never dare to underestimate the tree spirit grandmother again.

The tree spirit grandmother, a thousand-year-old locust tree spirit, personally dealt with the new arrivals in the desolate forest. Because there were more women than men, she took action herself, hiding countless branches and tentacles in the forest to launch surprise attacks, depleting the energy of the newcomers. On the other side, because the new arrivals were all men, she sent her female ghosts to seduce them. Although the process was a bit bumpy, the female ghosts’ powers were real, and they forcefully drained the new male arrivals, leaving them as nothing but dregs, in every sense of the word.

Regardless of how the newcomers fled to Lansi Temple in a state of panic, Chu Ci encountered a major problem, one that could not be solved by any force.

Let’s rewind three hours, before it got dark.

Beiguo Town was not large, and Weilan and贞子 finished their tour in no time. They followed Chu Ci to a clean teahouse, ordered a few dishes of candied fruits and nuts, and enjoyed a pot of fragrant tea to pass the afternoon.

Unexpectedly, before much time had passed, trouble came knocking.贞子 leaned on the window frame, looking around, and inadvertently saw Ning Cai Chen carrying a bookshelf walking this way, looking dejected as if he had hit a snag.

Huh? Why so dejected? Chu Ci, alerted by贞子, also looked out the window. He had helped Ning Cai Chen restore the ledger, so could it be that he was blacklisted and couldn’t collect the debt?

Chu Ci didn’t realize that this was actually closely related to himself. He had just taken out a local thug leader, scaring the other thugs. After these low-level thugs fled, they regrouped and found a tavern to eat and drink for free.

Just as Ning Cai Chen came to collect the debt, the white silver coins were handed from the innkeeper to him. The thugs saw this and, as soon as Ning Cai Chen left, they pretended to be casual and surrounded him. With a sharp iron spike, they poked a hole in the bookshelf, and the silver coins fell through the hole. Several hands reached out behind Ning Cai Chen, skillfully catching all the fallen coins.

With all his money stolen, Ning Cai Chen had no means to return to Jinhua and naturally had no spirit left.

Chu Ci called Ning Cai Chen into the teahouse, listened to his story, and couldn’t help but shed a tear for him. This must be the will of the universe; without money, Ning Cai Chen would likely still go to Lansi Temple.

Sure enough, Ning Cai Chen immediately stopped a waiter and asked where there was a place to stay for free nearby.

"Free lodging? Go to Lansi Temple!" The waiter shook off Ning Cai Chen’s hand and blurted out without thinking. As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the teahouse felt a chill down their spines, as if doused in icy water. A chilling ghost wind blew through the teahouse, making it feel dark and eerie even in broad daylight.

"Excuse me, where is Lansi Temple?" Ning Cai Chen, completely unaware of the eerie atmosphere in the teahouse, continued to ask the waiter.

"Lansi Temple? Go east from here for three and a half miles, and you’ll find a very eerie ancient temple." The waiter shivered, as if shaking off some dirt, and quickly left after telling Ning Cai Chen.

"Thank you!" Ning Cai Chen could only shout his thanks to the waiter’s back and then looked at Chu Ci, apologizing, "Brother Chu, I am short on money and must go to Lansi Temple for lodging. If Brother Chu doesn’t mind, you can stay in Beiguo Town, and I will come to join you early tomorrow morning."

Damn, if you go, you won’t come back! Chu Ci really wanted to roll his eyes at Ning Cai Chen. There’s a ghost waiting for you there, ready for a ‘meeting of the golden wind and jade dew.’

"Brother Ning, though we have only known each other for a short time, I feel a strong connection. Money is just an external thing. If Brother Ning doesn’t mind, I am willing to provide some money for your journey. If we can have a heart-to-heart talk by candlelight, it would be a pleasure." The underlying message was, Ning, I think it’s better if you don’t go to Lansi Temple. You have a wife, and getting entangled with a ghost is not proper.

"Such..." Ning Cai Chen hesitated. After all, walking three and a half miles of mountain road was indeed tiring. Moreover, Chu Ci was being very hospitable. Before long, Ning Cai Chen, who didn’t have a firm stance, gave in and stayed at the inn in Beiguo Town with Chu Ci.

Of course, having a heart-to-heart talk by candlelight was something only fools would do. After booking the room, Chu Ci, under the envious and jealous gazes of the other patrons, led Weilan and贞子 into the best room.

So, although the puppet Chu Ci sent out for reconnaissance saw the incident, it didn’t report back immediately because it didn’t endanger Chu Ci’s safety. It wasn’t until two hours later that Chu Ci learned of Ning Cai Chen’s tragic fate.

To put it simply, Ning Cai Chen’s experience can be described in twelve words: "Nightly prostitution met an unworthy person, junior suffered greatly." In more detail, Ning Cai Chen could no longer give Nie Xiaoqian happiness. Although it’s unclear why Ning Cai Chen got entangled with a prostitute, Chu Ci quickly realized it was his fault for being too close to Ning Cai Chen. The thugs didn’t dare to provoke him but found it easy to deal with a weak scholar.

Brother Ning, I am sorry for you!

Chu Ci’s face was full of guilt. Not only did he pay for a doctor to treat Ning Cai Chen, but he also secretly used alchemy to help him. Ning Cai Chen’s junior was saved, but he might have psychological scars.

The next morning, Ning Cai Chen said goodbye and left without waiting for Chu Ci, heading back to Jinhua.

Chu Ci watched Ning Cai Chen leave, feeling satisfied but also a bit guilty. It was completely unintentional!

Shaking his head, Chu Ci led out three horses from the inn. He had already learned the location of Zhengqi Manor from a passing merchant. With Ning Cai Chen gone, the Lansi Temple plot would likely stall, giving him time to hunt giant corpses. After that, he could return to Lansi Temple to continue the plot.

Ning, your glorious mission is now mine!

...

During the time in Beiguo Town, everything happened as a result of cause and effect. Chu Ci’s purposeful approach to Ning Cai Chen changed his fate, and in turn, changed the fate of a group of insignificant thugs, leading to various coincidences. Evil causes evil results, but Chu Ci, being no ordinary person, was not afraid. Unfortunately, Ning Cai Chen, an ordinary person, might suffer long-term effects.

Similarly, due to cause and effect, as long as she wasn’t exposed to Yan Chixia, the tree spirit grandmother could freely kill in the desolate forest. However, once she entered Lansi Temple, she had to consider the cycle of cause and effect. She could only send her ghostly minions to seduce and kill those with greedy and lustful hearts, avoiding any direct involvement. Even Yan Chixia could only say that the victims brought it upon themselves and could not blame the tree spirit grandmother.

This kind of ‘fishing’ method of killing would not be accepted by modern people, but in feudal times, those who were greedy and lustful and met their end would be ignored by passing high-level practitioners, dying in vain.