Chapter 3

"Recently, I found an ancient local gazetteer that records some strange events that have occurred in Chunhua County over the past few centuries. According to the investigation I sent people to conduct, most of these records are indeed true, but for some reason, these strange events are rarely known by ordinary people. Among these strange events, a place called Chunqiu Temple is mentioned multiple times. According to the book, this Taoist temple is located within Chunhua County, and the Taoists inside should know the true exorcism techniques." Shen Luo's eyes gleamed slightly as he replied.

"Is there such a thing! Where is this Chunqiu Temple? I will send people to invite them immediately." Shen Yuange, upon hearing this, stood up with a thud, excited.

"Father, please rest assured. I have already spent a large sum of money to send people to invite them. If there are no unexpected events, according to the reply, the people from Chunqiu Temple will arrive today." Shen Luo smiled slightly and replied.

"That's great. I'll quickly have the servants make some preparations so that we don't fail to entertain them properly and cause any trouble." Shen Yuange was not at all bothered by his eldest son's initiative; instead, he rubbed his hands together and said with satisfaction.

At this moment, a respectful voice from outside the study suddenly called out:

"Master! Eldest Master! There is a Taoist surnamed Luo at the door, saying he has an appointment with Eldest Master."

Upon hearing this, the two men looked at each other, both surprised and delighted.

"Father, you stay here and have some tea. I will go and meet this Taoist from Chunqiu Temple myself." Shen Luo said decisively.

"Your life is at stake. How can I have the heart to drink tea here? Let's go together to meet this Taoist Luo." Shen Yuange waved his hand and hurriedly ran to the door.

Seeing this, Shen Luo couldn't help but smile.

In the side hall of the Shen family.

Shen Luo carefully examined the middle-aged Taoist standing before him, who claimed to be "Taoist Luo."

He had a dark red face, weathered features, a light blue Taoist robe, a wooden sword slung diagonally on his back, and a small white cloth bag hanging from his waist. Apart from his straight, spear-like posture, there was nothing particularly unusual about him.

"Taoist, please take a seat. Servants, bring some good tea." Shen Yuange, upon seeing the middle-aged Taoist, said with a smile.

"There's no need for tea. Young Master Shen, was it you who sent someone with a token to invite someone from our temple to exorcise evil?" The red-faced Taoist surnamed Luo completely ignored the overly enthusiastic Shen Yuange and sternly asked Shen Luo.

"Taoist, do you recognize me?" Shen Luo asked in surprise.

"Hehe, before I came, I naturally had to inquire a bit about Young Master Shen. However, our temple has been closed for many years, and there doesn't seem to be any connection between the tokens circulating outside and the Shen family. Since Young Master Shen sent someone with a token to our temple, I naturally had to ask for clarification." Taoist Luo stared at Shen Luo and asked rudely, as if he was ready to turn hostile at any moment.

"Lord Shen, don't take offense. Although our temple's tokens are not particularly rare, there doesn't seem to be any connection with the Shen family. Since Young Master Shen sent someone with a token to our temple, I naturally had to ask for clarification." Taoist Luo then turned to Shen Yuange and said coolly.

"Closed for many years? That explains why few people in our county know about your temple. Taoist, rest assured. I learned about Chunqiu Temple from this book. As for the token, I bought it from a local resident for a large sum of money." Shen Luo, somewhat enlightened, pulled out an item from his sleeve and handed it over.

It was the "Chunhua Strange Tales" that had been on the desk earlier.

Seeing this, Shen Yuange couldn't help but take a closer look at the tattered book.

"I see."

Taoist Luo took the book with a slight surprise, carefully flipped through a few pages, and his expression relaxed.

"This book records some of our temple's exorcism and demon subjugation events from the past, and the records are so detailed that it was likely written by someone who had contact with our temple. Young Master, can you give this book to me? I want to take it back to the temple and let others read it. As for the token, as long as Young Master Shen's account is true and it was voluntarily transferred, our temple will not mind." After finishing the book, Taoist Luo's eyes flickered, and he unceremoniously tucked the book into his chest, saying without changing his expression.

Seeing this, Shen Yuange frowned slightly.

Shen Luo, however, was not bothered and lightly laughed, asking:

"Taoist Luo, if you like it, can you rest for a moment, eat something, and make some preparations before performing the exorcism on me?"

"There's no need for rest or preparation. As for the evil in your body, hehe..." The red-faced Taoist stared deeply at Shen Luo, then suddenly moved, directly approaching him and grabbing his arm tightly with one hand.

"What are you doing? Someone, come quickly!" Shen Yuange, seeing this, stepped back two steps and shouted sternly.

Instantly, seven or eight burly male servants rushed into the hall, ready to pounce on the Taoist at their master's command.

"Everyone, stop! Father, don't worry. Taoist Luo is not harming me; he is performing the exorcism!" Shen Luo said at this moment.

At this moment, he felt a warm current flow from his grabbed arm into his body, and the coldness that had been present in his body began to dissipate, leaving him feeling incredibly comfortable.

Hearing this, Shen Yuange carefully examined Shen Luo's expression, relaxed, and waved his hand to have the servants leave the side hall again.

"Whoosh."

A faint gray mist shot out from Shen Luo's chest, circled, and then flew straight toward Shen Yuange nearby.

"Hmph, come back here." Taoist Luo, seemingly having anticipated this, flicked his sleeve, and a yellow talisman shot out and hit the gray mist.

"Puff."

The talisman instantly turned into a fist-sized fireball, tightly enveloping the gray mist.

The gray mist, as if alive, writhed desperately in the flames but was soon burned to nothing.

The fireball also disappeared after a moment, leaving only a faint burning smell in the hall.

Shen Yuange watched in amazement.

"The yin energy in Young Master Shen's body has been completely removed. The rest is just a matter of adjusting his body. With that, I will take my leave." Taoist Luo then released Shen Luo's arm and said calmly.

"Yin energy? Wasn't Luo'er possessed by an evil spirit?" Shen Yuange finally came to his senses and asked instinctively.

"If it were a true evil spirit, it wouldn't be so easy to exorcise. Even I would have to treat it as a formidable opponent. Young Master Shen probably went to an unclean place and was affected by some yin energy, which is why he became like this." Taoist Luo replied nonchalantly.

"But Taoist, I turn pale every so often and become extremely strong, even three or five strong servants can't get close to me, and I have no memory of it afterward. What is this? Also, what was injected into my body just now?" Shen Luo, feeling the remaining warmth in his body, asked in surprise.