Chapter 16

As the child's ghost emerged, it spun a few times in the air, flared its nostrils, and sniffed the scent of blood, then flew straight toward Zhi Zun Bao!

Tian Guan Jushi, seeing the ghostly wind and wailing spirits, a vicious white fog cloud rushing toward the child, felt extremely pleased and ordered harshly, "Hmph! Devour half of this child's three souls and seven spirits, so even if he is saved, he will be a fool! A bunch of ignorant things, daring to obstruct my affairs, truly tired of living!"

Before Zhi Zun Bao could react, the two ghosts had already rushed over and, through the top of his head, entered his body. He felt a chill all over, as if he had drunk a bowl of icy porridge, which ran from the top of his head to the soles of his feet!

However, apart from this, there was no other abnormality!

Tian Guan Jushi had not yet noticed this. Seeing the ghostly wind envelop Zhi Zun Bao, he quickly took out a piece of grayish-white bone, cut his little finger with a chain on the table, and dripped blood onto the bone, saying, "Done!"

Zhi Zun Bao was completely at a loss, just standing there dumbly.

After a long wait with no change, Tian Guan Jushi became anxious and cut his finger again, dripping more blood, but still nothing happened—this time he was really panicked.

Tian Guan Jushi snatched the chain from the table, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto it, desperately urging the little ghost... After several attempts, his face turned ashen, but it was all for nothing.

The child remained as distant as a horse running over a mountain...

Actually, Zhi Zun Bao was also feeling unwell, his body churning like he had been exhausted for three days and three nights, but his stubborn nature refused to admit defeat. He did not show any discomfort and even chuckled a few times!

Sweat poured down Tian Guan Jushi's forehead, his heart filled with terror: "How can this be? How can this be?" He felt his limbs go weak and numb, and his hair stood on end!

Cold sweat dripped down his face, making him feel even colder.

He was not the only one suffering; the ghosts he controlled were also in great distress.

A person's spirit is formed by the aggregation of soul and spirit. The soul has three parts: the heavenly soul, the earthly soul, and the life soul. The spirit has seven parts: the first is the heavenly impulse, the second is the wisdom, the third is the breath, the fourth is the strength, the fifth is the central control, the sixth is the essence, and the seventh is the brilliance.

Zhi Zun Bao, from a young age, was not like ordinary people. Among the three souls, he only had the life soul, and among the seven spirits, he only had the breath, strength, and essence. The rest were non-existent—these were what the ghosts could feed on!

The remaining one soul and three spirits were hidden in his internal organs, allowing his body to function, and the ghosts could not consume them.

After several more attempts, Zhi Zun Bao's discomfort reached its peak. Just as he was about to give in, he suddenly felt a chill at the top of his head, and all the discomfort vanished!

The two little ghosts, unable to bear it any longer, burst out from his head and rushed straight toward Tian Guan Jushi!

Ghost gnawing bone!

Tian Guan Jushi's body suddenly turned cold. He knew the ghosts were retaliating against his soul and was terrified. He threw the chain and pulled out a shiny short sword!

He couldn't afford to hesitate; he had to kill to protect his soul and stabilize the ghosts first!

He took two steps forward to Zhi Zun Bao, gritting his teeth and growling, "Child, I can't save myself, let alone you. Don't blame me when you reach the underworld; blame your own hard fate!"

With that, he raised his hand and stabbed toward Zhi Zun Bao's forehead, intending to open his skull and take out his brain to feed the ghosts...

"Whoosh!"

A black object flew over and hit Tian Guan Jushi's wrist, causing him to tremble in pain and drop the sword. At the same time, a lazy voice echoed:

"Hey! Getting desperate, huh? Can't handle it, huh? Want to kill and rob, huh?" After the three "huh" questions, Old Liu's figure slowly emerged from the darkness, still as unkempt and dirty as ever, but his eyes were bright and round like two pearls in an inkwell.

The object that fell to the ground was just a black wine gourd.

Tian Guan Jushi steadied himself against the table, enduring the pain of ants biting and worms gnawing, and said fiercely, "Who are you? Daring to interfere with our White Lotus Sect's affairs, are you not afraid of the wrath of the Unborn Mother and the Buddha Maitreya? When the blood pool and the sword forest take your soul, you will wish you were dead, but it will be too late..."

"Pah!" Old Liu spat, walking closer and pulling Zhi Zun Bao to his side, "Are you still talking about the blood pool and sword forest? Look at you now—by the way, how long can you last with your ghost gnawing bone technique? Probably just a few moments, right?"

Tian Guan Jushi took several quick steps back, horrified, "Who, who are you? How do you know about this?"

Thinking he had been betrayed, he unconsciously grabbed the chain on the table.

Despite the intense pain, a fierce killing intent rose in his heart, and his face turned vicious. Old Liu, not blind, noticed this and coughed lightly:

"Me? I'm the old Taoist of this temple, the owner of the deed, and the guardian of this land. Since we are both practitioners, I'll give you a piece of advice: don't have evil intentions, and never take lives—this temple you can't buy, go back and release your ghost technique, or you might not survive!"

"I, I don't need your interference!" Tian Guan Jushi said harshly, but his feet were already moving...

Old Liu pulled Zhi Zun Bao and watched him move awkwardly. After a few steps, he was already in disarray, no longer pretending, grabbed a few things, and ran, feeling a weight lifted from his heart.

He threw a threat from afar, "I, I won't let this go..." His voice grew fainter, and by the time he said the last few words, he was already far away.

Would this matter end here?

※

Rongcheng is located at the confluence of the Que'er River and the Liujiang River. About fifty miles upstream on the Liujiang River, another river called the Banbian River joins, and the town next to it is called Banbian Town.

Banbian Town is neither large nor small. The two main streets form the center of the town. The front street is lined with taverns, restaurants, brothels, casinos, pawnshops, and inns, but the most numerous are various herbal shops, all with large signs:

"Herbs for Sale!"

No wonder, as the towering mountains next to Banbian Town are filled with rare herbs and plants, which is the main reason people come here and the only value of the town.

The back street is far less bustling, mostly warehouses and the residences of some merchants. Few outsiders come here, and the only exception is the tavern at the end of the street. The tavern is hidden in a corner, barely noticeable, with the sign barely visible behind a row of green bamboo, only the high bamboo pole with a banner reading:

"Qiankun Da!"

Two days after Tian Guan Jushi's night attack, a carriage clattered through the entire Banbian Town and stopped in front of the tavern. As soon as the carriage stopped, a sickly young man, about twenty years old, dressed in a white silk robe and holding a handkerchief, got off. His face was pale, like that of a consumptive who had smoked too much opium.

The young man looked at the sign on the banner, nodded, and was about to enter when he suddenly frowned and quickly covered his mouth with the handkerchief. A muffled cough came from behind the handkerchief, so intense that it seemed to tear his heart out.

The driver quickly ran over, gently patting his back, and asked, "Sixth Brother, are you okay?"

The young man waved his hand, coughed for a while, then raised his head and wiped his mouth with the handkerchief, saying, "It's fine, just an old ailment. I've been busy these past few days and haven't paid much attention—okay, I'm going to take care of some business, you stay outside."

"Yes!" The driver nodded and stepped back, clearly obedient to the young man, who was a few years younger than him. He then returned to the carriage and waited.

The young man, known as Sixth Brother, gently lifted the hem of his robe and entered the tavern.

The front street taverns were bustling, but this one was quiet. Looking around, there was not a single customer, only a waiter occasionally bringing food and drinks to the upstairs private rooms, indicating that there was some business upstairs.

The young man found a table by the window and sat down, saying nothing. He took four chopsticks from a bamboo tube, placed them in a 'well' shape on the table, then flipped the wine bowl on the table and placed it upside down on top. Finally, he gently placed a silver dollar in the concave bottom of the bowl.

The innkeeper watched from a distance, saying nothing. When everything was in place, he walked over and sat opposite the young man. He lifted a chopstick from the 'well' and gently pressed it on the silver dollar, still saying nothing.

The young man did not touch the other three chopsticks but instead picked up the wine glass with his other hand and placed it on the ends of the chopsticks, pressing it down on the table.

Seeing everything was in order, the innkeeper finally smiled and bowed, saying, "Brother, I am the owner here, surnamed Huang. May I know your name?"

"No need for names," the young man replied, bowing in return, "Just please accept this token of respect, then we can talk." He pushed the bowl toward the innkeeper.

The innkeeper did not hesitate, pocketed the silver dollar, and asked, "Brother, you have come here to light a lamp and burn incense, so you must know the rules. Let me ask you: are you here to find someone to do a job or to find someone to talk to?"

The young man looked at the innkeeper, showing a white smile, and said, "Since you ask, I'll be straightforward! I need you to find someone for me, but there are three rules: no revealing the job, no interfering, and no drawing attention. I'll pay half upfront and the rest after the job is done, all in silver dollars. If you do this well, I'll give you a fifty-fifty split, but if you leak any information, I won't spare you—do you understand?"

Though he looked sickly and weak, his eyes were sharp and fierce, staring directly at the innkeeper. The innkeeper, knowing this was an inside matter, did not hesitate and immediately agreed:

"Rest assured, since I eat the 'Wan Qing' meal, I follow the 'Wan Qing' rules. I will strictly adhere to your conditions—now, may I ask, what kind of person are you looking for? A thief, a highwayman, a seducer, a con artist, or a hitman?"

"A hitman!" the young man smiled, "I need it done quickly and well—my carriage is waiting outside, and I need to take the person with me immediately."

"Alright! Alright!" The innkeeper quickly took out a token from his pocket, gave it to a waiter, and instructed him. He then turned back and said, "Please follow me upstairs and wait, the person will be brought to you shortly!"

"Alright!"

"May I know your name?"

The young man lightly licked his lips and smiled, "Call me Wu Di."

(Translation of the jargon:

The innkeeper did not hesitate, pocketed the silver dollar, and asked, "Brother, since you have come here and followed the rules, you must know our rules. Let me ask you: are you here to have us find someone to do a job or to find someone to talk to yourself?"

The young man looked at the innkeeper, showing a white smile, and said, "Since you ask, I'll be straightforward! I need to directly contact and negotiate with the person, without an intermediary. You just need to find the right person for me. However, I have three conditions: first, this must be kept secret and not revealed to anyone; second, you must not interfere in the job, and I will pay you a commission later, but we won't discuss this now; third, I don't want to draw attention, so you need to find the person discreetly. As for payment, I will pay half upfront and the rest after the job is done, all in silver dollars. If you do this well, I will give you ten silver dollars as a reward, but if you leak any information, I won't spare you—do you understand?"

Though he looked sickly and weak, his eyes were sharp and fierce, staring directly at the innkeeper. The innkeeper, knowing this was an inside matter, did not hesitate and immediately agreed:

"Rest assured, since we are in the business of matchmaking, we will follow the rules and not interfere—now, may I ask, what kind of person are you looking for? A thief, a highwayman, a seducer, a con artist, or a hitman?")

PS: The Great Bliss Heaven book fan group: 47133594, welcome to join. In the group, there are real stories of encountering ghosts, out-of-body experiences, and spiritual discussions...