Chapter 5

In the sparse moonlight of the mountains, the air was desolate and cold.

Separated by a great distance.

Looking out at the bleak and vast surroundings.

Jian An, feeling a mix of loneliness and homesickness, felt a deep sorrow rise in his heart and let out a low sigh.

Just then.

He bowed in the direction of the basin at the foot of the mountain.

The Taoist frowned: "Why are you bowing to a temple that eats people?"

Jian An: "The father and son who were murdered were simple and kind people. Even after their deaths, they never thought of harming me or making me a substitute for their own. Instead, they woke me up several times from my sleep, warning me that there were ghosts in the temple and telling me to run quickly."

"So my bow is not for the ghosts and deities in the temple, but for the father and son, Wang Tiegeng. I thank them for saving my life, and I can say they saved me twice."

"If I have the chance, I hope to return here in the future to collect their remains and return them to the village so that their family can be reunited, and they won't have to wander as lost souls."

"Good people shouldn't suffer."

Jian An's voice was heavy as he spoke.

The moon hung low after the rain, as if it were within reach.

Under an old pine tree stood two figures, one old and one young.

The older one wore a five-colored Taoist robe and a pair of blue-white ten-direction shoes.

He was about forty years old.

Though the five-colored Taoist robe was old and had faded from washing, it was clean and tidy, without any wrinkles, showing that its owner cherished it greatly, even though it was very old and he was reluctant to throw it away.

He was a Taoist who valued cleanliness and integrity.

The other was a more peculiar young man.

With smooth and tender skin, white complexion, and white teeth, he was just over twenty years old.

He had a short haircut.

He looked like a refined scholar from a merchant or official family, or a newly secularized young monk, giving a somewhat odd impression.

"Someone is coming." The Taoist suddenly broke the mountain's silence with an abrupt statement.

Jian An looked around in confusion, but in the vast darkness, he could only see the vague outlines of the mountains. He saw nothing.

The Taoist pointed in a direction at the foot of the mountain, like a moonlit immortal guiding a lost soul: "In the 'Guangping Right Theory of Sensory Perception,' there is a technique called 'Qi Divination.' It states that the essence of a scholar is a star of literature descended from heaven. Because scholars read to bring glory to their ancestors, the words they read shine brightly, radiating from their bodies like a rainbow, like a vast and beautiful landscape. This is why the ancients often said that poetry can make one immortal, and literature can make one a sage."

"For example, great poets and literary geniuses like Li Bai and Du Fu, their light can reach the heavens, shining alongside the stars."

"Even a small scholar can emit a faint light like a small oil lamp, illuminating the windows and doors, helping to sharpen the mind."

"A mile away on the mountain road, the light from that person is nearly ten feet high, so I said someone is coming. The person must be at least a successful candidate in the imperial examinations or a top scholar."

Jian An was shocked.

He looked back at the deep, dark mountains. The darkness gave him black eyes, but he saw nothing.

The longer he stayed in this world,

The more the coffin lid of the physics teacher couldn't hold down.

Jian An's heart stirred.

With eyes full of expectation, he asked: "Master, how long do you think I am?"

As someone who has been swimming in the ocean of knowledge and the internet, how could he not be a golden dragon? He had read more books than the ancients had eaten salt, and his light should be shining brightly, right?

But when Jian An turned to look at the Taoist beside him, there was no one there...

Only the body of a bloodied Taoist lay abandoned under the old pine tree.

The Taoist's body was incomplete, the lower half missing, leaving only the upper half in a five-colored Taoist robe, heavily stained with blood. It seemed to have been torn apart by a powerful creature. The Taoist leaned against the old pine tree, his hands forming a seal, and he looked peaceful, with no signs of pain.

Strangely, the strong smell of blood did not attract any wild animals... perhaps it was related to the hand seal?

The frosty moonlight shone on Jian An's face in the deep mountain, making him look pale.

In the wild mountains.

Tigers roared and apes cried.

It was a place where lost souls roamed.

I'm... Jian An felt chilled again.

...

Two days later, at dusk.

After a spring thunderstorm, as the Qingming Festival approached, the weather began to warm up. It was a sunny day.

On the banks of the Yin River, there was a county.

It was called Chang County.

Chang County was bustling with people, with the sounds of children playing, vendors shouting, and peddlers calling out.

"Breaking stones on the chest, selling myself to bury my sister..."

"Sugar-coated haws, crisp and sweet, with a stick of sugar-coated haws..."

"Ancestral skills, making sugar figurines of any size and shape..."

"Mom, mom, I want to lick a dog! I want to lick a dog!"

"No, mom, I want to lick a dog!"

A mischievous child pointed at a sugar figurine stand and rolled on the ground, crying and fussing.

On the crowded street, there were ordinary people in plain clothes,

As well as wealthy young masters and misses in jade belts and pink plum snow fox fur coats,

And of course, there were those who lived by the sword, the rough and ready of the martial world.

These martial people had rugged faces, robust physiques, and bulging muscles. Whenever they looked at the smooth and tender skin of the wealthy young masters and misses, their eyes gleamed with ill intent, as if they were selecting fat lambs to be slaughtered.

As night approached, the roadside taverns, restaurants, and teahouses were already filled with people. At a teahouse called "Xu's Teahouse," which had a green bamboo banner, the first floor was already half full. Among the patrons were scholars in long robes, local gentry in official attire, and merchants with their families. They sipped the finest tea, picked before the Qingming Festival, while listening to a storyteller recount recent events in Chang County.

There is a saying in the folk: "Qingming tea is as precious as gold."

This refers to tea leaves picked before the Qingming Festival, which are tender, green, fragrant, and flavorful, making them a premium tea. Some of the finest new tea must be picked by young girls to retain its original purity, and it is not something that ordinary people can afford.

Slap!

With the storyteller's wooden clapper, he began his tale.

"Yesterday, a strange case occurred in our Chang County, known as the 'Thunderbolt Corpse Case.' Just as this case was considered closed, a carriage arrived in the village at night."

"There were three people in the carriage, a driver, a scholar, and a young master. They wanted to stay overnight in the village. Among them was a young master who was eight feet tall and broad, with a commanding presence. After hearing about the murder in the village, he angrily denounced the villagers for their callousness and superstition."

"Seemingly a simple 'Thunderbolt Corpse Case,' it actually hid a deeper mystery. After the young master solved the case, it unexpectedly led to another major case involving the court! One corpse contained a case within a case, leaving everyone speechless!"

"To know the details of this case..."

"Please listen to my story, dear guests..."

"Let me tell you, in Chang County, ten miles southwest, there is a quiet village called Shangpan Village. The story I will tell today is about a strange case that happened in Shangpan Village two days ago."

"In Shangpan Village, there was a woman named Li, whose husband was Li Cailiang. Though they were not wealthy, they were hardworking and had a modest fortune, with no worries about food and clothing, and they had a son."

"One afternoon, after a day of farming, Li Cailiang and his wife returned home as usual. Li's wife went home first to prepare dinner, while Li Cailiang took the water buffalo from the field and returned it to a neighboring family before dark, to ensure they did not miss the spring plowing and planting."

"In many villages, it is common for several families or the entire village to share a plow ox."

"But on his way back, Li Cailiang encountered a strange incident..."