Chapter 82: Chapter 65: Farewell to Yan Daozi

The night was dark and windy, with black clouds enveloping the moon. Black Mountain Village was dead silent, save for the crickets screaming their hearts out.

Yan Daozi sat cross-legged on the earth bed in the room, meditating quietly. On the table lay his packed bag and iron sword, and outside the courtyard, the donkey cart had been harnessed.

Should he encounter anything irresistible tomorrow, he’d leave immediately.

It’s a pity there weren’t many life-saving items, which made him feel uncertain. Thinking of this, Yan Daozi recalled that thief named Mulan, simply… outrageous!

Clang!

The sound of the door being forced open came from outside, and Yan Daozi shivered all over. Suddenly, he noticed the insect chirping outside was gone, and everything around was silent to the point of eeriness, silent to the point of seeping.

Yan Daozi quickly got out of bed, picked up the iron sword and Dao Bell, glanced at the ink bucket on his waist, pressed the few talismans inside his lapel, and cautiously walked to the door, pulling the curtain aside to go out.

He saw a young girl in black sitting in the place he usually sat, picking up his teapot to pour water.

The thief, Mulan, burned his house!

“Master Yan, we meet again.”

Sang Que looked at Yan Daozi, her sharp gaze causing his heart to clench.

“So it’s true, Kou Yushan burned the tree for you this afternoon; and the one eavesdropping in the Hidden Realm during the day was you!”

Hidden Realm? Sang Que remembered this term, perhaps it’s what the locals call the inner world.

To some extent, Yan Daozi was smarter than that Wan Xiangtou. He had already figured out the whole story in an instant; he just assumed Sang Que’s disappearance for these ten days was like Liu Family’s third son, having ventured into the Hidden Realm.

Sang Que didn’t respond, instinctively wanting to drink tea to show off, but at the edge of her lips, she recalled it was used by Yan Daozi, disdainfully putting it down and wiping her hand on her clothes.

“What do you actually want? Between you and me, let’s consider there are no grievances, I can let go of previous matters, but please leave immediately and don’t block my path, or else don’t blame me for being rude.”

Yan Daozi felt guilty, but did not show it in his tone.

“You can ask me to leave, but you must first answer my questions. Once I get the information I want, I’ll leave naturally.”

Yan Daozi pressed his not-so-flexible right arm, frowned, and said, “What do you want to know?”

“Why is the Ghost Opera Troupe looking for the temple priest’s daughter here?”

Upon hearing this question, Yan Daozi froze for a moment, “Are you not the daughter of that temple priest?”

Sang Que casually replied, “I’m just a passerby who inadvertently stumbled here and accidentally killed your apprentice.”

Yan Daozi pondered for a while before slowly saying, “The Ghost Opera Troupe said the temple priest’s daughter holds a Nine Songs Sacred Object.”

“What kind of Sacred Object?”

“I do not know.”

“Does the Ghost Opera Troupe know?”

“I do not know!”

Sang Que nodded slightly, “Alright, second question, what’s the origin of the Yin Child?”

Yan Daozi stared closely at Sang Que, “Have you read all of my notes?”

“What does Master Yan think?” Sang Que countered, her lips curving into a mocking smile.

Yan Daozi felt a surge of blood, even though he expected this result, hearing her admit it made him feel ashamed to the point of dying.

Luckily those were just this year’s notes, or else his secrets would have been fully exposed.

However, she could infer the third taming method from the notes and inquire about the origin of the Yin Child, which was impressive!

“The specific origin of the Yin Child, I do not know either. You need to check with the Evil Suppression Bureau. I can only tell you that the Yin Child’s file is an A-level secret archive of the Bureau, numbered Gui Chou, originally stored underground in Fengning City’s Bureau, no idea if it’s still there.”

Sang Que wondered, “Then why do you have a severed arm of the Yin Child?”

“A year and a half ago, the Yin Child escaped from Fengning City’s Evil Suppression Bureau. The Evil Mist sealed the city, and as Wangshan City’s Evil Suppression Bureau Day Traveling Envoy, I was ordered to assist Fengning City.”

When mentioning this matter, Yan Daozi’s complexion changed, revealing some uncontrollable fear in his eyes.

“In that battle, even with the Yin Walking General guarding Qinzhou intervening, Fengning City couldn’t be saved. I accidentally became a Yin Walker there. Myself and an old friend encountered the Yin Child, severely injured by the Yin Walking General. She was in tatters, unable to assemble, and risking our lives, we each picked up a severed arm.”

Sang Que nodded, “So you later resigned from the Bureau, fearing investigation?”

Yan Daozi remained silent; Sang Que exposed him correctly. Yan Daozi didn’t expect that the Bureau couldn’t even capture the severely injured Yin Child, who eventually found his old friend, killed him, and finally came to him.

Most surprising was Sang Que’s ability to tame the Yin Child. She claimed she wasn’t the temple priest’s daughter; Yan Daozi didn’t believe a single word.

Considering Sang Que might indeed possess a Nine Songs Sacred Object and had tamed the Yin Child, Yan Daozi didn’t want to fight her, thus answering her questions truthfully.

If he had known, he would’ve leaked the information to Wan Xiangtou during the day, so he could ambush her here.

Seeing Yan Daozi be so cooperative, Sang Que was embarrassed to cause him trouble.

“I’ve told you everything I know. Can you leave now?”

Sang Que stood up, “I’ve finished asking questions, now, let’s get to business!”

Before the words fell, Yan Daozi suddenly felt a chill behind him, knowing without turning around that it was the Yin Child. He immediately threw the prepared object in his hand at Sang Que.

The wooden comb, tangled with black hair and carrying a bloody aura, clawed viciously toward Sang Que.

Facing danger without a hint of fear, Sang Que drew the hatchet already imbued with the Ghost Soldier Talisman and swung it diagonally in the air.

Swoosh!

The black talisman paper scattered from the hatchet like ash, the black hair split in half by the blade, and a wooden comb fell to the ground, snapping in half.

Sang Que looked up to see the Yin Child standing at the inner doorway, stretching out her hand, with fragmented human skin at her feet.

Yan Daozi ran!

Regarding this, Sang Que wasn’t in a rush. She took out her stopwatch to start calculating, using Old Tian’s Key to the Door with the power of village resentment, estimating how long she could maintain it and how much she could restore that place.

*

Through Skinning Master’s switch, Yan Daozi jumped from the window to the courtyard with his bag on his back, immediately taking out and igniting the Route Talisman.

The Route Talisman specializes in countering Ghost Wall barriers, following it ensures not getting lost in Evil Mist and finding the shortest path to escape its range.

Ring~

The Dao Bell in his hand jingled, dispersing the Evil Mist slightly. The light of the Route Talisman guided Yan Daozi to flee in the correct direction.

Passing through layers of fog, the talisman light suddenly spun in place, losing direction.

Yan Daozi noticed a strange door; wielding the iron sword in his left hand and, despite his stiff right arm from a previous injury, cautiously slowed his steps to enter.

The mist gradually dispersed, revealing a courtyard-like place before him. A rockery planter stood at the center, three rooms to the left, while black mist cloaked the right side, seemingly forming a wall.

Beside him was a staircase leading upward, but it was also shrouded in impenetrable black mist.

Yan Daozi hung the Dao Bell at his waist, pulling out an ink line from the ink bucket, ready for action, and slowly walked in.

He looked upward, as if trapped at the bottom of a dark-shrouded courtyard well. Through the thick black mist, he saw a moon resembling a human face, sinisterly smiling at him.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Strange footsteps suddenly sounded from a nearby room, accompanied by bursts of a baby’s cries.

Screech——

The green wooden door, peeling paint and stained with blood, slowly opened, and the exorcism talisman on Yan Daozi’s body instantly burned out, causing his heart to tremble.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep