Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 74 Demanding Justice!
Qi Yun's face was so dark it could drip water.

He came with the determination to slay demons and monsters, but now he hasn't even caught a glimpse of one, and instead, he's lost five lives in a completely inexplicable way! What is this?
A strong sense of frustration and a deep chill gripped him.

However, looking at Zhao Tiezhu's panicked face and thinking of the five missing constables, Qi Yun frowned deeply.

"Leave? Officer Zhao, those five brothers can't just die here without any explanation. I brought them here, and I demand an explanation."

You are not suited for this path; staying here will be extremely dangerous. Mount your horse immediately and return to Jiujiang to report the news!

I will stay here. If that thing is going to harm people, it will eventually show itself.

I have my own methods; even if I'm outmatched, I should be able to escape without much trouble.

Zhao Tiezhu was stunned. Looking into the calm and composed eyes of the young Taoist priest in front of him, a mixture of admiration, shame, and disbelief welled up in his heart.

He swallowed hard, then clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, his voice slightly hoarse: "Master Qi...you are truly virtuous! I, Zhao...admire you! Take care!"

Having said that, he didn't say anything more, mounted his horse, tied the horse he had left for Qi Yun to a tree by the courtyard, flicked the reins, and galloped off towards the official road outside the village without looking back.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed rapidly through the deathly silent village, quickly fading into the deep twilight.

In the village, only Qi Yun and Zhang Laonian, who was huddled in a ball in the corner, remained.

Immediately, the light seemed to be extinguished by a giant hand, and the sky quickly darkened.

The wind grew colder, swirling the paper money on the ground, making a mournful, whistling sound.

In the mourning hall behind me, the flames of the two white candles were stretched thin by the wind, flickering and casting the shadow of the coffin on the wall, twisting and swaying.

Old Zhang, shivering, lit the stove and cooked a pot of thin mixed grain porridge, then took out two hard mixed flour pancakes.

The two sat down at a broken wooden table in the courtyard.

The oil lamp on the table was dim and yellowish, barely illuminating the small area.

Outside the door was an impenetrable darkness, like a solid wall pressing down, with only the sound of the wind and the rustling of paper money fluttering in the air.

The candlelight in the mourning hall behind me flickered, illuminating the dark coffin. Its shadow was cast on the threshold, stretching and contracting as if it were alive.

Old Zhang pointed tremblingly at the coffin with the tip of his chopsticks and said in a low voice, "Young Taoist priest, listen to this old man's advice."

Those officials... are probably in grave danger.

Officer Zhao has also left, so why...why are you still staying in this godforsaken place?
"Let's go! This place... is really eerie!" His cloudy old eyes were full of worry and fear.

Qi Yun broke open the hard biscuit and ate it slowly with the bland porridge. Hearing this, he looked up at the boundless darkness, then at the flickering candlelight and the shadow of the coffin, his voice calm and undisturbed.

"Old man, there are some things in this world that someone has to do."

It's either Zhang San or Li Si. And today, it's me who's run into them.

There's no need to suffer or not suffer.

He stuffed the last bite of the biscuit into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.

Looking at his young yet unusually calm face, Zhang Laonian opened his mouth, but in the end only let out a long sigh and said nothing more.

He quietly cleared away the dishes and pointed to an empty room for Qi Yun: "This old man will sleep in the next room."

Young Taoist priest…you…you must be careful.”

After saying that, he hunched over and staggered back to his little house, gently closing the door behind him.

In the courtyard, only Qi Yun remained, facing the deep darkness, the flickering candlelight, and the silent black coffin.

Beside the official road, under a crooked old locust tree.

Zhao Tiezhu reined in his horse and shouted at a dense thicket of bushes by the roadside, "Come out!"

With a rustling sound, five figures emerged from the bushes; they were the constables who had previously "disappeared."

They brushed the grass clippings and dust off their bodies, their faces showing relief at surviving the ordeal and a mischievous smile.

"Boss! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" A short, stout constable gave a thumbs-up and grinned. "Now we can finally report back! Damn it, whoever wants this damn job can do it!" Another tall, thin man spat: "Pah! Chen the Skinflint is enjoying his life in the city while we're sent to our deaths here!"

"Even those peasants know to run, so what about our brothers' lives?"

"That's right! That young Taoist priest surnamed Qi is quite bold, actually daring to stay behind?" A younger constable asked with some curiosity and confusion.

The short, stout constable chimed in, "If you ask me, boss, we should take the guy to the location and then run for our lives!"

Why bother with all that effort?

It forced us brothers to crawl through the straw groves, and our legs went numb from squatting!

Now the horse is gone, we have to walk back!

Zhao Tiezhu dismounted and glared at him irritably: "What do you know! Master Qi is so young, yet he is already treated as an honored guest by Lord Xie and Head Chen. He should be very proud of himself!"
If we just walk away when we get there, he'll lose face. He'll go back and complain to Boss Chen. Given Boss Chen's skinny nature, do we brothers still want to keep our skin?

Now that things are like this, we're 'in danger' and 'separated,' so whatever we say when we get back, there's no way to prove it!

Even if Chen Bapi is ruthless, can he really skin and dismember us who are in danger?

At most, I'll curse a few times! What's a few steps compared to that?
"I'm not riding a horse anymore, I'll walk back with you!"

As he spoke, he tossed the reins to the short, stout constable, "Fatty, you hold them!"

The short, stout constable quickly took the reins, smiling obsequiously, "Boss, you're so considerate! So considerate!"

The group walked along the official road towards Jiujiang City, their steps uneven.

The night breeze was blowing coolly.

Zhao Tiezhu walked in silence for a while, then suddenly spoke, his voice lowering: "However... that Taoist Qi... is truly a man of character."

"Hmm?" Everyone looked at him.

"He finally told me," Zhao Tiezhu paused, seemingly recalling Qi Yun's tone, "'This whole thing started because of him. Those five brothers were trained by me; they can't just die here without any explanation. I have to get an explanation.'"

He stayed behind to demand an explanation for the five of you who are 'missing'.

"Give us... an explanation."

After he finished speaking, he fell silent again.

The smiles on the faces of the constables gradually faded.

In the darkness, we couldn't see each other's expressions, but the atmosphere was clearly different.

The initial relief of escaping by sheer luck was replaced by a complex emotion.

"Demand an explanation..." the tall, thin man murmured, his voice hoarse.

"He's a real man..." the young constable said in a low voice, his tone no longer flippant but filled with respect.

"Sigh..." the short, stout constable sighed as well, "What a pity... to be stuck with this awful job..."

"Alright!" Zhao Tiezhu interrupted them, his tone returning to its usual sternness. "Cheer up!"

Think about what to say when you get back!
As agreed on the way, they entered the village and split up to investigate. Suddenly, a strange wind arose, with sand and stones flying everywhere, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face. The wind also carried a woman's strange laughter!

When the wind stopped, we found that the guys were gone!

We searched desperately for each other to no avail, and then encountered dangers before finally breaking through to deliver the message!

Got it? Figure out the details yourself!
"Master Qi...we've really let him down this time. Later in the city, let's chip in and properly honor him!"

"Understood, boss!"

The crowd responded, but their voices, which had been smooth and witty before, sounded somewhat muffled.

Footsteps and hoofbeats echoed monotonously on the empty official road, the night was deep and the road ahead was pitch black.

(End of this chapter)