A master of comedy!

Chapter 21 Jiang Taigong

Zhou Sheng rushed home and found that his master was not there; only a note was left in the main room.

"Someone has suddenly fallen seriously ill and asked me to come and treat him. Today, you should practice your martial arts on your own. If I am not back by noon, you should go to the restaurant for lunch."

There were three taels of silver coins pressed on the note.

Zhou Sheng was not surprised. Besides performing yin opera, his master was also quite skilled in medicine, and was at least well-known in Qinggu County.

We were often invited by wealthy families.

He picked up his opera box and hurried to the Pear Blossom River. Along the way, he could already see faint figures. Worried that someone might go to the Pear Blossom River, Zhou Sheng quickened his pace.

Their figures moved as swiftly as feathers and as fast as lightning, as if riding the wind. In the blink of an eye, they could leap several feet, even more agile and nimble than a raccoon.

Besides the body techniques and leg skills he had practiced diligently since childhood, the most important factor was the lightness effect of the mica formula he had taken.

Legend has it that after taking mica, He Xiangu was able to walk on flat ground and almost fly through towering mountains.

It is evident that mica has an excellent effect on lightness.

Before long, Zhou Sheng arrived at Pear Blossom River again. The sky was still dark, with only a sliver of light visible on the edge of the clouds.

It was empty and deserted.

Zhou Sheng frowned, because the body was no longer in the river.

Looking at the dark blue water, he did not rush into the water, but instead took something out of his opera box.

It was incense ash wrapped in yellow paper.

When traveling, his master would always tell him to bring more incense ash from Huaguang Patriarch's incense burner. These things were very useful; besides killing ghosts, they could also be used for tracking.

He sprinkled some incense ash into the water and saw that there was nothing unusual on the surface.

"Not in the water?"

Master Huaguang hated evil as if it were his enemy. He was worshipped as the God of Fire by the people. The incense ash in his furnace also had the fire energy to subdue demons. It would ignite instantly when it came into contact with evil spirits.

This is why good and evil cannot coexist.

If dirt is hidden in the water, the surface of the water will show an unusual phenomenon of boiling and scalding.

But nothing has happened yet, everything is as usual.

This means...

That filthy thing... has come ashore!

Thinking of this, Zhou Sheng suddenly turned around, and seeing that there was nothing unusual behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He picked up the incense ash again and sprinkled it out, but this time he sprinkled it on the ground instead of in the water.

"Zhou Sheng, a disciple of the Yinxi lineage, begs the patriarch to guide us in the pursuit of the murderer!"

Call ~
The incense ash drifted down in the wind, sparks flew as it touched the ground, and then black footprints appeared, heading in a certain direction.

This is called "the immortal pointing the way".

Without hesitation, Zhou Sheng picked up his opera box and chased after them in that direction.

Firstly, the people of Qinggu County treated him like a son or nephew, taking care of him a lot since he was a child, so he naturally couldn't stand idly by.

Secondly, he also wanted to help Luo Shu accumulate energy as soon as possible so that he could deduce the true formula for the mica robe of the immortals.

He followed the direction of the footprints, and at each fork in the road he would stop and sprinkle incense ash again before continuing on.

Using such thrifty methods, they finally arrived at a grand mansion just before the incense ash was almost gone.

The lintel is adorned with a tall plaque, made of ebony and painted in vermilion, with stone lions standing on either side, giving it a very imposing appearance.

The two characters "Zhu Fu" are written with iron hooks and silver strokes, and are edged with gold.

The gate is adorned with portraits of door gods, namely Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, two famous generals from the Tang Dynasty.

Zhou Sheng stopped and looked into the distance, for this was the residence of the magistrate of Qinggu County, the Zhu Mansion.

The footprints disappeared here as well.

"Strange, why would a corpse be here? Given its yin energy, it shouldn't be able to enter this mansion."

The stone lions at the entrance were believed to ward off evil spirits, and the door god portraits pasted on the gate were even more majestic and imposing. Zhou Sheng observed for a moment, then sprinkled the last bit of incense ash.

Sure enough, the messy black footprints at the entrance clearly indicated that the corpse had stood there, observing.

and many more……

Zhou Sheng's gaze suddenly sharpened, because he noticed that, judging from the footprints, the corpse immediately changed direction after realizing it could not enter through the main entrance, as if it had a very clear route plan.

He continued his pursuit and finally arrived at a corner behind the Zhu residence.

There was a dog hole blocked with bricks and stones. On the surrounding walls, Zhou Sheng found damp mold and black bodily fluids.

The body has already entered the Zhu residence from here!

Judging from the route, the other party seemed to know the way very well.

Zhou Sheng naturally wouldn't crawl through the dog hole. He carried his opera box, easily climbed over the wall, and landed lightly.

There's no more incense ash now, but he's already discovered the pattern.

Wherever the corpse went, there were moldy, damp traces and foul-smelling black water droplets.

It's not hard to spot with careful observation.

He followed the trail, carefully avoiding the servants in the mansion, and soon arrived at a well.

A maid was drawing water, but the water that came out smelled foul and was extremely murky.

She took a bite and almost threw up, gagging repeatedly.

"Why does this water taste so bad? Did some wild cat die in the well?"

As she complained and kept wiping her mouth, she didn't notice that a hand with festering, bloody skin was slowly emerging from the well and reaching out to grab her.

At that critical moment, a cracking sound of a whip rang out, like a firecracker exploding, faintly accompanied by a thunderous roar.

Immediately afterwards, a golden whip, as swift as a serpent, came whistling and lashed hard at that arm.

With a scream, the arm exploded, spraying corpse fluid, charred flesh, and the corpse's aura dissipated like snow meeting boiling water.

The maid turned her head and met a pair of empty eyes that had been eaten away and rotted by maggots.

She was so frightened that she fainted.

However, before she lost consciousness, she vaguely saw another figure rushing towards her.

It was a strange man dressed in a black robe and holding a golden whip, seemingly a character from a play.

The gold background is like the autumn moon, and the silver thread patterns resemble prophetic writings.

Seven star-shaped moles below his lips, and a Tai Chi symbol painted on his forehead.

Although no names are listed on the Investiture of the Gods, the Twenty-One God-Slaying Whip is used to strike all kinds of ghosts and gods.

"With Jiang Taigong here, there are no taboos!"

A powerful, resonant opera tune rang out, sounding like the metallic clang of metal, as if descending from the heavens, imbued with a majestic divine power.

The corpse seemed to be terrified and immediately tried to escape back into the well.

However, the golden whip lashed out again, coiling around its neck like a black python.

This is the water sleeve technique in traditional Chinese opera, which was originally mostly used by female roles, but Zhou Sheng applied it to his whip techniques.

After more than a decade of arduous practice, his whip skills had reached a high level of proficiency, allowing him to use it with ease and precision, striking wherever he pleased.

The knives, swords, golden whips, and spears in the opera box were all genuine and not just for show.

"Demon—Don't run away!!"

Zhou Sheng steadied himself on his horse stance, channeled his magical power into his arms, and with a roar, the golden whip tauted, pulling the corpse out bit by bit.

At the same time, the demon-subduing and corpse-suppressing incantation and Taoist thunder patterns engraved on the golden whip shone brightly, making the corpse seem to be burned by fire, and it screamed in agony.

……

(End of this chapter)