Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

The two arrived at the place where the little man disappeared and saw a small hole at the corner, which looked like it had been gnawed by a rat. Of course, the little man could easily squeeze through the rat hole, but Ling Ziling and Ren Yunzong could not, as they were both of normal human size, even taller than the average person.

Ling Ziling's gaze followed the mouse hole upwards, and she took a few steps back, looking up at the bricks and tiles above.

"This is a mansion, so what we just saw must have been a mansion demon."

Since it's someone else's house, they can't easily barge in. Although house demons are called demons, they are just tiny people, no bigger than the palm of your hand, living a lifestyle almost identical to humans. They pose no threat to the homeowner, and both sides live peacefully together. However, they may never know that a group of tiny people live in their own home.

However, sometimes these little creatures will try to be clever and make some noise to scare people, but only to scare them, not to harm them.

"Ah Zhen, will you...?"

Ling Ziling remembered that Ren Yunzong's father, the Demon Emperor, had a maidservant who looked like a little elf, petite and about the same size as the little person she had just seen.

If that girl is also a demon, will Ren Yunzong, who is related to her, also have similar abilities?

“Zi Shu’er is a flower fairy of the Linglong clan, only she can do it.”

In other words, they couldn't get into the rat hole, nor could they continue tracking the little man from before.

"That's impossible."

Ling sighed. This little guy was discovered by accident, and coming to check on him was also a spur-of-the-moment decision. Rather than rushing back to finish filming, it was definitely better to have something to do.

But now they've lost track of them, they're blocked outside the rat hole, and guarding the base of the wall won't catch anything. At most, they might catch a few rats. Now they can just leave and stop thinking about it.

If they hadn't heard the faint crying coming from the other side of the wall, they might have really left.

The crying sounded like it came from a young girl; it was so soft and faint that it was hard to hear clearly. Compared to the noise on the street outside, the tiny sobs sounded like a hallucination.

The two who hadn't left yet exchanged a glance, both confirming from each other's eyes that this wasn't a hallucination; someone was really crying, and it was right on the other side of the wall.

Such a faint crying sound could not have come from a human; the most likely possibility is that it was the house demon that Ling Ziling just saw.

If a house spirit wants to scare people, its target is usually the people in the house. There have been instances of it carrying a coffin and wailing in front of others, but it would never choose to do this at the base of a wall. If it weren't for Ling Ziling's good eyesight, no one would ever come to this place.

But this is someone else's house. The house demon is crying inside the courtyard wall. Unless the two people outside can also turn into the same little people as before, they can only get in by climbing over the wall.

Climbing over the wall is definitely out of the question; that would be considered trespassing. If two grown-up people suddenly barged in, not only would the weeping house spirit be frightened, but the homeowner would also be startled.

"Dong dong."

Ren Yunzong lightly tapped the wall with his fingers, and the crying on the other side stopped, indicating that he had heard it.

Knock again, and a questioning voice came from inside. The voice was the same as the crying voice from before, and it was just as soft, so soft that it was hard to hear unless you listened carefully.

"Who's out there?"

"Passersby heard crying and came to inquire."

The reply came from Ling Ziling. The other party sounded like a young woman. Having Ling Ziling, who is also a young woman, communicate with her would be a good way to soothe the other party's emotions.

"If you can hear me crying, you are definitely not an ordinary person."

The house demons usually don't show themselves in front of people. Ordinary people can see them, but most of the time it's the house demons who take the initiative. The woman specifically came to the base of the wall to cry because she didn't want the ordinary people inside the house to hear her.

It's hard to believe someone could hear themselves crying just by passing by; they couldn't possibly be an ordinary person.

"We are indeed not ordinary people."

Ling leaned against the wall to better listen to the sounds from the other side.

“My nephew and I are both cultivators, so we can hear your cries.”

"..."

Perhaps due to concerns about the Taoist's identity, the other party remained silent for a while before Ling Ziling asked first.

"Who are you, and why are you crying here?"

Still silent, Ren Yunzong thought the other party didn't believe him, so he added a sentence.

"If you encounter injustice, we can help."

Ren Yunzong was only guessing. A young girl crying alone could be interpreted as either her being wronged or as a ghost. Given their respective identities, he chose the first interpretation.

Since the goal is to communicate, it's always best to go along with what's being said.

"...I am the house spirit of this house, living here with my family."

The sound came from inside again, so it seemed to have worked.

"A few days ago, a wicked monk arrived. He could control ghost children. He..."

According to the woman, a blind monk recently came to the city who could predict people's private affairs. He claimed to be able to determine people's life, death, fortune, and misfortune. When begging for alms, he would specifically name people and directly ask for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

But this monk had no ability to calculate. He was actually a sorcerer who used magic to control ghost children. He could spy on other people's privacy, all thanks to the two little ghosts under his command.

A few days ago, the blind monk came to this house to "beg for alms" and discovered that a house demon lived there. House demons are rare, and the demon monk thought this was another way to make money, so he used his demonic powers to capture the woman's father and brothers, leaving only her and a few maids and servants.

She naturally wanted to save her family members who had been captured, but she had neither fighting power nor connections. The monsters were not very powerful; at most, they could transform into small creatures to scare people. They had no real killing power and would have to run away if they encountered a brave child.

That evil monk was different; he could command ghost children and cast curses to harm people, making him impossible to fight against.

However, the woman still sent her servant out to gather information. The little man carrying the package that Ling Ziling had seen earlier was the servant who returned after gathering information. The demon monk contacted a merchant who liked novelty and wanted to sell the few house demons he had captured.

Seeing her loved ones about to become commodities, and feeling powerless to stop it, the woman lost control of her emotions and cried about her family's tragic fate, which was overheard by the two people who were chasing after the villain.

This time, it wasn't about love and romance, but something even more tragic.

"How did you get this information?"

Ren Yunzong noticed something was wrong. Small and exquisite creatures like these have both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to gathering information. For example, Zi Shuer can fly and hear the whispers of the wind, making it very convenient for her to gather information for her master.

However, these house demons are not like the exquisite race like Zi Shu'er. They cannot fly. Their small size allows them to hide, but it also hinders their progress. If there is no gap to squeeze through, they cannot fall anywhere.

Given their size, it was already quite difficult for them to keep up with the pace of the demonic monk. Where did they find out about these things?

"It was said by that evil monk's underlings."

Another voice came from behind the wall, equally faint and weak, but this time it was a male voice, sounding somewhat hesitant. It must have been the servant who had gone out to gather information.

"That evil monk had two child ghosts under his command. They were ordinary children in life, but he killed them with his sorcery and then forced them to obey him. So they didn't submit to him. Even though they discovered me, they didn't arrest me and even told me these things."

"Killed by sorcery..."

Another heinous scoundrel. Very well, the chivalrous Taoist Master Lingling is coming.

"Where is that evil monk? We'll help you rescue people."

……

On the other side, Juan Shoutian and Yuan Wuxiang also encountered something about monks, except that Ling Ziling's monk was a demon monk, while theirs was a ghost monk.

To be more precise, you could call them zombies.

"Calm down?"

Juan Shoutian looked at the Taoist priest slumped against the tree and listened to Mu Longjun's account of what he had seen on the ship. The two of them decided to take a boat trip and headed towards the nearest port. Halfway there, they saw a Taoist priest running away and showed themselves to see what was going on.

Whether it was due to some prior trauma or something else, the moment the two appeared and before they could say anything, the Taoist priest suddenly screamed and fled for his life as if he had seen a ghost.

While their eardrums were being tortured by screams, the two of them even looked around to make sure there were no scary monsters around before they dared to confirm that the person was frightened by them.

Their sudden appearance might be a bit unexpected, but given their appearances, you can't expect them to look like they've seen a ghost, right? This isn't the Great Rakshasa Kingdom, where there's no such thing as reversed aesthetics.

The two later learned that the Taoist priest was simply too frightened to see two people appear out of thin air. He hadn't even seen what they looked like, because while he was running, he was clearly shouting "ghost monk."

"...I've calmed down. Thank you both, immortals."

Looking at it again now, given their appearances, he shouldn't have been frightened and run away; he should have knelt down and begged the immortals to save him.

"What is a ghost monk? Are there any ghost monks nearby?"

When I was flying through the air using my light-footed skills, I seemed to see a temple nearby, but I didn't see any monks. It seemed to be an abandoned temple that no one cared about anymore.

"Yes, there was a monk who died but is still laughing!"

The Taoist priest was just an ordinary wandering Taoist. He stayed overnight at a temple in the wilderness. He knocked on the door for a long time, and he knocked on all the monks' rooms, but he didn't get a response. Apart from the Taoist priest himself, he didn't see a single person in the temple.

He assumed it was a recently abandoned temple, so he casually found a prayer mat to sit on under the eaves and made do for the night.

As night fell, the Taoist priest, in his drowsy state, heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and saw a monk walk past him. The monk was covered in blood and dirt, and seemed not to see the Taoist priest beside him, walking straight past him.

He didn't look like a normal person at all. He was covered in blood and his gait was stiff and unsteady, like a zombie who had risen from the dead. The Taoist priest pretended not to see him and shrank to the side, not daring to make a sound. He watched as the monk went straight into the main hall, climbed onto the Buddha's seat, hugged the Buddha's head, and laughed loudly as if possessed. He didn't leave until a long time later.

The commotion kept the Taoist priest awake all night, and he was filled with fear and anxiety. When he went to check again the next day, the door to the monks' quarters was still tightly closed. He didn't dare to check the Buddha statue in the main hall, fearing that there might be something that could possess people.

He wanted to hurry to the nearby village to tell them about it, but Shuangxiu suddenly appeared. At that moment, the Taoist priest's mind was full of the blood-covered monk. Several unusual lights suddenly appeared in front of him. He thought that the ghost monk had come after him, so he screamed and ran away.

This matter is unusual. Juan Shoutian and Yuan Wuxiang are curious whether the possessed, laughing ghost monk is a real ghost. The Taoist priest went to the village to ask the villagers for help. Now that they have met them, it would be reasonable to ask them to go with him.

If an emergency were to occur, this ordinary Taoist priest would only be sending the mortal villagers to their deaths, while the two of them at least had the protection of armed force.

After consulting the Taoist priest, and with his willingness to take them back to the temple, the three set off for the temple, which appeared to be abandoned.

Apart from the main hall, all the doors of the temple buildings were tightly closed. Standing in front of the room where the ghost monk was, both of them could smell the blood and stench of corpses emanating from inside.

"boom!"

With a flick of his whisk, Juan Shoutian violently flung open the tightly closed door, revealing the corpse of a murdered monk and a room ransacked in disarray.

Open the other doors. There should only be one monk in the temple, but most of the rooms have been messed up, and the mats and boxes have been overturned.

"...A robbery by thieves..."

Yuan Wuxiang picked up the wooden fish that had been carelessly thrown on the ground. The monk had irregular knife marks on his body, indicating that he had been murdered with a knife. The signs of frantic searching suggested that the bandits were looking for something valuable.

Because the temple was located in such a remote area, the monks had been murdered for so long without anyone knowing. But after all that, why was that ghostly monk still able to laugh? He kept laughing wildly.

"Friends."

At this moment, Juan Shoutian arrived. They split up to examine the clues. The Taoist who led the way couldn't bear to see the monk's corpse and ran outside, leaving only two knowledgeable Xiantian cultivators to examine the body.

"There is something wrong with the Buddha head in the main hall."

After hearing the Taoist priest's account of the ghost monk laughing wildly while holding the Buddha's head, Juan Shoutian went to the main hall to examine the Buddha statue and indeed found some tiny traces behind the Buddha's head.

The area behind the Buddha's head is a different color from the rest of the statue, as if it was added later. Upon closer inspection of the entire statue, there is a small crack on the neck, indicating that the head was broken off and then reattached.

"...There's something inside."

Yuan Wuxiang ascended the Buddha's throne, raised his hand and tapped the Buddha's head, discovering it was hollow inside, but something was hidden within. The ghost monk hugged the Buddha's head and laughed wildly; it must have been what was inside that made him so happy.

"Break it open?"

The Taoist priest tentatively asked, "There are no corpses or strange smells in the main hall. It's more comfortable than in the monks' quarters." Upon hearing that Juan Shoutian had discovered something, he came along.

His suggestion was made entirely based on the current situation. There was something inside the Buddha statue that made the ghost monk laugh wildly, and in order to find out what it was, the Buddha statue had to be chiseled open.

But when he made that suggestion, the other two hesitated.

"...Won't Yi Ye Shu hit us, will he?"

Although he didn't have the tools to chisel it open, Yuan Wuxiang could pry it open with his bare hands, but to open the Buddha's head, he would first have to remove the Buddha's head and then open the back part of the Buddha's head along the gap.

If a high-ranking monk found out that they had severed the head and cracked open the skull of a Buddha statue, they would surely be severely beaten.

“The Buddhist people we know are not here, so it should be fine if we don’t talk about this.”

"That's what Juan Shoutian said."

"Uh, what is One Page Book?"

The Taoist priest felt he couldn't quite understand the cryptic conversation between the two, only realizing that Yi Ye Shu seemed to be a monk as well.

"Crack!"

After thinking it over, Yuan Wuxiang decisively broke off the Buddha's head and jumped down, holding the head in his hand. Juan Shoutian was right; since they weren't here, there was nothing to be afraid of.

"He was a highly virtuous monk whose blows were very painful; he was worth a million soldiers."

Yuan Wuxiang held the Buddha head in one hand and used the other hand to bite off the silk glove. Only then did the Taoist priest realize that the hand under the glove was not flesh and blood, but a metal like silver.

Then, a strange hand covered the crack in the Buddha's head, and with a "crack," Yuan Wuxiang pried the Buddha's head open with his bare hands, revealing what was inside.

The Taoist priest who witnessed the whole thing: His brain was unresponsive.