Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

If the person selling the house demon is just a somewhat powerful merchant dealing in unusual goods, Lan Ying will naturally complete the transaction step by step. There are such businessmen in the East Sea Market and the Central Plains Ghost Market. In the past, in the capital, there were even people who specialized in selling exotic items to please high-ranking officials and nobles.

But this time, the one who came wasn't a professional, but just a blind monk who could control little ghosts and had some crooked thoughts. Lan Ying took a liking to his ability to control little ghosts and was determined not to let him go.

The previously well-hidden cursed insects were wiped out by the enemy. Lan Ying still couldn't figure out what kind of ability the other side used. Those insects were a combination of Gu insects and curses. After being placed in the human body, they left no trace on the outside.

She was unaware that the enemy had a sword named Jian Feidao, who happened to have a pair of "eagle eyes." In any case, before being discovered by Jian Feidao, Lan Ying used the cursed insects with great skill and never made a mistake.

As a result, Liu Qingyuan's arrival caused her to be completely taken aback.

Later, Lan Ying thought about it and wondered if it was because her ability seemed too special and different from the local magic in Liaozhai that she was exposed. Now that she saw this blind monk, she couldn't help but imagine that if she could use the same method, and the other party saw that it was a local method of controlling ghosts, would she not be exposed so quickly?

After all, as long as the two sides don't actually face each other, they still have room to maneuver.

After several attempts, Lan Ying confirmed that the monk opposite her was truly blind, and the blurry little ghost next to him didn't seem to respect him, giving her many opportunities to make a move.

Come to think of it, a ghost child in this form is obviously not a natural death. It was probably captured, killed by hand, and then imprisoned by special means.

There are also sorcerers within the White Lotus Cult who possess similar abilities, but they do not cultivate demons for this purpose; rather, they perform rituals to attract and control stronger beings.

Having been cruelly murdered in life and then controlled and enslaved after death, this little devil is hardly the type to protect his master.

"The deal is done. You can leave now."

Lan Ying picked up the cage containing the small house demon, deliberately making a bit rough so that the house demon inside would make a sound so that the blind monk could hear it.

With the demon in his hand, the blind monk took the money and got up to leave. The boy obediently followed him. The blind monk couldn't see, but the boy could see very clearly. The woman shaking the cage raised a hand, and a wisp of black smoke shot out, like a rope tying the monk's foot.

As expected, the monk tripped and fell. Caught off guard, the little devils beside him were no different from decorations. Only when he urged the flag or tormented the wooden figure would the two ghost children move at his command.

"what are you doing?!"

This unexpected fall was quite severe, but fortunately, the ground they were on was dirt, which provided some cushioning and prevented him from being knocked unconscious.

"Let me ask you again."

Lan Ying stopped bothering the little people in the cage and looked at the blind monk who had fallen to the ground and couldn't stand up because his feet were tied. He was cursing the little devil next to him.

He was blind in both eyes and could walk normally, but he needed the help of the little ghost he raised when he encountered more complicated situations. The little ghost was indeed doing his job of leading the way, but he just didn't say anything and didn't mention Lan Ying's little tricks.

"If you reveal your method of raising ghosts, we can part ways amicably. I don't mind killing you and searching the place directly."

Monsters have friends and family, making them difficult to kill or provoke. However, Lan Ying is not worried about the trouble that would arise from killing a lone, solitary person like the blind monk who wanders around and scams on his own.

This wasn't a proper monk, and his ordination certificate was probably fake. Killing him wouldn't attract the court's attention, especially since many people had been killed in conflicts with the White Lotus Sect, and there was no way to manage them all.

"This brat seems pretty defiant. If we kill you, wouldn't that be considered doing a service to the people?"

Throughout the entire process, the boy didn't utter a single word, leading Lan Ying to suspect that this little brat might simply be unable to speak.

Just then, a cat meowed outside, followed by gasps of surprise from the other believers, which was quite unusual.

"what happened?"

Lan Ying turned her head to look in the direction of the sound coming from outside, while Ge Zi suddenly looked up at the roof beam when he heard the cat meowing. No one paid any attention to the monk on the ground.

A cat crawled in through a hole in the roof and jumped back and forth on the beams. On its back rode an extremely small humanoid creature, hidden among the cat's fur, which could not be seen unless you looked closely.

Apart from the guy whose eyesight was different from others, and excluding the blind man, no one else noticed the little person riding on the cat.

Therefore, the boy's head tilting up was interpreted by others as a child's curiosity about cats. His figure was somewhat blurry, but it was still clear that he was a seven or eight-year-old child. In addition, he was the only ghost here, so his focus would naturally be different from that of the living.

Lan Ying only glanced at the roof beam, but couldn't see anything except a long cat tail and a few afterimages left by leaping. Compared to the stray cat on the roof beam, the cries of the believers outside were more concerning.

"Keep an eye on him."

Lan Ying put the cage containing the house demon back on the table, gave a few simple instructions, told them to keep an eye on the blind monk to make sure he didn't escape, and then went out to see what had happened.

The monk on the ground was still staring at the cat on the roof beam. He tried to order the monk to untie the bindings on his feet, but before he could chant a spell or make a hand gesture, he was stopped by the White Lotus Sect members who remained behind.

Although their methods differ, they all practice evil magic, and the followers who also need to chant incantations are all too familiar with what this set of combos looks like.

Upon hearing the blind monk's voice, the boy turned around. Because of his blurry, smoky appearance, others could not see his facial expression or know what the ghost child was thinking.

But now, the two followers who had the monk under control could clearly feel that the blurry-looking child was watching them, not saying a word, just staring straight at them.

To be honest, this is pretty creepy.

"you think……"

"Bang, bang, thud!"

Before he could say anything, a whisk flew from behind and struck the two men on the head with perfect accuracy, making three loud noises.

Why three knocks? Because the two White Lotus Sect members were knocked unconscious. After they fell down, the blind monk who was being held by them lost his support and fell down again, just as he was knocked unconscious. One basic attack took down all three of them, perfect.

"Excellent, the infiltration operation was a great success!"

After the three fell, a pink figure appeared behind them. It was Ling Ziling, who had entered at some unknown time. The whisk that dealt triple damage spun a few times in the air before returning to her hand.

"...This is called infiltration?"

Another figure appeared, with the same blurry form as the boy. It passed directly through the wall and asked a question. It was another ghost child who had led the group earlier.

At first, Ling Ziling said that he did intend to sneak in, so he hid inside the wall using the characteristics of a ghost, the house demon rode a cat in through a hole in the roof, and Ren Yunzong was the one who attracted attention outside.

As for Ling, no one saw when she came in. Anyway, she just stood openly behind the two White Lotus Sect members and knocked them unconscious with her whisk.

"There's a good saying."

Faced with the doubts, Ling Ziling nonchalantly flicked her whisk.

"As long as you are not discovered by the enemy, it counts as infiltration."

To avoid being discovered by the enemy means to knock the enemy unconscious first, thus depriving them of the opportunity to discover the attack.

"..."

The two ghost children looked at each other in silence. Even though their figures and faces were very blurry, one could still sense their speechlessness at Ling Ziling's actions.

A noisy commotion came from outside, but the house seemed peaceful and serene. Everyone standing was one of their own. The cat on the roof beam jumped down and led the house demon to rescue his kin.

Lingziling crouched down and pulled the unconscious blind monk out separately, while the two ghost children floated to her side.

"Where is the thing?"

"In the lining of his outer robe."

The man finally spoke, his words coming out quickly, his excitement barely concealed. The hope of liberation was within reach; they could finally escape this villain.

Following their clues, Ling Ziling searched the monk and found two wooden figures, a small coffin, and four exquisite little flags. The wooden figures had some needle marks on them, and each little flag was gilded at the top, making them look very valuable.

The two wooden figures are cages imprisoning the two ghosts, the flag is a token to control them, but the purpose of the small coffin is unknown.

"What is this coffin used for?"

The spirit asks itself.

"It's used by monks to cast curses to harm people."

The brother answered truthfully.

“Whenever he arrived at a house, he would demand hundreds or thousands of dollars. If some people refused to pay, he would use the coffin to curse the child. Sometimes the child would just fall slightly ill and stop after paying the money. Other times, he would deliberately torture the child and kill him.”

"...Take it back and burn it together."

What a scoundrel! It's too good for him to just knock him unconscious. He should have been given a thunder talisman to experience what "divine justice" really means.

Besides rescuing the house demon, Ling Ziling also plans to take the monk with her. This guy has swindled a lot of money from the people of the city, and such a truly wicked person cannot be let go.

The purpose of searching out the items beforehand was not only to prevent the blind monk from playing tricks, but also to better free the two ghost children.

"One of the five flags is missing. If we destroy just one, will it affect you?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that the lost fifth flag is not far from here."

The boy became a ghost child earlier, and not only did he spend more time with the blind monk, but he also had some inexplicable feelings about the things that trapped him.

"Really?"

These things can even sense each other?

"Really, it might be nearby."

"That's good. Let's go back and find Ah Zhen first... I'll ask her beforehand."

Ling Ziling's gaze swept over the two ghosts and one cat in front of her, as well as several house demons.

"Aren't you afraid of the devil?"

"...We are ghosts."

The question left the guy speechless. Look at this group, do they look like they're afraid of ghosts? There are two ghosts who died unnatural deaths floating around here right now.

"Not ghosts, but devils or demons. This race seems to have a lot of significance here."

It mainly involves the Buddhist sect, and Ren Yunzong happens to be a demon related to the sect.

"boom!"

Just then, an explosion was heard outside.

"Never mind, let's go!"

……

Yuan Wuxiang placed one hand across his brow, looking in the direction from which the explosion had just occurred.

"...It seems we really have run into each other."

This kind of commotion and lighting could only be attributed to either a celestial being or a local deity. However, compared to the former, true deities would also be accompanied by a radiant glow upon their appearance and would be more inclined to use magical attacks.

Those few streaks of white light just now looked more like the result of a weapon swinging, but it's still unclear whether they were the flashes of a blade or the shadows of a sword.

"What a small world."

After expressing their feelings, the two headed in that direction.

"No, there's demonic energy here."

"Demonic energy? How could it be here?"

As they got closer, the two realized something was wrong. Why was there such familiar demonic energy in this place? Something was definitely not right!

Because the colors of their clothes were quite eye-catching, they stopped breathing and started moving forward on solid ground after getting close to each other.

Lan Ying had a lot to say about why there was demonic energy in this place.

She found the unusual exclamations from the followers strange. The people in the White Lotus Sect had all seen the spells that summoned demons, and many of them had been killed by government soldiers. In terms of knowledge, they were far more knowledgeable than ordinary people. The last time she heard such chaotic exclamations was when the Asura King led them to the White Lotus Sect for the first time.

Normally, it's the White Lotus Sect members who scare others, but today the sun has risen in the west; someone has come to scare the White Lotus Sect, and they've even succeeded.

Before coming out, Lan Ying was still disgusted by the uselessness of these people in her heart. After coming out, she suddenly understood and felt some empathy for them.

There was only one person standing outside, with dark skin, white hair, clothes made of animal hide, and a long-handled broadsword, the blade of which was dripping with someone's blood.

The man exuded an undeniable pressure simply by standing there, with his back to the panicked believers around him caused by the unexpected arrival.

Upon noticing Lan Ying's appearance, the white-haired man turned around. His dark skin was covered with golden tattoos, and he had a single horn on his head. His headband, adorned with jewels, was pulled low, and even his eyes were obscure and unreadable due to the shadows.

This is not human at all. Thanks to her two companions who had once lurked in the underworld, Lan Ying had learned a bit about some of the strange creatures in the underworld. Intuitively, she felt that the extremely oppressive aura emanating from this guy was related to the underworld, but she couldn't explain why.

If the person involved were to explain, it would be that he himself possessed immense demonic energy that he didn't conceal much. Due to the difference in energy and cultivation system, others could only feel the oppression and couldn't distinguish the demonic energy.

However, this world also has the definition of "demon," but it is different from the demon race that destroys the Chanti, which leads to this peculiar feeling.

Yes, Ren Yunzong still used the guise of Duanmie Chanti, but he was only there to make an appearance and scare people. He would leave with Ling Ziling afterward.

The purpose of introducing this character is twofold: firstly, to shock the White Lotus Sect's values ​​and prevent them from joining forces too quickly because of an "Asura King." If the White Lotus Sect grows stronger, the next step could be a coordinated armed uprising and rebellion.

The two options are to appease Ling Ziling's suggestion, so there's no other reason, allowing the girl to leave satisfied. After all, she's a senior uncle I've watched grow up, so I should spoil her a little.

Ling Ziling also knew about this, which is why she asked others if they were afraid of demons. Although Ren Yunzong and Duanmie Chanti were different forms of the same person, their appearances were not exactly alike, but rather completely different.

"...Friend, pinch me."

Hiding in the shadows, Shuangxiu looked at everything before her with a mixture of emotions. Good heavens, what did Duanmie Chanti do to them?