Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

According to the villagers, a group of rebels once took the name of the White Lotus Sect and started a rebellion in this area. No one remembers the specific name of the sect, and the gods they worshipped were not the gods that everyone is familiar with today. The general story was that they first declared that they were the reincarnation of a certain god and gathered armed forces to rebel.

Then the rebellion was suppressed, and the leaders were all beheaded and their bodies were left unattended. Nobody knows where they were thrown away in the end.

"How long ago was this?"

"It seems like it's been several decades."

“How could it be only a few decades? My great-great-grandfather heard this story. It must have been several hundred years ago.”

"Several hundred years ago? Did the White Lotus Sect even exist a few hundred years ago? Besides, have you ever met your great-great-grandfather?"

“I heard this from my grandfather; he had this story when he was a child.”

"It couldn't have been hundreds of years ago either."

"Why not? Maybe it was thousands of years ago!"

"Several thousand years? You might as well start from the creation of the world by Pangu!"

Listening to this incoherent story and the arguments around them, Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao had a headache. Most of the villagers were illiterate, and these kinds of stories were passed down orally, during which a lot of important information would be lost, and some false information would be added on and embellished.

For example, when they listened carefully, they didn't know the name of the leader of the rebellion, but the villagers could describe the "heroic figure" of that leader summoning the army.

And this army... the woodcutter said it was heavenly soldiers and generals, another said it was demons and yakshas, ​​and an old man along the way said it was zombies. You can only say that this summoner is really powerful.

Not only are the names and beliefs of the key personnel and religious sects unknown, but the time period in which the events took place is also vaguely described. There is no important information, but unimportant details are described in great detail, as if they were there themselves.

The only certainty is that the White Lotus sect members who led the rebellion were indeed beheaded, and if they became ghosts after death, they would indeed look like headless ghosts.

"Should we go back into the mountains and ask again?"

It's unlikely we'll get any useful information from these ordinary villagers; they've argued so much over just one story.

Before it gets dark, let's go back into the mountains and ask around. Isn't there a headless ghost in the mountains? Maybe he's a fellow ghost.

"Those few in the mountains don't have strong yin energy, so they shouldn't be related to the White Lotus Sect."

Jian Feidao knew Ren Pingsheng's thoughts. Before this, he had observed several ghosts in the dilapidated temple. Regardless of their Yin energy strength or their clothing, they did not seem to have been dead for too long. They were probably only a little older than Mr. Zhan, and the oldest one was probably no more than fifty years old.

If the White Lotus Rebellion had only occurred a few decades ago, the stories and legends wouldn't be so chaotic. If it had only been a few decades, the people from that time would still be alive, and at least their names and sect names would have survived, instead of being spread so far as to become so outrageous.

Because the villagers' stories were unreliable, Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao had to analyze them themselves. Unbeknownst to them, the villagers' discussion had gradually gone astray.

"Hey, you guys tell me."

Someone glanced at the two innate beings who were talking, then immediately turned back and whispered to the person next to them.

"How old are those two over there?"

Although his face was that of a young man, his hair was white.

"I don't think so. Look at that Taoist priest carrying something; he looks like he's just reached adulthood."

“But their hair was all white. When Mr. Ren reminded me that there was something behind me, I was momentarily distracted and thought it was an old man talking.”

The woodcutter didn't think the two men were that young. When Ren Pingsheng reminded him that there was something hanging on the carrying pole, the first thing he noticed was the other man's full head of white hair, his rather simple and rustic clothes, and the very eye-catching cane in his hand. Before he could see the man's face clearly, he really thought he was an old man.

"Even the oldest person in the next village doesn't have as much white hair as them."

Their hair was completely white, without a single stray strand. Their eyebrows were also entirely white, unlike the hair of an elderly person, which tends to thin with age. Their white hair was thick, long, smooth, and glossy, looking even more beautiful than the silk sold in the city.

Could he really be a deity?

Although the two parties involved initially rejected this conjecture, it did not prevent others from bringing up the idea again. Apart from gods, they could not think of any other fitting explanation.

So, how old do you think those two are?

"Maybe over a hundred? I heard that old man in the next village is already over ninety."

"If they really are immortals, they must be hundreds of years old, right? I've heard that monsters can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, so immortals must live even longer."

"Can monsters live that long? But I've heard people say that monsters are pretty much like humans, they die in a few decades."

"Who did you listen to?"

“My third maternal uncle heard that someone in the city once married a fox spirit, and he died of illness more than ten years later.”

"What nonsense! Monsters can get sick?"

"Exactly, it's not like someone's bragging and making their wife out to be a monster..."

The villagers thought they were speaking very quietly and deliberately kept their distance, but their discussion became increasingly off-topic and unrestrained. In fact, such a short distance was completely unaffected by the hearing of a naturally gifted person.

Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao heard everything they were saying. Unbeknownst to them, they had also overheard the two men's analysis of the relationship between the headless ghost and the White Lotus Sect rebels.

Ren Pingsheng suddenly fell silent and began staring at Jian Feidao. Then, as if he remembered something, he changed from staring at him to looking around him, and almost started gesturing with his hands.

No, it was when he had already made a move that Jian Feidao grabbed and pressed down on.

"What does the traveler want to say?"

Even if Jian Feidao is honest, he can't let anyone slap him on his body at will.

"I suddenly thought of something."

When he overheard the villagers discussing the two men's ages and hair color, Ren Pingsheng inevitably thought that Jian Feidao's white hair had turned white overnight. Then he thought of Jian Feidao's appearance, and then... he discovered something.

"You used to have black hair, right?"

"Correct."

"And then your hair turned white overnight, right?"

"……Correct."

"Have you noticed...?"

Ren Pingsheng raised his hand and pointed to his eyebrows.

"When your hair was black, your eyebrows were white, just like they are now."

Yes, Jian Feidao and Jian Feidao are two different people at different times. Apart from the differences in their clothing and hair, their eyebrows are the same. They are both white. Jian Feidao has black hair and white eyebrows. The one who turned white overnight really only had white hair.

"..."

Jian Feidao remained silent, attempting to think; his mind was responding.

Walking along the road leading out from the back of the village, you'll reach a small hill. It's not exactly a mountain, but it's still quite high. With the weeds and a few scattered trees, it's a place to rest, but compared to a real forest, it's not really suitable for hiding.

But it doesn't matter, people here don't need much cover, because their very presence is not easily seen.

This was a man surrounded by black smoke, like a ghost. From a distance, he looked like a large cloud of black smoke billowing out a wide cloak and floating there. Anyone who saw him would think they had encountered a ghost in broad daylight.

If Liu Qingyuan were to see this, he might give this assessment: Who wandered onto the wrong set again? Playing a soul-capturing monster in a ghost story, the conflict and resentment are so intense that even the Black Mountain Demon would have to steer clear.

"There is still one missing..."

This person... no, his current form is not human. He was one of Lan Yingyi Yang's companions who originally helped him gather information in the underworld. Due to certain characteristics of his own, he was able to stay safely in the underworld, but when he returned to the mortal world, he would turn into this ghostly appearance, which was both conspicuous and frightening.

But it doesn't matter. Because of his similarities to ghosts and monsters, ordinary people in this world can't see him, nor can they see him. As long as they pay attention to people who can catch demons and ghosts, this illegal traveler will not be discovered.

At this moment, he was holding a human head in his hand. The head had wide-open eyes and a clean cut on its neck, clearly indicating that it had been decapitated with a single blow. This was one of the White Lotus sect leaders who was beheaded and displayed in public for rebelling, according to the story told by the villagers.

Although the story adds too many unrealistic descriptions of the battle scenes, one thing is true: the leaders at the time were all powerful mages who could summon helpers to aid in the rebellion.

However, judging from the final result, their magic power was not strong enough to contend with the imperial army. Although the people were executed, their followers and disciples were not all killed. A few junior disciples who knew some magic took advantage of the chaos to escape and gradually developed into new sects elsewhere.

Quite by chance, this branch heard rumors within the sect and went south to seek refuge with "Asura King," also bringing the past stories to several outsiders.

Although they ultimately failed, the fact that they were able to gather followers and stage an armed rebellion in such a short time, leaving behind a legendary story passed down by word of mouth among the people, shows that these leaders must have had extraordinary abilities. From the mouths of their descendants, they learned something and came here specifically to find the bodies of those people from back then.

They can't really be called corpses. After so many years, a normal person's corpse would have decomposed long ago. These people had different fates after they died. Some became zombies, some became ghosts, and some even became evil spirits.

For example, the human head that is being held in one's hand now is not a corpse, but a ghost.

However, the other party didn't seem to care much about the person who found them, just staring blankly like a dead head, not saying a word. Originally, when they found this head, they wanted to try to ask about the whereabouts of the other White Lotus Cult leaders so they could capture them all at once.

After all, from their current standpoint, these illegal transmigrators are also members of the White Lotus Cult, and some have even risen to high positions.

"Still unwilling to talk?"

"..."

"Okay, I'll go look for it again."

There are more restrictions here than in other places. The nearby mountains are home not only to mountain gods but also to reclusive masters of cultivation. I myself had previously spent time in the underworld and knew that there was also a very responsible Five Capital Patrol Envoy here. They are all formidable individuals.

If they weren't so wary of these things, they could have easily led their followers on a large-scale search. Although the White Lotus Sect had always been suppressed, due to the complex composition of its members, local officials mostly turned a blind eye as long as they didn't escalate the matter to the imperial court.

If you have good speaking skills, you can even persuade people to search together. With a few tricks, you can turn stones into fake gold, and people will come to you on their own.

"Not a single one can escape."

The man covered in black smoke left with the head in his hand. Inside the town, Chu Yintai had found a wandering Taoist priest who was said to be quite powerful and wanted him to help him capture the demon.

"Head?"

Master Li frowned as he looked at the young man before him. He had no objection to exorcising demons and monsters; it was his duty. However, Chu Yintai's description was too vague, and he couldn't find a way to calculate it even if he tried.

Judging from his appearance, Chu Yintai may indeed encounter some trouble in the future, but this trouble has nothing to do with what he is experiencing today; it seems to be a result of his own personality.

With his ape-like eyes and hawk-like nose, he didn't have the appearance of someone easy to get along with. Coupled with the Chu family's power in the area and the reputation of this young master Chu, Master Li was somewhat skeptical of Chu Yintai's story.

Moreover, seeing a head roll past you is not a particularly unusual thing. There are countless decapitated ghosts, and many people have seen a head appear and disappear in front of them. Sometimes it is a sign of disaster, and sometimes it is just a coincidence.

If a ghost truly wanted to harm someone, it wouldn't be so gentle, merely showing its head to scare you before disappearing. More often, it would directly ensnare you, so no matter which way the victim looks, they would see a human head staring at them eerily.

"Besides the heads, did you see anything else, young master?"

For example, a body that has been decapitated and comes with a human head.

"No, there's only a head, and that head is staring at me with its eyes open. It's definitely trying to entangle me!"

"Calm down, young master, please calm down."

The matter concerning Chu Yintai was vague and unclear, and Master Li was somewhat reluctant to take on the job. However, he dared not gamble, fearing that some unclean spirit might cause trouble, as it involved a human life.

However, Chu Yintai couldn't explain it himself and just kept urging Master Li to catch the monster. Master Li couldn't stand this guy anymore, so he gave him a few talismans and sent him home. It was getting dark, and Chu Yintai was afraid of seeing the human head again, so he left.

In the past, if someone was haunted by a demon, Master Li would usually give the person his personal whisk, which could be hung in front of the door and used as a door guardian.

This time is a little different. Whether Chu Yintai was actually entangled is still up for debate. It's more likely that he just happened to see him and the other side didn't even notice there was a living person there.

Moreover, Master Li's whisk had broken once before, but it was restored by someone using special magic. He only has two handy magic weapons: the whisk in his hand and the peach wood sword on his back. If the whisk breaks again this time, he won't be able to find anyone to repair it.

After dark, he arrived outside the city, at the place where Chu Yintai was said to have encountered a ghost. There were indeed some lingering traces of yin energy there, but not much; he was just passing by.

Seeing that there was no problem, Master Li planned to go back directly and think about his words the next day to appease Chu Yintai.

This was without any unexpected events. If he hadn't heard the strange howling in the distance and seen figures resembling White Lotus Sect members when leaving the city, Master Li would have left more decisively at this point.

In addition, he saw two white figures flash by in the distance. In the suburbs at night, the two white figures seemed to glow on their own. Master Li's intuition told him that something was definitely happening there.