Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

"The daughter of a wealthy family in Nancun?"

Ma Jiepu looked at the scholar who had spoken. As he questioned him step by step, someone realized that the girl called San Niang was very likely someone he had heard of.

These scholars would travel together to visit relatives. The local villages were not far apart, and even if these young scholars were not related by blood, they might have had contact with each other several generations back.

"In Nancun, there was a family named Kou, who were well-known wealthy in the village. Their daughter, Kou Sanniang, was famous for her stunning beauty, but a few years ago... she fell ill and died young."

At this point, the scholar glanced at the bound girl again. Her age, appearance, and even the expensive jewelry she wore matched those of Kou San Niang, who had died of illness a few years ago.

"Are you the daughter of the Kou family in Nancun?"

Ma Jiepu then turned to ask San Niang.

"……Yes."

Knowing that resistance was futile, Third Sister decisively revealed her identity. There were villagers traveling between several villages, and the Kou family was wealthy, so it was only a matter of time before she was recognized.

Kou San Niang did not die of illness, but was poisoned by accidentally eating waterweed. The Kou family knew about the waterweed and deliberately kept it a secret from outsiders, so as to make it easier for their daughter to cause trouble and give her a chance to be reborn.

Another old woman, surnamed Ni, became a Water Demon much earlier than Kou San Niang, but because of her old age, passersby did not pay much attention to her. Even if she set up a tea stall, she would not succeed in the end.

Although San Niang was young and beautiful, her situation had been similar in recent years. As a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl all alone, it was also difficult for her to trick others into eating water hyacinth. So the two of them came up with a plan to cooperate and pretend to be a mother and daughter selling tea. They set up a tea stall on this road and disguised the water hyacinth as tea to make others drink it.

Unexpectedly, they encountered a tough opponent as soon as they started implementing the plan. Both Ma Jiepu and Shuangxiu were people that the two of them could handle.

"That makes no sense."

A scholar named Zhu couldn't help but pound the table, his expression furious.

"How could there be such an absurd poisonous plant in the world: to be poisoned to death and then find someone else to die in your place?"

This scholar was a bit different. His home was the furthest from here, and he had come to visit his cousin. The growth range of the waterweed was indeed very small. At least in Zhu Sheng's hometown, he had never heard of such absurd and vicious things as waterweed and waterweed ghost.

How many water demons are there here?

Yuan Wuxiang still held the cup of tea in his hand, constantly shaking the tea in the cup. Many locals knew a lot about the waterweed, and some even deliberately concealed the truth so that their children could have a chance to escape.

There are some differences between Water Ghosts and Water Ghosts. Water Ghosts are not trapped in the waters where they died and suffer like Water Ghosts. Judging from the range of activities of Kou San Niang and her companions, Water Ghosts are quite free except for the inability to be reincarnated.

However, they might worry about not being able to find a scapegoat. This anxiety might stem from not knowing they cannot be reborn, or from other comparisons.

For example, there are often water monsters that successfully harm people, which makes others who fail envious and start to get anxious.

The answer given by Third Sister to this question was somewhat strange. There used to be a lot of it, but recently there has been less. However, it's not because someone is punishing the Water Demons or anything like that. It's because there is less Water Demon grass in the area, so the materials that the Water Demons use to deceive people, as well as the number of people who mistakenly eat Water Demon grass, have also decreased.

"A while ago, a group of strange people came here and picked a large amount of water hyacinth. If it weren't for them..."

San Niang glanced at Ma Jiepu and the others, hesitating to speak. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of that group of outsiders who collected large quantities of water hyacinth, causing all the water hyacinth growing in conspicuous places to be picked clean, leaving them with no poison to use, their plan to pretend to sell tea could have been implemented much sooner.

If they had come any earlier, they wouldn't have encountered these experts who could see through their disguises, and they would have been free by now.

"What kind of people are they?"

Collect large quantities of water hyacinth? This stuff is highly poisonous and can turn the dead into water hyacinth ghosts from which they cannot be reincarnated. What would you do with such a thing? You can't possibly mistake water hyacinth for a new variety of broad bean and bring it back as food.

Although this thing does look like a lentil, the fact that so many people are coming here specifically to collect it suggests that they couldn't possibly have mistaken it for something else. There must be some conspiracy involved.

"There were also sorcerers among them, and we dared not approach them. We only saw that they were wearing strange white robes, and it was said that some king had ordered them to come and pick the fruit."

"king?"

This title is no simple matter. At present, there is no turmoil in the country and no one is rebelling. Apart from the princes who are granted titles, who else would dare to call themselves king?

Upon hearing this title, the scholars fell silent instantly. As learned people, they were even more sensitive to such matters, for a single misstep could offend someone and bring trouble upon themselves. Even if there were no high-ranking officials present, they would reflexively be cautious in their words and actions.

Ma Jiepu frowned. The scholars only associated it with royalty and nobility, but such people would not have access to the waterweed, and even if they heard about it, they might not believe it. He was more inclined to believe it was a monster with a special name. It was not impossible that monsters would resort to poison when fighting fiercely.

Moreover, as a demon, he is more receptive to all sorts of strange and unusual medicines. Ma Jiepu does not use poison, but he also carries some medicines with him that have unique functions. These are rare items that he has collected while traveling around.

On the other hand, Yuan Wuxiang's association with the world is even more precise, down to the level of a specific person.

"Could it be called Asura King?"

Although there wasn't much evidence, they just had this feeling that when strange things happened in the south, they would first consider the White Lotus Sect, and then consider the Wan Jie and illegal transmigrators.

"Asura King?"

Ma Jiepu felt he couldn't keep up either. Who was this Asura King? Just hearing the name made him seem like a bad person.

No, given the appearance and identity of these two people, it is highly likely that the Asura King is not human. At worst, he is an Asura King who is "as his name suggests".

"It seems...that's what they say."

"...That's really true."

Originally, Wuxiang was speechless, and this silence made him put down his research on the water lily tea.

If a positive answer is received, it can be basically confirmed that Shou Wanjie instructed the White Lotus Sect to collect water hyacinth in the area. No matter how much water hyacinth is consumed, people will eventually die from poisoning. The combination of such a deadly weapon with a cult makes it even more intriguing.

Ma Jiepu did not know the Asura King, but he knew the White Lotus Sect, a sect that was quite active among the common people.

"Recently, the White Lotus Sect has indeed been acting very strangely."

On his travels, Ma Jiepu had no clear direction. He simply went wherever he saw, without any purpose or concern for the conflicts between people. He would return when he reached a border, and if he saw someone in distress, he would lend a helping hand.

Such a journey broadened his horizons, but also left him behind in terms of information. He knew all sorts of unusual and interesting stories, but he didn't understand the details of ordinary society. After hearing these things today, Ma Jiepu realized that the recent actions of the White Lotus Sect were indeed a bit excessive. Before, they were just swindling and extorting money, and only a minority of them harmed people.

"Based on what we, a few of our friends, have observed, the White Lotus Sect has been very active lately. Not only is there a trend of multiple factions merging, but there are also several powerful leaders..."

"Since you're going to travel around, you'd better be careful."

As for whether Ma Jiepu was wary of the White Lotus Sect, or the White Lotus Sect was wary of Ma Jiepu, that's a matter of opinion.

The scholars realized that if the conversation continued, they would no longer be able to hear anything. What was originally just a simple journey had almost turned into an ambush by the water monster. Now, their feelings were complicated, and they just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Only the scholar surnamed Zhu was learning about waterweed for the first time. His worldview was shaken, and then his sense of justice surged. He felt that waterweed was really vicious and should be dealt with as soon as possible, whether it was a poisonous plant or a ghost.

However, this is a problem that cannot be solved. Although the water hyacinth has a special toxicity, it does grow naturally in this area. Even if you pull out all the grass, it may grow back later.

As for the Water Demons, the original Water Demons have long since been reincarnated. The later ones are just a group of victims who either accidentally ate the food or were implicated. In order to free themselves, they have become perpetrators no different from their enemies.

Water ghosts cannot be reincarnated unless their souls are completely destroyed; otherwise, they will remain in this state indefinitely, and even if someone takes the blame, it will be impossible to carry it out.

A poisonous plant that looks like a lentil has created an unsolvable cycle. To save a ghost, a person must be sacrificed first. Zhu Sheng feels that his values ​​are being challenged.

"Is there really no other way, Brother Ma...?"

Zhu Sheng looked at Ma Jiepu, whose strength was in the middle to upper range among fox spirits. Ma Jiepu shook his head, but he really couldn't do anything about things that had rules.

"Those two..."

Ma Jiepu was out of ideas. Then he thought of two other people who looked even more capable. He looked at Juan Shoutian and Yuan Wuxiang. These two looked like gods descending to earth. Maybe they had a solution.

"My friend and I are not from this world, and we follow different laws of nature. We cannot interfere too much in such matters."

"Water hyacinth is something that originated in this world on its own, and how to deal with it can only be left to the people here."

Faced with Zhu Sheng's expectant gaze, the two also expressed that they could not help. The water hyacinth was different from anything before. In essence, it was just a part of the local nature, but its toxicity was somewhat special, and it just happened to be in contact with human society.

They can subdue demons that harm people; they can heal the injured; they can offer guidance to those who are lost. But this is one thing they truly cannot handle.

Water hyacinth is a poison, but it just grows there quietly, and people mistakenly eat it and use it. The key is people. The grass will grow back after it is pulled up, and the water hyacinth ghost will reappear even after it is eliminated.

In a sense, this is a unique "ecology" of the local area. Although it sounds unpleasant, it is the truth. It is one of the natural rules of this world. As outsiders, no matter how much they mess around, they cannot shake the rules of the world itself.

As for Ma Jiepu, he was a fox spirit who cultivated according to some of the rules. If the people harmed today were not water ghosts, but two ordinary evil ghosts, then he would have to let them test his strength and methods as a fox spirit.

Unfortunately, the Third Sister and the old woman were Water Demons. Because of Ma Jiepu's keen eyesight, they failed to harm anyone and were only charged with "attempted crime".

Aside from that, they were also victims of the strange rules of the water hyacinth. Faced with this situation, Ma Jiepu lost all his strength and means and was helpless.

"Is there really no way?"

Zhu Sheng was incredulous. The three experts in front of him had all given negative answers. But if they were left unattended, wouldn't there be more and more Water Demons harming innocent people like they did today?

Zhu Sheng's sense of justice made him feel that this was wrong, but his reason also told him that if Ma Jiepu and the others couldn't solve the problem, then he, an ordinary mortal, would be even less able to.

After all, just now, he had almost been bewitched by San Niang and drunk the tea brewed with water licorice. If it weren't for Ma Jiepu, their whole group would have turned into water licorice ghosts.

Seeing that Zhu Sheng was starting to get stuck on his own thoughts, his companions quickly went over to persuade him to leave. They were all out visiting relatives, and they had already wasted too much time at the tea stall; if they delayed any longer, they wouldn't reach their destination that day.

Hearing that the locals were very familiar with water hyacinth and that there was even a way to cure its poison, Zhu Sheng’s attention was diverted from his obsession. In the end, the scholars left together, but Ma Jiepu’s path diverged from theirs, and they parted ways there.

Before arriving at the teahouse, Ma Jiepu had already prepared his excuse for leaving, but he came along because he found something was wrong with the teahouse.

Third Sister and the old woman were in special circumstances and difficult to deal with, but Ma Jiepu would not leave them alone. Although they had not harmed any adults, their intention to harm others remained. Ma Jiepu apologized to Shuangxiu, took one end of the red rope, left the teahouse, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The other party said he was just going out for a short while and would be back soon. Shuangxiu trusted Ma Jiepu's character, but she couldn't help but be curious about what he was going to do.

A short while later, Ma Jiepu returned, indeed quickly, and the two water monsters were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did they go?"

Ma Jiepu wouldn't let them go directly, but in such a short time, where could he take them?

“I handed them over to the local earth god. There are many water demons causing trouble in the area. Telling the earth god about this should help prevent some of them.”

He was about to leave, and he couldn't deal with the Water Demon's affairs. He couldn't find a City God Temple nearby, so he could only ask the Earth God for help.

Upon hearing this, the two silently sighed in their hearts, "Oh right, there's also the Earth God. We've been out for so long, and our encounters with monsters and gods have all been random. We've forgotten about something as fixed as the Earth God."

Unfortunately, the two worlds have different definitions of gods, and as the plot twists further, the boundary becomes increasingly blurred. It's really hard to remember them unless they show themselves.

Ma Jiepu returned because he wanted to ask more about the White Lotus Sect. He had a friend living nearby, and he wanted to visit his friend's hometown in the next few days. His friend was just an ordinary mortal, and if the White Lotus Sect wanted to cause trouble, his friend probably wouldn't be able to escape.