742 Delusions Shattered
this happening!I know war can't be about humanity, but... what's the point of all this effort"Have you two ever heard of the story of the Dragon-Locking Well in the Imperial City""Heard about it Eve...When our helicopter landed, he should have gotten the message and been acting casually in the yard, waiting for us to show up.
And I brought Xiao Kun along, he wasn't nervous at all, and acted very convincingly. But as soon as Jiang Qiyun appeared, seeing that there was a man with me, he immediately became respectful and led us out.
His house should have quite a few funerary objects left over from the move.
Perhaps he had already discovered that this was a burial pit, and in order to enter and steal treasures, he set a trap. He removed the statues (perhaps even colluding with thieves), opened the pit, and the restless souls were no longer bound and suppressed, fleeing to the nearest suitable building for "raising ghosts."
After causing several deaths, he boasted about the wrath of the gods after the theft of the statue of the saint. However, when the statue was recovered, it had been severed at the head. He locked the statue in a side chapel, claiming to be guarding it carefully, and hired skilled craftsmen to repair it, but refused to put it back in its original place.
The goal is to let these vengeful spirits continue causing trouble, attracting the attention of the priests who come here to deal with them. They will perform rituals that seem ineffective, and then secretly incite the villagers to drive the priests away.
On one hand, he could attract the villagers' attention and secretly hide or process the burial objects for personal gain. On the other hand, he could report to his superiors that the villagers were very resistant to outsiders and needed time to be appeased, lest a mass incident occur. Now officials are on edge, afraid of trouble.
Women and children of all ages in the village, with few young men, were almost all deceived by him.
After Shen Qingrui arrived, she was instigated by him to be privately detained by the villagers. Perhaps seeing that women were easy to bully, even a skilled Kun Dao would be bullied by hot-headed youths if they went out alone.
Upon receiving the news, the Grand Steward feared that Shen Qingrui had made a blunder and might negatively affect my standing. He rushed to the rescue with powerful talismans and magical artifacts.
It turned out that it wasn't just vengeful spirits and negative energy, but these people were being manipulated and incited. The person wielding the fan stirring up rumors and fueling chaos was the client themselves.
That's why Shen Qingru was so angry, like a tightly sealed gourd. No matter how capable she was, being surrounded and threatened by a bunch of hoodlums, stripped naked and humiliated... she would be afraid too.
The supernatural cannot compete with the human heart. Master, you must have accomplices to perform so convincingly.
The little imp suddenly floated down from above the eaves, bowing deeply: "Lord Emperor, Lady Empress, that swollen female ghost has drifted into a household and possessed the woman there. There are many eerie jewels and trinkets in the cellar of that house, so we didn't stop her."
Jiang Qiyun nodded, raised his hand and moved his fingers slightly, the little ghost clerk obediently went back to continue peeking.
...without brains and discernment, one can't truly serve as his subordinate. Half the commands rely on understanding!
The work of ghost messengers, Yin officials, and even the Underworld is simply to balance yin and yang, reward good and punish evil, and guide reincarnation. It's not about protecting mortals in such a "noble" way.
Misfortune and good fortune are brought upon oneself.
Keep those things that invite misfortune in your home, and you expect to live peacefully
Jiang Qiyun bent down and picked up a piece of blue brick. Over the years, the color of the brick had turned to bluish-black, with some incomplete carvings on its surface.
"This...couldn't be where they throw people, could it" I shuddered, imagining the woman being dumped into this dry well and descending into madness.
Jiang Qiyun shook his head: "These etchings have winding patterns, they were made deliberately, not scratched."
“This place must be a trap. Someone took advantage of the terrain here, using acupoints to create a vertical burial pit and bone processing site. Those 'lapsed' women who were tortured to death were thrown down here. Perhaps some families couldn't bear it, but they had to submit to worldly corporal punishment, so they secretly brought their belongings for these women. Their souls are imprisoned here, unable to escape. They can't seek revenge or reincarnate. Even if they were released now, those who wanted revenge would be nothing but skeletons, gone without a trace.”
He brushed the dust off his fingers and said faintly, "Love and hate, all are just a matter of time."
"Then... I didn't know your identity or your intentions before. Nor did I know about your compassion and hard work. If I were to hate you, wouldn't you also just leave me aside and let me wear down this hatred myself" I brought up past grievances.
It was rare to hear him talk about love, hate and everything in between. I really wanted to know what he was thinking deep down, but he was very tight-lipped and hardly ever told me anything.
Occasionally, a few words slip out. Though brief, they linger in my thoughts for a long time.
He reached out and pulled me along, opening a portal. He raised his hand and made a gesture, causing the illuminating palace lanterns to vanish.
"Mu Xia Qiao, do you have hatred for this emotion" he said softly.
“You’re afraid of me, resent me, but you’ve never experienced the pain and desolation of hatred, that self-imposed imprisonment. Not just you, but everyone else… Old Madam Shen said that your natural serenity comes from your innate purity of heart. You don't get agitated or angry, you don't harbor resentment, you don't cling to grudges or be consumed by greed.”
"...That's called being weak and easily exploited." I replied, feeling a headache coming on.
"Humph… The words "soft" and "yielding" hold immense meaning. To comprehend the Great Dao, one must first understand that water is the highest virtue, benefiting all things without contention. Who says softness and yielding can be exploited Even now, all your plans have come running to help you raise your children." Jiang Qiyun suddenly interjected.
Phew!!
That fellow isn't here with his child! Since he can't beat you in a fight, he came here to satisfy his odd psychological need to cater to the "little emperor" mentality.
And that fellow owes me money! He owes it with a straight face, what an "individual" celestial being.
Jiang Qiyun directly opened the other end of the spell in Mr. Zhao's house. The house was in disarray, and there were sounds of things breaking upstairs, mixed with muffled arguments.
"Little Empress, there's a big fight going on upstairs between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law…" The cute little messenger hid behind the staircase corner, too scared to go any further – fighting women was scarier than catching ghosts
Jiang Qiyun tugged on my wrist and pointed his chin towards the stairs leading down to the basement. "Let's go take a look first," he said.
The door lock was actually open. There were many talismans stuck on the back of the door, it seemed that even Old Master was afraid and uneasy.
Inside, a chill hung heavy in the air. Everything was overturned and chaotic, with numerous old items scattered about. They must have been arguing fiercely here before carrying their fight upstairs.
There were pieces of jade, gold jewelry, and carved enamel blue-and-white porcelain... Jewelry from various eras could be found.
If this fell into the hands of a specialized paranormal merchant (like my brother), after sending away the vengeful spirits and eliminating the negative energy, packaging it up, hyping it up, and fabricating some stories, he could sell it for an astonishing price.
Mr. Zhang was a returning overseas Chinese... He must have had special channels abroad, that's why he dared to hide these things at home.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that this old man is connected to the international art thieves who stole the sacred images. He may appear to be a respected elder on the surface, but behind closed doors, he is a traitor.
"Bang!" A huge noise suddenly came from upstairs.
Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!sects have their own secret arts. These secret arts are not passed down externally. Though I can roughly understand them, the intricacies within are difficult for outsiders to explain clearly."These s...