Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 162 Geng 8, who can't afford to play games

Liu Qingyuan was quite surprised to see Daoist Shan in the underworld, because as far as he knew, although Daoist Shan's cultivation was not low, his connections were limited to the mortal world and he rarely interacted with ghosts and monsters. When he met He Baiding, this man still had some taboos about the underworld that ordinary people would have.

Moreover, this guy usually performs magic tricks in the city, and Liu Qingyuan has never seen him exorcise demons. Why did he come to the underworld in person? Could it be that something happened to him while he was out?

However, before all that, what the Taoist priest said bothered him more: what did he mean by doing the work of a ghost messenger? Did he look a lot like the Black and White Impermanence right now?

Liu Qingyuan glanced back at the two ghosts behind her, then at the ghost messengers not far away, who were using chains to restrain the ghosts. Okay, it did look a bit like them, but it was purely coincidental.

"My part-time job isn't that big yet; I just happened to catch two ghosts trying to escape."

He examined the Taoist priest closely. His soul was alive and he didn't look weak. This meant that the Taoist priest hadn't prematurely completed his life due to some accident, and his physical body was still alive and well in the mortal world.

"I never expected to meet you here. It's truly a destiny to meet you even in the afterlife."

It's better to let go of this kind of connection.

The Taoist priest couldn't help but think that Liu Qingyuan saw him as a living soul, while the Taoist priest saw Liu Qingyuan as a living person. In that instant, he recalled his encounter with the Taoist friend wearing a Buddhist crown. At that time, the other party was looking for someone, and the other party was in the underworld.

Judging by this frequency, this person is indeed a frequent visitor to the underworld; truly an extraordinary individual.

Although the process was somewhat unexpected, the result was gratifying. At least he found the person he hadn't been able to find before, even though it was in the underworld, a place that, by no means could be associated with the word "auspicious."

This is unbearable to spray; it's truly "hellish."

Now that he had seen the man, the Taoist priest told Liu Qingyuan about his previous experience. The rogue was notorious for harassing women and being hanged was deserved, but hanging himself on a sorghum stalk with both feet on the ground was indeed bizarre and could not be considered a normal death.

The woman on horseback was highly suspicious, but the scoundrel acted recklessly, and his cronies were all equally carefree. After the woman rode away and disappeared from sight, the scoundrel hung himself motionless from a sorghum stalk. It was only then that the others realized something was wrong.

But it was no use. By then, all the scoundrels were dead, and the blame had inexplicably fallen on Taoist Shan. Asking those guys wouldn't get him the woman's whereabouts, so Taoist Shan had no choice but to go through the trouble of making a trip to the underworld.

The rogue had only been dead for a short time, so he asked the ghost messengers to make an exception and let him meet with the other side to ask about the details.

"Is the Taoist priest looking for that woman?"

The other party might be the culprit behind the hanging of the scoundrel. With such methods, they couldn't possibly be an ordinary person, and it's indeed rare to see a woman who can ride a horse alone outside.

"That guy's hanging was his fate; though it was called killing, it was a predetermined end."

The Taoist priest was right; the rogue did indeed hang himself in the end. But it was precisely because the manner of his death matched his prediction that others would immediately think of him.

"Finding the woman from that day is probably not enough. I just want to clear my name. Otherwise, if the reputation of cursing someone to death gets out, my master will surely come from afar to beat me up."

Given the rogue's initial intention to harass the person, the person would certainly not have noticed the details when they died. The Taoist priest came to the underworld to find the person, just to have the other party act as a witness and send a dream to those troublemakers to shut them up.

They were all thugs and hooligans. Daoist Shan saw it clearly: not many of these people were genuinely trying to stand up for their friend; most were just using the excuse to extort money from him.

He often sets up a stall to perform, and the tricks he performs are all real skills. He can walk through walls and become invisible, and he performs them directly in front of everyone. He usually receives a lot of tips and is quite famous. That's what people are after.

If the dead appear in their dreams and they actually see ghosts, these bullies who prey on the weak will behave themselves.

Just then, Liu Qingyuan was about to return the two ghosts he had encountered to the ghost messengers who had previously detained them. Jianzi Xianji's face was practically a pass in the underworld, so the Taoist priest had a whole bunch of procedures to follow him in.

They wouldn't help Geng Shiba escape, but if he truly had his reasons, they weren't against helping him. They found the judge on duty and asked Geng Shiba to tell his story.

By the way, interrogate that craftsman who claims to be from the East China Sea as well. At least Geng Shiba has his own body that can bring him back to life after escaping. What can he do if he runs away? And you said you would send Geng Shiba home? No, how do you know where his house is?

Geng Shiba's hometown is not near the sea, and the two are truly unrelated. It doesn't make any sense to help Geng Shiba return to the mortal world just because of his sadness.

But speaking of the East China Sea...

"Immortal Master, what are you thinking about?"

The Taoist priest also got a clue and planned to go find the hanged rogue. Since the Book of Life and Death records how people die, the fact that someone recently hanged himself on a sorghum stalk is quite a topic of conversation in the underworld.

After all, this way of dying... is indeed quite unique.

Before leaving, he wanted to say goodbye to Liu Qingyuan, but then he realized that she was lost in thought.

"nothing."

Liu Qingyuan snapped out of her reverie about the East China Sea.

"I just suddenly remembered that the East Sea Dragon Palace sent me an invitation before, and the date seems to be approaching soon."

"East Sea Dragon Palace... what invitation?"

Every time I see someone, I'm amazed at how extensive their network is.

"It seems that the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea has found a husband and invited me to the wedding banquet."

Judging from the time and place, Liu Qingyuan could easily deduce that the prince consort of the East Sea was Ma Ji, who had left the Great Rakshasa Kingdom. So many things had happened in the East Sea, he thought that the Third Prince and Ma Ji would never meet again.

Unexpectedly, the story returned to normal. However, the letter also mentioned that the Third Prince wanted his savior, Tian Shanzi, to attend the banquet. Getting him there last time was difficult enough; this time, with the Dragon Girl's wedding, the scene would only be bigger and more extravagant. Third Prince, are you trying to kill Tian Shanzi?

The matter of Geng Shiba is now clear. He did indeed pass away today. Since the ghost messengers always take the wrong soul, he has no legitimate reason to return to the mortal world. At most, he can go back to visit during the seventh day after his death.

Geng Shiba's story sounds tragic, but in reality, his elderly mother didn't only have him as her son. After Geng Shiba died, there were naturally other family members to take care of her. As for his wife... well, why was he so sure that his wife would remarry after his death?

The reason the other party insisted on returning to the mortal world was that he felt that his wife would have no one to take care of his mother after she remarried. So the question is, since Geng Shiba was dead, why was he so sure that his wife would remarry?

Liu Qingyuan asked the question directly, and this is how Geng Shiba answered.

"I asked her before, and that wicked woman said she would definitely remarry in the future!"

When he was seriously ill, Geng Shiba knew that he did not have much time left to live, so he asked his wife what she would do after he died. At first, his wife did not say anything, but she finally spoke after Geng Shiba kept asking.

The original words were roughly as follows:

"Being a widow is certainly good, but remarrying is only natural. What's wrong with bringing this up while I'm still alive? I'll say goodbye to you right now. I'll be comforted by your widowhood; and if you decide to remarry, I'll no longer be troubled and this matter will be resolved!"

“Our family is dirt poor. You can’t even afford to eat while you’re alive. What am I supposed to do with being a widow after you die?”

Then, Geng Shiba, who was lying on the hospital bed, was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath. After a moment of confusion, he found himself in the underworld, being escorted forward by ghost messengers.

To some extent, Geng Shiba might have been driven to his death by his wife's reply. Liu Qingyuan pondered this process carefully.

"no problem."

"Immortal Master, what are you saying? That woman is so heartless!"

"...Didn't you say yourself that it wouldn't cause any problems?"

Come on, let's move the conversation back up. It was Geng Shiba who first said that he didn't care and that he wouldn't care even if she remarried. Besides, your family is so poor that they can't even afford to eat. The fact that she remarried after your death shows that she has already been very chaste. Calling her a "poisonous woman" is, frankly, a bit too much.

No wonder this guy didn't tell Liu Qingyuan everything at the beginning, but only told her the whole story now that he's in front of the judge. Geng Shiba's mentality can be explained in three words: he can't play games.

You were the one who wanted to know the answer, and you were the one who said you didn't care about the result, but when the answer wasn't what you wanted, you immediately became resentful.

"Now that you're returning to the mortal realm like this, I'm starting to worry about your wife."

If Geng Shiba succeeds in escaping, and given that he already knows his wife will remarry after his death and is clearly resentful, it's hard to say how he will treat her in the future.

The craftsman from the East Sea who wanted to help him escape also had ulterior motives. He was indeed a "veteran" in the underworld, familiar with the ghost messengers, and usually liked to wander around. He was the kind of person who would help Geng Shiba escape, but actually wanted to use Geng Shiba to live in the mortal world.

If he goes home with Geng Shiba, he can live in the other person's body. Geng Shiba is someone who has been to the brink of death. After being brought back to life, he will have some yin energy left on his body. When he is resurrected and recuperating, it will be the time for the craftsman to use his body to rest and recuperate.

Once the yin energy on Geng Shiba dissipates and his body recovers, the craftsman's soul will also become stronger. At that time, he can easily find a body to possess and be resurrected in the mortal world to start a new life.

In conclusion, neither of these guys can be let go of the mortal realm, or there will be plenty of trouble. Geng Shiba isn't entirely without cunning; he was escorted in a carriage with his name written on it. When he escaped with the craftsman, he didn't erase the name from the carriage, which is why no ghost messengers have discovered his escape so far.

Fortunately, Liu Qingyuan ran into them today. Otherwise, the ghost guards responsible for escorting the dead would have lost a soul for no reason, and a ghost would have mysteriously disappeared from the underworld. Who knows what kind of chaos would have ensued.

After this trip, Liu Qingyuan's journey to the underworld finally came to an end. The matter with Taoist Shan went very smoothly. That scoundrel really played himself to death, and he actually hanged himself. Knowing that Taoist Shan had real skills, he obediently went to visit her in a dream.

He thought about what had happened in the city: the judge's appearance, the young Taoist priestess who sent several burly men flying with a whisk, the mountain god with a lantern, and the righteous thunderbolts that descended from the sky in the middle of the night. All these events showed that one should not provoke a cultivator with real skills.

The paths in the underworld can completely ignore geographical distance. Even though the Taoist priest caused his soul to leave his body directly in the Realm of Openness, Liu Qingyuan followed him back to the Realm of Openness.

However, since the Taoist priest is a soul, he can float back into his body directly. Liu Qingyuan, on the other hand, enters the underworld in his physical body and still has to go through the Ten Kings Hall in the city. Regardless of which guise he adopts, he has entered the underworld with his physical body, which is quite different from the traditional method of astral projection here.

"Why doesn't the immortal come to the underworld in the form of a soul? That would be more convenient."

The Taoist priest was very curious. Given that the other party frequently visited the underworld, astral projection would be the easiest way, allowing for instant entry and return without needing to open a special passage.

"It's just a personal habit."

Liu Qingyuan looked away.

"Where I live, crossing boundaries requires more physical strength and skill."

The real reason is that he cannot separate his soul from his body. His appearance is that of Jianzi Xianji, but his inner self is not. If he separates his soul from his body, the product will not match the description!

After all, it's a disguise system, and the focus is on the disguises provided by the system. If it's someone who relies on external cheats to split their soul and manipulate it, their soul form might actually look like the disguise, or if they are a disguise that is a soul body, they can also maintain the appearance of the disguise.

But Liu Qingyuan is different. He is the body in the body, and his inner soul is different from the outer shell. If he tries to play the soul leaving the body trick, wouldn't he be exposed in no time?

Putting aside Xiao Cui, who helped guard the body in the Realm of Enlightenment, and how shocked she was to see that when the Taoist priest left, one of his souls departed and when he returned, he brought back an extra person, the most shocked people right now are Yue Wuque and his side.

Simply put, the God of Love has had his home stolen.

Yue Wuque (Breaking the Dimensional Barrier): What nonsense! You're the one whose base was raided!

At that moment, a beautiful woman grabbed Meng Danqing's hand. She appeared suddenly, without any warning, and before Meng Danqing and the others could figure out what was going on, the woman's cheeks were already flushed and her eyes were full of affection.

To be honest, this woman is very beautiful, and her demeanor is also beautiful, but what she said next was not so pleasant to hear.

"This young lady is sincerely seeking your love; please, sir..."

"Go aside."

Yue Wuque pulled Meng Danqing back and kicked her, but she nimbly dodged it. Fine, with that kind of skill, she's beyond the realm of ordinary people; hitting her isn't considered bullying an ordinary person.

"Where did this little monster come from? His voice is so annoying."

I only allowed the other person to approach because I saw that they weren't hostile, but wow, they dropped a bombshell as soon as they opened their mouth.

Who are you? Coming in with this nonsense right off the bat? Life is too short to be a shortcut, is it?

Pulling the harassed Meng Danqing to the back, Yue Wuque took another look and exclaimed, "Oh, another fox spirit! Fox spirits are so versatile. She may look like a beauty on the surface, but that might not be the case."

As for whether the other party has a misunderstanding about Meng Danqing's gender, that's not important; the point is that the other party started the harassment first.

"Get lost, this beauty isn't going to be kind to you."