Chapter 62: Calming Spirit and Astringent Flavor

  "Something's wrong!"

  Ning Feng and Shu Bailin spoke in unison.

  What they were referring to was also the same thing - that old mulberry tree.

  Under the bright moonlight, this old mulberry tree is completely different from its appearance in the daytime.

  Its luxuriant branches and leaves as big as a wheel, swaying gently, like every leaf, every branch, basking in the moonlight and cheering.

  This scene is in stark contrast to the desolate garden, where every branch and leaf of the old mulberry tree glows with a soft light in the moonlight, as if breathing, as if each leaf has pores that are greedily absorbing the moonlight.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I didn't notice it during the day, but this old mulberry tree must have lived for thousands of years, and it's actually a divine dwelling."

  Shu Bailin held his hands behind his back, circling around, not leaving Ning Feng's side, as if he would dodge behind him at the slightest rustle of grass, somewhat less majestic.

  "Shrine object?"

  Ning Feng was puzzled and asked back. Although he saw that there was something wrong with the old mulberry tree, he had never heard of the concept of a "spirit-perching object".

  "You don't know everything, young master, listen to old Shu's words."

  Shu Bailin was pleased, holding his head high and chest out, even his strides were longer as he pointed at the old mulberry tree: "A tree like this, with a long history, after absorbing a large amount of sunshine and moonlight, has become a spiritual object over time, even if it's just firewood."

  "Any plant species that receives nourishment from heaven and earth will, even if it does not give birth to a yin spirit, become extremely suitable for a soul to reside in."

  "The soul is the spirit, this thing can settle the soul and nourish the soul, so it's called: a spiritual dwelling object!"

  Shu Bailin spoke clearly, and Ning Feng nodded secretly after listening.

  A vessel for spirits, able to harbor yin spirits and soul bodies, understood.

  This old mulberry tree is so good at the bottom, it's almost a divine object. It's also outside the Liu mansion, where can such a clever thing be found? This time the monster made trouble, eight or nine out of ten, it cannot escape being implicated.

  Ning Feng was just about to approach, taking advantage of the whole Liu family village having fallen asleep, not expecting anyone to disturb or accidentally harm others, and properly deal with this old tree problem.

  Suddenly——

  "Oh no! Help! Save me!"

  A shrill cry of a woman came from the Liu's mansion.

  "Don't come over, young master, run quickly."

  It was the same woman's voice, this time filled with urgency.

  Ning Feng listened to the sound and almost replayed it in his mind, a servant girl or wet nurse, still urging her young master to run quickly after being frightened.

  Something's happened.

  Ning Feng's expression changed, and he glanced at Shu Bailin.

  The latter is used to it, he has been here more than once, and of course, leading the way is his job.

  Two men, one in front and one behind, took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the Liu residence, heading in the direction of the woman's voice.

  At this moment, lanterns were lit everywhere in the Liu mansion, and there was a lot of noise. Even many people in the whole village were awakened by the sound.

  Ning Feng and his party had only traveled halfway when suddenly a dark and gloomy aura flashed past them, flying straight out of the mansion.

  At that moment, both of them shuddered involuntarily, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over their heads on a sweltering summer day.

  "It is it!"

  Ning Feng suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked back. The dark energy saw that it couldn't go any further on the road, nor could it climb over the wall, so it went straight through the wall and disappeared from Ning Feng's line of sight.

  "Chase!"

  He let out a low shout and didn't even bother to see if Shu Baili had reacted or followed, hastily chasing after him towards the outside of the door.

  Stepping out of the mansion again, Ning Feng stopped in his tracks and gazed thoughtfully at the old mulberry tree in front of the mansion.

  "Grandson"

  Shu Bailin panted and followed from behind, holding onto her knee and asked: "Where's the ghost? Where's the ghost?"

  "It's gone."

  Outside Liu's mansion was a vast expanse of emptiness, with nothing but an old mulberry tree bathed in the moonlight.

  The two of them had an unspoken understanding and simultaneously looked towards the old mulberry tree.

  It's unclear whether it was just a preconceived notion or reality, but as Ning Feng and the others looked over, the old mulberry tree seemed to be stretching its branches in their direction, as if gazing back at them.

  "It seems like this is the culprit."

  Shu Bailin clenched his fists and rubbed his palms together, looking left and right, seemingly wanting to find a saw or something similar to cut down the old mulberry tree.

  "What's going on inside?" Ning Feng asked without turning his head, staring intently at the old mulberry tree.

  Just then Shu Bailin came out a step later than him, and the situation in the mansion couldn't escape his eyes.

  Shu Bailin shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just a little girl who got frightened. Liu Jiaxiao, the young master of the Liu family, is just that Liu Dagou, no big deal."

  "This family doesn't know who they offended, but every now and then something like this happens. It's either Liu Dog Egg or his dad, or it's the Liu family's daughter, or one of Old Man Liu's wives and concubines. In short, that 'thing' always involves someone from their family."

  Ning Feng's eyebrows suddenly rose as he turned his head and asked, "Wasn't anyone hurt?"

  "Some of them were so frightened that they fell ill, and a few even caught colds, which might develop into serious illnesses."

  Shu Bailin hesitated for a moment before answering, after all, the Liu residence had been in such chaos recently, and he wasn't entirely clear on how many people were involved or what their conditions were.

  Ning Feng nodded slightly, neither praising nor dissatisfied, stroking his chin and continuing to gaze at the old mulberry tree in contemplation.

  After the commotion in the city, "whoosh" a lot of people rushed out, holding torches and looking tense, those who didn't know thought it was mountain bandits or horse thieves.

  Ning Feng suddenly furrowed his brow and asked, "Old Shu, did you just ask about any flavor?"

  "What's with the smell?" Shu Bailin subconsciously wrinkled her nose, and immediately reacted, realizing that Ning Feng was asking about what had happened earlier when the yin energy had brushed past them.

  He tilted his head, thought for a moment, and suddenly realized: "It's like there's a stench, ugh, it really smells terrible."

  "I understand."

  Shu Bailin slapped his thigh and said, "I see, I see, that's a yin zang (a type of Chinese medicinal herb)!"

  "What's wrong?"

  Ning Feng suddenly asked aloud. He felt that the smell was a bit strange, coming with the yin energy, but didn't know what it was, and looked at Shu Baili with inquiring eyes.

  Shu Bailin sucked on his toothpick and explained: "My old man Shu followed an old loose cultivator to learn at that time, he mentioned it to me, saying it was a vengeful spirit or ghostly energy that lingered in the mortal world without leaving, gathering yin energy but not purifying it, emitting a special stench called 'yīn líng'!"

  "This smell, as Lao San said, is only slightly better than the smell of a dead cat or dog that has been exposed to the sun for three days."

  The wind inside Ning's stomach was also churning.

  Just to recall, I made an effort to think back, and involuntarily deepened the impression of that taste. Later on, when listening to Shu Bairong's vivid description, anyone would be unable to bear it.

  "It seems like he is the real master."

  Shu Bailin waved her hand as if to dispel the lingering scent around her nose.

  "We've been talking for half a day, but that ghost hasn't appeared. It seems there's some limitation, otherwise...". Shu Bailin's eyes gleamed with malice, similar to when someone spits into his bowl while eating, and he pointed at the old mulberry tree, saying: "...we'll cut it down, and get rid of its roots."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the old mulberry tree suddenly shook violently without any wind, as if it was angry and fearful.

  With a "whoosh", Shu Bailin swiftly retreated to the back of Ning Feng, poking his head out from beside Ning Feng's shoulder with a frightened look.

  His appearance at this moment is completely opposite to his previous ferocious and sinister look, as if the old mulberry tree has never seen such a shameless person, it's even stunned, and stopped swaying.

  As soon as Shu Bailin's words came out, her nose started again. Ning Feng frowned and covered his nose with his hand.

  Dark clouds!

  The two of them smelled a faint stench again, much lighter than before, but it was definitely the smell of rot.

  "This time it can't escape, it's this one!"

  Shu Bailin said resolutely, perhaps due to the lingering fear in her heart, her voice was a little small, and Ning Feng would not have been able to hear it if he had been a bit further away.

  The two of them were not far from the old mulberry tree, close enough to clearly determine that the source of the shade was this very old mulberry tree.

  Although it's not moving now, basking in the moonlight with only a fresh plant scent, but that moment before was absolutely the source of the stench.

  These few words had just been spoken when the stewards and house servants, who had rushed out of the Liu mansion, stood trembling with fear, jostling one another, their torches burning brightly as they approached the two men.

  If it weren't for Ning Feng being there, Shu Baili would have liked to shout at them to cut down the trees immediately.

  "Wait again."

  "Let me think."

  Ning Feng gazed at the old mulberry tree for a moment before speaking, but what he said was not what Shu Baili had expected.

  Shu Bailin wanted to say more, but Ning Feng waved his hand to stop him and said, "Old Shu, don't forget the lesson of that little fox, a warning from past experience."

  "Huh?"

  Shu Bailin suddenly had a strange thought, muttering to himself: "Could it be that Ning Gongzi has discovered something? This old mulberry tree is also very unusual, I should use a delaying tactic and think about it carefully."

  He thought wildly and his heart was racing, but in the end he didn't dare make another sound.

  Ning Feng turned around at this time, facing the Liu family crowd, cupped his hands in courtesy: "I am Ning Feng of the Taiyang God Palace, I have come under my master's orders to request an audience with Master Liu."

  It's said that someone from the Temple of the Sun God has arrived, and the Liu family members all knelt down in a flurry.

  "What's this, young master?"

  Shu Bailin was puzzled, Liu Zhuangzhu wasn't just a living dead man, he couldn't even get out of bed, what's there to see?

  "Let me confirm again!"

  Ning Feng faintly spoke up and stepped towards the Liu residence.