Chapter 4: The Royal Barge

  Two days later, Duan Yu had left Chang'an and was sailing down the Grand Canal, heading straight for Luoyang.

  He accepted the new extermination order and went to Luoyang to destroy the evil spirit of Yuangu. Da Yan saw that his knowledge was shallow, and he knew very little about ghosts, so before leaving, he specially consulted some ancient books. The book said that this kind of fierce ghost is the most ferocious, and the low-level Yuangu evil ghost can transform into a beautiful woman and a man, borrowing the opportunity to swallow the essence. The most difficult to provoke Yuangu evil ghost can take advantage of people's sleep, lying on the person's body, sucking dry the primordial spirit from their mouth and nose, and that person often dies unknowingly.

  The last time, the snake spirit in the extermination order was already extremely difficult to deal with. This time's evil spirit is likely to be even more troublesome. Da Yun has been worried all the way along the road, he has never come into contact with ghost-catching techniques, if he had practiced Jin-series exercises it would have been better, but he just happened to practice the most ordinary Huo-series exercises, and now it's extremely difficult to exterminate the evil spirit.

  After two days of hard thinking on the boat, he still couldn't figure it out, and that day arrived in Luoyang. He got off the boat at the dock. At a glance, people were coming and going like a weaving loom, very lively. On the dock was also moored a large luxury yacht, with three floors of wooden buildings, and maids and servants walking back and forth. Dahan had never seen such a ship before, knowing it was an extremely wealthy family, couldn't help but take a few more glances.

  At first, I didn't notice it, but when I took a closer look, I saw that the Bagua mirror was actually hung in the middle of the ship's building. Upon further inspection, I also saw that many Taoist talismans were pasted on various doors and windows of the boat, and upon even closer examination, there were red cloth ropes, peach wood swords, and soul-capturing bells at every corner. These are all objects used to ward off evil spirits and drive away ghosts, almost everything that could be hung up was hung up, it seems like someone in this family must have been disturbed by an evil spirit.

  At this time, a large wooden box suddenly appeared on the painting boat. Many onlookers on the dock gathered around, and someone was heard chatting: "Look, look, isn't that the third steward of the Rong Wang Fu..."

  As soon as Dai Wu heard the three words "Wei Wang Fu", he immediately went over and whispered: "Whose house is this, such a big lineup."

  "That person turned back and said: 'Don't you know this? Isn't this the Wei Wang Fu's place? Look at that person, the one wearing brocade, isn't he San Guanjia?"

  He let out a loud cry, this time he came to catch ghosts at the Weiwang Mansion. Looking at the situation, it must be here. The person possessed by the ghost must have been moved onto the boat. At this moment, someone started guessing what was inside the wooden box. Da Wei took a look and his face changed color. The wooden box was emitting an aura of death that ordinary people couldn't detect. There must be a dead body inside.

  At this time, a middle-aged Taoist suddenly walked out of the corner gate of the painting boat. He exposed half of his body and secretly patrolled the dock. Finally, the Taoist's gaze was fixed on one person. Dahong followed the middle-aged Taoist's line of sight and saw that there was a big monk standing far away, with a mocking and resentful expression on his face.

  The Taoist priest suddenly disappeared, and it seemed that he had sensed something. Da Yun lowered his head in contemplation for a moment, thinking to himself that this matter didn't seem simple after all. That great monk appeared to have some connection with the Rui Wang Fu.

  He pretended to be a passerby, walked up to the burly monk and asked with feigned curiosity: "Master, why are there so many people? Has something happened on this boat?"

  The great monk looked at Da Yu with a glance and said: "Don't you see? There is an evil spirit haunting."

  "Master is a Buddhist disciple, it's right for him to drive out ghosts and save people."

  The Great Master said: "Since Daozhang asked this way, he must have had the idea of getting on the boat to drive away ghosts?"

  He saw the other party reveal his identity in one breath, and was secretly shocked. He said: "Eliminating demons and guarding the Tao is our duty. Although I am not talented, I also want to do my part."

  Unexpectedly, the monk coldly said: "I advise you, Master Dao, not to interfere with this matter. Otherwise, at best it will be a futile effort, and at worst there will be bloodshed."

  Dai Yun heard the monk's words and asked again, but the monk didn't say anything more. He just smiled coldly with a look of indignation on his face. Dai Yun secretly sighed in his heart that he had to take care of this matter himself. Once he accepted the order to exterminate the evil, there would definitely be bloodshed. However, last time when he killed the snake spirit, it was very perilous. This time, he couldn't afford to be careless again and must be cautious with everything.

  When the crowd dispersed, Da Yi found the three family members and said in a low voice: "I am a Taoist priest who is traveling around, I passed by here and saw that your boat seems to be haunted by an evil spirit. I'm good at catching ghosts."

  San Guan Jia heard this and hastily said: "You, Daoist, are talking nonsense. My family is the residence of Duke Wang Ye, protected by our ancestors and blessed by the gods, what ghosts could there be?"

  Dai Yiluo grasped San Guanjia's arm and said in a low voice: "What was the matter with the dead person in the wooden box just now?"

  The three family members' faces changed color, and finally sighed: "Don't blame the Taoist priest, if the evil spirit's affair is spread out, my master's reputation will be damaged. The Taoist priest must be a noble person, please get on the boat quickly, I'll go inform my master."

  Da Yu was led by San Guanjia to the boat, and after waiting for a while in the main hall, he was invited into the second-floor living room. In the living room, a man in a robe sat upright in the center, apparently the master of this place, Wang Ye. Below him sat another person, also dressed as a Taoist priest, who was the same Taoist who had appeared on the boat earlier.

  King Yu stood up with a smile, said a few more polite words, and invited Da Zhang to sit down. King Yu then said: "The Taoist priest is pressing for what is difficult for people, I admire it. The Jiyun Taoist priest of the Double Peak Mountain also just arrived, why not invite him too, let's discuss this matter."

  The book boy hurriedly went to invite him, and King Yu pointed to the Taoist priest beside him and said: "Man Gu Dao Ren is a good friend of mine, you can discuss this matter together."

  Dai Yun hastily stood up and cupped his hands, while the other Taoist merely nodded slightly. Seeing the other's nonchalance, Dai Yun just smiled. After a moment, a thin old Taoist walked in - it was Ji Yun Dao Ren. The several people exchanged greetings again. Speaking of the evil spirit's haunting, King You sighed: "There is an evil spirit haunting the mansion, and three lives have already been lost. My eldest daughter has also been harassed by the evil spirit for over a dozen days, and her life hangs in the balance. If you two Taoist masters can eliminate this ghost, I will certainly reward you heavily, and I won't go back on my word."

  Zi Yun Dao Ren laughed and said: "With Mountain Man here, Your Highness can rest assured, a small ghost will not be a problem."

  Mo Yu's face was gloomy and he didn't speak, but now he said coldly: "Fellow Taoists must not be careless. In the past few days, the Japanese and several fellow Taoists joined forces but still couldn't win, and instead lost a fellow Taoist's life. This shows that this ghost is not ordinary."

  Ji Yun Dao Ren said: "Since Mo Yu Dao You has already seen this ghost, it's just right to tell me about it so that I can study and understand."

  Mo Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, "We didn't notice that evil spirit."

  Zi Yun Dao Ren shook his head and said: "You didn't say that you accompanied a fellow Taoist to death, but you actually didn't even detect any evil spirits?"

  His face turned red with anger and he said: "Brother Dao's magical powers are strong, how can you compare to him?"

  Ji Yun Dao Ren didn't show humility either, but just smiled and remained silent.

  Mo Gu's face turned iron-green, and he said: "Today is the first meeting, why not ask the two Taoist friends to show off some of their skills for us to appreciate? On the one hand, it will let Wang Ye feel at ease, on the other hand, it will also open my eyes."

  Ji Yun Dao Ren smiled slightly and said "good". He flicked his finger, and a soft sound came from his hand. A short sword the size of a palm suddenly rose into the air, flipped over, doubled in length in an instant, flew out of the window, crossed the river, and returned after a moment, falling back into Ji Yun Dao Ren's hand.

  He secretly admired the Taoist priest, who had a sword-fighting technique that was much stronger than his own. He was even more delighted to have Ji Yun Daoist participate in this matter, and he could borrow more power from him, which was the best thing that could happen.

  Mo Yu's face also changed at this time, and he was speechless with anger. He turned his head again to Da Yun and said: "Da Yun Dao Zhang, why don't you show off your skills as well?"

  Dai Yi thought to himself, "What kind of magic or skill do I have that's worth showing off? All I have is the Demon-Expelling Bell, but this treasure can't be revealed casually." So Dai Yi pretended to be bold and heroic, saying: "My magical powers are weak, so I won't make a fool of myself. But since I've come here, I'll definitely use all my strength, and if I don't destroy the evil spirits, I won't give up!"

  King Wei was deeply moved by what Da Yun said, and he bowed to the two of them, saying: "Please trouble the two Taoist priests a lot, with the two masters here, why worry about not getting rid of the evil spirits."

  Everyone quickly got up and returned the courtesy, exchanging a few more polite words. Then everyone stood up and decided to go see Xianyu Wang's daughter, Dajie Mingyu first. Da Ye followed behind everyone and went up to the third floor.

  The entire third floor was the residence of Miss Mingyu, and after the servant announced their arrival, a maid led everyone to the outer room. Before long, Miss Mingyu came out and greeted everyone.

  Zi Yun Dao Ren said a word of confession, then let Ming Yu sit down, and continued to chant with his mouth, casting a spell on the woman. Rui Wang, Mo Yu and Da Yan all stood aside watching, Rui Wang's face was full of worry.

  The big man carefully sized up Ming Yu, and all he felt was that the woman's face was gloomy and pale, not to mention that she was emitting a faint aura of ghostliness. Although there was sunlight shining into the room, it made people feel somewhat eerie. Looking again at the woman, her five energies were all damaged, already showing signs of exhaustion and decline.

  In just a moment, the young lady was somewhat impatient and suddenly said: "Let's stop here, I'm tired."

  Zi Yun Daoist said in a low voice: "This magic of mine requires the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it's effective."

  The big sister's impatient expression was even more intense, with a hint of mockery at the corner of her mouth.

  Finally, after the old Daoist finished his spell, the young lady said: "I'm tired, Xiao Qing, help me back to my room."

  The king sighed helplessly and instructed the maid a few more words. The crowd followed the king back to the study, where Ji Yun Dao Ren said: "I have examined the eldest young lady's heart spirit essence and aura, it seems that an evil ghost has interfered, capturing the eldest young lady's vital energy and spirit."

  Ji Yun Daoist said, looking at Da Yun. Da Yun didn't quite understand these things, so he pretended to think for a moment and then said: "This humble Daoist also cultivated his internal energy to check just now, indeed as Ji Yun Daoist has said."

  Yu Wang said: "Now that things have come to this pass, what should we do at present?"

  Zi Yun Dao Ren smiled slightly and said, "The mountain man has already thought of a plan. Just now I have used my magic to check, the young lady has not been possessed by an evil spirit. We just need to seal off all the doors and windows, not letting any ghosts or spirits approach, and with time, the young lady's body will naturally recover slowly. As for how to get rid of the evil spirit, when it comes again, I'll be guarding on the boat and will naturally eliminate it."

  King Yu nodded involuntarily, and Da Yun naturally agreed. Ji Yun Dao Ren took out a dozen or so spiritual symbols, and everyone went to the third floor together, where all the entrances were pasted with spiritual symbols. Ji Yun Dao Ren also volunteered to guard outside the building to prevent evil spirits from approaching.

  King Wei promised a heavy reward in front of the two, saying: "Everything depends on you two, I have promised before that whoever can save my daughter's life will be rewarded with 200 taels of gold. From today on, if you two can kill the evil spirit, I will reward another 200 taels."

  Ji Yun Dao Ren's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and Da Ye was even more thrilled. Two hundred taels of gold is no small sum, and if it were gold bars, that would be a whole boxful. For someone like Da Ye who had just started on the path of demon-slaying, gold was also extremely useful.

  Dai Yun and Ji Yun Dao Ren left the study, by rights they should have discussed the details together. However, Ji Yun Dao Ren suddenly turned around and walked away with a flick of his sleeve. Dai Yun's heart skipped a beat as he realized that Ji Yun Dao Ren wanted to monopolize the reward money and didn't want to join forces with him. Although Dai Yun also coveted the reward money, it was a small matter compared to the Imperial Edict, which was a matter of great importance, not to mention his own safety.

  Dai Yun hastily caught up with Jiyun Dao, his face full of sincerity: "Brother Jiyun Dao, I have low magical powers and no great abilities. But to eliminate the demon and protect the Tao, I am willing to listen to your orders and work together to capture the ghost. No matter who kills the evil spirit, I don't want any of the reward money, it's all yours, what do you think?"

  Zi Yun Dao Ren was taken aback, unsure of what Da Yun meant. He looked at Da Yun with a serious expression and saw that he was sincere, so he smiled and said: "This humble Taoist is not greedy for gold and silver, it's just that our Taoist temple has been in disrepair for many years, this..."

  The Taoist temple is in disrepair, and it's all too familiar to Da Ye. It seems like he himself has said it before. In his heart, he silently cursed a couple of times, but his mouth quickly said: "This younger brother doesn't need gold or silver, if he gets the reward money, he will naturally give it to Taoist brother to repair the temple."

  Zi Yun Dao Ren smiled and said: "With a friend's help, this matter is even simpler. Let's settle it with one word."

  The two men clasped each other's hands as a pledge and were both overjoyed. Then they agreed on how to proceed and acted accordingly.