Chapter 6: Kunlun Stone

  In the dead of night, a very low voice came, and someone asked in surprise: "You said Zhao Er wasn't killed by an evil spirit? Yes, yes, it was Wang Ye who killed him?"

  Another person said in a low and hoarse voice: "Only four of us knew about this matter, but Zhao Er and Xiao Weizi are both dead."

  After a moment, one of them trembled and said: "Alright, you go prepare the small boat, I'll go to the warehouse to fetch some gold and silver."

  Another person said: "Okay, I'll go back to the kitchen to get some food. You'd better take more gold."

  Two people walked towards the door, and Dabai hurriedly hid in the dark shadow of the corner. After a while, the two men came out one after another, feeling their way in the dark and walking separately. Dabai used an invisibility charm to conceal his figure and followed one of them from behind. He saw that the man went to the kitchen at the back of the boat, and after a while, he slowly lowered a small wooden boat at the stern of the ship. The man got on board with great care and waited anxiously for a while before the other person also came over stealthily. Dabai followed the second person onto the boat, and the two men rowed the oars, taking the wooden boat quietly to the opposite bank.

  Dai Wu followed closely behind the two of them until they reached a deserted area, then said in a low voice: "Stop right there."

  The two of them were startled and turned around, but didn't see anyone. One of them immediately trembled with fear and said: "A ghost, an evil spirit has come to claim our lives..."

  "I am Zhou, Zhou..."

  That man immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Zhou Xiūcái spare my life, spare my life, it was not I who harmed you."

  Another person also had a pale face and shouted: "Who is it? Who is pretending to be a ghost?"

  With a wave of his hand, the man fell straight down. The kneeling person saw this and continuously kowtowed. Da Yi said in a gloomy tone: "I died unjustly, you tell me who killed me, I will spare your life."

  "That's not me, Zhou Xiuren, it was all done by Wang Ye letting Zhao Er and them do it, I have nothing to do with it."

  "Preposterous," Da Ying said in a cold and stern tone, "Why would His Highness want to kill me?"

  "That person replied: 'Who made Missy make a fuss about not marrying you, the prince got angry and said how are you worthy of Missy...'"

  He interrupted the person's words and asked again: "What happened to the young lady later?"

  That person said: "Afterwards, the young lady found out that you had been harmed by them and cried day and night. Several times she wanted to hang herself, fortunately everyone..."

  Dai Wu heard about Fa Hua and Mo Yu's affair, but no matter how he asked, the man just repeated the same few sentences. Dai Wu knew that asking further would be futile, so he suddenly let out a strange cry and said viciously: "You're lying, I'm going to kill you."

  That person's eyes rolled back and he fainted from fright.

  Daiyu ignored the two of them and went straight to the wooden boat, rowing back. From the small boat, she boarded the painted barge, and again climbed up to the third floor, once more pushing open the door bolt and entering.

  It was already past midnight, and the maid was sleeping soundly. Da Yun walked quietly past the maid's side, thought for a moment, then came back, stretched out her hand to press on the maid's head, and made her faint. Da Yun gently entered the bedroom, closed the door, lifted up the bed curtains, and looked at the woman in front of her again. Ming Yu was lying on the bed, sleeping soundly, weaker than in the past few days, if it went on like this, she would be dead in a few days. Da Yun sighed secretly, this was a pitiful woman, she actually knew that she would die soon.

  Dai Yi stood beside the bed, stretching out his palm and suspending it above Ming Yu's head. He manipulated his spiritual energy, slowly injecting the five elements' aura into Ming Yu's body. After a moment, seeing Ming Yu's face gradually turn red, Dai Yi withdrew his hand.

  After a while, Mingyu seemed to have sobered up a bit. Da Ye quietly climbed to a high place, tightened his throat, lengthened his tone, and slowly spat out the sound: "Mingyu, Mingyu..."

  Ming Yu's eyes showed a hint of joy, and she said weakly: "Is it you? Zhou Lang."

  A faint and ethereal voice came from the rooftop: "I am a ghostly envoy sent by Yanluo's underworld to patrol the four directions. Zhou Xiuren has committed evil deeds among humans, harming people's lives, and has been captured by us."

  "Mingyu cried out: 'No, Zhoulang didn't harm anyone, those people weren't killed by Zhoulang, he's a good person, he wouldn't harm anyone. Let him go, please let him go!'"

  "If he really didn't do anything wrong, I'll let him go and it's fine if he meets with you every day. But why should I be a good person for no reason?"

  Mingyu knelt on the bed, only sobbing and crying. Dabao secretly smiled wryly in his heart, thinking that this woman was indeed mentally damaged and a bit confused. I opened my mouth to comfort her, but she didn't understand.

  The big ghost thought for a moment, and since the matter shouldn't be delayed, she was now being deceived by me, so I might as well speak clearly. He said again: "Seeing that you are sincere, this ghost can make an exception. How about this? I heard that you have a treasure called Kunlun Stone. If you give it to me, I will let go of Zhou Xiucai."

  Ming Yu sobbed: "Thank you for your kindness, but I have already thrown that jade stone into the river. There are still many jade utensils and treasures in my house, I am willing to give them all to you, just please spare Zhou Lang."

  Dai Yun was taken aback and angrily said: "Why did you throw the Kunlun stone into the river? Has a great monk ever asked for it from you?"

  Ming Yu said, "Although the Kunlun stone is a treasure, what use is it to me? It's specially effective against ghosts and spirits, so I'd rather not keep it by my side. That big monk was detestable, constantly saying he wanted to get rid of Zhou Lang, and even extorting the Kunlun stone from him. Even if he were someone close to my father, he had ulterior motives, so I threw it away."

  Ming Yu suddenly became a little clearer and asked: "May I ask how did you know these things?"

  He snorted coldly and said casually: "We have traveled all over the world, binding ghosts and wandering souls. Where can't we go? What don't we know?"

  Ming Yu seemed somewhat suspicious, got out of bed and lit the candle, holding it in her hand to take a look around. Ming Yu said: "Is Shang Cha still here?"

  "A voice came from above: 'The difference is right here, what did you mean by lighting the candle?'"

  Ming Yu looked around where the voice came from, didn't see anyone, then knelt down and said: "The little girl is going to find a few treasures for Shang Cha to bring back, will Shang Cha let Zhou Lang go?"

  "With a cold hum, 'Ordinary objects are of no use to me. Since there is no Kunlun Stone, let us not speak of it again.'"

  Ming Yu hastily said: "The superior is slow, that Kunlun stone was thrown into the river by me, but it must be under this boat at the bottom of the river. Tomorrow I can let people salvage it and send it to the superior again, then please ask the superior to release Zhou Lang."

  "Alright, I can see you're sincere. There's no need for you to bother retrieving the Kunlun stone either. Tonight, when I return, I'll release Zhou Xiucai."

  Ming Yu thanked him profusely, and after a while, he called out twice "Shang Cha?" But Da Yun didn't speak again. Ming Yu thought the ghost had left, and sat blankly on the edge of the bed. After a while, his energy was exhausted, and he lay down weakly, falling into a daze.

  Dai Yun left the bedroom and went down to the stern of the boat. As it was still dark, he could dive down to retrieve the Kunlun stone. Dai Yun looked around and saw no one, then quietly stepped into the water and sank straight to the bottom of the river. Although he wasn't good at swimming, as a cultivator, he could use his internal energy technique to hold his breath.

  The river here is wide and the water flows slowly, so there is a lot of silt and aquatic plants underwater. It wasn't until Da Yun reached the bottom of the river that he realized how difficult it was to find something in the water. That piece of Kunlun stone, made into a jade pendant, sank into the mud. If one had to search through every inch of mud, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, Da Yun already knew that Kunlun stone could ward off evil spirits, so he thought that the Kunlun stone must contain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and for those who cultivate the Tao, they can sense it even through the mud.

  Dai Wu released his spirit, and just below the painting boat, near the bottom of the river, he slowly searched past. Although this search didn't require stirring up the water grass and mud, it was still quite slow. After Dai Wu had searched a large area of the riverbed, he saw that the top of his head was gradually becoming brighter, and realized that after being busy for a whole night, it was now already the second day's early morning.

  He quietly floated up to the surface of the river, took a breath, and then rested for a moment. He looked around in all directions and saw that someone was already walking on the painted barge, so he quickly sank back down. He searched again downstream from where he had been before. This search lasted another two hours, during which time he checked many places multiple times, but still didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

  As the sky was already bright, the painted barge had left the middle of the river and was heading towards the dock. There were already boats coming and going above their heads, and they could faintly hear the sounds of people chattering. Duan Yu couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. He thought back to what Ming Yu had said the night before, but it didn't seem like he had intentionally deceived him. Even if that was the case, whether or not the jade pendant would float away after being thrown into the river was hard to say. Or perhaps this thing was just an ordinary object, without any spiritual energy from heaven and earth. If that were true, then it would be difficult to find.

  After a moment of contemplation with no result, Da Yi was exhausted from the whole night's effort but gained nothing. Feeling annoyed in his heart, he couldn't help but exert his magical power on his arm and struck out a palm at the muddy riverbed. This palm strike was full of force, and the mud churned up, causing the entire river to become murky. Da Yi felt relieved and pleased in his heart, and then he struck out several more palms around him.

  The river water, carrying a mass of muddy sediment, churned up and changed color entirely. He also heard someone on the surface of the river shouting loudly: "Ah no! There's a monster in the water! Boatman, row quickly!"

  Dai Wen heard this and couldn't help but laugh with joy. At this moment, something suddenly flashed out a wisp of spiritual energy and quickly sank to the bottom of the river. Dai Wen was startled and hurriedly used his mind to search for it, but the spiritual energy flashed once and disappeared. After thinking for a moment, Dai Wen suddenly understood that some things born from heaven and earth look ordinary at first glance, but they often absorb magical powers to activate their spirituality. Just now, he had randomly struck a few times, and it was likely that he had accidentally affected the Kunlun Stone.

  Dai Yun hastily walked to where the spiritual energy had disappeared and struck the riverbed with all his might. As the river water churned, the mud rolled up, and suddenly a spiritual energy flashed, Dai Yun looked carefully and saw that a stone was mixed in the mud, and it fell again. Dai Yun took a few quick steps and grabbed it with one hand.

  In front of him was a piece of ancient white jade, warm and smooth to the touch, cool in his hand. The jade felt like it had a spiritual quality, making Dabai feel calm and clear-headed, as if he had gained an extra ounce of stillness. Dabai no longer had any doubts, this must be the Kunlun stone that Fahua was looking for.

  He carefully placed the jade close to his body and slowly floated up to the surface of the river. He looked around, but saw that the shore was crowded with people, and many boatmen were looking in his direction. The big rock had no choice but to sink back down to the bottom of the river, walking all the way to a deserted spot on the shore before drying off his clothes and returning to the dock.

  Back at the painting boat, San Guanjia hurriedly welcomed him and shouted: "Great Master Da Yuan, you are still alive, quickly follow me."

  The butler led Da Wei to a secret room on the second floor, where the body of Ji Yun Daoist was placed. Mo Yu stood alone beside it, frowning. When he saw Da Wei, he looked surprised and waved his hand for the butler to withdraw. Only after the butler closed the door did Mo Yu ask: "I only found the body of Ji Yun Daoist, I thought you were all dead, where have you been?"

  Listening to the foolish words with a hint of inquiry, Dai Yun couldn't help but furrow his brow. This sentence was also difficult to answer, and some things couldn't be said. Dai Yun only said: "Last night I was guarding on the third floor."

  "A stranger's foolishness revealed a hint of cold smile: 'Don't think that what you've done is unknown to others, actually your actions are all in my sight. I only regret not reminding Brother Ji Yun Dao earlier.'"

  Daiyu was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing and said: "Brother Muyu, what is it that you want to say, just come out with it."

  The stranger coldly sized up Da Yun, muttering: "Good, good."

  Yan Jian's eyes flickered as he looked at his own gaze, and suddenly a sense of vigilance arose in his heart, causing him to touch his wrist involuntarily.

  At this moment, Mo Yu's eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce killing intent, and his hand swung towards Da Yun. In an instant, a long sword appeared out of nowhere, its body shrouded in a layer of cyan mist, and it slashed down from above. Just as the sword was about to cut Da Yun in half, a golden light flashed, and a dark gold ring blocked the long sword. Mo Yu's hand beckoned, and the long sword flew back into his hand. His palm then made a slashing motion towards Da Yun again, and the long sword reappeared out of thin air, swooshing down once more.

  With a loud shout, the golden ring suddenly enlarged and flew towards the long sword. The golden ring hit the sword, and a piercing vibration sound came from mid-air. The long sword instantly flew back and was inserted into the beam of the house. Before the opponent could make another move, Da Wei's hands formed a ring shape, and he shouted: "Fast!"

  The demon-repelling pendant flashed once and disappeared, then reappeared on Mo Yu's chest. Bai Ze's hands tightened again, and Mo Yu's face turned pale as he let out a pained cry.

  At this time, a noisy sound came, someone kicked open the door, and the servants rushed in, surrounding Da Yun with hostile faces. However, when everyone saw that Mo Yu was already under control, they were visibly startled. Da Yun smiled slightly at the crowd, and with a flick of his wrist, a short sword appeared in his hand. The place where the short sword pointed, the crowd retreated in unison.

  He glanced around, thought for a moment, and suddenly shouted: "This sword of mine has beheaded a thousand-year-old snake spirit. If I were to kill all of you today, it wouldn't be difficult at all."

  Everyone's face showed fear, and Mo Yu's face turned even paler, his teeth clenched tightly, and sweat dripped down. Suddenly, Da Yun smiled: "I think there's just been a misunderstanding between me and Brother Mo Yu." As he spoke, Da Yun put away his short sword and with a wave of his hand, the golden ring on Mo Yu's body flashed back onto his own wrist.

  Dai Yan turned to Mo Yu with a smile: "If it's a misunderstanding, then it should be resolved. Fellow Taoist, why don't we let the others leave and discuss how to resolve this just between us?"