Chapter Eighteen: The Origin of the Wooden Box

  In the Li family's large courtyard, after a previous fierce battle, Nan San managed to expose the mastermind behind the scenes. Although there were zombies like Qing Shi Gui among them, fortunately, this ghostly creature didn't have any thoughts and it was a narrow escape. The only injury was the finger marks on his chest, which Nan San treated by applying black dog blood to the wound, temporarily slowing down the invasion of the zombie toxin. He would deal with the pig butcher later and then think of a way to expel the toxins.

  As the corpse of the green ghost was about to turn into ashes from the flames, Nan San and the others waited for the butcher's words, wanting to hear about the wooden box. However, they saw its soul floating in mid-air, saying: "This wooden box, to put it simply, is just a dead man's object. When I possessed Li Da Tou's body, I happened to see the wooden box in Liu Suo Zhang's hand. With my ghostly body, I could naturally feel that this was a ghostly object."

  Nan San looked down at the wooden box and said lightly, "So you want to borrow this wooden box to see what's inside, right?"

  Seeing the nod of the pig butcher, Nan San and others have thoroughly solved the mystery of the Li family's compound. The real culprit is not Li Datou, but this pig butcher. Perhaps it should be said that Li Datou is also a tragic figure, living with two ghosts for over a decade.

  Nan San had previously observed Li Da Tou's facial features and saw that he was weak, so he guessed that this guy was suffering from excessive yin and insufficient yang, and his body still retained evil energy. Therefore, he suspected that it was caused by being possessed by ghosts or living with them for a long time. It's just unknown what kind of thoughts Li Da Tou would have after waking up and understanding the reason behind it.

  Now that everything has been revealed, it's time to deal with the pig butcher. Nan San pinched his seal with his right hand and grasped a charm with his left, looking at him coldly: "You were originally a vengeful spirit, lingering in the mortal world was already a mistake, today I will definitely take care of you."

  The Butcher's evil smile seemed fearless, his body hid and he shouted: "This is my territory, you want to capture me? It won't be that easy."

  Look at this ghostly thing, Nan San didn't get angry either, pointing to the Five Emperor Coins: "The four evil directions have been suppressed, the evil killing energy has dispersed, don't believe it, try it."

  Later, Liu and Lao Da Dao didn't know what was going on, but afterwards, Nan San mentioned that the Li family's large courtyard used to be a slaughterhouse. So, the butcher's ghost relied on the murderous aura of the place, and as long as it was suppressed, it wouldn't cause much trouble. Indeed, the butcher's ghost shook and lost its previous arrogance, hastily fleeing within the courtyard.

  Nan San's wooden sword was snapped in two, leaving him unarmed. He could only use his talismans as a substitute for his sword. As soon as the "Ghost-Exterminating Talisman" appeared, he chanted: "Extinguish evil energy, ride the heavens, and command the south to ward off evil. Any minor ghosts that dare not obey will be eliminated."

  At this moment, the pig butcher had lost its host, and the ghost-quelling charm seemed to have a spiritual quality, swooping towards the pig butcher with a "whoosh" sound, hitting it right in the soul. A loud wail made one's hair stand on end. Lao Da Dao and Liu Suo Chang both dared not breathe a word, this scene would likely make them have nightmares tonight.

  As the voice of the pig butcher grew weaker, Nan San stepped forward and stared at him. The power of the demon-slaying charm had made his soul body much more tenuous, with a hint of transparency. Under this torture, the pig butcher suddenly spoke up: "I know I'm going to die, and I don't want to beg for mercy from anyone. Since I've fallen into your hands today, little Daoist, there's nothing to say. I'd rather have my soul dispersed."

  The three-eyed god's expression changed, and he sighed after a long time. The butcher's temper was stubborn, and since that was the case, he had nothing to say. He drew symbols on the ground with blood and took out a copper bell from his bag, saying: "Alright, your vengeful spirit has too much killing energy, I don't want to scatter your three souls either. Let me use this soul-guiding bell to send you to the underworld instead!"

  Then, Nan San shook the soul bell once, and with one shake, he forgot the worldly dust. With a second shake, the grudges were gone, and with a third shake, he entered the cycle of reincarnation. As the three sounds fell, the pig butcher's soul gradually dispersed and disappeared without a trace. At this moment, Liu Suozhang and the others also knew that the matter was settled, and they exclaimed in shock: "Nan San, is the ghost gone?"

  Nan San nodded, he was exhausted tonight, having used a lot of energy to subdue the Pig Butcher and being injured by the Green Corpse Ghost. He couldn't help but consume some of his energy, but Li Datou was still unconscious, so Nan San had no choice but to wake him up again.

  Li Datou woke up and looked at the three people in front of him with a confused expression, then suddenly showed fear: "Ghost, where's that ghost?"

  Seeing him so frightened, the old man explained it to him again and described the scene just now. Li Datou looked at everyone with half-doubt and got up to his father's body, looking sad, raised his head and looked at the Li family's mansion, saying: "Actually, that pig butcher was killed by my father."

  "What?" Liu Suozhang and the others were shocked, revealing a face of incredulity, but Nan San didn't react much.

  Li Datou let out a long sigh and explained the secret behind it. It turned out that back then, Li Datou's father had occupied this place, built a large mansion, and killed the butcher who was arguing with him, hanging himself to death afterwards. His vengeful spirit refused to leave even after death. What he didn't expect was that the butcher would kill Li Datou's father and turn his wife into a green-skinned ghost. Perhaps it was out of resentment that he toyed with Li Datou in the midst of applause.

  Upon hearing this, everyone understood that Nan San's thoughts were already wandering. This cause-and-effect relationship was like fate; if one committed evil deeds in life, they would have to repay them after death. He had studied the Tao for many years and although he understood the reasoning behind it all, he couldn't help but feel helpless. Collecting his emotions, Nan San ordered Li Da Tou to bury his father's body, while as for his wife, since she was burned to death, there was nothing more that could be done.

  Fortunately, Li Datou seemed to have understood at this time, and changed his usual arrogance, a bit gloomy, silently cleaned up. As for Liu Suozhang, he naturally had no way of making a big deal out of it, could only sigh, led San Nan out of the Li family's courtyard, and returned to the cultural relics office.

  Everything that happened in the Li family's courtyard, probably only a few of them knew. After Nan San returned to the cultural relics department, he hurriedly applied black rice to his wound. This green corpse ghost is different from ordinary zombies, and its corpse poison is extremely potent. In the coastal areas of southern Zhejiang, it is generally customary to use black rice to resolve it, and ordinary glutinous rice is useless.

  At dawn, Nan San called Liu Suo Chang and Lao Da Dao to rush to the county government office. When Liu Suo Chang saw the coffin, he burst into tears, wailing and saying that he was incompetent. Nan San ignored him, first removing the ghostly symbols and destroying the pig-killing knife. Then, he ordered the two men to perform the burial ceremony again and re-enter the coffin.

  After this, Director Liu regarded Nan San as a god, not to mention Lao Da Dao, who was a strong flatterer. As for Lao Da Dao's position, under Nan San's request, he was recommended by Director Liu to the cultural relics department where he worked and got a beautiful job managing archives.

  With the matter here considered settled, Nan San decided to return to Lingjiao Village. Later, he heard that Li Datou had left Jinyuan Town since that night, leaving behind a large Li family mansion. Before leaving, he even sent some money and goods to Liu Suozhang, saying it was compensation. But these people are all dead, what's the use of compensation?

  After resting for a few days, Nan San was preparing to return to Lingjiao Village when he suddenly remembered the wooden box. He decided to return it to Director Liu, but as he took out the box, the scent of incense on it grew stronger. His brow furrowed, and he found Director Liu saying: "Director Liu, this box may be strange. If you don't mind, can we open it to take a look?"

  Liu Director nodded and listened to Nan San's words, although this wooden box was an antique and belonged to the public, he didn't object either. He smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, putting it here is also for display purposes, might as well open it up and take a look."

  Upon hearing Liu's agreement, Nan San nodded and opened the wooden box. A strong scent of incense wafted out, causing him to cough. He couldn't help but wonder what was inside, and when he looked down, his face turned pale with shock.

  Liu saw Nan San's expression and also looked down, finding a stone inside, which was quite strange in appearance. He asked suspiciously: "What's going on? What is this thing used for?"

  Nan San's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his tone was heavy: "This is the Tianlu beast, also known as the Bixie in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. With a dragon head, horse body, and Qilin feet, it has the effect of suppressing evil spirits and plagues. Liu Shouzhang, you may be able to escape great disaster."

  Liu was suddenly bewildered and hastily asked: "What's wrong? What happened?"

  Nan San quietly looked at the wooden box, then covered it and said: "I'm afraid something has happened to the place where you dug up the wooden box!"

  Liu was so frightened that he hastily asked what was going on, but Nan San didn't say a word. Liu was anxious like an ant on a hot pot and it wasn't until after a long time that he said: "Liu, I want you to go with me to the place where we dug up the wooden box."

  What's going on with this wooden box, Director Liu saw Nan San's expression was unusually solemn, understanding that this matter is not simple, and did not ask further questions at the time, cleaned up his things, preparing to set off early the next day with Nan San.