Chapter Fourteen: Grave Digging Verification

  The old man's face suddenly turned a bit red, fortunately it was at night, so San didn't see. But this skull with its eyes open, seeing this thing in the middle of the night, would make anyone's heart feel uneasy. So San touched the skull's forehead and muttered something, and then saw the skull's eyes close.

  The current task is to cut off the black thread in the red stick, Nan San was a bit worried, after all, to keep the entire skull intact, the difficulty might be a bit too great. However, he remembered the female ghost inside the coffin and said to Lao Dao with a knife: "Later, you hold those two red sticks, we'll lift the skull back into the coffin."

  The old man's knife was already a bit numb at this moment, although he was afraid, there was no way out, so he plucked up the courage to hold the red stick, Nan San used a wooden sword to lift the skull out of the mud, and then ran inside. It's strange to say that as soon as the female ghost's skull came out of the mud, her seven orifices started bleeding, making people feel cold in their hearts.

  Nan San hastily used a talisman to stick it down, and before he could even put it in the coffin, his head was already a puddle of blood. Fortunately, the two of them were unharmed, and as soon as Nan San entered the village hall's coffin, he placed his head inside and ordered Old Wang to place the red stick on the ground, saying to the little female ghost: "This is your skull, take advantage of the remaining ghostly energy that hasn't dissipated yet and quickly retrieve your seven spirits."

  Originally, Nan San's method was to let the seven souls return to their rightful place. In short, he wasn't as formidable as Lao Da Dao had said, and could only temporarily suppress the Ghostly Mark to prevent the seven souls from dispersing. Although he didn't have the Heavenly Eye open at that moment, just like Lao Da Dao, he was blind with his eyes open, but he could clearly sense the palm print moving and entering his skull. Before long, a loud "Boom" explosion sounded, and the skull turned into a pile of blood and water.

  The scattered remnants fell on the two of them, but Nan San didn't show any discomfort, instead he let out a sigh of relief. After all, with the three souls and seven spirits returning to their rightful place, the female ghost in front of him was now a complete soul. Firstly, she could enter the underworld, and secondly, they could have a conversation. As expected, a soft and gentle female voice appeared beside Nan San's ear: "Thank you, sir, I, Liu Yan Shui, owe you a favor."

  Nan San shook his head, wiping the bloodstain from his forehead. As a Taoist, what made him happiest was that since following his master to learn the Way, Nan San had learned two things: the Jingming Tao valued loyalty and filial piety as its teachings, and spread the idea of life. Being able to save evil spirits in the world and redress grievances was naturally the best, so when he was at the Snake King Temple and with that water ghost, he had always upheld this principle.

  The most important thing is that he never thought about getting anything in return, and said to the coffin: "Favors, forget it, you'd better get rid of them early, after all, human attachments are nothing, and besides, vengeful spirits entering the underworld will suffer torture, what's the point?"

  Nan San advised, but Liu Yan Shui suddenly burst into tears: "I was originally a weak and small woman. If it weren't for the evil tyrant Li Da Tou in town who took a liking to my appearance and bullied me, I would have been married off long ago."

  Liu Yanshui's voice trembled, although the ghost had lost the right to cry after leaving its body, but it was clear that it was heartbroken. Nan San shook his head and sighed. He had already calculated before this that Liu Yanshui was framed by someone, and Li Datou might have some skills too, using evil methods to separate the corpse from its spirit, making the three souls and seven spirits unable to return to their rightful place, revealing a hint of malice.

  People often say that vengeful spirits and evil ghosts are evil, but who can see the result without calculating the cause? Nan San sympathizes with them, but is helpless. He can only use his own meager strength to do something for these wronged souls. He said solemnly: "Don't worry, I will avenge you."

  If there is justice in this world, then Nan San would be the one to bring it to the ghosts at this moment. He agreed to help Liu Yan Shui, but on the condition that he must not leave the village inn, lest he harm others. Seeing his agreement, he led Lao Da Dao back to their room.

  Lao Dao was about to speak when he saw something strange, and the doubts that had been pent up in his heart all came tumbling out. But before he could say anything, Nan San stopped him, saying: "Tell me about Li Da Tou instead."

  As soon as the three words "Li Da Tou" were mentioned, Lao Ba Dao's expression froze, seemingly somewhat apprehensive. Nan San knew that this must be a tough nut to crack. However, since there was no one else around, he called out to him in a loud voice.

  The old man swallowed his saliva and wiped the dirt off his body with a towel, saying: "That Li Datou is a fierce and evil master!"

  It turned out that this Li Datou was a local tyrant in Jinyuan Town, who was notorious for his brutal behavior and had strong connections with the underworld. He also had excellent social skills and knew many high-ranking officials. There were rumors circulating in town that Li Datou had participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War and had killed dozens of people, earning him the nickname "Li San Dao" (Li Three Knives). Later, for some unknown reason, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown, where he started a business.

  However, Li Daitou's business dealings couldn't change his domineering personality. He would force people to buy and sell, and over the years, he accumulated a large fortune. But as he entered middle age, he became infatuated with women, leading to a chaotic life. Unfortunately, Liu Yan Shui was targeted by him, and her refusal led to a deadly disaster.

  Nan San's face remained calm and unruffled after listening to Lao Ba's story, and under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, no one could guess what he was thinking.

  The next morning, Nan San and Lao Ba Dao got up early to clean the house. This place can't be stayed for long, as it's a gathering place for yin energy, despite having stone lions and bagua mirrors to suppress it. It's likely that this will become a dwelling place for evil spirits soon. Who knows what kind of bad luck Lao Ba Dao has encountered to be sent to such a place? If not for Nan San, today would probably have been a disaster.

  And so, Lao Da Dao had even more admiration for Nan San, and took him to the town. He was determined not to do any more chores at the county government office, even if it meant begging for food, which was still better than living in constant fear every day. When the two arrived in Jinyuan Town, Lao Da Dao originally had a few friends there who he wanted to go stay with.

  "But Nan San suddenly said: 'Let's go, to the cultural relics store in this town.'"

  "What's going on there?" Lao Da was stunned, he had just prepared to resign from this job, how could they find him again? However, Nan San remained silent with a gloomy face, he also had no choice but to go to the cultural relics office.

  The article simply said that it was a three-story small building, with some antique items placed inside. At that time, no one could identify whether these antiques were valuable or not. If they were put out now, who knows if they would be stolen clean. Nan San looked at the antiques while following Old Ba's lead to meet Liu Zong, the person in charge of this cultural relic.

  At this time, Lao Ba Dao was muttering to himself in his heart, still thinking about what excuse he could come up with. Under duress, he knocked open an office door and inside, a stout middle-aged man was staring blankly into space. Seeing Nan San and the other person, he fixed his gaze on Lao Ba Dao and asked puzzled: "Lao Ba Dao, why have you come?"

  The old man awkwardly forced a smile and stuttered: "Aren't you here to see me? Why, aren't you welcoming?"

  The two of them seemed to know each other, Nan San stood by silently, waiting for Lao Ba to come back to his senses before introducing him. Liu Suo Chang's eyes widened in surprise, filled with skepticism: "You're really a Taoist?"

  Nan San smiled but didn't speak, while Lao Ba Dao hastily spoke for him. This made Liu Suo Chang even more perplexed - why did this young man make Lao Ba Dao so reverent? He poured a cup of tea for the two of them, and Nan San didn't hesitate, downing the tea in one gulp. Then he got straight to the point: "Liu Suo Chang, do you still remember your niece Liu Yan Shui?"

  Liu Suo Chang's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Nan San: "You... how did you know about Liu Yan Shui? Isn't she dead?" Nan San took a sip of his tea, looking at him without saying a word. Anyway, there was still Old Ba Dao to take care of things. After a brief description, Liu Suo Chang's expression changed from shock to terror.

  He looked at Nan San incredulously: "You're saying Liu Yan Shui was murdered, but we clearly buried the kid ourselves!"

  Liu Suo Chang was shocked because he was Liu Yan Shui's uncle. According to him, the cause of Liu Yan Shui's death was sudden death, and the town's appraisal result also issued a certificate. How did it become a strange coffin case? Now, Lao Dao was also very suspicious, and both of them looked at Nan San.

  But then Nan San said calmly and slowly, staring at Director Liu: "I think you've all been deceived. Why don't you go dig up Liu Yan's grave and take a look?"

  As soon as he heard that they were going to dig up the grave, Liu's face turned gloomy. Who would dare to dig up their own niece's tomb? This was ridiculous! Lao Dao also felt it was too sudden, although he believed what San said was true, and couldn't help but be startled.

  "Nan San, I respect you as a man of principle, but some things can't be done out of order." Director Liu said angrily.

  "I also know this is sudden, but I dare to guarantee with my life. If you find out that what I'm saying is false today, shoot me on the spot." Nan San's tone was calm and collected, which made Director Liu unable to see through him for a moment. He didn't dare make a decision, after all, digging up a grave is a taboo matter and can't be taken lightly. But thinking about his own niece's cause of death, which had many suspicious points, if there really were other reasons, wouldn't it be a delay in justice?

  After some thought, Director Liu slapped the table and said seriously: "San, you're responsible for this. I'll send someone to dig up the grave and take a look."

  Director Liu hastily sent someone to dig up the grave. As he left, Nan San specially gave him a talisman and told him to stick it on the coffin before opening it. Then he sat in his office waiting for news. Before two hours had passed, Director Liu arrived, drenched in sweat, his whole body trembling with fat, panting urgently: "Nan San, how come there's just a wooden stick lying inside that coffin?"

  Seeing him say this, Lao Da was shocked, but Nan San remained calm and recounted the events of the coffin in the village office and Li Datou's affair. Liu Suozhang listened and became furious, his anger surpassing even that of Xi Zi.

  "He was extremely indignant and said: 'Li Datou, I didn't expect it to be that bastard.'"

  Lao patted his shoulder with a knife and comforted him: "Don't worry about this, as long as Nan San is here, nothing will be a problem."

  This guy actually speaks of Nan San as if he's a god, he smiled wryly, and saw Liu Suo Zhang pulling his hand saying: "Nan Dao Chang, you must help deal with that scoundrel, Ah Shui is clever and lovely, I still hoped she would take care of me in my old age, didn't expect her to be harmed."

  Liu had no children of his own, only this niece since she was young, so he naturally took good care of her. Nan San heard that he called himself Daozhang, how could he not take care of her?