Chapter 43: Sneaking into the Old Mansion at Night

  After finishing speaking, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao was about to push the door and enter.

  "I want to go too, I'm afraid!" I said, pulling on my master's sleeve.

  Although my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, gave me a "soul-protecting coin" and said that ghosts and monsters couldn't harm me, I'm still very scared to be alone outside. For me, it's better to follow Master into the house and take some risks than to stay here alone and be frightened.

  "Do you really want to go? Once inside, even Master Zhushan can't guarantee what might happen?" My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, said with a serious face.

  Although I am my master's apprentice, I will definitely encounter this situation again in the future. As a successor of Zhushan Laodao, it is inevitable to encounter ghosts and monsters. However, I am still a child now, and my master does not want me to see those ferocious evil spirits at such a young age. After all, a child's endurance is far inferior to that of an adult.

  As soon as my master said that, the surge of hot blood that had just risen in my chest immediately dissipated, and I also calmed down a bit. As for my master, Bamboo Mountain Taoist, I firmly believe he would never harm me. He told me to stay outside, there can only be one reason, that is, staying outside is safer than entering this house.

  To be honest, if there was someone who could accompany me outside, I would definitely choose to stay outside. However, it seems that my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, is determined to enter this old mansion, and here, there are only two of us, my master and I. Therefore, no one will be accompanying me outside.

  Although I also know that staying outside is safer, I still feel that in this environment, staying by Master's side makes me feel more at ease.

  "I'll go, as long as Master is with me, I'm not afraid of anything." I said, pulling on the sleeve of my master, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao.

  "Alright, Master will take you." My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, gently patted my shoulder and said: "Master will definitely not let you be in danger."

  When my master said this, he looked like a father making a promise to his son. I knew what Master Zhangshan meant - he was telling me that no matter what danger we encountered, he would always protect me first.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao had been single all his life, never marrying or having children. People like Zhu Shan Lao Dao, whether men or women, as they grow older and their bodies decline, will become increasingly lonely in their hearts and will increasingly hope to have someone by their side for company.

  During my stay at Bamboo Mountain Abode, I didn't change my mischievous nature. However, neither Master Bamboo Mountain nor Granny Zhang ever scolded me or showed any dislike towards me. I knew that the reason they liked me so much was because this little rascal brought them more joy than trouble.

  Let's not talk about that now, because at this moment, my master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, has pushed open the side door with a "creak". After pushing open the door, the dark and gloomy house appeared before me and my master.

  Before entering, I took a look at the wooden door covered with dust. On the wooden door, I saw the palm print of my master, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao. I was curious and tried it myself with my small hand, and with a light push, the door left my own palm print.

  I don't dare say anything else, but the palm prints of me and my master at least prove one thing: this door has not been pushed open for a long time.

  As soon as my master and I walked in, it was pitch black in front of us, not a single ray of light. Because we really couldn't see the road ahead, my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, had to take a risk and lit a match.

  As the match was lit, the surroundings immediately brightened a bit. At this time, I felt that there was something touching my head. I looked up and saw a red, tattered old apron hanging from a beam with a rope. The hem of the red apron just touched the top of my head.

  This red bellyband looks very familiar to me, because the floral pattern on it is exactly the same as the one worn by that little girl I saw earlier.

  What scares me is that there is obviously no wind in this room, but the belly button on my head keeps shaking as if it were being blown by the wind.

  "Master." I called out to my master and then pointed at the belly button on top of his head.

  My master, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao, raised his head and looked in the direction I was pointing, then said lightly, "It's just a rope, nothing to it."

  A rope? There was clearly a tattered red bellyband hanging there, why did my master say it was just a rope? Could it be that my master didn't see the red bellyband.

  "There was a red bellyband, the little girl just wore it." I turned my head and said seriously to my master, Bamboo Mountain Taoist. Then I pointed again at the red bellyband with my hand. But when I pointed, I surprisingly found that there was only one rope there, without any shadow of the red bellyband.

  What's going on? I clearly saw that red sweater just now, I'm absolutely sure I didn't make a mistake. But how did it disappear so quickly?

  Chubby baby, plump and tender. A small face, soft and delicate...

  Just as I was terrified, the voice of the little girl in red came again. I was so scared that I rushed into my master's arms, trembling and saying: "Little girl, there is a little girl, I'm so afraid!"

  "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!" My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, patted my shoulder gently and comforted me: "This old mansion has been laid out with an array by the Exterminating Witch. Don't mention that you have no spiritual power; even if you do have spiritual power, but it's not deep enough, anyone who comes in will produce all sorts of hallucinations. Those hallucinations can't directly harm people, but they can make one's nerves tense to the point of terror. People with poor mental quality will be scared to death. Even someone with extremely good mental quality will be frightened out of their wits for several months."

  I don't know if it was to boost my courage or comfort me, but my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, took the initiative to tell me some things about the Exterminating Family Witch.

  That exterminating woman indeed caused the death of many people, but there wasn't a single person who was killed by her own hands. Those who were harmed by the exterminating woman either died at the hands of evil spirits or took their own lives due to excessive fear.

  So far, those who died at the hands of the exterminator were mostly driven to suicide by excessive fear.

  Take Wang Daoshi, who died from fright after sneaking a peek at the ghost of Mie Men Po. Mie Men Po didn't do anything to him. It was he himself, because he was so frightened that he rushed about without thinking and fell into the water tank, then drowned to death.

  However, my master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, did not understand what happened to Wang Daoshi's missing eyes either. At that time, Wang Daoshi's drowning incident was a big deal, so my master naturally went to the scene.

  At first glance, it seemed that the corpse of Wang Daoshi had its eyes dug out. However, after a closer look, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao was certain that Wang Daoshi's eyes were not gouged out by someone.

  It seems that Wang Daoshi's eyes were pecked out by something. Moreover, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao can confirm that Wang Daoshi's eyes were pecked out after his death, and not while he was still alive.

  Wang Daoshi was drowned to death, this is certain. After drowning, Wang Daoshi's body must have been in the water. In other words, if Wang Daoshi's body had not been salvaged before being discovered, then his eyes must have been pecked away by something in the water.

  In rural ponds, they usually raise edible fish such as grass carp and crucian carp. There are also some loaches and catfish. In short, if the pond is not problematic, there will definitely be no creatures that can peck people's eyes to death inside.

  After discovering Wang Daoshi's corpse, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao squatted and guarded the edge of the pond for more than half a month, but nothing was found.

  As for the case of Wang Daoshi being harmed, although my master was certain that it was done by Mie Men Po, he couldn't find any clues or evidence.

  It's not just Wang Daoshi's case, all the homicide cases related to Mie Men Po are like this. No matter who investigates, no evidence of Mie Men Po harming people can be found.