Chapter 33: The Enigma of the Wild Ghost

  The villagers' thoughts, of course, couldn't escape the notice of Zhangshan Old Dao. As for taking advantage of the situation to drive a hard bargain, Zhangshan Old Dao had done it many times before. In doing this, Zhangshan Old Dao was already quite experienced and familiar with the process.

  "If you don't believe me, then go ask someone else!" said Zhangshan Lao Dao, and turned to leave.

  This move, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao had used it on Li Tianzhen before, and also on other people. However, although Bamboo Mountain Old Dao always used this move, it was always effective. It's worth noting that in these ten miles around, the only one who could get things done was Bamboo Mountain Old Dao himself, and no one else would do. Although at that time, people hadn't heard much about the term "monopoly", but Bamboo Mountain Old Dao had already made them feel the power of monopoly in a very real way.

  As Lao Dao of Zhushan Village is about to leave, the villagers all cast their eyes on Qian Yongfu. As mentioned earlier, in Shimadu Village, Qian Yongfu is the person whose words carry the most weight. Whenever it comes to matters concerning everyone's interests, the villagers will unconsciously choose to listen to Qian Yongfu's opinions.

  Qian Yongfu was well aware that the villagers had their own private thoughts, some believed in ghosts and gods, while others did not. In fact, several villagers had complaints about inviting Zhangshan Lao Dao to join the group.

  Now, Zhushan Lao Dao wants to raise the price and shows no room for negotiation. Not only are the few villagers who were already dissatisfied even more dissatisfied, but also some of the original villagers who agreed to invite Zhushan Lao Dao have complaints.

  In this matter, the villagers still have some small abacus. They recommended Qian Yongfu to take the lead, and there is another meaning. This Qian Yongfu is a kind person and has always been very generous. As long as he takes the lead, the villagers don't need to speak up, and he will consciously contribute more.

  But Qian Yongfu, although kind-hearted and generous, is not a banker! He doesn't have a printing press at home! His money didn't come from thin air! Moreover, regarding the burial of Zhang San, Qian Yongfu has already spent a lot. This time, if he's asked to spend more, Qian Yongfu will find it difficult, after all, he also has a family to support!

  Qian Yongfu knew that now if he let everyone contribute money, even if it was just to take the lead, he would have to contribute more. Therefore, in order to avoid contributing more money himself, Qian Yongfu had only one choice, which was to persuade Zhu Shan Lao Dao not to raise the price again.

  But over the years, Zhangshan Old Dao has always adhered to an unwritten rule. That is, when Zhangshan Old Dao exorcises evil spirits and disasters for someone, he charges a certain price, and that's what you have to pay; it's absolutely not allowed to haggle. Whenever he encounters someone who tries to haggle with him, Zhangshan Old Dao's way of handling it is to simply turn around and leave.

  According to Zhangshan Old Dao's temper, if he turned around and left, he would never come back again, no matter how high a price you offered. Therefore, Qian Yongfu did not dare to open his mouth to haggle with Zhangshan Old Dao. If he, Qian Yongfu, haggled and drove Zhangshan Old Dao away in anger, and later on something evil happened in Shimavillage again, it would all be blamed on Qian Yongfu's head.

  It is said that good people will be rewarded, but Qian Yongfu, this old good man, was always being pushed by the villagers of Shimazu Village to jump into the fire pit. This time and next time were okay, but every time it was like this, not only did Qian Yongfu's family look on in dismay, even Qian Yongfu himself felt somewhat disheartened.

  This time, Qian Yongfu also did not intend to stand up for the villagers again. Therefore, facing the gaze of the villagers, Qian Yongfu chose to avoid them.

  Jian Yongfu didn't make a sound, and Zhushan Lao Dao knew that no one else would come forward. If he didn't leave now, he would truly have to humiliate himself.

  Bamboo Mountain Taoist had never been short of business, so he turned around without hesitation. Just as Bamboo Mountain Taoist turned around, my mom tugged at the hem of my clothes.

  I've always been able to read my mom's mind. So when she tugs on my sleeve, I know exactly what she means. The people of Stone Horse Village are all related to each other in some way, and no one wants anything bad to happen to anyone else's family. And as for this vengeful spirit, who knows whose trouble it will cause? For the sake of peace in Stone Horse Village, my mom wants me to step forward and persuade Old Daoist Bamboo Mountain to stay, after all, I'm his disciple!

  My mother's words, I must listen to. Moreover, I grew up in Shimǎ Village and still have feelings for it, so I don't want anything to happen to Shimǎ Village either. So, I ran over and grabbed my master, Zhú Shān Old Dao.

  "Master, help Stony Horse Village!" I said. After that, I pulled Bamboo Mountain Taoist and didn't let him go.

  Zhushan Laodao originally liked me very much, and now that I've asked him, he's naturally softened.

  "Alright, Master won't leave." Bamboo Mountain Old Dao gently patted my little head and said to me.

  The villagers also breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the old path on Bamboo Mountain was no longer passable.

  "This thing is formidable, I don't know if I can handle it. However, for the sake of Xiaofei's face and for the safety of my disciple, I will do my best." Zhushan Old Dao added a sentence to the villagers.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao said that because he wanted to tell the villagers, he stayed behind not because he was willing to lower his own status, but for his disciples.

  After deciding to stay, Zhang San Lao Dao set up a simple altar at the entrance of Zhang San's house. This altar was just a table with a red cloth covering it, which had an eight trigrams pattern on it.

  After getting everything ready, Zhangshan Laodao started to perform the ritual again. He wielded the peach wood sword and danced wildly for a while, sometimes jumping, sometimes hopping, sometimes crying, and sometimes making a ruckus.

  After a big fuss, nobody noticed anything. Just when everyone thought it was nothing, a miracle appeared. Someone discovered that the direction of the Taoist's peach wood sword tip on Bamboo Mountain pointed to the gap under Zhang San's door, where a wisp of green smoke drifted out.

  "The ghost in Zhang San's house has been driven out by me," said Zhu Shan Lao Dao, and then he went to push open the big door of Zhang San's house.

  Bamboo Mountain Old Dao told everyone, the ghost that just ran out has been living in Zhang San's house for quite some time. According to common sense, a lonely soul or wild ghost would not stay in the same place for long. The only reason why this ghost stayed in Zhang San's house for so long is that its corpse is inside Zhang San's house.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao pushed open Zhang San's door at this time, just wanting everyone to go in together and take a look, to see if they could find the corpse hidden in the house.

  The villagers searched the house and turned Zhang San's house upside down, but they didn't find any corpse, not even a single bone of the dead person.

  No body was found, and the villagers began to discuss it in a flurry of speculation. Some said that the body might have been buried underground, while others said that Zhang San's house had an old grave beneath it... In short, all sorts of theories emerged.

  Just as everyone was talking, Zhushan Laodao spoke up.

  "Whether it's a corpse or bones, as long as they're buried in the ground, that's considered 'entering the earth for peace'. Once they've entered the earth for peace, even if there's no mound on top, the ghost won't be able to run out. The only reason a ghost would be wandering around outside is if the corpse or bones haven't been buried," said Bamboo Mountain Old Dao.

  As soon as the old Taoist said this, the villagers immediately changed their minds and no longer thought about whether the corpse was buried underground. However, the villagers of Shima Village were extremely imaginative. They immediately thought that if the corpse was not underground, it must be on the roof. Because Zhang San's house had been searched everywhere except for the roof.

  Unfortunately, however, the villagers climbed onto Zhang San's rooftop and looked around but still couldn't see the corpse.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao said that there was a corpse in the house, but everyone searched even on the roof and still couldn't find it. This can only mean that Zhu Shan Lao Dao's words are problematic. As a result, those who didn't quite believe Zhu Shan Lao Dao began to question him again.

  Such doubts, Zhushan Lao Dao had never encountered before, but now he can't turn a blind eye to it. If he turns a blind eye to it, it would only prove that he is incompetent and cannot handle this matter. If this gets out, the reputation of Zhushan Lao Dao will be truly ruined.

  Although the reputation of Zhangshan Old Dao was not undeserved, this matter really put him in a difficult position. Zhangshan Old Dao had encountered many ghosts before, but never one like this. In this line of work, Zhangshan Old Dao was an old hand, he had never heard of any lonely ghost or wild devil that would stay in one place for long. Unless, it was the doing of the Extinction Witch!

  The exterminator had taken in quite a few ghosts, and she had the ability to make a wild ghost stay in one place. However, doing so would consume a lot of her energy, and on top of that, the exterminator's powers hadn't recovered yet. Therefore, Zhangshan Old Dao dared to conclude that this wasn't something the exterminator did.

  "Zhang San!" Bamboo Mountain Old Dao's heart was filled with joy, and he said loudly: "This house belongs to Zhang San. If Zhang San's corpse is exposed in the wilderness, he might return to his home in the world of the living because he can't find a place to stay."

  After finishing speaking, Zhangshan Lao Dao raised his hand with a dustpan and said: "Go take a look at Zhang San's grave."

  After the old Taoist finished speaking, everyone followed him to a small bamboo forest in the east of the village and found Zhang San's grave. Zhang San's grave looked fine, sitting there quietly. However, since Zhang San's grave was relatively new, even if it had been dug up, it would not be easy to tell from the outside.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao had the villagers bring over iron shovels and other tools, he wanted to exhume the coffin for autopsy. Zhu Shan Lao Dao first performed a simple ritual in front of the grave, then the villagers began digging up the grave.

  After the grave was dug up, the villagers saw Zhang San's coffin, which was covered tightly and didn't seem to have been disturbed. At this time, Zhu Shan Lao Dao's expression was somewhat complex. Because from the look of the coffin, Zhang San's body should be inside. However, at this time, Zhu Shan Lao Dao had no way out and could only gamble.

  "Open the coffin!" shouted Zhang Shan Lao Dao.

  As soon as the old Taoist's voice fell, several villagers came forward with their noses covered and used iron shovels to pry it open. As soon as the coffin was opened, everyone was stunned, because inside the coffin was empty, Zhang San's body was gone!