Chapter 2: Sudden Change (Part 2)

  Changming led Qingxuan to the front of the Su Mansion, and originally Qingxuan's slightly furrowed brow became even more knotted. Changming's heart grew increasingly apprehensive, unsure what had happened, but vaguely feeling that this matter was probably as serious as the words in Su Tian's will had suggested, not trivial at all.

  At the moment when Changming was struggling with his inner turmoil, Qingxuan suddenly grabbed him and said, "Wait!" Qingxuan's sudden shout startled Changming. He shivered all over and asked suspiciously, "Master Dao, what's wrong?" Qingxuan twirled his snow-white beard under his chin without speaking, then pointed to the front after a moment, "Look."

  At this moment, dusk had passed, the lights were just lit, and the night color was hazy all over the sky. Yangzhou City fell into a half-dark and half-bright state. Following Qingxuan's finger, Wang Changming's scalp felt numb wave after wave, and his legs trembled unconsciously. Under the cover of dusk, the governor's mansion actually emitted some fleeting green mist, which looked extremely eerie in the night.

  "This... " Chang Ming was so frightened that he could hardly speak coherently. "What's going on with the imperial palace?"

  "The old way is also unknown, and it can only be understood by entering and exploring. However, there is not a hint of outsider's breath within the mansion." Qing Xuan said with a sigh.

  "What!" Changming was startled again, and this sudden fright almost made him jump up. "There are still dozens of servants, old and young, in the mansion, how can they not be angry?"

  Qing Xuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Chang Ming, who was again in a panic. "There are only two possibilities: either they have all left the Rong manor, or..."

  "Or what?" Changming saw that he didn't finish his sentence and became even more anxious.

  Qing Xuan chuckled and smiled, but didn't answer. "Do you know why there would be such a strange phenomenon in the mansion at this late hour?"

  Although Wang Changming didn't understand, he had a rich experience in the Jianghu and had heard many rumors about gods and ghosts. Although he was somewhat skeptical, he said: "This, I'm afraid there's something dirty inside the mansion."

  "What filth?" Qing Xuan snorted softly and smiled, "You see the green light illuminating the sky, it's absolutely an extremely yin and evil aura. During the day, yang energy is abundant, and yin energy is suppressed, but at night, yang energy weakens, and it bursts out. However, although this aura is extremely yin and evil, it hasn't formed a complete atmosphere yet. According to my humble guess, someone with extraordinary abilities must have used their entire lifetime's worth of effort to temporarily seal away some kind of demon head, and today the seal was damaged, so the evil energy scattered out. Please take a guess, who in this mansion or even the entire Yangzhou city could possess such abilities?"

  "Are you saying... that Big Brother used his powers to seal the demon king?"

  Qing Xuan nodded slightly and said, "It's not just that. In my opinion, it's not just a simple demon head. If it were an ordinary demon or ghost, your brother's innate high-level skills would be enough to deal with it. Since your brother has passed away, I'm afraid he must have exhausted all his energy to barely seal it. Let me ask you, how many days has your brother been gone?"

  "Today is exactly seven days after the full moon."

  "Seven days......" Qing Xuan fell silent.

  Qing Xuan endured it calmly, but Chang Ming was anxious and hastily asked: "May I ask, Master Dao, what should we do next?"

  "We can speculate as much as we want, but it won't help. Let's go into the mansion and investigate. The truth will be revealed soon enough. However, the atmosphere in the mansion is now filled with evil energy, and there may be some terrifying things lurking around. Don't be afraid later on. Follow me closely and remember to control your breath, guard your heart, and protect your vital energy. No matter what you see, don't panic. Remember, remember!"

  Wang Changming nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master Dao. I will be careful and absolutely won't drag you down."

  Qing Xuan smiled slightly and didn't speak. With a wave of his long sleeve, a silent yet powerful gust of wind had already been unleashed. The entire main gate of the mansion opened silently as a result.

  This move was astonishingly brilliant. Many people can release their inner power externally, but to do it so silently and precisely as to push open the heavy fragrant wood door of the mansion without making a single sound is not something an ordinary person can achieve. This old Taoist might be the greatest master in the world today.

  It seemed that Qingxuan had seen the surprise in Changming's heart, and he said in a low voice: "Hold on to the origin and guard one! Don't divide your attention, after entering the mansion, remember not to touch anything."

  After entering the mansion, Changming only discovered that the entire mansion was not as dark as he had imagined, but instead emitted a faint green glow, making it look even more gloomy. However, because of this eerie atmosphere, he could barely see the road ahead. What surprised Wang Changming was that Qingxuan's body emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness, just like an immortal descending to the mortal world. "This old Taoist's cultivation is really too high..." Changming thought to himself in shock and amazement.

  Just as Changming barely controlled the turmoil in his heart, he hugged Bao Yuan and guarded him. "Tap... tap... tap..." A faint footsteps sound came from afar. The old Taoist had said earlier that there was no human presence left in the mansion, but apart from the two of them, there were still footsteps, which almost scared Changming to jump up, his scalp numbness came wave after wave, and it seemed like a cold wind was blowing beside his ears. With one stumble, Changming's feet became disordered, and he almost fell down.

  In the front, Qingxuan suddenly turned around and grabbed Changming's wrist. He said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, just focus on your breath, don't mind anything else." Changming nodded, staring at his own wrist being held by Qingxuan. A cool air entered his body from his wrist, circulating through the meridians throughout his entire body. Then, Changming felt a surge of clear energy rushing to his brain, bringing a refreshing coolness that instantly dispelled much of his fear. The eerie whistling sound in his ears was gone, but the footsteps were still there, and they seemed even louder than before. This meant that the sound was probably not an illusion, but something real, or someone, or something, was approaching from all sides.

  Although he had regained some sanity, his heart was still pounding non-stop. Changming wanted to ask, but didn't know how to start, so he just stared at Qingxuan with questioning eyes. Qingxuan also didn't speak, her clear and bright gaze shrouding Changming. As the terrifying footsteps slowly approached, Changming felt like his scalp was about to explode, but Qingxuan showed no reaction at all.

  After a long time, Qing Xuan said in a low voice: "You stand firm and watch the wonderful method of the poor Tao." As he spoke, another true energy was transmitted.

  Qing Xuan released Chang Ming's wrist, his right hand suspended in front of his chest, forming a Lan Hua hand seal. Suddenly, he let out a loud shout: "Halt!" Accompanying the shout, the blue light surrounding Qing Xuan's body burst forth in a brilliant display, illuminating the entire room. Chang Ming cautiously stood behind Qing Xuan and only then did he see clearly that ten steps in front of Qing Xuan was a person dressed as a household servant. To be precise, it was no longer human; its entire face was deathly pale, with a large mouth half open, revealing two fangs several inches long. It was unmistakably the appearance of an undead creature.

  "Ah……how could it be him?" Changming looked clearly at the zombie's face, his expression full of disbelief. The zombie was not someone else, but the very same gatekeeper who had opened the door for him today. And behind this zombie, there were dozens of similar figures lurking in the shadows. "How, how could this be?" Changming's words were filled with a sense of sadness. No wonder Qingxuan said that there wasn't a single breath of life in the entire Rui manor, he had thought that the Rui family had moved away entirely, but it turned out they had all become zombies. He had been in the Rui household for many years, and during this time, he had experienced a sense of warmth and kinship that he had never felt before on his journeys. But now, to have suffered such a tragic massacre, his head spun, and he could no longer stand, falling to the ground with a thud.

  "With several dozen family members, they're all likely to suffer a disaster. Indeed, it's not an ordinary evil spirit. Today, I will definitely slay the demon and eliminate the evil, to uphold the heavenly authority!" The voice was clear and loud, with a dignified appearance, holding a lotus flower in hand, completely resembling a Golden Immortal descending into the world. Qing Xuan's body emitted a vast and powerful blue light, exuding an aura that could overwhelm people.

  "Hmm!……" A dull hum came from all directions, eerie and terrifying. As if stimulated by something, all the zombies began to stir. Changming had heard many rumors about zombies before, most of which said that zombies were not intelligent and did not know how to retreat when faced with danger. Even more bizarre was an old man who once told him that as long as he stuffed a black donkey's hoof into the zombie's mouth, he could escape disaster, but it was unclear whether this was true or false.

  As the zombies drew closer, Wang Changming began to feel a bit tense. Qing Xuan seemed to have seen nothing and casually stretched out one hand, pinched his fingers together, and drew an empty symbol in mid-air. The entire symbol was about a foot square, with a blood-red color all over, as if it were painted on a transparent curtain with cinnabar.

  Qing Xuan gazed at the group of zombies in front of him with a cold eye, and the crimson talisman hovered before him. With a wave of his long sleeve, the talisman split into two, then four, and soon dozens more appeared. Each one rotated rapidly in mid-air, Qing Xuan's expression changed again, and he slapped out with his right hand, striking an empty space in front of him. The seemingly light slap shocked Wang Changming once more, as if the entire void had trembled for a moment. Next, each talisman flew out, tracing an extremely mysterious trajectory before being imprinted on the forehead of each zombie.

  Then I saw those zombies all over the body, and they all fell down with a soft collapse. The crimson mark flashed and disappeared. After a moment, the green gas on the faces of those zombies gradually dispersed, and finally even the fangs disappeared, and their complexion was even ruddy, just like an ordinary person who was asleep.

  Qing Xuan walked over, pulled up Chang Ming and sighed: "These people have been poisoned for a long time, their vitality has dissipated, I don't have a magical method to revive them, please restrain your grief."

  Wang Changming shook his head and stared at Qingxuan, saying coldly: "This is not the fault of Daozhang, but I still have a question, please Daozhang must enlighten me."

  Qing Xuan looked at Wang Changming who was in deep sorrow and nodded: "Please speak, I will definitely know everything."

  Chang Ming's face changed slightly as he asked, "May I ask, Master Dao, what exactly led to the great calamity of the Su family this time?"

  Qing Xuan was silent for a moment, and after a long time, he said: "I don't know for the time being, but judging from this situation, it's likely to be an extremely unusual origin. It must be a highly evil object that requires a master with high innate skills to use all his energy, probably with at least a thousand years of cultivation. Absolutely not someone easy to deal with."

  Wang Changming also fell silent for a moment, then suddenly knelt down in front of Qingxuan. "Old immortal, your magical powers are profound, I beg you to slay the demon and avenge my family's death. I, Wang Changming, am willing to be your servant and do anything for you!" As he spoke, his face was covered with tears, looking extremely miserable.

  Qing Xuan was taken aback, and hastily pulled Chang Ming up, saying: "There's no need for this. Upholding the righteousness of the Tao and eliminating demons to protect the Tao is the duty of a Taoist disciple. Since he has encountered me, it means that he has a thousand years of Taoist cultivation, and I will also fight him with all my might. You can rest assured, I will do my best."

  At this time, a dull hum suddenly came. The pressure around him increased instantly, and wave after wave of air surged, and the surrounding gloomy atmosphere became even more severe. "What's going on?" Changming also felt that something was not quite right, and asked.

  "A trivial skill! The light of a grain of rice can also shine brightly!" Qing Xuan's voice rang out, his long sleeves fluttered, and the clear light all over his body suddenly burst forth in a brilliant flash. Afterwards, the gloomy atmosphere indeed dissipated by quite a bit.

  "Come on, follow me closely and be careful." Qing Xuan whispered.