Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ghost

  The gate of the village is a wide grain path with a width of about one zhang, and there are ruts all over the road, which must be left by the horses and carts that transport military food.

  Night fell quickly, and Lao Wu didn't have the spiritual energy to cultivate at night, so his vision was unclear. Fortunately, Mo Xun was leading the way in front, and he just needed to follow him.

  They didn't expect that after walking dozens of miles, they still hadn't seen any lights or villages. The surroundings were pitch black, and the only sound was the footsteps of the two people moving forward.

  "Old master, my scalp is exploding, is there something following us?" Lao Wu quickened his pace to keep up with Mo.

  "Yes, it started following us when we passed through that forest." Mo Wen said with a nod.

  "What's that?" The old man turned his head and looked back, but he didn't see anything because it was too dark.

  "Wolf." Don't ask, Mai stepped forward and didn't stop.

  "Wolves' eyes glow at night, but there's no light behind." Old Five pointed with his hand.

  "Hurry up, it seems like there's a house ahead, let's go rest our feet." Mo asked casually, but in reality, what was following them from ten yards behind wasn't a wolf, but a female ghost. He didn't want to scare Old Fifth, so he didn't tell the truth.

  But Lao Wu didn't give up and kept asking, "Old master, what is it that's following us? Why does my back feel so chilly?"

  "It's all said to be wolves." Mo Wen casually replied.

  "Don't lie to me, there are no wolves around here, otherwise it's impossible for so many rabbits to exist. And those female corpses from this afternoon wouldn't be intact either." Lao Wu pulled at Mo Xun's Taoist robe, frequently looking back.

  Mo Wen nodded and smiled when he heard the words, Lao Wu hadn't read any books but wasn't stupid either.

  "She's a female ghost who died many years ago." Mo didn't ask, but after a moment of contemplation, he told the truth. As an Upper Clarity Daoist, he would inevitably face evil spirits in the future, and Lao Wu was bound to be his deputy in subduing demons and getting rid of evil. There were some things that Lao Wu would have to know sooner or later.

  Lao Wu had already guessed that the one following behind Er Ye was a ghost, and now that Mo Xiang had confirmed it, his fear decreased greatly, while his curiosity increased. "Old Master, what does that female ghost look like?"

  "I don't know the details." Mo Wen said.

  "It's nothing, just say it, I'm not afraid." Lao Wu said.

  "I really don't know what it looks like, I can only feel that it's right behind us." Mo Wu shook his head and said. People who cultivate can keenly perceive the existence of yin souls and ghosts, but they cannot see their specific appearance unless the other party appears automatically or is forced to appear by means of talismans or spells.

  "You can't see them, how are you going to catch ghosts later?" Lao Wu asked in puzzlement.

  Mo Wen heard the words and glanced at Lao Wu, then turned to take out a wooden box from his bosom. This wooden box had another use besides storing painting tools, which was to hold talisman paper for Taoists to quickly paint talismans.

  Mo Wen quickly drew a paper talisman, stamped it with his law seal, and folded it into a triangular shape the size of a diamond. He handed it to Lao Wu, saying "Hold it in your left palm and you'll be able to see it."

  Lao Wu took over the talisman and grasped it in his left hand. He turned around and looked back, but saw no one below.

  "What did you see?" Mo asked, putting away the wooden box with a smile.

  "What a female ghost, crying and following us from behind." Lao Wu's voice trembled.

  Mo Wen nodded, ghosts have an instinctive fear of cultivators, and it's already lucky to avoid them, let alone follow the two. This female ghost has been dead for many years and her soul cannot disperse, she must be a wronged spirit with grievances. Following the two is likely to ask for something, but it's unknown whether the two are kind or not, so she hesitated and didn't dare approach.

  "The spirit is formless, a strand of yin energy can condense into various forms. The saying that the face is born from the heart applies to both the living and the dead. One can observe its appearance to discern its good or evil nature. This female ghost shouldn't be considered an evil spirit."

  "What's it following us for?" Lao Wu asked in puzzlement.

  "You must have something to ask of me." Mo Xun said.

  "Old master, why don't you talk to it and see what it wants? It's really annoying to have it following us like this." Lao Wu frowned and pursed his lips, this was the first time he had seen a ghost, and he couldn't help but be afraid.

  Mo Wen nodded and stopped in his tracks, turning around to gaze at a point ten zhang away. He spoke calmly, "Now that we've met, let's make our intentions clear?"

  This sentence was naturally directed at the female ghost, but after he finished speaking, the female ghost did not appear, instead hesitating and wandering around in confusion.

  Mo Wen waited patiently for a moment, but the female ghost still did not appear. Mo Wen furrowed his brow and turned to continue on his way, no longer intending to bother with it.

  After the two of them took a few steps, the female ghost was still following behind. Mo Wu's heart was slightly angry, and he drew out the Golden Money Sword with a fierce gaze. The Golden Money Sword was made from ancient coins strung together, which had been passed through many people's hands and contained extremely strong yang energy. Its power to drive away evil spirits and subdue monsters far surpassed that of the Peachwood Sword. Seeing Mo Wu's true anger, the female ghost finally disappeared.

  "Old Master, how did you scare it away?" Lao Wu took over the Golden Sword that Mo Xun handed back.

  "If it really has a great injustice, I will let it speak out and it won't hesitate. Since it hesitates, the injustice is not that great. Having received the wonderful methods of Supreme Clarity and shouldering the heavy responsibility of saving the world on behalf of Supreme Clarity, how could I use them for such trivial matters?" Mo asked, turning around to leave again.

  Lao Wu nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and didn't ask, but after entering the Mountain of Endless Supply, he had undergone some changes. Although his kindness remained unchanged, a hint of Daoist arrogance emerged.

  "Give me back that talisman." Mo Wu asked Old Fifth to return the talisman he had given him earlier.

  "I can see the road clearly with it in hand." Old Five handed over the talisman to Mo Xun.

  "The Hidden Sun Seal has been used for a long time without benefit." Mo asked to take over the seal and tore it up. This seal is called the Hidden Sun Seal, its function is to suppress the yang energy in the human body, once the yang energy is hidden, only yin energy remains in the body, which is no different from ghosts. Therefore, this can be used to see ghosts. However, this seal is usually used for self-protection when being attacked by yin souls and yin objects, it's not suitable for seeing ghosts.

  After walking for over ten miles, the two finally found a place to rest. This was probably once a post station, but it had long since been abandoned and there were no longer any posthouse attendants. Fortunately, the houses had not collapsed, and the two of them managed to find a clean spot to start a fire and warm themselves up.

  Although it was already past the time for evening lessons, Mo Xiang still sat cross-legged and recited scriptures. Reciting scriptures has its benefits, listening to scriptures has its wonders, and the scripture text is like a lullaby to Lao Wu. Before Mo Xiang had finished reciting the scripture, he fell fast asleep.

  The next morning, the two of them got up early and hurried on their way. There were fewer wild rabbits here, and Lao Wu only caught two. At noon, the two finally saw a village. There was no inn in the village, so Mo asked to stay at a large household. Before he could explain his intentions after bowing, the woman who opened the door shut it again, saying "We don't have any extra food to spare for you."

  "Good fellow, you misunderstand me, I have silver coins and want to exchange them for some tea." Mo Wen frowned in explanation.

  Mo asked, but there was no echo in the courtyard. The sound of footsteps indicated that the woman who opened the door had returned to her room.

  Previously, there was no water source along the way. By this time, both Mo and Lao Wu were very hungry and thirsty. After eating the closed-door rice, they changed to another house again. This time, it was a middle-aged man who opened the door. Seeing the two of them, he also wanted to close the door. Mo saw the situation and hurriedly took out silver money to explain their intention. The man accepted the silver money and gave the two of them a few pieces of flatbread and two bowls of warm water, but did not let them enter the house from start to finish.

  "Old man, it seems like people here don't like outsiders?" Lao Wu followed Mo Xun out of the village.

  "They don't dislike outsiders, they just don't like me." Mo Wen furrowed his brow and shook his head. Although he had known before that the people of Jin State believed in Buddhism, he hadn't expected them to be so averse to Daoist disciples.

  "Why do they dislike you?" Lao Wu asked in puzzlement.

  "They don't dislike me, but they dislike Taoists." Mo asked again and shook his head. Everything has a reason, and the people of Jin have their reasons for rejecting Taoism. Although it's clear that the Taoist distinction between noble and humble is too straightforward and easily triggers the resentment of ordinary people. On the other hand, Buddhism's emphasis on equality among all people resonates with the common folk's feelings of being inferior and vulnerable, which should be one of the reasons.

  Lao Wu heard this and still didn't understand, but he also didn't ask again.

  Further ahead, there was still no one in sight for a hundred miles. Since Mo asked didn't like meat food, the rabbit returned to Old Five. In three days, he only ate a few rice cakes. The Taoist disciples did not eat meat, but when they had rice, they chose rice first, and only ate meat when there was no rice. From the teachings, this is benevolence, kindness, and less killing. From the perspective of human life, eating more vegetarian food and less meat is also beneficial to people. If one does not eat meat at all, he will inevitably have less energy and be unable to work hard.

  Three days later, the two finally saw the city walls and entered the city gate. They were greatly surprised to find that although this was only a border town, it was extremely prosperous inside the city. Various types of courtyards, such as three combined, four combined, curved feet, and one-word courtyards, were scattered throughout the city, with gold and flowers being extremely luxurious. Most people on the street wore silk and gauze, while those wearing hemp clothes were few and far between. Women all wore outer skirts over their pants, and even men's underpants were neat and tidy. As it was approaching the New Year, there were many New Year's goods for sale on the streets, including food such as large and small yellow rice, white rice, white noodles, yellow noodles, and red sweet potatoes. Vegetables included mustard, ginger, scallions, garlic, melons, gourds, and celery. In the fabric stores, there were many silk fabrics, brocades, and cotton fabrics. Women here had few taboos, even those who were waiting to get married could go out for a walk on the streets. Looking around, everything was red and green, with an atmosphere of wealth and comfort.

  They had seen the prosperity of Jin State, and Mo Wen also saw the disgust of the people of Jin State towards Taoism. As they walked on the street, most passersby avoided them, and even if they didn't, they gave them cold glances. During the heyday of Taoism, it was favored by many nobles, but at this time, even those luxurious nobles looked down on the two with disdain, or even sneered at them. After entering the city, not a single Taoist had been seen, but instead, they saw Buddhist monks begging for alms. These monks were welcomed by everyone, and people would offer them donations without waiting to be asked. This situation made Mo Wen very puzzled - what was the reason behind the Jin people's disgust towards Taoists?

  After buying dry food in the city, the two of them hastily left. It wasn't until now that he remembered a detail - on the day they descended the mountain, Bai Li Kuang Feng and the others all headed east, which meant that although everyone was Han people, only he himself was from Jin State.

  After several days, Mo asked finally saw a middle-aged Taoist priest. Upon seeing this person, Mo asked immediately went forward and paid his respects, inviting him to stay. This person was a Taoist priest from the state of Jin, and he must have known why the people of Jin were so disgusted with the disciples of the Taoist sect...