Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 60 The Evil of the Human Heart

The villagers outside the ancestral hall gasped in surprise upon seeing this scene.

"That's...that's my hair."

"That's mine too. No wonder I lost so much hair after the treatment."

"This Taoist priest is a fraud."

Seeing that his plan had been exposed, the Taoist priest suddenly stood up, drew a short sword from his sleeve, and thrust it at Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning was prepared. He dodged the short sword with a flash and at the same time struck the Taoist in the chest with a palm.

"Bang!"

The Taoist priest was sent flying, crashing into the wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

He struggled to stand up, but Zhou Ning had already walked up to him and was looking down at him.

"Your cultivation level is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. With such meager abilities, you dare to come out and harm people?"

The Taoist priest's eyes were filled with fear:

"You...you can't kill me. My master is an elder of Qingxu Temple in Laoshan. If you kill me, he won't let you off."

Zhou Ning said, "I won't kill you. But you've harmed so many people, you must be punished."

He reached out and placed his hand on the Taoist's dantian, probing it with his inner energy.

The Taoist priest struggled in terror: "What...what are you going to do?"

Zhou Ning did not answer, but instead condensed his inner energy into a needle and inserted it into the Qihai acupoint in the Taoist's dantian.

"what!"

The Taoist priest let out a scream, feeling the spiritual energy within his body gradually dissipate like a deflated balloon.

His cultivation was destroyed.

Zhou Ning withdrew his hand and said calmly:

"Your cultivation has been destroyed by me. From now on, you are no longer allowed to harm anyone. This is only out of respect for Qingxu Temple; otherwise, you would already be dead."

The Taoist priest collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, his eyes filled with despair.

Zhou Ning turned around and said to the villagers outside the ancestral hall:

"Fellow villagers, this Taoist priest is a fraud. He used evil magic to harm people, and I have already destroyed his cultivation. The hair and nails that he tricked you out of are all here. Take them back and burn them, and you will be fine."

The villagers flocked in to claim their hair and nails.

An old man stepped forward and bowed deeply to Zhou Ning:

"Thank you for exposing this scammer, sir. We've all been ruined by him."

Zhou Ning helped the old man up:

"Old man, you don't need to be so polite. Be careful when you encounter people who claim to be able to cure diseases and exorcise evil spirits. True practitioners would not use such despicable methods."

The old man nodded and asked again, "Young man, our illness..."

Zhou Ning said, "Your illnesses are old ailments suppressed by evil magic. Go back and rest well, take some tonics, and you will gradually recover. If possible, you can see a real doctor."

The old man expressed his deepest gratitude.

Zhou Ning examined several villagers with more serious conditions, prescribed some medicine for them, and then left.

By the time we left Qinghe Town, it was already dark.

Zhou Ning found a sheltered spot, lit a campfire, and prepared to spend the night there.

He sat cross-legged by the fire, closing his eyes and regulating his breathing.

The internal energy circulated slowly, bringing a warm feeling.

Today, after crippling that Taoist's cultivation, he felt no joy, but rather a sense of heaviness.

Although that Taoist priest was despicable, he was still a practitioner.

There may be compelling reasons why someone might stray onto the wrong path.

But no matter what the reasons are, harming others is still harming others.

He must be punished.

The following morning, Zhou Ning continued north.

After walking for about an hour, he arrived at a town called "Twin Peaks Town".

The town is a bit larger than Qinghe Town, with more pedestrians on the streets and shops open.

Zhou Ning walked into a noodle shop, ordered a bowl of noodles, and inquired about the situation in the north while eating.

The noodle shop owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, surnamed Liu, who was very talkative.

"Sir, are you heading north?" Boss Liu asked.

Zhou Ning nodded: "I need to take care of something."

Boss Liu lowered his voice:

"The north is not peaceful. I heard that another group of demons has recently come south. The imperial court sent people from the Demon Suppression Division, but they haven't seen much success."

"Sir, if you're not in a hurry, you'd better not go."

Zhou Ning said, "I have something urgent to attend to."

Mr. Liu sighed and stopped trying to persuade him.

Zhou Ning finished his noodles and was about to leave when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the street.

He walked out of the noodle shop and saw a group of people gathered in front of the notice board, pointing and talking.

Zhou Ning went closer and saw a red paper posted on the notice board, which read:

"The Liu family in this town is haunted. The cries of anguish never cease at midnight, causing great fear and unease among the family. If any skilled person can exorcise this ghost, we are willing to offer fifty taels of silver as a reward. Contact: Master Liu, residing in his large house at the north end of town."

Zhou Ning shook his head after reading it.

It's haunted again.

He initially intended to ignore it, but thinking of the people tormented by ghosts and monsters, he decided to go and see for himself.

He found Liu Yuanwai's house by following the address on the notice.

The house was very large, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and it was quite impressive.

But the courtyard had a gloomy atmosphere, and even sunlight couldn't penetrate it.

Zhou Ning knocked on the door, and an old servant opened it. He looked at Zhou Ning with some wariness.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Ning said, "I am a cultivator. I heard that your house is haunted, so I came to take a look."

The old servant quickly invited him inside.

Master Liu was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a haggard face and sunken eyes, clearly tormented by ghosts and monsters.

"Young man, can you exorcise ghosts?" He looked Zhou Ning up and down, somewhat skeptical.

Zhou Ning nodded: "Take me to see it."

Master Liu led him to the backyard.

There is an old locust tree in the backyard, and a dry well under the tree.

The well opening was covered by a thick stone slab, on which was pasted a yellowed talisman.

"This is it," said Liu, his voice trembling.

"Every night, weeping sounds come from the well. It's so mournful and terrifying that it terrifies anyone who hears it. I've consulted several Taoist priests, but nothing has helped."

Zhou Ning walked to the well, squatted down, and examined the talisman.

The runes on the talisman were already blurred and the spiritual power had long since dissipated.

He removed the talisman and moved the stone slab.

A chilling aura emanated from the well, carrying a faint stench of decay.

Zhou Ning closed his eyes and used his divine sense to perceive the situation down in the well.

Down in the well, a weak soul wanders.

It was the spirit of a young woman, not filled with resentment, but deeply fixated on something.

"There's a person buried underneath," Zhou Ning said.

"Who are you to your family?"

Master Liu's face changed: "What? Someone's buried? Impossible!"

Zhou Ning said, "We'll find out when we go down and take a look."

He found a rope, tied it around his waist, and had Liu's servants lower him down.

The well was very deep, at least several dozen feet deep.

Zhou Ning descended to the bottom of the well and found a small space with a pile of bones in the corner.

Beside the skeleton was a jade pendant.

The jade pendant is engraved with the character "柳" (willow).

Zhou Ning picked up the jade pendant and climbed out of the well.

"Whose jade pendant is this?" he asked Master Liu.

Master Liu took the jade pendant, and his expression changed drastically.

"This...this is Liu'er's jade pendant. She...she is my daughter."

"Your daughter? How did she get in the well?"

Master Liu's eyes reddened:

"Ten years ago, my daughter went missing. We searched for a long time but couldn't find her. I never imagined... I never imagined she would be in the well."

Zhou Ning frowned:

"How did your daughter die?"

Master Liu shook his head: "I don't know. Maybe...maybe he fell down."

Zhou Ning said, "The space inside the well is cramped, so it doesn't seem like an accidental fall. Moreover, there are no signs of struggle next to her remains. She must have been pushed in."

Master Liu's face turned deathly pale.

Zhou Ning looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Master Liu, what has your involvement in your daughter's death?"

Master Liu hurriedly waved his hand: "No, absolutely not, I... I may not have treated her well, but I would never harm her."

"Is it bad for her?"

Master Liu lowered his head, looking ashamed, and said:

"I...I disliked her because she was a girl, and I never cared about her when she was little. After her mother died, I ignored her even more. The day she disappeared, I cursed at her a few times, and she ran away. And then...she never came back."

Zhou Ning sighed.

It's yet another family tragedy.

"Your daughter's spirit is trapped in the well because her resentment hasn't subsided. What you need to do is build her a grave and give her a proper burial. Visit her grave during festivals and holidays. Once her resentment dissipates, she will naturally stop causing trouble."

Master Liu nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Ning then helped him to release the woman's soul, allowing her to rest in peace.

It was already dark when we left the Liu family's house.

Zhou Ning found an inn to stay in.

Lying in bed, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

The two things he dealt with today made him realize more deeply that the evil in people's hearts can sometimes be more terrifying than demons and monsters.

That Taoist priest was willing to harm people's lives in order to practice evil arts.

Because of his preference for sons over daughters, Master Liu caused his daughter to die unjustly.

These people are more hateful than demons and monsters.

Zhou Ning closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

All he can do is to the best of his ability to punish evil, promote good, and protect the innocent.

Even if it's just a little bit, it's worth it.