"Then just leave it alone?"
The Taoist walked back and forth along the river bank carrying a cloth bag, looking at the boat that was gradually going away. At the stern of the boat, the boatman was holding a long pole and waving at them, as if saying goodbye.
He was at a loss for a moment. Logically speaking, a ghost that came out before the sun set must be a highly skilled ghost. But he also felt that the other party was so weak that he didn't need to use any magic at all.
"Ah... I know what I want to do."
Having followed the scholar for such a long time, how could she not know what he was thinking? Sun Yingxian took out a few yellow talismans and drew Yin talismans on them.
Lu Liangsheng took a look at it and found that he had heard from the Taoist priest what the runes on it were used for.
"Are you going to look for the City God?"
"It's over a hundred miles away, and I don't know if they can come."
After the Taoist priest finished speaking, he went over and used another different piece of talisman paper to stick it on Hong Lian's scroll, and then arranged the talisman papers he had just drawn on the ground one by one.
He put two fingers of both hands together and raised them to the level of his nose, muttering something silently. In an instant, the talisman paper floated along the ground.
Lu Liangsheng looked solemn. After all, the ghost he would see soon was extraordinary. So he stared at the Taoist's every move. Even the Toad Taoist pushed open his cubicle and squinted his eyes.
The next second, the Taoist suddenly raised his four fingers together and pointed them forward.
"Imperial decree, you stupid idiot... I forgot the words!!!"
Lu Liangsheng coughed a few times in one breath.
Over there, Sun Yingxian quickly took out the Taoist book from his arms and flipped through a few pages. Then he closed it and put it back in his arms, and started making finger gestures again.
"Please listen to me, City God. The souls near Wangjia Village are waiting for justice. Please send ghost messengers to the riverbank—"
The fingertips moved forward again.
The wind blew loudly, fluttering the two men's clothes. A white mist rose above the calm water and the temperature around them suddenly dropped.
Lu Liangsheng looked at the Taoist who was chanting with his eyes closed, and his eyes instinctively looked in the direction of Tianzhi City. A slender outline was approaching from afar.
Walking along the river bank, in the dim night, this tall and thin figure seemed to be swaying towards me as if on stilts. He was wearing a hood and had very long sleeves hanging on both sides. As he walked, there was the sound of clanking iron chains.
"Who calls the City God's messenger?"
The gloomy air was so overwhelming that the chirping of insects around was completely silent. The Taoist priest opened one eye and looked at the scholar, whispering:
"Speak quickly, use your status as a juren."
Lu Liangsheng shook his wide sleeves and cupped his hands.
"Lu Liangsheng, a scholar from Hegu County, has seen the night patrol. We passed by Wangjia Village and encountered a ferry ghost at night. We found that the ghost had no memories and did not harm anyone. We ask the City God to take him in and let him reincarnate as a human."
"So he is a famous scholar in the world."
The thin Yuuyou also nodded at the scholar and his tone softened.
"Please wait a moment."
Above the black scarf covering his face, a light blue hue appeared in the empty shadow. He looked towards the other side of the river, and after a moment, he turned his head back.
"There is indeed a lonely soul, but I can't take him to the City God."
Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly: "Why?"
"The lonely ghost over there is a person of great kindness and great achievements. It has long been recorded in the City God's Soul Book. In his previous 26 years, this ghost ferried people from place to place without asking for money, regardless of wind or rain. His good deeds accumulated over time have become a blessing. After his death, he was still determined to ferry people from place to place. The City God, mindful of his persistence and kindness, granted him a magical instrument that would allow him to haunt at dusk."
"Then why do I only have a few memories?"
"He died that day because of his friend's drinking. He just didn't want to remember it."
"I see. Thanks for letting me know."
All the reasons have been revealed. Lu Liangsheng looked at the other side of the river. His hometown was destroyed by floods. He had to ferry people by boat for the rest of his life. It is not difficult to stick to one thing, but it is difficult to do good deeds all your life. He sighed, bowed deeply and saluted.
"Xunyou, will this boatman have any good results in the future?"
Night Patrol nodded and simply replied:
"Yes. Your doubts have been resolved. It's time for me to leave on my tour."
The chains rattled and the cuffs were lifted.
The meaning was very clear. The Taoist quickly took out a few white things from the leather bag on his waist, placed them in front of the talisman paper, and laughed.
"Well... these are the only offerings I have, so I'll just have to make do with them during the night patrol."
After saying that, he went to pull the scholar: "Hurry up, hurry up." Then, he turned around and ran. The old donkey blinked, looked at the sinister figure, neighed with a crooked mouth, and spread his hooves to chase after it.
The air was filled with yin energy. Night patrol came over and looked down at the talisman paper.
"Well… "
A few skinned frogs were placed there.
…
"Why are you pulling me away?"
Lu Liangsheng looked at the Taoist who kept looking back, and he also looked back. There was nothing there except the old donkey following closely behind him.
"Huh..."
Seeing that the night patrol had not caught up with him, the Taoist stopped to catch his breath, leaned back on the donkey, and drank a sip of water.
"Do you think that you don't need to offer sacrifices when you invite the ghost messenger?"
"Didn't you give it to me?"
"Given the frog."
Lu Liangsheng: “…”
Then, he smiled bitterly and covered his forehead with one hand, "You have offended the other party."
The small door of the bookshelf compartment opened, and the Toad Taoist climbed onto the donkey's back and patted the Taoist on the shoulder.
"Didn't you say there were no more frogs?"
Over there, Sun Yingxian chuckled twice, opened the toad's webbed feet, raised the leather bag around his waist to show off, and waved it in front of the scholar and the toad.
"I caught a few more in the summer, pickled them, and put them in this leather bag. They won't go bad."
As he was speaking, the sound of the wind whistled in. Lu Liangsheng looked around and saw the forest shaking wildly. Hong Lian in the scroll was the most sensitive to Yin energy. She poked her head out and whispered:
"Sir, that night patrol seems to be chasing us."
The wind blew through the forest, and a dark energy surged across the sky in the form of mist visible to the naked eye.
"I said to you, mother, I worked hard to collect those frogs!"
The Taoist cursed and shouted to Lu Liangsheng, "Run!"
The negative energy was swirling, and a slender black shadow could be vaguely seen inside, floating like a kite. The Taoist used the magic of speed and ran away. Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey over, but it was too late.
"Night Parade..."
He cupped his hands and was about to speak, but the Night Patrol flying in the sky, carrying a cold wind, flew directly over Lu Liangsheng's head and chased after the Taoist who was running away.
In the woods ahead, startled birds flew away in panic, and after a moment, a shrill scream was heard.
"Don't... don't come over here... ah—"
The Toad Taoist sat on the donkey's head, stretching out his two short legs, eating dried fish. Even Hong Lian floated out, and they looked at the woods in front of them together. From time to time, they bent over and took a sip of the frog web that the Toad stretched out.
In less than two breaths, a series of screams of "Ahhh..." rang out again, followed by the sound of bangs, and the forest began to shake.
Lu Liangsheng's eyelids twitched when he heard this.
"Old Sun has suffered this time..."
After a while, the noise died down, and the cold wind started again. The night patrol officer came out, patted his official robe with a look of relief, bowed to Lu Liangsheng and said goodbye, then flew away on the cold wind.
"Go see Old Sun!"
Lu Liangsheng looked at the rising evil energy going away, thought of the Taoist in the woods, and ran over in a hurry.
As soon as we entered the forest, we saw the Taoist hanging on a tree branch from afar, falling down, with tattered clothes, black eyes, and thin cheeks that had become round and red, and he was still gasping for breath.
"Old Lu, come and have a look... Is my face still there... Why can't I feel it..."
He whimpered.
Hahaha…
Seeing that he was fine, Toad and Hong Lian laughed out loud.
Outside the forest, the sky gradually brightened. Lu Liangsheng applied medicine to the Taoist priest's wounds and moved away from this place. Wangjia Village gradually disappeared from sight. Soon, he crossed the mountains, passed through rivers and plains, and as the temperature became colder and colder, he headed towards Heliangzhou, which was suffering from famine and drought.
Leaving the humid south, the mountains become steeper, the forests become scarcer, and there are more and more people in ragged clothes and with their families on the road.