Chapter 35: Corrupt Cultivator Suspicions

Wang Sheng had already located the ghost; it was curled up at the head of the bed in the attic bedroom.

His cultivation was far superior to Zhou Yinglong's, and his spiritual consciousness and true essence were significantly stronger as well. Spreading his spiritual consciousness throughout the room, he detected two shadowy figures lurking within.

Just as his master said, the wandering spirits did not possess human forms. They were nothing more than lingering obsessions and remnants of spiritual consciousness that were barely held together by primal qi, preventing them from dissipating entirely.

Following his master's rituals, Wang Sheng adopted the proper intonation and stepped forward slowly. With each step, he chanted in a cadence reminiscent of a regional opera.

"True Five-Star Radiance, illuminate the dark and let a thousand gods and saints protect my spirit!

"Scatter, slay, and vanquish all fiends! Make haste, as the decree commands!"

Wang Sheng felt his spiritual consciousness ripple outward like waves in water. In an instant, the two shadowy figures shattered and dissolved into nothingness.

Each wisp of spiritual consciousness had once represented a life.

"Infinite gods above," Wang Sheng murmured. He then followed the remaining traces of yin qi to another location.

The Li estate was arranged in the shape of a Tai Chi symbol. It had over ten rooms, four or five attics, a garage, and a couple of storage rooms. Time steadily passed as Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong moved through the estate, systematically searching each area and dispersing the wandering spirits.

***

Meanwhile, in the main hall, Li Shiwu was growing weary from holding his sword aloft. He began to have doubts.

Are those two really reliable? It's just an exorcism—what's taking them so long?

Another ten minutes passed. Li Shiwu's arm was starting to ache, but he had his ways of adapting. He casually performed a few more impressive sword techniques before setting the mahogany sword on the altar. He then sat cross-legged on a cushion and closed his eyes in deep concentration.

With a commanding tone, he declared, "To aid my two guardians in their task, I shall now search this place for the root of the disturbance with my spiritual consciousness!"

He stirred the primal qi around him using his spiritual consciousness, causing a soft wind to swirl through the hall. The members of the Li Family gazed at their second master with even greater reverence.

***

In the backyard, Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong met near the garage, their expressions serious.

"Something's strange about this," Wang Sheng said.

"I've driven away over twenty spirits. What about you, Junior Brother Wang?" Zhou Yinglong glanced around warily. "Could it be that the fengshui arrangement backfired? Instead of warding off evil, did it end up attracting more filth?"

"Careful, walls have ears. Let's meet up with our martial uncle first before discussing this. At the end of the day, this is still his family estate. If someone is truly behind this, we can't just stand by and do nothing."

"Agreed. Let's go."

Zhou Yinglong gestured for Wang Sheng to lead the way. They sheathed their longswords before heading toward the main hall. When they arrived, Li Shiwu immediately stood up to ask about the results of their exorcism, but Wang Sheng discreetly signaled him to remain silent.

Having served as the vice sect master and traveled across the martial world for years, Li Shiwu was quick to catch on. Without hesitation, he smoothly transitioned into chanting a few Daoist scriptures and then performing a couple of minor true essence tricks. Afterward, he loudly commanded, "Guardians, return to your posts!"

Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong stepped back to their original positions. Li Shiwu grabbed his wooden sword and performed another round of dramatic movements while chanting in a righteous tone. Finally, he concluded the ritual, ensuring that everything appeared complete and proper.

Pretending to be exhausted, Li Shiwu breathed out slowly. "Brother, please prepare a quiet room for us to rest and recover."

Li Shishan quickly approached. "Why not have lunch first and then rest—"

"Absolutely not! Eating grains at this moment would harm our cultivation!"

Li Shiwu spoke with such conviction that the Li Family dared not question him. They promptly led the three men back to the bedroom where they had previously changed clothes.

Once the door was closed, Li Shiwu signaled them to gather closer. He then whispered, "What's going on?"

"I drove away thirty-two spirits," Wang Sheng replied.

"I expelled at least twenty to thirty as well," Zhou Yinglong added.

"What?" Li Shiwu's eyes widened. "That many? Did the fengshui array here get set up in reverse?"

"Martial Uncle, I don't have much expertise in formations outside of sword arrays," Wang Sheng admitted, "but the logic behind this situation isn't hard to understand."

"Give it to me straight, Fei Yu! This is driving me mad! I have no sons or daughters—my elder brother's family is all I have!" Li Shiwu urged anxiously.

Wang Sheng chose his next words carefully. "If the fengshui here had truly been altered into a spirit-nurturing formation, then with this many wandering spirits, there should have been at least a few vengeful ghosts among them.

"Moreover, when we entered the estate, we should have immediately sensed the overwhelming presence of yin qi. However, we instead had to deliberately examine the area with spiritual consciousness since there were only barely noticeable traces of it. This suggests that the fengshui formation isn't the cause.

"Wandering spirits fear sunlight, and while they can harm the living, they are also injured by the living's natural yang qi. Among the spirits I exorcised, some were already on the verge of dissipating. That means they weren't originally from this place; they were placed here deliberately."

Wang Sheng stopped. Some things were best left unsaid.

Zhou Yinglong nodded in agreement with Wang Sheng's analysis. He then folded his arms and paced back and forth, lost in thought.

After a moment of contemplation, Li Shiwu looked at Wang Sheng. "Are you saying that another cultivator is behind this?"

Wang Sheng slowly nodded. Having spent over a decade of his past life as a "keyboard immortal," he now had a broader perspective on these matters than Li Shiwu or Zhou Yinglong, who had only been cultivating for a few years.

He didn't see the situation at hand as mere ghostly disturbances. On the contrary, he couldn't help but think that a corrupt cultivator was raising ghosts and summoning wandering spirits to harm Li Shiwu's elder brother and his entire family.

Everything had its opposite. Just like how water could be clear or murky, human nature could be good or evil. Not all cultivators were secluded in the mountains, cultivating in peace, and avoiding worldly affairs either. Some relied on their Daoist arts and cultivation advantages to commit evil and deliberately harm lives—those were the so-called corrupt cultivators.

Determining whether someone was a corrupt cultivator was not based on what they practiced but on their actions. Seeking wealth by harming lives, committing murder, arson, rape, and plundering were all acts of evil. Even if the culprit was a disciple of a prestigious Daoist heritage, they would still be considered a corrupt cultivator, and the cultivation world would still eradicate them.

The Li Family's vast wealth could have attracted the greed of certain corrupt cultivators, leading to today's incident. On the other hand, Li Shishan could have simply offended someone, causing this misfortune.

After "resting" for half an hour, Li Shiwu, looking somewhat weary, led Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong back to the main hall of the Li estate.

The altar had already been removed and replaced with an Eight Immortals table, laden with a variety of exquisite vegetarian dishes.

Though there was no meat, the dishes all looked expensive.

Li Shishan rose to welcome them, unable to suppress the joy on his face. He had just taken a walk around the courtyard and found out that it no longer had the eerie feeling from before. Moreover, he had also gone to lie on his bed. For the first time in half a month, he felt drowsy rather than hearing strange noises.

Deeply moved, the elderly man sighed. "Second Brother! My fellow Daoists! You've all worked hard! It's been over half a month since I could eat my fill or get a good night's rest!"

Li Shiwu forced a smile. "Brother, let's sit down and talk. Don't let my two martial nephews starve."

"Yes, yes! Please sit!"

Li Shishan warmly gestured them to the table. Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong thanked him and followed Li Shiwu to their seats. Li Shishan's two sons also sat down to accompany them. The eldest was named Li Weiwen, and the younger Li Weiwu.

Words of gratitude were naturally exchanged. Li Shishan picked up a bottle of wine. "If not for you two, I truly don't know what we would have done. Please, I must express my gratitude. I hope you stay for a few more days."

He then tried to fill the cups in front of Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong. Zhou Yinglong quickly covered his cup, while Wang Sheng simply smiled and shook his head, letting Li Shishan pour the wine. After all, he was the one who would decide whether to drink it or not.

Soon, Wang Sheng picked up his chopsticks, The food was so excellent that he couldn't stop eating. Nevertheless, the first thought that crossed his mind was how his senior sister had missed out on such a sumptuous vegetarian feast.

After a few moments of small talk, Li Shiwu took a sip of wine and sighed softly. From the wide sleeve of his Daoist robe, he pulled out a stack of genuine exorcism talismans designed to ward off evil spirits. One of his senior brothers, who was skilled in talismanic arts at the Wudang Mountains, had made it for him.

"Brother, stick these talismans above your beds, on doorways, and inside the main entrance. They are imbued with enchanted power. If they get wet or damaged, send someone to the Wudang Mountains to get replacements from me."

"Alright." Li Shishan smiled in relief as he carefully accepted the stack of talismans. "Weiwu, go bring over the gifts we prepared for the two young Daoist masters."

Gifts? They're probably talking about the payment for performing the ritual,

Wang Sheng thought.

Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong exchanged glances, unsure if they should accept monetary offerings.

Li Shiwu smiled. "Just take them. You've made this trip, after all. As your martial uncle, I haven't done much for you both. No need to be polite with my brother."

As he spoke, Li Weiwu jogged over and placed a finely crafted tray in front of Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong. On it were two thick red envelopes and two small ornate boxes.

Li Shiwu grinned. "Fei Yu, Yinglong, open them and see if you like them. Before coming, my brother asked me what kind of things you two preferred, so I told him to be generous."

Wang Sheng said, "You are undoubtedly thoughtful, Patron."

Zhou Yinglong leaned closer and whispered, "Should we accept this or not?"

"Of course, you should!" Li Shishan waved his hand. "Consider it a bond of goodwill. When I grow old, and my second brother also ages, I hope you two will continue to look after my family."

Li Shiwu kept winking at them.

Finding no reason to hesitate, Wang Sheng opened the silk box. Inside was a pair of crystal-clear jade bracelets with a smooth, lustrous texture. It was clear now that the idea for the gifts had come from Li Shiwu. Wang Sheng himself had no use for jade bracelets, but they were the perfect gift for his senior sister.

"I like these bracelets a lot. Thank you, Patron Li."

Wang Sheng's polite way of expressing his gratitude made Li Shishan even happier.

Following Wang Sheng's lead, Zhou Yinglong also opened his silk box and found a jade pendant inside, its texture just as transparent and flawless. Since the gifts were meant to foster goodwill, he decided not to refuse.

After accepting the gifts, they continued with their meal. As they ate, Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong subtly observed the maids and housekeepers moving through the hall. They also occasionally studied the expressions of those at the table.

After three rounds of drinks, Li Shiwu's expression turned serious. He solemnly asked, "Brother, have you offended anyone recently?"

Li Shishan set down his cup. "Recently? I've just been staying at home and attending a few charity auctions. I haven't offended anyone. Why?"

"Something caused the haunting in your house." Li Shiwu tapped his fingers on the rim of his cup. "Fetch the layout plans of the estate for me later. I'll examine them carefully and see if anyone has tampered with the fengshui."

Before coming to the meal, he had already pre-arranged that request and reasoning with Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong.

"You all eat; I'll go get them now," Li Shishan replied.

He immediately stood up and left through the side door. His eldest son quickly followed him.

As if none of it concerned them, Wang Sheng put some vegetables on his plate, while Zhou Yinglong dipped his chopsticks in wine and sniffed it before casually continuing his meal.