Chapter 25 Causes and Consequences
Although Tu Daoren had fled, there were still some doubts about the matter in Dongqi Town, and the two quickly returned to the Liu family courtyard.
Lan Min was no longer here. I think he went back to the Lan clan to report what happened here.
In the small house on the east side, the middle-aged man fainted on the ground, bleeding from both ears. This was caused by the attack of the ghost howl. As for his mother, she had a short life span, and after this, she had passed away.
Although Shen Qingluo used the flowing wind flute to fight against the ghost howl, greatly reducing the power of its sound attack, the mortal body is extremely fragile. Even if the power is greatly reduced, the ghost howl is enough to cause great damage to it.
Xia Jinxi came into the house and looked for a while, "Liu Lai is still alive. Mortals cannot take healing pills directly. We can only tell the Lan family and let them save people."
Shen Qingluo nodded, "Lan Min has left. According to the time, the people of the Lan family should be here."
Not long after the words fell, the two of them successively sensed several breaths approaching the courtyard.
Lan He, the head of the Lan family, walked in the front, followed by Lan Min and three other Lan family members.
Lan He had noticed the situation here as early as when the ghost howled.
However, he was the only foundation-building cultivator in the Lan family now, and the number of enemies was unknown. He was worried that the family would be attacked after he left, so he did not come here for a long time. It
was not until Lan Min returned to the family and brought the news that the red ghost had been eliminated and the controller had escaped that he began to move.
In the courtyard, Shen Qingluo and Yao Molian looked at the Lan family with indifferent faces.
When fighting the enemy, no one from the Lan family came to help. The noise was so loud at that time that they could not have not heard it.
If it were not for the sect mission, the two would never stay here for long.
"Did the head of the Lan family see Brother Meng and his three companions along the way?"
It was Xia Jinxi who asked. After so long, Meng Zirui, Wang Fang, and Zhao Yanran still had no news, and she had a guess in her heart.
The three were probably ambushed before they found the enemy's traces, triggered the protective teleportation talisman, and were taken back to the sect.
Lan He shook his head with a worried look on his face, "Before coming here, I used my spiritual sense to investigate, but did not find the three immortals."
He heard Meng Zirui's words very clearly at the gate of the clan's territory, and knew that the Tai Sheng Sect disciples who came here this time all carried amulets, so he was not worried about their lives being in danger, but was worried that he would make enemies with the immortals because of this.
At this time, Shen Qingluo thought of another possibility, "The protective teleportation talisman will only be activated after being attacked by a life-threatening attack. If Taoist Tu only trapped Senior Brother Meng and the others, then this talisman will not have any effect."
"Junior Sister Shen means that they are taken to a certain place like the missing people in Dongqi Town and become the preparatory materials for refining corpse puppets?"
"It's just a guess. Senior Sister also mentioned before that there is another space under the ground in Dongqi Town. Chief Lan, are there any of you who are good at earth-based exercises?"
"Yes!" Lan He pointed to the young man at the fifth level of Qi Refining beside him, "Jingming is good at earth escape."
Shen Qingluo nodded slightly, "Then I'll have to trouble this Taoist friend to sneak into the ground to investigate the situation."
"Yes." The young man responded respectfully, went outside the courtyard, found a relatively soft piece of land, pinched his hands, and after a few breaths, the whole person disappeared on the spot. In
the courtyard, Lan Min went to the house where Liu Lai was and treated his injuries.
After about an incense stick of time, the young man who used the earth escape technique returned, his face pale, with a slight smell similar to a mixture of vomit and corpse stench.
Shen Qingluo observed this person for a moment and determined that he was not injured. Most likely, he saw some unbearable scenes.
"Reporting to the two immortals, there is indeed something strange underground."
Halfway through his words, the young man remembered something and couldn't help but retching.
Lan He's face looked a little ugly, and a spiritual force gathered in his palm and pressed it against the back of his neck.
After a moment, the young man returned to normal and continued what he had not finished before.
"About ten feet down, there is a small space that was obviously dug by humans. All the missing people in the town are there. They are all dead and soaked in black water. The stench is overwhelming. There are also some bottles and jars, and I don't know what they are used for."
Xia Jinxi said at the right time: "To make corpse puppets, a lot of poisonous insects are needed. What you see should be the container for the poisonous insects. In addition to the missing people in the town, have you seen anyone else?"
"No, Immortal Meng and the others are not there. Except for that small space, there is nothing unusual in other places within a radius of ten miles."
Shen Qingluo seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "Where exactly does that space correspond to on the ground?"
The young man pointed to the Liu family courtyard in front of him, "It's here!"
As expected, Shen Qingluo looked at Lan He, "Patriarch Lan, have you ever heard of a ghost-controlling cultivator named Tu?"
Lan He looked a little unnatural, "Min'er told me that the surname Tu is rare, and ghost-controlling cultivators are also extremely rare. All these coincidences together are no longer coincidences. He is indeed someone I know. I thought he had died a long time ago, but I didn't expect..."
Shen Qingluo didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Have you ever had a conflict?"
"Well, this man's name is Tu Kai. About fifty years ago, he traveled here and lived in the town for a while. Somehow, my daughter Lan Xin met him, and after getting to know him slowly, she fell in love with him. At first, I didn't object to them being together, until I found out that Tu Kai was a ghost-controlling cultivator."
At this point, Lan He showed a painful look on her face, "Ghost-controlling cultivators have always been classified as evil cultivators. They do all kinds of evil. How could I let my daughter be with such a person? Tu Kai confessed to me that he embarked on the path of controlling ghosts because of his poor aptitude. He said that although he practiced this way, he did not kill innocent people indiscriminately, and hoped that I would let go of my prejudice.
Immortal Shen should know that the reason why ghost-controlling cultivators are classified as evil cultivators is that as their cultivation level rises, they are affected by the evil spirit of ghosts, and their temperaments will gradually change. No matter what kind of people they were originally, they will become cruel and bloodthirsty people in the end without exception."
Shen Qingluo nodded, what Lan He said was true.
The other party continued, "Tu Kai had just become a ghost-controlling monk not long ago. Even though his personality was acceptable, who knew what he would be like in the future? So I was determined to break them up. After my constant persuasion, Xin'er was convinced by me and agreed to give up this relationship and practice well.
But Tu Kai never gave up. He went to the clan land again and again, trying to force his way in. I was furious at the time, so I asked him to meet in the bamboo forest outside the town in the name of Xin'er, intending to get rid of him there.
As expected, he showed up and I cut his throat with a sword. At that time, I specifically confirmed that he was indeed dead. Now it seems that Tu Kai should have obtained a treasure that can save his life and escaped death. It's a pity that I didn't think it through at the time. If I had been more decisive and burned the body with fire, today's incident would not have happened."
Shen Qingluo thought of the red-clothed ghost and had a bad guess in his heart.
"Chief Lan, is your daughter Lan Xin still in the clan?"
Lan He's face was full of bitterness. "I killed Tu Kai without telling her at the beginning. Later, Xin'er found out about it and accused me harshly, saying that I was cruel and ruthless. Then she ran away from home. She never came back after she left. Only one month later, Xin'er's soul lamp went out.
I know her temper. She would never commit suicide, so she was killed by someone. But I don't know who the murderer is, and I can't avenge Xin'er. Now it seems that Tu Kai is still alive. It's probably the work of this beast! He hated me for killing him, but he couldn't do anything to me, so he took revenge on Xin'er."
Shen Qingluo sighed secretly. Since Lan Xin had died long ago, the red-clothed ghost might really be her. However, judging from Liu Lai's description, the other party was only in the white-clothed realm three months ago. This is a doubtful point. From this point of view, the red-clothed person may not be Lan Xin. The evil ghost has disappeared. I'm afraid only Tu Kai knows the truth.
The evil ghost driven by the ghost-controlling monks no longer has the nature of what it was before its death. Even if Hongyi is still there and was really Lan He's daughter, they will only fight each other when they meet.
Tu Kai chose to do evil in Dongqi Town with the intention of revenge on the Lan family, and to nourish the corpse puppets.
As for why he chose to do it fifty years later, Shen Qingluo guessed that it was mostly because of strength. The price paid for using the life-saving treasure was not small, and it was not so easy to restore it.
Up to this moment, except for Meng Zirui, Wang Fang, and Zhao Yanran who disappeared, the matter of Dongqi Town was basically settled, and the small space underground was solved by the Lan family themselves.
Shen Qingluo and Xia Jinxi rejected Lan He's invitation to live in the clan for a while. After searching for the three brothers and sisters in and outside the town without success, they returned directly to the sect.