JOS Chapter 146

The Present World

 

The villagers demanded that the monk return all the money he had previously swindled from them. The monk had been beaten by the crowd and was bruised and battered.

 

He gasped and said, “Have there been frequent strange occurrences in your village recently, and have people died because of them?”

 

The villagers were furious. “Did you cause these supernatural incidents?”

 

“You’ve been deceived! You’ve all been deceived by that thing!” the monk waved his hands frantically, “He’s not human at all. How dare you believe his words? I was afraid at the time, so I secretly left. Did you really think I was trying to deceive you?”

 

The crowd was half-convinced, and they lowered their weapons somewhat.

 

“You asked him for help—did he actually help you? How foolish!” The monk spat on the ground, his saliva mixed with blood.

 

“You’re truly seeking death and being overly clever. Do you know what that thing really is? He himself is an evil god that has become a spirit, more powerful than ordinary malicious ghosts and demons, yet you rely on him to save people. I told you, this area is full of female infant spirits, and that’s exactly why he was attracted here.”

 

The monk suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, “You think he’s saving you, but he’s actually just devouring vengeful souls. He kills those female infant spirits one by one, causing dark clouds to gather here and resentment to flourish. He delights in this, watching those vengeful souls harm you without offering help, which is why the situation in this village has gotten increasingly worse.”

 

The crowd panicked. “Are you telling the truth?”

 

“If I were lying to you, why would I come back!” the monk said hatefully, “Otherwise, just continue waiting here to die. When you become his meal someday, see if regretting it then will be of any use!”

 

“Stop, you can’t leave!” The villagers blocked his path. “Then tell us what we should do?”

 

Someone timidly suggested, “Let’s leave. I really can’t take this anymore.”

 

“Leave for where?”

 

“The empire is unified now—where can’t we go?”

 

“Do you have fields elsewhere? Do you have houses? What will you eat, where will you live? If we could run, wouldn’t we have run long ago?”

 

“You can’t leave!” the monk said sternly, “The vengeful souls are clinging to you. Wherever you go, they’ll follow. How would leaving be useful?”

 

“Then what should we do?”

 

The monk reluctantly said, “Consider yourselves lucky. On my way back, I encountered a fellow Taoist cultivator. His magic power is strong, he’s lived for several hundred years, and he’s a half-immortal, so he doesn’t fear that demon. If he’s willing to help, this matter would be easily resolved.”

 

“Originally I didn’t want to call him here, and I didn’t want to get involved with you people… sigh...” He sighed and said, “First, I didn’t want to let him grow into a greater threat that would be difficult to deal with later. Second, my friend has a benevolent Taoist heart and likes to fight injustice. Buddhist monks embrace compassion, so I still invited him over.”

 

The crowd pushed forward. “Then where is he?!”

 

Some people remained wary of him, feeling that the Mountain God usually wasn’t as evil as he described, fearing he was deliberately deceiving them. They warned in advance. “If you want us to pay money or build a Buddhist temple, no way!”

 

The villagers recalled past events and voiced their agreement.

 

“No money!”

 

“You’re not really going to charge money, are you?”

 

“I’m really helping you, yet you’re still ungrateful! Am I asking for trouble? You people really are—” the monk showed an angry expression, but finally sighed helplessly. “Fine, this time I won’t charge you money. My friend will pay out of his own pocket. He’ll also prepare the ritual materials himself. This person doesn’t care about money and isn’t lacking in funds. Even if someone brought millions to beg him, if he felt displeased, he’d remain unmoved. This time, he can’t stand the demon’s evil deeds here, so he’s coming to help. You’re getting a bargain!”

 

“Then where exactly is he?”

 

“Why hasn’t he taken action yet? What is he waiting for?”

 

“Didn’t I say he’s preparing the ritual?!” the monk said irritably, “But this demon’s magic power is superior. My friend doesn’t dare take risks lightly and requires your village’s cooperation.”

 

“What?”

 

The monk beckoned, and the crowd gathered together to begin conspiring.

 

****

 

Jiang Feng asked, “What was that Taoist priest’s name?”

 

“I don’t know. He doesn’t tell others his name, and they only see him when it’s time for action.” The old man said, “I don’t know if the con artist deceived him or if he deceived that fake monk, but that Taoist priest was indeed no ordinary person. He was very powerful, truly skilled, and subdued people immediately. My parents and grandfather didn’t participate in this matter. When the village chief came to gather opinions, they heard about the process. Because grandfather and the others disagreed, the village chief, to prevent information leaks, didn’t tell them the specific details.”

 

Jiang Feng: “What happened afterward?”

 

“What happened that day, I’m not very clear about either. I was still small then, couldn’t even speak, so I didn’t witness it firsthand. My grandfather told me bits and pieces. But he passed away very early, and I don’t remember clearly.”

 

The old man sighed. “The villagers helped lure him up the mountain, then something unknown happened, and that area of the mountain became shrouded in black fog. My grandfather and parents stood at the foot of the mountain and heard ghostly wails and wolf howls. Those were real ghostly wails and wolf howls—they said it was like claws scratching at your heart, particularly distressing. My grandfather was probably affected by the supernatural energy at that time. He began falling ill afterward and passed away not long after. According to his speculation, the Taoist priest and monk who stayed there should have… killed him. Grandfather quite regretted it.”

 

Jiang Feng asked, “Did you see the corpse?”

 

The old man shook his head, then nodded. “All the people who went up the mountain to participate died. Their bodies were still there, covered with hideous claw marks. The monk also died. He died with his eyes wide open, with a mysterious hole in his chest. Right at this position.”

 

He gestured to the heart are.: “It was bloody and mangled, the contents inside were also shredded, as if clawed by some wild beast. He died with his eyes wide open, particularly tragic. But that legendary Taoist priest, and that person, both vanished without a trace.”

 

Huang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “With his abilities, he might have escaped? Or chased after the Taoist priest?”

 

The old man shook his head. “No.”

 

Huang Yu: “How can you be certain?”

 

“Because we still heard it.” The old man said, “The girl that man brought with him also went up the mountain. She was such a small person, but from several kilometers away, my grandfather said he heard her roaring.”

 

Huang Yu: “What did she roar?”

 

The old man: “‘Damn it, you all deserve to die. Every one of you deserves to die!’ Like that. Shrill and sorrowful, it frightened the entire village. When she came down, the villagers were all afraid, thinking she would kill everyone. But she just left like that.”

 

Everyone didn’t know what to think of this, and hearing the old man sigh several times in succession, their mood could also be described as depressed.

 

Chu Xuanliang: “What happened afterward? Did the village’s situation improve?”

 

“It got better. Gradually, no one mentioned it anymore.” The old man asked, “After all these years, I’ve always wondered—in that incident back then, who was good and who was bad?”

 

The group found it absurdly laughable.

 

Huang Yu said, “Yes. After all these years, you still can’t figure it out?”

 

The old man: “…Hmm.”

 

Huang Yu: “It’s meaningless. Everyone is already dead.”

 

The little Mountain God said quietly, “This isn’t good.”

 

Jiang Feng suddenly raised his head with a grave expression. “Judge’s Brush.”

 

Chu Xuanliang asked, “What? It’s related to the Judge’s Brush?”

 

Jiang Feng felt the entire world shaking, and his heart was violently expanding as if it would burst from its cage.

 

The little Mountain God seemed to sense something too. “Huh—”

 

“The Judge’s Brush has appeared in the present world.” Jiang Feng said.

 

Everyone held their breath.

 

Chu Xuanliang: “Where?”

 

Jiang Feng couldn’t sense clearly enough and only looked roughly in a certain direction.

 

****

 

Zong Ce carried her large box and stopped in place.

 

All around was desolate wilderness, thick with ghostly energy.

 

She stepped down and discovered white threads emerging from her shoe sole, wrapping around her ankle.

 

The threads quickly tightened, constricting her flesh. If not for her sturdy body, a mortal flesh would probably have been crushed by this force.

 

She raised her head and looked behind the tree.

 

The two locked eyes, both seeing excitement in each other’s gaze.

 

Zong Ce’s fingers trembled as she took a deep breath.

 

Feng Youdao smiled menacingly. “Zong Ce, I finally found you. You’re indeed here.”

 

“Who’s looking for whom? I was just getting ready, lacking your soul to sacrifice to my grand formation! Leave all your belongings behind. What you owe must be repaid—it’s time for you to pay up.” Zong Ce laughed mockingly.

 

White light illuminated a familiar magical formation. Complex patterns and cloud-shaped characters moved along the mountain range, and finally a beam of light shone from beneath Feng Youdao’s feet.

 

“The Hundred Ghosts Sacrifice Formation? You want to use my formation against me? Can you defeat me? Don’t forget who gave you that physical body.” Feng Youdao wasn’t afraid at all, only laughed. “But you’ve really worked hard these past two years. I should praise you. Leave your soul behind—you truly deserve to die.”

 

Zong Ce grabbed the shoulder strap and pulled, bringing the box to her chest. She pushed open the clasp and opened the box. Inside was an enormously sized brush. The brush handle flowed with light, while the surroundings were shrouded in white mist, giving off an endless sense of solemn majesty.

 

“Judge’s Brush… when did you get it? This is impossible!” Feng Youdao’s expression turned vicious as he gritted his teeth. “This should have been mine originally. Give it back to me!”

 

“Bullshit!” Zong Ce roared, “I want you to accompany him in death!”

 

She grabbed the brush handle with one hand. The cold yin energy from the brush spread up her arm, causing a tingling numbness.

 

Zong Ce couldn’t maintain her grip and nearly lost her soul. Feng Youdao seized the opportunity to throw out talismans, and the shadows of over a dozen fierce ghosts broke through the wind.

 

Zong Ce swept her hand horizontally. The white energy traced by the brush tip blocked the fierce ghosts in front of her, but the fierce ghosts still mindlessly struggled forward, their crimson eyelids opening wide with eyeballs nearly bursting out.

 

These were clearly century-old fierce ghosts that had become even more powerful after his refinement.

 

“Feng Youdao!” Zong Ce threw down the box, gripped the brush handle with both hands, and shouted, “Return his life to me!”