What they are asked to do is actually very simple. The four of them entered the house. Master Lintian sat down at the table and wrote down a few talismans with yellow paper and cinnabar. He asked Xie Zhe to draw the same talisman and then follow the same pattern. The more the better, so that it could be used from house to house. Post it. Jiao Mo took away the talismans in batches and posted them on the doors of each house. Han Shang was also not idle and helped write some notices, beating and typing them, exaggerating the power of the talismans in removing evil and intimidating the townspeople. Tearing off the charm will bring disaster, causing evil spirits to come back and intensify. It doesn’t matter whether they listen or not, he said it anyway. But even this level is enough. These stupid people are like pieces of blank paper, they follow the wind and rain. Now that they are all hiding at home, unable to be led around by this idiot, they should be able to calm down and think about everything that happened today.
These tedious tasks cost them a lot of time. The town said it was too big or too small, so Xie Zhe wrote faster than his companions posted the charms, and finally went out to help. When they returned to the small courtyard, they found that Master Lintian had disappeared. Han Sheng told them not to panic, the Heavenly Master was not far away. He sniffed the remaining scent in the air and took the other two people to find the Heavenly Master. His aura was already very thin, not because he left early, but because as a cultivator, he has a pure heart and few desires, and cannot leave multiple auras. Presumably he can still follow the clues, which is what Master Lintian hopes.
They came to the open space where the family who had been killed last night had been housed. This is the relatively central location of the place. Maybe Master Lintian chose this place deliberately. The clearing has changed. Master Lintian was still holding the strange sword in his hand, and in the other hand was the kitchen knife that Han Chang had found and thrown into the corner last night, piled together with the farmer's hatchets. With the two murderous weapons as the center, a simple formation was painted on the ground. Xie Zhe could see that common materials such as cinnabar and ink lines were used, but he could not see any more secrets.
They didn't dare to act rashly and stood aside silently watching. Master Lintian didn't mind and didn't have any more conversations with them. His long hair has fallen down, and the black and white are intertwined, like the flow of yin and yang. Combined with his solemn movements, he brings Taoist majesty. He stepped on Yubu and stepped on Bu Gang, surrounding the two blood-stained knives, and danced the sword gently in the formation.
At the beginning, the speed and amplitude of his sword dance were very slow, as gentle as blowing away wind or water, and as if he was using the sword as a pen to draw mysterious incantations in the air. His movements were constantly changing, and at some point, they became violent. Every time he turned around and struck back, he was decisive and sharp, as if he was suppressing an invisible evil.
Xie Zhe and the others couldn't help but hold their breath and concentrate, their hearts pounding with inexplicable power, as if they were nervous about some invisible confrontation. Finally, Master Lintian paused, turned his sword sharply, and pointed directly at the two murderous weapons in the formation. Suddenly, the two metal objects spontaneously ignited out of thin air, bursting into red flames.
In the flames, the kitchen knives and hatchets burned into a strange blue color. They are like the solid ice when spring comes, melting slowly but irresistibly, turning into blue flames in the fire little by little. Lintian Master looked at it for a while, held a sword flower in his arms, put away his sword, and turned around and said:
"This fire can burn on its own. Even if it rains, it will not go out. As long as every household throws in the murder weapons that have killed people and burns them all, the town will be safe."
"Then we still have to knock on the door one by one and ask them to hand over something?" Han Chang muttered.
"Ah, I personally don't want to waste such time and energy." Master Lintian smiled, "Write a notice and post it nearby. They know that there is a way to get rid of evil spirits, even if they just lose some already ominous equipment, You should be able to do it.”
The implication is that if they don't do it, they might as well fend for themselves. But is Master Lintian really so hard-hearted? Probably not. It is precisely because he has already penetrated people's hearts and understands human nature that he dared to make this decision.
Han Chang did as he was told and ran into the house to look for paper and pen. Xie Zhe looked at the formation on the ground and rubbed his nose:
"Although I have studied Taoism for many years... But this formation, let alone knowing how to perform it, after watching you demonstrate it once, I still have a lot of things that I don't understand. These are the most basic materials. If given to I, there must be no way. It’s not that I haven’t thought of some more powerful things, but each one is a waste of materials, and you solved everything so easily.”
After that, he was silent for a while, but it was clear that he still had something to say. Master Lintian didn't rush him, he just waited quietly for him to finish.
"... Come to think of it, this is the gap between you and me, right? I thought I was still far behind, but I don't know if it's too far away... This is something that is really hard to make up for in a while."
Master Lintian chuckled a few times and said sincerely:
"You, don't belittle yourself. I have accumulated many years of experience before I have the means I have today. If you think about it carefully, I have seen the spring and autumn come and go in the world hundreds of times. If you want to compare with me in terms of knowledge, that is indeed You don’t overestimate your abilities. But walking around the world, practicing immortal magic, exorcising disasters and eradicating evil, everything should not be determined by age, but by whether you have such a heart. All good and evil are determined by people’s The original intention is determined. By now, I have clearly understood that although you did not hold back and spoke harshly to them, it was because you had good intentions in your heart. You have very good qualifications. As the saying goes, there is no end to learning, even I have not learned a lot in this world. Young people should not be afraid of things that they understand."
His words made Xie Zhe feel much relieved and even a little moved. As expected of Master Lintian... The other two people also felt that they had benefited a lot from what they said. Although just like those formation materials that can be seen everywhere, these words that should be known to everyone are different from someone with such profound experience. Some sentences, uttered by a child learning to speak, are just a joke. But it has more weight if it is told by an elder who has personally experienced the vicissitudes of the past century. This means that even after a long time of washing and polishing, the truth still stands and shines brightly.
"Now that this matter is over, let's find a place to talk about what you wanted to say to me before."
Whether it was arguing with the townspeople, going around the streets to post spells and notices, or Lintian Master's rituals to exorcise evil spirits, it all consumed too much time. After a busy meal, it was actually time for the sun to set. They distributed the dry food in a careless manner, packed their luggage, and collected the bodies of the deceased. After Master Lintian burned the kitchen knife, the little girl in the room also regained her composure. Han Chang raised his head and took a look, unable to connect the skinny child sleeping peacefully on the bed with the little lunatic last night.
Xie Zhe and Jiao Mo walked to his side and looked at the sleeping figure of the child. She has no relatives and has experienced such a change. What will happen in the future? Can it survive and grow normally? They don't have answers. Leaving such a child behind, facing such a cruel reality, and facing such unreasonable villagers...
"Will they still hurt her?" Jiao Mo was a little worried, "Should we take her, at least find a place where no one knows her."
"The world is dangerous and people are unpredictable. Such a helpless little girl will be humiliated. When the time comes, it will be the consequences of your decision, but you will not be able to witness it with your own eyes." Master Lintian said to her, "Staying here is actually the best choice. After the villagers confirmed that she was completely back to normal, they could settle down and do as we said. However, this takes time. But it doesn't matter, she also needs to face reality. time."
They have done enough and can only do so much.
"Let's go."
Finally, Xie Zhe spoke up to break the heavy silence. They turned around and left the dark, dilapidated hut. The sky was filled with rays of light outside the house, and Master Lintian was at the entrance of the courtyard, staring at the dancing firelight in the distance. Seeing them coming out, he straightened his clothes and took steps.
The four of them walked together on the road out of the town. Regardless of whether there is anyone in the town who is willing to provide them with accommodation, even they themselves feel a slight resistance and disgust towards these people, and do not want to have any more contact with them. What's more, although the matter they are going to talk to Master Lintian is not a top secret that must never be known to anyone, it is not suitable to be casually discussed with ears on the wall.
As they walked, no one spoke. Rather than saying it was an awkward silence, it was more like a wordless tacit understanding and like-minded contemplation about everything they had witnessed and experienced today, as well as the more suffering or doubts they had seen.
As the sun sets in the west, the surrounding houses become lower and sparse, and the shadows of trees appear in the field of vision. The stone slabs under their feet gradually turned into a solid dirt road, which then bordered on the grass. By the time the grass at their feet swept up to their ankles, the four of them had already arrived in the wilderness.
They found a relatively flat ground, placed their luggage and bedding, and everyone sat around loosely. The surrounding area is sparsely grown with thin trees, which can barely provide shelter from the wind and rain, but it is therefore unlikely to be able to shelter large beasts. Looking through the gaps in the trees, one can see the town not far away, with scattered lights on in the darkening sky. The quiet scene was very different from the noisy farce during the day, as if the disaster had really been driven away, and thus the town had regained tranquility.
In the warm candlelight, a faint blue light occasionally flickered. Come to think of it, the townspeople saw the notice and were looking for the murder weapons in groups of twos and threes, throwing them into the flames left by Lintian Master to burn these ominous remnants. Han Chang took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, and asked as calmly as possible:
"Master Lintian, you said before that the disaster that happened here was due to the evil angel. Feng... killed the evil angel. Is that child nearby? What can we do and what should we be careful about?"
"To be precise, he has left here. We will not encounter him head-on here." Master Lintian explained, "It's just a pity that he has been here for a long time, and the impact he left behind is particularly profound. .”
"This is the most terrifying thing about evil angels." He added with a sigh, "If the ten evils are allowed to develop and grow in the world, not only will they themselves do evil, but they will also contaminate others with the evil thoughts they represent. Even, they No matter how you wish, you cannot control such an influence. In the long run, everyone will become a scourge for the world, and the world will naturally no longer be peaceful."
Han Zhang and Xie Zhe both nodded silently. When Lord Uoyue described the dangers of the Ten Evils to them, they thought they were serious enough and did not underestimate these potential disasters. However, now that they have personally experienced it, they have a deeper understanding of the disaster described by Utsuki-kun. The pale written language has now turned into a bloody real memory, stabbing hard in their hearts. While they felt horrified, chilled, and heartbroken by it, their desire to curb the evil became even stronger.
"So, are you here to help deal with the evil messenger?" Xie Zhe asked, "Mu Yuejun was originally in charge of this matter, but now he is ill..."
"I do know about this matter. However, I am not focused on the ten evil things." Master Lintian said frankly, "The reason why I came here is actually to track down the living corpses."
Hanshang thought for a moment:
"I have almost never heard of news about living corpses recently. Could this be due to your intervention? Is it because of what you did that they have disappeared recently?"
