(Extra Story) Master Uncle 06

“He thought I was bad luck, wrapped my bones up carelessly, and threw me into a well. He even said that even in death he wouldn’t let me reunite with my husband—he buried my husband’s remains in the latrine, so he could never rise again!”

Then came the next vengeful spirit’s confession.

There were maidservants, concubines, servant girls, and even a traveling songstress who had passed through. Their deaths were all different, but they all harbored an undying hatred for that Prefect.

And that Prefect’s perversion had caused this very disaster. He had sought to possess every one of these women, going so far as to bury their bones within the compound itself. Over time, the place became a ground of extreme yin, and the vengeful spirits manifested one by one.

But when the Prefect sensed the danger, he fled in the night.

Outside the gate, Wang Qianyue listened silently, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as he gripped his peach-wood sword.

“That bastard! Not only did he kill all these people, he wouldn’t even pay me!”

Little Mouse looked at him and shook his head. This one’s lost his mind too, still thinking about money.

“I’ve got an idea... What if we lure him back here? Would that give you your chance for revenge?” Wang Qianyue suddenly asked.

Inside the house, there was a long silence. Finally, a ghost answered: “Yes.”

“Then, if it meant sacrificing others, would you be willing?”

This time, the silence stretched even longer.

“Taoist, what do you plan to do?”

“Simple. I’ll capture you all, perform an exorcism and liberation right in front of him, let him watch with his own eyes—and make sure one or two of you conveniently slip away. How about that?”

“Taoist, if you’re lying to us, we’ll truly be finished.”

Little Mouse raised an eyebrow, but Wang Qianyue suddenly lifted his hand to cut off whatever he was about to say. Wang Qianyue pulled the small peach-wood sword from his hair bun, then spread his arms wide: “My life is right here. All you have to do is open the door and take it. If you don’t trust me, kill me now.”

He paused.

“But my apprentice here knows nothing. Don’t hurt him.”

Little Mouse nodded silently. If it weren’t for the fact that Wang Qianyue’s legs were trembling, he might have actually admired this fraud.

In truth, Wang Qianyue was clever. He knew that if they failed to capture the ghosts, by dawn, whatever awaited them probably wouldn’t be pleasant.

Did he really expect that pervert to let them go?

With the crow of a rooster, the officials who had been curious all night eagerly pushed open the gate.

But the moment it opened, they were startled.

Wang Qianyue stood at the door with dark circles under his eyes. Seeing them, he instinctively puffed out his chest.

“Notify your master. The job is done.”

The job was done. The ghosts were all captured—thirteen in total, which matched the exact number of women the Prefect had killed.

The Prefect believed it.

Especially when he heard that when night fell again, the Taoist would perform rites in the old compound to destroy the female spirits. The Prefect felt a stir of excitement.

He had to be there.

For no other reason than to personally confirm that all those ghosts would be slain by the Taoist.

After it was over, he would simply order the Taoist and the little acolyte killed.

So when the Taoist demanded his payment, the Prefect agreed readily enough. After all, he’d get the money back by nightfall.

Not to mention the hundred taels from the rain-summoning job.

When night fell again, a few officials and the Prefect’s trusted men first entered the compound cautiously to scout it out. Finding nothing unusual—just the ritual altar the Taoist had set up—they relaxed.

More than a dozen officials and over a dozen servants escorted the Prefect inside.

He couldn’t wait to see those female ghosts.

He wanted to tell them that even as ghosts, they still couldn’t beat him.

The way to make ghosts visible was simple: just apply ox gall. The Prefect eagerly took the ox gall handed to him by the Taoist and smeared it on his eyelids.

When he opened his eyes again, he flinched. More than a dozen pairs of hate-filled eyes stared straight at him.

But he laughed out loud: “Hahaha! You think you can fight me? Pah! Filthy commoners! All of you are filthy commoners!”

He turned to Wang Qianyue: “Master Taoist, let’s begin.”

Wang Qianyue nodded, made a show of pulling out his peach-wood sword, waved it around a few times without any real form, then put it down.

Everyone stared at him, confused.

Wang Qianyue scratched his head: “Truth be told, I don’t know how to kill ghosts. Can’t even catch them, honestly...”

The Prefect’s pupils suddenly constricted.

Behind him, the vermilion gate slammed shut.

“You bastard! You fake Taoist, you dare deceive me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll have your entire family executed?”

Wang Qianyue pointed at the Prefect’s round face: “You’re the bastard! Why didn’t you pay me in advance?”

“Guards! Kill them!”

But thick fog began to rise in the courtyard, and all those lackeys panicked.

Suddenly, someone went mad, screaming nonsense as he drew his blade and hacked at his own colleague. Another clawed frantically at his hair, tearing off chunks of scalp along with it.

Wang Qianyue backed up several steps, one hand guarding the money pouch at his side, the other covering Little Mouse’s eyes.

“Truly horrifying.”

But he also knew that none of the twenty-odd people in that courtyard were innocent.

The Prefect’s screams lasted nearly an hour. Those ghosts tore his body apart and devoured him.

The killings in Jincheng startled the imperial court. The Prefect and his officials had all been murdered, their deaths gruesome. The capital sent investigators, and the final conclusion was that demons were responsible. A Protector under the Imperial Preceptor’s command came forth and liberated the evil spirits.

But word had it that on that day, a Taoist with his young acolyte had also been there. Yet after asking around, no one recognized this Taoist.

Every Taoist these days was registered by name, but no matter how they searched the records, they couldn’t find this miracle rain-summoner anywhere.

The Protector frowned all the way back to the capital.

Compared to the death of one Prefect, this was far more serious. Since the chaos of that uprising, the court had kept a firm grip on all practitioners. If someone managed to cultivate beyond the court’s control, it would eventually cause disaster.

They decided to ask the Imperial Preceptor to divine the Taoist’s whereabouts.

But in the end, even the Imperial Preceptor could not calculate anything about this man’s origins. All they had was an abstract sketch, pieced together from the descriptions of Jincheng’s residents—and it looked nothing like a real person.

The two men they were searching for, at that very moment, were out enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately, their good fortune didn’t last long. First, Wang Qianyue drank too much and lost the money. Then, he got caught by officials while setting up a fortune-telling stall and was forced to pay taxes. Wang Qianyue was flat broke again overnight.

“You really have no luck with money,” Little Mouse said helplessly.

Wang Qianyue was full of bitterness.

“Say, does that book have anything about the Five Ghosts Wealth-Invoking Method?”

Little Mouse shook his head emphatically.

Wang Qianyue let out a long sigh.

“Heaven is against me. I finally figured out how to use that book, and now these master and disciple are going to starve to death here?”

“Master Taoist, could you please help us catch a demon?” An old man, stooped and frail, walked up to them.