Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Third Brother watched the young man approach against the light. The faint sunlight seemed to be swallowed by him, leaving no trace of brightness in his pitch-black eyes. His footsteps were so light they almost gave a feeling of floating, as if he were not a person but a ghost.

Second Brother was the first to snap out of that strange fear, saying, "No need."

He continued, "Thank you for saving us earlier. We’re not injured, and nothing serious happened. Our car is down the mountain, so we can head down ourselves. No need to trouble you."

He spoke quickly and firmly, a stark contrast to his usual silent and reserved nature.

Old Fifth finally came back to his senses. He wanted to grab Third Brother’s hand for a sense of security but only managed to touch his pant leg. Regardless, he clung tightly to it, letting out an awkward, polite laugh. "Haha... no, that’s really not needed. We often go into the mountains; a fall is nothing. We know whether we’re fine or not, so no need to trouble yourself, really!"

Third Brother remained silent.

Chen Ji offered a polite smile, walking past them. His clothes fluttered, carrying with them an ancient, rustic scent. He picked up the divination blocks, glanced at them, and released his fingers.

"Snap!"

The divination blocks fell to the ground.

The three men instinctively looked down to see the result of the toss: one yin and one yang—a sacred cup!

They unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. A sacred cup... surely that couldn’t be a bad thing!

Second Brother moved quickly, pulling Old Fifth to his feet and helping Third Brother up. "Thank you, we’re leaving."

Without waiting for Chen Ji’s response, he pulled out two hundred yuan in cash from his pocket, tossed it into the offering box, and dragged the other two away.

Chen Ji watched their retreating figures and suddenly said, "Don’t you want to know what I asked?"

Their footsteps halted. Old Fifth looked back, lips parted slightly as if he wanted to ask.

Chen Ji smiled faintly and continued, "Go down the mountain now. Don’t linger in the mountains. That’s how you get the sacred cup."

Old Fifth was tugged again by Second Brother, stumbling out the door. The foreman had left work early today after hearing from Chen Ji that three men hunting in the mountains had fallen and gotten injured. He had packed up his tools and come to fetch Chen Ji to bring the men along, but to his surprise, he saw the three men moving quickly and called out strangely, "Hey? Don’t run! Come with us—! Hey?!"

His shout only made the three men quicken their pace, even veering right into the forest until they were out of sight. The foreman found it baffling. Turning around, he saw Chen Ji coming out and asked puzzledly, "Boss, didn’t you say you were taking them down the mountain?"

Chen Ji had even paid them compensation for the trouble!

"It’s fine. These ones left, but there are others." Chen Ji turned and shouted toward the courtyard, "Motorcycle ride down the mountain, forty yuan per person. Coming?!"

Inside, Zhao Ling and her classmates, who were chatting, shouted back eagerly, "Yes, yes, yes!!! Wait for us, driver—!"

Oh, goodness, this mountain was so high that it took over two hours just to climb up. Though the scenery was nice, they had spent time with Little Red and eaten, there wasn’t much else to do. They had already planned to head down, but the thought of another two-hour walk made their legs weak. Forty yuan was forty yuan—who goes out without spending money? It was worth it!

That said, if the place were renovated in the future, they’d be willing to stay a couple of days to refresh their spirits and soothe their souls, but for now, never mind!

Calculating, if they went down now, they could still catch a ride back to town, where at least there were hotels and restaurants!

The foreman cheerfully drove off with the college students. Second Master Huang, lying lazily on the eaves, asked languidly, "Aren’t you going to do anything about those three?"

Chen Ji remained expressionless. "No. I asked Fifth Grandpa to create a mist in the back mountains. They won’t get through."

As long as these college students were gone, Chen Ji didn’t much care if a few poachers died—they might not deserve death, but that wasn’t Chen Ji’s concern. The living world had laws and police, the underworld had the Book of Life and Death, and for those in between, there was the Mountain Lord. It had nothing to do with him, a helpless, ordinary mortal.

He didn’t know about other areas of Little Green Mountain, but in this part, there was a ghost every three steps and a monster every five. If they wandered around here recklessly, their chances of survival weren’t great.

Chen Ji’s phone rang. Before answering, he saw Black Impermanence not far away waving his own phone—it was him calling.

He saw Chen Ji looking at him but didn’t approach or speak, just waved the phone again.

That was a sign that he was urging Chen Ji to hurry.

Chen Ji saw that the person he had just added had already sent him an address and turned to Second Master Huang. "Second Grandpa, can you take me to Wujiang Village?"

"Sure." Second Master Huang leaped down from the eaves, transforming into a huge, 2.8-meter-tall version of himself upon landing. His long tail deftly coiled around Chen Ji, and they stepped into the ghost path.

A chilling Yin wind suddenly blew against them. Chen Ji closed his eyes. Having gotten used to it, he wasn’t as scared anymore. Occasionally, he spotted one or two red or white shadows in the darkness but didn’t panic—though he thought about suggesting if he could have something like an ancient carriage, with Second Master Huang or a Little ghostly spirit pulling it, so he could sit comfortably inside with the curtains drawn.

But Chen Ji knew well that some ideas were best left at the "thinking" stage.

In about fifteen minutes, Second Master Huang leaped out of the ghost path. The gloomy world suddenly became clear and bright, warm sunlight washing over Chen Ji, dispelling the Yin energy he had picked up in the ghost path.

Wujiang Village was a place with well-developed tourism. Like the contract discussed earlier with the Yun family, the village was full of small buildings converted into guesthouses, complete with milk tea and coffee shops. Street vendors sold local specialties along the roads.

Even from a distance, one could sense the lively, worldly air.

Second Master Huang reverted to his original form and jumped into Chen Ji’s backpack. Chen Ji followed the navigation to the address sent via WeChat, walking for about twenty minutes and declining several rickshaw offers along the way.

It was an old-fashioned, traditional inn, evident from the flowers planted all around the entrance that it wouldn’t be cheap. A woman around thirty years old stood at the door, looking around as if waiting for someone.

Probably her?

Chen Ji approached. The woman was taken aback upon seeing him, hesitating whether to greet him. Chen Ji showed her his WeChat interface. Her expression shifted from uncertainty to disbelief. She blurted out, "So you’re the Master!"

She had seen the video but didn’t expect this to be the one who could save her parents!

Chen Ji smiled. "It’s me... let’s talk inside."

The woman nodded repeatedly, handing him a business card that read "Asia-Pacific Regional General Manager" of some company, with a phone number below. She walked hurriedly but found time to say, "Hello, Mr. Chen. My surname is Jiao, Jiao Fengqing. I didn’t know it was you earlier. If I was rude in any way, please don’t take it to heart!"

Chen Ji nodded. He thought inwardly: Shouldn’t an Asia-Pacific regional manager of a multinational company make millions a minute? How did she have time to travel? And with her parents?

Outwardly, he remained calm and steady. "No need to rush with that. Let’s go take a look first."

Jiao Fengqing led Chen Ji to the second floor, swiping a card to enter a luxurious suite. As soon as Chen Ji stepped in, he felt an inexplicable emptiness, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. Jiao Fengqing led him further inside until they reached the bedroom, where Chen Ji saw a man and a woman—one lying down, one sitting.

Both had their eyes open, empty, staring blankly ahead, like puppets.

"When did this start? Before it happened, did they do anything unusual or see anything strange?" Chen Ji said directly. "Think carefully. Even ordinary things count, like kicking over a rice bowl on the street."

"It started last night. They were fine before. I went to rest after we got back from sightseeing yesterday, and when I woke up, my parents were like this!" Jiao Fengqing recalled carefully. "We arrived yesterday morning, ate noodles at a place downstairs—many tourists eat there, so we gave it a try. Then we wandered around the ancient town. Didn’t meet anyone special, ate a lot of things, all from chain stores!"

Since they were chain stores, the chance of encountering something supernatural was low—chain stores care about reputation, and their ingredients are reviewed. While not guaranteed to be clean, it’s generally reliable, unlike street vendors who might not show up the next day, making it hard to track issues.

Jiao Fengqing continued, "Didn’t buy much either, mostly some snacks. Also bought two headscarves on the way... the cloth is right here!"

She went to the table and brought over the two pieces of floral cloth. Chen Ji examined them. "Not this."

If it wasn’t due to offending something, then it must be another reason—Black and White Impermanence had sent him, meaning these two people should be within his ability to save. Moreover, since they asked him to help, it likely meant these two weren’t supposed to die yet, but due to their official duties, they had to follow procedures.

Their souls had strayed.

Ordinary people’s souls don’t just wander off, especially when the body is still alive. Usually, it’s due to being frightened out of their wits or maliciously taken by something.

A simple matter... just needed to summon their souls back.

Chen Ji instructed, "Go downstairs and buy a bowl, some rice, and a pair of chopsticks from the shopkeeper. Make sure to pay for them—don’t accept them for free."

Jiao Fengqing nodded repeatedly and hurried downstairs. Second Master Huang poked his head out of the basket, glanced around, and remarked with some puzzlement, "How strange—this couple’s souls are missing… but there’s no unusual scent in the room."

If something supernatural had been here, Second Master Huang would have detected it.

"I find it strange too," Chen Ji said as he pulled a book from his basket and flipped through it. Second Master Huang leaned in for a closer look and recognized it—it was the personal notes of Chen Ji’s grandfather, an old acquaintance.

Second Master Huang asked, "What are you reading that for?"

Chen Ji replied calmly and steadily, "Last-minute studying."

Second Master Huang: "......Huh?"

"I’ve never tried this before. Second Master Huang was exceptionally gifted and could learn anything instantly. I’m not as clever as him, so I have to rely on the book," Chen Ji explained with a smile, gently patting Second Master Huang’s head. Second Master Huang lifted his head proudly and snorted, "Hmph, you can’t even manage this? How useless!"

He declared arrogantly, "Fine, fine, I don’t want to see you embarrass yourself. Give it a try first! If you really can’t do it, Second Master Huang will step in and retrieve their souls for you! It’ll definitely work!"

"Thank you, Second Master Huang," Chen Ji said, tapping the tip of Second Master Huang’s coffee-colored nose lightly with his finger and giving it a gentle rub.