3 Chapter 3: When in Doubt, Scatter a Handful of Incense Burner Ash_1

Fan Wu, armed to the teeth, merely spoke of going to slay ghosts, but in reality… he was well aware of his own limitations.

He could no longer stay in Qiulong County; his swindling master had set him up for disaster... What if some powerful demon or devil emerged in the county one day?

Wouldn't he then be summoned by the magistrate to face off against the demon?

That would be suicide!

Although he had awakened the "Golden Finger," it didn't mean he was instantly invincible!

"Hiss, I see…" But, it was just a casual remark he made, and Head Arrestor Liu took it seriously! He even showed an expression of sudden realization as if he had understood something.

He looked up at Fan Wu, donning a Daoist robe and carrying a giant sword on his back.

And inexplicably, he felt a sense of reassurance.

The fear of ghosts within the arrest officer's heart was also substantially diminished at that moment.

He promptly said with a stern face, "Taoist Priest, please rest assured. I, Old Liu, along with these brothers from the Yamen, will definitely not hold you back!!"

The other constables nodded repeatedly, knowing that Fan Wu's master was the well-known "Heavenly Master" from Qiulong County.

That Heavenly Master was reputed to be unparalleled in exorcising ghosts and demons!

His cultivation was extremely profound!

As a disciple of the Heavenly Master, slaying ghosts must also be effortless for Daoist Priest Fan.

As for why Daoist Priest Fan's rituals over the past few days hadn't completely subdued that ghost?

It must have been Daoist Priest Fan wanting to give the evil ghost a chance.

What a pity.

The evil ghost didn't cherish it!

...

Fan Wu and the constables descended the mountain, and by the time they arrived in front of a household, it was already night. The constables clung close to Fan Wu with their lanterns, as if proximity could grant them a bit of safety.

The chilly wind that swept through at night was always unsettling, and the moonlight added a cold hue to everything around.

"Daoist Priest Fan, it is in this household, where someone was dragged into the water by some vile thing last night. That poor fellow is called Wang Laoda. He has a wife but no children. If someone hadn't quickly fished him out, he probably would've been gone," explained Head Arrestor Liu politely to Fan Wu.

Then, with a change to a more severe demeanor, he forcefully knocked on the door and shouted, "Wang Laoda! The Yamen is handling a case! Open up quickly! Wang Laoda! If you don't open up this instant, I'll break down the door!!"

The knocking grew louder and louder until hurried footsteps were finally heard from within.

The door opened, revealing a woman.

The woman also had attribute information hanging above her head, which Fan Wu glanced at and then ignored, as she was just an ordinary person.

Seeing so many constables, the woman hastened to greet them, "Turns out it's Head Arrestor Liu. This humble Wang's wife pays her respects to Head Arrestor Liu…"

Head Arrestor Liu waved his hand dismissively: "Cut the crap. Where's that Wang Laoda of yours?!"

The woman replied with worry, "He's lying in bed. Since last night… after he encountered that thing, he's become so thin, and he's too weak to stand. He keeps muttering those hair-raising words, but he won't stop even if you tell him."

"Head Arrestor Liu, do you think… could my husband have had his Yang energy sucked out by that vile thing?" she asked.

Head Arrestor Liu sneered, "Just a trivial ghost. Tonight, I've summoned Daoist Priest Fan! Step aside and let the priest inspect him. If you delay the priest from slaying ghosts, you'll regret it!"

A group of people entered the house.

The space where Wang Laoda and his wife lived was not large, and it was quite crowded with so many people inside.

Wang Laoda now lay on the bed, listless, his cheeks hollowed in, his lips a bit cyanotic, and his body shivering.

He looked extremely emaciated, as if he hadn't eaten for ten days and nights.

His eyes were lackluster, and he kept repeating a phrase incessantly…

"I saw it, it has set its sights on me."

"I saw it, it has set its sights on…"

"…"

His hoarse voice echoed in the cramped house, repeating those sentences over and over, sending chills down the spines of all the constables from the Yamen, who suddenly felt a reluctance to be involved in this messy affair.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily fell upon Fan Wu, clad in his Daoist robe.

In their eyes, the only professional on scene…

Was Daoist Priest Fan.

And Fan Wu was frowning at the lying Wang Laoda.

The man looked as though he had rewarded himself too many times in a single day, his face so pale it was frightening, as if he might drop dead in the next second.

[Wang Laoda — Life: 47 — Power: 0.2 — Skill: None]

A 0.2 Power attribute, like having the strength of a chicken; isn't that what they mean?

It seemed he really had encountered a ghost.

A normal adult man could only become this fragile, with his mouth full of delirious ramblings, if he had indeed confronted a ghost.

Goodness…

It seemed like troubles had truly arisen this time!

His cheap swindler of a master had never encountered such mysterious matters, so why was it so easy for him, Fan Wu, to stumble upon them?

"You," Fan Wu turned back to address Wang Laoda's wife, "fetch a bowl of warm water."

The woman knew about Fan Wu, after all, Fan Wu and his charlatan master were quite renowned in Qiulong County.

But the woman was unaware of some secrets.

She thought Fan Wu was truly a disciple of a highly attained master and was here to save her husband.

Upon Fan Wu's instruction, the woman immediately ran to bring a bowl of warm water.

Fan Wu took out a packet of yellow paper from the cloth bag at his waist.

He poured a bit of the incense burner ash from inside the yellow paper packet into that bowl of warm water, then said to the woman, "Help him sit up, then give him a drink of this."

Drinking a bit of incense burner ash wouldn't kill anyone, after all.

Wang Lao Er appeared to have not long to live, he was so weak now that it seemed perfectly normal if he were to suddenly kick the bucket the next day.

Fan Wu just wanted to test out the Taoist Temple's incense burner ash to see if it had any sort of miraculous effect.

After Wang Lao Er was forced to drink the ash water,

something bizarre happened.

His eyes bulged out like those of a dead fish and he began to cough violently.

It looked like...

he wished he could cough out his organs.

"It... cough cough cough cough!!!"

"It's watching... cough cough!"

"Cough cough cough!!"

"Vomit!!"

Wang Lao Er suddenly bent over and started to vomit, as if something was crawling out of his mouth.

Upon a closer look, it was wisps of hair tinged with blood!

The pungent stench of blood filled the room, and Wang Lao Er continued to vomit desperately. A clump of hair had already accumulated on the ground, sending shivers down one's spine.

If it weren't for Fan Wu keeping watch here...

those constables would have been scared off by this scene a long time ago!

After an indeterminate amount of time vomiting, Wang Lao Er finally stopped, gasping for breath like a spent force.

"Daoist Priest, he seems... his complexion is not so pale anymore," Head Arrestor Liu said, shocked as he glanced at Wang Lao Er. "And he's not spouting that strange gibberish anymore! But... But these hairs, how did he swallow them? How could he vomit out so much hair?!"

Fan Wu did not answer. How would he know why Wang Lao Er vomited hair?

He looked thoughtfully at the bag of incense burner ash in his hand.

So it turns out...

this stuff really does work!!

It looks like when the time comes to cash out, I should take all the incense burner ash from the Taoist Temple.

This substance may be of no use against humans.

But against demons and devils, could it be used like lime?

When in doubt...

just throw a handful of incense burner ash first?

"Thank you, Daoist Priest! Thank you for saving his life! Thank you for saving his life!" Wang Lao Er's wife was overjoyed.

Although her husband was still weak and thin.

At least he wasn't acting possessed anymore.

Fan Wu's thoughts were pulled back. He nodded slightly, looked at Wang Lao Er, and asked, "Can you remember what the ghost you saw last night looked like? Did it have any distinguishing features?"

Wang Lao Er was in a daze, instinctively answering, "I... I saw it had lots of hair, it's... it's a female ghost! Right! It's a female ghost! I'm not mistaken! It was a female ghost!"

Wang Lao Er exclaimed in alarm, "It was naked, with shackles on its feet! Its face... Its face, I feel like I've seen it before! But... I also seem to have forgotten."

"I..." Wang Lao Er's consciousness grew even more hazy, his tone of speech drifting, murmuring drowsily, "I, I seem to have forgotten everything else."

Seeing his state, Fan Wu knew it would probably be impossible to get more information out of him.

"Let's go," Fan Wu said and turned to leave.

Head Arrestor Liu was just about to follow when he quickly sensed that something was amiss.

Turning back, he discovered that his courthouse colleagues were hesitating, showing signs of fear.

Head Arrestor Liu felt a rush of frustration.

He lowered his voice and said through gritted teeth, "Aren't you going to follow quickly? With the Daoist Priest here, what are you afraid of? Whoever shows the best performance in front of the Daoist Priest might even receive a bit of fortune from him!"

"Remember the water that the Daoist Priest gave to Wang Lao Er to drink? I saw with my own eyes the Daoist Priest poured a bit of powder into the water, and then Wang Lao Er was fine, that must be an immortal elixir!"

"Such a marvelous item, if the Daoist Priest casually rewards you with some, you could even treat it as a family heirloom! If you sell it, getting a few hundred silver pieces is not a problem!"

"You bunch of cowards!"

"Aren't you going to follow quickly?!"

After Head Arrestor Liu's speech, the constables suddenly had an epiphany, their eyes practically shining with greed.

A few hundred silver pieces!

Family heirlooms!

That's right! The boss wasn't wrong; with Daoist Priest Fan around, there's nothing to be scared of!

Didn't they see that before the boss went to find Daoist Priest Fan, he was so frightened he dared not even utter the word "ghost." But after finding Daoist Priest Fan, the boss even dared to accompany the priest to exorcise ghosts.

The group of constables was greatly inspired, whether it was for the few hundred silver pieces or because they truly had the courage.

Late at night.

A convoy of people moved in a grand procession,

Traveling in groups.

...

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