SWDnovel Chapter 44: Dong Ran
Chapter 44: Dong Ran
The two played until mid-afternoon. Cao Xing and Bi Xia each ate two large bowls of noodles at a noodle shop before walking contentedly to the riverbank and finding a shady spot to sit down.
Bixia soaked her feet in the river, her chubby little feet unintentionally creating ripples in the water.
Cao Xing sat to the side, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.
No cigarettes, no cell phone, no money, ugh, what a miserable life.
After glancing at the setting sun, Cao Xing took out a wooden box from his bundle.
A yellow talisman was pasted on the wooden box.
The spirit-sealing talisman was purchased specifically to prevent the Yin energy on Jiang Yi and the others from leaking out and being noticed, and also to prevent them from inadvertently discovering their secrets.
The price of ten taels of silver made Cao Xing feel the pinch for quite a while, but fortunately, the talisman could be used five times, so it was still worth the money.
Cao Xing opened the wooden box and saw nine clay figures lying inside.
Perhaps they had a lot of fun that day, because the nine mud figures were rolling around inside and became somewhat deformed.
Fortunately, the impact was minimal. After releasing the clay figures, Cao Xing asked Bixia to help dig a hole.
"It's getting dark, you should hurry on your way. In your next life, you'll be lucky to be reborn into the Tang Dynasty in the East. Don't come back to this remote and impoverished place."
As Cao Xing was speaking, he buried the clay figures in the cave. Just as he was about to cover them with soil, a shadow emerged from one of the clay figures.
"Wait! Wait!"
Cao Xing frowned upon seeing this, looking at the dark figure emerging from the mud figure. He didn't remember the person's name, only that he was a fellow villager brought by Jiang Yi and the other two.
"What's wrong? Is there something you still have on your mind?"
"No, no, no, I...I...I want to go back." The shadowy figure hesitated for a moment before whispering to Cao Xing.
Cao Xing raised an eyebrow and instantly understood. This guy was probably sent in by those old ghosts to see if he really sent these people out of Shangfang Temple, instead of using them to cultivate some evil skill.
This idea is not surprising. Even an evil technique like the "Inspiration Yin-Yang Measure" has been deliberately preserved, so what is impossible?
"You want to go back?" Cao Xing asked, feigning surprise.
"Yes, Brother Cao, I... I don't want to be reincarnated in the underworld. Please let me go back," the man said softly, his head bowed.
Cao Xing's face immediately turned cold: "Do you know how much risk I took to bring you out? And now you're telling me you want to go back? Are you kidding me?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant, Brother Cao, I didn't mean it on purpose." Realizing that Cao Xing seemed to be angry, the man immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, "Brother Cao, I really don't want to enter the cycle of reincarnation, please take me back. I will never hesitate to do whatever you ask."
"You're lying!"
At this moment, Bixia suddenly interrupted the man, glaring at him fiercely, and said, "Break him up, let him lie."
As Bixia spoke, she prepared to use her spirit-absorbing technique to drain the man's soul.
The man was terrified upon hearing this and immediately kowtowed to Cao Xing, begging for mercy: "Brother Cao, Uncle Cao, I was wrong. I'm not human, I'm an animal. Those old ghosts made me do it. They saw that you were so easy to talk to and helped people out for free, so they suspected that you were secretly using ghosts to cultivate evil arts, so..."
Cao Xing glanced at Bixia, who nodded slightly.
Just as I expected.
"What's your name?" Cao Xing asked.
"Dong Ran, a Baoxiang man." Dong Ran lay on the ground, wishing he could bury his head in the soil, already prepared for the worst.
To everyone's surprise, Cao Xing stared at him for a while, then suddenly sighed, "Alas~~~ Infinite Heavenly Venerable, get up, I'll take you back."
"what?"
Upon hearing this, Dong Ran looked up in disbelief, wondering if he had misheard.
Cao Xing didn't explain, but simply picked up Dong Ran's clay figure and put it back in the box.
"You...you're not going to kill me?" Dong Ran's eyes widened in disbelief. Could there really be kind people in this world?
Cao Xing laughed: "You're already dead, why would I kill you? It's just that you gave up such a good opportunity, and that's what I really regret about you. I know those old ghosts must have threatened you, and you have something you can't say."
Dong Ran's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to say something.
But Cao Xing didn't give him a chance to explain, and only said, "If you have any difficulties after you go back, you can come to me."
With that, he waved his hand and grabbed, a wisp of true energy enveloped Dong Ran's clay figure, sending it along with his soul into the wooden box.
"Snapped!"
Put the wooden box lid back on and reseal it.
"Rest in peace, everyone. Take care." Cao Xing waved to the eight mud figures in the pit and then covered them with mud.
"Brother, Dong Ran is wicked; let's ruin things for him."
On the way back, Bixia still couldn't help but urge Cao Xing to kill Dong Ran.
Actually, this is all about the Golden Light Ring.
"He deserves to be annihilated, but not now. Destroying him now would be pointless; sending him back would be more meaningful."
Cao Xing explained to Bixia that Dong Ran's return was not only for those old ghosts to see, but also for the other wandering spirits.
There are hundreds or even thousands of corpses in the corpse pit. In all these days, Jiang Yi and his two companions have only managed to win over a dozen wandering souls, and even then, they are all just observing and unwilling to truly believe in themselves.
After all, Shangfang Temple is a place that devours people without spitting out their bones. If a kind person suddenly appears, anyone would be suspicious. Dong Ran's return will actually give more wandering souls hope.
Of course, if Cao Xing wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult to forcibly use the [Netherworld Enlightenment Technique] to directly enlighten all the corpses in the corpse-dissolving pit and forcibly control their souls.
However, doing so would cause too much of a commotion and prematurely expose one's abilities, as the experts in the Upper Temple are not to be underestimated.
Moreover, let's not even talk about the old ghosts in the Corpse Dissolving Cave. The key issues are Gu Su and the coffin that Song Fang mentioned to himself. These are all big troubles.
Before figuring out the details, revealing any of your methods will only bring you disaster.
Since that's the case, why not use Dong Ran's words to solidify the image of a good-natured person, and get more wandering souls in the corpse pit to stand on his side? Let's boil the frog in the warm water and take it slow.
After finding a safe place, Cao Xing re-blessed Bixia with a false form. When Cao Xing returned to the mountain gate, he received the blessings of Yin from Jiang Yi and eight others.
Eight portions of Yin virtue may not seem like much, but they are enough. If all of them are used to improve one's cultivation, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage will not be a problem.
However, Cao Xing plans to first cultivate all of the "Five Viscera and Six Brightness Classics", "Red Blood True Understanding Mysterious Skill" and "Inspiration Yin Yang Measurement" before making any further decisions.
Cao Xing was pondering which subject to study first.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he stared intently at Wu Peng, who was walking towards him.
"No, Brother Wu, why... why is the color fading?"