Starting with the drowned ghost, he synthesized the Myobo no Shinjun.

004 Take you to the Zhang family

In the sweltering heat of June, storms come and go quickly.

When Ning Kui quietly stepped ashore from a secluded spot, the drizzle had just cleared.

The dispersed crowd raised their oil-paper umbrellas again and returned to the banks of the Youying River, waiting for Li Dalang and the others to retrieve the body from the river.

"Tsk, it's been almost two incense sticks' worth of time, I wonder how far Li Dalang and the others have searched?"

"Who knows? He might already be dead."

"Pah, pah, pah! Master Wang's life is already miserable enough, and you still have the audacity to jinx him?"

The crowd continued to buzz and swarm like flies. Wang, soaking wet, looked sorrowful, his face deeply lined with wrinkles filled with grief.

He had a daughter late in life, and even his first wife died in childbirth because of it. He always regarded his daughter as the apple of his eye.

I never imagined that God would make him, an old man, bury his young son. How cruel!

Ning Kui walked silently from afar, carrying a broken jar.

If you look closely, you will find that the body of the jar is covered with cracks, but the inside is strangely filled with water.

Six white-spotted ghost fish swam around inside, looking adorable and charming.

He discreetly slipped back home from around the corner, trying not to attract anyone's attention.

Ning Kui's house was a low-ceilinged house with a thatched roof. Apart from the main room, which combined the functions of the dining room and living room, there was only one side room.

When he was little, his mother always held him while he slept.

When they reached the age when boys and girls were no longer considered separate, Ning Kui let his concubine sleep in the bed, while he moved to the main room.

In summer, they slept on the floor, and in winter, they huddled in the firewood pile next to the stove. It was warm in winter and cool in summer, and they were quite content with it.

There was a large water vat in front of the thatched hut, where people fetched their daily water.

Ning Kui first released the six white-spotted ghost fish into the house, conveying his command through his mind that they should guard the house and not attack living people at will, before returning to the house.

"My lady, I'm back."

He first gave an announcement as was his custom, and then pushed open the door.

Zhao Wanyu, the young lady, lay quietly on the bed, her head wrapped in gauze stained with brown blood, just as she had before she left.

Her long, black hair was draped over a soft pillow made of sorghum seeds, fine beads of sweat appeared at her temples, her eyes were closed, and her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if she were enduring some kind of pain.

Her nostrils twitched slightly, her breathing was weak but still relatively steady, and her lips, which were slightly pursed together, were no longer rosy, but pale and cracked, clearly due to dehydration.

Upon closer inspection, her beauty was in no way inferior to that of the renowned beauties in the county town. In order to avoid being targeted by thieves, she had to deliberately make herself look less attractive when going out on business.

Over the past ten years or so, if it weren't for Ning Kui dragging her down, she should have been living a life of luxury.

"Young lady, you've suffered so much."

Ning Kui felt a lump in his throat. If it weren't for Aunt Zhang's kind tip, he couldn't imagine what kind of humiliation his stepmother would have suffered.

He sat on the edge of the bed, helped his wife up, and then drew water from the kettle to form a thin stream of water, which he used to moisten her lips and throat.

While feeding her water, Ning Kui made up his mind that from now on, he would never let his little mother suffer any more grievances!

"A water ghost is killing people!!!"

"Run! Run!"

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream rang out, throwing the crowd on the banks of the Shadow River into complete chaos.

Just moments before, Li Dalang's head was pushed back into the densely populated waters by several large black fish fighting over food.

At first, people thought the fish were fighting over the lotus pods.

Only when they got closer did they realize it was the head of Li Dalang, who died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

The crowd scattered in a panic.

Ning Kui raised his head; it was time for him to make his appearance.

He gently put the young woman down first, then turned and headed against the flow of people toward the banks of the Shadow River.

By the time they reached the riverbank, the crowd had dispersed, leaving only Master Wang lying dejectedly on the ground, beating his chest and stamping his feet in despair.

Seeing Li Dalang's death must have reminded him of his daughter's tragic end.

"Master Wang, are you still hiring people to go down to the river?"

Master Wang stopped crying and raised his swollen eyes. He saw Ning Kui with his upper body naked, his strong muscles clearly defined.

A sharp, youthful spirit emanates from him.

He quickly wiped away his tears and stood up. After a moment's pause, he was about to kneel down before Ning Kui, but Ning Kui helped him up: "Master Wang, is the previous reward still valid?"

"It'll do! It'll do! Five... no, six hundred taels of silver! As long as this hero is willing to find my daughter's body, I'm willing to pay any price!!"

Master Wang was in tears; the series of blows had brought the old man to the brink of collapse.

He didn't do anything particularly heinous in his life, and lived a simple, contented life.

Why must we suffer such divine retribution in the end!

Ning Kui shook his head and held up two fingers: "Two hundred taels is enough."

Firstly, five hundred taels was definitely beyond what Master Wang could afford. If it were a rogue like Li Dalang, he could easily force Master Wang to sell everything he owned to raise the money.

But Ning Kui couldn't bring himself to do such a heinous thing. He had already suffered from melanoma in his previous life and didn't want to suffer retribution again in this one.

Secondly, his feelings about Master Wang's tragic fate were already very complicated.

There's a direct feeling that Master Wang is taking this calamity upon himself.

He wouldn't be so saintly as to feel guilty or blame himself, but he would feel more compassion than usual.

With the supernatural power of "water control," Ning Kui could walk on the river as if it were flat ground, even more so than on the ground.

However, he still asked Master Wang to prepare various tools for retrieving the corpse, mainly including a willow boat, hemp rope soaked in black dog blood, and pig bladders for ventilation, etc.

The consequences of Li Dalang and his ilk's reckless bravery were already upon them, and he didn't want to act too outrageously.

Once everything was ready, Ning Kui rowed his boat to the center of the Shadow River.

Under the sunlight, the birthmark on the statue of a deity who had devoured a drowned ghost appeared even more extraordinary.

At this time, a number of daring idlers who came specifically to see the dead heads began to gather along the banks of the Shadow River.

Upon seeing the birthmark on Ning Kui's back, I thought it was the work of some master.

"Wow! The embroidery on Kui-ge's back is so lifelike! I wonder which master craftsman did it?"

"What do you know? The most important thing in tattooing is the skill in tattooing the face. The guy behind Kui Ge'er doesn't even have a face. I bet he just randomly picked an apprentice off the street to do it!"

Suddenly, someone had a brilliant idea and suggested, "Hey, from now on, let's call Brother Kui 'The Formless Ghost,' what do you think?"

"That formless ghost, I hope it doesn't drown later!"

Ning Kui paid no attention to the gossip of the idle men on the shore. He tied the hemp rope around his waist, looked at the murky water of Youying River, bent his knees and leaped up.

"Thump!"

Once submerged in water again, the initial nausea and stickiness were gone.

Under Ning Kui's will, the filth in the river was driven away more than ten feet away, leaving a stream of clear water to envelop his body, making him feel refreshed and comfortable.

The teardrop-shaped mass of clear water cleaved through the river, carrying Ning Kui forward on its own. If he weren't afraid of arousing suspicion, he wouldn't even need to fake surfacing for air midway.

Before long, he returned to Miss Wang's side.

Perhaps because it was possessed by a drowned ghost, the chilling aura emanating from it deters ordinary fish from approaching.

She still retains her beauty from when she was alive, and looks incredibly lifelike.

Looking at her beautiful face, Ning Kui couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity."

After devouring the drowned ghost, he was able to briefly view the drowned ghost's memories.

The reason for Miss Wang's death was that her clothes resembled those of the unfaithful courtesan whom the drowned ghost had been infatuated with in her previous life. This caused the drowned ghost's resentment to erupt, pulling her into the water and drowning her.

Now, all he can do is bring the girl's body home intact.

"Miss Wang, I'll take you home..."

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn has quietly passed, and the idle men on the shore have begun their sarcastic remarks again.

"Hey, you're really risking your life for money. Do you think drowned ghosts are so easy to deal with?"

"I think he's been bewitched by the ghost of the drowned. Let's be careful. Oh, and if I yell that I want to go into the river later, you'd better tie me up!"

As the group was chatting, a huge splash suddenly erupted from the water, and glistening water droplets shot into the sky like a fountain.

As everyone stared in astonishment, they saw Ning Kui emerge from the water, soaking wet, carrying a lifelike corpse of a young girl in his arms.

Ning Kui's cheerful voice rang out immediately: "Master Wang, I've got the man. Where's the money you promised?"

"My daughter!!"

Master Wang scrambled to the riverbank, grasped Miss Wang's icy hand, and burst into tears.

------

After an incense stick had burned, Ning Kui followed Master Wang to his house to collect the silver.

As soon as he entered, he saw a beautiful woman eating snacks in the courtyard, cracking melon seeds while cursing at Master Wang.

"My lord, are you perhaps getting senile?"

I heard you're going to offer two hundred taels of silver to reward this corpse retriever? Does he think the Wang family is some kind of sucker?

"Ten taels of silver, I've already prepared it. Take it or leave it!"

When Master Wang was reprimanded in front of outsiders, his face turned ashen.

This concubine has been with the family for three years, and she has become increasingly unruly and outrageous.

But he had already lost his daughter and would need her for company in the future, so he couldn't say anything harsh: "Whatever number I set, that's the number. You're just a woman, don't concern yourself with this."

The beautiful woman wanted to say something more, but Ning Kui interrupted her.

"You slut, aren't you Yu Hong, the former top courtesan of Chunfeng Pavilion? I recognize you, you're only a couple of times a night!"

When her shameful past was exposed, the beautiful woman's face instantly turned extremely ugly. Just as she was about to go crazy and throw a tantrum, Ning Kui's loud shout made her tremble with fear.

"You wretch! Do you recognize Liu the scholar who was swindled out of his entire fortune by you three years ago and jumped into the Shadow River to his death!"

"Liu Shusheng? You... what nonsense are you spouting?!" Master Wang's heart pounded wildly, and a very bad premonition rose within him.

Back then, he and Liu Shusheng competed for Yu Hongfang's heart, spending a considerable amount of money.

He's dead?

Or did he drown in the Shadow River?

Ning Kui continued to curse: "You vicious woman! I wonder how Miss Wang could have been mistaken for a drowning ghost and dragged into the Shadow River to drown."

So it turns out that the clothes she was wearing were given to her by you!

If I'm not mistaken, Miss Wang's trip to the vicinity of the Shadow River was also at your instigation, wasn't it?

Upon hearing this, even the foolish Master Wang understood everything.

He also mentioned that his concubine had recently changed her temperament and her relationship with his daughter had improved considerably. She was sending him clothes and they were even going to the vicinity of Youying River to buy some rouge that he had never heard of before.

turn out to be.......

Moreover, this bitch killed her own daughter first, so won't she be next?

"I'll beat you to death, you bitch!!!"

Ning Kui couldn't be bothered to watch the farce unfolding at the Wang family's place.

He only pitied Miss Wang, who was killed because her father was lustful and brought trouble upon himself.

After receiving the silver, he went straight to the clinic.

The world is vast, but nothing is more important than curing my mother's illness!