"Brother Wang, let it go."
"Perhaps they really have urgent matters; letās head back."
Persuaded by others nearby, the merchant left in a huff with his group, riding towards Guizhou City.
"It does seem quite odd indeed."
After the group left, Daoist Feng stroked his beard and said, "Iām not close with the abbot of the temple, but Iāve heard that the person is extremely greedy. He wouldnāt turn away money that comes to his doorstep."
Looking at the temple in the rain, Li Yan pondered, "No rush, let me take a look first."
Having said that, he performed Step Gang, pinched a spell with his hand, and lightly flicked his little finger.
Swoosh!
A cold wind arose, and a white paper effigy suddenly flew out from a pouch at his waist, gliding towards the temple along the ground.
This "Grass Spirit Technique of the Northern Emperor" had a convenient aspect, which was that many effigies were prepared in advance, so there was no need for spells during the execution, saving time.
Using paper effigies in the rain was a big taboo.
After all, once the talisman paper was wet, it would become useless.
Fortunately, they werenāt far from the temple, and the effigy moved quickly. Sheltered by the surrounding trees, it became slightly wet but managed to enter the temple, still barely functional.
Li Yan pinched a spell with closed eyes.
Through the Grass Spirit Technique, he saw everything inside the temple.
He saw that the temple gates were tightly shut, with two monks carrying knives standing behind them, hiding from the rain and cursing:
"Damn it, fools who donāt appreciate kindness."
"I say, we should have let them in and finished them off."
"Forget it, letās not mess up the main task."
Something was indeed wrong with this temple!
Li Yan felt a chill in his heart and continued to control the Grass Spirit Technique to move forward.
The temple had ancient flying eaves and brackets, with a structure of stacked wooden tenons, exquisite but with many crevices.
The Grass Spirit Technique moved through them quite stealthily.
Li Yan controlled the paper effigy to enter one of the side halls and was taken aback to see that the floor was strewn with bodies, all dressed in yellow monk robes, clearly the temple monks.
The heads of all the monks had been chopped off, and their abdomens were bloody, with their livers removed.
Pondering, Li Yan continued to search with the Grass Spirit Technique.
All the bodies were concentrated in this side hall, with the doors and windows tightly locked and the other halls completely empty.
Where did the people go?
Just as Li Yan was puzzled, he saw a man covered in mud climb out of a well next to the backyard garden, throwing his iron hoe onto the ground forcefully.
"Damn, this is really tough to dig!"
He cursed, then ran to the front yard, shouting, "Hurry, the brothers are hungry, get us something to eat."
"The gang leader said we must dig it out today!"
Having said that, he turned and went back down the well.
The two fake monks ran into the kitchen to busy themselves.
Puff~
Suddenly, the paper effigy caught fire and turned to ashes.
In the woods, Li Yan suddenly opened his eyes and recounted what he had seen.
"Hisss!"
Daoist Fengās eyes were full of astonishment and uncertainty, "Thereās a legend in Guizhou City, behind Gratitude Light Temple lies an ancient burial ground of Chu, but for many years no one has found it. Could it be that these demons have found it?"
Li Yan spoke in a grave voice, "Whatever it is, these people are surely from the Ghost Sect, and since weāre not far from the city gate, you must return immediately to inform Judge Zhou to come and arrest them."
"I will stay here to make sure no one escapes."
"This..."
Daoist Feng seemed troubled and awkwardly said, "Why donāt we go back together? Alone, I might get into trouble."
"Iām no fighter, and if someone realizes what Iām doing, I could lose my life."
Seeing the old Daoistās fearful demeanor, Li Yan didnāt insist any further and said decisively, "In that case, weāll catch them first."
"Uncle Sha, letās move!"
With a low shout from Li Yan, the two hurriedly charged towards the temple.
As for old Daoist Feng, knowing heād only be in the way, he hid in the woods to wait...