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墨書 Inktalez
Wei Ning nodded and said, "I will take you all to remove these unclean things shortly. Once you see them, you'll know I haven't been lying."
Skeptical yet curious, the crowd agreed, "Let's follow this child and see what we can find."
A large group followed closely behind Wei Ning, who held a Feng Shui Map and a compass. He stopped at a certain spot and said, "It should be here. Let's have a few people dig it up."
Several strong men grabbed shovels and got to work. Before long, they unearthed an altar that looked exactly like the one in Wu Haozi's House.
The crowd grew even more curious and began to trust Wei Ning a little more.
Wei Ning instructed, "Everyone, take the children present back home. It's not good for them to see these things."
After a few brave women took the eager children away, Wei Ning opened the altar and indeed pulled out a child that looked just like the one from Wu Haozi's House.
Gasps of shock, cries of anger, and sounds of fear erupted among the crowd. A few of the braver souls turned pale and began to vomit uncontrollably.
These kind-hearted villagers had never seen such terrifying things!
"This is one place," Wei Ning confirmed, placing the items back where they belonged. "Now let's move on to the next location."
After several busy hours, Wei Ning and his companions finally unearthed the remaining seven children. Only then did Wei Ning say, "We have found all nine sons; now it's time to look for the 'mother.'"
"I know," Flying Sparrow raised her hand. "It must be at that Chinese Scholar Tree."
Wei Ning nodded in agreement as Flying Sparrow led everyone to the old Chinese Scholar Tree at the Village Entrance.
Wei Ning took a machete handed to him by a villager and struck the tree trunk with a single blow. To everyone's astonishment, blood began to flow from the tree, prompting another round of gasps from the villagers.
Wei Ning struck the tree a few more times, and only then did everyone realize that although the Chinese Scholar Tree appeared lush and vibrant on the outside, it was actually hollow inside, forming a large cavity. As Wei Ning cut into the tree, something strange happened: a woman appeared about a meter off the ground.
Strictly speaking, she could hardly be called a woman anymore, as she had only a head and a layer of skin. Below her head, there was nothing but a layer of human skin stretched out like cowhide drying in the sun. The skin of her hands and feet was nailed to the heart of the tree, with a spike driven through her spirit center.
The villagers retched at the sight. At this moment, even the dullest among them understood that this was undoubtedly dark sorcery; their life force had surely been drained by this monster.
"Damn it, who did this? Don't they fear retribution!" Those with more courage began to curse.
"What a sin! What a sin!"
They had found the Nine Sons and One Mother, but how should they deal with it?
In rural areas, when encountering such things, everyone knew what to do—burn it.
No matter what kind of monster or ghost it was, zombies included, they all feared fire. Fire attacks were the most effective method. Even for some powerful spirits that ordinary flames couldn't harm, using Three Flavor True Fire would surely do the trick.
The village chief immediately made a decision: "Burn it."
Wei Ning quickly interjected, "No."
Wei Ning understood that using fire was indeed the best option; however, burning it would mean that these beings would be completely destroyed, their souls scattered. He simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Is there another way, sir?"
Wei Ning sighed, regretting his own lack of skill. If his master were here, he would surely find a solution that could satisfy both sides.
Seeing Wei Ning remain silent, the village chief could no longer hold back. He called for people to bring firewood and gathered Nine Sons and One Mother under the willow tree, dousing it with gasoline. The village chief took the lead and set the fire ablaze, instantly illuminating the village with flames.
"If we burn it, it won't come out to cause trouble anymore," the village chief nodded. "We must thank our brother here for discovering these things early; otherwise, our village... sigh..."
Wei Ning remained quiet, staring intently at the roaring flames.
Suddenly, the fire dimmed, and a woman in the pyre opened her eyes, sitting up amidst the flames!
"Child, I have no enmity with you. Why do you want to harm me?" the female corpse shouted.
"This is bad; it's Corpse Transformation," the villagers panicked. In all their lives, who had ever seen Corpse Transformation? In an instant, those with weak hearts scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only Wei Ning, Wu Haozi, the village chief, Flying Sparrow, and a few brave souls.
Wu Haozi was the boldest of them all. Instead of fleeing, he threw a large pile of firewood into the flames, causing them to surge even higher.
"Why do you want to harm me? I won't let you go even as a ghost!" The female corpse pointed at Wu Haozi and cursed.
"Wait until you have a chance to become a ghost," Wu Haozi sneered, tossing in more firewood. Encouraged by Wu Haozi's lead, several others began throwing anything flammable they could find into the fire. One guy even brought out a bucket of gasoline from his home and carelessly dumped it in.
"Die! You dogs!"
With a loud boom, the flames roared higher. The fire leaped up to over ten meters high, nearly engulfing the entire Chinese Scholar Tree.
"This is bad; this female corpse must have absorbed a soul from the God of Joy to undergo Corpse Transformation," Wei Ning thought to himself.
With that thought in mind, Wei Ning took out five copper coins from his pocket—exactly what Wang Tuozi had used: Five Emperor Coins.
The Five Emperor Coins refer to the copper coins minted during the reigns of five emperors of the Qing Dynasty: Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing. The coins are round on the outside and square on the inside, symbolizing heaven and earth, respectively, while the emperor's era inscribed in the center represents humanity. Thus, the three elements of heaven, earth, and man are present. If used properly, they can possess the energy to turn the world upside down and are commonly used by the Zhu You School as protective talismans against evil.
The Five Emperor Coins spun rapidly above the female corpse, radiating colorful light that enveloped her entirely. Wei Ning shouted loudly, forming a seal with his hands, and the female corpse was instantly immobilized.
It turned out that the Nine Sons Filial to Their Mother formation relied on placing nine sons at nine Yin Points to absorb nearby Yang energy and channel it to the mother corpse through the Nine Dragon Sophora. Once the mother corpse was fully formed, the nine sons would lose their souls in a display of filial piety. The soul of the God of Joy was also drawn in by one of Wu Haozi's sons hidden beneath a bed and then transferred to the mother corpse. If burned, both this soul and the mother corpse would be reduced to ashes simultaneously; if not burned, then the mother corpse would be complete. The consequences would be unimaginable.
Fortunately, the fusion of the mother corpse and soul had only just begun; true integration was impossible at this stage. At most, it could only borrow a soul to animate the corpse. Moreover, the Nine Sons Filial to Their Mother formation required an incredibly long time—at least a hundred years—without a moment's deviation. Before the mother corpse was fully formed, this Nine Sons and One Mother was merely an ordinary dead body that could only absorb Yang energy for sustenance; it posed no real threat. Otherwise, if the mother corpse truly came to life, mere fire would not solve the problem.
Wei Ning skillfully commanded the Five Emperor Coins to subdue the mother corpse while simultaneously retrieving a Seeking Home Lantern. He shouted, "Divine lantern! One light, two lights, three lights! Light up as we climb mountains and cross ridges! Shine brightly! Turn left when called to turn left; turn right when called to turn right! If it still doesn't turn, drag it with nine oxen or turn it with an iron cart!"
As mentioned earlier, souls are quite nostalgic. Upon seeing the Seeking Home Lantern, a mass of black mist emerged from the female corpse. Wei Ning exchanged glances with Wu Haozi, who understood immediately and hurriedly carried out the God of Joy from his home. Wei Ning opened a hole in God of Joy's body for that black mist to enter before quickly sealing all seven orifices.
Meanwhile, without its soul, the female corpse was thrown back into the fire. In the fierce flames, her figure was almost indistinguishable; however, she showed no signs of burning away.
The fire raged for a long time until it finally reduced Nine Sons and One Mother to ashes. Although Wei Ning felt pity for their tragic fate, he knew he had no choice; if he did not deal with her now, countless innocent lives could be lost at her hands in the future.
The root cause should be that person who set up this formation.
From beginning to end, aside from that blind man who had stayed at Wu Haozi's house briefly, there seemed to be no other special individuals involved. However, it was also possible that this Nine Sons Filial to Their Mother formation had been set up nearly sixty or seventy years ago; even if someone had appeared back then, no one would likely remember now. Regardless of how it happened, this harmful entity was ultimately destroyed under Wei Ning's guidance, and God of Joy's lost soul was successfully retrieved.
After burning away the female corpse, Wei Ning realized he had wasted too much time here. He could no longer afford to rest and set off without delay. The villagers offered money as thanks for saving their lives but were politely declined by Wei Ning. With a wave of his Soul Banner, he resumed his journey with God of Joy.
However, just as he exited Village Entrance, Wu Haozi blocked his path.
"What is going on here?" Wei Ning asked with a furrowed brow, puzzled.
With a sudden thud, Wu Haozi fell to his knees before Wei Ning, saying, "Master, please accept me as your disciple. I know I'm not worthy, but I can carry the God of Joy and help with things. I believe I can manage that."
Hearing Wu Haozi's request to become his disciple, Wei Ning found it amusing. Wu Haozi was already of an age where he could be Wei Ning's uncle, yet he wanted to kneel before this young man who had barely grown up.
"I'm still a disciple myself; how can I take on a disciple? Besides, you... I..." Wei Ning thought he had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world and couldn't help but laugh.
To his surprise, Wu Haozi was serious. He knocked his head three times on the ground and said, "In my life, I've only done despicable things, always looked down upon by others. You are the first person who has treated me like a human being. I thank you for that. My life is owed to you. Even if you want me, Wu Haozi, to die, I wouldn't bat an eye. I know I'm not qualified to join the Zhu You Wei Family as your disciple, and I don't expect you to teach me any real techniques of the Corpse Driver. I just want to stay by your side, serving you tea and running errands."
Seeing Wu Haozi's sincere expression, which didn't seem like a joke at all, Wei Ning smiled and said, "No way. My skills are still low; I'm just a disciple myself. How could I take on another disciple? That would violate our sect's rules. No way."
Realizing Wei Ning's firm stance and understanding the rules of the Corpse Driver—once a disciple was accepted, it meant they could establish their own sect and sever ties with their master—Wu Haozi knocked his head three more times and said, "Master, even if you don't acknowledge it, in my heart, I've already taken you as my master. If you ever need anything, just call me. I'll go through fire and water without hesitation."
Wei Ning replied coldly, "I don't care how you feel about it; but in my Wei Family, men kneel only for their parents—not like you with such soft knees."
Wu Haozi's face flushed with shame as he quickly got back up and said, "I understand now. From this day forward, aside from you, I won't kneel to anyone else."
Wei Ning nodded and patted Wu Haozi on the shoulder. "Do well from now on. Don't engage in despicable acts like stealing corpses anymore. Find a good job and a wife; live your second half of life well."
With that, Wei Ning pointed at the Soul Banner and led the God of Joy onto the path of the Corpse Driver.
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