Chapter 136: Yang Sheng, Charm Spirit

And that one? Which one is that?

I clearly saw Master and Grandma Ling Qing exchange a glance, but no matter how the three of us kids asked, they refused to say anything. After Su Rou failed to get an answer once, he started vividly recounting what had happened.

He described how Grandma Ling Qing released three insects to fight the Hungry Ghost King, and how my Master engaged it in close combat himself, slapping on four talismans in detail. Su Rou was practically spraying saliva as he spoke, full of excitement and color.

Ling Ruyue stood nearby, covering her mouth and smiling, occasionally adding a few words.

As for me, I was listening with my blood boiling. Daoist techniques were endlessly varied, but when it came to real fighting scenes, they could never compare to the thrill of close quarters martial combat.

Fortunately, a true Daoist priest usually trained in martial arts to strengthen the body and could handle himself in hand to hand combat. The strong ones were no weaker than martial family successors. My Master was exactly the type who excelled in fists and kicks, and my grandmaster Old Li was definitely even stronger.

I was filled with admiration and thought to myself that when we got back, I had to get Master to properly teach me.

Unexpectedly, Su Rou had the same idea as me. After finishing his explanation, he begged my Master, “Master Jiang, I have called you Master Jiang for so many years. You cannot pass down Daoist arts to me, but you can at least teach me a few moves of martial arts, right?”

“Sure. I can teach you for half a month. After that you will have to train on your own,” Old Man Jiang agreed almost without hesitation.

Su Rou immediately asked with a bitter face, “Why only half a month?”

“Because I am leaving with San Wa Er.”

Su Rou fell silent. He probably just got too excited and forgot about that.

Ling Ruyue suddenly spoke up, “Third Brother, Fat Brother, after the Hungry Ghost Tomb matter is over, Grandma and I will be returning to the village. Will you remember me?”

Going through life and death together is the fastest way to build unbreakable friendship. This little girl truly could not bear to part with me and Su Rou.

“How could we forget? When we have time, we will come visit you in the village,” Su Rou replied without hesitation, as always full of nonsense.

As expected, Ling Ruyue just smiled. Did this guy even know where her village was?

“I will remember you, and also Hua Feifei,” I said seriously while lying on my Master’s back.

Ling Ruyue nodded hard. “I will also never forget Third Brother and Fat Brother.”

Old Man Jiang listened and shook his head helplessly. “You three kids are so mushy. You will meet again someday.”

While speaking, more than twenty minutes passed without us noticing. Finally, after turning a corner, Master and the others arrived at a hall like space.

There were more than ten people here. Hu Xueman was present, and I recognized almost all the rest. They were all from that courtyard group.

Only one young man wearing glasses looked unfamiliar.

When they saw us return, everyone gathered around to ask about our condition. I was already feeling better and could stand on my own now. Faced with their concerned and slightly reproachful questions, I actually felt quite touched.

At that moment, the bespectacled young man walked over, pushed up his glasses, and said very seriously, “Daoist methods are truly fascinating. Many things cannot be explained by scientific principles. Many of what I have seen has exceeded my understanding of the world. I will report everything carefully to my professor when I return.”

Then he suddenly reached out and shook hands firmly with both me and Su Rou.

“Daoist disciples are also very impressive. At such a young age, you were able to fight unknown lifeforms. I admire you. By the way, my name is Yang Sheng.”

Su Rou scratched his head and laughed proudly, but then added, “What Daoist disciple am I? San Wa Er is the real one. He saved me.”

Yang Sheng adjusted his glasses again and carefully looked at me. “May I ask your name, little brother?”

“Oh, hello. My name is Chen Chengyi,” I replied. Growing up in a village where people were straightforward, I was not used to such formal speech.

“Chen Chengyi? That name… I have a friend called Zhou Cheng…” Yang Sheng had not finished speaking when Old Man Jiang interrupted him.

“San Wa Er, you should learn from Yang Sheng. He is a genius of our country. He is currently studying under the nation’s most powerful biological scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is only twenty three years old and already a postdoctoral researcher. He came here this time to work for the country.”

Twenty three? Postdoctoral researcher?

What kind of concept was that? Ordinary people were just graduating from university at twenty two or twenty three. This Yang Sheng was already a postdoc. Did that mean he entered university in his teens?

Yang Sheng smiled a little embarrassedly. The tomb lighting was dim, powered only by portable batteries, so I could not clearly tell if he was blushing, but I thought that someone so impressive still seemed quite shy.

“Alright, this is not the time for that,” Old Man Jiang said seriously. “Yang Sheng, remember what I gave you. The item is very dangerous. Before you take it back for research, you must not tear off the talismans on it. Otherwise the consequences will be very serious. Understand?”

“I will be careful with it,” Yang Sheng replied solemnly.

Old Man Jiang nodded, then asked Hu Xueman, “Where is Hui Jue?”

“Master Hui is still dealing with the insect eggs. What should we do next, Master Jiang?” Hu Xueman asked.

He was calling him Master Jiang instead of Master Shi. I found it a little strange and asked casually, “Uncle Hu, why are you suddenly calling my Master Master Jiang?”

“It was his instruction,” Hu Xueman said. “He said Master Shi sounded awkward, especially after coming down into the tomb. It sounded even more awkward.”

Master Shi sounded awkward?

I did not notice it at first. Master Shi… jiangshi…

I froze for a moment and suddenly understood what felt strange about it.

Hui Jue was in a small side chamber behind this hall like tomb room. Originally, my Master and the others thought that was where the Hungry Ghost King was, but instead it was released by accident through us three.

Hui Jue was now in that empty chamber purifying the insect eggs. Those eggs could not see light and could not come into contact with human presence, so they had to be handled inside the tomb. According to my Master, once purified, the eggs would become lifeless and could no longer hatch.

Of course, my Master also kept four live eggs, two given to Grandma Ling Qing and two to Yang Sheng. Yang Sheng had come on a mission for the country, and systematic research into mysterious phenomena was an ongoing state project.

He had briefly mentioned that those involved were all top national talents, just not publicly known, all highly classified.

He also casually said that even the department my Master belonged to was a state secret.

“That is the situation. We were tricked by the person who built this tomb. The passage on this side was indeed used to cultivate insect eggs, but that was all. As for the fork on the other side, where we originally thought the Mother Ghost was, that was also a misjudgment. Since the Hungry Ghost King is in the real ancient tomb, then the Mother Ghost must also be in the real tomb,” Master said while arranging the next steps, as well as analyzing the situation.

“But what about the laughter in that passage? That was not the Mother Ghost?” someone asked.

It was certain they had all heard that laughter and had basically concluded that the end of that passage was the Mother Ghost.

Master stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced a few steps. “To be honest, none of us have actually seen a Mother Ghost. We only know a little from ancient texts. It was only by chance that, after San Wa Er and the others released the Hungry Ghost King, I realized our judgment was wrong. The thing in that passage was not a Mother Ghost. It was a Charm Spirit.”

“Charm Spirit?”

Everyone’s expression changed slightly at the name.

Clearly, they knew what it was. A Charm Spirit was a type of ghost that had no real power except to confuse and bewitch the mind. In a direct confrontation, even a man with strong yang energy could disperse it.

The reason it was called a Charm Spirit was because although most ghosts could confuse humans, this one specialized in it. It was especially good at seizing opportunities and invading the mind when people were off guard. That was why it was given the word spirit, meaning its deceptive ability had reached a refined level.