Chapter 83

The yellow-haired boy was heartbroken, almost crying himself unconscious.

At first, the Taoist priests were somewhat indifferent, thinking that the thin man, as a notorious evil cult member, abandoning his companions and fleeing was entirely normal.

It would have been strange if he hadn’t run.

But seeing how devastated the yellow-haired boy was, genuinely feeling sad for being abandoned, they couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

After thinking for a moment, the old Taoist with the goat beard patted the yellow-haired boy’s shoulder and comforted him: “You seem to be a pitiful person. I suppose it’s because you were controlled by the evil sect since childhood and had no chance to experience the outside world, which led you down the wrong path. Don’t worry, as long as you cooperate with the investigation and turn away from evil, the Jiangcheng Taoist Association will do its best to fulfill any wish you have.”

The yellow-haired boy sniffled, raised his face, and looked at him seriously: “Really?”

The old Taoist with the goat beard flicked his head: “Of course!”

The next moment, he saw the yellow-haired boy pointing at the highly decayed corpse on the hospital bed, looking at him expectantly: “I lied earlier. Actually, I already knew my master’s password, but now that he’s dead, I’m too afraid to take it. Can you help me get the card off him?”

The old Taoist with the goat beard: “…”

The yellow-haired boy: “I really can’t do it! But I don’t have money left, and if I don’t take my master’s card, I won’t be able to bury him!”

Everyone in the room: "…………"

When Xiang Ting arrived after receiving the message, he saw a group of elderly Taoist priests with graying hair surrounding a male adult corpse, searching it under the direction of a young man.

Xiang Ting: "……"

His steps paused, instinctively backing out to check the room number, confirming it before entering again.

…What a truly eerie scene.

He had just wanted to avoid Ke Xingzhou’s questioning, leave for a while to handle other matters, but when he returned, even these respected old Taoists had changed?

He instinctively glanced at Ke Xingzhou, who looked entirely innocent, meeting his gaze while still holding snacks.

Xiang Ting: "……"

Scanning the crowd, his gaze paused on the highly decayed corpse on the bed. Xiang Ting frowned, then accurately spotted the leader of the local Taoists, the old Taoist with the goat beard, and asked in confusion: “Where’s the other evil cult member?”

The old Taoist with the goat beard, who was weakly supporting his hand that had touched the corpse, appeared somewhat dazed. Hearing this, he shuddered and subconsciously looked at the yellow-haired boy.

He seemed to understand, muttering to himself: “Evil sect… Indeed, it’s an evil sect, causing great harm… causing great harm…”

Xiang Ting: "……"What is all this nonsense?

As they were talking, one of the Taoist priests finally found a hard square card on the corpse and his eyes lit up. “Found it, it’s here!”

However, he sounded confused when he exclaimed “Eh?”, as it was in the pants pocket, which they had clearly checked earlier and found nothing but fluff inside.

At this point, another Taoist priest suddenly had a flash of insight and hesitantly said, “Isn’t it possible that it’s not in the outer pants pocket?”

Previously, when he was traveling in the countryside, he had performed a ritual and was about to collect his fee when the homeowner suddenly reached into his pants, which startled him.

Later, he learned that there weren’t many places to store money there, so the villagers, fearing theft, sewed pockets onto the outside of their underwear to hide important documents and money.

The Taoists present, most of whom were well-traveled, immediately understood.

However…

They looked at the decaying, pus-dripping corpse on the hospital bed and were reluctant to reach inside its clothes to retrieve something, so they hesitated.

Just as they were about to give up, they turned and met the yellow-haired boy’s eager gaze.

This child had obviously been deceived many times, and as soon as they showed any signs of retreat, he anxiously looked at them, his expression clearly uneasy.

The Taoists fell silent for a moment, and the one who found the location gritted his teeth, touched his ritual tool, and muttered an apology before extending the ritual tool toward the sinful abyss—

Zhu Chu, not joining in on the spectacle, was somewhat puzzled and asked, “Master, why don’t they just order takeout and get two pairs of disposable gloves before reaching in?”

He shook his head, thinking that if it were him, he definitely wouldn’t have the courage to do it, which was why he had remained quiet earlier.

Indeed, major sects are different; they even dare to touch a corpse that has rotted for who knows how long. Their mental fortitude is impressive!

The Taoists: "…………"

The Taoist holding the ritual tool looked at the trembling peachwood sword in his hand, clearly enraged, and his expression became dazed.

The yellow-haired boy got the card and immediately went to withdraw money for his hospital and funeral expenses, as well as his own medical fees—he had been too excited earlier and had stood up too suddenly, causing a cut on his wrist from the silver handcuffs.

Since he was already in the hospital, he took care of it all at once.

He was surprisingly familiar with these processes, which made the Taoists feel very complicated. They opened their mouths to say something but saw the yellow-haired boy pause during the payment process and awkwardly turn to look at them.

“My master’s card has no money left. Uh, can anyone help me pay for it first?”

The Taoists: "……"

After paying all the fees and writing an IOU for the Taoist who kindly covered his medical expenses, the yellow-haired boy took the police and Taoists to identify the second-hand Jinbei van he and the thin man had used.

Honestly, when the Taoists first saw the old Jinbei in the parking lot, they immediately looked away. They had never expected the evil cult member to be driving such a worn-out vehicle.

Seeing their surprised expressions, the yellow-haired boy also felt embarrassed and let them scrutinize him. “It’s really hard to develop followers in the East. Everyone’s so busy, either working overtime or on the way to work, and they’re so self-centered. When you tell them they’ll get rich, they all smile; when you say they’ll be unlucky, they curse. They say we’re scammers… My master and I have been here for a few months, and we’ve spent a lot of money just faking the illusion that they’ve struck it rich. In the end, no one was willing to delve deeper into our faith…”

The crowd: "……"

The Taoists were silent after hearing this. They reflected on the followers who usually came to their temple, and indeed, most were middle-aged or older, while young people came and immediately knelt before the Wealth God, unable to rise.It seems there is truly no room for the evil cults to develop.

Xiang Ting was silent for a moment, feeling perplexed by the overly friendly atmosphere between the righteous and the evil cults. Finally, he couldn't help but interrupt Huang Mao's complaints: "Where are the evil spirits you use to control your followers?"

Huang Mao, who was quite intimidated by his scarred face, shrunk his neck and pointed at the trunk: "They're... they're all over there."

The Taoist priests' expressions grew serious as they all raised their talismans toward the trunk of the van. Xiang Ting didn’t dare let the ordinary police open the door and calmly walked up. Grabbing the seam of the trunk door, he forcefully lifted it open!

"Ah!" Huang Mao screamed, "You can’t lift it like that! The door could fall off..."

It was too late. Xiang Ting looked at the trunk door in his hands, which had come off, and silently tossed it aside.

The Taoists, obstructed by his figure, couldn’t see inside the car and still held their defensive posture, ready for the impending fight.

Then, they saw Xiang Ting pause for a moment before turning around and walking away.

The Taoists were puzzled. When they saw the situation inside the van, they nearly forgot to breathe—

Inside the old van’s trunk, there was none of the evil cult objects they had imagined. There were only a few ordinary animals huddled together, looking at them with tearful eyes in fear.

The Taoists, who had their third eye open, took a look at the animals one by one and found no trace of demonic energy.

At most, the animals had just gained a little intelligence, more clever than normal livestock.

The Taoists: "..."

The scene fell into an awkward silence.

A few passersby nearby saw the scene and were surprised, looking around: "Is this a TV shoot? Why don’t I see any cameras?"

"Oh my God, are these cosplayers torturing dogs? Ah, and pigs too!"

The Taoists: "............"

Please, can you look carefully before speaking?!

They were not torturing dogs! And they definitely weren’t cosplayers! They were serious Taoist priests, okay?!

After so many years of being a Taoist, they never expected to be mistaken for amateur cosplayers. The Taoists felt a lump in their throats and glared at Huang Mao: "Is this what you call an evil spirit?"

Huang Mao, startled by their sudden outburst, couldn’t help but retort: "I told you, they’re not evil spirits, they’re not! Little Bai, the puppy, they’re all animals I picked up and raised in the mountains, they have really good temperaments, okay?"

The crowd: "..."

The Taoists were so angry they couldn’t speak.

No wonder when the evil spirits possessed Ban Wen and Director Zheng, their conversation seemed like they were spirits, yet could possess victims in a soul form. It turned out that the evil cults weren’t using spirits, but more easily controlled animals!

The mystery that had troubled them for most of the day was finally solved, but for some reason, the Taoists didn’t feel happy at all.

Looking at Huang Mao, who was lovingly releasing a big black dog, a small pig, and several rabbits, mice, and snakes from their cages, the Taoists frowned: "He actually prepared so many! The Nine-Headed Dragon really has grand plans for Jiangcheng. Fortunately, Master Xiang and Daoist Ke saw through their scheme in advance!"

Just then, they noticed that Huang Mao’s expression seemed off. The Taoists’ hearts skipped a beat, and they immediately questioned him sternly: "Where will your master go after he escapes? Did he tell you?"Huang Mao shook his head, still feeling a bit down when the topic was brought up, but he relaxed after seeing his animal friends around him.

At least he had so many companions with him while being caught.

He still believed that after his master rested, he would come back to find them, but when he heard the Taoists mention Daoist Ke, he looked at Ke Xingzhou with a curious gaze: "You’re the one from that popular online Taoist temple, the head of the Xianyao Sect, Daoist Ke?"

Ke Xingzhou nodded, looking at him confused: "What’s the matter?"

Huang Mao’s expression changed, and he sincerely praised: "Wow, my master said before that you guys must be the same kind, and that you were his goal to strive towards! You guys really make it look more like an evil cult than we do!"

Everyone: "............"