From a paper-making apprentice to a celestial master

Chapter 23 Evil Spirits and Calamities

After exchanging a few more words, Liu Quan urged him to go back to his room to rest.

Qin Shuang returned to the side room, carefully closed the doors and windows, and then sprinkled the incense ash from the cloth bag along the threshold and windowsill.

The incense ash fell to the ground, fine and dense, like a thin layer of snow. He stuffed the remaining ash under his pillow before taking off his shoes and lying down on the bed.

The rain stopped sometime ago, and it was pitch black outside the window. Occasionally, a gust of wind would whistle through the eaves.

With her eyes closed, Qin Shuang's mind raced through the scenes she had experienced and witnessed that day.

A water ghost arrives, a zombie rises, and then finally, an evil spirit puts its arm around your shoulder...

The more I think about it, the less I can sleep.

He had just transmigrated, his memories had awakened, and he had experienced so many things in succession. Even with his thick skin, he was finding it hard to bear.

Huhu~

The wind outside kept blowing, but to his ears it carried an eerie feeling. Even the occasional meows from the village were interpreted by him as supernatural tales.

He didn't fall asleep until the night was completely deep.

He slept very restlessly that night.

In the middle of the night, he seemed to hear some noise in the yard, a rustling sound, like someone moving around, or like someone muttering something in the field.

He even heard some rustling sounds coming from the window, which gradually faded away and stopped in the middle of the night.

the next day.

Qin Shuang was awakened by the sound of a rooster crowing.

When I opened my eyes, it was already dawn outside the window. The air after the rain seeped in through the cracks in the window, carrying a sweet and pungent smell of earth and grass.

The first thing he did after getting up was to check the incense ash on the threshold and windowsill.

The incense ash was still there, and the two thin lines were intact. However, there was a small break in the middle of the threshold, like the trace of a small insect crawling across it.

Seeing this, Qin Shuang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

There was already some commotion in the courtyard. Qin Shuang got dressed, pushed open the door, and went out. She saw her master, Liu Quan, squatting by the water vat in the corner of the courtyard, washing his face. His sleeves were rolled up high, cold water was splashing on his face, and he was humming a little tune that she didn't know. He looked much more energetic than last night.

"woke up?"

Without turning his head, Liu Quan said, wiping his face with the cloth draped over his shoulder, "Did you check the incense ash line?"

"I've seen it, it's nothing."

"That's good."

Liu Quan stood up, tossed the cloth over his shoulder, and turned to walk towards the kitchen. "Come on, have breakfast first. I have something to tell you after you're done."

Liu Quan made breakfast himself: a pot of thin porridge, two coarse flour buns, and a dish of pickled vegetables. The master and apprentice sat at the small square table in the kitchen, slurping down their porridge without saying a word.

Halfway through the meal, Liu Quan suddenly put down his chopsticks and said, "There's been a result regarding the Huang family matter."

It was the old lady's maid who colluded with Old Chen to do it.

However, Old Chen had already run away, leaving behind his coffin shop.

The maidservant, however, didn't escape and is now imprisoned.

"A maid?"

Why?

Qin Shuang was surprised that her master would say these things to her, but she couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"That maid had a son who was a gambler from the town. In order to help her son pay off his gambling debts, she cooperated with Old Chen to insert a soul-fixing needle into Old Huang's head."

As for Old Chen, if I'm not mistaken, he should be a member of the Corpse Demon Sect.

I'd heard years ago that members of the Corpse Demon Sect had entered Youzhou territory, but I never imagined I'd have one right next to me.

"A maid? A son?"

Qin Shuang was taken aback at first, then she realized what was going on.

The so-called maids are not necessarily all young girls. Some may be older women or nannies, older than many people, and it is perfectly normal for them to be married and have children.

However, when he heard his master mention the "Corpse Demon Gate," he was taken aback: "Corpse Demon Gate?"

"The Corpse Demon Gate is a force in which zombies, ghosts, and humans coexist."

I've been active in Huazhou for over ten years. I heard that some members of the Corpse Demon Sect entered Youzhou, only to be driven out.

Unexpectedly, this force had always had members, and had been lurking in Youzhou all along.

Moreover, Old Zhou is a member of this organization, and he's been hiding it for ten years before it was finally exposed...

Liu Quan explained.

"Zombies, a force that coexists with ghosts and humans?"

Is this normal?

Qin Shuang was stunned.

He thought he had a certain understanding of this world, but only now did he realize that his knowledge was far too shallow.

Even their imagination seems somewhat lacking.

"This is normal."

Let alone Taizhou.

We also have such forces in Youzhou, such as the Young Master Manor. I heard that the manor's master is a White Bone Demon in disguise, but he has grown flesh and blood and can take human form. His strength is boundless.

Therefore, as long as it doesn't cause trouble or harm people, the government won't deliberately interfere.

In addition, there is the Beard Gang, which is said to be a gang founded by a group of foxes, and there are also people working for them... The Corpse Demon Gate has a strong influence in Taizhou.

However, as an evil force, it would inevitably have to contend with evil forces such as the White Bone Manor and the Beard Gang if it wanted to enter Youzhou.

Our area happens to be located at the border of Taizhou and Youzhou. If the Corpse Demon Sect really intervenes on a large scale, it will certainly not be a good thing for us.

As he said this, a hint of worry appeared on his face.

"Just how powerful must they be?"

Qin Shuang asked in astonishment.

"Let me put it this way."

In the cultivation world, those things have been ranked according to their level of terror.

Evil, evil spirits, disaster, calamity.

Among them, evil spirits pose the least threat.

Evil spirits and vengeful ghosts don't even rank in that category.

Beings that can be eliminated by the imperial court in the human world without being directly eliminated, and that can openly build up their power and even recruit humans to serve them, are at least at the level of disaster in terms of terror.

Like that evil spirit you encountered yesterday. If you were to run into something like that, it wouldn't just be scary to talk about; you'd definitely run as far away as possible, trembling with fear and too afraid to show your face.

Liu Quan seemed somewhat moved, so he decided not to hide anything and directly revealed all the information he knew.

"Evil spirits and calamities?"

Qin Shuang gasped.

Even evil spirits are that terrifying.

Above that, there are actually three more levels.

Supernatural level, Calamity level, Calamity level...

From this, one can imagine how terrifying the Corpse Demon Gate was.

No wonder, when Master was with the Huang family before, he was so cautious, and even stopped working and left, keeping his distance.

Perhaps the master at that time had already sensed something.

That's really true.

If the matter truly involves the Corpse Demon Sect, even with Master's abilities, he indeed wouldn't be able to handle it.

Although he believed his master was a capable person, he also knew that his abilities were probably not high enough to get involved in the conflicts of a force like the Corpse Demon Sect, which might have beings at the 'Disaster Level' or even higher.

……

Thank you again to the carefree god for the 10000 Qidian coins!

Thank you for your support!