Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The old Taoist priest of the local Taoist Association felt extremely aggrieved— what’s going on with your Taicang sect? Nobody questioned whether you have strong backing. The Taoist Association has its difficulties too; you have to follow the rules and regulations. Is it necessary to exert pressure in this way?
Those with connections are truly not to be trifled with.
Wei Xi felt that his eyes were strange, but just a few hours ago, Taicang Sect had helped the Underworld Bureau solve a case of corruption by the city god’s soul-collecting envoy from another region. The entire sect was clean, law-abiding, and good people. How could he guess the dirty thoughts in the mind of this old hand who had been immersed in the big dye vat of society?
The three brothers were taken directly to the police station on the way. When the police officer and his colleagues arrived at the location, they dispersed to maintain order. Wei Xi noticed that there were quite a few people nearby, including those from the excavation site, as well as ordinary people and reporters who had come to watch the excitement from the outside.
The young policeman had only mentioned on the way that someone had reported finding two unconscious people at the ancient tomb excavation site. Shortly after the research team unearthed them, one of the scholars in the team also collapsed for unknown reasons. Villagers from nearby villages rushed over to see what was going on, and some well-informed reporters also joined in. At this point, all sorts of speculations arose, casting a strong mystical hue over the incident and causing considerable trouble for the site development work.
Wei Xi asked the old Taoist priest, “Master Quan, have you figured out what exactly happened?”
The old Taoist priest’s surname was Quan, and his full name was Quan Yongzhen.
Master Quan’s gaze kept involuntarily drifting to the Black Impermanence beside him, who was looking around. He really didn’t know how to treat this perverted Taicang Sect member. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, “The problem is a bit troublesome. The three people who fainted are currently in the medical vehicle in the back. Fellow Daoist Wei, come with me to take a look.”
On the way, Tuan Tuanyi said to Wei Xi, “Master, are all ancient tombs this big? This place is at least the size of a village.”
Wei Xi compared this place to the small pit where he had buried Wei Dedao, and couldn’t help but look back a few more times, his heart sinking slightly. His second apprentice seemed to notice and placed his hand on the back of his head, pulling his downcast gaze back, and then said in a deep voice, “The scale of this ancient tomb is very high, and it is not a privilege that ordinary people can enjoy.”
Wei Xi felt a little better: “Really?”
Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man who was getting out of the car immediately nodded in agreement: “This was discovered by chance some time ago and reported. It is indeed a very rare large ancient tomb near the capital. When Professor Li first came to the site for investigation, he was extremely excited. He said that the owner of this tomb must have been very rich and noble in life. After all, such a large and complete tomb is not something that can be found easily. Once it is developed, it will definitely provide valuable data for the study of Chinese history.”
Wei Xi gently rubbed the back of the other person’s head as they spoke, then looked up at his apprentice, who was calmly staring at him.
Wei Xi stared at those eyes for a moment, a subtle sense of comfort rising within him.
At this moment, the middle-aged man who had spoken sighed again: “It’s a pity that Professor Li suddenly collapsed before we could finish the survey.”
It sounded like the Professor Li they were talking about was the one who later fainted for unknown reasons at the archaeological site. After finishing his narration, the middle-aged man’s gaze lingered on Wei Xi for a moment, and he asked Quan Yongzhen, “Master Quan, who is this?”
Quan Yongzhen introduced Wei Xi’s background and then introduced the other party to Wei Xi: “Fellow Daoist Wei, this is Mr. Gu from the local cultural department office. He is in charge of supervising this archaeological work.”
Ministry of Culture!
Upon hearing this introduction, Wei Xi instantly snapped out of his inexplicable daze after exchanging glances with his apprentice and stared intently at the other person.
Mr. Gu met his sharp gaze, his expression puzzled. Did this man have a problem with him?
Wei Xi immediately adopted the most composed attitude he had ever shown in his life, and even shook hands with him and said, “Mr. Gu, hello.”
Mr. Gu smiled at him. He had never heard of Taicang Sect before and seeing that Wei Xi and the others were all young and handsome, he had a good impression of them, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.
Master Quan was extremely surprised. He had met Wei Xi a few times, and this man was always cold and indifferent to everyone. Even to him, a senior figure in the local Taoist community who held the power to approve memberships, he had never been so proactive. What was going on today?
As soon as Mr. Gu turned around, Tuan Tuanyi, who was behind Wei Xi, immediately spoke up: “Master, isn’t this the department that’s in charge of reviewing advertisements!”
Wei Xi: “It should be correct.”
Tuan Tuanyi: “We need to get on good terms with him. Who knows, maybe our sect’s advertisements will actually get on TV someday.”
Master Quan: “………………”
After the master and disciple finished their conversation, Wei Xi looked up and saw the old Taoist priest in front of him looking at him with a hesitant expression: “You…”
Wei Xi: “Hmm?”
“…” Master Quan stared at him for a while, realizing that the topic the master and disciple had just been discussing did not seem to be a joke. He stared in disbelief for a moment and finally turned his head away in a daze.
At this moment, he seemed to vaguely understand why many Taoist friends from various temples in the association had such complicated emotions when they mentioned the Taicang Sect.
What kind of Taoist temple is Taicang Sect… exactly?
….
Black Impermanence was also curious about what Mr. Gu did. After learning from Wei Xi that Mr. Gu’s department was in charge of reviewing television commercials, he lost interest and placed his hopes on the junior policeman’s superior.
Professor Li was not taken to the hospital and remained unconscious in the RV. Besides him, two other people with similar symptoms were placed on small beds in another compartment. However, unlike the gentle and refined Professor Li, these two were in a much more disheveled state. Their clothes were torn to shreds, their hair and faces were covered in mud, and even in their unconscious state, their expressions still carried an inescapable fear.
Master Quan said, “These two people were discovered during the archaeological team’s excavation. They were probably villagers from a nearby village. When they were found, they were lying together in a cramped tomb. We don’t know what they went through before they lost consciousness.”
Wei Xi examined them carefully for a moment: “No signs of loss of consciousness.”
Master Quan nodded: “Professor Li didn’t have it either, but it wasn’t a normal coma either, so I suspect there might be some kind of curse buried in the ancient tomb.”
Wei Xi was alright, but Mr. Gu frowned deeply upon hearing this: “Is there really such a thing?!”
Master Quan nodded solemnly: “This is not an ordinary ancient tomb after all. As you said, the archaeological team initially guessed that this would be the mausoleum of a powerful family. Such a family might know a lot about the ways of the world.”
Mr. Gu: “Then how should we deal with this? Professor Li is getting old, he can’t just keep going unconscious like this.”
Master Quan said, “It’s a tricky situation. The old families had many methods, and many of them may not even be recorded in the classics. I just checked the tomb site, and there is no lingering yin energy here. It may not be possible to ask the spirits for help. I’m afraid we can only slowly explore to find out what the cursed artifact is.”
Mr. Gu was now starting to worry. He worked in a special position, and whether he liked it or not, he had indeed learned many things over the years that he previously refused to believe, but he simply could not let the outside world know. Quan Yongzhen was a formally registered elder of the local Taoist Association; he was definitely not a fraudster. Since he had said so, it seemed things were indeed much more complicated than they initially imagined.
Just then, someone spoke up from the side: “Lord Hei, do you have any good ideas?”
Mr. Gu looked up and saw that it was the group of young men from Taicang Sect. The tall, particularly strong one was asking a question to the man in the black suit next to him.
The man in the black suit hadn’t expressed any opinion the whole time, and Mr. Gu had almost overlooked him. At this moment, the man pushed up his glasses and said casually, “Such a large clan should have many relatives and friends. I’ll ask around for you.”
Ask…ask?
Mr. Gu was a little confused and asked, “Who should I ask?”
He subconsciously looked at Master Quan, only to find that Master Quan also had a look of “I actually forgot about him!” After meeting Mr. Gu’s gaze, he remained silent for a while before coughing and saying, “Since Master Hei is willing to help, Mr. Gu should just listen to him.”
Judging from his tone, this man in the black suit, surnamed Hei, seemed quite powerful. Mr. Gu subconsciously obeyed, thinking he was about to perform a ritual, but then he saw the man in the black suit take out a token from his pocket and ask, pointing at the token, “Where is the person in charge of the Land God Temple in the north of the city?”
Mr. Gu: “???”
Mr. Gu asked Quan Yongzhen in a low voice, “Is he summoning a messenger from the underworld?”
Quan Yongzhen nodded with mixed feelings, then heard Mr. Gu mutter to himself, “I’ve heard you perform rituals to invoke spirits before, and you always have to chant a long string of words. It doesn’t seem that simple…”
Quan Yongzhen: “…”
Do you think leaders inspect our work in the same way they do? Don’t act like we’re less skilled than them.
Mr. Gu was still wondering if such a casual summoning command would work when, as soon as the man in the black suit finished speaking, there was a rapid reaction on the scene. In less than half a second, a gust of cold wind rose from the ground!
Mr. Gu was surprised after feeling the wind: “The response speed is faster than when I’ve seen you summon gods before!”
Quan Yongzhen: “…”
Do you think people treat their superiors the same way they treat us?! If you keep talking like that, I’m really going to get angry!
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