Wang Qi's body was placed in the central hall.
Chen Ming followed the servant inside. Before he even entered, he saw Elder Wang already waiting at the door.
The elder's face was gaunt, his eye sockets sunken. Seeing Chen Ming, he immediately cupped his hands and said, "You must be Master Chen? Thank you for your help! If not for you, my son would have become a wandering ghost!"
Chen Ming slightly returned the bow and said, "Elder Wang, please accept my condolences."
"Ah—"
"Master, please come in. I have prepared some humble wine to express my gratitude."
"Please!"
He wasn't a heavy drinker, but he had heard from the guiding servant that Wang Lang, the fifth young master of the Wang family, had witnessed the villain's attack firsthand last night and fainted on the spot, still unconscious.
After three rounds of wine, Elder Wang called for a servant to bring a tray, on which lay two large five-tael silver ingots.
Chen Ming unceremoniously accepted the silver.
Elder Wang asked, "May I ask if Master knows the art of healing?"
"My son, Wang Lang, was frightened last night and has not woken up since. The physicians we invited were all helpless."
Chen Ming nodded, "Lead the way."
Being frightened and falling into an unconscious sleep usually means the soul is not attached to the body, in other words, having lost the three hun and seven po souls.
The local deities are good at calling back souls!
Elder Wang's face lit up, and he led Chen Ming to see Wang Lang.
He thought that since the Master before him could guide people into the underworld, then earthly illnesses must surely be easily handled by him.
Chen Ming followed Elder Wang to the door of the room and suddenly felt a chill engulf him. He paused, already understanding in his heart.
With such a terrifying ghostly aura, the person on the bed was probably in grave danger.
Pushing open the door, he indeed saw a young man, a scholar by appearance, floating at the head of the bed, staring blankly at his own body on the bed. That body's face was pale, and its chest showed no rise and fall.
Elder Wang also seemed to sense something and hurried forward, checking Wang Lang's breath, and the result...
"Ah—"
Elder Wang cried out in alarm.
"My son—"
The elder's vital energy was in disarray, his mind lost, and he fell straight backward.
"Master—"
A servant nearby quickly supported Elder Wang. Chen Ming waved his hand, signaling them to take the elder to rest.
Only Chen Ming remained in the room.
"Come out!" Chen Ming beckoned towards Wang Lang's ghost.
"You are the Master who brought my seventh brother back?" Wang Lang's voice trembled slightly.
"I..." He opened his mouth, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Chen Ming said indifferently, "You are already dead. You need to quickly reincarnate, otherwise, your soul will scatter, leading to endless harm."
"I ask you, does that villain have a beauty mark under his left eye?"
A hint of fear flashed in Wang Lang's eyes, and he whispered, "Yes."
Chen Ming nodded, took out the silver he had just received, and gently placed it on the table.
Elder Wang was already old, and now having lost two sons, the decline of his family was only a matter of time.
This money would serve as payment for Wang Lang identifying the Painted Skin Ghost.
...
Outside the Wang residence.
"Young Master, when are we returning to Ink Mountain?" Zhang Bo wiped the grease from his mouth, asking contentedly.
Chen Ming's expression was steady, and he said indifferently, "No rush, I still have important matters to attend to."
He had never expected that the Painted Skin Ghost, which had been on the front page of the opportunity codex for three years, would appear in Ji County. He could not miss this opportunity.
"But Li Detective said..." Zhang Bo's tone was hesitant. He had been a Flying sergeant in his youth, and in his old age, he returned to Ink Mountain. Later, Li Xiangwen introduced him to the yamen for retirement.
Before this trip, Li Detective had repeatedly warned him to return on time, otherwise...
Chen Ming smiled, his tone relaxed: "Don't worry, my brother-in-law can handle it."
"Let's go to the yamen first."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Bo immediately responded, "Alright!"
"Giddy up—"
"Bang—"
The county magistrate looked at the bounty notice on the table, his face full of doubt, "Does the young Master have a way to subdue the demon?"
Such an elegant young man, carrying a peach wood sword, thought he was a true eccentric?
"Young Master, I need the demon's head to claim the reward!"
"No matter."
Hearing that Chen Ming didn't want a deposit or a feast, the county magistrate then asked, "What does the young Master need?"
"I want to visit the study!"
The county magistrate breathed a sigh of relief, waved his hand, "Someone, take this young Master to the study!"
Soon, the night patrolmen led Chen Ming to Siyuan Study.
"You all can go back."
Seeing Chen Ming's instruction, the night patrolmen disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Chen Ming came here because he had obtained a tracking talisman from the opportunity codex, which only required a small amount of the victim's blood to locate the perpetrator.
Originally, Chen Ming had wanted to visit the county yamen's morgue, but he was told that the body had been burned!
"Creak—"
Chen Ming pushed open the courtyard door and, sniffing the faint scent of blood, found the room where the scholar was killed.
He pulled out a yellow talisman from his satchel, folded it into a paper crane, and dabbed it on some congealed bloodstains on the ground.
Then he chanted a spell, and the paper crane, as if brought to life, flapped its wings and flew out of the room.
Chen Ming followed closely behind.
As night fell.
The sky was dark and gloomy.
In the desolate wilderness, with vast expanses all around, only Chen Ming remained. In his ears, only the rustling whisper of the reeds in the wind, like the rambling delirium of a departed soul.
The paper crane flew and flew, eventually transforming into a streak of spiritual light, disappearing into a deserted village before him.
I found you!
Chen Ming entered the village and found a house that could barely shelter him from the wind and rain.
The bonfire crackled loudly, while outside, the cold wind howled furiously.
The occasional night breeze that snaked in made the flames sway from side to side.
Chen Ming's satchel contained three Five Thunder Talismans, his most prized possessions.
Even if the Painted Skin Ghost was strong, it couldn't withstand one thunder talisman.
But he didn't want to use them, after all, thunder talismans were rare, unlike others. And he heard that the Painted Skin Ghost's abilities were mediocre, only capable of some minor tricks involving evil winds, relying on its bloodthirsty appearance to scare the night patrolmen.
If those night patrolmen had been a bit braver, the Painted Skin Ghost would have already been beheaded.
He had helped the hanged ghost Yi Hong reincarnate and obtained the paper-cutting technique. This was a good time to use it and test its effectiveness!
A bun-shaped head, triangular eyes, no nose or small mouth, clad in armor, holding a long spear, with several talismans carved onto its body.
Even after Chen Ming had cut all the white paper he had obtained from the coroner, there was still no movement around him.
Chen Ming could only hold his peach wood sword, lean against the corner, and rest briefly.
Half-asleep, he suddenly heard a slight movement.
"Who's there?"
Chen Ming immediately woke up, holding the peach wood sword in his right hand.
There was no response from outside the door, only a gasp.
Chen Ming frowned and shouted, "Come out."
From the deep darkness outside the door, a woman carrying a bundle slowly walked in.
He breathed a sigh of relief and called the woman in.
By the light of the fire, Chen Ming clearly saw the woman's appearance.
Her figure was graceful, her skin fair, her face beautiful, and most importantly, there was a beauty mark under her left eyelid.
Chen Ming put down his peach wood sword and looked at the woman, "You, a woman, coming here in the middle of the night, aren't you afraid of encountering ghosts?"
The woman bowed gracefully to Chen Ming and said, "I am the daughter of the He family in Ji County. My father forced me to marry an ugly merchant. I refused and ran away. To avoid my family's servants, I hid in the mountains, but then I got lost... Fortunately, I met you, sir."
"In these desolate mountains, where would there be any ghosts?" The woman covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling as she took a step closer, "Besides, sir is so handsome..."
"I'm talking about you." Chen Ming interrupted coldly.
The woman's figure stiffened, then she spun around, her sleeves flaring. As her skirt swirled, a subtle fragrance wafted, and a fine seam on the back of her snow-white neck was faintly visible.
"Young sir—" She suddenly breathed close to his face, "Have you ever seen... a demon that breathes warm air?"
"When you devour people's hearts and minds, are you also this affected?"
The night grew deeper.
The firewood was almost completely burned, leaving only tiny, weak tongues of flame, their light casting flickering shadows in the room.
"If you don't make a move soon, then I will!"
Seeing Chen Ming expose her identity with a single sentence, the Painted Skin Ghost was somewhat surprised and uncertain, and turned to leave.
Chen Ming unhurriedly took out a newly cut paper figure from his sleeve, touched its brow with his fingertip, and whispered, "Taiyin transforms, paper horse wind wheel, as urgent as the law!"
The paper figure flew from his hand, transforming into a streak of light, and shot out the window.
The paper figure grew with the wind, instantly transforming into a white-armored soldier. Under the moonlight, the surface of the paper figure shimmered with a metallic luster, yet subtle paper creases were still visible at its joints.
A moment later, the roar of the Painted Skin Ghost was heard.
Chen Ming walked out of the room, the moonlight like water.
Not far away, six white-armored soldiers were entangled in a fierce battle with a Painted Skin Ghost about ten feet tall, with a green face and fangs.
The white-armored soldiers were only about six feet tall, clad in paper armor, with pale faces, and wielding long spears, fighting back and forth with the Painted Skin Ghost.
The Painted Skin Ghost swung its claw, sending two paper figures flying, emitting a "crunching" tearing sound.
The white-armored soldiers had large holes torn in their bodies, but they remained unaffected, still wielding their long spears.
The Painted Skin Ghost had never seen such a formation. No matter how sharp its ghostly claws were, the white-armored soldiers fought fearlessly.
Soon, several bloody holes were poked into the Painted Skin Ghost's formerly thick and tough skin.
Seeing the situation turn dire, the Painted Skin Ghost's expression grew anxious. It began to chant incantations and wave its hands.
"Roar—"
For a moment, fierce winds howled, and sand and stones flew.
But the white-armored soldiers were already prepared. Their sharp long spears were thrust into the ground, and they were not moved a single inch by the gale, though Chen Ming was somewhat unable to open his eyes due to the wind.
Seeing this, the Painted Skin Ghost jumped onto a withered tree, turning to flee, but it didn't realize that this exposed its back to the white-armored soldiers.
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh—"
Several long spears flew like arrows towards the Painted Skin Ghost, piercing it through and through. With a "thud," it fell from the tree.
Kicking up clouds of dust.
With the Painted Skin Ghost's demise, the white-armored soldiers also disintegrated into scattered pieces of paper, vanishing into the night sky.
Chen Ming slowly walked forward...