After careful confirmation, I knew I had truly been abandoned by the Ancestor Master for the time being. If this matter was not handled properly, my career as a Yin Gua Master would be over.
But I just couldn't understand, what Wang Mazi did, even if it was unintentional, there was a cause! If he hadn't harbored such malicious thoughts in his heart, how could other evil spirits have exploited the loophole?
Otherwise, he wouldn't have done something while it was hot, and even buried her next to the cesspool. Even if Xiao Nuan didn't want to become a fierce ghost, it would have been impossible. She died unjustly in the first place, and with Wang Mazi's meddling, her resentment reached the heavens!
Cursing my bad luck inwardly, I also felt suspicion. Wang Mazi was usually honest and dull, and he hadn't offended anyone in the village. Moreover, judging from his narration, the person who could make him commit such a heinous act would definitely not be human. It was either the work of evil spirits or someone from the Yin path acting behind the scenes.
From either perspective, it indicated one thing: Wang Mazi had offended someone he shouldn't have. It seemed Wang Mazi was still not telling the truth!
Looking at Bai Ling'er beside me, who was gloating, I said angrily, "You saw it long ago, didn't you? Why didn't you remind me? Be careful, I'll cut off your food supply tomorrow..."
"Oh, you made a wrong judgment and you're blaming me, this young lady? If I had known you were like this, I shouldn't have reminded you. I should have let your Ancestor Master take back your magic power and turn you into an idiot..."
I was rendered speechless by Bai Ling'er's words, but it also made me understand the five words "The most poisonous is a woman's heart." Everyone says the most poisonous is a woman's heart, but in my opinion, we should add another point to the most poisonous woman's heart, and that is the heart of a "snake" is not good either, otherwise, why is there the saying of a poisonous "tongue."
I sighed, not wanting to argue with Bai Ling'er, and turned my gaze to Wang Mazi, saying, "Uncle Wang, think about it, have you encountered anything strange in the past month? Or offended anyone?"
Now I had no intention of making money. The most important thing was to get the Ancestor Master's "heart" back, otherwise, my ten years of studying Yin Gua would be in vain. Earning the required amount of money in three months would be harder than climbing to heaven.
Wang Mazi looked at Xiao Nuan and said that apart from encountering her, nothing strange had happened. As for offending people, it was even more impossible. I usually either sold meat or was on my way to buy pigs. The people I interacted with were very few.
Suddenly, Wang Mazi had a look of sudden realization and said excitedly, "Once, I was late returning with pigs and encountered something strange. I don't know if it has anything to do with my family's misfortune?"
I raised an eyebrow and asked him to tell me.
This story had to start from half a month ago. Because of Xiao Nuan's help, my business was getting better and better, which led me to need to go out and buy a large number of live pigs. That trip to collect pigs was a long way, and it was already dusk when I returned.
As I was about to reach the village, I was driving a bit too fast and accidentally knocked down an old lady. I was so scared that my soul almost flew away.
Nowadays, there are many people who stage accidents. Even if you meet fellow villagers, you still have to pay a lot of money. What's more, if you hit a stranger?
When I got out of the car to check, I searched several times but couldn't find anyone. Just as I thought I was seeing things and was about to get back in the car, I suddenly heard someone calling me.
"Brother, wait a moment, I have a question to ask you."
Hearing someone call him, Wang Mazi couldn't help but stop getting into the car and turned to look. This almost scared his three souls and seven spirits away.
Because the person calling him was the old lady he had just hit. Now the old lady was standing by the roadside, completely unharmed, with small, narrow eyes, wearing tattered hemp clothes, and a cloth bundle on her head.
Wang Mazi didn't think much of it and assumed he had seen wrong earlier. After all, he drove out to collect pigs at more than four in the morning and returned at more than six. The fatigue of the day, coupled with the scare, made Wang Mazi's tone a bit unpleasant. He said that if the old lady had something to say, she should just say it, and what was there to ask? Sudan Novel Network
"Then brother, I won't be polite. What do I look like to you?"
As soon as the old lady finished speaking, Wang Mazi felt his vision blur. The old lady he had just seen had disappeared, and in her place stood a fox with grayish-white fur.
It stood on its hind legs, with its front paws placed on its chest, wearing a tattered sack from somewhere, and a handkerchief on its head, like a headscarf for farm work.
Seeing this, Wang Mazi was startled and thought to himself, "How can I be so unlucky to encounter a wild immortal asking for a verbal endorsement?"
If Wang Mazi were a southerner, he might not know what a verbal endorsement was, but as a native of Northeast China, he naturally knew the meaning of a verbal endorsement.
The purpose of wild immortals cultivating was to transform into humans. Only those with sufficient cultivation could ask for a verbal endorsement from humans. If the fox in front of him looked like a human, it could directly transform into human form. If it said it was an immortal, it could save thousands of years of cultivation and be ranked among the immortals.
However, when ordinary people encountered such a situation, they rarely had the courage to say whether the wild immortal looked like a human or an immortal. Most of them would be scared away or fainted, so it was rare for wild immortals to successfully obtain a verbal endorsement.
Perhaps the gray-haired fox saw that Wang Mazi had hit someone and was not afraid, which gave it the idea of asking for a verbal endorsement.
Facing this question, Wang Mazi was immediately troubled, because he knew that whether he said it looked like a human or an immortal, he would be entangled with it.
Although he would receive its reward in the short term, these retributions would fall upon his children. Therefore, Wang Mazi directly shut his mouth and turned to get into the car.
But how could the gray-haired fox miss this opportunity? Since it had revealed its true form to ask Wang Mazi for a verbal endorsement, it could not give up halfway, otherwise, all its cultivation would be wasted.
So when Wang Mazi turned around, what he saw was not his car, but the gray-haired fox, and it was still repeating the same question.
Although Wang Mazi was terrified, he refused to speak. Instead, he sat on the ground and stared at it.
There was a time limit for asking for a verbal endorsement. When the sky was left with only the last trace of white, the gray-haired fox kowtowed to Wang Mazi and bowed to him, hoping he would speak.
But Wang Mazi was as stubborn as a turtle eating a scale, and he didn't make a sound until the last ray of sunlight fell behind the mountain. The gray-haired fox let out a piercing scream, glared at Wang Mazi resentfully, and then ran into the forest...
"I won't say what happened next. I've already told you once..."
Listening to Wang Mazi's narration, I suddenly took a cold breath. The cause and effect of the matter was actually like this. A wild immortal capable of asking for a verbal endorsement must have at least three hundred years of cultivation, or even longer.
Wang Mazi's silence was worse than saying it looked like something. Even if he said it looked like a pig, it would at most ruin half of its cultivation. His silence completely destroyed its three hundred years of cultivation, no wonder it wanted to harm Wang Mazi's family.
"You are foolish! Just say something! Even if you say it looks like a fox, it would be fine! You ruined all its three hundred years of cultivation, who else would it harm if not you! You... what can I say!"
Now there was no need to say more. The cause and effect of the matter had been thoroughly investigated. The wild immortal failed to obtain a verbal endorsement and its cultivation was destroyed. This resentment was not ordinary.
Therefore, it had the idea of harming people. However, due to the disappearance of its cultivation, its ability to harm people was weakened, and it could only use deceptive means. And alcohol is the matchmaker for lust, so... this series of events was only natural.
The only way to solve this now was to find the gray-haired fox and resolve this resentment. However, where to find it was beyond my capabilities. I could only turn my gaze to Bai Ling'er, or more precisely, to the weasels who roasted sheep for her.
Bai Ling'er straightened her body and approached me slowly in mid-air, as if she were human. She said, "Five sheep, and I'll help you solve it."
"You're too greedy! No, that's too much. Three."
"Deal..."
Bai Ling'er agreed very readily, then turned and said to the door, "That Huang family kid, come in."
As soon as Bai Ling'er finished speaking, a weasel with half yellow and half white fur ran in from outside. Its pair of bright eyes looked around before its gaze fell on Bai Ling'er, and it made squeaking sounds.
"Do you know if there's a grayish-white fox around here?"