But I didn't mind, even if they had gone with me to the City God Temple, they couldn't overhear anything.
For me, it's entirely because Uncle Huang has good character, and I'm not familiar with his arrangement of the epidemic ghosts, so I didn't leak any information to the City God's Official.
Soon, a taxi stopped, and after I got on the bus and gave the approximate location of the suburbs, we set off.
This time was the late rush hour, so the road was very congested. I had not rested for a long time and had a slight headache, so I closed my eyes to recuperate.
......
"Brother, wake up, brother?"
I got a shock and opened my eyes as someone messed with my shoulders twice.
The driver smiled and told me we had arrived, explaining that there was more traffic today than usual.
I paid the fare and got off the bus, pushing open the door.
I leaned against a tree trunk on the side of the road, squinted my eyes, and felt the warmth of the setting sun.
Another gust of wind blew, and I finally snapped out of my daze.
I didn't sleep for long in the car, but under these circumstances, even a brief nap made me feel much more energetic.
Glancing around in all directions, I realized this was not the location of the City God Temple.
After roughly distinguishing the direction, I walked forward.
The feeling of following had weakened somewhat, but it still existed.
With the vastness of the suburbs, even a small error in location took me over twenty minutes to walk.
After taking the moat road, I walked to the City God Temple when it was already very dark.
Today's City God Temple was a bit more lively, with many people lighting incense and making offerings for blessings.
I didn't see Uncle Huang anywhere, so I had to wait inside the main hall.
As time went on, I still tightly held my phone, watching the screen carefully.
Halfway through the afternoon, the City God's Official hadn't found the location of Jia Ying yet, which only added to my frustration.
The number of people in the main hall kept decreasing, and after it got completely dark that day, the crowd finally dispersed.
The incense sticks in the copper furnace quietly burned, white smoke lingered above the top of the three statues.
Uncle Huang had his hands clasped behind his back, finally emerged from the statues.
"Divine youth, why have you come?" Uncle Huang's tone was calm, but his expression immediately stiffened as he glanced towards the outside of the City God Temple.
"Uncle Huang, about Jia Ying..."
I tried to keep my composure and told Uncle Huang everything that had happened today.
Uncle Huang's expression gradually turned from surprise to doubt.
A cold, sharp gaze fell from the top of my head.
Even though I had dealt with Sir Yè several times, I couldn't help but lift my head and take a quick glance.
Sir Yè's arms were linked together, floating in the middle of the beam, and the two pale faces looked extremely fierce.
I turned back to look at Uncle Huang and added a sentence.
"The people of the City God's Official have been following me."
Uncle Huang heavily exhaled a murky breath and said, "You did nothing wrong with your actions. The reason I didn't communicate this information with the City God's Official is because the bottom nine flows have too much evil energy. For epidemic ghosts, this is an excellent supplement."
"During this time, the regulators have been investigating this matter with me, but they've encountered some trouble, and their hands are tied up. I didn't expect that the epidemic ghosts would take advantage of this moment. You need to contact the people from the City God's Official immediately and destroy those two bodies."
Uncle Huang explained to me that people who died from being swallowed by epidemic ghosts had their life essence forcibly stripped away from their bodies. The resentment of the body became extremely abundant, attracting various fierce ghosts and phantoms. They would be dominated by the resentment and become walking corpses, extremely fearsome.
My face changed again, and without hesitation, I was about to call the Mr. Yang.
In the end, both mobile phone screens lit up, and Mr. Yang had called me first.
My heart skipped a beat, and I answered immediately.
"Divine nephew, we've found Jia Ying's location, but it's a tricky situation; there could be problems," the solemn voice of Mr. Yang came through.
"What kind of trouble?" I furrowed my brow and asked.
Mr. Yang then explained to me that Jia Ying's car had disappeared in an abandoned old village in the southern suburbs of the city.
The problem lies with that old village.
In fact, long before Jin Yashi developed, that village was already marked with the mark of an abandoned prison. The unfinished building was considered a third-grade abandoned prison, but that abandoned old village was a second-class one.
No one knows how the evil prison was formed, but once trouble started there, it became a forbidden place where strangers were not allowed to enter. The City God's Official couldn't afford to take care of this matter, and the regulators have been sending in Taoists year-round, but they are unable to clean up there.
Through their interactions with the regulators several times, they managed to learn some information about the abandoned old village. In that village, there used to be a murderer who committed numerous murders and caused the death of many people.
At this point, Mr. Yang's tone became somewhat difficult: "Divine nephew, this matter exceeds the scope of the City God's Official's capabilities. Although Jia Ying has a different identity, we are indeed unable to manage it. I must also advise you to stay out of this matter. The City God's Official has ways to conceal your aura and prevent ghosts from finding you."
"We also need to report this matter to the regulators immediately, as there are ghosts that can come out of the abandoned old village."
Mr. Yang was full of helplessness and seriousness.
I could tell he wasn't putting on a show.
I felt goosebumps all over my body, and the joints of my fingers, which were tightly gripping the phone, had turned white.
I was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I will take care of this matter. You can't interfere, so please don't. Send me the address of that village and then do another thing - destroy the bodies of Shih Qing and another Zhao Zui! Do it quickly, or they will attract fierce ghosts and wandering souls! It's not good for your City God's Office!"
My tone was very serious.
The phone was silent for a moment, and then it said, "I'll send it to you later, divine nephew, think it over."
The phone call ended.
Soon, I received a text message, with the address on it.
I briefly explained the content of the phone call to Uncle Huang.
"QiJiaVillage..." Uncle Huang's face changed again.
"Do you know that place?" I felt a slight joy in my heart, thinking that Uncle Huang might be able to provide me with more information.
Uncle Huang took a deep breath, and his face grew even more tense before he said, "QiJia Village once had hundreds of people die, and not a single soul reported in. The underworld sent someone to the village, and a person was lost..."
"The previous abandoned building you handled was just a strange ghost, and the others were evil ghosts attracted by the negative energy. They wouldn't necessarily be consistent with it against the other party. The regulators don't necessarily refuse to take care of it; they just think the level of trouble is not enough, so they let the City God's Office handle it instead."
"But QiJia Village is a place that the regulators are really helpless with. They haven't stopped investigating the village in recent years, and they will send their disciples to cultivate in a safe area around the periphery. However, no one dares to enter the interior of it..."
"The epidemic ghost went in..." Uncle Huang's expression grew increasingly grim.
In that instant, I suddenly realized like a revelation, surprised and asking, "Is he planning to eat the ghosts inside?"
The interior of the main hall became extremely quiet.
Uncle Huang nodded, then in a low voice said, "Sir Yè and the daily patrol are both cautious about being too noticeable in that village. Even though the epidemic ghost has the characteristic of eating ghosts, it's not any ghost that can eat another. Over this period, with Sir Yè and the daily patrol alternating their patrols, and with regulators searching in the shadows, he's been unable to replenish himself. That village is too dangerous; he might turn turtle and be torn apart by other ghosts. Or possibly..."
Uncle Huang's words suddenly came to an end.
The second half of the sentence was left unfinished, but its meaning was clear.
After a while, he said to me, "Divine youth, you should go to the City God's Office first. I need to find the elder of the regulators. This matter is beyond your capabilities."
"Jia Ying... perhaps she is in grave danger."
Uncle Huang's eyes were filled with compassion, but he still made a gesture of invitation, indicating that it was time for him to leave.
