My words stunned everyone present, especially the village chief, whose expression shifted unpredictably, appearing incredibly strange under the flashlight's beam.
"Evidence? What other evidence is needed? The four children's pupils contracted to the size of millet grains, clearly their souls were captured by wild spirits. If it wasn't a Yellow Immortal, it must have been a Grey Immortal. You're holding a Grey Immortal, and you also keep Yellow Immortals at home. Do I need to say more?"
I was rendered speechless by Gou Danzi's words, as he was indeed correct. The souls of these four children had indeed been captured by wild spirits, and the real culprit was the corpse rat I held in my hand. However, this corpse rat had nothing to do with me. As for Huang San, he was caught by Bai Ling'er to do the "barbecue" work, but today's matter had nothing to do with him.
Squeak—
Upon hearing Gou Danzi mention himself, Huang San suddenly yelped. However, before it could make any move, Bai Ling'er swatted it to the ground with her tail. Its small eyes looked incredibly wronged at Bai Ling'er, who was coiled on a palm-leaf fan.
"It has nothing to do with you. Don't cause more trouble."
After being reprimanded by Bai Ling'er, Huang San obediently lowered its head and looked at the ground, occasionally glancing at Gou Danzi, which scared Gou Danzi into wanting to burrow into the crowd.
Seeing me looking at him with a half-smile, Gou Danzi's expression became conflicted for a moment. He straightened his back and stood before me, saying, "Song Qingyun, the evidence is now conclusive. You hold the birth dates of the four children, you have the corpse of the wild spirit in your grasp, and you have two wild spirits behind you. I think everyone present already understands who harmed these children? Even if you didn't do it, this matter is likely related to you, isn't it?"
Gou Danzi's words garnered agreement from some of the onlookers and opposition from others, but it was only whispered murmurs, as the final decision on whether I could remain in the village ultimately rested with the village chief.
In fact, even if Gou Danzi hadn't asked me to leave, I would have intended to leave anyway, because the pace of making money in the village was too slow. The only wealthy person in the village, Wang Mazi, was already dead. As for other households, earning twenty to thirty thousand a year was already quite a lot.
To earn the amount my master required in three months, I had to go to a big city. If I wanted to earn that much money in the village, even selling everyone wouldn't be worth that much.
I could leave, but I couldn't leave so easily. If I were to leave, it had to be openly. A person lives for their reputation, just as a tree lives for its bark. If I were to be squeezed out by Gou Danzi in such a dejected manner, what would happen to my master's reputation if he returned to retire?
I sneered at Gou Danzi, then turned my gaze to the village chief and said, "Village Chief, I have a way to prove that I did not confine the children's souls, and I can even find the real culprit."
"Really?"
The village chief looked at me with suspicion, not quite believing my words.
After all, the evidence before everyone clearly put me at a disadvantage. There were Yellow Weasels and snakes. If it weren't for my master's prestige in the village, the village chief would have likely led the charge to drive me away.
"Village Chief, you can't believe him. This kid just wants to play tricks. It's more important to return the children's souls to their bodies, otherwise, after midnight it will be..."
Gou Danzi's words made the village chief hesitate. He didn't care about the life or death of the other children; what he cared about was his own only son. He couldn't let the lineage end with him, or he would be dragged and beaten by his ancestors in the underworld after death. Su Dan Novel Network
After a moment of hesitation, the village chief decided to wake the children first and then find out who the real culprit was.
I had no objections to this and even agreed with both hands, because no matter how many times I explained some things, people wouldn't believe me. However, if some words were spoken by their children, the outcome would be entirely different.
The children were still placed in the village chief's house, lying side by side on the kang. Their little faces were pale, but the pained expressions were gone. This was because their souls had been retrieved from the corpse rat. Otherwise, being suppressed by the "corpse stele" would have made it difficult even to breathe.
Taking the yellow paper with their birth dates from the village chief, I didn't rush to release the children's souls. Instead, I said to Gou Danzi, "Gou Danzi, isn't this the time for you to contribute?"
Gou Danzi, who had been hiding behind the crowd, was first stunned when I called his name, then put on a disdainful expression and said, "You did the wicked deed yourself, and you want me to clean up your mess? I think you've got water in your brain."
Facing Gou Danzi's curse, I grinned, my heart confirming once again that the corpse rat was Gou Danzi's wild spirit. However, how he worshipped it and how it colluded with the corpse rat still needed further investigation.
I unfolded the yellow paper and called out the names of the children one by one. As I called each name, I placed the yellow paper on their foreheads, simultaneously activating the Xuan Yang True Qi within me to accelerate the return of their souls to their bodies.
By the time the yellow paper was placed on the forehead of the last child, the first child had already woken up. Their face was still pale, but the dazed expression was gone.
"Mom, what happened to me? I'm so hungry!"
"It's okay, you just slept for a while. Let's go home, and Mom will give you something delicious."
"Grandma, sob sob... I thought I would never see you again..."
"My poor child, why are you so unconcerned about me? If something happened to you, how would I explain it to your parents..."
For a moment, the room was filled with tears of joy, scolding the children for being disobedient, and promises to cook good food for them at home. Everyone expressed their joy at the children's return in their own way.
Where there was joy, there was naturally worry. After the souls of several children returned to their bodies, Gou Danzi, who had been standing at the edge of the crowd, had vanished.
I sneered inwardly, thinking that a monk might run away, but the temple wouldn't. That kid would have to pay for his earlier reckless words.
Seeing his grandson awake, the village chief put the child aside and, with the fathers of the other children, walked up to me.
"Qingyun, you said earlier that someone else harmed our children. Tell us who it is. It would be too lenient if I didn't skin him alive..."
"Damn it, skinning him is too light a punishment. He should be driven out of the village and sent as far away as possible."
"Exactly, what face does such a person have to live in the village? They might as well find a piece of tofu and smash themselves to death..."
As the children woke up, their parents' attitudes towards me underwent a significant change. Although they didn't explicitly admit that the children weren't harmed by me, their actions already indicated their acceptance of this fact.
"That's strange, where did Gou Danzi, who was just here, go? How did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"