Fang Min's voice was still hurried on the phone. She said that every night, she would dream of an old man staring at her. He didn't talk, and his dark eyes scared her.
Moreover, this dream lasted for many days. She couldn't eat or sleep well.
She had previously worked as a Red and White Guest, so she had heard a lot about ghosts and evil spirits. After this happened, she quickly went to find someone to ask for a talisman. When she slept at night, she put it on her chest to ensure her safety.
It was good that she didn't ask for the talisman. That night, the old man appeared again. At the same time, Fang Min felt a burning pain in her chest.
She opened her eyes and found that the talisman on her chest was burning. She hurried to put out the fire, but only half of the talisman was left.
When the talisman caught fire, Fang Min felt that it was even more dangerous. She didn't dare to close her eyes that night.
The next morning, she dragged her tired body to find the Daoist priest who had given her the talisman. She wanted to find another way.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished her story, the Daoist priest looked frightened. He didn't say anything and ran away.
Fang Min didn't know what to do in this situation. She didn't have any other way to find someone who knew about this. In a hurry, she remembered me and called me to ask for help.
After listening to her story, I furrowed my brows.
I didn't need to think too much to know that an evil ghost was behind this. As soon as it appeared, it made the talisman burn without any wind. This evil ghost had at least a Ghost General Realm cultivation base.
It was amazing that Fang Min could endure for several days after provoking such a ghost.
However, there was something I couldn't understand.
That year, when I saw Yin energy moving around Fang Min's glabella, I was sure that Old Yuan's ghost had locked onto her. Soon, she would be in trouble.
After that, I could understand whether she died a violent death or was she safe and sound. However, several years later, something happened to her again. What was the reason?
Was this evil ghost a new encounter, or was it a legacy of Old Yuan?
If it was a new encounter, although this evil ghost's cultivation base wasn't ordinary, it wouldn't be difficult for me to deal with it with my current cultivation base and the evil sacrificial spirit.
But if it was the legacy of Old Master Yuan, who was buried in the vat, then it would be even more dangerous now.
At that time, my cultivation was not high. When I heard about the vase burial, I felt that my mortal body would not be able to withstand it. In addition, when Old Master Yuan died, he was already showing signs of turning into a corpse. Under these two effects, evil spirits would definitely be born.
Over the years, as my cultivation has increased, I have thought about this matter many times. I only feel that the ruthlessness hidden in this matter is far greater than what I originally thought.
When the old man died, he showed signs of turning into a corpse. To a large extent, it was because he was still breathing when he died and was in the state of the living dead. After that, he was buried with Buddhist rites and his soul was difficult to disperse.
At this time, his soul was in a strange state between life and death, trapped in the vat coffin. It was hard to predict what would happen.
While I was deep in thought, Fang Min's voice became more sorrowful. She begged me to save her.
I met Fang Min by chance in the past. Fang Min and I could be considered to have some good karma. Now that she came to me for a favor, I naturally couldn't refuse her. Moreover, I was quite interested in the evil spirit buried in the vat. Thus, I agreed on the phone and asked her to send me a detailed address. I would rush over as soon as possible.
After parting with Lao Ai, I planned to go to Shenzhen to prepare for the trip. Then, I would go to the Royal Palace in Thailand to find the Black Knight, Azan Arati.
However, since this had happened, I decided to postpone my trip to Thailand.
After I hung up the phone, I told the evil spirit about what had happened. He didn't know anything about Buddhism, so he wasn't interested in the jar burials. "If you need to go, you can go. He doesn't have any objections."
While we were talking, I received Fang Min's message. I read it carefully and memorized the address. Then, I turned and headed to Min Province. Fang Min's address was in the capital of Min Province.
We went all the way south. At noon the next day, we arrived in Min Province.
After we got out of the car, the evil sacrificial spirit and I didn't rest. We followed Fang Min's address and found a shabby tube-shaped apartment.
We went to the third floor and knocked on the door of the room Fang Min had mentioned. I had been knocking for five minutes, but no one came to open the door.
I frowned. Is Fang Min not home?
Or did something happen to her?
After thinking for a while, I closed my eyes and used my divine sense to sense the room. Soon, I found someone in the room. From her aura, I knew it was Fang Min, whom I had met before.
Moreover, from her aura, everything was normal.
I felt strange. Why didn't she come to open the door if everything was normal? However, I soon got it. She must have been frightened by the nightmares she had experienced in the past few days. I didn't inform her before I came. That was why she didn't hear me when I knocked on the door.
After figuring it out, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I didn't bother to call her, so I directly sent her a voice transmission, telling her that I was knocking on the door. "Don't be afraid and come to open the door."
With my current cultivation, using the Sound Transmission Technique was nothing to me. However, Fang Min was just an ordinary person. She was probably scared out of her wits when the voice suddenly appeared next to her ear. After dawdling for another two minutes, she finally walked over and opened the door.
After she opened the door, I saw that although Fang Min's body was still as plump as before, her aura was completely different.
At this moment, her hair was disheveled, and her beautiful face had lost its color. She was wearing pajamas, which had oil stains on them. It seemed she hadn't changed her clothes for a long time.
She hadn't told me how long the ghost in the dream had tortured her. However, from the looks of it, I guessed it had been at least half a month.
Fang Min had changed in the past few years, and so had I.
After opening the door, Fang Min gazed at me for a while. When her memories overlapped with reality, she suddenly cried. "Mr. Zhou, I don't know what to do. You have to save me!"
While crying, she threw herself at me and tried to get into my arms.
Although I didn't care about the etiquette between men and women, I didn't mind hugging and comforting her.
However, from Fang Min's expression, I knew she wanted to throw herself at me and use her beauty to entertain me. I extended my hand and stopped her. I nodded indifferently and said, "I will save you. Let's go into the room and talk about the details."
Fang Min stopped and wiped her tears. Then, she turned around and invited us into the house.
As soon as we entered the room, I smelled the strong smell of alcohol. The room was littered with empty bottles.
Fang Min noticed my strange expression. She apologized and put the empty bottles on the sofa away. Then, she opened the window to let in some fresh air.
After the smell of alcohol had dispersed, I sat down on the sofa and asked her for the details.
First, I asked her about the time of the nightmare. According to Fang Min, the nightmare started at the end of last month. It had been almost a month since then.
After confirming the time, I told her about Old Man Yuan's burial in the vat. I asked Fang Min to recall her nightmares to see if they were related to that incident.
Hearing me mention it, Fang Min's pale face turned even paler. After a while, she said, "Actually … Actually, I also think that the old man in the nightmare is a bit like the old man from the Yuan family … But it's been a few years since that happened, and I only saw his appearance after he died, so I'm not sure."
I sighed. I was wondering if it was related to that incident. But now, after seeing Fang Min's face, I was sure of it.
It was Old Man Yuan who had turned into a ghost. After several years, he found Fang Min one more time!
However, this made my previous doubts even stronger. What had happened that made that evil ghost wait for years to find Fang Min?
Moreover, after finding her, he didn't take her life directly. Instead, he slowly tortured her like a blunt knife cutting her flesh.
Logically speaking, Fang Min did have to bear the greatest responsibility for what had happened back then.
However, emotionally speaking, Fang Min was just an outsider. Old Man Yuan had to suffer because of his unfilial children and grandchildren.
No matter what, he wouldn't vent his anger on Fang Min.
Could it be that Fang Min had deliberately concealed some of the evil deeds she had done?
With that thought in mind, I asked Fang Min to tell me what had happened that year. I also emphasized that she couldn't hide anything. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to save her life.
After listening to her story, it was exactly the same as what she had told me that year.
I also thought about it. Fang Min was just a guest. She didn't have any grudge against Old Man Yuan's family. She wouldn't have done anything that would anger the heavens.
Now, I was convinced that Fang Min was telling the truth.
However, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't find the root of the problem.
After thinking for a long time, I told Fang Min, "Don't worry. Tonight, I'll enter her dream and meet that old man."
Ghosts could appear in people's dreams. My cultivation base wasn't lower than a Yang God's, so it was easy for me to enter her dream.
Fang Min gawked and dropped her jaw. She couldn't imagine such a thing.
When I arrived, it was already afternoon. After talking for a long time, the sky was getting dark. When Fang Min finished cooking, it was already late at night.
Fang Min had been tortured for several days, and she was exhausted. She was afraid that she couldn't sleep. Now that I was here, she relaxed a lot. She lay down on the sofa and soon fell asleep.
Not long after that, I saw Fang Min furrowing her brows. It seemed she had entered her dream.
I nodded at the evil sacrificial spirit, asking him to enter Fang Min's dream with me to see what was going on.
Of course, the evil sacrificial spirit didn't refuse. However, he wasn't in a hurry. He waved his hand and arranged a thick barrier that covered the entire room.
At this moment, we were in a strange place, so we had to be careful. I didn't think about this. However, the evil sacrificial spirit was meticulous.
After he had set up the barrier, the two of us simultaneously placed our hands on Fang Min's forehead. Then, we closed our eyes and connected our consciousness to Fang Min's dream.
As soon as we entered, I lifted my head and saw a figure shrouded in layers of mist.
However, no matter how hard I tried to look, I couldn't see it clearly.
It was obvious that my cultivation base couldn't break through the mist protecting the evil ghost's body.
At first, I thought that this ghost only had a Ghost General cultivation base. But now, it seemed I had underestimated it.
Fortunately, the evil sacrificial spirit was here. I didn't waste my time and turned to ask the evil sacrificial spirit, "How strong is this ghost?"
The evil sacrificial spirit answered me. "This ghost has the power of the peak of the Yang God Realm.
Peak of the Yang God Realm!
Hearing these words, I couldn't help but be startled.
It was much harder for ghosts to cultivate than for living people.
It had only been a few years since Grandpa Yuan had been buried, but he had reached such a realm. I had never heard of such a thing before.
At this moment, the evil spirit also noticed us. The figure shrouded in the mist turned to look at us and asked in a sinister voice, "Who are you?"
Of course, the evil sacrificial spirit didn't pay attention to him. I thought for a while then said, "Ghosts have their own paths, and people have their own paths.
What happened to Grandpa that year was related to Fang Min's mishandling of the matter, but it has been so many years. He should have let it go. Why did he cause trouble again today? "
I asked this question because I wanted to know the reason and to confirm the old man's identity.
Fang Min hadn't told me the details, so I wasn't sure yet.
At this moment, the evil spirit lifted his leg and walked out of the fog, and his cold voice sounded, "Why do I need to explain my actions to you?"
I was bewildered when I heard his answer.
He seemed to have admitted his identity, but why did he call himself 'this old monk'?
Before I could figure it out, his figure emerged from the mist. The first thing I saw was a big, shiny head.
Old Man Yuan's evil spirit had a bald head, and there were several scars on it. Counting them carefully, there were at least nine of them.
As far as I knew, besides the tonsure ceremony, Buddhists also had the 'Heart Cleansing' ceremony.
After they entered the temple and studied for a while, the old monk would use incense to light the first scar on their monk's head. It was called the 'Heart Cleansing' ceremony.
Then, in the next one or two years, if their performance was good, they would receive a second scar, which was called 'Le Fu'.
Generally speaking, if everything went well, the senior monks in the temple could have five or six scars, while the abbots of important temples could have eight or nine scars.