Zheng Xiu was really curious.

Ruchen suddenly chuckled, and there was a bit of weird wretchedness on his face, but the strange expression disappeared in a flash. Ruchen coughed twice and replied: "The young monk once heard that when he was young, the masters were just gatekeepers.

When a monk sees someone visiting, he will take the initiative to say, "Wait a minute." When the visitors see the master's kindness, they can't help but stop. After waiting, stopping, and talking, decades pass by, and suddenly one day

, the master will become.”

Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei looked at each other.

Can this even be done?

Zheng Xiu was very sure that Master Waiting's thaumaturgy had nothing to do with him.

Wait, how old is the master?

In other words, before Baili Village, magic had already existed in the world, but it was just hidden too deeply and no one cared about it.

Zheng Xiu was relieved, said goodbye to Ruchen, and walked out of Yunliu Temple.

In the mountain forest, Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu walked side by side. Feng Bei said calmly: "The painting has its own world, and it is most likely that it has become a special ghost."

"You think so too?"

Zheng Xiu smiled: "Do you think that painting is a strange thing?"

Feng Bei thought for a moment, then shook his head: "In my opinion, it's not like that. If Gongsun Mo who lived two hundred years ago was really a natural stranger, once he died, the strange things attached to him would disappear.

Between heaven and earth, one day strange things will appear on their own and choose another master to be born with them. Unless..."

"Unless something."

Feng Bei: "Unless Gongsun Mo is still alive."

Zheng Xiu was noncommittal.

He thought it was impossible.

But as of now, nothing is impossible.

Feng Bei then said: "They are fixed in the painting. It is a painting of cannibalism. If there is a ghost inside the painting, everything will make sense. They are all pulled into the painting."

Zheng Xiu frowned: "But there is one thing that doesn't make sense. The conditions for the generation of ghosts are extremely harsh. They need to be formed at the interface between the eternal darkness and the eternal world. To get close to the eternal darkness, a large number of human souls need to attack the barrier of the eternal darkness and the ordinary world. It's just a mere attack.

A painting... No, maybe it only makes sense if Gongsun Mo is truly a natural stranger."

Zheng Xiu originally wanted to say it was impossible based on conventional theories. But when he thought about his experiences during this period, Zheng Xiu felt that as long as he had some contact with strangers, there was nothing impossible.

Strangers are born in the doorway and cannot be inferred by common sense.

This is true whether it is Zheng Xiu’s [Prisoner] or Feng Bei’s [Executioner].

"But since the painting is in the hands of Master Waiting, with Ye Weiyang's style, it is not convenient for us to snatch it by force."

Fengbei Road.

Zheng Xiu looked helpless: "Indeed, we have no enmity with him. We even made a request to see the painting, and the master complied with us. If it were a hard grab, Zheng would be somewhat reluctant. But then

The weirdness of the sub-painting really aroused Zheng’s interest.”

Feng Bei nodded: "If there is really a ghost hidden in that painting, the missing stars and Xixian Si must be trapped in the painting. The Ye Weiyang waist badge I saw at a glance does not seem to be fake."

Zheng Xiu smiled and asked, "What do you think? Do you want to fulfill Ye Weiyang's duty to save people?"

A slight smile appeared on Feng Bei's face: "Whatever Brother Zheng thinks, Feng Bei will do."

The implication is that Zheng Shan has the final say.

"Two sisters and uncle..."

Chu Susu was like a child who had done something wrong, her eyes flickered, and she weakly raised her hand: "There is one thing...I...I..."

"I couldn't help but try it before I left."

"I want to say that the old master is kind-hearted and doesn't know how to curse."

"did not expect,"

She took out her hand hidden in her clothes, and as if by magic, pulled out a long oil-covered object from her thin chest.

Chu Susu lowered her head and handed over the cannibal painting: "I stole it accidentally and succeeded."

Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei looked shocked and were speechless for a moment.

Chu Susu knew she had done something wrong.

I couldn't hold it back for a moment and stole the painting.

Looking at the expressions of his uncle and sister at this moment, he thought they were angry.

After all, my uncle not long ago said not to do anything without his orders.

"I just couldn't hold it back." Seeing the silence between the two of them, Chu Susu thought that Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu were angry, so she asked timidly: "Then, do you want to return this painting?"

…

Shortly after Zheng Xiu, Feng Bei and Chu Susu left.

In Yunliu Temple.

In the main hall with the door closed, the old monk was alone, beating the wooden fish in the darkness.

The hollow and dull tapping sound of wooden fish echoed in the empty main hall, once, twice, three times, four times...

The old monk's movements of knocking on the wooden fish became slower and slower.

suddenly.

The old monk stopped banging the wooden fish and let out a long sigh.

call out.

The long-burning candles in the main hall swayed suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, they were extinguished one by one.

In an instant, the main hall was dark and lightless, and it was impossible to see even one's fingers.

"ah--"

At some point, a dark raven stood on the beam of the main hall. Until the candlelight in the room was completely extinguished, the raven crowed, shrill and strange.

"Since you're here, why don't you show up?"

The old monk said to the empty door.

The raven on the beam seemed to understand the human words, swooped down, and flew around the door at a low speed.

As the raven flies, black crow feathers begin to fall from the raven's body.

First, one of the crow feathers twisted and squirmed in the darkness, turning into a second raven like flesh and blood.

The second raven continued to fly, its crow feathers floating out.

More and more ravens were flying in the main hall, and the crow feathers seemed to have become fresh flesh and blood, turning into agile black ravens out of thin air.

The rotating flock of ravens was like a storm, and the flying flocks of crows hit each other and twisted into one piece. The ravens screamed, and each raven turned into blood and minced meat in the collision.

The blood and minced meat forcibly mixed together in that corner were like a deep black hole or an abyss. At this time, a figure with unusually slender limbs slowly walked out.

The black figure is wrapped in tattered black cloth. The most eye-catching thing is the messy snow-white dry hair. The thin face and eyes are covered with several thick layers of red cloth. In the red cloth, there is a faint glow.

Six points of bloody light were moving, like six eyeballs hidden behind a red blindfold, which was chilling.

If Zheng Xiu were here at this moment, he would be surprised to find that the abyss-like haze made of raven flesh and blood is somewhat similar in shape to the teleportation channel when Zheng Xiu opened the [Inn] in the prison of his heart.

The strange man with slender arms and legs and white hair, who looked like a human but not human, walked out of the passage and stood quietly aside.

"call--"

"call--"

When "his" chest rose and fell, the sound of "his" long breathing echoed in the main hall.

"Ye Weiyang, crow breeder."

The old monk revealed the identity of the weirdo, but his cloudy eyes did not stop at the "crow keeper", but stared at the passage of the crows.

"Master of the State, Master of the State," the old monk sighed: "How are you?"

"The Imperial Master is dead, and I am the Night Lord." A powerful voice came from the passage, but he did not show up.

The old monk was silent.

The Night Master smiled and said: "Thank you for hand-delivering the painting to the 'Human Pillar'."

The old monk closed his eyes and frowned: "This is their choice and has nothing to do with the old monk."

The Night Lord was silent for a moment and said: "Old friend, you don't need to feel guilty. This is just a big empty dream. You already knew this, so why bother with it."

The old monk said: "If you don't wake up from the dream, then it is true."

"A dream is still a dream, and it's hard for a fake to come true. What I did was just to bring order out of chaos and get everything back on track."

Old monk: "Sin."

Night Lord: "Not a crime."
To be continued...