Being suddenly questioned by Qin Ye, Guan Xinghe was momentarily stunned. He thought for a bit, pondered for a moment, and then spoke, "The ghost child was discovered by the villagers. The villagers went back to discuss and then invited a Taoist master to exorcise the ghost."
Before he finished speaking, Guan Xinghe seemed to imply something with his words and immediately added another sentence. "They invited a very powerful and kind old Taoist master."
After weighing things in his heart, Guan Xinghe decided to recount the story of how his ancestor obtained the pendant bead as the continuation of the story Qin Ye had told.
Because, Guan Xinghe needed to confirm something. Why was the story told by the man in front of him, the enemy of the Black City God, so similar to the story of how his ancestor obtained the pendant bead? He had to determine whether the two were the same story.
At that moment, when Qin Ye heard this, the smile on the corner of his mouth arced upward, and he vaguely confirmed one thing: the person in front of him obtaining the pendant bead was not a coincidence.
At this time, Guan Xinghe took the initiative to speak, "Did I guess the follow-up correctly?"
"That's basically right. It was indeed an old Taoist master. As for whether he was very powerful? He should be, since he was somewhat famous in the local area."
As Qin Ye spoke these words, Guan Xinghe's gaze became sharp. He said, "You're not going to continue the story?"
"Don't rush, let me organize my words." Qin Ye smiled.
"The villagers, after discovering the ghost child, were very afraid. Since ancient times, the paths of humans and ghosts have been separate. Especially in ancient times, people would tremble at the mention of ghosts. After all, the love story of Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian was rare—what was more common was ghosts harming people."
"So, the three villagers hurried back and immediately discussed with the elder villagers, deciding to invite someone to exorcise the ghost."
"To avoid alerting the ghost, the villagers secretly raised funds and sent one of the three villagers to go to the town and find a Taoist master to exorcise the ghost."
"And then, they found a young Taoist master."
When Guan Xinghe heard this, he froze. 'A young Taoist master?'
However, at this moment, Qin Ye raised his hand, signaling him to stay calm, and continued. "The villagers, upon meeting this young Taoist master through an introduction, were unwilling to hire him for the exorcism, thinking he was too young and probably not skilled enough."
"The young Taoist master didn't mind. He simply said he could invite an old Taoist master. When the villagers heard that an old Taoist master would take the job, they were naturally willing. After all, an old Taoist master had experience and should be reliable."
"So, the young Taoist master took the money, and that very night, an old Taoist master rushed to the village without delay and immediately went to exorcise the ghost. As a result, the ghost child was indeed almost exorcised."
"However, at the critical moment, the children of the village stopped the old Taoist master."
"These children had developed feelings for the ghost child. Seeing that the ghost child was about to be taken away, they all rushed forward—some clung to the old Taoist master, while others bit his hands, preventing him from holding his peachwood sword."
"Moreover, the children pleaded with the old Taoist master and the villagers, saying that the ghost child had never harmed them, only wanting to be their friend."
"The children also told the story of how the ghost child had saved one of them from the mountain spirits and ghosts."
"When the villagers learned of this, they looked at each other in embarrassment, realizing they had acted with good intentions but done something wrong. They had no choice but to plead with the old Taoist master not to take the ghost child away."
"The old Taoist master, being old and kind-hearted, was not one of those stubborn and rigid orthodox Taoists, so he did not exorcise the ghost child. Instead, he kindly reminded the villagers that having a ghost child around was not a good thing and advised it to leave and stop playing with the children."
At this point, Qin Ye looked at Guan Xinghe. The next second, without needing to be asked, Guan Xinghe instinctively responded. "Humans and ghosts walk different paths. Humans are of yang energy, ghosts are of yin energy. Staying together for too long will only weaken the human's yang energy. At best, it will make them frail and sickly; at worst, it will cause their death."
"The children had strong yang energy and would not be affected by the ghost child for a while, but over time, it would inevitably harm them."
"Yes, that's exactly it." Qin Ye nodded, then continued playing his game while speaking.
"A ghost child is not suitable to play with living people, even if it simply wants to find a playmate without any intention to harm."
"So at that time, the children cried—especially the little girls, who sobbed pitifully for the ghost child, pleading with the old Taoist master to help, not wanting the ghost child to be lonely and miserable."
"The old Taoist master then wanted to take the ghost child in as a ghost disciple and keep it by his side so it wouldn't be alone."
"But the ghost child refused. It had formed a bond with the children and didn't want to leave. It even made a pinky promise with one of the little girls. It was like a childhood version of Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian."
"The ghost child then begged the old Taoist master to find a way for it to live with people."
"The old Taoist master said he had no way to help. After all, a ghost is ultimately a being of the underworld. Even if there was a way to prevent the children from being harmed by its yin energy, it was still a ghost. If it didn't reincarnate, it would ultimately become a wandering lonely ghost."
"I know about this." At this moment, Guan Xinghe took over the conversation.
"Ghosts belong to the underworld. Not only are they not allowed to linger in the world of the living for too long, but the underworld also does not permit it. Once discovered by the local land god or mountain god, they are bound by duty to report it to the underworld."
"At that time, either the underworld would contact the authorities of the mortal realm, or directly send the Black and White Impermanence to take the ghost child away."
Qin Ye didn't look up. He replied, "You're right. In fact, it was only a matter of time before the ghost child was discovered. Since the villagers lived by the mountains, the mountain god would eventually find out. Moreover, the presence of a ghost in the village would increase the yin energy."
"Even if the mountain god didn't notice, any passing Taoist with some ability would."
"The old Taoist master at the time said he couldn't help. But he didn't just stand by and do nothing. Instead, he gave the ghost child a bad idea."
"He said he himself was powerless to help, but there was someone who could. And when the old Taoist described this person, the villagers realized—it was the young Taoist master they had initially refused to hire."
As the story reached this point, Guan Xinghe completely lost his composure. The story told by the man in front of him and the story of how his ancestor obtained the pendant bead were not just similar—they were exactly the same.
He couldn't help but blurt out, "Then later… the old Taoist master said the young Taoist was far more powerful than him?"
Qin Ye put down his phone. On the screen, the words "Game Over" were displayed. He looked up with a smile and asked, "And what happened next?"
Breathing heavily, Guan Xinghe looked at Qin Ye and said, "You—you—you are the benefactor my ancestor spoke of, the young Taoist master from back then!!"
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