Chapter 217 Leaving
Time passed quickly, and after ten days or so, Li Daoxuan was able to get out of bed and walk freely.

The wounds on his body have basically healed, except for a few deeper wounds that are still growing flesh, some of the skin injuries have already scarred.

Sitting in the main room, drinking tea and basking in the spring sunshine.

Gong Youwei was sleeping beside him, while he was reading a book.

At this time, a maid hurried in, bowed to Li Daoxuan, and then whispered: "Master, someone outside wants to see you."

"Who wants to see me?" Li Daoxuan put the teacup on the table and asked curiously.

"It's the old village chief. There are several guards following him. It looks like he's going to be sentenced."

"Let him in." Li Daoxuan pondered for a moment and asked the maid to bring someone in. Although he didn't know why the old village chief wanted him to come, there must be a reason.

Now everyone is going to be sent to the yamen, so it doesn't hurt to meet him temporarily. He has committed such a serious crime, and it involves several lives. Now that the old village chief is in the yamen, no one knows what will happen to him.

If one is convicted of "practicing witchcraft", according to the Great Qing Law, beheading or imprisonment would be the lightest punishment.

This old village chief had been doing good deeds for half his life, but he never expected that he would become a prisoner because of a single thought. It really shows how unpredictable things are in this world.

Li Daoxuan sighed a little, and then the sound of clanging iron chains came from outside the house.

After a while, two officers in official uniforms came in with a white-haired old man.

The old man had unkempt hair and a mass of white hair. His body was so thin that only bones were left, and he had a shackle around his neck.

He was wearing a single garment and standing in front of Li Daoxuan with his back to the light.

Before Li Daoxuan could speak, the old man knelt on the ground with a clang, kowtowed to him several times, and then said in a hoarse voice: "Daoxuan, Grandpa Cheng thanks you."

"Grandpa Cheng, please stand up quickly." Li Daoxuan immediately stood up and walked forward, knelt down on his knees, and helped the old village chief up.

Li Daoxuan felt that he could not bear it when an elder from the same clan suddenly knelt down to him.

Looking at his current slovenly appearance, Li Daoxuan felt very sad. He was an old man over 60 years old, and he didn't expect that he would suffer such a disaster when he was about to be buried. It can only be said that he deserved it.

"It is me, it is me, who has let down the villagers of Lijia Village!" The old village chief burst into tears and sighed, "I am to blame for the death of Li Laosan, and I am also to blame for the death of the two boys from the Changde family. It is still to blame for the death of Li Cai's wife. It is all because of me that I was bewildered and believed what others said, which led to the tragedy today! If I hadn't had such thoughts at the beginning, they wouldn't be dead now."

"Daoxuan, if you have a way, please tell them on behalf of Grandpa Cheng. I feel so sorry for them!"

The old village chief's voice trembled, sadness overflowed, his whole body was shaking, and he could feel the excitement.

Being a highly respected person, he never thought that one day he would be thrown into jail with guilt.

"Grandpa Cheng, I understand. You must take care of yourself on your journey." Li Daoxuan was speechless and could only speak out to comfort him.

He didn't know what to say, or perhaps there was no need to say anything. It had already happened, and it was too late to regret.

Li Daoxuan asked the old village chief how the Japanese wizard came to his house.

The old village chief told him that his grandson had fallen ill not long after the Chinese New Year. The old village chief had no choice but to go to the Da Baoen Temple in Jinling to pray for blessings. Unexpectedly, he met a monk in the temple who said that he was carrying evil spirits, and it was possible that there were evil spirits in their village, so his grandson fell ill. He introduced him to a Japanese monk who said that he could cure his grandson's disease.

Who knew that not long after that, his grandson died.

When the Japanese wizard came again, he said he could seal his grandson in a bronze coffin and borrow the villagers' lifespan to revive him. When the old village chief heard that he only needed to borrow one or two years of the villagers' lifespan to revive his grandson, he agreed to the Japanese wizard's request as if by magic. Later, the Turtle Town Pond, the Yinshui Well and other events happened.

"I only found out later that the Japanese wizard's original target was Li Xiucai's wife and the fetus in her belly. I introduced the Japanese wizard to Xiucai's wife, but who knew that the two of them would have an affair. I had no choice but to conceal this scandal because of me, a village leader who is highly respected by everyone. I never thought that what happened later would happen."

The old village chief's words were full of regret and self-blame. Perhaps after things inevitably went astray, he could only stand by and watch.

The old village chief chatted with Li Daoxuan for a long time. When it was getting dark and the officers urged them to set off, the old village chief said goodbye to Li Daoxuan and set off for Dongyang Town.

When leaving, Li Daoxuan handed the officers a few taels of silver and asked them to take good care of the old village chief on the road. The officers were naturally overjoyed to receive the silver and agreed to it one after another.

Li Daoxuan withdrew his gaze only after the three men led the donkey and horse away.

Singing "The road of life, how long is it?" he returned to the house.

Smoke from cooking fires lingers in the quiet Lijia Village, and the villagers' lives go on as usual.

Even though such a big thing has happened, people who should live still live.

But for some people, their lives have also changed.

Li Daoxuan rested in the old house for another half a month. When the weather in February gradually became warmer, his injuries were almost healed.

During this period, Mr. Li and Mrs. Li also came to see him and blamed him for not taking good care of himself. He could only stammer and try his best to comfort his parents.

Li Yanming would also come to ask for advice every day. He said that he wanted to be a doctor and no longer wanted to be a Taoist priest who slayed demons and eliminated evil spirits. Li Daoxuan sighed when he heard this. The child who had aspired to be a hero was now beginning to change.

So during the time when Li Daoxuan was recuperating, he taught Li Yanming how to read and write, and passed on some knowledge about meridians and herbs to him. He also gave him several medical books in the old house, telling him to read them and then he could follow the village doctor to see the villagers. When he came back later, he would bring him some other medical books.

Li Yanming was naturally very grateful and sent Li Daoxuan a chicken every few days. Li Daoxuan's face became rounder after eating so much that Gong Youwei, who was with him every day, said that he had gained weight.

In response to this, Li Daoxuan decided to lose weight after his injury healed and he would never become a fat boy.

During the period of recuperation, Li Daoxuan did not forget to go to the illusion world to learn from his masters.

After learning that his apprentice was seriously injured, Xu Fu taught him a set of ancient Qigong methods. As long as he practiced according to this method, the injuries to the meridians would heal quickly. Moreover, this method was passed down from the ancient Qigong technique, and it was much more powerful than the current Taoist inner alchemy technique. Practicing this method often can better control the Qi and strengthen the body.

As for Uncle Jiu, after knowing that Li Daoxuan was in danger, he asked him to practice more. This time he was even more brutal than before, and Li Daoxuan screamed in pain every day when he woke up.

As for Madam Nanhua, he had only met her a few times. When they met by chance for tea, they just talked about Taoism. In the end, Yan Chixia was eager to protect his disciple, so he taught Li Daoxuan a set of swordsmanship overnight. As long as he practiced well, this swordsmanship alone would not only be enough to defeat a hundred people, but also be able to defeat an opponent like the Japanese wizard with swordsmanship, and he would not be injured like he is now and almost died. When his cultivation level reaches a higher level, he will learn sword control, and it will be even more amazing in the future.

Li Daoxuan was also envious of the sword-wielding technique and dreamed of learning it. However, he was still far from the golden elixir that Yan Chixia had mentioned, so the sword-wielding technique was something he longed for but was out of reach.

After some more days, Li Daoxuan's health had recovered and he decided to hold a ritual to pray for the souls of the deceased in the village. He asked his servants to invite several Taoists nearby to pray for the souls of the deceased. This was when he officially started working as a Taoist priest.

On the day of sacrifice, the first ray of sunlight in the early morning penetrated the mist, and Li Daoxuan called the servants in the Li family's old house. They first brought in a long table covered with red cloth, and placed fresh fruits, incense, candles and carefully prepared offerings on it.

After setting up the altar, he led a group of villagers to the old locust tree beside the pond.

There is also an old turtle hidden under an old locust tree, which turns this precious water lake in the south of the village into a place where yin gathers, making the yin energy in the whole village persist and gather more and more.

Ever since the remaining clay dolls in the village were all destroyed by Li Yanming, Li Laoer and the villagers, the yin energy here has become even stronger.

Li Daoxuan took out a writing brush and the prepared cinnabar ink, dipped the tip of the brush in cinnabar, and dotted the old turtle's eyes. After completely covering its eyes with cinnabar, he directed everyone to dig the stone old turtle out from under the old locust tree, carry it to the center of the village, smash it to pieces from head to tail, and then dig a big hole in the middle of the village to bury the rubble.

When burying the body, they first spread a layer of wood ash, then a layer of lime, and finally backfill with soil. Then nine strong men were selected to surround the place where the stone was buried, and they worked together to lift the rammer to compact the loose ground.

After dealing with the stone turtle, it was estimated to be noon. Li Daoxuan did not stop for a moment and led everyone to the strange Yin water well.

Li Daoxuan had long guessed what was in the well. When he came to investigate for the first time, he saw black gas rising up into the sky with his Dharma Eye, like wolf smoke. There were all kinds of faces mixed in the black gas, as if a child was struggling in it.

Li Daoxuan guessed at that time that this place must be a place to calm souls, and the souls calmed there must be the souls of children.

The soul of a child who died unjustly has more accumulated resentment than an adult. If a wizard with sophisticated means and high cultivation has used evil magic, he can sacrifice the child's soul and spirit to refine it into a ferocious evil ghost. But the Japanese wizard might not be able to control it, so he had to trap the dead child's soul here and suppress it. This would not only prevent himself from being retaliated by the soul, but also increase the yin energy of the entire village. When he has achieved great cultivation in the future, he can come here to take it, thus killing three birds with one stone.

In Li Daoxuan's opinion, whether it was the child of Li Tie's family, the original soul of the fetus in Li Xiucai's wife's belly, or the soul of the old village chief's grandson, they should all be sealed inside.

Li Daoxuan asked someone to bring several red cloth strips and asked the villagers to catch a rooster.

He took out a dagger, cut the rooster's neck with one sword, poured all the chicken blood into a porcelain bowl, and soaked the red cloth strip completely in the chicken blood. After a while, he took it out and tied it around the left arm of the villager who was preparing to salvage something from the well.

He also took out a yellow talisman and asked a villager who was good at swimming to hold it in his mouth.

When everything was ready, the villager with the yellow talisman in his mouth patted his chest, grabbed a thick hemp rope with one hand, and jumped into the well.

After a while, just when everyone was holding their breath and starting to get anxious, they heard a splash and the villager who had gone down the well poked his head out of the water.

He wiped the water off his face, then climbed out of the well along the thick hemp rope without saying a word. As soon as he stood firm, he spat out the yellow talisman in his mouth and gasped, saying, "There is a stone man in the well! Pull him up quickly, pull him up quickly!"

When Li Daoxuan heard this, he nodded thoughtfully, and said to the people who were looking at him, "Raise the rope."

With everyone's combined efforts, a stone man about three feet tall was pulled out of the well in a short while.

"It is true." Li Daoxuan looked around the stone man. As he expected, there was a rune carved densely on the forehead of the stone man. Judging from the meaning of the rune, it was used to calm the soul and gather the spirit.

Li Daoxuan signaled everyone not to destroy the stone man, but to carry the stone man to the altar that had just been built, and then asked everyone to disperse first, go home to find something to eat, and then meet here again in the evening.

Li Daoxuan sat in front of the altar with his eyes closed until 5:05 p.m., when the servants of the Li family's old house came hurriedly with several Taoists. After a brief greeting, the Taoists dispersed to prepare for the upcoming memorial service.

At the hour of You, the villagers gathered around the altar again. Li Daoxuan walked up to the stone man with a dagger in his hand. He used the dagger to cut a crack from top to bottom on the rune engraved on the stone man's forehead. Then he chanted the "Taiyi Jiuku Duren Jing" and the sound of Taoist priests' gongs and drums filled his ears.

Li Daoxuan stood on the altar, looking at the pebbles on the table and the stone man in front of the altar, silently reciting scriptures. Then he saw countless white lights rising up, circling around him and then disappearing.

That was the last attachment of the deceased, and also the last gratitude of the unjustly killed person to Li Daoxuan.

That night, there were always several families crying sadly.

Things in the world are unpredictable, and life and death are inevitable.

But life must go on, and Lijia Village will elect a new village chief. Perhaps many years later, everything that happened now will become a "legend" in the mouths of the elders.

People only know that when the Japanese were causing trouble in the village, a young Taoist priest stood up to slay the demons and eliminate evil.

Time passes, years go by.

It was a beautiful spring day in March. Li Daoxuan wore brocade clothes and packed his bag to go out.

He had a sword case on his back and a seal on his waist. In his book basket were some common things, and there was a little white rabbit dozing in it.

Walking out of the Li family residence, he waved to the people behind him.

"Auntie Sun, Granny Zhou, I'm leaving now. I'll come back and chat with you guys later."

"Master, walk slowly!"

"Master, take care of yourself!"

Aunt Sun's eyes were filled with tears, and Granny Zhou was also a little sad.

The maids and servants waved their hands and watched the carriage carrying Li Daoxuan go away.

The carriage left the village and the road was full of greenery.

Li Daoxuan opened the car curtain and looked out. He saw Li Yanming wearing a short shirt and braids on the hillside in the distance, waving at him hard.

"Master! Have a safe journey!"

(End of this chapter)