I Have Him Now Part 2

In any case, Feng Rugu came to find Lu Yujiu, and sat down beside him on the bluestone.

Feng Rugu got straight to the point: "Uncle Lu, still no luck finding the souls of the murdered disciples?"

Lu Yujiu had known about the Tang saber murder case early on, and had devoted himself to the investigation much earlier than Feng Rugu.

But he still had no clues.

"I suspect that when those Dao sect disciples were killed, their soul cores were directly crushed," Lu Yujiu said with slightly furrowed brows. "The killer knows of our existence and doesn't want us to ask the souls about their grievances."

Feng Rugu wasn't too disappointed.

That Tang saber swordsman acted decisively to the point of cruelty, killing people without causing them to suffer and, after death, not leaving even a thread of their soul behind.

Feng Rugu asked again: "Uncle Lu, do you have any news from the demon sect?"

Lu Yujiu asked: "What news?"

Feng Rugu answered: "News about souls."

Lu Yujiu vaguely understood his intention: "The demon sect has indeed had unusual movements recently, but it's just internal strife, unrelated to the Dao sect."

Feng Rugu asked: "How so?"

"A couple days ago when I was out searching for souls, I encountered a remnant soul on the verge of dissipating," Lu Yujiu said. "I probed its memories and discovered it was a disciple of the demon sect's Bushi Sect. Not long ago, he was killed by a demon cultivator using extremely cruel methods—I suspect his brain matter was extracted for cultivation. This caused severe damage to his soul core, turning him into a mindless, lonely ghost, tailing the demon cultivator who had brutally killed him. When I encountered him, he was on the brink of collapse. So I lent a hand and sent him into the Six Paths."

Feng Rugu narrowed his eyes.

He knew that cultivators who died unjustly and had a certain level of cultivation would have an extra soul core compared to ordinary people.

This soul core could temporarily prevent the cultivator's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls from entering the cycle of reincarnation.

If the soul core is intact, the ghost will retain its own consciousness; if the soul core is damaged, the ghost will lose its memories at best and its sanity at worst; if the soul core is severely damaged and nearly shattered, then the soul will become a "back spirit", mindlessly tailing the one who killed it until the spiritual energy in the soul core is depleted.

And the news Feng Rugu heard from Sa Si was that the several murdered Bushi Sect disciples had suffered extremely cruel treatment while alive.

Therefore, perhaps that lonely ghost could point Feng Rugu in a direction, letting him know where the culprit Ding You has appeared recently.

This was Feng Rugu's purpose in coming.

He asked: "Where did Uncle Lu find this wisp of a lonely ghost?"

Lu Yujiu sighed lightly: "Two days ago, near Qinggang. Because Dao sect disciples were killed there, I thought perhaps I could find one of their souls... even if just a thread of it."

Feng Rugu looked at the side of Lu Yujiu's face, then lowered his head to look at his own hands, a sudden realization struck him—could it be that the Tang saber swordsman had calculated everything: that Lu Yujiu would search for souls, find the demon sect's remnant soul, and that he himself would come asking about Ding You's whereabouts?

...He seemed to be a plaything in the palm of that person's hand.

Lu Yujiu didn't know Feng Rugu's thoughts and asked: "What, does that Tang saber swordsman have something to do with the demon sect?"

Just as Feng Rugu was about to answer, he was interrupted by the sound of an argument coming from inside the valley towards the valley entrance.

"Can't you listen to me and ascend earlier?"

"Since when is it your turn to manage me?! Your master's wife is still here, where would I go?!"

"If you ascend, won't master's wife follow? Anyway, both of your cultivations have reached the realm of becoming saints!"

"Your master's wife has his own plans!"

"You don't have any plans?! What's so good about staying in this broken world and broken Dao sect? Isn't all of Qingliang Valley master's wife's? If he alone ascends, he can bring the souls of the entire valley to heaven, and won't miss anyone!"

The two of them were clearly saying good things, but their argumentative tone made it especially funny.

This pair of master and disciple argued from inside the house to outside, making quite a commotion.

Lu Yujiu heard them going on about master's wife this and master's wife that, and couldn't bear it anymore, his face flushing red as he angrily said: "If you want to argue, go back and argue!"

From the direction the argument came, both master and disciple fell silent.

Very quickly, Jing Sanchai said in a low voice from the shadows: "Is master's wife angry?"

His head was slapped.

Lord Yingxu also lowered his voice: "Nonsense, who told you to run out here shouting? Go back, go back!"

"Hey, you were the one who said you'd treat me to crispy duck..."

The voices gradually faded and grew distant. This pair of fated adversaries, master and disciple, went back to continue their unfinished arguing business, leaving only Lu Yujiu to clean up after them: "Those two are often this undignified. When you go in later, just pretend you didn't hear."

"Not going in," Feng Rugu stood up. "Uncle Lu, don't tell Sanchai and Lord Yingxu that we came."

Now Lu Yujiu regretted a bit chasing that lively pair back: "Leaving now?"

Feng Rugu smiled: "Have things to do. Once everything is concluded, I'll come back to pay respects to Uncle Lu and Lord Yingxu."

Lu Yujiu had always had a very good relationship with Lord Xiaoyao and felt a particular sympathy for this disciple who had suffered so many hardships. "If you have important matters to investigate," he offered, "I'll have Beinan accompany you."

Zhou Beinan was Lord Yingxu's secular name.

Feng Rugu put his arm around Lu Yujiu's shoulders, his smile brilliant: "Uncle Lu can rest assured..."

He pointed with one finger: "I have him."

Since a while ago, Ruyi had been standing to the side, his eyes observing his nose and his nose observing his heart. Unwilling to look at the string of red bean prayer beads that burned his eyes, Ruyi had hidden it in the corner of his storage bag since yesterday. Therefore, his hands were empty, only using his thumb to press against his index finger, making a gesture of holding prayer beads.

Watching the intimate behavior and conversation between the two, he already understood that Feng Rugu was very much loved by this elder.

But seeing all this, Ruyi felt uncomfortable in his heart.

In the end, Feng Rugu only came to Qingliang Valley to ask Lu Yujiu for directions, but he put on an innocent appearance, coaxing Lu Yujiu to answer all his questions.

He knew very well how to act cute to different people in order to achieve his goals.

...He was such a person that Ruyi could never tell which part of him was sincere and which was false.

Ruyi knew he might be overthinking, and he pondered how much of Feng Rugu's words "I have him" were true or false. As a result, he ignored the hint of sourness and sweetness slowly growing in his chest.

Lu Yujiu glanced at Ruyi.

He had been observing Ruyi from the beginning.

Because of his gray background and being a person who specialized in ghost cultivation, Lu Yujiu had some understanding of the spiritual arts.

...Although Ruyi was unwilling to look at Feng Rugu, there were a few unique faint glows of the Jade of Testing Love on his chest, flickering with the rise and fall of Feng Rugu's tone of voice.

He wondered in surprise, so it turns out that monks can also do this.

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The kind-hearted and short Lu Yujiu: Lost in thought.jpg