Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 38 Thunder Talisman Changes Fate

Perhaps it was because Ling Ziling spoke with such certainty and appeared so confident, or perhaps it was because the girl in front of her, though the same age, had a more special status, that Ms. Wu's thoughts began to follow the girl's lead.

"Let's go through this carefully. Miss Wu, you've basically never left your house, right?"

Ling Ziling pulled Miss Wu to a place to sit down and began to analyze the situation for her.

"The first one was an accidental fall into the water, which led to a fatal cold. He didn't fall in to save you, nor did he go out to see you fall in. It was a completely accidental event, and the cold was just a coincidence. Since he died because the cold wasn't cured, the doctor should be blamed... Is a cold really that powerful?"

Ling Ziling, as a cultivator with a special constitution since childhood and who entered the Innate Realm at a very early age, no longer suffers from the minor illnesses that ordinary people would get. Innate people do get seasickness, fear of heights, colds, and the like, but they only look weak and can be bedridden at will, but they can also get better just as easily. One second they are sneezing, and the next second they can pick up weapons and go to fight.

He caught a cold from falling into the water and died before he could be cured. Although the era favored frail scholars and literary works often featured the character of someone who was "sickly and melancholic," isn't this a bit too unrealistic?

"You can catch a cold just from falling into water. Some innate martial arts techniques even involve splashing water. If you fight in a windy place, wouldn't the wind and water create an opportunity for illness to strike?"

First, drench the person with water, then unleash a strong wind, or directly freeze them with ice magic; wouldn't that allow you to build up a wave of magical attacks?

"The Confucian scholars I know are all quite capable fighters. Aren't they supposed to be masters of the Six Arts? How come you guys are so weak... Oops, I seem to have gone off-topic. Let's talk about the second one."

"……it is good."

Listening to Ling Ziling's description, Miss Wu felt that the other person did not sound like a scholar. There are indeed scholars who can ride horses and shoot arrows, but such talents are not here. Most families cannot afford to support such memories.

Although his father was a courtier, the Wu family chose to settle here to avoid the powerful and wealthy. In this ordinary town, the Wu family could be powerful and wealthy for once, but in places full of big families and nobles, they couldn't even get through the threshold.

"The second one also died of illness, but you haven't said what illness it was yet."

"They didn't say that, they only said he died from the disease."

"And the second one, was he in poor health before?"

Upon hearing this, Miss Wu shook her head. Wu Shiyu only had one daughter, and it was impossible for her family to choose a sickly man as her husband. In fact, both of her fiancés were talented men who were well-matched with her in terms of social status. That was why everyone felt that her two deaths were too coincidental and thought that Miss Wu was a jinx to her husbands.

"Since you're also infected with the disease, and it wasn't you who transmitted it, even if you were to cast a curse, the two parties would still need to meet and use some medium. To say you're a jinx without any evidence is unacceptable. You shouldn't be here praying; you should go directly to them for justice!"

"Miss, it's time to go back."

Originally, Miss Wu was supposed to go back after the worship, but Ling Ziling blocked the door by scolding people at the entrance. The attendants waiting outside dared not enter when they saw this situation. They also saw that Ling Ziling was someone inside the Ten Kings Hall, and since their young lady wanted to talk to someone, they waited outside.

Seeing that the two were chatting more and more, and that it was getting dark, the maidservant quickly came to remind them that it was time to go home.

"and many more!"

Ling Ziling grabbed Miss Wu's hand, slipped something into it, and whispered something.

"Judging from your face, Miss, you are destined for a calamity tonight. There may be villains causing trouble and bloodshed. Keep this amulet safe. If you feel anything is wrong, just tear it open."

Among those thugs, Ling Ziling didn't know which one was Yang Danian, who killed Miss Wu. Given their relationship, even if she asked them, they probably wouldn't tell the truth. Besides, Miss Wu was facing a fatal accident. All thugs are the same. Even if Yang Danian is gone, another Li Danian or Zhang Danian might appear.

Instead of going through the trouble of catching them one by one, it would be better to hand over the solution to Ms. Wu herself and let her get through this ordeal on her own.

Ling Ziling helped her deal with the thugs, which was an outsider's initiative to help. Even if these people with special identities are not involved in the cause and effect, it is hard to say whether they will have a backlash against the person involved in the future. However, if the "weapon" that can solve this matter is given to Ms. Wu, and she is allowed to deal with the crisis herself when it comes, the effect will be different.

As for Ling Ziling's role here? What does it have to do with her? She's just a Taoist priest who can tell fortunes. She happened to meet Miss Wu, who came to the Ten Kings Temple to worship, and took the opportunity to tell her fortune. She saw that Miss Wu would have a bloody disaster tonight, and out of professional ethics, she gave her a few general amulets. That's all.

She doesn't know anything about death or thieves climbing over walls. She's never heard of it. Master Lingling is just here for a casual visit; it has nothing to do with her.

Back in the carriage, Miss Wu lifted the curtain and saw Ling Ziling gesturing to her from outside. She took her hand out of her sleeve and carefully examined what the other person had given her.

It was a few small paper packets made of folded yellow paper. She unfolded the packets, and there were already talismans drawn on them with cinnabar. Miss Wu did not know the meaning of the talismans, but she could tell that each one was drawn differently and probably had a different function.

People are afraid of strange and supernatural things, and usually avoid things like talismans. If someone suddenly stuffs a bunch of talismans with unknown effects into your hands and says that there will be bloodshed that night, anyone with a short temper would kick them out on the spot.

But today, this Master Lingling is the first person who, after the deaths of her two fiancés, said that she was not destined to bring misfortune to her husbands and even encouraged her to seek justice from him. Regardless of the other party's support and encouragement or his background related to immortals, Ms. Wu chose to believe Master Lingling.

"Young friend, what you're doing is disrupting the balance of Yin and Yang."

In a corner unseen by others, the terrifying-looking Judge Lu stood there. When Miss Wu came to pay her respects, he could tell at a glance that she was destined for a calamity and would probably die a violent death tonight.

With Ling Ziling's meddling, Miss Wu's lifespan is likely to change.

"I just gave her a few talismans; how she uses them is up to her."

"These talismans are enough."

Ling Ziling's abilities are similar to those of traditional Taoist priests, but at the same time, she also has the characteristics of a naturally born human, which is that she is extremely powerful and cannot be broken. She only gave her a few of the simplest ones, but the thugs that Miss Wu was going to face were also ordinary people, and these few talismans were more than enough to turn the tables.

"Besides, cultivators are inherently defying the heavens, and I, Daoist Lingling, have experience in defying the heavens and changing one's fate."

"What a pity."

"What is there to regret about Judge Lu?"

"Brother Zhu wants to give his wife a beautiful new hairstyle. I originally thought Miss Wu would be suitable, but since her death has been postponed, I need to find someone else."

"...Why must you cut off someone's head?"

Not only must they be killed, but the victims must have died recently. Young girls who died at this age, whose lives were already filled with hardship, cannot even have a complete body for burial just because they are beautiful.

"May I ask Judge Lu, is the cleverness you gave Zhu Erdan truly from a good person?"

Before he became smarter, Zhu Erdan never complained about his wife. How could he have changed his mind after the change of heart?

"That heart came from a high-ranking official, this official..."

"It's getting dark, I need to go back to the mountains now, please."

Ling Ziling didn't want to hear Judge Lu explain the origin of the heart. This judge had said the same thing many times before, and it was always the same explanation. Being able to become a high-ranking official certainly showed that the person was intelligent, but that wasn't what Ling Ziling was thinking.

He became a high-ranking official because of his intelligence, but there is more than one way to become an official than through the imperial examination. Just like in the future, Zhu Erdan failed the imperial examination three times because of cheating. Was he smart? Of course he was smart, but intelligence does not mean integrity. A change of heart does not change a person, nor does it guarantee that one's thoughts will remain unchanged.

It is unknown how Judge Lu obtained his position, but his evaluation criteria were inherently biased, reflecting a downward perspective from a high position.

Once back in the mountains, Ling Ziling told him about her encounter with Miss Wu, and the town was expected to be quite lively that night.

"What talisman did you give me?"

"One protective talisman, and the rest are all lightning talismans!"

Ling Ziling proudly raised her head. Only that one talisman was for Miss Wu; all the other lightning talismans would strike the other side. "Look, tonight will definitely be a day of thunderous retribution. It'll be incredibly lively!"

"There are ordinary lightning talismans, enhanced lightning talismans, upgraded lightning talismans, and lightning talismans made by Ah Zhen... In short, there's plenty of lightning, so let him harbor evil intentions and harm the girl."

"Tonight is certainly lively."

The use of the "Listen to the Spirit and Report the Thunder Talisman" might seem excessive to some uninformed people. They might think that the person on the other side is just a mortal, and that so many lightning bolts could kill them on the spot. However, if such a shocking event were not performed, Ms. Wu would be killed, and her head would end up on someone else's head, unable to be buried with her own face.

Ms. Wu's two marriages ended in failure, with both men dying before the wedding. She was branded a jinx and later murdered by thugs who broke into her home at night. Her life has been full of misfortune, and if she doesn't take drastic measures, she may face further calamities.

Miss Wu is safe this time, but judging from Judge Lu's words, he will continue to look for suitable women to replace Madam Zhu's head, and it will happen sooner or later.

Liu Qingyuan didn't know how much territory Judge Lu could actually control. It wasn't appropriate to ask about matters involving official positions and duties. She only hoped that there would be fewer young women dying tragically recently. Once Xi Fangping filed a complaint, the underworld would be thrown into chaos, and Judge Lu would probably lose interest in handling this matter.

Even if Xi Fangping hasn't filed a complaint yet, the East Sea is already prepared. The resulting turmoil might not be as great as directly suing the King of Hell, but if they really catch those who are taking advantage of the situation, the Dragon Palace will definitely cause a ruckus. If there are also time travelers who have come to play tricks, then Liu Qingyuan will also cause a ruckus.

Anyway, the underworld is already so corrupt, it's bound to fall into chaos eventually, so one more fire won't make a difference.

"Who wants to go with me to the East Sea?"

Since the Dragon Palace is leading the way, we must first meet up with the Dragon Palace before heading to the Underworld. The journey is a bit winding, but since everyone here is no mortal, speed is not a problem. However, Tian Shanzi has no interest in these things, and he doesn't want to go to the Underworld with a large group of people; it sounds strange.

Liu Qingyuan is definitely going. He is the original body. Judging from the information sent back by Wan Jie, there are indeed people hiding in the underworld, and they have been secretly lying in wait for a long time. When things get chaotic, they may be difficult to find. Letting his original body take the system with him will make it easier to find them.

"It must be Master Lingling who upholds justice!"

"Seeking justice in the underworld might not be so easy."

Especially in this excessively corrupt underworld, compared to the City God and Yama who were bribed by wealthy merchants, even Judge Lu, who used his private power to give Zhu Erdan preferential treatment, had all been calculated.

Whether justice can be served in the underworld is still unknown, but tonight, Ling Ziling's thunder talisman did indeed bring a wave of justice from the heavens. At night, when it was time to rest and go to sleep, a huge thunderbolt suddenly struck the roof of the Wu family's house, shaking the entire Wu family and the surrounding neighbors.

"Boom!"

"what happened?!"

Just as Wu Shiyu was about to go to sleep, this bolt of lightning struck him like a bolt from the blue, instantly banishing his sleepiness. He had never done anything wrong, and he had come here precisely to stay away from those ruthless and greedy wealthy families. Why would God strike his roof in the middle of the night?

"Where did this lightning come from?"

The sky was clear and cloudless, with no sign of rain and not even a cloud in sight. If it weren't for the terrifying thunderbolt striking the roof of the Wu family's house, no one would have believed that thunder would occur in this kind of weather.

"Lightning has struck Miss!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing that the lightning had struck the place where his daughter was, Wu Shiyu disregarded everything else and rushed to the courtyard where Miss Wu lived. The front door of the house was open, whether it had been opened beforehand or shaken open by the lightning, it was unclear. Inside, the frightened Miss Wu slumped to the ground, huddled together with her maid.

In the open space directly opposite the gate lay a charred body, its fate unknown. Judging from its build, it was an adult male, and the marks around it indicated that he had been struck by lightning. Not far away, there was also a fallen dagger, similarly bearing the marks of being struck by lightning, likely dropped by its owner during the lightning strike.

In the corner where Miss Wu and her maid were huddled together, a yellow talisman kept floating above their heads. In Miss Wu's tightly clenched hand, there was also a crumpled talisman, and some discarded talisman ash was scattered between her fingers.

Because of the spirit's instructions, Miss Wu didn't dare to sleep, nor did she tell her father what happened in the Ten Kings Palace. She and her maid waited in the room, and sure enough, they saw the villains who climbed over the wall and broke into the room.

She recognized him; his name was Yang Danian, a scoundrel who idled away his days. He could be seen outside the Ten Kings Palace during the day. Yang Danian had taken a liking to Miss Wu's beauty and wanted to climb over the wall at night to force himself on her, but he didn't expect that she wasn't asleep at all, and the two bumped into each other on the spot.

Because she was unfamiliar with the talismans, when she saw someone barging in with a knife, Miss Wu's first instinct was to call for help. When Yang Danian heard her cry for help, he was also panicked. The Wu family was a powerful family in the town, and if they were caught, he would be finished.

Without knowing where he got the courage, Yang Danian raised his knife and stabbed at Miss Wu and her maid. The two weak women opposite him could not stop him at all. Once they were silent, it would be much easier for him to run away.

It was at this moment, seeing the light reflected from the murder weapon, that Ms. Wu tore open the talisman she was holding in her hand. Before that, she had already unfolded the yellow talismans from the folded paper package one by one and held them in her hand.

With this tear, several talismans were torn apart at the same time. The only protective talisman flew out and blocked in front of the two of them. The power of the other lightning talismans condensed together, and Miss Wu felt a burst of lightning before her eyes and a thunderous sound above her head.

In the blink of an eye, lightning struck down from the sky, passing through the roof and hitting Yang Danian, resulting in the scene we see now.