Chapter 16: Bamboos

“Flop!”

They didn’t even have the time to check everything on the first floor when they heard a sound coming from behind them. The trio quickly turned around. Su Jinlun was on his knees, his blade on the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Yi asked immediately. He hadn’t sensed a spirit around.

At the moment, even though his heavenly eye wasn’t open and he had only just reached the second step of his heartbeat control, Mu Yi’s mental state was still much better than ordinary people’s. He could sense things ordinary people normally couldn’t. However, at that moment, he didn’t sense anything strange.

He didn’t understand why Su Jinlun was acting like that.

“My legs feel weak,” Su Jinlun said when he saw Yingying and Mu Yi staring at him. His face turned red. He was just terrified.

“Alright.” Mu Yi nodded and continued inspecting the first floor. Su Yingying took out a torch and illuminated everything around them.

Su Jinlun also took out a torch and held it firmly. He tried to look fierce as if he wanted to regain face.

Mu Yi touched a chair and then took it to a window. From there, he could clearly see the bamboo forest.

“Su Jinlun, do you know about that woman?” Mu Yi asked.

“I was two years old when she left the house, so I don’t remember her that well. When she came back five years later, my father was extremely busy with his job, so I just saw her once but that’s all,” Su Jinlun said while frowning.

“When I was young, my grandma used to talk about her a lot. She was extremely beautiful and also more stubborn than most men. She was just very unlucky. Grandma used to cry a lot after she left, and it was even worse when she lost her child. That’s why they spoil me and spend so much time with me,” Su Yingying said in a gentle way.

“Do you know about her hobbies? For example, did she love bamboo?” Mu Yi asked.

“Indeed. She loved bamboo. That’s why grandpa planted several bamboos here. It’s also strange because after the incident, none of the bamboo trees died,” Su Yingying said immediately.

After that, she added, “Taoist priest, do you think there’s a problem with the bamboo forest?”

“I don’t know whether or not there’s a problem with the bamboo forest, but…” Mu Yi said before suddenly turning silent.

“But what?” Su Yingying asked. She looked nervous.

“But tonight, we’re going to stay here,” Mu Yi said while laughing.

“We’re going to stay here tonight?” Su Yingying asked. They looked at Mu Yi in a strange way.

“Indeed. We’ll stay here tonight. Of course, we won’t have to if we’re lucky,” Mu Yi said.

Hearing Mu Yi’s answer, the two Su’s were terrified. Nobody had lived there for such a long time. Of course, someone came to sweep, but it was only once a month. The atmosphere turned gloomy immediately.

While Su Jinlun’s skin was tingling in fear and Su Yingying was similarly frightened, Mu Yi looked extremely relaxed. He was looking out of the window as if nothing happened.

Even though Mu Yi was young, he was also very courageous. He was much braver than the two and had traveled all around the world with the old man. He had slept in graves, touched unmarked graves, also been tasked to protect the dead, etc. However, Mu Yi always thought that him and the old man were swindlers.

Mu Yi was used to such eerie things, and now that he had started practicing cultivation, his state of mind had changed. His mind was more clear and he was much braver due to his experiences. He was hoping that they’d encounter a real ghost since he wanted to test his charms against ghosts.

After all, back then, the body protection charm had saved him from the zombie even though Mu Yi hadn’t really understood the details. Understandably, he didn’t know what had happened after that since he had fainted.

This time, Mu Yi was convinced that he’d be pleasantly surprised by the charm. He never had anything that exciting to do down in the village.

“Don’t just stand there. Find a place to rest. It’s still early,” Mu Yi said to the two others.

When they heard Mu Yi, Su Yingying and Su Jinlun glanced at each other. Then, they just took chairs and placed them next to Mu Yi. They both sat down to Mu Yi’s left and right.

Mu Yi looked at Su Jinlun’s facial expression and decided to give him a body protection charm. He then said, “Stick it to your chest. It can save your life at a crucial moment.”

Su Jinlun stuck the charm on his chest. If a ghost appeared, it would help him. Of course, such a charm wasn’t omnipotent. With Mu Yi’s strength, it would be enough to save him from ordinary ghosts or evil entities. However, if a human being attacked Su Jinlun with a blade, then he’d still be injured.

That charm was to resist against ghosts.

There were protection charms such as the home-guarding charm and the body-protection charm, and then there were offensive charms such as the evil spirit slaying charm, the exorcism charm, and the five thunders charm. Of course, ordinary people couldn’t use them, but Mu Yi could use them because he was training his mind to be more powerful than ordinary people. He could sense and use the power of the charms.

That was precisely why Mu Yi had given Su Jinlun a body protection charm and not an evil spirit slaying charm.

Jinlun had never seen how powerful a charm was, but he had heard some of his family members talk about it. When his grandmother fell ill, many doctors came, but they hadn’t managed to do anything. Now, Mu Yi had come and used a tiny little charm, which worked.

Su Jinlun was stupefied because charms were very effective. Besides, Mu Yi said that this one could save their lives. Su Jinlun was really happy and thanked Mu Yi a dozen times.

“Can I ask you something, Taoist priest?” Su Yingying asked hesitantly.

When Su Jinlun looked at her, he thought that she wanted a body protection charm as well. He put his hand on his body protection charm and held it out to Yingying, saying, “Yingying, take it.”

“Brother, the Taoist priest has given me one already,” Su Yingying said, shaking her head. Then, she looked at Mu Yi.

Because of everything that had happened already, she had the feeling that she could ask him.

“Hm? What is it? Tell me,” Mu Yi said. He was curious when he saw her facial expression.