Under duress, Yan Shouyi and the others could only bring the locals Meng Te and Kong Xuan along.
Fortunately, Meng Te, being a local, proved to be quite capable. After asking Han San for the address, he led everyone to take a taxi.
The western suburbs had complex terrain, and the crematorium was particularly remote, not even appearing on maps. Even seasoned taxi drivers might not know its location.
However, thanks to Meng Te’s directions, they arrived at their destination without wasting much time.
After parking the car, the taxi driver turned back and said, "There's something unclean about this place. If I go back empty, it'll be bad luck. Give me more money, consider it warding off evil spirits!"
Han San sneered, "Money is so vulgar. I have a warding-off talisman drawn by a senior from Maoshan. Hang it on your car, and I guarantee demons and monsters will stay far away from you!"
The driver stared at Han San for a moment, then cursed, "Idiot."
"Hey, what are you saying! This is a genuine talisman from a Maoshan Taoist priest. If you don't believe me, let's get out and settle this!" Han San was enraged; he had never been so looked down upon.
The driver scoffed, "No money, no money. Why pretend to be some spirit medium? If you're not paying, fine. I don't want your warding-off talisman either; having it would just bring me bad luck!"
Yan Shouyi quickly intervened to calm them down, and Meng Te paid the fare at the normal price. After everyone got out of the car, Han San fumed,
"Clearly, that driver was afraid of attracting unclean things, and I kindly offered him the warding-off talisman, but he immediately turned on me and accused me of being a charlatan. What kind of logic is that!"
Han San, after all, was still new to the ways of the world. Weng Qianxiang advised him, "That driver just wanted more money."
"If he wanted money, he should have just asked. Why drag in gods and ghosts? We Taoists work hard in secret to protect everyone's peace, yet they treat us like charlatans, like scams!" Han San was still indignant.
Yan Shouyi sighed softly. He had seen too many situations like this and was long accustomed to it.
People only remembered that there was a divine presence above their heads when they were suffering, but they completely disbelieved it when they did evil.
After a while, Han San calmed down, largely thanks to Kong Xuan’s comforting words.
Meng Te said, "This place is quite remote. The last time I came, there wasn't even a place to buy water. I was driving around the vicinity when I happened to find the village you mentioned. You know, the village entrance is quite chaotic; it's hard to find if you don't know the way."
The village Han San intended to visit was about two to three kilometers from the crematorium. Meng Te led everyone there, and they found the village to be eerily silent. There were hardly any people on the road. The few they encountered were elderly folks who struggled to walk and spoke unclearly, making communication impossible.
Kong Xuan suddenly pointed at a utility pole by the roadside and said, "Look."
Several missing person posters were actually plastered on the utility pole.
Judging by the condition of the posters, they had been put up recently. After reading the content, Yan Shouyi became even more certain that he had come to the right place.
"In just two weeks, five people have gone missing from this village, and all the photos show young people. It's no wonder the villagers are so anxious that they even sent someone to Maoshan for help."
They wandered around the area for a while longer and found many more missing person posters. In the end, they calculated that a total of eleven people had disappeared, including some from neighboring villages, men, women, old, and young.
Yan Shouyi found it strange, "With so many people missing, this should be a major case. Why didn't the villagers report it to the police and instead sought help from Longhu Mountain?"
Meng Te also said, "Yes, eleven people missing in a row. I live in Qiantang, but I haven't heard any news about it..."
While they were all puzzled, an auntie carrying a basket of vegetables walked by. Seeing that Yan Shouyi and the others were strangers, she immediately questioned them vigilantly,
"Who are you?!"
Meng Te quickly explained, "Auntie, please don't be nervous..."
"Good heavens, why is this girl's voice so coarse?" The auntie looked at Meng Te as if he were a monster.
"Let me explain."
Yan Shouyi pushed Meng Te to the back, resigned, and explained himself, "We are Taoist priests from Maoshan."
"Good heavens, our village already has enough strange occurrences, and now a bunch of demons and monsters have arrived..."
The auntie was clearly frightened. Before Yan Shouyi and the others could explain, she quickly scurried away and disappeared.
Long Feicheng pouted, "They call us demons and monsters. I think this village is the truly bizarre one; there's not a normal person in sight!"
Yan Shouyi looked up and said solemnly, "This village is indeed a bit strange, but it has nothing to do with the villagers."
Han San nodded, "That's right. I felt it as soon as we arrived. The village has a very heavy yin energy."
"So, this village is really haunted?" Meng Te immediately became nervous.
This guy was a typical Ye Gong who loved dragons; even Kong Xuan wasn't as scared as him.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you... Damn it, why do I feel like you don't need my protection at all?" Long Feicheng wanted to show some masculine demeanor but couldn't finish his sentence.
With Meng Te's current appearance, even a ghost would be scared to death.
So, being ugly isn't entirely a bad thing; at least to a certain extent, ugliness can ward off evil.
Just as Yan Shouyi and the others were wondering how to start their investigation, the auntie who had fled earlier actually returned.
This time, she brought another auntie with her, though this one seemed much more rational.
The new auntie examined Yan Shouyi and the others carefully and asked,
"You say you are Taoist priests from Maoshan?"
Han San quickly stepped forward and showed his Maoshan token, "I am Han San, a disciple of Maoshan."
The new auntie sighed, "I thought seeking help from Maoshan would resolve the village's strange occurrences, but I didn't expect a group of young kids to come. This is hopeless..."
"Not only are the people in this village strange, but their words are also unpleasant," Long Feicheng complained. "Why don't we just abandon them!"
Yan Shouyi patted Long Feicheng's shoulder, signaling him to say less.
They were here to catch ghosts and accumulate merit through good deeds, not for gratitude or money. Therefore, they didn't need to take to heart what the auntie in front of them said.
The auntie then introduced herself, "My name is Xie Guilan. I am the village head of this village. I asked a relative to seek help from Maoshan."
Han San cross-checked the information and confirmed that Xie Guilan was indeed the one who sought help. He then took out a document and presented it to Xie Guilan, smiling, "Please sign here."
This entire operation left Yan Shouyi and the others dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Did they need to fill out an acceptance notice to catch ghosts?!
Maoshan was too much in line with the times!!
Amazing!!!