After leaving Elder Jin's courtyard, they hadn't gone far when everyone felt the area ahead suddenly become cold and damp, with a faint smell of decay in the air.
Someone frowned, "Why is there a smell of decay? Miss Lin, what place is this?"
Hearing that the smell was of decay, Sun Liuying quickly covered her mouth and nose, not wanting these foul odors to enter her body.
Other sect leaders also frowned.
The lineage of the Lu Shan Sect excelled at ghost control, but not everyone enjoyed fiddling with corpses.
For instance, Sun Liuying had never even seen a corpse in her life.
"Ah—"
As Lin Ziqing was about to explain, Sun Liuying suddenly screamed, scared, she sat on the ground, grabbing Sun Tangzhi's clothes with both hands, her legs kicking wildly.
"What's wrong?" Sun Tangzhi quickly asked.
Everyone looked to where Sun Liuying was pointing and shouting, "That person... that woman..."
Everyone quickly looked, and couldn't help but turn pale.
At the end of the path ahead, a short-haired girl in casual clothes, wearing headphones and humming a tune, was walking towards them with light steps.
In the sunlight, this scene should have been beautiful.
But what if this sunny girl was holding a bloody thigh?
At this moment, Luo Ning was dragging a thigh towards her corpse-raising courtyard. Because she was wearing headphones and humming, she hadn't noticed Lin Ziqing and her group.
In broad daylight, seeing such a scene, even Sun Tangzhi couldn't help but gasp.
"Wh-what is going on?!" everyone questioned.
Lin Ziqing quickly explained, "That is Luo Ning, a descendant of corpse driving."
Corpse drivers?
Everyone was stunned, then suddenly understood.
Although everyone still held a certain reverence for corpses, cultivators knew better than ordinary people that the physical body was merely a shell. When a person died, the corpse was no different from a withered plant.
However, seeing someone like Luo Ning treating them this way still caused everyone some physical discomfort.
Moreover, she was a corpse driver, not deliberately desecrating corpses. If anything, the Lu Shan Sect's methods of ghost control were far more cruel than those of corpse drivers.
Sun Liuying was still ashen with fear.
To dispel everyone's fear, Lin Ziqing prepared to introduce Luo Ning to them.
She waved her hand and called out to Luo Ning, "Luo Ning!"
Her voice finally reached Luo Ning's ears. Upon seeing Lin Ziqing, she took off her headphones and waved, "Hello there, you are the representatives of the eight sects visiting today, right?"
Everyone's faces immediately turned pale, some even staggering back several steps.
As Luo Ning greeted them, she completely forgot she was dragging a thigh, so her wave turned into a swing of the thigh.
The horror movie had directly turned into a thriller!
Lin Ziqing's face was awkward, and she quickly signaled Luo Ning.
Luo Ning was startled and quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, this thigh isn't for eating."
Everyone: "..."
"Uh... I've recently refined a new zombie, and that zombie's leg had a problem, so I went to find it a new one."
Everyone: "..."
"This thigh isn't from a freshly killed person, I bought it from the crematorium..."
Everyone: "..."
Seeing everyone's faces growing paler, Luo Ning also felt helpless. She shrugged at Lin Ziqing, spreading her hands, "Sister, I've done my best."
Lin Ziqing sighed, "Hurry back to your corpse-raising courtyard."
"Okay..."
Luo Ning also felt a little guilty. She stuck out her tongue and ran off with the thigh.
Seeing Luo Ning leave, everyone finally relaxed. However, those with lower psychological tolerance, like Sun Liuying, were still struggling to recover.
One could imagine that for the next few nights, when they lay in bed and suddenly felt the urge to urinate, the image of Luo Ning waving a thigh at them would flash through their minds, and they would grit their teeth, choosing to hold it rather than get up to use the toilet.
"We don't need to visit the corpse-raising courtyard, do we?" Lin Ziqing asked.
Everyone quickly shook their heads, Sun Liuying's face filled with terror.
Helpless, Lin Ziqing had no choice but to lead them further ahead. Compared to their earlier excitement, everyone spoke significantly less now. Even the usually chatty Sun Liuying was unusually silent for more than ten minutes.
Yan Shouyi, who had been quietly following behind, cast a resentful glance at the corpse-raising courtyard.
The scene just now must have deeply shocked the "delegation," possibly costing Lin Ziqing some points.
Alas, it's my fault. I should have stopped Luo Ning just now!
Yan Shouyi sighed, thinking there was still a chance. Ahead was his second uncle Wei Changqing's courtyard.
Second uncle is so reliable, there definitely won't be any problems!
Since returning from Chang'an, Wei Changqing had lived a reclusive life, seemingly in seclusion at his residence.
Therefore, even a major event like this for the Lu Shan Sect hadn't disturbed him.
When the delegation saw this true master, they would surely forget the shadow cast by seeing Luo Ning earlier, and thus gain great confidence in the "stinky girl"!
Thinking this, Yan Shouyi quietly followed along.
...
As the delegation continued forward, Sun Tangzhi suddenly noticed a small courtyard ahead. Climbing ivy grew on the courtyard walls, and the area outside the courtyard was neatly planted with flowers and plants, meticulously maintained.
Most importantly, the spiritual energy in this courtyard was more concentrated than in the others, as if double-layered spirit gathering formations had been set up.
"Miss Lin, whose courtyard is that? May we visit?" Sun Tangzhi asked.
Lin Ziqing glanced over and smiled, "That courtyard belongs to my husband's second uncle. My second uncle's name is Wei Changqing, and he is also a powerful descendant of Lu Ban."
"He's also a Lu Ban descendant?" everyone exclaimed, and then a desire to visit arose.
After all, the Lu Ban texts recorded the strengths of a hundred schools, and the skills recorded in the second and third volumes of the Lu Ban texts were also extremely desirable. Anyone who could befriend a Lu Ban descendant would have the chance to become another Lin family.
Developing a sect would never be a problem!
Lin Ziqing nodded, "I'll take you to see it, but I can't guarantee if my uncle will meet you."
"It's alright, Lu Ban descendants are entitled to be arrogant!" everyone said, understanding that even if they were turned away, they wouldn't be angry.
The group arrived outside the courtyard gate.
They found that the courtyard gate was slightly ajar.
From within the courtyard, they could faintly hear the voices of several men, sounding very passionate, as if engaged in some academic research debate.
A scene spontaneously appeared in everyone's minds:
Wei Changqing, a person of stern and rigid character, precise and serious, was holding a pointer and the Lu Ban texts, meticulously educating the younger generation. The younger generation were also diligent and studious, occasionally questioning Wei Changqing's teachings and offering their own interpretations. Wei Changqing was also very enthusiastic in resolving their doubts.
This atmosphere of the West Lake Folklore Research Association was truly excellent!
Everyone smiled, and couldn't help but look up to Lin Ziqing with more respect.
But the moment Lin Ziqing pushed open the door, everyone's smiles froze on their faces...