I paid no further attention to them as they screamed and wailed. Tying the rope to a pillar, I greeted Fat Dumpling and carried Wang Qian on my back, then headed towards the door.
The lingering spirits of the villagers were now ensnared by the Soul-Seeking Claw on the beam above my head, screaming in misery and struggling desperately, but I didn't spare them another glance.
Stepping outside, Fat Dumpling also managed to stumble his way out. At that moment, he had used all his strength, carrying one on his back and supporting two with his hands. He looked uncomfortable as he walked out of the house.
Originally, he couldn't have moved, probably due to fear, but he gritted his teeth and rushed out of the house while carrying three people. I looked at Fat Dumpling speechlessly. "What are you panicking for?"
Fat Dumpling glared at me fiercely. "You're just standing there and talking big, if I had your skills, I wouldn't be panicking either. Stop talking, help me quickly."
Saying this, Fat Dumpling pushed Wu Bei towards me. Seeing Wu Bei, I furrowed my brows and kicked him away. "Give me someone else."
"Uh." Fat Dumpling then pushed Zhu Jie forward, and I finally caught him. Carrying Wang Qian on my back and supporting Zhu Jie with one hand, I could still manage to move.
At that moment, after dropping one person, Fat Dumpling felt relaxed and cheerfully carried the two people ahead. I couldn't help but pick up a stone and throw it at Fat Dumpling, cursing.
"Wait." Just as Fat Dumpling had just run a few steps, I suddenly shouted. Fat Dumpling stopped, looking annoyed. "Duan Mu, what do you want now?"
Suddenly, I put down Zhu Jie and Wang Qian, then slowly turned to look at the building. Above the main door of the building was the spirit of the Ghost Rider Gate that had been kept under observation.
I shook my head slowly and, with my back to Fat Dumpling, said, "Let's accumulate some good karma. Although the spirits of the villagers just now wanted to harm us, this one is innocent. Nailed to this nail is also unbearable suffering. Let's help him while we're at it."
Fat Dumpling approached and also looked dazedly at the spirit nailed to the door. "Yeah, I agree. This one is different from the others."
I nodded, "Okay, go find the ladder and hurry up, I'll wait for you."
"Me?" Pangdun stupidly pointed at himself.
I said speechlessly, "Nonsense, it's just to get a nail, can't you do it?"
"I can, but why me? I'm not going." Pangdun said fiercely.
Not long after, Pangdun found the ladder, and I handed him a pair of pliers, and then he scrambled up. However, as soon as he saw the male ghost that was being stared at, Pangdun's face turned pale again. Then, as if going to the battlefield to die, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and with a loud shout, he slowly removed all seven coffin nails from the male ghost's body.
After it was over, Pangdun quickly ran to hide behind me, his hands already covered in cold sweat.
Just then, the male ghost suddenly, wooden and stiff, walked towards us, knelt down suddenly, and gazed at Pangdun with devotion.
I reluctantly pulled Pangdun out and said, "What are you hiding for, others are thanking you."
"Ah?" Hearing this, Pangdun walked out shakily. Just then, the male ghost heavily said, "Thank you, thank you."
"Ah?" Pangdun blushed, lost in astonishment and feeling a little pleased.
After Pangdun spoke, I didn't sarcastically interrupt him for the first time.
But just then, another voice interrupted Pangdun, "Young man, wait."
It was an old and hoarse woman's voice. Most importantly, I recognized this voice. Hearing the voice, I stopped in surprise and frowned, "Grandmother?"
I turned around and sure enough, grandmother was standing behind Pangdun and me.
"Hmm?" I looked at grandmother puzzled, "Grandmother, how did you come here?"
At this moment, the grandmother in front of me was no different from the one I saw in my dreams. She stood in the darkness, barely visible.
Unbeknownst to me, after I finished speaking, the grandmother suddenly knelt down, "Young man, I knelt to express my gratitude to you for removing the unclean spirits from our village, and the souls of the deceased in the village will no longer be oppressed by the unclean spirits."
I nodded, "Grandmother, the unclean spirits in this village are also the source of the oppression on Long Lanxiang's corpse. You don't have to be so polite, in fact, I should thank you for telling me about the source of the unclean spirits."
The grandmother continued, "Young man, the second reason for my kneeling is to ask you for a favor?"
At this moment, the grandmother's face was full of pain, and she even shed ghost tears. Ghost tears are actually blood tears. Two lines of blood tears flowed from the grandmother's eyes.
Seeing the grandmother like this, I nodded without hesitation, "Grandmother, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly, don't be like this, okay?"
The grandmother suddenly pointed to the location of the soul-claw and said, "The souls of the villagers caught by the soul-claw are all my relatives. I just ask you, for my sake, to release them."
"Hmm?" I instantly understood what she meant, and without hesitation, I nodded directly, "Okay, since grandmother has asked, how can I refuse?"
Saying that, I handed Fat Dun a small sword and said, "Go and cut the rope of the soul-searching claw."
Fat Dun was stunned, but he still slowly walked towards the soul-searching claw. At this moment, the old lady looked at me in amazement and said, "Really? Young man, you agreed so readily?"
"Phew." I breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly said, "Granny has helped me twice. She can be considered my benefactor. I, Duanmu, distinguish between gratitude and grievances, and will not let my benefactor be in trouble. Now, since my benefactor has knelt down to me, if I still refuse, won't I be an ungrateful person?"
"Good." The old lady showed a delighted expression. "It's such a blessing for Lao Wa Town to have a Taoist like you. I'm reassured, I'm reassured. Young man, I promise you, I will watch over them and ensure they don't do evil things."
Retracting the soul-searching claw, Fat Dun and I waved to the group of lingering souls behind us who were continuously thanking us, and finally left Lao Songmu.
On the way, Fat Dun was already crying profusely, "Duanmu, I'm so touched, I'm so damn touched."
"What are you so moved about?" I glared at Fat Dun fiercely.
Fat Dun said, "You're a blockhead, of course you have no feelings. Didn't you see the look in the eyes of those dead villagers? That is a real awe, a real gratitude, much stronger than the hypocritical people in school."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Enough with the sentimentality, let's go back to school first and see Long Lanxiang's body."