Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 28 Solving the case

“Feng’er, once you have learned the most basic rituals of fasting and worship, I will formally confer your ordination, and then you will have your own Taoist name.”

"You'll just observe from the sidelines this time and learn how your senior brothers and sisters do it."

Master Wanshou and his group of eleven, including Lin Fan, traveled to the Wu family by carriage. The small carriage could only squeeze in Master Wanshou, Yun Xiangzi, and Lin Fan.

Lin Fan had originally planned to walk downstairs, but Master Wanshou insisted that he stay in the car and talk to him, so he had no choice but to ride with him.

“Feng’er, the eldest son of the Wu family died after being possessed by an evil spirit. The head of the Wu family asked me to perform a ritual. The first purpose is to help the soul of the deceased pass on, and the second is to expel the evil spirit. I will explain to you the key points of the ritual.”

Lin Fan knew these were all just for show, but since he might really be going down this path in the future, it wouldn't hurt to learn more, so he listened very attentively.

In this way, they quickly arrived at the Wu family's mansion.

Eight Taoist apprentices lined up in two rows in front of the vermilion gate, and three of them slowly stepped down from the carriage.

Seeing the imposing manner before him, Lin Fan once again felt the sheer audacity of this Daoist Wanshou. He could make even a fake look seem real.

Last night, Lin Fan changed into the same disciple robes as his fellow disciples, held a wooden sword, and tied up his long hair.

As expected, clothes make the man. Apart from being a bit thin and short, Lin Fan doesn't look much different from the other Taoist apprentices.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, Lin Fan's delicate features stand out much more than those of the other male and female disciples.

Master Wanshou took the lead, followed closely by Yun Xiangzi, while Lin Fan brought up the very back of the group.

Inside the mourning hall, all the Taoist priests except Lin Fan began to busily set up the altar, with Dog Skin Taoist priest being even more diligent than the disciples.

Lin Fan quickly got bored; without anyone explaining, he couldn't understand what these people were doing at all.

For example, one of his senior brothers placed a golden disc-shaped magical artifact in one place for a while, then moved it to another place, and then combined it with another magical artifact.

The Wu family members were equally bewildered. Dressed in mourning clothes, they watched the Taoist priests bustling about with awe, afraid of disturbing them.

Since Lin Fan had nothing else to do, he casually pulled over a servant and asked him a few questions.

Seeing that the other party was wearing a Taoist robe, the servants dared not be negligent and began to introduce the Wu family's situation one by one.

The person lying in the middle of the mourning hall, needless to say, is Wu Dalang.

The other servants were introduced one by one: the head of the Wu family, the head of the family's wife, the second son of the Wu family, the second wife, Madam Fan, the eldest wife, Madam Jin, the third young lady, the second steward...

Lin Fan's gaze swept over them one by one, and when he saw the widow who had just lost her husband, he suddenly froze.

Needless to say, the full bust that the plain white burial shroud couldn't hide was too eye-catching.

But that's secondary. Her peach-blossom eyes were slightly red from crying, and any man who saw them would feel a flutter in his heart.

Lin Fan was more than just moved; if the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, he would have shouted, "There's only one truth!"

The surname is Wu, the eldest son's surname is Dalang, and the wife's surname is Jin. Doesn't this all match up? This case is clearly not the work of evil spirits; the truth lies here.

Lin Fan stood on tiptoe, trying to get a glimpse of the person inside the coffin, but it was clearly futile; unless you could see through the wooden coffin, you couldn't see anything.

Lin Fan had no choice but to continue asking the servant beside him, "Is your master rather short, even shorter than me, and does he like... um, researching how to make noodles?"

The servant gave him a look of disgust: "Young Taoist priest, are you trying to make fun of me? Everyone in Baishi County knows our Master Wu, a towering figure, imposing and awe-inspiring. Moreover, our master loves martial arts; someone like you could send ten people flying with a single punch."

The servant's face showed a proud expression, but it instantly turned dejected.

Undeterred, Lin Fan continued, "So, was your grandfather poisoned to death?"

“If it were really poisoned, it wouldn’t be you who came. It would be the head constable of the yamen. The coroner would have ruled out the possibility of poisoning long ago.”

Lin Fan was somewhat disappointed; things were not at all what he had expected, and the clues had gone cold.

Soon, the ritual officially began, and the servants and women of the Wu family were all driven out of the main hall.

Lin Fan knew without a doubt that the process inside would be very boring, and after obtaining Wanshou Daoren's permission, he followed him out.

He had just asked the servants for more details. Grandpa Wu was perfectly healthy before he died, without any illness. He died in his own house on the day he died, and his wife was the first to discover that he had been possessed and died suddenly.

Lin Fan was unwilling to give up, so he pretended to chat with the Wu family members one by one, but his target was naturally the Wu family matriarch.

"Madam Pan, my master sent me to ask you some questions. What did you see and hear when the evil spirit killed people that day?"

Jin was stunned for a moment before realizing that Lin Fan was talking to her.

"I have met you, young Taoist priest. However, my husband's surname is Wu and my maiden name is Jin, not Pan."

Lin Fan's lips twitched; this damned ingrained way of thinking was too strong.

However, this little incident did not affect his ability to gather intelligence.

That day, Mrs. Jin heard strange meowing and fighting sounds in the courtyard. When she and her servants arrived, they only found her dead husband and some broken things.

This incident initially appeared to be a fight to the death, but Grandpa Wu's strength was renowned throughout the county. There were no traces of weapons at the scene, and it was impossible to kill a martial artist in such a short time with just fists and feet.

Furthermore, the superficial injuries on Grandpa Wu's body were clearly not enough to cause death.

Therefore, the government ultimately ruled that he died suddenly from an illness, but the Wu family unanimously believed that the cat demon was the killer.

"A cat demon?" Lin Fan stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.

Having already witnessed the Red-Clothed Curse, Lin Fan did not deny the possibility of a cat demon.

However, in the words of the dog-skinned Taoist priest, cat demons aren't like cabbages; they can't be found everywhere. He was more suspicious of humans than cat demons.

Since Lin Fan had nothing else to do, he started asking around among various martial arts families.

Unfortunately, he didn't get much useful information.

All he knew was that Grandpa Wu had been very busy lately, constantly looking at account books, and didn't even have time to practice martial arts. He also often stayed up late, neglecting Grandma Wu somewhat.

Therefore, some people believe that Grandpa Wu may have simply died from overwork. The so-called fighting marks were left by Grandpa Wu himself while practicing martial arts.

It is indeed possible for someone who is extremely fatigued to suddenly engage in martial arts practice to die from a sudden attack of internal heat.

In Lin Fan's understanding, it was a cerebral hemorrhage. This kind of death was indeed easily mistaken by the ancients as death by possession.

The sound of chanting sutras came from the main hall, and the sounds of the ritual echoed throughout the Wu family mansion. The orderly and mysterious music could indeed reduce the fear of evil spirits.

Lin Fan didn't know if he could be of any help, but since he was now part of it, he didn't want to just sit idly by.

He never believed in the tricks of those charlatans; they put on a show for a while, then pack up and leave.

If something happens to the Wu family again in a while, it might affect Linglong Temple and myself.

After applying to the matriarch of the Wu family, Lin Fan was granted permission to investigate the backyard.

The Wu family members were almost all concentrated in the front yard, with only a few servants in the back yard.

Suddenly, Lin Fan saw a man dressed in fine clothes flash by.

Lin Fan immediately sensed something was wrong and quickened his pace to catch up.