Eleanor’s Peak of Life and Death Chapter 10

Fortunately, Gabriel Chu didn't hear all of Asher Mo's "verbal punishment" for fun. He barely managed to fool him with his nonsense.

When he returned to his dormitory, it was already very late. Asher Mo took a nap and went to morning exercises as usual the next day. After morning exercises, he did his favorite thing in the morning: breakfast.

Mengpo Hall, the place for breakfast, gradually became crowded with people as the morning exercises ended.

Asher Mo sat opposite Jasper Shi. Finnegan Xue arrived late, and the seat next to Jasper Shi was taken by someone else. He had no choice but to sit next to Asher Mo with a gloomy face and reluctantly took his breakfast.

If Asher Mo were asked to explain the most subtle aspects of the Life-Death Peak Mentality, he would definitely say: There is no need for fasting in our sect.

Different from many otherworldly sects in the upper cultivation world, the Peak of Life and Death has its own set of methods of cultivation. It does not require abstaining from meat or fasting, so the meals in the sect have always been plentiful.

Asher Mo drank a bowl of spicy and fragrant oil tea, licking the chopped peanuts and crispy soybeans along the edge. In front of him was a plate of brown and crispy pan-fried buns, which were specially ordered for Jasper Shi.

Finnegan Xue glanced at Asher Mo with a sneer, "Asher Mo, I didn't expect you to be able to stand and come out after entering the Red Lotus Hell. Incredible."

Asher Mo didn't even raise his head: "Then why don't you look at who I am?"

"Who are you?" Finnegan Xue sneered, "Master didn't break your legs, but you are so arrogant that you don't know who you are?"

"Oh, I'm a green onion, then what are you?"

Finnegan Xue sneered: "I am the chief disciple of the master."

"You sealed it yourself? Well, I suggest you ask the master to stamp it, frame it and hang it on the wall for worship. Otherwise, you will be unworthy of the title of chief disciple."

With a snap, Finnegan Xue broke the chopsticks.

The teacher quickly said to the side: "Stop arguing and eat."

Finnegan Xue: "...Humph."

Asher Mo smiled and imitated him: "Humph."

Finnegan Xue was furious and slammed the table: "How dare you!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Jasper Shi hurriedly pulled Finnegan Xue and said, "Young Master, there are so many people watching us, let's eat and stop arguing."

These two people were incompatible. Although they were cousins, they would quarrel whenever they met. After Jasper Shi persuaded Finnegan Xue, he was sandwiched in the middle to ease the atmosphere and talk to both sides.

After a while, he asked Finnegan Xue: "Young Master, when will the cat that Madam is raising give birth?"

Finnegan Xue replied: "Oh, you mean Ali? My mother made a mistake. It's not pregnant. It just ate too much and its belly looks big."

Teacher: ...

After a while, he asked Asher Mo again: "Ah Ran, do you still need to go to Master's place to work today?"

"I don't think so. I have sorted out everything that needs to be sorted out. I will help you copy the sect rules today."

The teacher laughed and said, "How can you still have time to help me? You still have to copy it a hundred times yourself."

Finnegan Xue raised his eyebrows and looked at the always law-abiding Jasper Shi in surprise: "Why do you also want to copy the sect rules?"

Jasper Shi looked embarrassed, and before he could speak, the buzzing conversation in the dining hall suddenly fell silent. The three turned around and saw Gabriel Chu entering Mengpo Hall in white clothes, walked to the vegetable cabinet expressionlessly, and began to pick out snacks.

The dining hall, which was used by more than a thousand people, suddenly became as quiet as a cemetery when Gabriel Chu appeared. The disciples all focused on eating, and even when they wanted to communicate, they spoke very quietly.

Jasper Shi sighed softly, looking at Chu Wan Ning holding a tray, sitting in the corner where he usually sat, drinking porridge silently, and couldn't help saying: "Actually, I think Master is sometimes quite pitiful."

Asher Mo raised his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"Look, where he sits, no one dares to get close to him. When he comes, no one dares to speak loudly. It was fine before the Lord was here, but now that the Lord is gone, he doesn't even have anyone to talk to. Isn't he very lonely?"

Asher Mo snorted: "He asked for it."

Finnegan Xue was angry again: "How dare you mock Master?"

"How did I mock him? I'm telling the truth." Asher Mo picked up another steamed bun for Jasper Shi, "With his temper, who would want to stay with him?"

"you---!"

Asher Mo looked at Finnegan Xue with a playful smile, and said lazily: "Not convinced? If you are not convinced, sit over there and have dinner with Master, don't sit with us."

Finnegan Xue was stopped by just one sentence.

Although he respected Gabriel Chu, he was more afraid of her like everyone else. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and angry, but he couldn't refute it. He could only kick the table legs twice and sulk to himself.

There was a trace of lazy complacency on Asher Mo's face. He glanced at Little Phoenix provocatively, and then his eyes fell on Gabriel Chu across the crowd.

For some reason, looking at the only white figure in the room full of dark blue and silver armor, he suddenly thought of the person who curled up in the cold metal and fell asleep last night.

Jasper Shi was right, Gabriel Chu was really pitiful.

But so what? The more pitiful he was, the happier Asher Mo was. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but bend the corners of his mouth more clearly.

Time flies.

Gabriel Chu never asked him to go to the Red Lotus Waterside Pavilion again. Asher Mo's daily chores became washing dishes, feeding the chickens and ducklings raised by Eleanor Madam, and weeding in the herb garden. It was quite leisurely.

In a blink of an eye, a month of confinement has passed.

One day, Eleanor Madam called Asher Mo to Danxin Palace, touched his head, and asked him: "A Ran, are your wounds healed?"

Asher Mo smiled and said, "Thank you, Aunt Lao for your concern. I'm fine now."

"That's good. Be careful when you go out next time. Don't make such a big mistake again and make your master angry. Do you understand?"

Asher Mo is particularly good at pretending to be a grandson: "Aunt, I know."

"There is one more thing." Eleanor Madam took out a piece of letter from the small Huanghuali table and said, "You have been a disciple for a year. It is time to take on the responsibility of exorcising demons. Yesterday, your uncle sent a pigeon to ask you to go down the mountain to complete this assignment after completing your confinement."

According to the rules of the Peak of Life and Death, disciples must go out into the world and fight demons after one year of entry.

When the disciple exorcises a demon for the first time, his master will accompany him to help. In addition, the disciple must also invite a fellow disciple to go with him, so that the disciples can support each other and understand why "the loyalty is evident and will never change, even in life or death."

Asher Mo's eyes lit up, he took the letter of appointment, tore it open and read it quickly, and immediately grinned with joy.

Eleanor Madam said worriedly, "Ah Ran, your uncle hopes that you can become famous in one battle, so he has entrusted you with an important task. Although Elder Yu Heng has a high level of cultivation, he may not be able to protect you in a fight because of the ruthless swords. You must not be too happy and underestimate the enemy."

"No, no!" Asher Mo waved his hands repeatedly, smiling, "Don't worry, auntie, I will take good care of myself." After saying that, he quickly packed his bags.

"This child..." Mrs. Wang looked at his back, her gentle and beautiful face full of worry, "How could he be so happy just by taking a commission?"

How could Asher Mo not be happy?

The demon-exorcism task assigned to him by his uncle took place in Caidie Town and was entrusted by a local man named Chen.

Regardless of what kind of ghosts there are, the key point is that in his previous life, it was in this Colorful Butterfly Town that he was bewitched by evil spirits and lost his mind. He forcibly K!ssed Jasper Shi in the illusion. This was also one of the few times that Asher Mo was close to Jasper Shi, which was truly soul-stirring.

Besides, because he was bewitched, it was hard for the teacher to complain. It was a free K!ss! After the K!ss, there was no way for the other party to settle the score with him.

Mo Ranle's eyes were curved. He didn't mind even if he had to complete this assignment with Gabriel Chu.

To eliminate demons, you rely on your master; to seduce men, you rely on yourself. It's such a good job, why not do it?

After inviting Jasper Shi and reporting to the master, the three of them rode fast all the way to the evil-ridden Colorful Butterfly Town.

This is a town rich in flowers. There are flower fields stretching for dozens of miles outside the residential area. Therefore, there are always colorful butterflies flying around the town, hence the name.

It was already evening when the three arrived. The sound of drums and music was heard at the entrance of the village, making it very lively. A line of musicians in bright red clothes, playing suona, turned out from the alley.

Jasper Shi asked curiously, "Are you getting married? Why are you getting married at night?"

Gabriel Chu said: "It's a ghost marriage."

Ghost marriage, also known as Yin marriage or bone matching, is a posthumous marriage arranged for unmarried men and women who died young. This custom is not popular in poor places, but Caidie Town is very rich, so it is common to find spouses for young men and women who never got married in their lifetime.

The ghost marriage team was huge, divided into two columns, one carrying real silk and satin, and the other carrying paper ingots and ghost money. In this way, a red and white sedan chair with eight bearers and a full set of golden lanterns and deacons came out of the village one after another.

Asher Mo and the others pulled the bridle of the horses and stood aside to let the ghost marriage team pass first. When the sedan chair came closer, they saw that the person sitting inside was not a living person, but a ghost bride made of paper. The ghost bride was painted with rouge and powder, with bright red lips, and two clusters of red clouds on her cheeks reflecting her pale face. Her smiling appearance was extremely creepy.

"What a crappy habit this village has. They really have so much money to burn." Asher Mo muttered in a low voice.

Gabriel Chu said: "The people in Caidie Town are very particular about geomancy. They believe that there should not be a solitary grave in the house, otherwise the family fortune will be affected by the lonely ghosts."

"...Isn't that true?"

"The townspeople believed it."

"Well, that's right. Caidie Town has been here for hundreds of years. If I tell them that the evil they believe in doesn't exist at all, I guess they won't be able to accept it."

The teacher asked quietly: "Where is this ghost marriage team going?"

Gabriel Chu said, "We passed by a temple just now when we came here. There was no god or Buddha enshrined in the temple. There was a "囍" character on the door lintel, and the table was piled with red satin. The satin was written with messages like "Heaven-sent marriage" and "Good luck in the afterlife". I think they are going there."

"I noticed that temple, too." Jasper Shi thought, "Master, is the one enshrined there a ghost master of ceremonies?"

"good."

The ghost master of ceremonies is a ghost figure imagined by the people. People believe that the marriage of the dead also requires three matchmakers and six cards, and the exchange of dragon and phoenix cards, and a master of ceremonies is also needed to confirm that two dead people are married. In Caidie Town, because the custom of ghost marriage is very popular, a golden statue of the ghost master of ceremonies was naturally made and placed in front of the grave outside the town. Before the families who hold ghost marriages bury the ghost bride, they must first carry the ghost bride to the temple to worship.

Asher Mo rarely saw such a ridiculous scene, and he watched it with great interest. Gabriel Chu, however, just looked at it coldly for a while, turned his horse around, and said, "Let's go and take a look at the haunted house."

"My three Taoist priests, my life is so miserable! You are finally here! If no one takes care of this matter, I, I don't even want to live!"

The one who commissioned the Peak of Life and Death to exorcise the ghost was the town's richest businessman, Mr. Chen.

The Chen family was engaged in the perfume powder business, and the family had four sons and one daughter. After the eldest son got married, his wife did not like the noise at home, so the two thought about moving out and setting up their own family. The Chen family was wealthy, so they bought a large piece of land in a secluded place in Beishan, which also had a natural hot spring pool, which was particularly enjoyable.

As a result, on the day of the groundbreaking, the shovel hit a hard object after a few shovels. The eldest daughter-in-law leaned over to take a look and fainted immediately. A new coffin painted red was actually dug up on the north mountain!

Caidie Town had a mass grave, and all the townspeople were buried there after they died. But this lone coffin inexplicably appeared on the North Mountain, with no grave or tombstone, and the coffin was blood red.

They dared not move and quickly filled the soil back, but it was too late. Since that day, strange things have continued to happen in the Chen family.

"First, it was my daughter-in-law." Chen Yuanwai cried, "She was frightened and had a miscarriage. Later, it was my eldest son. In order to nourish his wife's body, he went to the mountain to collect herbs. As a result, he slipped and fell to the bottom of the mountain. When we tried to rescue him, he was already dead... Alas!" He sighed, choked with sobs, and could not continue, but just waved his hands.

Mrs. Chen also wiped her tears with her handkerchief: "My husband is right. In the following months, our sons met with accidents one after another. They either disappeared or lost their lives. Three of our four sons are gone!"

Gabriel Chu frowned, his eyes swept past the Chen couple and landed on the pale youngest son. He looked about the same age as Asher Mo, about fifteen or sixteen, with a handsome face, but fear made his face a little distorted.

The teacher asked: "Can you tell me how the other children... disappeared?"

"Alas, Zhongzi was bitten by a snake on his way to look for his brother. The snake was just an ordinary grass snake, not poisonous. No one paid much attention to it at the time, but a few days later, he suddenly fell straight down while eating, and then... wuwuwu, my child..."

The teacher sighed and couldn't bear it: "Then, are there any signs of poisoning in the body?"

"Oh, where did the poison come from? Our family must be cursed! The first few sons are gone, and the next one is the youngest! The next one is the youngest!"

Chu Wan Ning frowned, his eyes fell on Madam Chen like lightning, and asked: "How do you know that the next one will be the youngest? Why not you? Does this evil spirit only kill men?"

The youngest son of the Chen family huddled there, his legs were like sieves, his eyes were swollen, and his voice was shrill and twisted as soon as he opened his mouth: "It's me! It's me! I know! The man in the red coffin is here! He's here! Taoist priest, Taoist priest, save me! Taoist priest, save me!"

As he spoke, his emotions began to spiral out of control, and he rushed over and even tried to hug Gabriel Chu's thighs.

Gabriel Chu didn't like to interact with strangers, so he immediately avoided them and looked up at Mr. Chen and his wife: "What's going on?"

The couple looked at each other and said in a trembling voice: "There is a place in this house that we, we dare not go to again - the Taoist priest will know it when he sees it, it is really evil, really..."

Gabriel Chu interrupted: "Where?"

The couple hesitated for a moment, then stretched out their hands and pointed tremblingly to the ancestral shrine in the house: "That's it..."

Gabriel Chu went over first, followed by Asher Mo and Jasper Shi, and the Chen family followed far behind.

Pushing open the door, the inside looked very similar to the incense halls used by some wealthy families to worship gods and ancestors, with several rows of spirit tablets densely placed, and pale candles burning on both sides.

The words on all the tablets in this house are engraved in relief and painted yellow. They contain the name of the deceased and his or her ranking in the family.

These tablets are written in very neat order, honoring the spirit of the ancestor so-and-so, Taifu Jun, or the spirit of the ancestor so-and-so, Fu Jun.

But only the tablet in the middle had the words not carved and then painted, but written in bright red:

The spirit of Chen Yanji.

Yangshang Chen Sunshi

The Chen family members hiding behind the Taoist priest might have been hoping for a lucky break, so they timidly looked towards the ancestral hall where the white silk was flying. However, when they saw the words on the tablet that looked like they were painted in blood again, they immediately collapsed.

Mrs. Chen burst into tears, and her youngest son's face turned so pale that he didn't look like a living person.

Firstly, the writing on this tablet is not in accordance with etiquette. Secondly, the words on the tablet are crooked, just like the scribbles that someone wrote while drowsy. It is so sloppy that it is almost illegible.

The teacher turned around and asked, "Who is Chen Yanji?"

The youngest son of the Chen family cried behind him and trembled as he said, "Yes, it's me."

Chen Yuanwai cried and said, "Master, this is what happened. Since Zhongzi passed away, we found... we found a new spirit tablet in the ancestral temple, and the names of the living people in our family were written on the tablet. As long as this name appears, that person will suffer misfortune within seven days! When the third brother's name appeared on the tablet, I locked him in the room, scattered incense ash outside the door, and invited people to perform rituals. I tried everything, but on the seventh day! He still died... For no reason, he just died like that!"

The more he spoke, the more excited and frightened he became. He knelt down with a plop: "I, Chen, have never done anything against the will of heaven in my life. Why would God treat me like this? Why!"

The teacher was heartbroken, and hurried to comfort the crying old man, while looking up and gently shouting: "Master, look at this..."

Gabriel Chu didn't look back. He was still looking at the spirit tablet with great interest, as if a flower could bloom on it.

Suddenly, Gabriel Chu asked, "Master Yang, Chen Sun, are you talking about you, Madam Chen?"