Chapter 5           A Disciple 

Qing Yunzhi let out a slight smirk, “A Miao Jiang Witch?” 

The man’s expression immediately changed, but he still tried his best to act dumb.  

“You don’t need to act innocent. The person that is responsible for this mess is none other than you!” 

“What!” The crowd moved away from the man and stared at him with shock.

The man kept his mouth shut, as his face paled. 

Qing Yunzhi turned to ask Ye Dagong, “Does this person have any hatred against your family?”

Ye Dagong replied loudly, “His name is Ye Dabao, he is the carpenter of this village. Occasionally, he comes to fix my furniture. That’s right! One month ago, he came to fix our beds ….”

Qing Yunzhi seemed to have figured out the entire thing. He stared at Ye Dabao and said, “You can’t fool me, your body has the lingering scent of corpse oil. The redness on your fingers is due to prolonged exposure to cinnabar. So, what hate do you have against this poor child? Why did you do this to him?”

Ye Dabao was still trying to act dumb. Then, Ye Bing’s crying wife suddenly came to Ye Dabao and started to hit him, “You did this to my child. It must be you! You heartless monster!” Ye Dagong and his son could barely pull her off Ye Dabao. Then, his wife reluctantly told everyone a secret,

 “When I was young, I knew Ye Dabao. He often came to drop off packages. He would also sell trinkets he brought from the south, and I would sometimes buy a few from him.

“One time, when I was collecting wild herbs on the mountains, I heard someone scream in pain. When I rushed over, I saw that a poisonous snake had bitten Ye Dabao. At that time, he was unable to move, and his mouth was foaming. I quickly went to call our village doctor to save him. The doctor saved him, and he insisted I become his sworn sister. He was very eager at that time, so I accepted his request. 

“From then on, he would give me a present whenever he came to sell things. As time went on, our relations.h.i.+p became closer, and I also saw him as a brother. After a few years, when I was around 17, I did not want other people to misunderstand our relations.h.i.+p. So, I started to ignore him.

“After a year or two, Ye Bing’s house came to ask for marriage. When Ye Dabao heard about this, he visited me and brought a gold ring. He asked me if I could marry him instead. 

“His proposition shocked me and said I no. Even so, he still tried to rape me. Fortunately, I was able to bite his shoulder and run away.”

“I thought you would have let things go … but you still hate me, and now, you want the life of my child. I shouldn’t have saved your life that day!” She was so angry that she spat on Ye Dabao’s face. Then, Ye Bing suddenly rushed to Ye Dabao and pulled away his s.h.i.+rt. A bite mark was visible on his left shoulder!

With all the proof stacking up, Ye Dabao felt that there was no more hiding. 

“My guess is that you learned your witchcraft in Miao Jiang when you went there to trade,” Qing Yunzhi said, “When she rejected you, you became envious and angry. However, why did you wait until now to exact your revenge?” 

“Revenge is a dish best served cold,” Ye Dabao stared hatefully at Ye Bing, “You stole what was mine, and now, I will kill your son! I want you to witness your son slowly becoming an undead. Then, he will kill all of you! Haha, even though my plan did not go exactly as I envisioned, an undead infant was still created, and your son is poisoned and dying. Hahaha!”

Suddenly, he shoved something into his mouth. After he chewed it, his body started to tremble. He fell to the ground while foaming at his mouth. A few moments later, blood oozed out from all his seven orifices, and he died. 

All the villagers were shocked at the sight before their eyes. Everyone silently stared at Ye Dabao.

Ye Dagong let out a sigh and mumbled, “Never thought he could be this evil.”

“He has been dealing with Miao Jiang Witchcraft for a long time. This dark craft poisoned him and caused him to lose himself, making him cunning. In order to evade the police, he used Miao Jiang Witchcraft to slowly kill your family. If it wasn’t for me, all of you would have become walking corpses.” 

The Ye Family immediately kneeled down and gave thanks to Qing Yunzhi, “Thank you so much for saving our family and the whole village.” 

Qing Yunzhi told them to get up and followed them back to the village.

Ye Dabao’s body was brought back to the village. Qing Yunzhi drew a Soul Guiding Talisman Paper and threw it into the air. It was easy for Qing Yunzhi to usher Ye Dabao’s soul to the underworld because he had committed suicide. This prevented Ye Dabao from doing more harm. 

Qing Yunzhi went to check on Ye Shaoyang and told Ye Dagong, “Surely you now know how much hatred that Violent Undead possessed. Her corpse oil contained enough hatred to greatly harm your grandson. He needs close attention and nursing for one year. I can’t stay here for a whole year, but your grandson is coincidentally perfect for Daoist training. Why don’t you let me bring your son back to Maoshan as my disciple? I will heal him and also teach him the way of Maoshan Daoist arts. What do you think?”

This proposition stunned Ye Dagong and his family. Ye Shaoyang was their only descendant, so how would they willingly let him go? However, they had no other choice, as the child was dying.  

“Daoist master. If he becomes a Daoist, can he still marry and have kids?” his mother asked intently. 

“Maoshan Sect is one of heritage-based Daoism. As such, we don’t practice celibacy. Of course, he can have a wife. If he wants to, he could even have 10!” Qing Yunzhi was secretly happy when he saw that they were slowly agreeing with his idea. 

“But he is still illiterate ….”

“That’s easy. There is a school at the foot of Maoshan. He will go to school during the day and learn Daoism during the night. You don’t have to give pay me a penny. I will raise him and teach him Daoist skills. How good will that be? Moreover, if you guys miss him, you can come and visit him anytime you want.”

The family members had no choice but to acquiesce. They all felt very thankful, so they had a great feast that night. By the next day, Qing Yunzhi had to leave the village. He left a number for Ye Dagong in case anything happened. Qing Yunzhi carried Ye Shaoyang on his back. Then, he turned his back to the sad and unwilling family members and happily left Ye Village.