Chapter 19: Celestial Master Zhang

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

What was going on?

“You did everything you could to trap me in this formation array and sent so many people to take my life. If it weren’t for these little guys protecting me, I would have died many years ago…”

Seeing the old man getting more and more agitated as he spoke, Yun Qin was dumbfounded. She quickly interrupted, “Wait, do you know what you are?”

After a series of strenuous conversations with the old man and the hidden ghost’s incessant embellishment, Yun Qin finally understood the truth about this “haunted house”.

The old man’s name was Zhang Yuan. When he was a child, he followed his master to learn the Taoist art of subduing demons and ghosts. When he came of age and finished his apprenticeship, his master ordered him to leave with nothing but an ancient Taoist book in hand and go vanquish demons and ghosts in the human world. He was never allowed to return to his master.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan immersed himself in studying the Taoist skills outlined in the ancient book while traveling around the human world to help people.

Zhang Yuan read fortunes for people and predicted life trends based on a person’s physiognomy. He was very accurate in his readings and predictions. Sometimes, families that were haunted by ghosts asked him for help, which he dealt with properly. In just a few years, Zhang Yuan was deemed “Celestial Master Zhang” by the people around him.

Zhang Yuan did not dare to acknowledge this title because he knew that he barely scratched the surface of the skills outlined in the ancient book. The depth of the Taoist culture was not something that simple fortune-telling and ghost hunting could reflect.

As Celestial Master Zhang’s fame spread, many people began seeking him out to change their fortunes. For a time, Zhang Yuan was standing in the spotlight.

However, once a person becomes famous, trouble always follows.

First, some people pretended to be him to swindle others. The people who were swindled came to him to demand compensation.

Then, there were all kinds of high-ranking officials, nobles, and outlaws who forced him to change their fate. Some wanted to become king, some wanted to live forever, and some even wanted to see the ghosts of their deceased relatives.

However, Zhang Yuan’s ability was limited after all. He could not deal with these greedy people, so he found a quiet little courtyard and hid, spending the rest of his life studying Taoism.

Although there were still many people who came to seek trouble, Zhang Yuan was adamant about only reading fortunes, so there was nothing they could do.

However, good things did not last long. A group of villains that was planning to usurp the crown heard about him and came to ask him to read their fortune. Zhang Yuan’s reading predicted that their plan was doomed. His face was filled with aghast and he was about to persuade them to give up the plan when they decided to beat him up instead.

After a few months, that group of villains came to him again. This time, they had already taken over two cities and the group had expanded by more than ten times. Everyone was covered by a bloody aura. This time, Zhang Yuan not only refused to read their fortunes, but he also refused to comply with the leader’s request to change his fate and become a king.

The last scene that Zhang Yuan remembered from that time was the group of villains holding swords staring at him like wolves. Then, he fell into darkness. The only thing that he had on him was the ancient book of Taoism that his master gave him.

Therefore, in this endless darkness, the only thing Zhang Yuan could do was to study the Taoist book.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally saw light. However, he could only go out and see the outside world when the light was weak.

When he went out, he saw a world that left him speechless. Zhang Yuan knew that this world was no longer the same as before.

As for Zhang Yuan, he could only enter and exit through various mirrors. He witnessed this land changing from bungalows to a hospital, and then from a hospital to a haunted house.

Then, he met a lonely little black furball and two zombie worms that were about to give birth. At that time, Zhang Yuan already could control the entire building, so he kindly took in these little guys.

However, Zhang Yuan’s physique was deteriorating day by day. In the past few years, he always slept during the day and woke up briefly at night. The task of taking care of him fell onto the hidden ghost and the zombie worms.

Ever since the hospital was turned into a haunted house, the mirrors from other places were consolidated to this room. Thus, his range of movement was limited to this room, and he could no longer leave.

A few months ago, Zhang Yuan predicted that he would be killed by a person today. However, he did not know the cause of death or who would kill him.

It seemed that even Zhang Yuan, who spent a long time studying the ancient Taoist book, still had things that he could not predict.