Chapter 166 Four Months

Since she had already come out, Ma Xiaoling had originally planned to play in Japan for a few more days. However, she did not expect that Japan was now in a gloomy and desolate situation near Tokyo unless one went far away.

He received another message from Wang Zhenzhen that his fake apprentice had been missing for four or five days. He called the police but received no news, so he changed his plan and went straight back to Hong Kong Island.

As soon as I got off the plane, I went straight to Jiajia Building and saw Sister Jin, who had received the news, waiting at the door. As soon as she saw Ma Xiaoling, she rushed over and said, "Xiaoling! You must help me, help Zhengzhong. You have already accepted him as your apprentice, you must not ignore him!"

Ma Xiaoling has seen this kind of scene many times. Every time there is a haunted scene, not only will she be anxious, but she will also be scared to death on the spot.

"Don't worry! I will find Jin Zhengzhong. Don't worry, Auntie, let's go upstairs and talk slowly!" Ma Xiaoling nodded affirmatively and signaled to Wang Zhenzhen who was following Sister Jin. Together, they helped Sister Jin go to his house.

As soon as I entered Sister Jin's house, a burly middle-aged man in a flowered shirt rushed over with a thermos cup in his hand and shouted, "Wife, are you okay? I told you not to go downstairs and wait. The person you're talking about is Zhengzhong's master, how could he not care about him?"

"Shut up! I don't want to talk to you. Xiaoling, come here and sit down. How can we find the center? I know you will find a way!" Sister Jin pushed Jin Shouzheng away and pulled Xiaoling to sit on the sofa, looking at Ma Xiaoling with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, yes. I heard that you are Zhengzhong's master. You should quickly think of a way to find Zhengzhong." Jin Shouzheng pulled over a stool and sat together and said casually.

Ma Xiaoling frowned when she heard this. Zhenzhen introduced him to Ma Xiaoling, "Xiaoling, this is Zhengzhong's father. Zhengzhong has been missing for four days. Is there any way to find him?"

Ma Xiaoling glanced at Jin Shouzheng and held Jin's hands comfortingly: "Auntie, can you tell me what the police said first?"

"Oh! What else can I say? They only know how to collect our taxpayers' money, but actually do nothing for it. I asked them to help me find my son, but they haven't found him in four days!" Jin Shouzheng shouted angrily.

"Shut up!" Ma Xiaoling couldn't help but say. She didn't see that Jin Shouzheng was worried about Jin Zhengzhong's disappearance. She felt annoyed by his shouting.

Jin Shouzheng sighed, "How can you talk to your elders like that? You have no manners at all. You still have the nerve to charge tuition? I paid most of the tuition my son paid you!"

Sister Jin stood up suddenly, pointed at the door, and shouted angrily: "Get out of here, get out now!"

"Wife, what are you doing?" Jin Shouzheng was still talking when Sister Jin started pushing him up from the stool and out the door with tears in her eyes.

Zhenzhen sat next to Ma Xiaoling and whispered, "Dad Jin cheated on his wife several years ago. He seems to have gone bankrupt recently so he often comes to Sister Jin's place."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiaoling became even more certain of her previous thought. She looked at Jin Shouzheng, who had been pushed out of the door, with disdain, and went with Zhenzhen to help Sister Jin sit back down.

"Auntie, please give me some clothes that Zhengzhong often wears. I will try to find Zhengzhong."

When Sister Jin heard this, she quickly wiped away her tears and looked at Ma Xiaoling excitedly: "Wait, no, right away, I'll go now!"

Sister Jin rushed to Jin Zhengzhong's room upstairs. Zhenzhen felt sad when she saw this: "Xiaoling, you must find a way to find Zhengzhong. Sister Jin has been crying these past two days and can't even eat."

"Don't worry, I will find him. But has he offended anyone? Did those he cheated seek revenge?"

Zhenzhen shook her head: "That shouldn't be the case, right? It just disappeared all of a sudden, and we don't know what happened."

Sister Jin quickly brought over several of Jin Zhengzhong's clothes, including tops, pants, and even underwear.

"Sister Jin, don't worry. As long as Zhengzhong is still there, I will find a way to find him." Ma Xiaoling promised Sister Jin. She took a few pieces of clothes and was about to leave, but Sister Jin grabbed her arm.

"Xiaoling, take me with you to find Zhengzhong."

Sister Jin's look made Ma Xiaoling feel awkward. She was going to ask her uncle for help, as she didn't know the magic of finding people by using objects.

"Auntie, please believe me. I am also looking for a senior to help me now. I will inform you as soon as there is any news."

Zhenzhen also comforted her: "Jin Jie, it will be fine. You haven't eaten since yesterday. Let's eat something first. If Zhengzhong comes back and sees you like this, he will definitely be angry."

The two of them persuaded Sister Jin to give up the idea, and Ma Xiaoling quickly left Jiajia Building and went directly to the game hall to find Uncle Qiu and told him what happened.

"Of course we should call the police if this person is missing. Haven't they been installing CCTV in recent years? As for the video recorders, I really don't know what they are for."

He Youqiu said, and then looked at Ma Xiaoling seriously: "Did something happen to your cheap apprentice? Or was he kidnapped? There has been no news for the past four days, so it's hard to guarantee that something unexpected happened."

"Something must have happened. I brought the clothes here so that you can try to confirm whether he is dead or alive. If he is still alive, that would be the best. If he is dead, that would also give us an explanation."

Ma Xiaoling lit three incense sticks before she continued helplessly: "My cheap apprentice used to act like a charlatan with his mother to deceive people, which must have offended many people."

"Because of the fight with Zheng Wenjie, the residents nearby started to spread the rumor that his family was a scam, so he pestered me to become his disciple and learn some real skills."

He Youqiu shook his head. He had no good feelings towards the guy who played tricks. He picked up a piece of clothing and said, "Okay, let's do the simplest way to confirm life or death first."

He Youqiu pushed out a brazier and threw the clothes into it. He muttered something, formed a seal with his hands, pointed his sword at the statue of the ancestor, and a small red lantern slowly flew from the altar to the top of the brazier.

He made another seal and pointed his finger, and the brazier instantly caught fire, burning Jin Zhengzhong's clothes.

"Hey, this is my latest gadget. As long as this little lantern lights up, it means the person is still alive. If it doesn't light up, then the person is probably dead."

"But how can you accept a disciple when you only have that one piece of clothing and don't even know his birth date?"

Ma Xiaoling looked at the lantern and said, "Uncle Qiu, you know this apprentice is fake. History will change in four months."

"Speaking of this, I still don't understand whether Master Miaoshan is really so powerful. Even Guanyin Bodhisattva should not have such strong powers to change history, right?" He Youqiu frowned and said a little unconfidently.

Ma Xiaoling looked at He Youqiu and couldn't help but fall into deep thought: "I don't know why I believe in Master Miaoshan so much. As soon as I saw her, I felt that what she said must be right."

"The person must be dead. Let's summon the soul and see how he died." He Youqiu suddenly interrupted Ma Xiaoling's thoughts. When they looked up, the brazier had gone out, and the small lantern had no response.

Ma Xiaoling felt very uncomfortable, not because Jin Zhengzhong was dead, but because she felt pity for Sister Jin because of her appearance.

I couldn't help but say helplessly: "I hope Sister Jin can see things more clearly."

"Life and death are inevitable sooner or later." He Youqiu shook his head and said, "Xiaoling, go back first and find me Jin Zhengzhong's information so I can summon his soul tonight."

He Youqiu waved his hand to drive them away. Ma Xiaoling nodded and thought about how to tell Sister Jin the news.

Just as he was about to leave, he looked at Kuang Tianyou through the glass: "Uncle Qiu, Kuang Tianyou still has the key to your game room? Even I don't have it!"

"What are you talking about! I just closed the gate, I didn't lock it." He Youqiu said, looking at Kuang Tianyou pushing the door open and asking curiously: "Tianyou, why are you here?"

Kuang Tianyou nodded expressionlessly at Ma Xiaoling, looked at Uncle Qiu and said, "A case has happened, and I don't have any ideas, so I want you to come and see if there is any way to find the murderer."

"Tell me about it." He Youqiu became interested. Kuang Tianyou seldom came to him for help with cases, but every time he came, the cases were unsolvable by human power, and they could only rely on summoning souls to identify the murderer.

Kuang Tianyou did not avoid the presence of Ma Xiaoling and started talking.

Just this morning, someone found a body while jogging around the shore. At first, he thought it was an illusion because the body had been soaked beyond recognition.

After the police arrived at the scene, they handed the body over to the forensic doctor, who was helpless and could only roughly surmise that the body had been soaked in sea water for four or five days.

The cause of death was hemorrhagic shock caused by an open wound on the neck, and all other clues were washed away due to soaking in water.

After explaining, Kuang Tianyou gave his judgment: "The dead person is Jin Zhengzhong, a neighbor of my new home. I have seen him several times. I suspect he was bitten to death by a zombie, but I am not sure, so I came to ask you for help."

"Xiao Ling also came here because of Jin Zhengzhong's matter. I didn't expect... I know. When the time comes, I will open the altar to summon the soul. You guys go first."

Ma Xiaoling and Kuang Tianyou walked out of the game room.

"Do you have time now? Let's chat." Ma Xiaoling invited Kuang Tianyou, and Kuang Tianyou did not refuse. The two walked to a park.

"Are you sure that Zhengzhong died at the hands of zombies?"

Kuang Tianyou shook his head: "It's just a possibility, but it cannot be ruled out that it is because of the Dead Sea."

"If so, what would you do?"

"Do nothing. In just four months, nothing will happen." Kuang Tianyou looked at Ma Xiaoling firmly and said.

"Then why did you come to Uncle Qiu to confirm the cause of Kim Jong-jung's death?"

Kuang Tianyou closed his eyes, took a deep breath with regret, then looked at Ma Xiaoling and said, "If Jin Zhengzhong was bitten to death by zombies, then I will be more determined to change history! I will sacrifice everything!"

"If our family hadn't moved to Jiajia Building, Zheng Wenjie wouldn't have come, and there wouldn't have been a conflict with Jin Zhengzhong. Nothing would have happened! He wouldn't have died so tragically."

Time flies and four months have passed.

As agreed with Miao Shan, Ma Xiaoling and Kuang Tianyou rushed to the forest shaded by green trees and filled with mist before dawn.

It’s not that they didn’t want to go to the temple in advance to make preparations, but they couldn’t find the temple when they came a few days ago, and they didn’t find any trace of the temple the first two times they entered the mountains.

But today, as soon as I got up the mountain, I heard the morning bell ringing, and following the sound of the bell, I found the temple where I first met Miao Shan.

Ma Xiaoling didn't know why she didn't ask a few more questions at the time. Instead, she believed Miao Shan as soon as she said it. The more she thought about it over the past four months, the more it seemed impossible.

The Buddhist temple is wide open and silent. Ma Xiaoling finds it hard to believe that it will disappear, and she regains faith that Miao Shan can allow them to travel back to the past.

Kuang Tianyou and Ma Xiaoling walked into the temple, looked around for a moment and asked, "Should we go directly into the main hall? Or should we go to the side room where we met Master Miaoshan?"

"Didn't you see that the door of the main hall was closed so tightly? Let's go directly to find Master Miao Shan." Ma Xiaoling rolled her eyes at Kuang Tianyou. It was he who brought her here twice for nothing.

Kuang Tianyou looked at Ma Xiaoling with an expression that was both embarrassed and excited. He was indeed too anxious. His heart was pounding at the moment. He hadn't felt this way for decades.

The two of them walked to the side room behind the main hall where Miao Shan had stayed. Sure enough, the door was open. Kuang Tianyou quickened his pace, overtook Ma Xiaoling and walked into the side room first.

Miao Shan, who was meditating, also opened her eyes and smiled at the two of them: "You are here."

"Master, we are all ready!" Kuang Tianyou said as he bowed to Miao Shan.

Ma Xiaoling was in a trance for a moment. The slight doubt she had on Miao Shan disappeared instantly. In her mind, she kept finding reasons to explain away the doubts she had had over the past four months.

Master Miaoshan clasped his hands together and greeted the two with a smile: "Since you are already here, follow me. This is your only chance. Whether you can succeed depends on yourself."

"Start now?" Ma Xiaoling couldn't help but ask.

Miao Shan stepped down from the cushion and stood in front of the two men: "Follow me and you will know."

Ma Xiaoling glanced at Kuang Tianyou and saw that he had no reaction and followed Miao Shan resolutely. She couldn't help but think of the frequent contacts in the past four months. She didn't care that Miao Shan could hear their conversation, but just asked curiously:
"Kuang Tianyou, if we can succeed this time..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Kuang Tianyou: "There is no if. This is the only chance to change our family's fate. I must succeed in stopping this!"

Ma Xiaoling sighed in her heart. She didn't have many friends, or to be honest, she had no friends except Wang Zhenzhen. After spending some time together, she had already regarded Kuang Tianyou as a friend.

He doesn't have to worry about scaring people because he is a Taoist priest who catches ghosts and exorcises demons. He can say whatever he wants freely. If he succeeded now, Kuang Tianyou should have died by now. Even if he is not dead, he would be bedridden and need help.

But this time it must succeed. Not only Kuang Tianyou has made up his mind, but Ma Xiaoling too. It is not just about changing the situation where Zheng Wenjie was bitten into a zombie by Jiang Chen, but also about changing the situation where everyone, including Jin Zhengzhong, died because of Zheng Wenjie.

She also wants to join forces with her aunt to kill Jiang Chen! Complete the goal of the Ma family of the exorcist dragon clan for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)