“Master, what should we do now?”

　　“This well …… since it’s related to the Divine Palace of Light, and Brother Fang treats us well, let’s investigate for him, and maybe we can find clues related to the Southern Barbarians incident.”

　　As this sounded like a good thing to eradicate evil, excitement lit up in Ah Xue’s eyes, and she hurriedly nodded her head and greeted Violet, who was sleeping on the ground, and prepared to go on her way, but Mao Yan’an, who was next to her, was very uninterested.

　　“O virtuous nephew, would you be that kind? In fact, you want to go black and do a job in that village as well, right?”

　　“Uncle, do you know that it is written in the Holy Scriptures of the Temple of Mercy that those who are too honest in life will go to hell and have their tongues pulled out after death?”

　　“Hey, uncle I just converted to believe in the Pure Numinous Zen Association, I heard those guys say that believers who believe in their president can die and reach the ultimate nirvana, no birth, no death, straight to the ultimate world of bliss yeah!”

　　Now, I am 70% sure that there is something very wrong with this Pure Numinous Zen Association, because even someone like me knows that when the grassroots members of an organisation will promote such a wonderful, thankless dream, such an organisation is either a direct selling group or a cult.

　　A group of people hurriedly rushed to the misty valley village and go, the road fog is deep and heavy, the speed of advancement put very slow. Uncle also took the opportunity to tell us, it turns out that in the treasure tracker this line, that fog valley village is still thin famous.

　　Influenced by the terrain, three-quarters of the days of the year in Misty Valley Village are shrouded in thick fog, with an extremely strong Yin energy that attracts the dead souls of people and animals from the nearby mountainous areas and harasses the place.

　　“There is an abandoned mining pit behind Misty Valley Village, in the early years when the vein was not dug up, it prospered for a period of time, not only did a large number of dwarven craftsmen gather, even the humans went to join in the fun, and opened a few inns that had a minimum level of standard, and the merchants and pedestrians who travelled to and from the village would go there to stay overnight, but then the entire mountainous region began to be covered by the fog that would not go away all year round, and coupled with the rampant ravaging of the Spirit Groups, the people didn’t go that way anymore.”

　　Mao Yanan sighed nostalgically, “More than ten years ago, I wandered around here to paint, but also visited Misty Valley Village’s, and in the blink of an eye it was so many years ago, and the pretty girls in the inn don’t know if they still ……”

　　Seeing that he was talking at a leisurely pace, I had to wake him up before he got further and further into the story, and asked him what was so special about the village of Misty Valley in the minds of the treasure trackers.

　　“This one involves the fog in Misty Valley Village. Soon after the fog appeared, groups of resentful spirits began to gather and harass the villagers, at that time, a senior monk of the Temple of Mercy communicated on behalf of the villagers, saying that the resentful spirits demanded that the villagers return the same treasures that they had hidden, but the villagers said that they did not have them, and although the senior monk cast a spell to suppress them, but once a year thereafter, the resentful spirits would come to the village and harass the villagers.”

　　Mao Yan’an said, “For fear of being harmed by the ghosts, the residents of Misty Valley Village almost all ran away, the dwarven artisans ran away without a single one left, leaving only a dozen or so residents. In the end who took the ghosts’ treasures, no one knows at all, the perpetrator most likely slipped away long ago, but yet there are still people who believe that the ghosts’ treasures are still hidden in Misty Valley Village to this day oooh.”

　　Asuka stared wide-eyed and wondered, ‘’Treasure? What kind of things would that be? A weapon? Or some kind of treasure? Highly advanced or not?”

　　“That’s just not known. After all, no one has ever been able to figure out what the treasure that the ghosts want is, exactly? Maybe it’s simply just a very ordinary thing that people took by mistake.” Mao Yan’an said, “But we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s really some kind of treasure, the so-called trackers are chasing this kind of dream, running around looking for treasure ah.”

　　Uncle is right, the market is full of rumours of treasures of this magnitude, with no real basis at all, often leaving treasure hunters chasing after these messages to spend long days and hours until they die with nothing to show for their efforts. However, if something is found, then those original rumours will become fantastic anecdotes that coexist with the treasure, adding to the price of the treasure in the market.

　　“Uncle, how many swarms of ghosts come to harass Misty Valley Village every year?”

　　“Men and beasts, all together, hundreds of undead are always there, and every time they come out like a parade, the sky and the streets are full of ghosts and shadows, full of shock.”

　　“Hundreds of them? Can those Palace of Light guys handle it?”

　　After the end of a humanoid’s life, it will be transformed into a ghost, and if there is a sense of injustice or resentment, the soul’s energy will be several times stronger than before. But in the case of beasts, after death, the soul body, quality energy is not pure, no matter whether there is a grievance or not, there is no threat to speak of, on the contrary, their bones, may attract the nearby soul mass, absorb the essence of the sun and the moon, turn into a demonic creature, ferocious and incomparable, such as the bones of the dragon after the death of the dragon into the dragon essence, is notoriously difficult to deal with.

　　Hundreds of undead mixed with more than half of the beast’s souls were no more threatening than a single dragon spirit, so it really wasn’t much of a spectacle.

　　Having said that, it was not something that a few trainee magi at the end of their studies could handle, and I wanted to know very much what gave them courage.

　　Mao Yan’an is not a combatant; I performed the ritual of the Succubus God of Hell not long ago, and will not be able to use magic for a few months; and Xue’s black magic is just starting out, so the only combatant I have at the moment is Violet. But flames and lightning can deal with beasts, but they are twice as effective in exorcising ghosts. If those Pure Numinous Zen cultists rely on their stupidity and ignorance to break into the Misty Valley Village, I will not accompany them.

　　“Because of that senior monk’s suppression in the first place, the resentful spirits harassed the village for a fixed period of time, all ten days after the fog appeared. Those people probably knew about it and went in early to get things done and bailed out before the ghosts arrived.”

　　Uncle’s words put me at ease a lot, otherwise I would have had to turn around and bolt immediately.

　　Going to see what that group of Pure Numinous Zen Association guys are up to, and getting some benefits on the way, is the main purpose, I don’t expect to find treasures in Misty Valley Village, however, since there used to be a large number of Dwarves opening furnaces and casting weapons there, maybe there will be some remnants of Dwarf-built artefacts left behind, so picking up a few randomly to go back and supplement the travelling expenses, is better than nothing.

　　Holding this idea, we steered our horses, three people and one beast to catch the road. Misty Valley Village location, not far from the small village we started, but the road is rugged, the middle of the forest barricade, and there is a fog filled, really not good to go, fortunately we have a guide in the past often come to the guide, popular familiar with the road, whenever the fog can’t see the road, let the violets spit fire to illuminate the road, more useful than any guiding light.

　　Along the way, I clearly felt the horses’ uneasiness, and the weight of the eerie chill of the entire mountainous region was slightly sensed by Asuka, who had already begun to dabble in black magic, cowering her petite body and whispering that there were a lot of thin murmuring sounds in the wind.

　　Of course, my ears and my uncle’s heard nothing ……

　　Searching all the way in this way, he finally arrived at Misty Valley Village before dark.

　　It was indeed a dead place, perhaps once glorious in the past, but now it looked like ruins. In the dimming twilight, the sunset, which should be brilliant, was blocked from the mountains by layers of fog, and could not let in any light.

　　As far as the eye can see, it is all grey and cloudy, only a few lights, flickering brightly and dimly in the fog, as if it is a long way away, but it seems to be very close.

　　Mao Yanan patted his body and said, “It’s foggy here, the residents light their lamps no matter day or night, we are considered lucky, if it’s dark before we even enter the village, the mountain road will be difficult to walk. When I used to come here often, I was familiar with the owners of several inns over here, I hope that there is still at least one left now.”

　　It’s a real ghost business to run an inn in a place like this, and it’s hard for me to believe that anyone would stay in a place like this for the rest of their lives. But it’s hard to say. Sometimes, people’s stubbornness about their ancestral property can leave the uninvolved stunned.

　　“Master, let’s go quickly, it’s so cold here.”

　　Asuka urged me on, and really, I didn’t need her to tell me that I felt the same way. The fog here is particularly wet and the temperature is so low that sunlight is just a vague term without substantial impact or meaning, and despite the thick clothing we are wearing, after some trekking through the forest, our clothes are almost soaked through by the fog, and the coldness stains our bodies, giving us goosebumps on our skin.

　　Outside the climate, the new spring to warm up, this kind of gloomy cold of course not normal, just, have said that this place is haunted, this kind of abnormality, there is nothing worth making a fuss.

　　Walking forward for a while, stepping on the gravel slowly, the lights in front of them became brighter and brighter, and a row of wooden houses appeared in front of us, with mottled wooden walls with many holes of the same size, and grey earth tiles on the top, dripping with cold water droplets.

　　In front of one of the larger wooden houses, ten steeds were parked, and it looked as if the group of trainee magi had already arrived before us. There was a loud clamour, coming through the door, and in a few words, it was already audible that they were demanding payment from the people in the house.

　　They probably also feel very uninteresting, this Misty Valley Village is even more barren than expected, even if the remaining people pool their funds, they can’t come up with a bag of gold coins, even if they want to let go of the plunder, the harvest will be nothing to look at, and they also have to face the ghosts swarms, this trip is really a big loss of money.

　　An old voice, however, seemed to be endeavouring to detain them.

　　“…… Although we don’t have much money left, but if we can find the treasures that the ghosts and goblins have secreted, it should be worth a lot of money …… The ghosts and goblins know some clues to the… …”

　　There seemed to be some very interesting information, and I wanted to keep listening, but the older man next to me grabbed me and pushed the door open as soon as he could.

　　“Old man Jin, long time no see, still using that what can’t be found ghost secret treasure to trick Kai Zi to exorcise the demons ah?”

　　We followed the uncle inside, there were more than fifty people inside the door, divided into two sides. On one side were the three trainee magi, and seven people dressed as swordsmen, two of them were women with lances in their hands, they seemed to be knights or something like that, apart from the magicians, it seemed that all the standard members of an adventuring group had arrived.

　　On the other side, there were more than forty villagers, the leader was an old man on crutches, with a long beard, seemingly old, heard Mao Yan’an’s voice, raised his head and turned to look over. Beside him stood a middle-aged man in his forties, and a young woman who was coaxing the baby in her arms.

　　“Mr Mao, Mr Mao ……”

　　The old man known as Old Man Jin beamed with joy and came over to embrace Mao Yan’an affectionately. It seemed like the old man himself said that he was familiar with several innkeepers here, and this was one of them.

　　This group of trainee clergymen group, for our sudden appearance and interruption, appeared to be quite displeased, but seemed to be intimidated by the line and dress he was wearing, and seeing that Violet had followed him in, they didn’t dare to make a sudden attack for a while.

　　Frankly speaking, just by looking at the dress, the uncle this full martial arts costume, look really have expert style, especially he easily carried on the shoulder of the “heavy” sword, unknown people see, who will think that his strength is amazing.

　　“Old friends of Misty Valley Village, you don’t have to be afraid, I’ve come back this time and brought back a first-rate magical tutor who will definitely be able to help you.”

　　As if he intended to boast to the group of trainee magi, Mao Yan’an pulled over a chair and sat down with a golden sword, glaring arrogantly at the group. If he wanted to put on a show, he should have plunged his sword into the ground or slashed it against the table to create some actual destruction to set up a show of authority, but since this black and heavy sword was made of folded paper, of course, he couldn’t do anything like this to wear out his face.

　　Mao Yan’an glared at me, asking me to take a step forward. The arrow shoots out of the head, of course I won’t be stupid enough to listen to him and ask for trouble.

　　From the villagers’ standpoint, the more forces that could help with the defence, the better, and as a result both sides came to a quick conclusion.

　　As the monk of the Temple of Mercy had left some kind of boundary so that the ghosts could only show up once a year in the masses, there was no need to worry about being attacked at the moment, but this situation was a cure for the symptoms but not the root of the problem, and the villagers hoped that they could bring in a powerful magical guide or a magus to eliminate these ghosts at one time; alternatively, they were able to find the secret treasures that the ghosts were searching for, and solve the core of the problem.

　　Regardless of the elimination of ghosts, but the point of searching for secret treasures, it was a point that everyone had the same ambition, so under the arrangement of old man Jin, all of them stayed in his inn.

　　The inn was a mess, and it looked like no one had stayed there in years, so we settled in and were just plotting how to get a little information out of the trainee clerics when we got a visit.

　　The man named Jin Hanliang, the son of the shop’s owner, Old Man Jin, moved diligently to sweep the dust off the table and introduce us to his wife and months-old daughter.

　　“Teacher Mao, it’s so good to see you, we haven’t seen each other for years, my father and I have been looking forward to your return ……”

　　“Ah Jin, I, Mao Yan’an, am a man who keeps his word, and in these few years, I have been out looking for useful helpers for you, and am I not back now?”

　　Mao Yan’an doesn’t need capital to brag, and the moment he opens his mouth he involves Asuka and I. But his friendship with the people here does help, and he quickly gets us into the situation and learns more about the state of affairs.

　　The appearance of ghosts, Jin Hanliang has already forgotten which year of the old story, only know that in the fog appeared every other year, the ghosts will gather in groups, harassing the place, demanding the villagers to steal the hidden secret treasure, return to them. This matter has been a long time, then Cihang Jing Temple has a high monk to come here, and communicate with the ghosts, however, these ghosts have little memory to speak of, not only can not say who took the secret treasure, even the secret treasure is exactly what can not be said.

　　The compassionate monk thought that even if the ghosts were forcibly expelled, the accumulated grievances would still call in new ghosts from the neighbourhood if the fundamental problem was not solved, which would be even more harmful, so, after some bargaining, he made a pact with the ghosts to return the secret treasure next year, and asked the ghosts to return first, and as a result, no bloodshed occurred that year.

　　“That master, and the ghostly creatures made a note on which it was written that the secret treasure would be returned in the second year.” Jin Hanliang said, “However, in the second year of that writing, and the place where the date of making the note was, the master left space so that we could change the pattern on the note and keep postponing the agreed date.”

　　As a result, when the ghosts visit each year, as long as they flash a note saying that it’s not yet the agreed-upon time limit, the cranky ghosts will leave, and although they’ll still tear down a few houses and make a lot of noise, at least they won’t hurt anyone.

　　“That’s roughly it, the note is split into two, the ghosts keep one copy in their hands and we keep one, and every year, before the ghosts come, both copies are changed.”

　　Jin Hanliang said, “But the ghosts come to harass us once a year, the villagers are still very uneasy, and those who stay behind, live a melancholic life, I hope to solve the problem once and for all.”

　　“I’m a little curious, the ghosts will come and harass, so what are you guys still doing here? Wouldn’t it be better to move? The outside world is so big, why stick to this small mountain village?”

　　Being asked by me, Jin Hanliang and his wife raised their heads, their gazes full of bewilderment, and said, “Yes …… why don’t we move away? However, this is the place that our ancestors have worked hard to reclaim and left behind, how can we …… people leave our ancestral property behind?”

　　The answer I fear hearing the most is this, the standard village man and woman, bound by their ancestral property all their lives, what their ancestors left behind, instead of giving them benefits, has become the biggest burden. I shook my head, but the uncle spoke before me.

　　“You don’t have to worry about that, I’ve found a powerful helper this time ooh.” Mao Yanan said, reaching back, but instead of pulling me, he pulled Asuka over.

　　Things suddenly fell on her head, Asuka looked surprised, but before she could say “Huh”, Mao Yan’an had already introduced herself and said loudly, “Don’t be fooled by appearances, the lady in front of you is the heir of the strongest magician in the history of the Kingdom of Alibuda. “

　　“Oh? How is it that Ali Buda has produced a powerful magic guide and I never knew about it? Ajussi, then please tell me what is the great name of that magic guide?”

　　“Kid you are really lonely, that magician is …… dry tofu.”

　　“Dry, dry tofu?”

　　I thought that the uncle would pull some exaggerated name, but I never thought that he would come up with such a strange name, and for a while, everyone looked at him with a strange look on their faces.

　　“What? Don’t tell me you guys haven’t heard of Dry Tofu’s great reputation, he’s one of the most outstanding mages in the last five hundred years.” Mao Yan’an gushed, “He dueled with the Dark Inferno Demon on the gorge road in his early years, and after falling into the deep valley, he made a comeback, donned a magical white robe, changed his face, and turned into the real. Dry Tofu, from then on, he was so powerful that he beheaded the demons and never touched his opponent again, such a great mage, don’t you know?”

　　“Hey, wait a minute …… Uncle, the person you’re talking about, I have a little memory of him, but I don’t think it’s the name you’re talking about, is it?” I hesitated, “It seems to be called …… Gandalf, right?”

　　“Ah! Yes, that’s the bowl, that’s the bowl of dried tofu!” Corrected by me, Mao Yan’an didn’t look guilty at all and clapped his hands happily and laughed.

　　“That’s fine, shut up and go fuck your tofu.”

　　Much to my chagrin, I looked at the hand-wringing rock warrior and thought that I had come to the wrong place this time.

　　“In any case, I sincerely ask a few of you, I hope you can assist us.” Jin Hanliang looked lovingly at his silent wife beside him, and slowly said, “This year, I have a daughter, and I hope that she can grow up without harassment, that’s my biggest wish right now ……”

　　It didn’t make much sense to listen to it, because he went on and on and didn’t say anything about what we’d get out of it, but with Asuka beside me, listening with tears in her eyes and wanting to get closer to look at the little baby with an impassioned look on her face, I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

　　So, sometimes, I’d rather take Violet’s brain and put it in Asuka’s skull ……

　　If it wasn’t for the fog getting in the way, I wouldn’t actually be willing to spend my time here, but not only was Asuka confused about the situation, but even Uncle was pushing his luck and patting his chest for reassurance.

　　“Don’t worry everyone, swear on my grandfather’s name we’ll find out the truth.”

　　“Hello? Uncle, who is your grandfather?”

　　“Huh? I don’t know, some people say it seems like a great detective who goes wherever a person goes and the murders go.”

　　“Shit, you don’t even know who your grandfather is, what’s he got to do with anything here? Why are you swearing on him?”

　　“Hehehe, virtuous nephew you are too tender, this is the rule of the trade, since the great detective Kintaichi turned into an immortal myth seven hundred years ago, every detective has to swear by his grandfather’s name before he starts investigating.”

　　After staying in the village for a few days, the fog in the village is still thick, and I don’t think it will be any better outside, the three of us can be said to be trapped here, and if we delay the date of our return to the country because of this, His Majesty the King’s face will not look good, and even if there is any praise, it will become a depreciation of the government.

　　It can be said that there was no progress at all in investigating the location of the secret treasure. I even brought all the villagers here and asked them one by one in a carpet inquiry, but everyone couldn’t tell the truth, and their recollections of the situation back then were both vague and confusing.

　　Worse still, in my dialogue with them, I clearly felt that this village, all the people in this village, lacked a kind of vigorous anger that wanted to break through the adversity, regardless of men and women, young and old, they spoke breathlessly, their eyes were blank and empty, and when they asked a few questions, they lost their concentration, so it seems that after many years of being trapped in the village, the mental state of these people is not quite normal anymore.

　　The villagers of Misty Valley Village were quirky and weird, but the other group was no better. The group of trainee Shinto priests were rummaging through the village in search of treasures, not sparing even a single tile or beam. Just by looking at their actions, it was indeed entertaining, and it gave me a good insight into the human imagination, how ridiculous places can be thought of to look for.

　　Can not see each other’s figure clearly in the fog, still quite peaceful, but occasionally they are close to us across the street, the two groups of people who look at each other, it is inevitable that verbal conflict, just short of starting a fight.

　　In contrast, the investigation of the Pure Numinous Zen Association, uncle is quite progressive. Through conversation and enquiry, Uncle asked for some information.

　　The Pure Numinous Zen Association, it seems, is a fellowship formed within the Tzu-hang Jing-jen Temple; there were originally quite a number of such small groups, but some of the Pure Numinous Zen Association’s propositions clashed with the Tzu-hang Jing-jen Temple itself and it was rapidly absorbing newcomers.

　　Currently, the religions and clergy systems on the earth are all controlled by the Temple of Mercy, such a huge organisation that exists across borders is naturally not liked by all countries, but the Temple of Mercy never interferes in the political affairs of each country, and at most, it only delivers supplies across borders to provide relief in the event of a huge natural disaster, and is therefore widely praised.

　　However, there are different voices in the Temple of Mercy. In some countries, because of tyrants or tyrannical regimes, the people are suffering, and the Temple of Mercy clearly has the power to unite the countries and overthrow their tyrannical regimes, but it is trapped in its own ideas, and can only be passive in disaster relief, and cannot actively address the root causes of the problem, and so it has initiated reforms to allow the Palace of Light to intervene in the political situation of the countries in a more direct and forceful manner.

　　Such a voice, with the Pure Numinous Zen Association as the main one, very much embraced and supported by young children, expanding extremely rapidly, becoming more and more powerful in the Divine Palace of Light, and recently even recruiting troops privately, as if it is going to make some big moves.

　　“So, you guys are joining the Jounin Zenkai because you want to save the world?”

　　“This is of course the basic purpose, but …… there is also a more secular reason, I heard that the president of the Zen Society is the most powerful high monk in the Divine Palace nowadays, and it is only in order not to attract attention that the Zen Society is organised. We, the children of the lower generations, are not nobles and have no background, if we follow the normal pipeline, I don’t know when we will be able to rise to a high position, but if we join the Zen Society and are on the same side as the high monks, we will soon be expected to rise ah.”

　　It sounded full of sense, very much like some sort of rat race direct marketing scheme, however, these words did match with Natasha’s words that day, she was also saying that the high priests of the Temple of Mercy were behind the scenes instigating the battle of the Southern Barbarians, and the characters were also pointing directly at the present day’s head of the Palace of the God of Light’s Master Xin Zen, so it seemed that the Temple of Mercy, this large sect, really had a big problem behind the scenes.

　　But what was disconcerting was Mao Yan’an’s skill in condescension. The main reason why we were able to break through the group’s defences and ask for secret information so quickly was that from the day after we arrived in this village, Uncle had groomed himself, combed his hair, picked up his zither, and sought out two young girls from the group to sing and recite poems with them. A few quatrains complimenting their looks, a couple of self-made garlands, and a couple of specially retouched portraits, and they had coaxed the others into their arms.

　　The rock star’s glamour was really extraordinary, as the clothes on the portrait painting became less and less, the information that the uncle had set to more and more, like the few words that had just been asked, it was said that the uncle was lying on the bed, holding a nude girl with one hand, smiling lewdly, and asked in this way.

　　“Uncle, you’re really good, using such a method of questioning, people and money, really congratulate you.”

　　“Alas, what can be done, for the sake of the mission and the greater good, I have to endure a tearful sacrifice even if I am unwilling.”

　　There’s not much a person can say that can’t be said when they’re shameless, and looking at him so smugly, I really wanted Violet to pounce on him and take a bite out of his dog’s head.

　　Time passed day by day, and there were not many days left before the fog started, and the Jin’s couple’s worried faces made even Xue sigh. In the past two days, the shadowy atmosphere of the nearby mountainous region has obviously become thicker, and according to the time, the ghosts and monsters will soon appear.

　　Although as long as I take out the note and lie to the ghosts and monsters, it can be solved as usual without any problems, but I am a person who has never taken the initiative to run towards dangerous places, if there is no progress tomorrow, I intend to leave Misty Valley Village first, so as to save things from getting out of hand.

　　The calculations were good, but things did not progress as I expected. That very evening, I was flirting with Asuka and Violet was sleeping on her back in the corner of the house, when suddenly there was a commotion outside, and we snatched a look out to see the trainee magi howling and running back to the village, everyone with their heads scattered and covered in blood, with bruises on their bodies from the commotion obviously.

　　They also dragged a few corpses back, it looks like they are still broken pieces, it is not difficult to imagine the gruesome battle. The grey fog has added a layer of blood smell, the air has a sharp increase in the feeling of cold, inexplicable cries and whistles gradually clear, echoing around the village of Misty Valley vibration, giving people an ominous feeling.

　　The bizarre situation seemed to tell the same message, I screamed in my heart that it was not good, just when I wanted to greet Ah Xue, ready to run away, a desperate call had already sounded from the entrance of the village.

　　“The ghost …… ghost is here!”