The Mirror Master

"What happened? Tell me everything."

Lu Bai asked.

Luo Xiao said, "The night before last, the miners and Guards stationed near the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore mine all claimed to have encountered ghosts. Some reported sleep paralysis, others a Ghost Wall.

One person was so scared they fell into the mine shaft and died.

Many are whispering that the seven miners who died in the previous mine collapse have come back to claim lives."

Lu Bai asked, "Isn’t this under the Evil Extermination Bureau’s jurisdiction? Didn’t they send anyone?"

Luo Xiao replied, "We reported it to the Evil Extermination Bureau this morning, but all the Evil Exterminator Guards are out on missions. We don’t know when they’ll be back.

The incident has caused widespread panic. It’s not just the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore mine; the Guards and miners at the other two Profound Iron Ore mines are too afraid to stay and have all fled back to the city."

Lu Bai asked, "Did Senior Luo leave the city last night because of this?"

"Yes."

Luo Xiao explained, "To calm everyone down, my grandfather went to the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore mine yesterday to investigate.

He stayed there the entire night, and there were no more hauntings. But when he returned, he suddenly fell ill, showing symptoms of having his body invaded by cold yin energy."

Lu Bai grew thoughtful.

Although Luo Tianxiong was old and his Blood Qi was declining, he was an Innate Martial Artist, after all. Ordinary Ghostly Creatures wouldn’t dare approach him.

The seven miners hadn’t been dead for long. Even if they had turned into Ghostly Creatures, they would be Yin Souls at most.

They wouldn’t even qualify as Little Ghosts, so they couldn’t possibly have affected Luo Tianxiong.

And yet, Luo Tianxiong had fallen prey to it.

’Could it be a Great Ghost?’

The thought flashed through Lu Bai’s mind, but he shook his head, dismissing it.

An ordinary Innate Martial Artist wouldn’t know any special methods for dealing with Ghostly Creatures and other evil spirits. At Luo Tianxiong’s age, if he had encountered a Great Ghost, he most likely wouldn’t have made it back.

According to Li Yue’er, a Little Ghost was equivalent to the Inner Strength Realm of the Martial Dao, or the Qi Refining Stage of Cultivation.

A Great Ghost was equivalent to the Innate Realm of the Martial Dao, or the Foundation Establishment Stage of Cultivation.

From the main hall, the sounds of arguing grew louder and louder.

"Let’s go see what’s happening."

Lu Bai said, and walked toward the main hall with the two Luo brothers.

"It has to be the Sun Family’s doing!"

"The Sun Family is actually practicing Ghost Cultivation! Once the Evil Exterminator Guards are back, the Sun Family can just wait to be thrown in prison!"

"It’s hard to say. We don’t have any evidence."

"Who else could it be? The Sun Family has been against us ever since that night at the Drunken Flower House. Father didn’t agree to cooperate with them, so they resorted to this dirty trick!"

"Enough."

Luo Tianxiong, pale and weak, said, "This is not the time to argue about that. What should we do now?"

"I suggest we wait for the Evil Exterminator Guards to return and handle it."

Luo Mingzhao said in a low voice, "In the meantime, I’ll go stand guard there."

"We don’t know any methods to deal with evil spirits. It might not be any use for you to stand guard there."

Luo Tianxiong shook his head. "Besides, if someone is truly manipulating this, you can guard one Profound Iron Ore mine, but you can’t guard the other two.

As long as the Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits aren’t eliminated, people’s hearts will never be at ease."

Luo Mingzhao fell silent.

As an Innate Martial Artist who had condensed his Blood Qi, and being in the prime of his life, the Ghostly Creature might not dare to attack him.

But he truly didn’t know any Magic Techniques to deal with evil spirits. At best, he could only protect himself.

For an ordinary Martial Artist, the most troublesome thing about beings like Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits boiled down to two points.

First, they are invisible.

Second, they lack the means to harm Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits.

But every Evil Exterminator Guard has a specialized Treasure Artifact to handle such matters.

Luo Yunxuan frowned. "When will the Evil Exterminator Guards be back? There’s no definite answer. Are we just going to wait like this? How long will this drag on?"

"Why don’t we go to Danding Temple, spend some Spirit Stones, and ask a couple of Daoists to come down the mountain to exterminate the evil?"

"Danding Temple isn’t close. A round trip would take at least ten days."

"Besides, we’d only be paying Danding Temple to post a request on our behalf. There’s no guarantee any Daoist would be willing to accept this kind of task."

After all, a certain Daoist Yu just came down the mountain recently and died.

Exterminating evil is an extremely dangerous business.

Hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent.

The atmosphere grew tense.

"Why don’t you let me try?"

Just then, a voice rang out in the hall.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

"Lu Bai?"

Seeing who had spoken, everyone present was taken aback for a moment.

"Don’t make things more complicated."

The family was facing such a difficult matter, and Luo Hongyuan was feeling agitated, so his tone was inevitably a bit harsh.

In his view, what business did a mere Root Bone Stage Martial Artist like Lu Bai have getting involved?

"Xiaolu means well."

Luo Tianxiong, however, just smiled and said, "It’s just that evil spirits are strange. We ordinary Martial Artists don’t have any way to deal with them."

Xiaodie mustered her courage and said, "Young... Young Master Lu is very capable. The evil spirit that killed Daoist Yu was slain by Young Master Lu."

"Oh?"

At these words, everyone present looked at him with a mixture of shock and doubt.

Lu Bai asked, "Senior Luo, could you describe what happened after you entered the mine last night?"

’I need to confirm whether it’s a Little Ghost or a Great Ghost in that mine.’

’If it’s a Great Ghost, even with the Ancient Mirror’s help, I’m afraid it would be difficult to subdue.’

’But against a Little Ghost, I have a decent chance.’

Luo Tianxiong hesitated for a moment, but still recounted the events of the previous night.

After listening, Lu Bai felt his chances of success had increased.

"I’m going to the market to buy a few things. Then I’ll head to the mine to take a look."

With that, Lu Bai turned and left.

If he could confirm the Ghostly Creature was inside the mine, there was no need to wait for nightfall.

The mine shaft was dark and without light, an environment similar to the night.

"Brother Xiaolu, wait for us."

The brothers Luo Ben and Luo Xiao followed right behind him without hesitation.

Luo Qing and Xiaodie also followed.

Luo Tianxiong frowned slightly. "Mingzhao, go with them and keep an eye on things. Make sure nothing happens. If the situation looks bad, just bring them back."

Luo Mingzhao nodded, stood up, and left.

"Xiaolu, I heard from Xiaodie that the evil spirit you killed at Black Tiger Stream had already been seriously wounded by Daoist Yu."

Luo Qing, still worried, reminded him, "The one in the mine is different."

"I know. We’ll see what happens," Lu Bai replied ambiguously.

He wasn’t the same person he was back then, either. He had cultivated the Root Bone Stage to the Fourth Level, Bone Marrow Replacement. His Blood Qi had soared, and the power of the Ancient Mirror would increase along with it. Moreover, he now had other methods for dealing with evil spirits. When the time came, he would use them all.

Lu Bai bought some Cinnabar at the market, returned home, and called for Black Dog. He took the Peach Wood Sword left behind by Daoist Yu and slung the Cyan Cloud Sword over his back.

Once he was ready, he and the others headed out of the city.

Before long, the group arrived at the Profound Iron Ore mine.

The mine entrance was at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by numerous houses and thatched huts that had been built for the many Guards and miners to rest in.

Now, the doors of these huts were wide open, their interiors empty. The area was a mess, with nothing but chaotic footprints left behind.

Only a few of the huts were occupied.

"Old Wang."

Luo Mingzhao led the group to one of the huts and called inside.

"Old Wang is one of the family’s long-time retainers and the foreman of these miners."

Luo Mingzhao explained to Lu Bai, "After the haunting started, only Old Wang and a few others dared to stay. He was the one who accompanied my father into the mine last night."

"Greetings, Third Master."

On the bed inside lay a dark-skinned, wiry old man. He took off the straw hat covering his face and sat up, saying, "The few of us only dared to stay and earn a little extra silver because we figured the Ghostly Creatures and evil spirits wouldn’t come out to harm anyone during the day.

Once night falls, we have to hurry back to the city, no matter how much you pay us. What’s the use of earning money if you’re not alive to spend it?"

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