My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 795 - 496: Right in Front (Two in One)_2

Duan Siyuan's head remained bowed, still unable to clear his mind from the shock. In a daze, he felt something approaching. Raising his head, he saw a stranger he had never met before, and panic and confusion instantly arose.

"Who… who are you?"

The old Taoist was not in a hurry and said slowly, "This humble Taoist once had a brief acquaintance with Young Master Duan's wife."

With this short remark, amid his flustered state, it felt as though it touched on something deep in his memories. Duan Siyuan paused.

Indeed, he had heard of this person before.

It was back when his wife had gone into the county town; she seemed to have mentioned seeking out a Taoist for a divination. At the time, it seemed trivial, so Duan Siyuan hadn't paid much attention.

But now, why had this Taoist come knocking on his door?

With a trembling voice, his mind feeling as muddled as paste, Duan Siyuan watched as the old Taoist took the bundle he carried on his back and slowly placed it on the ground. For some reason, Duan Siyuan couldn't help but stare at that bundle, as though something inside it was clenching his heart.

What was the old Taoist carrying?

The bundle, placed on the ground, was tightly bound with layers upon layers of wrappings. With hands as bony as dried branches, the old Taoist tugged at the bindings, exposing a corner. A pale, parchment-white face emerged before Duan Siyuan.

Duan Siyuan's heart leaped to his throat.

It was his mother's face!

Inside lay the corpse of his mother, Lady Guan!

Duan Siyuan turned rigid as though he had become a wooden man, his complexion turning even paler—like a sheet. Only after sitting frozen for a while did he suddenly recoil, crawling backward in horror.

Just then, a hoarse, elderly voice suddenly rang in his ears:

"Do you wish for your mother to come back to life?"

Duan Siyuan stiffly turned his head.

The Daoist Long he had met yesterday hadn't outright mentioned resurrecting his mother—but this old Taoist before him now claimed he could bring her back…

After a long pause, Duan Siyuan numbly nodded.

"Good, then come inside." The old Taoist's grin grew even wider.

Inside?

Inside where?

While Duan Siyuan puzzled over the words, unable to make heads or tails of them, he saw the old Taoist whistle sharply. A green ox poked its head in through the window. The Taoist reached for the ox's mouth, pried it open, and spread its tongue, revealing the dark, gaping void within.

"Inside here." The old Taoist extended another hand towards Duan Siyuan's forehead.

Before Duan Siyuan could respond.

He felt his feet lose their ground. Looking down, he saw "himself" lying limply on the floor. Before he could regret or even scream, he was stuffed through the cavernous passage as if falling into a bottomless pit.

Bang.

The ox's jaws snapped shut. Its neck stretched as it swallowed something.

The old Taoist secured the corpse, slung the bundle over his back, and crossed the threshold.

......

"Damn it, lost again!"

The horse-faced sergeant cursed loudly, reluctantly shoving the silver coins he had barely won minutes ago back across the table amidst the scornful gazes of others.

"Take it! Take it all, choke on it, and drink yourselves to death!"

The constables joyfully divided the coins, biting into them with their teeth. Confirming their softness and authenticity, their smiles widened even further.

"The sergeant is generous!"

"Shh, come now, don't make it sound like Horse-faced Sergeant cares about such trivial amounts."

"Heh, well, I haven't seen much money before."

The rowdy constables chimed in one after another, flattered endlessly at his supposed generosity. Staring at the silver coins, which bore deep tooth marks, Horse-faced Sergeant's heart burned with pain.

This was genuine, unadulterated silver!

Where had that old Taoist gotten this filthy bribe?

Yet instead of cursing the gambling cronies who had taken his money, his resentment turned towards the honest, overzealous Taoist—damn him for being so genuine, handing over real silver.

As he brooded, suddenly, speak of the devil—steps rang out, and Horse-faced Sergeant turned to see the old Taoist leading his ox out of Duan's mansion.

A spark flickered in Horse-faced Sergeant's mind.

Before the old Taoist had even set one foot outside, Horse-faced Sergeant had planted himself squarely in front of him.

"Seen who you needed to see?"

"Thanks to your help, sir."

The old Taoist moved to the left, but Horse-faced Sergeant shifted to block him. Disheartened, he moved to the right, but again the sergeant followed to obstruct his path.

"Sir… is there… a problem?" The old Taoist forced a sheepish smile. "You won't let me leave?"

"It's not about barring you. Visiting a relative before someone enters prison is customary human decency—I understand that. But the law is merciless. Recently, the county's new magistrate has been cracking down hard with his administrative 'three fires.' Slips happen; tomorrow, the ones in prison could well be us. While we've softened and shown discretion, you casually walk away, not once considering the trouble you leave us to face—how is that fair?"

The old Taoist's face stiffened slightly, bowing his head as though attempting to feign deafness. Tugging at his ox, he pressed onward stubbornly. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Horse-faced Sergeant gestured with his hand, and soon a group of constables rose, forming a wall-like barrier behind him.

The old Taoist quivered, his voice trembling. "Sir, you're bullying me!"

"You have your struggles; we have ours. If you can't understand mutual compassion, how dare you call this bullying?" Horse-faced Sergeant clapped his hands, sneering coldly. "Honorable Taoist, do you think you have grounds to accuse us?"

With that, Horse-faced Sergeant stretched out his palm.

The old Taoist stared at it for a moment before reluctantly fishing out a tael of silver from his sleeve. Yet the large hand remained open, unyielding. The old Taoist hesitated before pulling out another two taels from his pocket. Still, the sergeant did not retract his hand. Taking a deep breath, the Taoist finally removed his filthy cloth shoes and dug out a flattened tael of silver hidden in the sole.

Horse-faced Sergeant grinned widely, finally stepping back a few paces to allow the Taoist to leave with his ox.

Once the Taoist trudged further and further away, the sergeant turned back and threw the several taels onto the ground.

As for the flattened tael, stinking terribly, Horse-faced Sergeant considered for a moment before stuffing it into his waistband—to suppress its foul odor.

"Come on, back to the game!"

The silver coins piled into a small mountain as the sergeant grabbed the dice, preparing to toss them confidently.

Squeak, squeak. Suddenly, strange cries sounded out. The sergeant caught a whiff of something pungent—a smell that reminded him of sewage. Turning his head, he saw no mountain of silver coins. What remained were dozens of rats, their tails intertwined, forming a scuttling mass—a rat king!