The landlord, who had been enduring all kinds of stares since appearing in front of everyone, finally couldn't take it anymore. The veins on his forehead throbbed a couple of times, and then in a seemingly calm but actually turbulent tone, he said, "...It's a long story."

Everyone had an expression of "We don't mind if it's long at all, we're all ears" as they continued to stare at him.

The landlord stared back at everyone expressionlessly for a while, and finally said in a flat tone without pausing, "Alright, during the process of planting, something went wrong somewhere, causing Shi An's soul to split into three and eventually become three people. That's it. Do you have any other questions?" He practically squeezed out the last few words through gritted teeth.

Ever since Su Kun met the landlord, he had always been a lazy-looking person, as if nothing ever bothered him, and his emotions rarely fluctuated too obviously. This was probably the first time Su Kun had seen him like this. Although his tone and content indicated that he was feeling particularly upset right now, Su Kun still felt that he was actually quite happy inside.

Su Kun always felt that for someone like the landlord, only when he was happy would he have such rich emotions. If he was truly in a bad mood, he would instead become even more lethargic than usual, or even silent. It was clear that this person named Shi An was really important to the landlord, and his rebirth had brought the landlord to life.

Although the landlord used to seem very approachable, Su Kun always behaved a bit more properly in front of him compared to others. But now, he couldn't help but repeatedly provoke him to jump up and down.

"So you're going to be having foursomes from now on?!" Su Kun had a "I kowtow to you" expression, stared at the landlord for a while, and said, "That's too hardcore!"

The landlord felt that his brain must have been struck by lightning while waiting for Shi An to take form, to end up helping out and being teased by this brat. "This is only temporary. After a while, when they stabilize, I'll figure something out..."

After saying this, he probably still felt a bit aggrieved, so he turned his head and looked at the three men gloomily.

Su Kun remembered hearing the masters gossip that this Shi An used to be a scholar. There's always an inevitable story between fox spirits and scholars since ancient times... but the one in front of him was a bit more bizarre.

Although a scholar, Shi An didn't look weak at all, with a jade crown and black hair, handsome and distinguished. Fortunately, they had invisibility talismans protecting them along the way, otherwise these three could make a bunch of people go silly wherever they stood. No wonder the landlord, as a fox spirit, had been thinking about him for so many years.

The landlord looked at them for a while and said, "How about I bury you back and replant you again?"

The three men were even taller than the landlord. It was unknown whether it was because their souls were incomplete or for some other reason, but from the moment they appeared until now, they had never spoken.

They just looked at the landlord helplessly, their expressions identical, clearly written with two words: "Don't mess around."

Landlord: "..."

Everyone turned their faces: "..." What a sin.

Probably unwilling to let his image and status continue to be shaken, the landlord changed the subject. He pointed to the corner of the wall behind everyone and said to the master, "What do you plan to do with him?"

Su Kun, lying on the bed, only then noticed that there was another person in the corner of the wall, but he couldn't see clearly because everyone was blocking him.

So, with an extremely curious heart, he pushed the master standing by the bed to the side, and discovered that the person curled up in the corner was none other than the man he had seen at the private restaurant before - the master's junior disciple, Qing Yuan.

However, Qing Yuan's appearance was a bit disheveled this time. His hands and feet were tied up, and there was a talisman pasted on his forehead. If the talisman hadn't been slapped on casually and pasted crookedly, Su Kun wouldn't have been able to see his face.

The master, reminded by the landlord, finally remembered his junior disciple. He took out a sack and the coil of hemp rope he had given Su Kun before from his little tinkling cloth pouch, and called Mo Bao comrade to help stuff Qing Yuan into the sack together.

Then, muttering something, the bundle of hemp rope moved on its own, circling around the sack opening a few times before tightening and tying a knot.

Su Kun twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at the master, "When I wanted to tie myself to Gu Yan before, didn't you say it was just an ordinary hemp rope?!"

The master stroked his beard, "It can tie people, but not ghosts, so it counts as an ordinary hemp rope."

Su Kun: "..."

"Oh right!" Seeing Qing Yuan, Su Kun suddenly remembered what Stone and Geng Zimo had said before, and looked at the sack with a complex expression, "Master, you plan to take him back to Huaiyin Temple?"

"Mm, this old man will take him back and let the master personally clean him up!" The master's expression revealed anger when he spoke of this, "Doing such a thing is utterly despicable and unforgivable!"

"Hmm..."

"What's with your expression?" The master looked at Su Kun, puzzled, "Does your stomach feel uncomfortable?"

Su Kun looked conflicted, "...No, it's just that, speaking of which, he did save my life..."

"Ah?! You, you how—" The master was obviously shocked by Su Kun's words, and the landlord also raised an eyebrow.

But the next second, the master reacted and understood what was going on. He turned his head and glared at Stone, then turned back and said to Su Kun a bit helplessly, "Little Su, although he did save your life at the time, but... sigh... you wouldn't be thinking—"

Before he could finish, Su Kun rubbed his chin and said with a conflicted expression, "I just wanted to confirm with you, so I know if I should burn some paper money for him during Qingming Festival after you guys clean him up."

Everyone: "..."

Just as they were talking about Qing Yuan, a cold, clear voice suddenly rang out in the hospital room, "Who said he saved you?"

Everyone was stunned.

Su Kun was even more dumbfounded with his mouth open: ...Are you talking to me?

As the words slipped out, before the landlord could answer him, a person's figure appeared in the originally empty corner of the north wall.

White clothes, black hair, thin and tall, wearing a tall hat and holding a bone stick. Except for not having an elongated tongue hanging out, he looked no different from the appearance of Bai Wuchang in books and TV.

He cupped his hands simply at the landlord and said lightly, "Long time no see."

His features were quite handsome, but his entire body exuded an eerie ghostly aura, causing the temperature in the room to suddenly drop, making Su Kun and Geng Zimo, the two good-for-nothings, shiver involuntarily.

However, Su Kun quickly shifted his attention from Bai Wuchang himself to the words he had just spoken: what exactly did those words mean? Could it be that what happened back then was not as Stone had said, but rather there was more to the story?

He had originally thought that Stone had only heard bits and pieces and didn't fully understand before telling him. Who would have thought that the supposedly informed master and landlord also furrowed their brows, seemingly unable to comprehend Bai Wuchang's meaning.

"What did Lord Wuchang mean by what he just said?" The master couldn't help but ask.

Bai Wuchang also seemed a bit surprised by their reaction: "What? You don't know?"

"Huh? Know what?" The master looked completely baffled. "Back then, Qing Yuan defied the heavens and disobeyed orders, stubbornly bringing this child's life back... Isn't that how it was?"

"Of course not!" Bai Wuchang waved his hand decisively: "Who told you that?"

The master pondered for a while, then finally said with an embarrassed look: "That's... that's what everyone says. This old man can't even remember from whom he first heard this version, only knowing that at the time, the disciples at the monastery all heard this version of the story."

Bai Wuchang glanced at them: "You believe whatever others say? The source of this story might very well be your disciple Qing Yuan himself who spread it."

"Then what is the truth?" The master couldn't help but ask.

Bai Wuchang clicked his tongue, flicked his left hand, and a blue-covered booklet appeared in his palm. With a wave of his right sleeve, the booklet flipped open on its own without any wind, finally stopping on a page. He then picked it up and shook it in front of the master: "See for yourself."

Taking the booklet, the master read for a moment, then suddenly froze, nearly pulling out a tuft of his beard: "So that's how it was?!"

Lying on the sickbed, Su Kun craned his neck and bounced around for a while but still couldn't understand what was written on it. He could only ask the master in frustration: "What do you mean 'that's how it was'? Curiosity killed the cat! Don't keep us in suspense, okay..."

Anger flashed across the master's face again. After returning the booklet to Bai Wuchang, he turned to the sack in the corner and said: "Bastard! How muddled can you be?! This old man and the fellow disciples originally thought that although you did the wrong thing back then, your intentions were good, just a bit too unrestrained. We were wondering why after a dozen or twenty years, you could have changed to how you are now. Who knew you were like this from the very beginning!"

He sighed deeply, then hesitated for a moment before saying to Su Kun: "Back then... he wasn't actually able to save that child's life."

Su Kun didn't react for a moment: "Huh?" But he only paused briefly before his body stiffened.

"What do you mean he wasn't able to save that child's life? If he didn't save him, then what am I?" Su Kun was completely dazed.

"The child who was possessed back then, it wasn't as simple as just being possessed. Actually, part of his soul was also devoured by that emperor. There was definitely no way to save him. This bastard clearly knew this, yet still agreed to it. He... he forcibly extracted another child's soul, waiting for the possessed child to be unable to hold on, and after his soul drifted away on its own, he stuffed the soul he had snatched into that child's body."

Su Kun blankly looked at the master, as if unable to understand what he was saying, his mind buzzing. Amidst the chaotic noise, he heard his own voice murmuring: "No wonder... no wonder I felt like I had seen what someone looks like after being possessed..."