Chapter Thirty-Two: The Heretical Path-Eu Sou o Mestre Caçador de Fantasmas(Não pode faltar nenhum.)

Just as the two men reached the outside of the town hospital with their black bags, the ghost infants erupted, swarming over them and tearing relentlessly at their souls. The two men rolled on the ground in agony, shrieking and wailing.

Liu Jun and Fatty arrived in their car, but neither made any move to intervene. The man in the suit beside them pulled out a peach-wood sword, ready to charge at the ghost infants, only to be yanked back by Liu Jun. These ghost infants were filled with profound resentment; if the man in the suit had rushed in, there would have been three people lying on the ground instead of two.

"Why are you pulling me back? Aren't you a Taoist? Save them! Even if these men are heinous criminals, they deserve to be judged by the law," the man in the suit said, looking at me with confusion. *See, this is why I hate dealing with people like them,* Liu Jun thought.

"What’s the rush? Could you even solve it if you went up there? And did I ever say we wouldn't intervene?"

"Fatty, hold onto this guy," Liu Jun signaled for Fatty to restrain the man in the suit, sparing himself the trouble of having to save him later.

With that, Liu Jun led Fatty toward the ghost infants, strolling casually until they were about thirty meters away.

Truth be told, these ghost infants weren't impossible to handle. While their resentment was deep, they hadn't reached the level of red-clad厉鬼 (vengeful spirits). A single Five Thunder Talisman would have been enough to strike them all down.

"Ahem, listen up, little ghosts. Considering your youth and ignorance, I’ll give you three minutes to think it over. If you don't stop after three minutes, I’m going to unleash thunder and strike you all," Liu Jun said, his tone unhurried.

Fatty and the man in the suit looked at Liu Jun in astonishment. Fatty immediately caught on, flashing a grin. The man in the suit, however, struggled to break free to "help," but it’s not easy to break away from a three-hundred-pound man.

The ghost infants were indeed obedient. As soon as the three minutes were up, they stopped immediately. Of course, if Liu Jun wasn't mistaken, the souls of the two men who had stolen the stillborns and infants had already been completely shredded. *Beyond even Jesus's saving power,* he thought, and he was quite confident in that assessment.

He walked slowly toward the ghost infants and sat on the ground, watching them quietly. They didn't attack; instead, they drifted a little closer to him. One of the larger ghost infants even crawled up to him and, mimicking his posture, sat down.

"Little ones, why haven't you reported to the Underworld? Once you report, you can be reincarnated," Liu Jun said to the ghost infant in front of him, trying his best to sound kind. These ghost infants, when it came down to it, were truly pitiful.

"My mother, my family—they didn't want me. I don't want to reincarnate. I want to wait here for my mother," the little ghost looked at Liu Jun, falling silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Your mother had her own hardships. What mother in this world doesn't ache for her own child? You were part of her own flesh and blood; she wouldn't have abandoned you if she didn't have her reasons," Liu Jun said, hesitating for a moment as he tried to persuade the infant.

Just then, a taxi arrived. A woman stepped out carrying a bag, walking with a staggered gait, as if she had left the hospital before fully recovering from surgery. She walked to the hospital wall but didn't go inside. She squatted by the wall, pulled out a stack of spirit money, and began to burn it.

"Child, Mom is so full of regret. You don't know—the moment you were taken out, my heart felt empty too. If I had been braver back then, I wouldn't have lost you." The woman was sobbing uncontrollably; it was clear her remorse was genuine.

Liu Jun glanced at the ghost infants and noticed they were watching the woman too. *Holy cow! What a perfect assist.*

"See? Not many mothers willingly abandon their children. Look at how heartbroken she is. Some mothers don't come back to find you, not because they don't want to, but because they can't bear to return to such a painful place. You won't find her waiting here. Why not reincarnate early and find a better mother?"

Seeing the ghost infants fall silent, Liu Jun guessed they were wavering, so he pressed the advantage.

"Look, your uncle here is a kind man, a master with real skills. I’ll help you get to the Underworld, you won't be punished by the authorities there, and you can be reincarnated to find a good mother." In truth, what these ghost infants needed was simple: the "Tadpoles Looking for Mother" saga.

The larger ghost infant looked into Liu Jun’s sincere eyes and nodded. The others followed suit, agreeing to head to the Underworld. Liu Jun quickly signaled Fatty over. The Taoist incantations he knew were only for standard soul-guiding and lacked the necessary boost for sending children down safely. Fatty, however, knew Buddhist atonement rites, which could absolve some of the infants' sins and let them reincarnate in peace.

"Namo Amituopo Ye, Duotuo Jiaduoye..." Liu Jun could only sigh, feeling lucky that he was a Taoist disciple. Fatty was impressive; Liu Jun felt his own stomach churning just listening to the chant, yet Fatty could recite it perfectly.

Because there were many ghost infants, Fatty recited the chant three full times. A circle of golden light enveloped the group, slowly fading away along with them.

Just as they were about to leave, a black car drove up. Seeing them, the driver didn't hesitate and tried to speed away.

"Don't let that car go! He’s the buyer!" the man in the suit shouted urgently.

"By the power of the Heaven-Turning Seal, obey my command, go!" Liu Jun quickly recited the technique, pulled out a brick, and hurled it at the black car. A flash of golden light streaked across the air. With a loud *bang*, the car was smashed to a halt.

A man stepped out of the vehicle—a Taoist priest dressed in robes, holding a bronze sword.

"Little Taoist, you dare block us? If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish," the robed man declared.

*Trying to scare who?* Liu Jun thought. With lines like that, no villain in any TV show ever lasted more than one episode. Just fight him. Villains are all trash.

Liu Jun prepared to pull out the Heaven-Turning Seal to give him a taste of the brick, but suddenly remembered it was still embedded in the black car. He reached for the wooden axe at his waist, then hesitated and tucked it back. Although his opponent was a practitioner of dark arts, he wasn't a ghost; the little axe wouldn't be much use.

The axe might be useless, but the Five Thunder Talisman definitely wouldn't be. Divine lightning strikes down evil; since he was a dark practitioner, he was bound to fear lightning.

"Heavenly Fire Thunder God, Five-Direction Divine Thunder. Earthly Fire Thunder God, strike down monsters and eliminate demons. Evil spirits, retreat! By the order of my Emperor, heed this command—Summon Thunder!"

As Liu Jun finished the incantation, the Five Thunder Talisman flew straight toward the dark practitioner. The man didn't panic; he pulled out a bag of unknown substance and tossed it at the talisman. There was a crackle of sparks, and the talisman wobbled before dropping to the ground. A foul, pungent stench emanated from the pile of debris.

"Damn it! You dark-arts freak, you actually carry feces with you when you go out!" Liu Jun roared. *Dammit, I only had two Five Thunder Talismans, and that one's wasted. I can't throw the other one casually—who knows if he has a second bag of crap?*

Liu Jun pulled out a standard lightning talisman and charged in with Fatty and the man in the suit. Fatty tanked the damage, the man in the suit provided close-range attacks, and Liu Jun provided long-range support. The dark practitioner was truly formidable, wielding his bronze sword with masterful skill.

Before long, Fatty and the man in the suit had three or four wounds each. However, the dark practitioner wasn't faring well either. Although he hadn't taken major damage, he was bruised and battered, with smoke rising from his head—courtesy of the lightning talismans.

Seeing the tide turning against him, the dark practitioner blocked an attack from Fatty and the man in the suit and threw out a porcelain bottle. The bottle wobbled, and out popped a ghost infant wearing a red belly-band, its body grey-white and wreathed in black mist. It charged straight at Liu Jun.

Liu Jun pulled out a lightning talisman, a flash of light streaked by—and, naturally, he missed. He hurriedly slapped a Golden Body Talisman onto himself. The ghost infant scratched and bit at him, but while it looked fierce, it wasn't as strong as expected. This infant must have been newly refined and couldn't break through the Golden Body Talisman's defenses.

Seeing Liu Jun entangled with the ghost infant, the dark practitioner launched an explosive attack. He kicked the man in the suit away and slashed Fatty with his bronze sword. Fatty’s face turned green, as if he’d been poisoned. The dark practitioner raised his sword to run Fatty through.

*Damn it! If the Golden Body Talisman didn't require Taoist cultivation to maintain, I’d slap dozens of them on Fatty,* Liu Jun thought.

"Fatty!" Liu Jun yelled, lunging to block the blow for him. According to his genius-level calculations, with the Golden Body Talisman, he wouldn't be too badly hurt even if he was struck.

But just as the dark practitioner thrust the sword toward Liu Jun, the golden light on his body vanished—the effect of the Golden Body Talisman had worn off. *I'm doomed!* But quick as lightning, Liu Jun grabbed another Golden Body Talisman and slapped it on.

*Damn it, too slow!* The bronze sword pierced straight through him. However, the dark practitioner didn't fare much better; his sword was jammed by the Golden Body Talisman and wouldn't budge. While the man struggled to pull his blade free, Liu Jun endured the pain, lunged forward, and pulled out his final Five Thunder Talisman to summon the divine lightning. *So close, let's see you run now.*

A burst of lightning and thunder roared as divine bolts rained down, striking Liu Jun, the dark practitioner, and the ghost infant alike. Though the dark practitioner was strong, he clearly couldn't withstand the lightning as well as Liu Jun could. Perhaps because he practiced dark arts, the divine lightning scorched him black, filling the air with the smell of roasted meat. The ghost infant was blasted into nothingness. As for Liu Jun, he was used to being struck; he felt only total numbness, with no real side effects. *Just goes to show how tough I am.* He was thinking this with smug satisfaction when...

"Brother Liu, the bronze sword in your body..." Fatty said, looking at Liu Jun with a greenish face.

Liu Jun looked down and saw the sword still protruding from his chest. The adrenaline faded instantly, and he collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes. *Damn it, I’ve really overdone it this time.*