Chapter 55 Cause of Death

"What happened next? How did it go?" Liu Jun asked anxiously, seeing Brother Lin pause mid-sentence.

"Later on, a long time passed. After that group of people left, the child finally showed up and had a meal with us just like usual. After eating, we went to bed. In the middle of the night, your Second Grandpa said he felt uneasy and went to sit by the doorway for a while. When I got up in the morning, I saw your Second Grandpa lying right there by the door. Ah—" Brother Lin tugged at his hair in frustration, seemingly blaming himself for not staying by Second Grandpa's side that night.

"And then? Didn't that child ever show up again?" Second Grandpa's death definitely had something fishy about it.

"Let me tell you what happened next," a childish voice drifted in from the doorway. Liu Jun stood up, pushed the door open, and saw the monster holding a young child of six or seven dressed in a traditional bellyband.

Upon seeing Liu Jun, the monster wore a look of sheer terror. Despite standing over two meters tall, he moved with an agility that defied his massive frame, spun around in a single fluid motion, and bolted away with the child in his arms. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Liu Jun's sight.

Looking bewildered, Liu Jun closed the door, walked back to the hearth, and sat down. He could easily guess that the child cradled in the monster's arms must be the ginseng spirit.

Before long, a knock sounded at the cabin door once again. Liu Jun got up, walked over, and opened it. The child in the bellyband was standing in the doorway, while the monster hid behind a distant tree, peeking out with one eye and watching Liu Jun vigilantly. It was clear that if Liu Jun made any move to harm the child, the beast would charge over immediately to snatch him back.

The child looked at Liu Jun, then glanced back at the monster. He waved a delicate, lotus-root-like arm at the beast, and then turned his curious gaze back to Liu Jun.

"I am a ginseng that has attained spiritual cultivation, and that big guy is my guardian beast. I'm just curious about what you did to him to make him so terrified of you."

Well, could I tell you that your guardian beast got a severe beating from Old Master Cheng Yaojin who resides within me? I had heard of these guardian beasts before; many ancient spiritual flora have them, though they are usually wolves, tigers, leopards, or poisonous snakes, Liu Jun thought to himself.

Liu Jun stepped aside to invite the ginseng spirit inside. The child walked in, seated himself quite familiarly by the hearth, and looked around. When his eyes fell on Second Grandpa's bed, a look of sorrow crossed his face, and he stared at it for a long while before speaking.

"Grandpa Liu died to save me," the ginseng spirit dropped this shocking piece of news first, and then proceeded to recount the cause and effect of the entire incident.

The day I had dinner with Grandpa Liu and Uncle Lin, after they went to bed, I slipped out alone just like I usually did. I never expected that even though I had hidden for a month and those people failed to find me, they hadn't given up. They pulled back openly, but secretly left people behind to watch this place.

As I was walking home, a large net strung with numerous red cords suddenly descended over me. A bunch of people rushed out trying to capture me, but my guardian beast intercepted them and a fierce brawl broke out. Those people not only had guns, but also a Taoist priest, and the guardian beast was having a hard time holding his ground.

Right at that moment, Grandpa Liu rushed out, scooped me up along with the net, and ran. As he ran, he kept tearing the net off me, and didn't put me down until we reached a secluded spot, but Second Grandpa had collapsed to the ground. That was when I noticed Grandpa Liu must have been hit by a bullet while carrying me away. I hurriedly plucked one of my own ginseng roots and fed it to Grandpa Liu, but I don't know why—even though Grandpa Liu's wounds healed completely, he simply wouldn't wake up.

After listening to the ginseng spirit's account, Liu Jun clenched his fists tightly. If Second Grandpa had died a natural death, that would be one thing. But since he was murdered by gunfire as the ginseng spirit claimed, he would never swallow this grievance.

"Brother Liu, are you alright?" Fatty, Brother Lin, and even the little fox looked at Liu Jun with concern. Liu Jun gently shook his head.

He pulled out the Karma Token to check Second Grandpa's record. It stated that on such and such a month and day, he died accidentally from a gunshot wound. His allotted mortal lifespan had long since expired, and he had been sustaining his life solely through a thousand-year-old ginseng root; his soul was now being recalled to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Liu Jun frowned. The logic of the Karma Token meant that Second Grandpa's lifespan had already run out long ago, and he was merely clinging to life thanks to the millennium-old ginseng tendril. Taking a bullet had shattered the very breath of life the ginseng was sustaining, which was why the ginseng spirit feeding him another tendril afterwards had proven useless.

Even so, Second Grandpa had formed this karmic bond with the ginseng spirit of his own accord, and it cost him his life. That gunshot had to be repaid!

"Ginseng spirit, is there a way to track down that bunch of people? I want to settle accounts with them."

"I came out this time precisely to lure them out. Since they failed to find me last time, they certainly won't let it go. Now that they've shown themselves, I must avenge Grandpa Liu. I definitely will," the ginseng spirit said, turning to look at Liu Jun with an expression of intense hatred and an unwavering tone. It was clear that even if Liu Jun didn't take action, the ginseng spirit intended to fight those people to the death.

"How do you plan to lure them?"

"Tonight, I will go out by myself, and they will naturally make their move," the ginseng spirit said with certainty.

Liu Jun fell silent. Everyone rested and made preparations for the night. Upon learning that Second Grandpa had been murdered rather than dying of natural causes, Brother Lin said not a word as he inspected his hunting rifle and wiped down a hunting knife. Fatty glanced at Liu Jun, then turned and scooped up the machete the stationmaster had given them when they first arrived.

Cheng Yaojin had already been summoned once that morning. According to the rules of the deity-invocation technique, Liu Jun couldn't summon Cheng Yaojin again for a short while, nor could he summon any other spirits or deities; he would have to rely entirely on himself.

He checked the gear on his person and closed his eyes to rest beside the hearth. The ginseng spirit stepped out for a while and returned shortly after, sitting quietly by the fire, lost in thought.

As the sky gradually darkened, they managed to put together a simple meal, but nobody had much appetite and hardly anyone ate. The ginseng spirit looked at the pot over the hearth and wore an even sadder expression, seemingly reminded of Second Grandpa.

Deep into the night, the ginseng spirit silently got up and headed outside. Liu Jun and the others waited a short while after the spirit left before following stealthily behind. The ginseng spirit came to a halt when they reached a deep ravine and advanced no further; that group of people seemed to be lying in ambush just ahead. The deep ravine was flanked by steep cliffs, leaving only a single path running through the front and back.

A large net came hurtling toward the ginseng spirit. The child watched the incoming net without moving an inch. Suddenly, a dark shadow leaped into the air and yanked the net down with a fierce pull.

The monster casually tossed the net aside and stared vigilantly ahead. Over twenty people marched out, led by a corpulent man standing right at the front, accompanied by an old Taoist priest in flowing robes. The entire ravine was illuminated as bright as day by the high-intensity searchlights in their hands.

Those people were armed with various weapons, and more than a dozen of them carried oversized firearms that didn't look like they fired ordinary bullets. Sure enough, when the monster let out a roar and charged at them, those dozen individuals pulled their triggers simultaneously, and every single gun fired a large net aimed at trapping the beast. The monster failed to dodge in time, and regardless of how hard it struggled, it couldn't break free from the nets, which were clearly made of some extraordinary material.

The ginseng spirit watched the crowd slowly closing in and kept backing away. Spiritual entities that attained cultivation like this generally possessed profound cultivation but practically no combat skills—with the exception of tree spirits and man-eating flowers. If this were a millennium-old tree demon, it would easily thrash a crowd like this; for details, see the tree demon grandmother from *A Chinese Ghost Story*.