Chapter 1798 - 964: Government Office (2)

Chapter 1798: Chapter 964: Government Office (2)

The old man politely said to Lin Feng, "Divine Doctor, during dinner later, we will hold a mysterious ritual, and I hope you won’t mind." The old man’s attitude towards Lin Feng was very courteous, unlike how he treated others.

Seeing this County Magistrate being so strict with his subordinates and very kind to guests, Lin Feng immediately knew that he was a good person, upright and incorruptible.

If such an official were sent to Yunzhou City, he would certainly be a competent assistant. But Lin Feng couldn’t possibly compete with Yunzhou Marquis to get people, so he didn’t think much about it...

Listening to the old man talk about a mysterious ritual during dinner, Lin Feng couldn’t help but find it amusing, so he asked the old man, "A mysterious ritual, I’d like to broaden my horizons."

After speaking, Lin Feng took a sip of tea and went to the dining room under the old man’s invitation.

To get to the dining room, you must pass through the garden at the back, which is quite large and planted with dazzling lotuses and peonies.

The old man walked with Lin Feng, introducing the place to him by saying, "Divine Doctor, you may not know, this Government Office was originally built by a corrupt official from the Court, and it was liberated by Yunzhou Marquis acting on behalf of Heaven, which brought benefits to me." His expression showed guilt.

"I’d say your office here can rival Yuhua City," Lin Feng responded offhandedly; he wasn’t concerned with the architecture, he just wanted to quickly wrap up matters here.

As they talked, Lin Feng and the old man arrived at the County Government’s dining room, where the old man smiled politely at Lin Feng.

"Divine Doctor, please wait here. After the ceremony, we’ll dine." From the side came two groups of servants, one carrying ghost food offered to the deceased.

The people on the right carried a feast, which without guessing, was meant for the living, namely Lin Feng, the County Magistrate, and others, while the deceased, who it was intended for, left Lin Feng puzzled.

As the two groups of servants took their places, a very spiritual witch doctor appeared.

This witch doctor wore attire of a minority ethnic group, looking like a barbarian witch, with a wolf tooth necklace around his neck, and wearing dark red satin.

At this moment, the witch doctor was chanting incomprehensible spells, sounding eerie enough to make the listener’s spine chill.

At this moment, the old man said to Lin Feng, "Divine Doctor, when you see something later, don’t be afraid and don’t make a sound; it wouldn’t be good to disturb them during dinner." He was noticeably more solemn when mentioning "them."

Then the old man fell silent, and Lin Feng saw his face full of devotion, which made Lin Feng more anxious.

At this moment, Hua Shengmi began speaking to Lin Feng, saying, "Lin boy, what’s going on? Why are these people acting all holy?"

Lin Feng was already finding it unbelievable and bewildering, and hearing Hua Shengmi’s words made him feel even more peculiar.

At that moment, he was seriously observing the scene before him.

Regarding ghost food, it’s not without its legends in the Human Realm; such an event happened in his home village, Lin Family Village.

Lin Feng vividly remembered when he was a child, something happened to the village chief’s family in Lin Family Village.

At that time, when something happened in the village, they would invite the Elder to check, and that day was no different. The Elder’s presence caught the villagers’ attention, so they followed him to the village chief’s house to see what happened.

Upon reaching the village chief’s doorstep, the Elder sensed something amiss inside the house and turned to the crowd behind him and said, "Those who aren’t afraid of ghosts, follow me inside."

The villagers were very superstitious and respectful of ghosts, so upon hearing the Elder say there were ghosts, they couldn’t contain themselves and said to the Elder, "Ah, you mean there’s a haunting at the village chief’s." The speaker paused halfway, as the word "ghost" wasn’t casually spoken.

The villagers had no choice but to wait outside the house, and the Elder never went inside.

He circled the house, then asked the village chief to set out ghost food in the yard. At that moment, it was dinner time, and the scene was similar to what was happening now at the County Government.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng realized the County Magistrate encountered some problem, most likely someone in the old man’s family was possessed by a ghost.

Ghost food is used to prolong the life of the living; thus, it is real food but placed in strange imitation Underworld vessels, made with highly selective materials, with no garlic or green onion allowed.

The appearance of these imitation Underworld vessels was passed down from ancient times, though their authenticity is unknown.

In summary, the purpose of ghost food is to have the possessed person come to the table to eat, preferably using a table once used by the living and sharing a meal with the homeowner. This provides comfort to the possessed, as being possessed is a painful experience.

Ghosts don’t need to eat, but if the possessed don’t eat, the body deteriorates; even if the ghost is driven out later, the person likely wouldn’t survive, hence a method was devised to help the possessed maintain their life.

After the witch doctor finished chanting the strange spells, three women and a boy emerged from a corridor in the dining room.

Their skin was pale like that of a corpse, and Lin Feng watched them walk towards him, feeling chilled. Their movements were stiff, like moving corpses.

They exuded an aura of death, filled with sinister energy that was frightening.

One girl appeared around seventeen or eighteen, her face expressionless, eyes hollow, movements rigid and sluggish, giving off a ghostly presence.

She held the hand of a little boy, who was similarly possessed by ghosts.

The two younger ones got on the table, while the middle-aged woman, full of eerie death aura, gazed with eyes emitting black energy, seemed terrifying, causing the nearby butler to shiver despite having seen such a scene for months. Yet each time he witnessed it, he couldn’t help but panic inside.

A servant was already so scared that he wet his pants; Lin Feng, though a cultivator, felt chilled by the creepy scene, as fearing ghosts is human nature.

Hua Shengmi urgently said to Lin Feng, "Lin boy, these people are already fully possessed by ghosts, soon they’ll be beyond saving."

Lin Feng communicated internally with Hua Shengmi, "How can the ghosts within them be exorcised?"

Hua Shengmi replied, "We need to observe a while longer to figure out how exactly they were possessed."

"Hmm." Lin Feng agreed with Hua Shengmi’s words.

Once the four ghosts finished eating, the witch doctor proceeded to chant incantations, this time clearly directed towards the living: "Heavenly spirit, earthly spirit, open the shady path, let spirits from the Underworld dine as the living." His tone was steady without confusion.

After the four ghosts at the table finished eating, it was the County Magistrate and others’ turn.

Lin Feng felt a chill down his spine, finding it odd: seeing such a scene and then sharing a table to eat, there must be something wrong with one’s head.

Lin Feng was baffled, but seeing the County Magistrate’s enthusiastic demeanor, he had no choice but to comply with local customs.

However, Lin Feng carefully chose a seat where the ghosts hadn’t sat before, but the old man hurriedly said, "Divine Doctor, avoid those seats, and don’t sit somewhere the ghosts did not; it’s called a broken spot and is very evil."

Upon hearing the County Magistrate’s advice, Lin Feng decided to move and sat at the place of the previous eighteen-year-old girl’s seat.