Dragon Tamer
Chapter 1058 - Chapter 1058 Chapter 1062 Daoist Boy

Chapter 1058: Chapter 1062: Daoist Boy Chapter 1058: Chapter 1062: Daoist Boy Despite lacking clues about the Adjudicator, Zhu Minglang had already acquired the name of the Evil Immortal, which meant he could proceed smoothly with the investigation.

The file also recorded the residence of the young boy at the time.

Following the address, Zhu Minglang arrived at a suburban area barely within the boundaries of Fairy City Yuheng.

It was the Brown River, disgusting due to the upstream slaughterhouse; it was either filled with copious amounts of blood or unwanted offal discarded on the water’s surface.

The Brown River had an incredibly foul odor.

Using the recorded address, Zhu Minglang found a ruined Daoist Temple.

Only two mud walls remained of the temple; the roof tiles were long gone, and the site was overgrown with reeds, moss, vines, and spider webs, all signs of many years of abandonment.

Zhu Minglang hoped to find some clues in this dilapidated Daoist Temple, but there was nothing left except for decay and desolation.

After all, it had been forty years; it was already impressive that one wall was still standing.

It was still nighttime, and the abandoned Daoist Temple retained an unsettling and eerie aura. It must have once been inhabited by wandering Fairies, and Zhu Minglang could even sense some fragmented Ghosts hiding in dark corners, cautiously watching him.

Little Twig Soft would have been useful here.

He could have asked some Dark Spirits about the situation.

Zhu Minglang did not possess Yin and Yang Eyes and could not see these Dark Spirits and Ghosts.

…

Dawn came very slowly, and Zhu Minglang endured until morning.

A sound of footsteps startled Zhu Minglang, who looked towards the source and saw an old medicine gatherer with a bamboo basket on his back walking towards the forest.

“Old man!” Zhu Minglang called out to the medicine gatherer.

The old man stopped, looked around the ruined temple, and seeing Zhu Minglang draped in dawn light emerging, the slight panic on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a gentle smile.

“What is it, young man?” the medicine gatherer asked.

Zhu Minglang’s gaze lingered on the old man’s bamboo basket for a moment before he also put on a friendly smile and said, “I am searching for an old friend, and my inquiries led me here; he lived here many, many years ago.”

“Are you an Immortal?” the medicine gatherer asked.

“Sort of,” Zhu Minglang nodded.

“No wonder. This place has been abandoned for thirty to forty years; nobody remembers it anymore. If you have any questions, ask them quickly. This old man is still busy gathering Lingzhi Mushrooms–their season is nearly over, and they’ll wither soon!” the medicine gatherer said.

“Then may I accompany you into the forest? We can talk as we walk,” Zhu Minglang suggested.

“That would be good. After all, just because you are an Immortal, I shouldn’t delay my harvest!” the medicine gatherer earnestly said.

…

Following the old man into the woods, the old man listened to the wind and gazed at the trees.

The direction of the wind, the positions where certain special trees grew in the forest, and the glow of the morning glow were all important bases for his spirit gathering.

Whether in the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent or the North Dipper God State, the figures of these spirit gatherers could often be seen in the mountains and lands.

Not all spirit resources in the world were accompanied by dangers or fierce beasts; some naturally grew in certain places, not emitting enticing spiritual charm, and simply required someone familiar with the wilderness to find them and pick them… This generally required enough patience to search, to explore one ravine after another.

Spirit gatherers and cultivators were inseparable, and Zhu Minglang watched the old man gather spirits while asking about the old Daoist Temple.

“You’re asking about the Daoist Temple, right? At first, there was indeed a Taoist cultivating there, but somehow the Taoist disappeared, and then those Daoist boys, having no one to care for them, eventually became street urchins, usually relying on picking up the internal organs floating in the river for food,” the spirit gathering old man said.

“Among those Daoist boys, was there one named Hong Mo?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Yes, that kid was very smart, and through the things left by the Taoist, he comprehended some minor Taoist techniques on his own. However, those techniques were basically no different from street tricks, not very useful, good for deceiving and swindling,” the spirit gathering old man seemed quite clear about those times.

“What did he do later?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“It seems he went to a government office once, and after coming out, he became much more grounded, studied medicine gathering with me for a while, and not long after, he started carrying a large bamboo basket, working as a peddler,” the old man said.

“Was his bamboo basket the one you gave him?” Zhu Minglang asked, glancing at the similar bamboo basket the old man carried.

“I don’t remember that, the kid was very perceptive, he would grasp everything I taught him at once, and he could even find some Spirit Grass faster than me. Probably thought that spirit gathering had no future, might have gone on to cultivate, or perhaps entered some Sect, haven’t seen him since,” the spirit gathering old man said.

“So, in a way, you were his teacher?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“I just taught him the craft of living an honest and proper life; those Daoist boys, quite pitiful… cough, cough,” the old man coughed a few times.

The old man’s body was not robust, the chill of the whole night gathered in the early morning, and he needed to get up early to gather spirits, the cold inevitably eroding his health. Although Zhu Minglang couldn’t see a person’s lifespan, he could roughly make out his physical condition.

The old man probably didn’t have many years left, if he continued to gather spirits every early morning like this.

Having figured out the old man’s situation, and confirming that he was just an ordinary spirit gatherer, Zhu Minglang didn’t beat around the bush anymore, but instead told the old man, “This Daoist boy named Hong Mo has now become an evil immortal. Last night, he used those who had once harmed him to launch a spree of revenge, annihilating many people.”

The old man stopped walking, staring at Zhu Minglang for a long time.

It was evident from the elder’s eyes, a mixture of incredulity and sorrow.

“Sigh, he ultimately chose the evil path. It would have been better if the kid were a bit dumber, a little dumber, maybe he’d still be by my side gathering medicine and wouldn’t have hurt others,” the spirit gathering old man sighed deeply, a flash of helplessness and guilt in his eyes.

“I am a divine being, and now I need to capture his Earth Soul. As his former medicine gathering teacher, could you please come and testify when the time comes?” Zhu Minglang asked.

The old man was taken aback, not understanding what Zhu Minglang was talking about.

But before he could gather his thoughts, Zhu Minglang had already disappeared from his sight.

The old man was full of confusion, yet continued to walk through the woods, instinctively collecting those Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine.

Perhaps due to being in the company of an immortal, he had a bountiful harvest that morning, obtaining the yield of the past month.

Yet, the old man couldn’t feel happy.

Recalling a child he knew and had taught, who had now turned out that way, he still felt uneasy inside.