Chapter 136 Girls
The copper coin sword went straight towards Jiang Li!

Everyone exclaimed, and before they could react, Madam Jiang almost fainted.

However, Jiang Li stood steadily, the tip of the sword stopped at the tip of her nose. Although the copper coin sword was not as sharp as the saber, she was not moved at all by the sudden change. She still had a smile on her face, without a trace of panic.

Taoist Chongxu was stunned. Before coming here, he already knew a lot about Miss Jiang Er. She was frightened but still finished the horse riding and archery competition in the inspection field. It can be seen that this woman has a strong character and is not as easy to deal with as an ordinary Miss Jiaojiao. But today's matter is different from horse riding and archery. Even if Jiang Li is not frightened, she should show surprise.

But she didn't.

The girl's back was straight, like an immature tree, slender and fragile, but with a determination that could not be shaken by even the strongest winds and rain.

She even followed Taoist Chongxu's gaze and nodded to him.

In an instant, Taoist Chongxu felt a chill on his back. Although he was going to give Miss Jiang a reputation as an evil spirit today, at this moment, Taoist Chongxu couldn't help but feel confused. He even thought that maybe Miss Jiang really had some evil spirit. She was so calm that she was not like an ordinary person.

Jiang Yuanbai finally reacted, frowned, and said, "Master, what do you mean?"

The copper coin sword was still floating, and the tip of the sword was pointing at Jiang Li without moving. Jiang Youyao covered her mouth and whispered, "This sword is pointing at my second sister, could it be... could it be that my second sister is the evil spirit?!"

"Shut up!" Old Madam Jiang frowned, "Youyao, how can you slander your sister's reputation for no reason!"

Jiang Youyao hid behind Ji Shuran in grievance, and Ji Shuran patted her hand in comfort. Seeing Ji Shuran and her daughter like this, Lu was puzzled. Ji Shuran and her daughter disliked Jiang Li and were bound to deal with Jiang Li. But Taoist Chongxu was summoned by the emperor today, and the noises in the yard were too strange. There was no wind chime, but it sounded for no reason. And the sword stood up and pointed at Jiang Li. Lu's eyes were filled with taboo.

Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. If people only heard the name of Taoist Chongxu, they would not believe that he could really exorcise evil spirits. But after he did a series of things, people couldn't help but feel that Taoist Chongxu's ability was not all bragging.

Taoist Chongxu stretched out his hand, and the copper coin sword seemed to have eyes, and immediately flew back to his hand with a "whoosh". It was like it had life, not a dead object. The people around him were silent, and Taoist Chongxu said to Jiang Yuanbo: "Master Jiang... this..."

Jiang Yuanbai said: "Master, if you have anything to say, please feel free to speak."

"Originally, exorcism is not that simple. But because the evil creature lurking in your house has not yet been formed, it is very easy to identify. It is just..." He looked at Jiang Li, with a bit of hesitation and hesitation in his eyes. This look fell on the eyes of other people in the yard, and they immediately understood what was going on.

"Master, what do you mean by this?" asked Old Lady Jiang.

"The young lady in this mansion is the host of the evil spirit." Taoist Chongxu looked at Jiang Li.

At this moment, all the servants in the yard looked at Jiang Li. Jiang Li could tell that some of those eyes were filled with fear and disgust, while others were filled with avoidance like the plague.

Although she had already informed Tong'er in advance, when she heard the old Taoist slander Jiang Li, Tong'er couldn't help but defend him, "Nonsense! How could our girl be related to evil spirits? You are clearly slandering me!"

"Tong'er." Jiang Li shook her head at her, and then apologized to Madam Jiang: "My maid is eager to protect her master, I hope the old lady will not blame me."

"That's okay." said Old Madam Jiang.

Ji Shuran saw this and frowned. At this time, Jiang Li was being accused of being evil, and she still cared about her maid. Did she really think she could get away safely? This was not a small matter.
Jiang Jingrui ignored Lu's warning look and said, "Jiang Li is an evil spirit? Taoist priest, you are not mistaken, are you? Jiang Li from our family lived in the nunnery in Qingcheng Mountain for eight years. The nunnery is a pure place. How can a pure place give birth to evil things?"

Mrs. Lu quickly slapped Jiang Jingrui.

Jiang Yuanping thought about it and said, "Yes, Taoist priest, my niece is usually very gentle and kind, not like any evil spirit."

Jiang Li was quite surprised that this smiling tiger uncle would speak for her, but then she changed her mind and realized that if there really was a monster in her house, it would not be good for the Jiang family's reputation if it were to be made public.

Jiang Yuanping at least spoke for her, but Jiang Yuanxing and Yang from the third room said nothing from beginning to end. It was even more impossible for Jiang Yuyan to take the initiative to speak in such an occasion. It seemed that Jiang Yuanxing had become more taciturn since Jiang Yu'e's incident. And Yang looked over here, even gloating a little.

The third room and the first and second rooms are completely separated.

Just when I was thinking this, I heard the voice of Taoist Chongxu: "This young master only knows one side of the story. It's not that filth cannot grow in the pure land of Buddhism. On the contrary, many people fall into the Buddhist monastery, but their six senses are not pure, which makes it easy for them to develop demons in their hearts. At this moment, evil spirits take advantage of the opportunity to enter and let living people become their hosts. However, even if there are evil spirits in the pure land of Buddhism, they dare not come out to do evil. They just hide in the host's body and wait for an opportunity to act. Once they leave Buddhism and come to the market, evil spirits can grow infinitely. Since this young lady has stayed in the nunnery before, it is possible that this is the reason why she returns home now."

Jiang Jingrui still didn't believe it: "You've said everything good and bad. You have the final say. What does it matter whether we believe it or not?"

"I am not speaking from my heart. If I am possessed by evil spirits, the most likely manifestation is a drastic change in my personality. As the saying goes, a person's personality will not change drastically overnight. Even if their personality changes, their past habits and nature will remain the same. Miss, has your personality changed drastically and is now completely different from before?"

After these words were spoken, the people in the yard fell silent again.

Didn't Jiang Li's personality change drastically after she returned from Qingcheng Mountain? Think about the Jiang Li before she was sent to Qingcheng Mountain. She was hot-tempered, arrogant, and had a temperament that showed all her emotions on her face. She loved to cry. Time passed quickly, and the Jiang Li who came back was completely different from everyone in the mansion who knew her.

She was calm, gentle, and always had a gentle smile on her face, but no one knew what she was thinking. She no longer cried, and she didn't even have emotions like "fear" or "grievance." No matter what she encountered, she just smiled.

As if he didn't care at all.

"Yes..." Ji Shuran's voice rang out in the silence. She said, "After Li'er returned to the mansion, she is indeed very different from before. Her temperament has become more stable than before, but she doesn't look like a fifteen-year-old girl. Youyao is about the same age as her, and she is like a child who has not grown up... She used to love meat, and her favorite was the mutton soup made in the kitchen. Now she feels sick when she smells mutton, and prefers vegetables to meat... Everything is different..."

Are you so eager to convict her? Jiang Li watched Ji Shuran coldly as she listed the differences between her and the Second Miss Jiang one by one. She didn't say a word, and the people in the yard looked more suspicious. Yes, she was not the real Second Miss Jiang, and she had no similarities with the Second Miss Jiang in terms of growth process or temperament and preferences. So it was easy for Ji Shuran to find the differences between them. In this way, they seemed to have no overlap at all, and were basically two different people.

Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbo must have had these suspicions as well, but they did not remember them as clearly as Ji Shuran. Ji Shuran spoke them out at this time simply to make everyone believe Taoist Chongxu's words a little more.

In a sense, Ji Shuran also knew some of the truth.

Jiang Li did not talk back or argue. When Ji Shuran finished telling the story one by one, she looked at Jiang Yuanbo worriedly: "So, Li'er is indeed very different from before... Master, I don't doubt that Li'er is really an evil spirit. But all this is for Li'er and for the Jiang family. If Li'er... Li'er really becomes the host of some evil spirit, the Taoist priest will definitely have a way to drive it out. By then, won't Li'er be fine?"

Jiang Li said: "Mother."

Ji Shuran looked at her, and there were even tears in her eyes. She looked like a loving mother who cared about her. But she was also a little cautious, as if she was afraid of being touched by evil things. As for acting, Jiang Li also admired Ji Shuran in her heart. She always felt that Ji Shuran's appearance should make her one of the best actors in Yanjing City in Ji Heng's eyes.

"Mothers are kind and loving. No matter whether Jiang Li is really evil or not, she should at least have the time to talk to Jiang Li."

Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Yuanbai, who stared at his strange daughter and said, "Go on."

"What the Taoist priest said is correct. A person's temperament and preferences cannot change drastically overnight. However, I left home to go to the nunnery not for one night, one or two days, or one or two months. It took eight years."

"Eight years can't be called a short time." She looked at Taoist Chongxu with a smile.

Facing the girl's gentle eyes, Taoist Chongxu was surprised, but he still nodded and said, "It's been a long time."

"A lot of things have changed over a long period of time. My mother said that my third sister and I are of similar age, but our personalities are completely different. Not to mention that people are different from each other, it would be too much for me to be as innocent as my third sister." She kept smiling as always. "Madam Liu came to Qingcheng Mountain to worship Buddha and saw me by chance. I don't know if you paid attention to what she said. When she saw me, I was kneeling in the ancestral hall as a punishment. I hadn't drunk a drop of water for a whole day and night."

"For me, this is the norm of life. Not having enough food to eat and not having warm clothes to wear is something I am used to. Under such circumstances, please forgive Jiang Li for being incompetent. It is really difficult for her to be naive."

After saying this, both Old Lady Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai looked a little disappointed. Although they had never sent anyone to inquire about Jiang Li's life in the nunnery, they knew that life in the nunnery must have been very hard. However, at that time, because Jiang Li caused Ji Shuran's daughter to have a miscarriage, they were really angry, so they ignored her intentionally or unintentionally.

Now, the old matter was brought up again in front of the entire Jiang residence. Although Jiang Li did not use an accusatory tone, it was like a hard slap in the face of Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai.

"Let's talk about habits. When I was young, I did like to eat meat, sleep on a soft bed, and even liked clothes with bright colors and exquisite stitching. But I lived in the nunnery for many years. Where could I get mutton soup? I only had one quilt for my bed. I sewed cotton on it in winter and took it out in summer. My mother might not know that the cotton was almost worn out and only cotton residue was left. This is the environment of human beings. If Jiang Li still had the same habits as before, she would have gone crazy long ago. So changing habits is just to survive. Don't talk about bright clothes. The extra black clothes in the temple are so good that they can't cover the body."

"I just want to struggle to survive, but my third sister is different. She has everything she needs in the mansion, so she can naturally develop a character that doesn't need anything. I have been tempered by life. If I don't compromise and grow up earlier... I really don't know if I will still be alive and come back to see my father."

She spoke calmly, but every word was full of blood and tears. The always aggressive Lu had a trace of pity on her face, not knowing what Jiang Yuanbai was thinking. Even if Jiang Li was wrong, she was his own flesh and blood. If Jiang Jingrui and Jiang Jingyou made a mistake, she would punish them severely, but she would not do it to the extent of Jiang Yuanbai.

Jiang Yuanbo's face was filled with shame, anger, and frustration, and he avoided Jiang Li's gaze.

Ji Shuran cursed fiercely in her heart, what a sly little bitch, she was about to die, but she still wanted to make a move, no wonder she was hard to deal with. No wonder she had ordered people to torture Jiang Li in Qingcheng Mountain, but she still let this little bitch survive!

Taoist Chongxu felt a little uneasy. For so many years, he had been cheating people everywhere, even daring to hide it from the emperor. In addition to his clever tricks, he was also very good at judging people. As long as he could grasp the weaknesses of each person's character and attack them, many things would become very easy.

But this Second Miss Jiang, he had known about her deeds before entering the mansion, and in the short time since entering the mansion, he could not see any weakness in Jiang Li's character. Even at this time, she was not panicked at all, and she had a reason and evidence, and said something that could convince others.

Regardless of whether she can be convinced or not, her character is already a problem.

Jiang Youyao said, "Second sister is right, but... Second sister grew up in Qingcheng Mountain and is no worse than the girls who grew up in Yanjing City. Didn't Second sister take first place in the Six Arts in the examination?"

Six Arts? Ji Shuran's heart was moved, and she said hesitantly, "That's right. Li'er didn't like to study when she was young, but she stayed in the nunnery for eight years and became a talented girl when she came back. Later, I asked someone to inquire about it. There were no horses or long zithers in the nunnery, but Li'er was able to learn without a teacher. It's really amazing."

Jiang Yuanbai looked at Jiang Li, which was also his suspicion. Although Jiang Li had explained it at the time and Jiang Yuanbai believed it, he didn't know why he sent people to inquire about the Qingcheng Mountain. The result of the inquiry was exactly the same as what Ji Shuran said at this moment.

How did Jiang Li become so smart? There are geniuses in this world, but geniuses cannot do without guidance. Even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice. How can one succeed without anything?
"Also," Ji Shuran said worriedly, "Li'er went to Xiangyang last time and brought back Xue Huaiyuan, the county magistrate of Tongxiang. Even though Li'er has justice in her heart and is brave, she is very concerned about Xue Huaiyuan. She had no relationship with Xue Huaiyuan in the past, so why is she so concerned about an outsider? Could it be that she was really blinded by evil spirits and did such an incomprehensible thing?" As soon as these words came out, Jiang Yuanbai's eyes suddenly became stern. This is also Jiang Yuanbai's heart disease, a stone stuck in his heart. Jiang Li is more filial to Xue Huaiyuan than to him as a father, which has made Jiang Yuanbai very angry. If Xue Huaiyuan was not a madman who had lost all his reason now, Jiang Yuanbai really wanted to find out what was going on?

But Jiang Li couldn't say it, she couldn't say it.

So in the eyes of everyone, it seemed that she had run out of tricks and had to admit the fact that she was haunted by evil spirits.

"Who would want to torture a child like this?" Ji Shuran added, "But if Li'er really did something wrong, it would harm the Jiang family, the whole family, and the younger generations in the future... It would not be a good thing."

When she heard about the danger to the Jiang family, Mrs. Jiang was also somewhat moved. She asked Taoist Chongxu: "In your opinion, how else can we exorcise the evil spirit? If we exorcise the evil spirit for my granddaughter, will it hurt her?"

Although she was concerned about Jiang Li, Jiang Li shook her head in her heart and felt sympathy for the second young lady Jiang. You know, once you tacitly acknowledge that Jiang Li had a relationship with the evil spirit, you would also tacitly acknowledge the path that Ji Shuran had designed for Jiang Li. The end of this path would naturally not be a good place. But for the sake of the Jiang family, Old Lady Jiang did not argue for her and did not believe her to the end.

If it was really Miss Jiang Er, she would definitely be sad.

"No." Taoist Chongxu said, "It's just that after the exorcism, the second young lady must stay in a Buddhist pure land for a period of time and cannot see outsiders. Although the evil spirits cannot be seen at the moment, after the exorcism, the second young lady will have some residual symptoms, such as physical weakness. She needs to be taken good care of."

Jiang Li understood. Going to Buddhism? Was she going to repeat the scene of going to Qingcheng Mountain many years ago? Her body was weak, so it was natural that she would become thinner and thinner in Buddhism day by day, and finally die silently due to a serious illness? It was a perfect excuse? Jiang Li believed that as soon as she left, Ji Shuran would find a way to spread the news. At that time, she would not have to go back to Yanjing City, and would just die quietly in Qingcheng Mountain.

In order to cover up the truth, the Jiang family would make up a reason, such as dying of illness, and her life would be just like Ye Zhenzhen, or her own previous life, dying in unclear circumstances.

Because Ji Shuran knew that he couldn't kill her in Yanjing City, and Jiang Yuanbo wouldn't kill her for ordinary crimes. It would be easiest to drive her out of the mansion in the name of exorcism, as it was far away.

It's a very safe idea.

"Second girl," Old Madam Jiang asked, "Since there is nothing serious, why don't you let Taoist Chongxu exorcise the evil spirit for you?"

Jiang Li nodded, turned to Jiang Yuanbo, and asked, "Does father agree too?"

Jiang Yuanbai stared at Jiang Li. He didn't completely trust Taoist Chongxu, but Jiang Li's strangeness didn't make sense at all. He really felt that Jiang Li had become a stranger, and even the slight blood connection seemed to be gone.

He hardened his heart and said, "It won't hurt you, so go ahead."

"Okay." Jiang Li nodded, as if she had no dissatisfaction with Jiang Yuanbo's decision, but the moment she lowered her head, Jiang Yuanbo seemed to see the disappointment in her eyes. For a moment, Jiang Yuanbo felt regretful, regretting whether it was a mistake to agree to Taoist Chongxu to exorcise the evil spirit for Jiang Li.

Jiang Li said: "Master Chongxu, please come in."

She took the initiative and showed no fear of facing the unknown. Instead, she acted calmly as if she was attending a banquet, which even stunned Taoist Chongxu.

Taoist Chongxu said, "Second Miss, please."

Jiang Li was about to walk over there, and Tong'er couldn't help but reach out and grab the corner of her clothes. Jiang Li turned her head to look at her, and Tong'er reluctantly let go of her hand, with tears in her eyes.

She is always worried.

Taoist Chongxu led Jiang Li to the four square pillars with strings stretched on them, and asked Jiang Li to hold a bell in her hand. He walked to the front of the Taoist platform, and the Taoist boy presented the prepared live chicken. Taoist Chongxu cut the chicken's neck with the tip of his sword, and a line of blood spurted out.

"Ah!" The maids in the yard were so scared that they turned around and covered their eyes. At this time, the black fog became thicker and thicker, almost like night, and it was gloomy.

Ji Shuran couldn't help but pull Jiang Youyao closer to her and stand back. Although she knew it was fake, the spooky look in the yard really made her a little scared.

Mrs. Lu had already stood behind with her two sons in her arms. She looked fierce, but in fact she was very timid and believed in ghosts and gods. She believed in Taoist Chongxu's words without a doubt.

Yang and Jiang Yuanxing from the third room looked suspicious. Jiang Yuyan had already turned her back in fear and no longer looked over there.

In the crowd, Aunt Hu stood in an inconspicuous position, staring straight at Jiang Li.

From the beginning till now, Jiang Li has been passive. This made Aunt Hu feel uncertain. She placed all her hopes on Jiang Li. Although Jiang Li told her about her plan, Aunt Hu still felt that it was a bit risky and it was too difficult to lie to someone in front of them.

But Jiang Li was very sure that Aunt Hu had no other options. She couldn't take revenge on her own, so she made up her mind to cooperate with Jiang Li in playing this drama well. She had to pay the highest price. If Jiang Li failed... If... At this moment, her eyes crossed with Jiang Li's in the air.

Under the black fog, the girl's eyes were bright and gentle, with an unquestionable firmness.

In an instant, Aunt Hu calmed down.

It's not the time to be impatient yet, it's not the time to...

Taoist Master Chongxu is performing a ritual.

To others, his actions seemed mysterious and like a master. Over the years, he had become very skilled at doing these things. In fact, there are no ghosts or gods in the world. There are only ghosts in people's hearts.

He took advantage of the evil in people's hearts and cheated people for so many years without being discovered. His master, the real Taoist Chongxu, was a real master, but what did he get in his life? Only he truly brought out the meaning of the name "Taoist Chongxu".

Thinking of this, Taoist Chongxu couldn't help but feel a little proud. Whenever he was "performing a ritual", he felt very proud when he saw those powerful people whom everyone looked up to, who believed in him with hope and hoped that he would give them the last straw to save their lives. He could play with these people at will, this was his ability.

But the girl today was the one he had to treat with the most caution he had ever met.

She seemed to have no inner demons, and stood calmly, facing her own behavior, and even with a hint of interest, which made Taoist Chongxu feel insulted. Maybe Jiang Li was a person who did not believe in ghosts and gods, so she could be so calm.

Jiang Li saw a flash of annoyance in Taoist Chongxu's face.

This kind of person, being praised too highly, forgets his original position. Speaking of which, she actually believes in ghosts and gods. She is a person who has really died once. After death, she became Miss Jiang Er. Isn't this the theory of ghosts and gods? But she is sure that Taoist Chongxu has never seen this level.

Taoist Chongxu smeared the chicken blood on the peach wood sword, and the yellow talisman papers on all four sides stood up straight in his scriptures and surrounded Jiang Li!
This scene is already quite weird.

The Taoist priest with an immortal look pointed at the peach wood sword, suddenly shouted, and stabbed towards Jiang Li!

The wooden sword did not pierce into the body, but stopped just in front of the body. However, Taoist Chongxu's body shook, as if something had pierced into the void, making a sound of metal and stone colliding.

The chicken that had been drained of blood suddenly crowed.

The people in the yard were so scared that they knelt down together. Now, even Jiang Yuanbai believed it a little.

Taoist Chongxu was holding something in his hand and shouted again: "Come out, monster!" He raised his hand and a large ball of glutinous rice mixed with some unknown stuff fell down.

There seemed to be something else between the glutinous rice. Jiang Li subconsciously closed her mouth and nose and took a step back.

However, immediately, her nose and mouth began to bleed.

She sneered in her heart, this is Taoist Chongxu's trick!

To act like an evil spirit, she had to look like one. She didn't know what kind of powder was mixed into the sticky rice, which made her feel horrified. It might even make her lose her mind, but she closed her mouth and nose and didn't inhale it, so she didn't know how.

In the gloomy night, Jiang Li was wearing plain clothes, with a white face and black hair, and blood coming out of her ears, nose and mouth, looking like a fierce ghost. Immediately, everyone in the yard was frightened and rolled over.

Jiang Youyao screamed "Ghost!" and the Jiang family members took a step back in fear.

Taoist Chongxu was very proud and wanted to see the girl's panicked look.

I was stunned when I saw it.

Under the dim candlelight, Jiang Li smiled at him.

But her current appearance is not cute at all, but rather scary.

Jiang Li sneered. The evil spirit was certainly an evil spirit, but it was not the evil spirit they thought of. This evil spirit could take Ji Shuran's life!
In the yard, a little girl suddenly burst into tears.

It was so huge that it seemed to echo in everyone's ears.

(End of this chapter)