"What do you see?" asked Lai.

“...... A cat. Xia Fan hesitated for a few seconds before replying, it was really difficult for him to associate the animal in front of him with the evil that harmed people, "It is the culprit that keeps the Tian family awake at night?"

"Hmm......" Li showed a thoughtful look, "It's the reason, but it's not necessarily the culprit." The biggest difference between the ghost and the ghost is that it has no significant hostility towards living beings, and the reason why it appears in the room is probably because it follows the habits of its previous life. Speaking of this, she looked at Xia Fan, "You go and ask the old man to see if she has ever had a tanuki cat at home." ”

Xia Fan turned around and walked out of the house, and soon turned back again, "Mrs. Tian said that her family did have a cat before, but she suddenly died of illness half a month ago, and her daughter-in-law cried for a while. You mean, this cat can't-"

"It's the Tian family's cat. Li squatted down and held the cat in his hand, "But now it's not a living being, it's an illusion, an illusion made of qi." ”

Xia Fan hesitated, reached out and touched the cat's head, not only could he feel the fluffy touch, but also the warm residual heat, and the latter even squinted his eyes comfortably, looking no different from a real living thing.

"Does this count as a resurrection from the dead? Since Tian's wife likes this cat, we might be able to-"

"No!" Li pricked up his ears and shouted, "Wake up, death is death, dead things can't come back to life, don't confuse the two!"

Xia Fan was slightly stunned, it was the first time he had seen such a sharp expression of the fox demon.

"There is no way to bring the dead back to life! once dead, consciousness ceases to exist, and even if it remains, it is only an empty shell. Just like this tanuki cat, its course of action is just repeating its pre-life life, even the touch and reaction, as long as you and I close our eyes, it will return to the state of void again. ”

"Even if the woman likes this cat again, can she stare at it all day without sleep? What's more, there is more or less qi in the human body, and if you live with the qi for a long time, your own qi will also be disordered, and the result is that she will become weaker and weaker, and her life span will be greatly reduced. Li shook his head, "I see that she is in such a sluggish state, except that half of it is due to her weak body, and the other half is probably caused by this void spirit." You sent the spirit to her, the essence is no different from murder!"

"Uh...... I'm just assuming," Xia Fan coughed twice, "You don't have to be so angry, do you?"

"Hypothetical is not good, it at least proves that you have this idea, and confusing the boundary between life and death is an absolute forbidden area for alchemists!" the fox demon said in an unquestionable tone, "My master has mentioned many similar incidents - some alchemists mistakenly thought that they could reverse life and death in the process of mastering qi, and in the end, none of them ended well, including the Privy Council Feather Cloak. Don't you think it's ridiculous, you don't care when you're alive, and you can't regret it when you're dead, even if you don't hesitate to violate the way of heaven. I just don't want to see you look ridiculous!"

She's ...... Worried about yourself?

"Okay, okay, I know wrong. Xia Fan retreated in line with the principle of correcting mistakes, "Then what to do with this cat—no, this void spirit?"

"It is a projection of qi, and with stronger qi it can break its form and return it to heaven and earth. Li held the cat up in front of him.

"I see. Xia Fan nodded and picked up the wooden sword again.

......

"The matter is settled. Walking out of the house, Xia Fan said to Mrs. Tian, who was looking forward to the door.

"The trail is long...... Are you telling the truth?" said the latter, with a look of surprise on his face.

"Yes, you can stay in peace, I promise the voice will not come back. ”

"That ......" The young woman who had been half-hiding behind the old lady poked her head timidly, "Dao Lord, I want to ask you, is there really a ghost in our family?"

"It's not a ghost, it's a cat. It is probably reluctant to leave the two of them here after death. Xia Fan said the words prepared in advance, "Although it still misses its master, life and death are different, and I have let it go on the road with peace of mind after communicating with it." Rest assured, it should soon re-enter reincarnation. ”

Of course, this is not the case, according to Li, the qi of dead things no longer has consciousness, let alone the emotions of reluctance and nostalgia, but he feels that it is easier for ordinary people to accept it.

In addition, the moment he stabbed the sword into the tanuki cat's body, he deeply felt the difference between the dead and the living, the wooden sword pierced through the void without any resistance, and the latter did not see pain, and still maintained a coquettish appearance, until it turned into a wisp of green smoke and dissipated into nothingness.

"It's Ah Hua!" After listening to Xia Fan's story, Tian's wife immediately covered her mouth, and tears flowed down her eyes. "It's—It's a stray cat that I adopted with my husband, and it was fine, but for some reason it suddenly fell ill and died...... Whining...... Do you say it is reluctant to have its owner...... Turns out it didn't blame me, great......"

As the woman whimpered, her previously pale face faintly regained a hint of ruddyness.

"No wonder the trailmaster asks me about having a cat. Mrs. Tian also put her mind at ease and let out a big sigh, "You are worthy of being a famous teacher and a high apprentice, a small Taoist, you saved the lives of our family!"

As she spoke, she knelt down again, making Xia Fan scramble again.

"Your great kindness, the Tian family will never forget!"

"Thank you, Dao Lord, the concubine owes you a life......"

"You don't have to, it's just a matter of effort. And the money for that dress and window paper—"

"Then how can you make the trail grow, and if it spreads, won't it make the neighbors laugh! If you insist on it, I won't be able to kneel here!"

Faced with such a scene, Xia Fan had no choice but to give up.

He could see that although the Tian family had some words that did not reach their meaning, or pretended to be solemn, their gratitude was from the bottom of their hearts, and there was no hint of falsification.

Even before saying goodbye, the old lady did not forget to forcibly stuff a basket of eggs into his arms and sent them to the door of the inn, without giving him a chance to refuse.

When they were about to separate, Xia Fan asked a question that he had been wondering about for a long time.

"Why don't you go to the Privy Council?"

That's right, although Fenghua County is not a big county, there are still county offices and post stations, and these government agencies can report evil news to the privy council of the big city or state county. In the case of such unconventional anomalies, the local privy council should be responsible for dealing with them.

"The little Taoist said with a smile," the old lady covered her mouth and said, "It is necessary to invite officials to come and ask for money, and if they don't move, it will be dozens of taels of silver, where can we afford it!"

"Dozens of taels?" Xia Fan said in surprise, "No matter how harmful the evil is?"

"That's the reserve price, if it's dangerous, it must be added. The old lady had a rare and strange expression, "If you can't get together the money, then it's going to be troublesome." The government doesn't care what your situation is, just rush into your home and search for it. Gee, what am I talking so much for...... In short, thanks to bodhisattva-hearted people like Daochang Zhao and Daochang, we were able to live in peace. ”