Li Ang had the agitated and furious passengers, who had just awakened from the nightmare of being transformed into donkeys and horses, take Third Lady and several staff members to report the incident to the officials. He himself did not accompany them.

Reporting to the officials was a very troublesome procedure, especially when it involved such sinister magical techniques. Not only did one have to present a Taoist Document to gain trust, but one also had to submit to an inquiry from the local Wudewei. Li Ang had already gleaned over two hundred points of the Power of Faith from the passengers, making a sufficient profit. He didn't have the spare time to go through the entire process. Therefore, he instructed Scholar Zhao to report to the officials using the name of Taoist Xi Menzi.

He, amidst the endless thanks of the travelers, very stylishly waved his sleeves and continued on the road alone. In this world, virtuous individuals were still very keen on the style of "once the deed is done, depart without trace, hiding one's achievements and fame." Taoist Xi Menzi's selfless actions, seeking neither fame nor fortune, perfectly embodied the demeanor of a true master and thus would not arouse suspicion.

The Nightmare Technique...

On a rural path, Li Ang muttered thoughtfully.

According to Third Lady, she had learned this Evil Magic of turning humans into animals from an ancient book. When she was young, she passed by a bookstall in Dongshan Prefecture. At the stall owner's enthusiastic invitation, she bought a few leisure books. Within the pages of one of these books, she found a piece of paper made from an unidentifiable material, similar to dried skin. On this paper, the Nightmare Technique was written in tiny script.

"Do you remember the previous interrogation of Wu Hu?" Li Ang spoke softly. "Wu Hu said that his bewitching spell, which confused the mind and made victims submit to being disemboweled without a struggle, was also learned from an old book."

Miss Chai nodded. "According to his description, that book was bought from a bookstall in Dexi County, right? The stall owner was described as an old man with white hair, short in stature, and clad in tattered clothes. His face was full of wrinkles, a white beard hung to his chest, and he was very enthusiastic—exactly as Third Lady had depicted him. After that, neither of them saw the white-haired old man again. Does that mean someone is deliberately spreading Evil Magic in the martial world? But for what purpose? It couldn't possibly be talent scouts from the White Lotus Cult searching for talent among the common people, could it?"

"Who knows," Li Ang shook his head. "The White Lotus Cult has many branches, complex and varied, filled with strange people holding different beliefs. It's difficult to determine whether the white-haired old man Wu Hu and Third Lady encountered was a member of the White Lotus Cult, or which branch he belonged to."

Miss Chai pondered, Hmm... Anyhow, there's definitely something wrong with that old man. Dongshan Prefecture and Dexi County are more than two thousand miles apart. Moreover, there's a gap of at least a decade between when Third Lady and Wu Hu obtained their respective books, yet the old man's appearance didn't seem to have changed much. Either he has a team behind him, with everyone disguised as old book vendors, spreading books of Evil Magic, or he possesses Mana and is able to maintain his youthful appearance.

"It's also possible that Wu Hu and Third Lady were both deceived by an Illusion Technique at the time," Li Ang added nonchalantly. "Forget it, let's leave such matters for the Wudewei to consider. If the Wudewei weren't so inefficient, they should soon realize that the Taoist Xi Menzi who resolved the incident at the Porridge and Rice Inn is the same Taoist Xi Menzi who repelled the White Lotus Cult followers in Goose City."

"Then the Wudewei will send people to find you, right?" Miss Chai tilted her head. "That doesn't sound like you. You used to conceal your name and lay low whenever possible."

"Let them look," Li Ang said indifferently. "With disguise tools in hand, if they find me, I lose."

Li Ang wasn't concerned. The Porridge and Rice Inn had sold over a thousand such donkeys and horses. If the officials and the Wudewei could properly resolve this incident, they could rescue the humans-turned-animals sold far and wide. Furthermore, if the tale of "Taoist Xi Menzi Cleverly Breaking the Nightmare Technique" spread far and wide, passed on by word of mouth, the people might even build a living shrine to Taoist Xi Menzi, offering him their faith.

Li Ang looked around carefully, making sure the path was deserted. He then pushed off the ground, his figure leaping up to the treetops. He ran across the branches, sprinting forward.

「In Chenzhou City, inside a residence.」

An armor-clad man with a prominent, whiskered jaw paced anxiously in the courtyard, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

"Heavenly Lords in all ten directions, their numbers like grains of sand, transforming and traversing the ten-directional realms, universally aiding and delivering celestial beings and humans..."

The sound of chanted scriptures—intended for aiding wandering spirits and delivering Souls—drifted from the room, accompanied by the piercing cries of an infant.

The armored man and the relatives crowded into the courtyard looked towards the room with anxiety and fear.

After a moment, the sounds gradually subsided. The door opened, and a plainly dressed young man, his face pale with exhaustion, emerged.

The armored man hurried forward. "Monk Zhu, my wife…"

"Your wife is no longer in grave danger, but she still needs several days of rest," Scholar Zhu coughed once, waved his hand dismissively, and said in a low voice, "Qian Hu, you should go in and see her."

The man, full of gratitude, bowed repeatedly before rushing into the house to check on his pale-faced wife.

The relatives in the courtyard came forward to express their thanks. Scholar Zhu responded to each one before taking the offered payment and walking out of the courtyard.

A carriage was already waiting outside. The Coachman was Shi Qi, the Bounty Hunter Li Ang had previously met by the lakeside.

"Is it resolved?" Shi Qi tilted his Bamboo Hat and asked in a low voice.

"It's resolved," Scholar Zhu replied quietly, boarding the carriage.

The Qian Hu's wife, whom he had just treated, had suddenly fallen unconscious that morning. A blood-red line had appeared around her waist. Initially faint, the line had darkened with time, threatening to cleave her in two.

"In her past life, that woman was a stepmother who had deliberately starved her stepson to death by not nursing him," Scholar Zhu explained briefly to Shi Qi from inside the carriage. "Now, the infant's vengeful soul had come to claim her life, aiming to take her upper body. Through my deliverance ritual, the resentment was dispelled, and the soul went to reincarnate." With that, he closed his eyes to rest.

They had previously rescued the wife of Chenzhou's prefectural governor and, posing as foreign Necromancers, had become honored guests at the governor's manor. Scholar Zhu had investigated extensively, solving countless unusual incidents both inside and outside the city, yet he had found no clues regarding the King of Shengnan. Attending banquets hosted by accomplished Cultivators in Chenzhou, engaging in wide-ranging discussions, and debating the Dao had also yielded nothing.

What's going on? This shouldn't be happening. Could it be that the time is not yet ripe? Scholar Zhu frowned, taking a map from his robe.

This map was one he had created using geomancy combined with special tools from the Heterodox Academy. It depicted not only the major mountains, rivers, and prefectures of the Central Plains but also countless red dots that nearly covered its entire surface. Each red dot represented the aura of a demon or other unnatural entity. It was an alarming sight.

Scholar Zhu exhaled a turbid breath. Listening to the bustling sounds of the marketplace on either side through the carriage's rolled-up curtain, a sense of absurdity rose within him. The masses live in ignorance, unaware that the world is like a house on fire, as precarious as a pile of eggs.

Scholar Zhu silently returned the map to his sleeve.

Shi Qi, as if remembering something, turned his head and said, "Oh, right, Luo Siyuan has invited you to another banquet. Are you going?"

"Luo Siyuan?" Scholar Zhu's brow furrowed slightly. This man was a Direct Disciple of Longhu Mountain, and his late master had been a former elder there. In principle, someone like Luo Siyuan should be enjoying the privileges inherited from his position on Longhu Mountain. Why he had been dispatched to Chenzhou City was a mystery. Perhaps it was due to his typically unrestrained, carefree, and dissolute behavior?

"I'm not going to the banquet. It's just a group of people drinking and amusing themselves. It would be better to spend that time slaying a few more demons," Scholar Zhu declined, shaking his head. "Let's go via the west gate. West of Chenzhou City, there's a mountain hiding a Flying Zombie."

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