Chapter 108: Wuqing County In Peril!
At noon.
Bajia Village.
Lin Shou Zhuo stepped over the wet, soft pine needle ground, the air carrying the fishy smell of rotten fallen leaves mixed with damp, cold mud.
He looked at the snake path in front of him, which was nearly as wide as two men embracing, and couldn’t help shivering.
That Snake Demon that retreated the night before last was actually this massive?
If they had truly fought, it would absolutely have been more ill fortune than good.
Fortunately, Old Chen had a slick tongue, subduing the enemy without fighting, thus averting a fatal danger.
Nearby Lin Shou Zhuo, there were figures glancing around like wolves with grim demeanor, hands on swords or holding bows, all at least at Second-rate Realm.
These people were the elites secretly raised by Zhao Guangxi, handling matters beyond the water station’s authority that couldn’t see the light of day.
One petite figure, with a graceful waist like a willow, flickered in and out of sight on the bare tree tops.
Zhou Qing saw that massive snake path and similarly had a solemn expression, his face tense.
An Evil Spirit comparable to First-rate Realm had not appeared near Wuqing County for over ten years.
The last time was over ten years ago, during a thunderstorm that washed away an ancient tomb on West Mountain, releasing a tomb-guarding toad demon that rampaged through the Capital City, claiming countless lives—even First-rate experts who could Slay Five Thieves perished in its belly.
In the end, an Immortal sent a dream, awakening Hai Chuan Wu Sheng, who had been in seclusion for years as the founder of Great Accomplishment Fist, to turn the tide and slay it, averting a disaster.
And now, was the disaster about to repeat?
At first, when Lin Shou Zhuo reported a Great Demon emerging near Bajia Village on the water delivery route, Zhou Qing had been somewhat dismissive.
After all, Lin Shou Zhuo had broken through to First-rate Realm too recently, lacking foundation, and might have misidentified the Demons.
But Landlord Zhao was quite cautious, mobilizing troops, not only having him help but also inviting the temple keeper from Lingguan Temple, just in case.
Now it seemed fortunate that Landlord Zhao had foresight.
Soon, Zhou Qing spotted the abrupt end of the snake path ahead of the others.
After a fruitless search, Zhou Qing looked toward an old man in the crowd, carried in a small bamboo sedan.
This man wore a crimson-purple Eight Trigrams Daoist robe, had a ruddy complexion, and held in his arms a gold ingot with ends raised high and the middle perfectly concave.
Identical to the gold ingot held by the God of Wealth in temple statues.
Zhou Qing said, “Yuan Miao Zhu, please make your move and see the demon’s final whereabouts.”
The bamboo sedan set down.
With others’ support, Yuan Miao Zhu slowly stood up.
“You must use it sparingly; there’s not much incense ash left inside this treasure ingot of mine.”
Yuan Miao Zhu was the temple keeper of Lingguan Temple, invited here by Zhou Qing this time.
Yuan Miao Zhu reached into the gold ingot, grabbed a handful of incense, silently recited a few incantations, and scattered it into the air.
The incense ash floated weightlessly, entering the clear breeze, swirling back and forth, then seemingly discovering something, flying straight toward a small river bend at the bottom of the mountain stream.
Seeing this, Zhou Qing’s face lit with joy as he hurriedly followed.
Moments later.
Zhou Qing, Lin Shou Zhuo, and several Martial Artists skilled in water skill found that patch of melted flesh mud on the riverbed, starkly out of place with the surrounding mud and sand.
The incense, undispersed in water, now quietly floated above the flesh mud, confirming its identity.
That Snake Demon with strength comparable to a First-rate expert was dead.
Moreover, there were no traces of combat around, the riverbed mud and sand clear as ever, and no extra clues on the approach path.
Proving that this Snake Demon had been slain by something underwater.
For some reason, everyone shivered together.
Splash…
The group swam swiftly to shore without hesitation.
Zhou Qing circulated his Internal Energy, steaming his clothes dry.
His face grave, he grabbed a handful of riverbed grit, carefully feeling its coarse texture, and said with a dry mouth,
“A Form-Scattering Demon… Was it some Martial Artist with excellent water skill who went underwater to combat it?”
At these words, forget the others—even Zhou Qing himself found it absurd.
The river’s depths were a forbidden zone of death even for a Martial Dao Grandmaster.
Once in the water, one’s strength was reduced by three or four tenths.
Facing a great demon water monster, it would absolutely be more ill fortune than good.
Who could slay a Great Demon cleanly, leaving almost no combat traces or exposed Strength aura?
Moreover, a Form-Scattering Demon’s strength and methods far exceeded a Form-Gathering Demon of the same realm.
Lin Shou Zhuo took a deep breath, instinctively reaching for the pipe at his waist, only to realize he had traveled light today without it.
His hand trembled faintly.
That massive snake that had brought huge crisis and pressure to Lin Shou Zhuo, Chen Shun’an, and the others had died silently here?
Zhou Qing, Lin Shou Zhuo, and the others all looked toward Yuan Miao Zhu.
Yuan Miao Zhu sighed and said,
“It’s agreed: afterward, the incense money for the God of Wealth must be ample, the incense ash must fill this gold ingot, the furnace, bottle, and three items, and full hall of blended incense cannot be lacking… These aren’t for Yuan, but tribute to the God of Wealth himself.”
Burning incense to honor gods, the full set of tools like incense burner, incense box, incense chopsticks is called furnace, bottle, and three items; blended incense is a compound made from precious spices like agarwood, sandalwood, borneol, musk, etc.
Only some major Daoist temples have the capital to follow such procedures for sacrificing and worshiping gods.
So Yuan Miao Zhu was undoubtedly asking a lion’s share; this process would cost at least one hundred taels of silver.
Zhou Qing, Lin Shou Zhuo, and the others gladly agreed.
No haggling.
Nor was it appropriate to haggle.
Anyway, it wasn’t their money; they could expense it to Landlord Zhao.
“All things have spirit, containing qi; I respectfully summon the Six Jia Valor Emissaries to pursue swiftly and reveal true form!”
Yuan Miao Zhu scattered a few more handfuls of incense ash, stepping the gang and pinching spells, muttering nonstop, like a shaman jumping god.
The crowd couldn’t help slowing their breathing, faces showing awe, fearing to offend the ghosts and gods in the darkness.
But only Yuan Miao Zhu knew his jumping and chanting were all for show.
The truly effective part was only the incense ash in the gold ingot.
Its effect was simple: tracking and controlling birds and beasts as eyes and ears.
After the incense ash entered the water, it seemed to search for something, but no results came for a long time.
“Hm? Strange, why are there no Precious Fish or strange turtles near the water area?”
Yuan Miao Zhu exclaimed in surprise.
Puzzled, he could only direct his intent, sending the incense ash toward farther waters.
After a dozen breaths, a huge-headed flounder fish, estimated at five or six jin, topped with a clump of incense ash, responded to the summons and slowly surfaced.
The flounder fish looked blankly at the crowd on shore, then fearfully stayed in the shallows.
Yuan Miao Zhu signaled the crowd to retreat, stepped forward a few paces, and said warmly,
“Honored Sea Dragon King, dare I ask when that Snake Demon corpse underwater was left? And by whom was it killed?”
“Please tell the truth, and there will surely be heavy reward!”
Hearing this, the flounder fish pondered briefly, then seemed to understand, its eyes—all squeezed on the left side of its head—showing intense fear.
It crashed headfirst into a shore rock, rubbing frantically.
Its head caved in, blood flowing, dislodging the incense ash on top.
Then, the flounder fish, like a bird startled by a bow, sank and fled without a trace.
“This…”
Seeing the flounder fish’s reaction, Yuan Miao Zhu suddenly understood.
Among the world’s Demons, the sense of class hierarchy from order and Bloodline deterrence far exceeded humans’.
Only something non-human Martial Artist could provoke such a reaction in this flounder fish.
It must be a stronger, fiercer demon!
That made it so tight-lipped, not daring to leak any information!
Now, even Yuan Miao Zhu was in a bind, retreating a few steps, eyes flickering, voice trembling as he said,
“Great Demon! A true Great Demon! A water-dwelling monster, ferocious evil god…”
Yuan Miao Zhu looked up at the crowd, voice cracking,
“Wuqing County is in danger!”
