The three people were feeling a bit uneasy.
Granny Sha and her companions had long known that Black Mountain Granny intended to kill Chen Shi, so they kept a close watch on the situation. After all, before Chen Yin went to the Underworld, he had entrusted Chen Shi to them, so they naturally had to protect him.
They knew that Chen Shi was definitely not a match for Black Mountain Granny. However, Black Mountain Granny's true form was still at Black Mountain, and the one at Deer Tail Town was a newly created body. She couldn't come in her true form and would only use her spiritual form.
As long as she used her spiritual form, they could influence her.
The bearded man and the green sheep were both evil spirits, and they were even stronger than Black Mountain Granny. By affecting her judgment and making her enter a dream to kill Chen Shi, they could use her to gauge the level of the evil spirit inside Chen Shi.
But after Black Mountain Granny went in, she never came back out.
"Back then, Old Man Chen mentioned that after Little Shi killed someone, the soul of the deceased would disappear, which I found quite strange," Granny Sha said. "The Green Ghost Hand is indeed powerful, but it shouldn't be the one devouring souls. When we fought for Chen Shi's soul, the owner of the Green Ghost Hand did not show the ability to devour souls."
The bearded man and the green sheep both nodded.
If the owner of the Ghost Hand had used such a method back then, their souls would likely have been devoured.
Granny Sha continued, "Since it's not the Green Ghost Hand devouring souls, then someone else must be doing it. This means that inside Chen Shi, apart from the Green Ghost Hand, there's something else hidden."
The bearded man shook his head, "We checked when we saved Chen Shi. There was nothing else hidden in his soul. Where did this soul-devouring evil spirit come from? How did it enter Chen Shi's body? When did it sneak in?"
He was puzzled.
When Chen Shi showed the ability to devour souls, his grandfather Chen Yin was still by his side, so the evil spirit had no chance to approach him.
Even more strangely, it didn't possess him but hid in Chen Shi's mental world, waiting to devour those killed by Chen Shi or those unlucky enough to enter his dreams.
This behavior was odd.
Normally, when an evil spirit possesses someone, it immediately devours or kills the original owner's soul, taking over their body and mimicking their habits and actions.
It might even mimic them so well that even the closest spouse wouldn't notice.
During this time, it would look for opportunities to devour people around it.
But the evil spirit inside Chen Shi didn't do this.
Its behavior seemed more like a parasite, living inside the original owner and letting the owner kill to provide the nourishment it needed.
The green sheep suddenly said, "Black Mountain Granny is too powerful. The best way is for us to go in and take a look ourselves."
The bearded man sneered, "Without knowing its level, do you want us to go in and become its meal?"
Granny Sha said, "We have two options: either force it out of Little Shi's body or kill it in Little Shi's dream. Green Sheep, don't be so impatient. We'll find an opportunity to catch it."
The green sheep sneered, "You two are too cautious. Who knows how long it'll take to catch it?"
It left angrily, "I'll continue being an evil spirit. Call me if you need me."
The bearded man watched it leave and then said, "Granny, is Black Mountain Granny dead?"
Granny Sha tried to summon Black Mountain Granny's soul and found something, shaking her head, "Black Mountain Granny isn't completely dead. She's cunning and left a part of herself in the Black Mountain Granny Temple. What entered Little Shi's body was her spiritual form, but there's still some powerful force left in the temple, so she won't die just yet."
The bearded man said, "What about Little Shi's safety?"
Granny Sha smiled, "She suffered such a big loss. Would she dare come after Little Shi again? If I were her, I'd stay far away from Little Shi and not show my face."
The bearded man thought about it and laughed, "She was just a local spirit, yet she dared to provoke Little Shi. She really had some nerve!"
Granny Sha also laughed, "She dared to enter dreams and torment Little Shi. Even I wouldn't dare to do such a thing."
Chen Shi woke up in the morning and went out to see his godmother in the village. He saw that the girl had grown two tree branch-like arms.
The sacred tree in Yellow Slope Village had become bare, with not a single branch left, and only a few leaves remaining.
However, he noticed that many new buds were sprouting on the ancient tree, and it seemed that it would soon grow new branches and leaves, preventing it from dying.
The villagers were anxious, offering incense and tributes to the ancient tree, fearing that it might die and leave them unprotected.
Chen Shi waited in the village for a while, surprised that Black Mountain Granny hadn't come to seek revenge.
By the afternoon, Black Mountain Granny still hadn't shown up, and he hadn't even seen a single rat.
"Black Mountain Granny probably forgot about this, or maybe she thinks it's not worth it to kill me over this and just sent some rats to scare me," Chen Shi thought.
He felt relieved, thinking that he had only helped other villages drive away evil and killed a man-eating rat, which had offended the granny. It was an unexpected disaster.
But rats reproduce quickly, and Black Mountain Granny probably didn't care about losing one obedient grandson.
He waited for two more days, and Black Mountain Granny still hadn't come for revenge. Even the gray-clad rats were nowhere to be seen in the nearby villages, leaving Chen Shi puzzled.
However, he soon stopped paying attention to this matter because the spring exams were approaching, and he needed to focus on reviewing classics like The Analects, The Book of Poetry, and The Book of Documents to prepare for the literary exam.
He was confident about the martial exam.
But for the literary exam, he wasn't so sure.
Although he had studied hard with Scholar Zhu, he had only been learning for two years, while others had spent five or six years in private schools.
They had much more study time than he did, and more importantly, he had taken the scholar exam ten years ago. He wasn't sure if there would be any issues this time.
Passing the scholar exam and becoming a provincial scholar was a deep-seated goal for Chen Shi.
Living in the countryside, he felt that apart from becoming a talisman master, passing the scholar exam was the only way to make a living.
Being a scholar wasn't very useful, but becoming a provincial scholar would allow him to be called "sir."
Once he became "sir," he could wield authority over the villagers and live a life of power.
Even if he couldn't become an official, he could join Jin Hongying and enter the Divine Mechanism Battalion.
This was the future he could imagine.
For an eleven-year-old child to plan for the future was already quite remarkable.
However, Mr. Ye from Bridge Bay Town had been killed by the Zhao family, and the private school had fallen apart. The promise to secure a spot for the county exam for Chen Shi was no longer possible.
Chen Shi thought hard, realizing he didn't know many people, but Shao Jing from the Immortal Gathering Tower in the county town was someone he could consider.
"Why not go to the county town and ask Shao Jing if he can get me a spot for the county exam!"
Once he had the idea, Chen Shi immediately prepared a wooden cart and called Heiguo to head to the county town.
Before reaching the county town, he saw people lined up for execution from a distance.
Many people were watching from afar, and a platform had been set up for the execution, with a True God invited to oversee it.
Above the platform hung a Ten-Thousand Souls Banner, likely a treasure of the county office, used to collect the souls of those executed and refine them into the banner to increase its power.
Chen Shi also saw people cultivating Bloodthirst Beads, raising them to collect blood for refining treasures.
Some cultivators were refining treasure gourds, though their purpose was unclear.
His grandfather had told him that those who raised such treasures at execution grounds often had connections with officials, as others couldn't get such opportunities.
He stood on the cart, trying to see over the crowd.
But there were too many people, blocking his view.
"What's going on? Why are they executing so many people?" he asked someone nearby.
"You don't know? Must be from the countryside," the person glanced at him but kindly explained, "It's an execution! The county lord's family is executing people. The new county lord is overseeing it. The former county magistrate was Zhao Ji, from the Zhao family in the provincial capital."
Someone nearby excitedly added, "Recently, the Zhao family's patriarch died. He was a provincial governor in New Township Province but did something wrong. The Western Capital was furious and ordered the entire family to be executed, leaving no one alive. The new county lord is overseeing the execution. Wow... that's a fast blade."
With a shout of praise, the crowd also cheered, praising the executioner's skill.
Chen Shi looked at the platform, where someone stood firmly, using the Divine Altar to gather energy into a blade. The blade's light was dazzling, not the invisible sword energy but visible to the naked eye.
"It seems slower than my sword energy!" Chen Shi was surprised. "Why do they say this person's blade is fast?"
Recently, he had practiced the Midnight Demon-Slaying Sword to deal with Black Mountain Granny, and his invisible sword energy was much faster than this executioner's, leaving him puzzled.
After the executioner beheaded someone, the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner shook, collecting the souls and refining them.
Some people raised treasure gourds to collect the spilled blood, while others raised Bloodthirst Beads to roll over the corpses and collect the blood.
Chen Shi also saw some officials dragging the dried corpses away to burn them in a bonfire.
They burned them to prevent the corpses from being exposed to moonlight and turning into corpse spirits.
"Hey, young man, do you have tuberculosis? I have some buns here!" someone next to him whispered.
Chen Shi shook his head and didn't continue watching, driving into the county town.
The Zhao family had completely fallen!
Many of their businesses in the county town had changed hands, becoming shops owned by others.
Even the casinos and brothels had new owners.
Chen Shi worried whether Shao Jing was still at the Immortal Gathering Tower, feeling anxious. When he arrived at the tower, he parked and inquired. The shop assistant smiled, "Manager Shao is still here. Please wait a moment, and I'll inform him."
Chen Shi was surprised, thinking, "Shao Jing is the manager of the Immortal Gathering Tower. He's so young and already has a significant business."
The Immortal Gathering Tower wasn't a restaurant but a place selling various cultivation materials, including rare herbs, spirit-infused meat, treasure refining materials, and precious gems and jade. It was a dazzling array of items.
Soon, Shao Jing hurried over, smiling, "So it's Brother Chen Shi! It's been a while. Your tortoise shell made me quite a bit of money. It was sold to a merchant from the south just a few days after arriving at my shop."
Merchants from the south traveled far and wide, were knowledgeable, and spoke with a slightly awkward southern accent, showing great business acumen.
Chen Shi smiled, "Congratulations, Brother Shao. To be honest, I came to town this time to ask for a favor."
He hesitated for a moment before explaining his purpose.
Shao Jing, upon hearing he wanted to take the county exam, laughed, "That's a small matter. I'll have someone enroll you in a private school. Come back tomorrow, and I'll introduce you to a teacher."
Chen Shi was immensely grateful, quickly expressing his thanks.
Shao Jing laughed, "If you have any more treasures, just bring them to my Immortal Gathering Tower as thanks!"
Chen Shi bid farewell and left the tower, suddenly remembering a small stone in his book collection, unsure of its nature.
He thought, "Well, I'll show it to him tomorrow."
...
"Benefactor, benefactor, is it really you!"
While strolling down the street, Chen Shi was suddenly stopped by someone. Looking closely, it was the husband of the pregnant woman Cui'e, whom he had saved in Deer Tail Town.
Seeing him, Cui'e's husband was both surprised and delighted, wanting to treat him to a meal. Chen Shi shook his head, "I saved your wife, but I was paid for it. No need to treat me. Why are you in town?"
"We fled here. Our town's godmother was killed by Black Mountain Granny, who took over the place. She promised to protect us if we built her a palace. But a few days ago, the rat people carried her away. Without the godmother's protection, evil spirits would come to eat us at night, so everyone in our town moved away."
Chen Shi was stunned, "The little Daoist is dead?"
A wave of guilt washed over him.
He had seen the gray-clad rat eating people and told the little Daoist, "Black Mountain Granny is taking your land and letting the rats eat your people."
The little Daoist went to confront Black Mountain Granny the next day and was killed by her.
This led to the collapse of Deer Tail Town.
"If I hadn't urged him to confront Black Mountain Granny, maybe he wouldn't have died, and Deer Tail Town wouldn't have fallen apart."
He felt a heavy burden in his heart. The people of Deer Tail Town might seek refuge in other villages or find a new godmother.
Heavenly Yang Mountain had many similar ancient trees, relics, and statues where they could find a new home.
But they might also die at the hands of evil spirits.
"I heard Black Mountain Granny didn't take over our town because she was seriously injured and had to return to the temple to heal," Cui'e's husband said.
"Black Mountain Granny's evil deeds can't go unpunished. As Master Confucius said, 'If one learns the Way in the morning, one can die in the evening!'"
Anger surged in Chen Shi's heart, "I need to find out how to get to Black Mountain Granny's temple and go there to kill her. This grudge can't wait overnight. It would be unfair to the little Daoist!"
End of Chapter.