When Qi Wu first found the old hunter, there were still a few households nearby that seemed normal, but they were actually transformed into ghostly beings.
After the tiger demon was dealt with, the ghostly beings were thrown into chaos. Some suggested going down the mountain, while others wanted to continue hiding. There was no clear decision on what to do.
As they argued, three figures appeared and captured all of them. Meng Jingzhou revealed a bit of pure yang energy, causing the ghostly beings to writhe in pain and cry out on the ground.
"We don't need so many. Two will be enough to impersonate demonic cultivators," Lu Yang said coldly. He felt no sympathy for these ghostly beings who had aided the tiger demon.
If they didn’t agree to the tiger demon's demands, they wouldn’t have become ghostly beings in the first place.
They deserved to die.
Lu Yang tried to collect the ghost servants but couldn’t, so he had to let his own spirit leave his body.
"Man Gu, it's up to you."
Man Gu didn’t say much and left behind two ghostly beings that had transformed from travelers, erasing the rest cleanly and efficiently.
Using ghostly beings from the hunter would be easy for the demonic sect to figure out, suspecting they were killed after the tiger demon was dealt with. Using travelers as ghosts would carry much less risk.
"Collect," Man Gu said, taking in a male and female traveler ghost into his body.
This was also part of the ghost-repelling technique, collecting ghosts into one’s body and summoning them to fight when necessary.
As the three headed to Yanjiang County, they encountered Qi Wu and the others still wandering in the mountains.
It was still raining, and Qi Wu and the others, unfamiliar with the area, couldn’t find their way down.
"Benefactor!" Qi Wu and the others were extremely excited to see Lu Yang and the others, as if they had found a lifeline.
"Benefactor, we will never forget your great kindness!"
"The mountain god has shown mercy!"
"We will remember this life-saving grace forever!"
They all spoke at once, expressing their heartfelt gratitude.
Seeing the rescued people and hearing their sincere thanks, the gloom in Lu Yang's heart gradually faded, and he stopped thinking about the bones in the cave.
"As cultivators, we should follow the right path and need not thank us," Meng Jingzhou said seriously, making his stance clear. Helping others was the right thing to do, not something to be thanked for.
Man Gu observed Meng Jingzhou, feeling proud to have him as a model. He handled things calmly, something he felt he couldn’t do himself.
Lu Yang didn’t need to observe Meng Jingzhou to know that he was just putting on an act; inside, he must be overjoyed.
If you ask why, it’s because Lu Yang also wore a serious expression.
After escorting the merchants to Yanjiang County, the sky was beginning to brighten. The heavy rain that had lasted all night finally stopped, and a faint rainbow hung in the sky.
"By the way, did we forget something?" Meng Jingzhou felt like something was missing.
"I don’t think so," Lu Yang counted the people and confirmed there were three of them, with three brains, so nothing was lost.
"I just feel like we’re missing something. Forget it, I won’t think about it."
In the backyard of an inn in Qinghuai County, a horse was munching on the feed left by Meng Jingzhou.
Why hasn’t that kid from the Meng family come to find me? The feed won’t last long; didn’t he say he would finish the task in five or six days?
The old horse was a special kind of demon beast and couldn’t eat ordinary feed like regular horses. It was eating the high-priced, specially prepared feed filled with spiritual energy that Meng Jingzhou had bought.
The old horse snorted and smacked its lips, feeling bored. It happened to glance over at a small white mare next door.
After the three entered the city, they casually picked a tea house, ordered a pot of tea and some snacks, and began to plan their next steps.
"This Yanjiang County is so big, how are we going to find someone named Qin Yuanhao? Should we ask the local officials for help?" Man Gu frowned.
Yanjiang County wasn’t a major cultivation area and had a smaller population compared to others. On a map, it was hardly noticeable, and some maps didn’t even show it. But still, with a population of two million, finding one person would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Lu Yang waved his hand, "That’s not right. The demonic sect has probably been hiding here for a long time, and the forces involved are very complicated. They might even have the support of the local officials."
Man Gu didn’t understand Lu Yang’s meaning, "Isn’t the demonic sect something everyone wants to eradicate? Why would the officials help them?"
Before Lu Yang could answer, Meng Jingzhou explained, "Exactly because everyone wants to eradicate them, the Great Xia Dynasty has added a new performance metric for local officials: the number of demons eradicated. The more demons they eliminate, especially powerful ones, the better their performance rating."
"Think about it. The demonic sect could easily make an agreement with the county magistrate to regularly provide them with demons, and in return, the magistrate agrees not to disclose their location."
Meng Jingzhou wasn’t just telling a story; this was something he had heard directly from an elder in his family who held a position in the government.
The elder had said that the Emperor of Xia had killed many demons, but some always slipped through the cracks.
Some in the court had suggested removing this performance metric, but the prime minister stopped it. With the metric still in place, most officials would work hard to eliminate the demonic sect, but a few would collude with them. If the metric were removed, who knows how many officials would still bother to find the demonic sect?
Overall, keeping this performance metric was more beneficial than harmful.
Meng Jingzhou’s words gave Man Gu a feeling of having his understanding turned upside down; he had never thought about such things before.
Lu Yang said, "The probability of the county magistrate colluding with the demonic sect is low, but we should prepare for the worst."
"If the county magistrate and the demonic sect really are in cahoots, then if we reveal our intentions, the magistrate, in order not to expose himself, would naturally hand over Qin Yuanhao. But the entire Yanjiang sect would get wind of it and hide, causing us to miss our chance to infiltrate the demonic sect. That would be a huge loss."
"For now, we should keep our identities hidden and look for Qin Yuanhao first. If we can’t find him, we can always seek help from the officials later."
Man Gu nodded, feeling that the two were making sense.
"So how do we draw out Qin Yuanhao?" Man Gu’s mind raced with ideas, but none seemed good; they all had significant flaws.
Posting flyers or making announcements would definitely not work; it would be too conspicuous.
Asking for information in the black market? If Qin Yuanhao found out someone was looking into him, he would hide, and he might even lead the demonic sect to surround them, putting them in a passive position. That wouldn’t work.
Man Gu was curious about what Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had in mind.
Long before they descended the mountain, Lu Yang had already thought of a plan. He grinned and said, "Do you know that unlike our righteous sect, those who roam the world care a lot about their reputation?"
"Especially those in the demonic sect, who regard their reputation as their status. Hitting their face is worse than killing them."
"So we need to spread the word that Qin Yuanhao is a kind person who does good deeds every day. Once this rumor spreads throughout Yanjiang County, everyone in the demonic sect will think Qin Yuanhao is a good person. He will surely feel embarrassed and can’t help but jump out!"
"This will be our opportunity!"
Meng Jingzhou simply summarized, "So we’re just making things up and stirring up trouble."
Coincidentally, this was Meng Jingzhou’s specialty, something he was naturally good at.
Man Gu suddenly realized that this was indeed a good plan; if they couldn’t find Qin Yuanhao, they could force him out.
But what did it mean to say they were different from the righteous sect, and that those who roamed the world cared about their reputation?
(End of Chapter)