[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heavenly-official-bestows-evil":3,"chapter-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-34":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heavenly Official Bestows Evil",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2316653,4530,"Chapter 34: The Concealment Art","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-34",34,"\u003Cp>Before dawn, the city was utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire city seemed still asleep, its air thick with damp gray mist, cold breath seeping through the windows into the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The alarm clock set in advance rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian opened his eyes, his gaze heavy with exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last night they had played several rounds of clapping games, their spirits taut the entire night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first round, six people clapped; by the second round, only four remained, leaving Shi Ji and Wu Xian anxious all night, fearing someone in their own room would die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Wu Xian had become the group’s de facto leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the Cloud Riding Art—if he obtained this technique, he could ride five-colored clouds and fly with his physical body, a dream many spent their entire lives chasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the rest of his life, Wu Xian wanted to live with refinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several days ago, Wu Xian had deduced from clues that Wang Zhiwu and others were a criminal gang, but he couldn’t understand how this gang had become entangled with malevolent spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did Yue Mei die? This method was provided by Yue Mei herself—she wouldn’t have broken the rules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Wu Xian had a flash of insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lover killed her. Yue Mei had a special connection with the Ghost Mother—she wanted to force me to open my eyes during the clapping game. My lover killed this girl to protect me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Chao hesitated, then chose to speak the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian’s pupils dilated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a thin, elderly woman, her eyes lifeless, face ashen, nails black and unnaturally long, lips slightly protruding, barely covering the sharp fangs inside her mouth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a zombie!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three talismans of this chapter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After opening his eyes, Wu Xian immediately scanned the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had struck down the killer back then, he too would have been among those who died last night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Shi Ji’s astonishment, Wu Xian lifted from the box the statue of the Heavenly Official—Master of Joyful Marriage—that he had discovered yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Qi Zhiyong died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Were those white-skinned little spirits? Did Su Huilan kill them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did she break the rules?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Ji was startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking slowly ahead while the pursuer behind, even gasping for breath, couldn’t catch up—this scene was pure elegance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold sweat broke out on Wu Xian’s back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xu Xingzhi Pursuit Art was also quite good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly found the spot where the male corpse spirit had died last night; the ground still bore traces of filth, and a fleshy-colored spirit incense lay upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to these two talismans, the Concealment Art seemed ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The darkness before dawn passed quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after much deliberation and inner turmoil, Wu Xian ultimately chose the Concealment Art!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Chao looked like an old ragpicker, Shi Ji was caked in bloodstains, and Su Huijin, grieving her sister’s death, had no heart for careful grooming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian inserted the spirit incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Concealment Art is my original creation—though perhaps it exists elsewhere too, since the name is so common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Zhiwu and others stayed at the inn, they abducted the Ghost Mother’s child while she was still human, driving her mad as she endlessly searched for her child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, Wang Zhiwu and his group took over Ping’an Inn. Lu Yao lost her home, and her ultimate hatred and madness gave birth to the world’s first malevolent spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He too had been harassed by those little spirits and once considered killing them with a copper coin sword, but then decided to observe them further, so he let them go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke first: “Tell me—how did the two of them die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That night, I might have been a bit dirty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Child-Seeking Ghost Mother was once the mistress of Ping’an Inn; her name was Lu Yao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Huijin nodded, eyes Weiqu : “My sister acted to protect me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three talismans made Wu Xian’s eyes burn with desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the little spirits first appeared, Shi Ji was wary of the “Heavenly Official Bestowing Evil,” so he used filthy methods to prepare the room—filth that repelled malevolent spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escaping was good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, among the survivors outside the blessed land, only these four remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what if there was a way—not just to keep fleeing in disgrace, but to strike back at the spirits hunting them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Concealment Art, it might be possible!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your lover?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian took a deep breath, then asked Wen Chao after a pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Wu Xian and the other two froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Chao smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It merely concealed one’s aura—but in this blessed land, living humans are usually detected by sight or sound; Wu Xian has yet to encounter a spirit advanced enough to track by aura alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Ji lowered his head, embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes… my lover, Lao Fu—come out and meet the children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The simplest way to learn the cause of death was to ask those who shared the room with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pink mist swirled around the statue, coalescing into the shadows of three talismans:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Concealment Art: Conceal aura, mask breath. Though visible and audible, one becomes invisible to spiritual perception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian and Shi Ji stepped out of the room; Su Huijin and Wen Chao also emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the later stages of the clapping game proceeded smoothly, with no further mishaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the clapping sequence, Wu Xian already knew the dead last night were Su Huilan and Yue Mei, but they needed to confirm the cause of their deaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Huijin rubbed her red-rimmed eyes: “My sister was killed by the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Child??”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to Shi Ji and Wen Chao: “You didn’t attack the little spirits—why aren’t you scratched?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I miss this chance, will I ever get a better experience than Cloud Riding? Even wingsuit flying is pathetic compared to this art!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this spirit incense, he could worship again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe this old man just doesn’t appeal to children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cloud Riding Art: Ride cloud qi, mount five-colored light, ascend dozens of zhang above ground—this technique enables flight for one minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder at the start of the blessed land, Fang Zhi had wanted to ask Wen Chao something, but Wen Chao had silenced him with a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had found the connection!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wu Xian did not press further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an evasion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Huijin shook her head: “No—the Ghost Mother said my sister killed her child, so she broke the rules and killed her directly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the four of them now, only Wu Xian still looked relatively clean; the other three were all disheveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, these two talismans could both be used for survival—if faced with a spirit too powerful to defeat, having these two would at least let them escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was Wen Chao the one who came to the blessed land with his wife?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then why had she never appeared?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xingzhi Pursuit Art: The one walks slowly; the pursuer gallops on horseback, yet cannot catch up—duration two minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud! Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A figure leapt from room 401 of Wen Chao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they couldn’t determine the cause of death, the plan to use the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother to intimidate the Door-Breaking Evil could no longer proceed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian now confirmed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the little spirits appeared the second time, he was with Wu Xian, and they were attacked by the Five Filth Gods—after that, the little spirits dared not approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cloud Riding Art comes from the “Records of Strange Events” by Master Pupu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, a traveler on the outskirts of Yiyang, unable to reach the village before dusk, saw a grass-thatched hut by the road and went to seek shelter. Inside was only an old man, who asked the guest his purpose. The guest replied: “The sky is overcast, the day short—I’ve arrived in darkness and seek a night’s rest.” The old man said: “Rest is fine, but I have no food.” After a while, the guest grew extremely hungry, and the old man gave him several pills. After eating them, he was full. At dawn, he took leave. When returning, he suddenly saw the old man riding on five-colored clouds, soaring dozens of zhang above the ground—he immediately bowed in reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xingzhi Pursuit Art comes from “Biographies of Immortal Encounters”: Years later, the imperial envoy Fu Xianyu, dispatched to Sichuan, encountered Gong Yuan on a black water road, clad in a cloud-and-rain cloak, leaning on a staff, walking slowly. Fu Xianyu spurred his horse to chase him, always falling ten paces behind, unable to catch him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1431,"2026-06-20T14:31:06.102Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8fa2b4a717f20b24ba2fbfb793190c02020e9ce52caa2368872ffa868a29b2a9","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-35","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-33",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheavenly-official-bestows-evil-cover.jpg"]