Chapter 186: Reversal of Life and Death

In fact, there is no need to choose.

These two figures moved quickly and then slowly; by the time Li Heng finished speaking, they had already approached them, finally stopping together in front of the two.

"Young master, would you like a candied hawthorn?"

"Young lady, are you not going back to sleep in the middle of the night?"

The two figures asked in unison.

These two figures were truly just figures, lacking facial features, as if composed of a mass of shadows; each shook the target and gong in their hands.

"Then, is your candied hawthorn guaranteed to be sweet?"

Li Heng smiled slightly.

The candied hawthorn seller was slightly stunned, fell into a brief silence, and then spoke, "Would I, a seller of candied hawthorns, sell you fake hawthorns?"

"Is this candied hawthorn guaranteed to be sweet?" Li Heng continued to emphasize.

"Never mind whether this candied hawthorn is sweet or not, you two hurry back to sleep and don't stay on the street."

Realizing they were being ignored, this watchman figure roared.

Upon hearing this, Li Heng sighed and flicked his finger.

With a *boom*, the watchman figure was blown apart by his flick.

"Alright, I'll ask you one more time, is this candied hawthorn guaranteed to be sweet?"

Seeing the watchman figure blown apart, the candied hawthorn seller became anxious instantly. "You are looking for trouble on purpose, aren't you!" He waved the target in his hand directly, aiming it at Li Heng.

"Do you want it or not!"

"If your candied hawthorn is guaranteed to be sweet, then I certainly want it."

Li Heng smiled again and reached out to pluck a string of candied hawthorns from the target. "What should be done if this candied hawthorn is not sweet?"

Seeing that Li Heng seemed to have the intention to buy the candied hawthorn, the candied hawthorn seller calmed down and continued to speak. "Hey, if it's not sweet, I'll eat it myself, are you satisfied now?"

"Buy it quickly, buy it quickly, don't waste time."

He urged Li Heng hurriedly.

Li Heng still smiled lightly and threw the string of candied hawthorns onto the ground. After touching the ground, the size of the candied hawthorns instantly exploded, actually turning into individual heads, each with eyes open, strung together by a stick.

"Look, human heads."

He pointed at the "candied hawthorns" on the ground and said indifferently.

"You're smashing my candied hawthorns, aren't you!"

He was furious and raised the target to smash at Li Heng, then spontaneously ignited without fire, and his figure, along with the strings of human heads on the target, were burned to ashes.

"Kong Que, let's continue walking around."

Li Heng's expression remained calm, and he beckoned for Kong Que to continue walking.

This street was straight and seemed to have no end.

After walking for a while, they encountered many more figures: some selling wontons, some carrying lanterns, and others walking silently on the street, brushing past them without paying them any mind at all.

"Kong Que, what have you noticed?"

Li Heng looked at Kong Que beside him and asked.

Upon hearing this, Kong Que answered quickly.

"This place, or these figures, seem to have to follow some rules. Just now, that candied hawthorn seller needed us to buy candied hawthorns, the wonton seller needed us to buy wontons, and the one carrying a lantern needed us to take the lantern; their attitudes were all incredibly urgent."

"These figures must all have ulterior motives!"

"It feels like... looking for a scapegoat..."

Kong Que pondered for a long while before stating her guess.

Li Heng nodded slightly; it seemed this Little Peacock was quite smart, not a mere vase, and possessed considerable insight—she was worth cultivating.

"You are right; they are indeed looking for scapegoats."

He possessed the Heavenly Eye and had already discerned some of the essence of this place.

For instance, these figures were actually people from the Present World who had become lost here, had already died, and only had their souls remaining.

Those with intelligence who could speak to them had actually already turned into Weird. Conversely, those who walked silently on the street and brushed past them had not yet become Weird.

It was just very strange.

Blasting these phantom figures apart yielded no Source Power.

"Master, can they really be resurrected if they find a scapegoat?"

Kong Que said, somewhat confused.

"Possibly, and also possibly not," Li Heng answered indifferently.

From his Heavenly Eye, he could see more shifts in the Heaven and Earth Principles.

Just like when that candied hawthorn seller wanted to sell him the candied hawthorns, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Principles began to change rapidly, especially the rules of Life and Death, which underwent a mysterious transformation.

He had a faint feeling.

If he had truly bought that string of candied hawthorns, his own vitality would have been injected into that figure, allowing it to be resurrected. Meanwhile, he would have accepted the death Qi of that figure, becoming a new figure himself.

It was equivalent to buying that string of candied hawthorns with his life.

This place is truly interesting; reversing Life and Death?

"Let's go, let's head back."

Li Heng spoke indifferently and threw a punch, creating a passage back to the Present World, and the two stepped into it.

The White Wind whistled, causing the surrounding trees to rustle.

The two returned to the streets of the Present World.

"Let's go, return to that inn and ask that County Magistrate Hong."

He could roughly guess the essence of that street, or rather, this White Wind; it was likely some kind of Strange. Combined with the fact that this county was named Baifeng County, the answer was already obvious.

Perhaps this county is sealing this White Wind Strange.

Now this Strange has broken the seal and emerged.

Soon, the two returned to the inn.

Bang! He kicked open the inn door that had closed again.

The people in the inn were given a huge fright by this commotion and hurriedly looked toward the entrance, immediately stunned. It was actually that man and woman; how could this be? With the White Wind howling like this, how could they have returned?

By all Reason, they should have gone missing a long time ago!

Hong Zhong had been drinking and eating, and just as he picked up a peanut, he was startled by this commotion. He looked up at the entrance, his expression immediately stiffened, and his chopsticks clattered to the floor.

Li Heng walked quickly to Hong Zhong's side.

"Let's talk, County Magistrate Hong. What is going on with this White Wind?"

Hong Zhong's expression immediately turned solemn.

"As expected of a Demon Exorcist from the Demon Suppression Division, to be able to persist in the White Wind for so long, this official is impressed. It seems the Demon Exorcist is already clear on some matters regarding the White Wind?"

"Since that is the case, this official will naturally tell you everything I know."

Although he was secretly shocked that Li Heng could still return, he had been an official for many years and his ability to maintain his composure was extraordinary; even when suddenly encountering shocking events, he could adjust very quickly.

Following Hong Zhong's explanation, Li Heng nodded.

It turned out that in its early years, Baifeng County was not called Baifeng County, but White Stone County, named after the White Stone Mountain beside the county town. But suddenly one night, a White Wind began to blow from White Stone Mountain, and everyone caught in the White Wind at night would go missing, causing panic among the people.

Later, the imperial court sent people to investigate, causing a great commotion on White Stone Mountain that collapsed half the peak, renamed White Stone County to Baifeng County, and caused the White Wind to disappear for several decades, resolving the matter.

But now, some unknown change has occurred.

The White Wind is blowing again.

"The White Wind has suddenly started blowing again?"

"County Magistrate Hong, why do you think this is?"

Li Heng smiled slightly.

Hong Zhong was slightly stunned, then immediately replied, "This official does not know."

"Then let me ask you again, is this a natural Disaster or a man-made one?"

"This... this official also does not know."

"Does the Demon Exorcist have any profound insights?" He looked at Li Heng.

"Then you, as a County Magistrate, really don't know anything at all. Why not give me your Official Seal, and I will tell you myself."

Li Heng smiled slightly.

Hong Zhong was stunned upon hearing this, his heart shaken, but he quickly suppressed the shock in his heart, his expression softening slightly as he spoke with a smile. "The Demon Exorcist is joking. The laws of Great Li state that the Official Seal is a vital instrument that must not be moved lightly; moving it brings Disaster, and it cannot be lent out without authorization."

"It seems you do know that the Official Seal is a vital instrument."

Li Heng said quietly.

"Then you should know that this vital instrument can be used to mobilize Luck and Official Luck to investigate the entire county, right? So how could you not know the reason why the White Wind is blowing?" He looked at Hong Zhong mockingly.

Hong Zhong's heart stiffened, and he cursed inwardly.

What is going on? Is the intelligence incorrect?

How would an ordinary Demon Exorcist without any other position know that the Official Seal has this function? Isn't that kept secret?

"The Demon Exorcist is unaware." Hong Zhong said with a bitter smile.

"The White Wind is quite strange; as soon as it blows, it blocks the perception of the Official Seal, making it impossible to investigate. And if the White Wind is not blowing, everything is normal, and the Official Seal cannot investigate either."

He chose to continue telling lies with his eyes open.

"That's a coincidence, I can make it so the White Wind cannot block the Official Seal's perception; you just need to hand it to me."

Li Heng smiled faintly. Who is he trying to fool?

Back then, Ren Hai used the Official Seal to investigate even the White Strange Mist. How could this White Wind, which is not even as good as the White Strange Mist, block the Official Seal's perception? Combined with this County Magistrate's strange attitude and the strict inspections by those Guards before they entered the city.

There is definitely something fishy about this County Magistrate!

The White Wind is blowing; is the strict inspection by the Guards useful?

This looks more like guarding against people.

"No, no."

"The Official Seal is a vital instrument. Although you are a Demon Exorcist, you cannot move it lightly unless you have an order from the County Government Demon Suppression Division."

Hong Zhong shook his head; handing over the Official Seal was impossible.

In any case, he was certain that Li Heng was not from the County Government Demon Suppression Division, but merely a county-level Demon Exorcist who had no authority to make him produce the Official Seal.

"Then is this Token enough?"

Li Heng took the Token given by Ma Suxuan from his bosom and waved it in front of Hong Zhong. It flashed with golden light, leaving him dumbfounded.

Hong Zhong was shocked in his heart. What is going on?

A Token of the Second Division Chief of the County Government Demon Suppression Division? Why was this not in the intelligence? Is this kid on such good terms with that Second Division Chief? No wonder, no wonder...

No wonder Lord Jin ordered them to intercept this kid...

"Why do you have this Token?"

Hong Zhong said with a solemn expression.

"This is indeed a Token from the Prefecture, but as you said before, you are not from the County Government Demon Suppression Division, so why do you have this Token? Could it be..."

He looked at Li Heng with suspicious eyes.

"What, you don't believe me?" Li Heng raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that I don't believe you, but this official needs time to confirm. How about this, after the White Wind stops blowing tomorrow, I will send out a message to confirm with the Prefecture, how does that sound?"

"In the meantime, the Demon Exorcist can stroll around the county town."

Hong Zhong made up his mind to stall for time and, incidentally, continue to report this matter so they could send people over.

Li Heng's expression was calm as he swung his large hand down, slap!

A palm strike landed on Hong Zhong's face, sending him flying.

"I've given you face, haven't I?"