Chapter 51: Dead or Alive, Qi and Yellow

Report him, report him hard!

A person as kind-hearted as himself, just because he is an Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect, is being extorted and blackmailed—is there no justice? Is there no law?

Thirty thousand taels of silver, pfft.

Chen Ci rubbed his chin; if he were to counter-extort, or rather, demand three thousand taels in damages, would that be worth a shot?

But looking at this servant surnamed Liu, and the "Qi Cultivation Scripture" that didn't even have a signature, Chen Ci felt a lump in his throat for no reason.

Better forget it.

That old codger is watertight.

If he were any more ruthless, this young boy would probably go missing upon returning.

But this way, it all makes sense; Qingquan Village should just be a minor matter, at least one that Ge Laodao could handle with 99% certainty given his cultivation. The severity he spoke of at the government office during the day was purely to intimidate everyone.

It is likely that Sanyin Temple is not the only one being squeezed for silver.

Whoa!

If that's the case, I'm afraid it's not a small sum.

Chen Ci expressed that he was feeling envious again.

However, upon further reflection, that old codger secretly coming to Changping County was likely truly wanting to extort him, but after secretly investigating and failing to find any dirt on Sanyin Temple, he resorted to luring him with profit, promising the grand, empty words that "he knows nothing of all miscellaneous matters and can manage them for three years."

To put it bluntly, it means that once the money is paid, Chen Ci doesn't need to go to Qingquan Village, and for anything Chen Ci does within Changping County, as long as it doesn't cause a huge scene, this inspector from Longhu Mountain will pretend not to see it for three years.

He doesn't seem like a good person.

Chen Ci admitted that he was a little tempted; since a high-level expert from Longhu Mountain is taking the lead in slacking off, and as a degenerate Apprentice of the He Mountain Sect with such heavy pressure to provide Essence Refining, it seems justifiable to use some means.

But immediately, he ruthlessly suppressed this thought.

He cannot trust this old codger.

If he really kills someone to practice his arts, nine times out of ten, he will be caught by this Daoist and extorted for another sum.

If Chen Ci endures it, he will likely be eaten for a lifetime.

If Chen Ci does not endure it, he has only one path: to wield his sword, kill, and silence the witness.

That is how it is written in popular storybooks.

After thinking about Ge Laodao's cultivation... well, killing to silence the witness is a bit difficult.

"Your cheap master, how much silver has he collected?"

Chen Ci suddenly asked out of curiosity.

Liu Heming hesitated slightly, but still answered in a low voice: "The master's family... the Liu family gave five thousand taels for grain and fodder, the Huang Family gave ten thousand taels in silver notes, and as for the rest, this little one does not know."

"Hmm, I understand, you may go back."

Chen Ci waved his hand: "Sanyin Temple has shallow financial resources and is truly powerless; I accept Daoist Ge's good intentions. Just report it like that."

Liu Heming did not say anything more, bowed again, and then respectfully retreated.

"This Daoist Ge is quite a talent; he must have raked in seventy or eighty thousand taels this time. His appetite... is truly a bit ruthless."

"But at his age of over sixty, with cultivation around the Fifty Apertures, either he entered the Dao too late or his aptitude is too low; if he doesn't scrape together what he can now, there is no hope for his Dao Foundation."

Chen Ci sighed; even in a profound sect like Longhu Mountain, Outer Sect Disciples still struggle to cultivate and lack resources.

"Wait, could his words during the day be an attempt to frame me and extort me further?"

Chen Ci frowned; theoretically, it shouldn't be, as this method is too base and easily leads to a blood feud, and as an Outer Transmission of the He Mountain Sect, he is not so easily manipulated.

But given this old Daoist's methods, it doesn't seem like something he wouldn't do.

Especially after he refused the extortion, he had to be on guard, because due to the long-term Refining Essence, the Blood Qi in Sanyin Temple is already heavy; if he were to be framed, it would be a nuisance.

"So annoying, I really want to be decisive and kill."

Chen Ci simply stood up: "Someone, go prepare some star anise, garlic, scallions, and ginger for me, and wash the pot."

Not sleeping tonight; going out for a stroll, and if I happen to find some prey to satisfy my appetite, that would be very reasonable.

That night.

The moonlight was hazy, and a faint gray shadow drifted out from a hidden dog hole in a corner of the county town, floating and drifting toward the direction of Sanyin Temple.

On the way, a stray dog that had bad luck just barked once at the gray shadow, only to be pounced on and coiled; when one looked again, only a pelt remained, a miserable death.

"Can't stay in this Changping County anymore; that dog from Longhu Mountain actually wanted to trick me into giving him money, keep dreaming. Tomorrow I'll leave a human puppet and sneak away, what can he do to me."

From within the gray shadow, a voice of self-satisfaction suddenly came, but after drifting for a while longer, the male voice inside suddenly became irritable, as if stimulated; the gray shadow twisted back and forth, as if something wanted to rush out: "But why, I have been kind all my life, accumulating hidden virtues, why does that Chen fellow want to snatch even this little bit of resources from me? Wuwu, I am not convinced."

"In this world, good people don't get rewarded; I want that Chen fellow and the Longhu Mountain dog to bite each other, bite each other, hee hee~"

The voice in the gray shadow sounded as if several people were speaking at once, or as if one person had a split personality, occasionally incoherent, but the speed was not slow. Borrowing the moonlight, it was actually a head-like thing, mixed with faint mist, shifting between real and illusory.

Seeing that it was not far from Sanyin Temple, the gray shadow's chattering stopped; it lowered its form, reached the side of the Sanyin Temple's outer courtyard, found a corner, and violently spat out a shriveled, air-dried heart, lungs, and viscera from its mouth, then laboriously covered them with loose soil.

A workload that even a young child could easily complete, yet this eerie head-like gray shadow busied itself for a quarter of an hour; by the time it floated up again, the faint mist had dissipated quite a bit.

Hehe~

The head-like gray shadow swayed triumphantly; with the various traces left on the road, plus these internal organs, there was no way that Chen fellow could clear his name.

With the character of that Longhu Mountain Daoist, even if he doesn't take a bite, he will squeeze a lot of money out of this Chen fellow.

"Let you bully an honest person... ouch!"

A Flying Locust Stone that flew from nowhere hit the head-like gray shadow hard, making it stagger and spin in mid-air.

"Damn, a bat has become a spirit... no, what kind of ghost are you!"

Chen Ci walked out from the woods, his heart jumping hard.

Sorcery?

Damn, the Daoists of Longhu Mountain play even wilder than the He Mountain Sect?

That shouldn't be right?

That old Daoist Ge Zhou couldn't be a fake, could he?

But soon, Chen Ci regained his composure; that eerie human head floated up and fled, and he had no idea what kind of thing it actually was.

No, it's already past the Hour of the Ox, why hasn't this guy surnamed Chen gone to sleep yet?

Cultivating immortals requires sleep too!

A thought flashed fiercely through the eerie human head's mind: is it cursed to clash with this guy surnamed Chen?

No, the main thing is that it has been under the seat of Shengsi Qihuang Shenjun for too short a time; it was granted such a divine ability after only ten days. As long as it worships piously and offers the essence and Qi of the five viscera to the Shenjun every day, any Longhu Mountain or He Mountain Sect can just crawl for its master!

But for now, it has to run first.

Seeing it flee, Chen Ci quickly calmed down. Although he still felt a bit timid toward strange, eerie objects since he began his cultivation, as a cultivator, he still had the upper hand when facing something like a ghostly soul.

"Want to run? Get down here!"

Chen Ci flicked his wrists repeatedly, and the Flying Locust Stones, originally prepared for hitting dogs, were launched one after another toward the eerie object. Yet, the eerie human head suddenly seemed to become a phantom and dispersed, only to re-solidify after the Flying Locust Stones passed through.

"Not right. It's over here!"

Chen Ci activated his Observation Qi Method. The eerie human head before his eyes was clear but left no trace; instead, in the shadows of the woods to his left, a thin shadow was moving slowly along the ground, looking as if it were about to escape his line of sight.

"Five Yin Black Evil!"

Chen Ci fiercely slapped his Five Yin Evil Qi Bag, and a streak of Black Sha lunged toward the thin shadow. That thin shadow suddenly collapsed, then reappeared a meter away, even swaying as if mocking Chen Ci's aim.

Hee hee~ The He Mountain Sect Apprentice is nothing much after all.

The eerie human head suddenly bumped into something, fell to the ground, rolled around, and twisted incessantly.

"Ah, my eyes! Cough~ cough cough!"

Chen Ci moved forward cautiously. He discovered that this eerie object was not a phantom but a physical entity; it just possessed a type of blinding movement technique, dodging within a small range, and its concealment was extremely strong in the night.

But unfortunately, his Five Yin Black Evil had been "spiced up," and it seemed to work quite well within a small range.

"Who sent you, and does it have anything to do with the one surnamed Ge?"

Chen Ci summoned another streak of Five Yin Black Evil, curling it toward this eerie object, while simultaneously flipping his palm to hold a Soul Fixing Talisman between his fingers.

Still the same point: the Soul Fixing Talisman is good at everything, except it's not easy to use from far away. A distance of one zhang is the limit; any further and it is neither accurate nor fast, making it of little use.

"Shengsi... Huang..."

Hm?

Chen Ci frowned, the Five Yin Black Evil accelerated its advance, and at the same time, he prepared to apply the Soul Fixing Talisman.

But suddenly, the eerie human head spat out a very strange prayer: "Shengsi Qihuang, Shenjun bestows blessings."

Chen Ci looked up sharply; that eerie human head actually had the face of 'Chen Ci' himself!

In just a single breath, the flesh on its features began to sag, white hair slowly grew on its head, and it became full of wrinkles and age spots, withered and decaying. Finally, the flesh rotted away, and maggots crawled through the two empty, hollow eye sockets of the skull.

Damn it!

The Soul Fixing Talisman in Chen Ci's hand had already been activated on his fingers. As a burning sensation flowed through his body, his spirit jolted; the strange vision on the eerie human head had vanished, and it was now drifting away slowly with disheveled hair.

"Die!"

Chen Ci moved his arm, and a cold light flashed and vanished, actually a fraction faster than the Five Yin Black Evil, piercing through the head and pinning it fiercely against a large tree.

Ten Step Flying Sword!

Taking this opportunity, Chen Ci applied three more Soul Fixing Talismans to himself. After confirming there were no issues, he frowned and walked forward a few steps: "It was actually you?"

(End of this chapter)