Chapter 330: Only Collect Merit, Never Fight Hard Battles (Three-in-One)

On the bank, the River Supervisor led dozens of yamen soldiers.

The River Supervisor my lord was also a Sixth-Rank Wu Xiu, but had not fought in person for many years.

Upon discovering this cargo ship, he held a scholar's sword, putting on an air of leading from the front, and led his men rushing to the riverside.

This kind of sword was thin and slender, its scabbard exquisite, its blade gleaming.

Scholars wore them at their waists, mainly for decoration...

But seeing this evil spirit so terrifying, the River Supervisor's face instantly changed!

Then he quietly shrank backward, smoothly hiding behind everyone else.

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei were also startled.

Zhu Zhanmei had come this time because she had secretly uncovered some clues related to the "Ghost King Body".

She brought two squads of her own men.

Miao Yu was pitiable; even now, only those two confidants followed him.

A warship was torn apart, and everyone on the bank turned pale.

But the Vice General on the largest warship, his River Camp soldiers, and even the one hundred and fifty camp soldiers who had fallen into the water from the small boat, showed no sign of panic.

All the giant feet of the cargo ship's evil spirit paddled the water, and it crashed toward the second small warship.

The Vice General stood at the bow of the large ship, snorted coldly, and said, "So they look down on our River Camp like this!"

Between the various parts of the torn-apart small warship, threads of spider silk appeared, as if "the lotus root is broken but the silk remains connected".

The spider silk pulled and tugged, and the various parts reassembled, becoming a complete warship once more!

The camp soldiers who had fallen into the water were all wrapped in a strand of spider silk, and they climbed back onto the ship by holding the silk.

Everyone seemed to vaguely see a shadow of a one-zhang-long shuttle-shaped spider flash and vanish within the cabin of this warship.

The warship regrouped and pursued the cargo ship's evil spirit from behind, while another warship attacked from the front, forming a pincer assault.

The River Supervisor let out a long sigh of relief: "Good, good."

The River Camp was well-equipped, and their warships were all masterworks!

But they failed to notice that a plank on the bottom of the cargo ship's evil spirit opened, and a large swarm of golden strange insects crawled into the river water.

When Xu Yuan returned from the canal dock to the Nancheng patrol office, Old Qin hurriedly rushed forward: "My lord..." Before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly emerged from inside the gate, reached out and pushed, shoving Old Qin aside.

Old Qin didn't dare to let out a single fart.

That person grabbed Xu Yuan: "Hurry, let's go."

Xu Yuan was greatly surprised: "Old my lord, you have arrived so quickly?"

Fu Jingyu and Song Lu also came out: "Old my lord personally hung the notice, and led us two all the way at full speed. We returned in just half an hour."

Xu Yuan was puzzled; why was Old my lord so urgent?

Ma Tianshou asked, "Were you chased out by those people from the Canal Office?"

"Old my lord anticipated this long ago?"

"The River Supervisor of Zhan City, and that Vice General Liao of this River Camp, this old man has... worked with them before; I know their characters perfectly well!"

"Is Old my lord worried they will be defeated by the Ghost King Body?"

"What do the affairs of their Canal Office have to do with me?" Ma Tianshou said. "It is better if they lose; we can then watch the spectacle."

Xu Yuan was strange; Old my lord was not of this temperament.

If the Canal Office loses, unable to stop the Ghost King Body's conspiracy, Zhan City will surely suffer a massacre and face a terrible catastrophe.

Ma Tianshou grabbed Xu Yuan's arm and walked quickly toward the city gate: "You, tell me, if this matter were entrusted to you to handle, what would you do?"

"Hmm?" Xu Yuan made a questioning sound, then looked at Old my lord again and guessed: "Could it be... you and I, this young one, have thought of the same thing?"

"Hahaha!" Ma Tianshou laughed loudly: "That is why this old man rushed here, determined to resolve this matter before nightfall."

Xu Yuan also smiled and said: "Wait for me, Old my lord; I will return to the office to fetch a talisman."

"Oh? It seems you have indeed already formulated a plan; go quickly."

Xu Yuan returned and looked at that bridge stone.

This official possesses the "Dragon Transformation Method"; my body has immense strength.

Indeed, I am capable of moving it.

But why should this official carry it personally?

"Old Qin!"

"Ji Shuangqiu!"

"Lang Xiao Ba!"

These strong Wu Xiu under my lord Xu immediately stepped forward.

Then Old Qin first hoisted the bridge stone onto his shoulder.

He goes first; we will rotate along the way.

Old Qin was very certain that he must have offended my lord somewhere he had not noticed...

The group quickly left the city and headed toward Little Yu Shan.

After entering the mountain, Xu Yuan took the lead.

Now that Old my lord, a Fifth-Rank, is stationed here, even if we encounter evil spirits at the level of the Ghost Wang Fei or the Wild Boar Fang, there is no need to fear.

The group moved at extreme speed, and Xu Yuan arrived swiftly at the residence of the weasel family.

These "servants" faithfully executed my lord Xu's orders.

The word "faithful" was originally something that could not possibly be associated with the treacherous and cunning weasel clan.

The weasel family had taken my lord Xu's silver, and originally intended to slack off.

Yet for some reason, they simply could not sit idle.

Without working, they felt uneasy all over.

This entire family had never felt this way in their lives: diligence makes me happy!

An old yellow weasel led Xu Yuan and the others straight into the depths of Little Yu Shan.

After trekking a hundred li, just as dusk approached, they arrived beside a mountain cold lake.

Surrounding the lake were vast stretches of buildings that had long since collapsed and fallen into ruin.

From certain details within them, one could see that this place had once been quite luxurious.

The Old Lord let out a mighty shout: "Evil spirits, reveal your true forms at once!"

A massive calligraphy scroll, three zhang long, flew up into the air.

Four huge characters were written upon it: Sunlight Shines Everywhere!

Immediately, intense light erupted, as if a great sun had risen anew above the cold lake.

The beams pierced through the lake water, and the cold lake suddenly began to "boil."

Huge surges of Yin Qi churned up from the lake bottom, bubbling gurglingly to the surface.

Beneath the broken walls and ruins along the lakeshore, countless Yin Ghosts were hiding.

Once struck by the light, they screamed and rushed out.

The Old Lord then carefully took out a small bronze furnace.

Inside the furnace lay a piece of glowing red charcoal.

The Old Lord tossed the furnace upward, and the charcoal plopped into the lake with a splash.

This time, the lake water truly began to boil...

That piece of charcoal was a fifth-grade "treasure."

The Old Lord had borrowed it from a prominent family in Luo City.

The Yin Ghosts hiding at the lake bottom could no longer conceal themselves and surged out of the water one after another.

The Old Lord laughed heartily; in his hand, a brush swiftly wrote out scroll after scroll, and beneath each scroll, the Yin Ghosts were one by one reduced to ash and scattered to the wind!

Xu Yuan hurriedly beckoned to Ji Shuangqiu: "Stone, come!"

Ji Shuangqiu let out a mighty roar and hurled the bridge stone toward Lord Xu.

Lord Xu activated the Dragon Form Art, used a clever technique to catch the bridge stone, and placed the Male Dragon-Slaying Sword inside it.

Immediately, bright auspicious yellow light bloomed forth.

Wherever this auspicious light reached, the Yin Ghosts screamed as white smoke billowed from their bodies; before long, they were completely melted away.

With Ma Tianshou and the bridge stone at the center, and Xu Yuan leading the others on the periphery, coordinating their efforts to surround, pursue, and intercept, the tens of thousands of Yin Ghosts in the cold lake lasted only a little over half an hour; just as night fell, they were utterly annihilated.

These Yin Ghosts themselves possessed little strength.

Eroded by the passage of time, every single one was incomplete and damaged.

Had they been given the chance to coalesce into Mountain Yin Souls, they would have been able to put up a fight against Ma Tianshou.

But the Old Lord and Xu Yuan acted decisively, granting them no opportunity to counterattack.

The scattered, disorganized Yin Souls posed no threat whatsoever to the Purification Bureau.

"Hahaha!" Ma Tianshou laughed heartily.

Both Xu Yuan and the Old Lord keenly realized one point: to protect Zhan City, it was not necessarily required to capture the Ghost King's Body.

Destroying or capturing the Ghost King's Body was indeed cutting the firewood from beneath the pot, solving the problem at its very root.

However, for the Ghost King's Body to wreak havoc upon Zhan City, it required the cooperation of these Yin Souls.

In comparison, this group of incomplete Yin Souls was absolutely a "soft persimmon."

Xu Yuan had used "business methods" to turn the weasel family into servants, ordering them to secretly keep watch—besides watching the Ghost King's Body in the river bend, of course, they were also to watch these Yin Ghosts.

If the River Warden had allowed Xu Yuan to participate in the operation today,

Xu Yuan would have presented this very strategy.

Use the River Canal Camp to encircle and attack the Ghost King's Body.

If it could be killed, kill it; if it could not be killed, then tie it down so it could not escape.

Then, dispatch another detachment of troops to first annihilate this group of Yin Ghosts!

The Canal Office had driven Xu Yuan away—so Lord Xu naturally had to act alone.

Even without the Old Lord, as long as the bridge stone was present, Xu Yuan still had a seventy percent chance of success.

Lord Xu was also a sixth-grade Rank Dan Xiu, and the Zhan City Office housed a large number of Rank Dan Xiu.

Everyone concentrated the fire within their bellies, which naturally overcame these Yin Ghosts.

At this moment, Xu Yuan's most "loyal" first servant, Huang Thirty-Six, rushed out from the grass at great speed, chirping and shouting: "My lord, the Canal Office has been defeated!"

The three warships of Lieutenant Liao were all crafted artifacts.

But their standard was not particularly high.

After all, they were not the main force.

Had there been only cargo-ship evil spirits, Lieutenant Liao's victory would have been no problem.

But once the Ghost King's Body made its move, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Those golden strange insects constantly gnawed at the warships in the water.

Before long, the three warships sank completely.

The cargo-ship evil spirit displayed its supernatural powers in the river; of the five hundred camp soldiers who fell into the water, it swallowed fully three hundred!

The Ghost King's Body recalled the golden strange insects, "donned armor" once more, and charged ashore—the entire Canal Office, unable to resist, broke and fled in defeat.

The River Supervisor fled first.

He offered no resistance whatsoever.

Lieutenant Liao fell into the water and was dragged ashore by a dozen personal guards fighting for their lives; he turned back to see the Ghost King Wang Shen, over ten zhang tall, already standing up from the cargo hold.

Abandoning his five hundred men on the opposite bank, he too fled in panic.

Only Miao Yu shouted loudly, "Evil spirits must be punished!"

He immediately unleashed his magical treasure, the Great Seal.

The Ghost King Wang Shen raised the precious sword in his hand and struck.

The Great Seal magical treasure rolled into the dust and mud.

Miao Yu spat out a mouthful of blood with a "Wah!" sound; suddenly, a jade hand reached out from behind, grabbed his collar, and dragged him away.

It was Zhu Zhanmei.

Zhu Zhanmei said in a deep voice, "The situation is hopeless; staying here is nothing but Bai Bai sacrifice!"

Zhu Zhanmei tossed Miao Yu to his two trusted aides, Inspector Zhang and another person, who hoisted Miao Yu up on either side and fled swiftly.

Those five hundred camp soldiers naturally scattered in a panic as well.

The Ghost King Wang Shen did not deign to pursue them; night had fallen, and it stepped forward toward Buddha Lord Ridge.

The remnants of the Canal Office forces fled back to the dock, each more wretched than the last.

The River Supervisor ran wildly under the moonlight; his official hat was lost somewhere, his hair bun disheveled, and his hair hung down over his face.

The River Patrol Officer screamed, "The River Sacrifice! The River Sacrifice must be performed immediately! Please, Dragon Lord, save Zhan Cheng!"

The River Supervisor, furious beyond measure, gave him a hard slap across the face: "Fool!"

Performing the River Sacrifice and reporting all circumstances here to the Canal Dragon Lord would only expose our foolish and crushing defeat!

Moreover, while the Dragon Lord might destroy the Ghost King Wang Shen, he might not be able to save Zhan Cheng.

Those yin ghosts entering dreams, occupying the bodies of descendants, and causing chaos throughout the city cannot be resolved by sheer power alone.

We must also send a large army into the city to identify them one by one and root out all the traitors.

Lieutenant Liao also returned; to run faster, he had stripped off and discarded his armor.

His current appearance was not much better than the River Supervisor's.

"To the camp!" Lieutenant Liao said, "Many of these laborers at the dock are local natives; if they too rise up..."

Only then did everyone realize that the priority was not how to solve the Zhan Cheng crisis, but how to save their own lives!

Everyone immediately headed together toward the military camp.

Many of the camp soldiers had also fled back, and they were all people of the Great Ming.

The military camp was now the safest place.

Once settled in the camp, the River Supervisor and the others finally calmed their racing hearts.

Miao Yu, wounded and seething with anger, could not hold back: "If we had left Xu Yuan here, it might not have ended up like this!"

Everyone except Zhu Zhanmei glared at him with fury.

That fool brings up the very thing that should not be mentioned.

How did he become the Master of Discipline of the Shanhe Office?

Oh, the Miao family is not to be trifled with? Now it makes sense.

The River Patrol Officer spoke with a gloomy face: "What good would it do if the surname Xu were here? Everyone saw how formidable the Ghost King Wang Shen is. You, My Lord Miao, were brave, yet were still struck down by a single sword!"

What power does an Inspector have? Could you possibly turn the tide and resolve tonight's crisis in Zhan Cheng?"

Miao Yu began to argue with him: "Driving Xu Yuan away was a blunder; our great defeat will surely be mocked by the Purification Bureau in the future!"

The River Supervisor roared angrily, "Stop arguing!"

He looked toward the camp's exterior, in the direction of Zhan Cheng, and sighed deeply: "Everyone... prepare yourselves. If anyone escapes from the city, do your best to provide aid and rescue as many people as possible; this will reduce our culpability."

Within the Canal Camp, everyone lived in dread, awaiting the expected riot.

The Ghost King Wang Shen arrived at the ruined temple, sat down again upon the shrine, and quietly waited for those yin souls of the former dynasty.

The cargo ship evil spirit retracted all its limbs and also waited quietly in the river bend.

Suddenly, a small, pointed head poked out from the grass by the shore.

Immediately, a large foot stomped down with a "Poo" sound, flattening the wild grass beside its head.

A group of people rushed over swiftly.

Huang Thirty-Six shrank his head, chirping "Zhi Zhi" from his mouth to warn these living humans: "Watch your step..."

No one paid it any attention.

Elder Ma led the charge, carrying a Tiger Head Guillotine on his shoulder.

This was the Tiger Head Guillotine of the Luocheng Southern Office.

Rushing all the way to the riverbank, he slammed the Tiger Head Guillotine into the shallow water with a "Dong" sound.

"Open the Guillotine—"

With a mighty roar, the Elder lifted the guillotine blade with one hand.

Xu Yuan followed, killing his way out; both the Dragon-Slaying Swords and the Sword Pill shot forth simultaneously.

The cargo ship evil spirit shuddered violently, extending dozens of long, emaciated limbs.

It had devoured three hundred camp soldiers alive, its power surging dramatically!

Yet, facing the Tiger Head Guillotine, it was still suppressed.

But it was not without a chance to fight!

Who would have thought that as soon as those limbs extended, Xu Yuan's three swords would slice through more than ten of them with a "Shua Shua Shua" sound!

Xu Yuan secretly unleashed the "Three-Hairpin" again.

A fifth-grade craft object drilled into the cabin, constantly piercing the flesh and blood that had merged with the hull.

Every strike caused that flesh and blood immense agony.

Ordinary swords and blades could not harm the cargo ship evil spirit.

Not only could they not wound it, but upon striking, they would be directly sucked into the flesh and blood, then wrapped layer by layer; not long after, they would be melted and absorbed.

Just like a Dan Xiu's "bait"!

But a fifth-grade craft object was different.

With every stab of the Three-Hairpin, the entire cargo ship evil spirit would tremble in unbearable pain.

Of the five hundred water soldiers under General Liao, three hundred had been eaten by the cargo ship evil spirit; the remainder mostly scrambled ashore and fled in panic, scattering in all directions.

Some also drowned in the river.

Among them was a Squad Leader, himself a ninth-rank method cultivator, whose technique allowed him to disguise himself as various objects around him.

At that time, the cargo ship evil spirit had extended a hand, nearly capturing him.

He had disguised himself as a patch of waterweed in the river.

Daring not to move a muscle, he had hidden there until now.

He never expected such a powerful cargo ship evil spirit to stand before Xu Yuan and that old man like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

He retracted his technique, seized the opportunity, and swam with all his might to the shore.

On the Purification Bureau side, the main forces fighting the evil spirits were naturally Ma Tianshou and Xu Yuan, with several inspectors also lending a hand.

The others could not intervene.

As the Squad Leader swam upstream in the river, Lang Xiao Ba and the others had noticed him; the moment he stepped ashore, he was seized: "A small evil spirit just crawled out of the river!"

"Truly blind, to bump into Eighth Master's hands!"

The Squad Leader hurriedly cried out, "I am a soldier of the River Channel Camp!"

"There are still survivors in the River Channel Camp?"

The Squad Leader's face fell into a grimace: "I was nearly eaten by that evil spirit! Fortunately, you arrived; if you had been even a moment or two later, my technique would have failed, and I would still have been eaten..."

Lang Xiao Ba examined him carefully, confirmed there were no issues, and told a Dan Xiu Captain, "Make a fire for him; look how frozen the man is, like a grandson."

The weather was already somewhat cool, and having soaked in the river water for so long, the Squad Leader shivered uncontrollably upon coming ashore.

That Captain spat a mouthful of fire, igniting a pile of dry grass to warm the Squad Leader's body.

Huang San Shi Liu darted out from the dry grass pile, chattering and cursing as he ran away.

Once the Squad Leader had warmed up, he looked again at the battle in the river.

All the limbs of the cargo ship evil spirit had already been severed by my lord Xu.

The hull was riddled with a thousand holes.

This was certainly not Xu Yuan's merit alone; the suppression and restraint of the Tiger-Head Cleaver also played a crucial role, leaving the cargo ship evil spirit equivalent to being able only to take blows, unable to fight back.

Finally, the entire cargo ship evil spirit was stuffed beneath the Tiger-Head Cleaver.

Old Lord Ma let out a booming shout: "Behead!"

With a crack, the cleaver blade, already extended to a length of ten zhang, swiftly descended, severing the cargo ship evil spirit at the waist.

The two halves of the cargo ship writhed and struggled on the ground for quite a while, so Xu Yuan simply went up and added another mouthful of fire.

Completely burning the evil spirit to ash.

Among the ashes lay a fine material; Xu Yuan had no time to look closely, picked it up, and left.

"Retreat!"

The cargo ship evil spirit was a subordinate of the Ghost King Body.

The Ghost King Body must have already noticed.

However, since the Ghost King Body was waiting for those Yin Ghosts, it was likely in a dilemma: continue waiting, or save the cargo ship evil spirit first.

But the Ghost King Body should soon realize it should save the cargo ship evil spirit first.

The Purification Bureau group fled swiftly.

The Squad Leader hurriedly followed and ran.

As a result, halfway there, he tripped over something unknown, stumbled, and fell into a deep ditch.

After great effort, he climbed out, but the Purification Bureau group had already vanished without a trace.

A small yellow weasel stood on its hind legs on a small mound in the distance, mocking him.

Huang San Shi Liu was a petty soul.

But he dared not go settle the score with the Purification Bureau people; he held the grudge for nearly being roasted against the Squad Leader.

He tripped him with a huge fall.

The Squad Leader dared not trouble the weasel; it was still night, this was still within the bounds of Little Yu Shan, so he should run fast.

The Squad Leader fled all the way back to the River Channel Camp.

The Ghost King Body roared and slaughtered its way back to the river bend.

Having failed to block the perpetrators, it thought for a moment, then angrily returned to Buddha Master Ridge.

By the middle of the night, those former-dynasty Yin Ghosts still had not arrived to keep the appointment.

Thus, it grew even more irritable.

It was not a local evil spirit.

It only knew Buddha Master Ridge, but did not know where the former-dynasty Yin Ghosts lived.

Thus, as dawn approached, it dragged its body out of the ruined temple with gritted teeth and drilled into a cold, gloomy mountain gully.

It sat upon that shrine, merely intending to lure the former-dynasty Yin Ghosts to come.

Nor did they dare to sit on it for long.

That seat does not belong to it.

Although the true master has likely perished long ago.

But what if... they are still hiding somewhere in the Turbid Realm?

……

Xu Yuan and Elder Ma had already agreed: they would never engage the Ghost King's Body in direct combat.

Even if they could win, they would not fight.

This time, we only seek merit; we do not fight hard battles.

This is a mess created by your Canal Office and the Demon-Extermination Army; why should our Filth-Cleansing Bureau clean it up?

So, after Xu Yuan and Ma Tianshou slew the evil spirit on the cargo ship, they fled back to the city at top speed.

Ma Tianshou wrote a memorial to the throne overnight.

He claimed merit for the Filth-Cleansing Bureau while viciously slandering the Zancheng Canal Office.

Do not think this is underhanded; in fact, the imperial court is usually incapable of sending officials to investigate on the ground.

Therefore, when local officials disagree, the one who reports first truly holds the advantage.

……

On the Canal Office side, the River Supervisor and others waited in dread.

At the slightest rustle outside the camp, they feared the Ghost King's Body had launched an attack.

Even before the Company Commander returned, the camp had become a nest of terrified birds; someone immediately shouted, "The evil spirits are attacking!"

Thus, the camp gates were slammed shut, and they even rained arrows upon the Company Commander.

The Company Commander did not die at the claws of the evil spirit; he nearly died from his own men's arrows.

After much difficulty, they explained the situation and opened the gates to let him in.

He was immediately brought before Major General Liao and the River Supervisor.

"Speak! How did you return?"

Sensing trouble, the Company Commander could only grit his teeth and say, "The Filth-Cleansing Bureau... slew the evil spirit on the cargo ship and, by sheer coincidence, saved my life."

The River Supervisor and Major General Liao were reluctant to accept this fact.

Including the River Patrol Envoy, everyone's face was ashen, as if they were straining to produce something unpleasant.

It is not the most painful thing that we lost; the most painful thing is that our opponent won.

"Explain the entire process in detail; do not omit any step," Major General Liao ordered in a deep voice.

The Company Commander could only speak in a low voice.

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei were also present.

Miao Yu sneered repeatedly, casting a sidelong glance at the River Patrol Envoy.

What did I just say? You fool, you still wanted to argue with me! The facts prove that this Chief Adjudicator was right.

Zhu Zhanmei suddenly thought of a question: "What good does it do for the Filth-Cleansing Bureau to kill the evil spirit on the cargo ship?"

The River Patrol Envoy immediately replied, "You are right; killing the evil spirit on the cargo ship offers no help in resolving the crisis in Zancheng."

This time, Zhu Zhanmei could not help but glare at him; the man was truly stupid.

Do you think I am making excuses for you?

I believe the Filth-Cleansing Bureau must have a reason for doing this.

"Could it be..." Zhu Zhanmei said slowly, "that the Filth-Cleansing Bureau has already resolved the crisis in Zancheng?"

"Impossible..." Major General Liao and others blurted out, naturally disbelieving: "Xu Yuan is only a sixth-rank official; he lacks the ability to destroy the Ghost King's Body. Even with Ma Tianshou added, the odds of victory are slim."

(End of Chapter)