Chapter 337: Finally Arrived

Lord Xu had been secretly following Da Fu all along.

I can't truly abandon him—what if something unexpected happens…

But what surprised Lord Xu was that this fool of a Da Fu actually understood strategy!

He grabbed a pile of evil spirits from the canal and drove them into the Canal Office.

What Da Fu didn't know was that the Canal Office frequently suffered such "evil calamities."

The Canal Office nominally fell under the imperial court, but in reality answered only to the Canal Dragon King.

These evil spirits in the canal, long suppressed, dared not openly defy the Canal Dragon King, so they often came to the Canal Office to vent their rage.

Everyone in the Canal Office knew this well.

Therefore, losses from "evil calamities" were never seriously investigated by superiors.

Thus, "evil calamities" were in fact a blessing for local Canal Offices—the perfect excuse for "balancing the books."

Occasionally, "evil calamities" also occurred within the city, for similar reasons: though minor evil spirits followed the rules, they were still evil spirits, and sometimes, in a single night, one would suddenly lose control, triggering a chain reaction like a "barracks scream," becoming an evil calamity.

But the number of evil calamities within the city was very small, far fewer than those at the Canal Office.

Da Fu had unintentionally borrowed the name of "evil calamity."

Afterwards, it would leave no hidden dangers.

Lord Xu rubbed his head, certain that Da Fu had simply gotten lucky—there was no way he had planned it from the start.

The Canal Office was in chaos; many were shouting, "Evil calamity! Evil calamity!" So the guards at the warehouse door immediately, with perfect tact, rushed out: "Slaying evil spirits is our duty!"

The clerks responsible for recording accounts simply tossed all ledgers onto the outdoor desks, locked their bedrooms, and fell into deep sleep.

Thus, Da Fu walked boldly into the vast warehouse of the Nancheng Canal Office!

Xu Yuan waited outside; by the middle of the night, the office gradually grew quiet.

The minor evil spirits Da Fu had captured were weak and had mostly been cleared out.

Da Fu had also eaten his fill and staggered out, heavy and sluggish.

Xu Yuan did not reveal himself.

Because he keenly realized: his fool seemed to have gained some sense!

If he showed himself now, he might be seen through.

Xu Yuan followed behind again… Da Fu trudged slowly to the canal's edge and carefully prepared to enter the water.

But because he ate too much and was too heavy, his foot slipped—slish—plop!

He tumbled straight into the river.

Da Fu didn't care—he swam.

Xu Yuan waited until Da Fu crossed the river, then released his Pí Lóng and stepped onto it, following across.

Back at the Nancheng patrol station, Da Fu crawled into his nest and fell asleep quickly.

It was his usual sleep time, and he'd eaten so much—he dropped right off the moment he touched the bed.

Xu Yuan entered a little later, stood before Da Fu's nest, and peered inside.

Da Fu suddenly began to tremble and grunt, then let out a loud burp in his sleep.

Goo—something spat out.

Half-asleep, Da Fu shifted his head to a new position and went back to sleep.

Xu Yuan looked down—the object rolled to his feet, a tiny wine cup.

Xu Yuan picked it up and examined it: a crafted object.

But this thing clearly wasn't of Huang Ming design.

Made of some gray metal, its front bore a carved, grotesque skull.

A long crack ran from head to tail, neatly splitting the carved skull in half.

Xu Yuan couldn't tell its craftsmanship level, but it was damaged and unusable.

Xu Yuan casually tucked it into his robe, planning to show it to his stepmother later.

It probably wasn't anything valuable—otherwise it wouldn't have been left in the warehouse; the corrupt officials of the Canal Office would've already divided it up.

Da Fu must've swallowed it by accident while eating insects.

Xu Yuan also went to rest.

The next morning, he flipped through yesterday's almanac—the day's taboo clearly read: Forbidden Gaze Day!

"Finally arrived…"

Xu Yuan felt a shadowy presence: the sunlight seeping through windows and door cracks seemed to have delivered some ill omen into this mortal world.

"Forbidden Gaze Day" wasn't just a taboo—it meant that on this day, strange phenomena surged, and the number of inexplicable transformations increased dramatically!

Even the top three flows must be extra cautious on such days.

As long as you looked up and saw the sun… you would uncontrollably transform!

After rising, Xu Yuan rummaged through the room.

Outside, Lang Xiao Ba's voice called: "My lord, the head cage is ready for you."

Xu Yuan opened the door and saw Lang Xiao Ba outside, a wooden frame locked around his neck and shoulders.

The frame prevented him from raising his head.

This was the "head cage," mandatory in every Huang Ming household.

To ensure that on "Forbidden Gaze Day," no one would unconsciously lift their head and break the taboo.

Lang Xiao Ba also held several others; the one prepared for Lord Xu was clearly high-end—not only lightweight and comfortable to wear, but also carved with ornate patterns, exquisitely crafted.

Xu Yuan took it and locked it on himself.

He immediately realized his gaze could now only slant downward, barely catching the chins of those facing him.

"Tell everyone to be careful today," Xu Yuan ordered. "No need to patrol the streets; stay quietly in the yamen. Unless a report is received, do not go out!"

"Yes!"

Because Xu Yuan had gone out with Dafu last night, he had brought the Dragon-Slaying Sword with him.

The first thing he did upon stepping out was to place the male sword into the Bridge Stone.

In the courtyard, an evil power seemed to lurk in the air, stirring restlessly.

Only after the Bridge Stone emitted auspicious light did this feeling of "stirring restlessly" slowly fade away.

San Niang's people did not come today.

In fact, on the "Day of Forbidden Gazing," the entire world seemed to suddenly come to a standstill.

Not a single person was seen on the streets; shop doors and windows were tightly shut.

As long as nothing went wrong today, it would be a great gain.

Xu Yuan had originally planned to go to Ghost Wushan today, but could only postpone it by another day.

Aunt Wang was exceptionally convenient today.

She took her head off and stuffed it into a gauze bag.

Everyone from top to bottom in the Canal Zhancheng Yamen groaned in unison.

Last night, they had inexplicably suffered a "calamity of evil."

The subordinates thought it was yet another scheme by the senior officials.

The senior officials were secretly furious and were waiting for dawn to investigate thoroughly.

But then the "Day of Forbidden Gazing" arrived!

All affairs in the yamen came to a complete halt.

Everyone hid in their rooms, donned "Lock-Head Cages," and worried in the dark, unsure what had been stolen from the Prefect's Treasury yesterday.

The Treasury door had not yet been re-locked.

The clerk responsible for registration and ledgers hid in his room, watching helplessly as a beam of sunlight shot in through a crack in the window.

Many dust particles floated and danced within the light.

One of them rapidly grew larger, becoming a ghostly shadow beast; its head was as big as a table, its body like a dog's, covered in streaks of gray spots.

It leaped to the ground, then crashed through the door and rushed straight into the Treasury.

Inside the Treasury, something unknown had undergone a strange transformation, and the sounds of tearing and fighting erupted...

The clerk let out a silent wail: It's over; the Treasury has truly been ravaged...

(End of this chapter)