Chapter 394: Offspring (Three-in-One)

Xu Yuan was also surprised; in broad daylight, had the evil spirits already become so brazen?

The situation at the dock was similar to that within the city.

Every nook and cranny, every dark and sheltered spot, was a breeding ground for evil spirits.

By night, the evil spirits roaming the docks far outnumbered those in the city.

But during the day, they would hide very obediently, daring not to appear.

That thing would bite in one strike, swift as a venomous snake devouring a person, fast as lightning.

Yet they saw Dafu lift one of his own feet in a very awkward posture.

His large webbed foot spread open; seemingly slow, yet "just in time," it perfectly wrapped around the evil spirit's head.

He stomped down; with a thud, he pinned it firmly to the ground.

Afterwards, Dafu used his flat beak to peck repeatedly at the evil spirit's long body: thud, thud, thud.

Just like a chef tossing a cleaned eel onto a cutting board, then raising a cleaver: thud, thud, thud...

Chopping it into segments.

Then Dafu ate one segment per mouthful, stretching his neck hard to swallow them down.

Xu Yuan examined the evil spirit closely.

This thing looked somewhat like a four-legged lizard.

However, its body was even more slender.

A rat's tail dragged behind it.

Its scales were rougher than those of an ordinary four-legged lizard.

The human face atop its head, after being pecked to death by Dafu, twisted in agony and dissolved into a wisp of black qi that drifted away.

This shriveled human face was a fragment of a broken Yin Soul.

After the Yin Soul dissipated, the evil spirit's true form was revealed.

Looking again, it was actually a rat's face.

Xu Yuan found it strange: what kind of evil spirit was this?

A rat's tail, a rat's head.

Looking closely at its four feet, one could recognize them too; they were also rat claws.

But why was the body slender and scaled?

When this evil spirit had just fought Dafu, it was clearly at the level of the Ninth Rank.

Looking at it now... it was probably an unranked minor evil spirit.

Evil spirits mostly follow a basic rule: the stranger the appearance, the more powerful.

That strange appearance just now looked anything but harmless.

Now, however, it was merely a mutated rat.

What Xu Yuan found puzzling was: how did that broken Yin Soul cover the evil spirit's face like a mask?

After finishing his meal, Dafu gave Xu Yuan a dissatisfied look: figure it out yourself.

The rice bowl no longer provides food; I, the goose, must now hunt for myself.

Xu Yuan asked him, "Are you feeling unwell? Don't always eat random things outside."

Dafu widened his two goose eyes: What are you saying?!

You won't feed me, yet you won't allow me to go out and find food myself!

Dafu turned his head in a huff and waddled back.

Xu Yuan did not leave immediately; he went to the base of the wall and peered into that drain.

It seemed something else had quickly retreated into the deep darkness.

Lord Xu frowned, yet he did not hesitate to spit a mouthful of fire into it.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

A strange sound emanated from the drain.

This unprincipled Fifth Rank Dan Xiu spat out a mouthful of fire, which quickly spread to both sides, filling the entire drain!

This drain stretched over a hundred zhang from front to back, with several branches in the middle.

It was part of the drainage system on the docks.

Who knew how many minor evil spirits were hiding inside.

With that single blast of Fifth Rank fire, all the evil spirits inside were instantly burned to death.

The vast majority turned directly into ash.

A very few left behind some bones.

Only a handful were at the end of the drain, near the exit leading to the canal.

They escaped into the canal, thus saving their lives.

Xu Yuan snorted coldly: "You all broke the rules first by appearing in broad daylight; do not blame this official for acting ruthlessly!"

The few survivors floated up and down in the river water, cursing in a dense, low, eerie whisper.

Where did we appear in broad daylight?

We were hiding just fine; it was your stupid goose that stretched its neck in, forcibly pecked us, and dragged us out!

Lord Xu did not understand.

Xu Yuan turned to return, but suddenly saw a wisp of black qi drifting from the cracks between the bricks of the drain, ten-plus zhang away.

Just like the broken Yin Soul that had covered that rat's face earlier!

"Hmm?" Lord Xu sensed the anomaly keenly; he spread his hand, and the Sinew Dan fell into that section of the drain, quickly dragging out a skeleton that had already been partially burned.

But it was a catfish.

Its head and tail still retained the shape of a catfish.

But its body, like the rat, had become slender and serpentine.

Xu Yuan simply wove a net from his sinew core and searched the entire sewer, but found no third similar skeleton.

But my lord felt this was no coincidence.

The malevolent entities on the dock seemed to be transforming toward some "form."

Xu Yuan went directly to the Canal Office to inquire about the situation.

But he hit a soft nail.

The river patrol officer at the local dock barely glanced at the malevolent remains Xu Yuan brought, saying coldly: "My lord has long resided in the city and knows nothing of the dock's malevolent entities. Here, they are countless and bizarre—not worth alarm."

He might as well have directly mocked my lord as "a man of narrow vision."

Everyone at the canal dock held no affection for Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan said no more; it would only waste breath.

Xu Yuan left the Canal Office and went to his own "Yuan Sheng Hao."

He told Yang Shu: "Gather all the clerks."

Yang Laicai immediately summoned all the shop clerks.

Xu Yuan described the appearance of the rat malevolence, then asked: "You're all dock workers—have you ever seen such a malevolence before?"

The shop now had eight clerks, all of whom shook their heads: "We have never seen such a malevolence as you describe, sir."

One young man asked an old man beside him: "Uncle Qi, you've been on the dock for decades—have you ever seen one?"

The old man thought long and hard, then shook his head: "Never. If you mean snakes with human faces, or rats with snake faces—I've seen those.

But a rat turning into a snake, then wearing a human face—never before."

Xu Yuan now had a clear idea.

Some lore, asking those who make their living on the dock, is more accurate than asking the Canal Office.

"Alright, get back to work." Xu Yuan hurried off.

……

The front courtyard of the canal dock was solemn and imposing; the back courtyard had high walls and deep enclosures.

The walls blocked outsiders' views, and several luxurious annexes had been built inside.

At this moment, four Fourth-Flow cultivators and An Chengyuan were staying there.

The two Fourth-Flow cultivators of the Fu family, along with three other Fu family members, were gathered in a dark room.

This was not truly a dark room—only that the Fu family had pasted every window and door with calligraphy scrolls.

On the round table in the center stood a birdcage, perfectly aligned.

The birdcage was a Fifth-Flow artifact!

Inside was not a bird, but a leather puppet dragon stitched from human skin and human hair!

The leather puppet dragon was only half a foot long, its tail pinned to a crossbar inside the cage by a golden nail.

The Fu family surrounded the birdcage, watching thin strands of strange black qi seep out.

Even the sealed calligraphy scrolls could not block these black qi—they slipped through the cracks and escaped.

If a cultivator with sharp vision focused intently, they would see these threadlike black qi were formed by countless tiny invisible insects linked together.

The insects resembled skin flakes—or dragon scales!

The two Fourth-Flow cultivators were helpless, helplessly saying: "We still can't seal this 'Nian Sheng'!"

【Note: Sheng, pronounced "shěng," third tone, meaning calamity—not eye disease.】

The three who escorted the birdcage and leather puppet dragon said: "The family did all it could—layered methods ensured safety on the journey, but… the Nian Sheng pierced these barriers a day earlier than expected!"

"How many malevolent entities outside have already transformed into 'Zi Nie' by now!"

"We can't wait any longer—we must depart tomorrow morning!"

"Tonight… something is bound to happen. Keep your mouths shut—no matter what occurs, do not reveal any connection between this and us!"

The Fu family had always known that taking the leather puppet dragon out was an extremely risky act.

This secret technique was incomplete and should not have been used so soon.

But none of the Fu family present considered warning the outside world.

All they cared about was distancing themselves if disaster struck.

The entire Fu family had been corrupted by the "Dragon Transformation Art"—selfish and cruel, never thinking of others.

The small leather puppet dragon inside the birdcage was alive!

It stared with stitched eyes, fixedly watching the two Fourth-Flow cultivators.

It seemed to have many grievances, but its dragon mouth had been sewn shut with hair.

One Fourth-Flow cultivator said: "Hongyu, nephew, don't resent us. It was the family that chose you—not us two old men. For you, it may not even be a bad thing…"

The leather puppet dragon could not speak, but its whole body trembled, its gaze growing more venomous.

The Fourth-Flow cultivator frowned: "Ungrateful wretch!"

And said no more to it.

……

Xu Yuan told Behind Miao Yu about the malevolent entities on the dock undergoing another "perverse transformation."

Yes, Xu Yuan felt these oddities were influenced by something, undergoing a second perverse transformation.

As for what exactly influenced them… Xu Yuan was eighty percent certain it was tied to the Fu family.

It was like when the Prince's Consort arrived in Zhancheng, and Xu Yuan was assassinated—everyone knew it was the Prince's Consort's doing.

Everything was fine before, but once the second batch from the Fu family arrived, trouble erupted. If it wasn't because of you, then explain why the timing is so convenient?

After learning the situation, Miao Yu found it difficult to decide.

He trusted Xu Yuan greatly, but he also knew clearly that Xu Yuan had already hit a wall at the Canal Office; going there again himself over this matter would likely yield no results.

"To get the Canal Office to act and take precautions against this new evil spirit, relying on one person's weight is not enough," Miao Yu said. "I must approach Zhu Zhanmei again."

Thus, Miao Yu asked again, "Do you think the harm caused by this new evil spirit will be great?"

If it were no different from the other evil spirits at the dock, there would be no need to expend this effort.

Xu Yuan said in a deep voice, "With evil spirits, no matter is trivial!"

Miao Yu gave a bitter smile. "Alright, let's go find Zhu Zhanmei."

Zhu Zhanmei and Miao Yu lived not far apart; including Zhu Zhanlei, everyone from the Shanhe Office lived in the same place.

By now it was evening. When Xu Yuan and Miao Yu arrived, Zhu Zhanmei had already finished her shift, changed out of the Shanhe Office official robes, and was wearing her usual daily dress.

She lacked a bit of the officer's heroic spirit, but gained a bit of a young lady's fresh and gentle beauty.

Xu Yuan couldn't help but glance at her a couple more times.

However, after hearing the two of them out, Zhu Zhanmei gave a strange smile. "My lord Xu has asked the wrong person."

Xu Yuan was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Zhu Zhanmei said leisurely, "You come asking me, a humble woman... If Miao Yu and I go to the Canal Office again, climbing up layer by layer, there is still a high probability we will end up arguing with the bureaucrats inside the office several times.

This way, all the time will be wasted; by nightfall, we might not even have gotten the matter done.

However, there is another person who appreciates you very much.

And that person is a favorite of Lord Luo. If you go to her, as long as she agrees, the entire dock can be mobilized immediately."

Xu Yuan was bewildered. "Who is it?"

"Xu Miao," Zhu Zhanmei said with a smile.

Xu Yuan thought carefully; by his calculations, Xu Miao owed him a favor.

Although he had ulterior motives...

From Xu Miao's perspective, she indeed owed him one.

Xu Yuan decided to try: "Master Zhu the Lawkeeper is right."

Xu Yuan stood up and bowed with clasped hands. "I will go find Xu Miao first. If she refuses, we must proceed as discussed; please go to the office with Miao Yu to remind them to increase their precautions!"

The matter was urgent; after speaking, Xu Yuan did not stand on ceremony, turned, and left.

The moment his figure stepped out the door, Zhu Zhanmei's pretty face grew cold.

"Heh, if she refuses, he'll just come back to find me..."

Miao Yu put down his teacup and quietly slipped away from the side.

I heard nothing.

However, in the future, I should take Brother Xu to the White Moon Pavilion more often; the female cultivators under his command all act like men.

Brother Xu has too few opportunities to interact with girls; he completely doesn't understand women's minds.

After Xu Yuan came out, he realized he didn't even know where Xu Miao lived.

So he turned around and happened to see Miao Yu coming out as well, and hurriedly grabbed him. "Do you know where Xu Miao lives..."

Miao Yu looked at Xu Yuan with some sympathy. "Do you really want to go?"

"The matter is of great importance," Xu Yuan said, wholly dedicated to the public good. "Even if Xu Miao mocks me a couple of times, I will accept it."

Miao Yu sighed. "Come with me."

Xu Miao was a literary cultivator, and at this moment, she was reading.

Coincidentally, when Xu Yuan and Miao Yu came to visit, Xu Miao was also in casual clothes, not wearing official robes.

Her clothes were loose and comfortable, but the places that should bulge still bulged high.

As for power, it doesn't require you to deliberately proclaim it; it will always reveal itself in unintentional ripples.

Xu Miao's personal maid led Xu Yuan and Miao Yu all the way into Xu Miao's study.

On the way, the maid said with a half-smile, "Only people with close relationships are allowed by my Young Lady into her study."

Xu Yuan kept his head down, thinking all the way about how to persuade Xu Miao to help.

He didn't listen to a word the maid said.

He and Xu Miao couldn't be called "friends"; because of Zhu Zhanlei, there was some friction, and he was still secretly calculating how to get Xu Miao's artifact...

So Xu Yuan felt he would definitely have to put in some effort with his words in front of Xu Miao.

He needed to carefully consider his argument.

He didn't expect that after entering, Xu Miao, upon hearing the whole matter, became serious and said, "I indeed did not misjudge My Lord Xu; your insight is very rare."

Then, after a pause, she added, "To have this public-spiritedness is even more rare."

As she spoke, her pair of clear and bright big eyes, filled with slow appreciation, kept examining Xu Yuan.

Miao Yu hurriedly lowered his head from the side.

I saw nothing.

"Then please, My Lord Xu, help us," Xu Yuan said.

Xu Miao readily agreed. "Rest assured, I will go see Lord Luo immediately."

Xu Yuan was about to stand up and take his leave, but Xu Miao said, "No rush. I will change into my official robes and then go see Lord Luo. Wait for me; I will see you out."

Xu Yuan had just asked for her help, so it was not good to refuse.

So he waited.

Xu Miao came out changed into her official robes, personally escorted Xu Yuan and Miao Yu to the main gate, and then both sides bowed to bid farewell.

Xu Yuan and Miao Yu turned to go back—only to see Zhu Zhanlei, accompanied by two subordinates, stumbling along the other end of the street.

Seeing them emerge from Xu Miao's place, Zhu Zhanlei asked in confusion: "What did you go to that evil woman for?"

Miao Yu quickly pressed his lips shut.

I said nothing.

Miao Yu felt deeply aggrieved in his heart: I'm practically becoming a monkey that sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil!

……

Xu Miao acted quickly; before long, commotion erupted at the dock.

With half a shichen remaining until nightfall, the Shanhe Office, the River Channel Camp, and the Canal Gang mobilized together.

Guided by the Canal Gang, they first cleared the evil spirits hidden in various drains, dilapidated houses, and other spots around the dock.

Some were burned and killed, but most were driven away.

Afterwards, four temporary squads were organized, stationed respectively at the four directions of the dock, so that if evil spirits arose at night, they could be dealt with promptly.

Night travel is not prohibited today; this counts as good news.

Seeing the operations outside, Xu Yuan felt somewhat more at ease.

Tonight, I can use the Skin Dragon and seize the opportunity to devour one of these evil spirits.

This is Xu Yuan's personal motive.

These evil spirits are highly likely to have appeared due to some influence from the Fu family.

Moreover, judging by their form, they are probably also linked to the Dragon Transformation Art.

However, if the Canal Office does not take this seriously and does not send people to encircle and exterminate these evil spirits tonight, Xu Yuan dares not act rashly.

Xu Yuan does not know whether the Fu family possesses some secret method to sense these evil spirits.

If he devours them rashly, he might expose himself.

But since the Canal Office has mobilized, and many evil spirits will be hunted tonight, Xu Yuan can take advantage of the chaos to eat one or two.

After nightfall, evil spirits one by one raised their heads from the darkness.

Taking cover in the night, evil shadows writhed, strange mouths drooled over the living inside houses, and evil winds blew across the sky...

The evil spirits driven out of the dock in the late afternoon returned once more.

Some evil spirits that were not originally at the dock also came in to see the commotion.

On the doors of every household, door gods were pasted.

This made them exceptionally restless and dissatisfied, emitting various eerie roars.

A clay jar filled with filthy blood rolled into the dock.

The filthy blood inside emitted a fishy stench; upon reaching a household's door, the scent drifted in through the window.

The master of the house, exhausted after a day's labor, smelled an alluring fragrance.

Already hungry, he nearly could not resist and wanted to open the door to go out and search.

Fortunately, though his hand had already touched the door latch, he held back at the very last moment.

"Outside must be evil spirits!"

The clay jar shook, and the filthy blood within swayed.

That fragrance grew even stronger.

The master of the house slapped himself hard, then stuffed his nostrils with tattered cloth, breathed through his mouth, got into bed, and continued sleeping.

The clay jar swayed unsteadily, the filthy blood within clanking, as if cursing.

In the night sky, an invisible fine thread drifted over, yet paid no attention to the clay jar.

This thing was incompatible with its own nature.

The fine thread drifted for a while longer, then collided head-on in midair with a pale white "evil qi."

Yet it merely passed straight through the evil qi.

Finally, it discovered a strange fish, its body covered in pus, with whiskers growing wildly around its lips like a hand, using fins that had turned into webbed paws to separate itself and crawl up from the canal, inching its way onto the dock.

The fine thread landed upon its body.

It melted in completely.

Suddenly, a patch of ghostly fire ignited in the strange fish's two eyes.

Its body rapidly elongated.

It ferociously swallowed the surrounding small evil spirits in one bite.

Seeming still ravenously hungry, it began hunting for food everywhere.

As it continuously fed, its body grew rapidly, already reaching more than ten feet in length; suddenly, it raised its head—

Ghosts within ten zhang were pulled by some indescribable force and gathered before it.

But it picked and chose, seeming dissatisfied with all of them.

In anger, it blew them all away in one breath, then continued writhing, searching nearby.

As it passed before a row of houses, that indescribable force suddenly yanked more than ten souls out from inside the houses!

The people sleeping soundly inside were thus having their souls snatched away in their dreams!

Yet on the doors of these houses, where door gods were pasted, there was not the slightest reaction!

This time it was finally satisfied; gazing up at the more than ten souls, it thought they all looked good, making it somewhat difficult to choose.

It first selected one, placing his face upon its own.

Then, opening its mouth, it swallowed the other souls, sucking them into its belly; these faces could be worn in rotation later.

……

Those "Nian Sheng" drifted in the night sky, constantly searching for suitable targets.

Finally, one of those "monsters" happened to be right near the house where Xu Miao was leading the guard.

Everyone suddenly felt their souls shake, like a lamp flame in the wind.

Except for Xu Miao, the rest of them fell headlong.

Their souls had already been dragged away!

Xu Miao was horrified and quickly recited a copy of the "Song of Righteousness"; that feeling of having one's soul tugged was like a wild beast startled by fire, shrinking back into the darkness!

"How could this be!" Xu Miao thought, "Could it not be a malevolent spirit, but human mischief? With the Door Gods pasted on the door, how could the methods of a malevolent spirit penetrate in?!"

She grabbed her own talisman, the Brush Mountain, in one hand, and held a stack of calligraphy copies in the other, carefully pasting them behind the door, then peered out through the door crack:

A malevolent spirit of the kind Xu Yuan had described was outside the door, proudly holding its head high, selecting those souls!

However, this one was far larger than Xu Yuan had described, a zhang long and as thick as a water bucket.

The souls were like water weeds floating in water.

Confused and ignorant, they drifted in the half-air above its head.

Xu Miao was even more shocked: Could it truly be a malevolent spirit?!

But how did this malevolent spirit's ability bypass the Door Gods' prohibitions!?

Xu Miao had no time to think further; if the souls under her command were eaten by this malevolent spirit, they would truly be dead!

She quietly pushed the door open and stepped out, hurling the Brush Mountain from her hand.

Boom!

The Brush Mountain transformed into a stone mountain, crashing down heavily; that malevolent spirit was instantly smashed into minced meat!

The Skin Dragon raised its head from the river water.

It fixed its gaze on the monster on the street not far from the riverside.

The other party suddenly realized and turned its head to see the Skin Dragon.

On a human face, clear envy and hatred appeared: How are you more like a dragon than I am!

The monster flew into a rage and attacked fiercely; as long as it ate you, it would become more like a dragon!

(End of this chapter)