Chapter 69: Intense Heartfire

KLANG—

A loud crash shattered all the raindrops around it.

The evil entity and the state’s suppressive artifact clashed head-on, neither gaining the upper hand.

This was the evil entity’s full form.

But at this state, Master Gao could no longer control it well.

Ma Tianshou was jolted by that sword strike, his hands going numb, and he involuntarily dropped the guillotine blade.

CRACK!

The guillotine blade fell, and the mysterious force that had confined the evil entity within ten zhang vanished.

The ten-zhang evil entity galloped forward on horseback—

Ma Tianshou could barely match the evil entity only by relying on the “Dog-Head Guillotine”; the situation was clearly dire for all of the Purification Office personnel!

Yan Lao lay sprawled over a hundred zhang away, yet still flicked his abacus beads at lightning speed.

He was trying to calculate a path to survival.

This wasn’t meaningless—Yan Lao had just felt strange: the evil entity was so powerful, yet why, in his last calculation, had the future been merely obscure, not outright failure or death?

“There must still be a glimmer of hope!”

…

Xu Yuan, seeing the ten-zhang evil entity, was stunned: could there really be such a terrifying evil entity hidden within the county?

That shouldn’t be possible.

Xu Yuan suddenly grew anxious: his stepmother hadn’t returned!

Should he go look for her—what if she encountered danger?

But Xu Yuan quickly forced himself to calm down.

His stepmother was stronger than him; if she truly faced danger, his presence wouldn’t help.

In this chaos, if he went out searching for her, she’d return home to find him gone and go out looking for him.

That would be foolish.

Xu Yuan’s face was grim as he stood beneath the eaves, staring fixedly toward the county yamen.

…

The ten-zhang evil entity charged forward, raising its massive iron sword high!

Ma Tianshou swiftly wrote eighteen “Strength” talismans and affixed them all to his back, then raised his official seal above his head, and lifted the guillotine blade once more with both hands.

KLANG!

The evil entity struck the guillotine blade again; this time, the old official trembled all over but managed to hold his ground—yet no one knew how much longer he could last.

Yan Lao calculated furiously, surpassing his usual level by far.

“I’ve calculated it!” Yan Lao stared in shock, turning his head toward River Worker Alley, muttering in disbelief: “The only path to survival… lies in River Worker Alley… is it that boy?”

Yan Lao scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward River Worker Alley.

When the three-year-old child transformed into the ten-zhang evil entity, its abilities shifted, and the county yamen’s seals dissolved.

By the time Yan Lao reached the mouth of River Worker Alley, Ma Tianshou had already clashed twice more with the ten-zhang evil entity.

Yan Lao was about to rush into the alley when a slightly hunched figure blocked his path.

Yan Lao turned aside, but found he couldn’t bypass her.

No matter how he moved, she stood firmly before him.

Yan Lao swallowed his impatience and bowed: “Madam, are you a senior elder of Xu Yuan’s household?”

Wang Shen gave no quarter: “Don’t try to flatter me. Go back where you came from. Today, you won’t lay eyes on Ah Yuan.”

Yan Lao pleaded: “I am a Seventh-Rank Daoist Priest, an expert in calculation—I never miscalculate. The only hope lies with Xu Yuan…”

Wang Shen cut him off: “That’s your hope, not Ah Yuan’s.”

“I’ve calculated it—Xu Yuan won’t be in danger.”

“I don’t believe you,” Wang Shen refused outright. “In weather like this, with a monster this terrifying, you want our Ah Yuan to save you? You overestimate him. Go back.”

“You—!” Yan Lao, furious, flicked his abacus beads. “Madam, if you insist, I’ll have to apologize for the rudeness!”

Wang Shen’s gaze turned icy: “I’m just an old woman from River Worker Alley, insignificant—no one can say I’ve offended you. But you won’t pass.”

Wang Shen reached into her own abdomen, pulled out a heart, and hurled it at Yan Lao.

BOOM—

A roaring sea of fire erupted amid the torrential rain!

The rain didn’t extinguish a single flame.

Yan Lao’s abacus burst into flames instantly!

His hands burned searingly; he cried out and dropped the abacus into the pooled water.

“Leave now, or next time I’ll burn your eyebrows off!”

“Wang Shen.” A voice suddenly came from within the alley.

Wang Shen didn’t move her body, but her head twisted completely around—Xu Yuan stepped out from the alley, holding an umbrella.

“Why did you come out?” Wang Shen fretted.

Her heartfire flared higher; Yan Lao shrieked and stumbled back, his eyebrows charred away!

Xu Yuan smiled: “Wang Shen, I know you care for me. But let me speak with Master Yan.”

“What’s there to talk about!” Wang Shen had barely spoken when Shen Da emerged, smoking his pipe, hunched over: “Did you forget the old ancestor’s words? Let the child decide for himself.”

Wang Shen glared at Shen Da, then reluctantly stepped aside.

Yan Lao beamed, rushing forward to Xu Yuan: “I offer you the position of Mountain-Carrying Captain in the Purification Office—you’ll be on equal rank with Fu Jingyu immediately.”

Fu Jingyu is Ma Tianshou’s student; the Fu family of Linzhou is a major clan, with ancestors who served as Grand Secretaries—now they have one Minister and one Prefect. He’s worked diligently in the Purification Office for five years to earn his current rank!”

Yan Lao added further incentive, fearing it still wouldn’t sway Xu Yuan: “If that’s still not enough, afterward I can recommend you for promotion to the higher rank of Inspector.”

This time, Xu Yuan didn’t bargain—he asked: “If I refuse, you’ll all die?”

“Not just us—you see that monster—” Yan Lao pointed back toward the yamen: “Chen Liangxuan has already lost control. No one in the entire county will survive!”

Xu Yuan asked again: “What exactly are they trying to do?”

Yan Lao, desperate and with no time for circumlocution, laid it all out: “Over the years, Qiao Zian has fed hundreds of blood offerings into Ghost Witch Mountain. We don’t have exact numbers, but at least three hundred!”

Sending so many living people in can’t be just about “befriending an evil entity.”

And such a massive disappearance couldn’t be hidden by Qiao Zian—a Ninth-Rank Literary Cultivator, a mere scholar—or even Chen Liangxuan—Chen was exiled to the Southern Capital three years ago; he had no such power.

The mastermind behind them must be a powerful noble from the Northern Capital!

We suspect this will be a monumental case!”

Xu Yuan clenched his teeth hard and said: “I accept.”

Yan Lao beamed: “Let’s go quickly!”

Wang Shen panicked: “Shen Da!”

The old man had appeared between Xu Yuan and Yan Lao, his back turned to Yan Lao, facing Xu Yuan: “Why did you agree?”

“If the Purification Office falls, Chen Liangxuan and his master won’t spare me,” Xu Yuan replied succinctly.

He came out to meet Yan Lao because he’d finally understood this.

Xu Yuan didn’t want to spend his life hiding in River Worker Alley—and if the Northern Capital noble refused to let this go, he’d bring disaster upon River Worker Alley!

Shen Da took a puff from his pipe, then stepped aside: “Go.”

Xu Yuan remembered something, ran back inside, shouldered his harquebus, and hurried off with Yan Lao.

Wang Shen tried to block them again, but Shen Da scolded: “I think Ah Yuan sees clearer than you do. Stop treating him like a child!”

Wang Shen ignored him: “You won’t care for the child, yet you make excuses! Get out of the way!”

Wang Shen chased after them, and Shen Da lifted his foot—intending to trip her—but ultimately didn’t extend it.

“Think carefully—you’re not like Mao Lao Si. If you act recklessly outside the alley, you might not come back!” Shen Da shouted, then erupted into violent coughing, smoking several puffs to suppress it.

But Wang Shen paid no heed, vanishing into the rain.

(End of Chapter)