Chapter 269

The immortal mentioned by Wang De was none other than Qinglang of the Wuyai Sect from back then.

When Tang Luo was summoning the Heavenly Roaring Dog, he encountered Qinglang, who mistook him for a demon monk and struck him with a sword.

Though Tang Luo was unharmed, the Heavenly Roaring Dog was startled and fled temporarily.

Thus came the series of events that followed.

In Wang De's account, his second meeting with Qinglang also carried a hint of legend.

At that time, Wang De was in his thirties, and the Wang family could be considered wealthy, yet when he became head of the household, he fell gravely ill.

He nearly did not survive.

Fortunately, Qinglang happened to return to Ancheng and gave him an "immortal pill," casually saving Wang De.

Wang De's longevity to over a hundred years was also due to that immortal pill.

As for why Qinglang came to Ancheng, Wang De did not ask further. Qinglang mentioned Tang Luo to Wang De, inquiring if he had seen that white-haired monk again.

Wang De naturally truthfully replied that he had not seen Tang Luo since that day.

Qinglang did not stay long and soon departed, as if her visit was solely to inquire about Tang Luo's whereabouts.

Few people knew of this matter.

Even the Wang family members were not entirely clear, only knowing that Wang De had fallen ill and later recovered.

Yet in Wang De's heart, it left a deep impression, and Tang Luo's image was consequently greatly exalted.

Hmm, in fact, it could be considered self-guidance.

With this matter, suddenly seeing the Tang Luo of years ago now caused him to become so excited he could not catch his breath, and he passed away on the spot.

"Qinglang..." Tang Luo recalled the so-called Daoist prodigy, the clumsy senior sister, whose talent meant she had undoubtedly broken through Foundation Establishment by now, barring any mishap.

She might even have achieved Golden Core cultivation in this world.

At that time, Tang Luo had also visited the Wuyai Sect as a guest to learn about the state of cultivators in this world.

Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, etc., were considered relatively orthodox, and everyone acknowledged them as the "cultivation system."

The witches of Bei Yuan, however, were somewhat unorthodox.

If one must compare, the power displayed by the Yin brothers after their combined form should qualify as Golden Core cultivators in this world.

That is, the level of "great witch" in people's minds.

Moreover, the sealed great witch, the true great demon, would far surpass that.

Based on current understanding, the top-tier forces of Bei Yuan and Da You are not vastly different.

Da You's strongest cultivators are merely at Foundation Establishment, not significantly different from what Tang Luo learned a hundred years ago.

After exchanging pleasantries, seeing that Tang Luo was easy to talk to, Wang De let out a soft breath, knelt again, and kowtowed, saying: "Please, Master, save the Wang family once more."

"Oh?" Tang Luo asked, "What is the matter?"

Hearing that Tang Luo did not outright refuse, Wang De felt relieved in his heart: "Please, Master, wait a moment."

Saying so, he hurried away.

His steps were very steady, the enlightening effect excellent.

"Master, do you think it might be some kind of mission?" Jin Gang asked with a smile.

"Perhaps, we'll see when the time comes." Tang Luo said.

Although no mission had been received just now, the three of them already sensed something—perhaps this was a mission, and delving deeper might allow them to accept it.

No one would complain about having too many missions, for they knew it had been clearly stated: the more missions completed, the greater the difficulty, and the better the final reward.

This was the first time in the Divine Demon Game that such a clear "explanation" had appeared.

Previously, it had always been vague and grandiose talk.

Soon, Wang De returned with a tall, thick-bearded man in military attire.

"Master!"

The man looked at Tang Luo, clasped his hands, bowed slightly, and maintained a demeanor neither humble nor arrogant.

Tang Luo and the two others fixed their gaze on the man, intrigued.

They could see a faint illusion of a leopard behind him, vaguely emitting an aura that gradually faded away.

Without doubt, this man was a military official of Da You, holding a not-low position.

Combined with what Tang Luo and the others knew about the Wang family's situation, his identity was almost clear.

Da You's fourth-rank military officer, equal in rank to a prefect—Commander-in-Chief Shi Zhenhai, who was also the adopted son and son-in-law of Wang Xingshan.

Da You is divided into four administrative levels: Department, Prefecture, Prefecture, and County.

The head of military officers in one Department is the "Commander," and the head of military officers in the next level down, a Prefecture, is the "Commander-in-Chief."

Tang Luo glanced at Tang Yuhan, looking inquiringly.

"Shi Zhenhai, Commander-in-Chief." Tang Yuhan silently mouthed the words.

"Commander Shi, what matter do you wish to ask the poor monk for help?" Tang Luo asked.

Shi Zhenhai did not answer immediately, but instead looked toward Wang De.

Wang De displeased said: "Since I summoned you here, don't you understand? Why are you still looking at me?"

"Ancestor, please calm your anger." Shi Zhenhai said.

To be honest, he did not have a deep impression of this Wang family ancestor.

The troubles that vexed him, he had merely discussed with his adoptive father Wang De.

This ancestor had actually been lacking in energy for over ten years, no longer interfering in any Wang family affairs, enjoying his twilight years.

At most, when he felt mentally well, he would summon someone to tell him about Wang family matters, always reporting only good news, never bad—for if he heard something unpleasant, it might disturb his vital energy and cause harm, which would not be good.

Yet he had not expected that this ancestor was not as old as they imagined.

Some things, he actually still knew.

Shizhenhai was brought here from the stables, caught up with Wangde, and also learned what had happened.

But deep down, he didn't particularly trust this sudden "High Monk Xuanzang."

However, Wangde's demeanor wasn't that of a gullible old fool, but rather a shrewd old man, which is why Shizhenhai was willing to come over.

Still, the attitude that needed to be shown had to be shown.

Earlier, when he looked at Wangde, it wasn't for Wangde's benefit, but for Tangluo and the others to see.

Wangde naturally understood Shizhenhai's thoughts, feeling somewhat annoyed—this bunch of juniors who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

Yet he couldn't very well lash out in front of Tangluo, or it would mean "giving Tangluo and them something to see."

Truly helpless; all he could do was hope Tangluo wouldn't take this to heart.

On Tangluo's side, Tang Yuhan had figured out a few things, but she said nothing.

Jingang hadn't noticed—he wasn't skilled in this area, and he directly regarded Shizhenhai as the NPC issuing the quest.

He certainly wouldn't speculate on the deeper meaning behind the words and actions of one NPC and another.

As for Tangluo, he hadn't paid attention at all—what, full of deep meaning?

Oh.

That was pretty much his attitude.

Seeing Tangluo's calm and unbothered demeanor, Shizhenhai couldn't tell what kind of attitude this monk had, nor did he bother to probe further, and simply recounted the troubles he had encountered.

As if to cheer up the old ancestor.

Shizhenhai had a thousand-man garrison under his command, stationed near Ancheng, roughly a day's march away.

The trouble Shizhenhai encountered occurred within that garrison, where problems rarely arose.

People had gone missing inside the garrison—over the past year, fifty persons had vanished.

Shizhenhai and his men hadn't even found the bodies of the missing, let alone determined what kind of cause or what "person" was responsible.

Among those fifty, there was also a monk who served as a patron of the Wang family.

Before leaving, he had confidently promised to help Shizhenhai solve the problem and had even demanded considerable benefits in advance, yet in the end, no one knew where he was.

It was also unclear whether he had gone missing or simply run away.

With this monk as a prior example, Shizhenhai naturally felt no warmth toward other monks.

"Why not report it?" Tang Yuhan asked.

A garrison with continuous disappearances—nearly one every seven days, totaling fifty—was no small matter.

Not even a trace had been found; the likelihood of demonic involvement was not small, at least far exceeding the chance of fifty deserters—given the current state of Dayou, speaking frankly, serving in the army was actually a form of protection.

Such a situation should be reported, so that the Youyi Qiji and Longya Dao Men, or other cultivators, could join in resolving it.

"Such a small matter—no need to report it, right?" Shizhenhai said.

Tang Yuhan gave a light laugh and asked no further.

This was certainly not a small matter.

Shizhenhai's failure to report had its reasons: initially, subordinates concealed it—just one or two people, and with fewer heads, they could still draw empty rations—why not?

Later, as the numbers grew, they had no choice but to inform Shizhenhai.

Shizhenhai flew into a rage, yet still chose to suppress the matter—he believed he could resolve it himself, and after doing so, well, he could still draw empty rations.

Drawing empty rations had become an established covert practice in Dayou—Shizhenhai took some, his subordinates took some.

Of the thousand-man garrison, only seven hundred or so remained.

This was still relatively mild; some greedy ones, severe cases, could even draw double the empty rations.

Now, with fifty missing over the past year, plus those who had left, died, or been injured, the garrison was already under seven hundred.

If this number were reported, Shizhenhai would be in serious trouble.

Covert rules are covert rules—once brought to light, things are different.

Even if it were said that over three hundred had gone missing, Shizhenhai would still be in dire straits—no matter the excuse, the outcome would be no better.

How could Shizhenhai, already riding a tiger he couldn't dismount, dare to report it?

Speaking of which, Tangluo had pulled over the onlookers asking about the situation, and they were quite pleased about Wangde being slapped by Jingang, which also had some connection to Shizhenhai's matter.

The Wang family had once practiced kindness and accumulated virtue, but now they were shifting toward becoming a wealthy, unkind clan—partly because the ancestral teachings had gradually been forgotten and no longer observed.

Moreover, over the past six months, they had been extracting wealth for Shizhenhai's sake, and their conduct was disgracefully ugly.

The Wang family were Shizhenhai's in-laws, and Wang Xingshan was his adoptive father; their relationship was close, so they had to help Shizhenhai through this crisis.

Should the matter be exposed, Shizhenhai would want to avoid being implicated, and thus would need someone above to speak for him.

Why would those above speak for him? Naturally, because of Shizhenhai's filial offerings.

These offerings couldn't be lacking—if they were, it would be awkward to bring up, and everyone would need to be appeased.

How could the Wang family not extract wealth?

Shizhenhai spoke neither fully nor truthfully, and Tang Yuhan's attitude toward him grew cold.

Was it really just two versions of the task? They weren't desperately seeking to curry favor with the Wang family.

Moreover, even if it were a task, they could simply walk away, return, and do as they pleased—just that willful.