Chapter 69

"In total..."

The tabby cat leaped lightly, jumped onto the table beside it, and lowered its head to examine the large gray rat on the ground.

Looking from left to right, from right to left.

It seemed to be counting.

But even the little fox on the ground was probably able to count how many rats there were, yet it hadn't finished counting, so it had to raise its head and stare at Lin Jue.

"How many?"

It seemed to feel that Lin Jue was more honest than the Third Third Shixiong.

"Nine." Lin Jue said truthfully, "We will remember it for you, Daoist friend."

"I believe you too!"

He then withdrew the bean soldiers and called Yang Gong and the others in.

Besides the Yang family, several merchants who had gone to Fuqiu Peak to invite them were also still there. Looking at the large gray rats and silver money on the ground, they were all shocked, not expecting that they could really be found.

"Yang Gong, please count them at home first. If there is any extra, it should belong to the neighbors, so please return it on their behalf. If there is any shortage, it must be that those spirits and monsters secretly moved them away. Yang Gong, please be clear, we Daoists of the Fuqiu Temple will never hide anything." The Third Senior Brother didn't explain much, feeling at ease was enough, and he didn't spend much effort. Whether they returned it or not was up to them, and he immediately looked at the other wealthy people, "Next house."

There were five people who came.

A total of five households.

They happened to be distributed in several places in the city.

Looking at the Third Senior Brother's intention, it seemed that even after solving the problems for these five households, if trouble didn't come knocking, he wouldn't stop there—although the Fuqiu Temple was a Spirit Method Sect in the deep mountains, it also had some intention of eliminating harm for the people. Even if trouble never came to the door, continuing on, it would be nothing more than continuously eliminating harm for the people.

Gradually it reached late night, and then early morning.

They moved from one household to another.

The Daoist friends from Scissor Peak didn't sleep, the merchants who lost their silver didn't sleep, and Lin Jue and the Third Third Shixiong naturally didn't feel sleepy either.

Gradually it became dawn.

At the last merchant's house.

This time the rat hole was in the corner of the wall inside the room.

The Third Third Shixiong still asked the merchant to avoid, closed the doors and windows, summoned the bean soldiers, then guarded the hole, invited the cat Daoist friends from Scissor Peak to go down to eliminate the rats, and bring the silver money up.

Everything was the same as before.

Even because they had stayed up all night, both of them looked a bit tired. Plus, feeling that it was dawn, the sounds of peddlers shouting, the sound of hooves of horses and mules passing by, and the sound of wheels had already come from outside. These households were all doing business in the city, and their houses were next to busy streets. Thinking that there were already many people outside, generally speaking, Many Yaoguai and evil ghosts wouldn't come out at this time, so the two also relaxed their vigilance.

One sat on a chair, elbows resting on the armrests, palms supporting his chin; the other stretched his legs straight, tapping his hand on his leg.

Even the fox was lying beside Lin Jue's feet, squinting its eyes.

But suddenly, for no reason, the fox's ears moved, and it immediately raised its head, looking out the window.

It didn't know what movement had attracted its attention.

The next instant, they heard a sound of wind outside the window.

"Woo..."

It sounded like a blunt object breaking through the air.

Just hearing a "pop" sound, a stick suddenly broke through the window paper and drilled in from the window.

"What is that?"

The Third Third Shixiong's expression immediately tightened. He had been drowsy, but suddenly became energetic and stood up.

With a flick of his fingers, two bean soldier warriors stepped forward.

Lin Jue also picked up his Daoist saber.

"Woo woo woo..."

The stick entered the room but didn't stop, instead spinning continuously and making a "woo" sound of breaking through the air, spinning wildly in the room. The speed was about the same as someone waving it or throwing it out, but it never stopped.

Gradually, it turned from the front corner to beside the two.

Lin Jue watched vigilantly, not acting rashly.

He only felt that this stick seemed to have no target, and it seemed it didn't know where the two were in the room, so it flew and spun everywhere, looking for a target.

The bean soldier warriors locked onto the stick.

Two flashes of saber light passed by one after another!

I don't know how strong these bean soldier warriors were, and I don't know how sharp their sabers were, but after two strikes, the solid wooden stick immediately broke into three pieces and fell to the ground.

Lin Jue held his saber and came forward, looking down.

But it was just an ordinary eyebrow-height stick, polished smooth, like one used for martial arts practice in a martial arts school. At this time, it was broken into three pieces, and there was nothing unusual to be seen.

But it had just been spinning wildly in the room, clearly as if there were something strange.

Was it an invisible spirit or monster?

Was it still in the room at this time?

"Vast heaven and earth, spirits of this place, hear my command! Spiritual light as if washing, illuminating the ancient dark realm! Many Yaoguai and ghosts come, do not hide your forms and avoid the light! Three realms of yin and yang, once my incantation is out, reveal your form!"

The voices of Lin Jue and the Third Third Shixiong sounded almost at the same time.

The two looked at each other, but didn't stop.

After the incantation was recited, nothing happened in the room.

"It's not a spirit or monster!" The Third Third Shixiong, who had seen more, made the judgment first, "It's a kind of shu-fa!"

"Shu-fa?" Lin Jue looked down and saw the wooden stick that had almost no lethality, and also made a judgment, "It seems this is a warning to us."

"It should be." The Third Third Shixiong agreed with his words, "Cultivating the Dao is not easy, and learning fa-shu is even harder. Ordinary cultivators generally won't easily engage in a battle of fa-shu with others, and even less easily with people whose background they don't know."

Two archers walked to his side with heavy steps.

As the Third Third Shixiong spoke, he reached out and pulled from behind the archer, immediately drawing a long saber.

"It's a pity, stealing is one thing, but harming people in the city is another. We who cultivate the Dao, as men of honor, since we have seen it, how can we tolerate you?"

Lin Jue looked at him and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

He actually heard a bit of the "jianghu" spirit.

"Ma Shidi, be careful." The Third Third Shixiong laughed loudly, then raised his voice and shouted outside, "Daoist friend, bring out some real skills!"

As soon as the words fell, there was a "clatter" sound. The three pieces of wood on the ground suddenly rolled, and then flew up one after another, starting to spin in circles again, but this time flying straight toward the corner where the two were.

"Woo woo woo..."

For a moment, the whole room was filled with the sound of breaking through the air.

At the same time, several yellow beans flew out.

Landing, they had already become warriors.

Lin Jue only saw the wooden stick spinning and dancing in the air. Although it was still at the previous speed, after being cut, it had sharp edges, and it seemed its lethality had increased by another level.

There were two pieces flying toward him.

The wooden stick danced into a circle.

In his urgency, Lin Jue dodged to the side, avoiding a piece of the wooden stick, and raised his Daoist saber to parry upward. With a "clang" sound, he knocked one away.

The force didn't seem very great?

Frowning and pondering for a moment, Lin Jue still handed the bottle back to the Seventh Third Shixiong: "I won't smear it, lest a demon really comes, smells that something is wrong, and doesn't dare to come and steal it."

"That also makes sense!"

The Seventh Third Shixiong's expression also tightened, then he said: "Sure enough, when it comes to dealing with demons and ghosts, you are also my Third Shixiong."

"Don't laugh at me..."

"Haha!"

"I've just happened to encounter quite a few."

"Then let's stop talking."

"Alright!" Lin Jue agreed, looked down, and saw the little fox curled up beside him. In the dim light, it was a black ball. Reaching out to touch it, it was warm and soft, so he said, "Humans in the night can't compare to foxes; you must be vigilant."

Good Fuyao had always been a mute fox and didn't reply to him.

The temple immediately became quiet.

Lin Jue sat in the position closest to the door, vigilantly glancing at the two holes the size of heads on the wall, not knowing if it was a small-sized or transformation-skilled demon or ghost that would drill in from here.

To his left was the Little Xiao Shimei, and furthest inside was the Seventh Third Shixiong.

On his right was the little fox curled into a ball.

Whether it was knowing that foxes were naturally vigilant nocturnal animals, or that having a furry little thing beside him naturally made people feel at ease, or some other reason, just having a half-grown little thing lying quietly beside him was actually enough to make Lin Jue feel a bit more stable and composed in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 60 =====

This time, however, it was much lighter and faster.

"Pop pop pop..."

Several saber blades easily cut through the window, also spinning and flying in, flying toward the people in the room.

The merchant only then had time to widen his eyes.

Immediately after, there was a scream.

"Luo Gong, don't shout! Hide quickly! The evil person who took your silver has come to the door!" Lin Jue shouted at him, but lowered his voice, "If there is a chance, go out and report to the officials!"

While speaking, there were several "thud thud" sounds.

Several warriors used shields to catch the saber blades.

The saber blades embedded into the shields, almost piercing through.

After piercing through, these saber blades were still swaying, as if trying to pull themselves out of the shields, until the Third Third Shixiong stepped forward and reached out to touch them, and these saber blades stopped moving.

But saber blades kept flying in from outside, flying and spinning wildly in the room, making one look and feel terrified.

The bean soldiers almost all blocked around Lin Jue and the Third Third Shixiong.

The speed of the saber blades was much faster, and the force had also increased, about the same as an ordinary person throwing a saber with all their might. Ordinary people would find it hard to dodge. Fortunately, Lin Jue's reaction wasn't slow, and these warriors were even more agile, either using shields to slap these saber blades away, using long sabers to cut them down, or blocking them with their bodies.

That's right, they weren't living people, so these saber blades actually had limited damage to them.

"This person's skills are average, but this fa-shu is too annoying, and this place is also unfavorable for us. We can't fight him like this!" The Third Third Shixiong lowered his voice and said to Lin Jue, "He must be hiding in the dark, and the distance from us won't be too far. If I stay here to deal with him, Ma Shidi, do you dare to take two bean soldiers to find him?"

Lin Jue thought for a moment and knew that what the Third Third Shixiong said was probably all correct, and he also knew that this couldn't go on. They couldn't touch that person, but these saber blades could cut them if they found a gap.

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

"Don't make a sound, I'll deal with him here."

The Third Third Shixiong said in a low voice, and handed over another bean. Thinking it should be the other one from that night, he instructed him: "If there is danger, you must know that only bean soldiers can take risks, you cannot take risks yourself."

"Understood."

Lin Jue also lowered his voice, nodded, and took it.

At the same time, he tilted his head.

"Swish!"

A piece of iron flew past his face and hit the wall.

As if hearing the movement, the head of a tabby cat poked out from the hole by the wall, looking at them: "Daoist friends of Fuqiu Peak, what's wrong? Do you need help..."

Before it finished speaking, it saw the sky full of saber blades.

The tabby cat instantly retracted its head.

"Good Fuyao!"

"?"

The fox tilted its head to look at him, its eyes flickering, very intelligent, as if guessing his thoughts.

"Your sense of smell and hearing are sharper, do you know where that person is?"

"Woo!"

The fox didn't hesitate and immediately ran out.

Lin Jue hurriedly followed.

His figure flashed and he was out of the room.

The evil person outside seemed to know they were in the room, so the saber blades and danger were all in the room. Coming out of the room, it was instead open and clear.

Crouching down, he didn't dare to make a sound along the way and quickly ran out of the courtyard.

Outside was the street.

"Clatter..."

The lively sounds immediately flooded into his ears.

These merchants were old friends. Although the other merchants had already finished their own business, they also had some sense of loyalty and accompanied everyone to the end. Seeing Lin Jue, they couldn't help but cast their eyes on him. Just as they wanted to open their mouths to ask how things were, they saw him holding a Daoist saber, his expression hurried, and couldn't help but be stunned.

"Shh..."

Lin Jue made a gesture to be quiet.

There were many peddlers and commoners on the street, some shouting to sell, some walking idly, and some repairing houses. Seeing this Daoist priest with a fox and holding a Daoist saber, they couldn't help but cast curious glances.

Lin Jue followed the fox and walked quickly through the street.

Almost diagonally across a street, opposite the Luo family, there was a small courtyard where the owner was not at home, the gate was locked, and the fox stopped in front of the gate.

"Beans fall, wind rises, soldiers and horses manifest."

Lin Jue whispered, and threw two beans into the courtyard with force.

"Harmony is the same as things..."

This sentence was recited silently, and at the same time, he took a step forward.

Many passersby and commoners were already surprised. This time, they watched with their own eyes as this Daoist priest, holding a Daoist saber, took a step forward and actually passed through the door.

They couldn't help but exclaim!

There were other noises in the exclamations!

But unexpectedly, as soon as this Daoist priest passed the wooden door, he immediately retreated.

Thud! Thud!

The gate shook twice, revealing the tips of two saber blades.

The force of these two strikes was much heavier.