Chapter 51: Forgot Something

When Qi Wu first found the old hunter, there were still a few households nearby, appearing normal, all transformed by chang-ghosts.

After the tiger demon was subdued, the chang-ghosts were at a loss and in a mess. Some said they wanted to go down the mountain, some said they wanted to continue hiding in the mountains. There was no conclusion as to what to do.

Just as they were arguing, the three appeared and captured them all. Meng Jingzhou revealed a little Pure Yang Qi, and these chang-ghosts cried out in pain on the ground.

"No need to keep so many, two are enough to impersonate demonic cultivators," Lu Yang said coldly. For these chang-ghosts who helped the tiger, there was no need for sympathy.

If they hadn't agreed to the tiger demon's request, they wouldn't have become chang-ghosts.

They deserve to die.

Lu Yang tried, but still couldn't collect ghost servants, only able to let his soul leave his body.

"Man Gu, it's up to you."

Man Gu didn't say much, kept the two chang-ghosts transformed from travelers, and wiped out the rest, clean and neat.

Using the hunter chang-ghost would be easily seen through by the demonic sect, guessing it was obtained by killing the tiger demon. Using the traveler chang-ghosts, the risk would be much smaller.

"Collect." Man Gu collected the two traveler chang-ghosts, one male and one female, into his body.

This is also part of the ghost-driving technique: collect ghosts into the body and summon them to fight when necessary.

When the three were heading to Yanjiang County, they met Qi Wu and others who were still circling in the mountains and forests.

It was still raining at this time, and Qi Wu and others didn't know the way, so naturally, they couldn't find the way down the mountain.

"Benefactors!" Qi Wu and others were extremely excited to see Lu Yang and the three, as if they had seen a life-saving straw.

"Benefactors' great kindness and virtue, we will never forget it in our lives!"

"The Mountain God has manifested!"

"The grace of saving our lives, we will never forget it!"

They thanked the three in a jumble, with sincere feelings.

Seeing the few people saved and listening to their heartfelt words of gratitude, the haze in Lu Yang's heart gradually dissipated, and he no longer thought about the corpses in the cave.

"We cultivators should walk the righteous path, no need to thank us." Meng Jingzhou stated his position with a serious face. Saving people was a matter of course, not for the sake of others' gratitude.

Man Gu observed Meng Jingzhou, who was full of righteousness, and felt that he was indeed worthy of being his object of study. He was calm in the face of events; if it were him, he couldn't do this.

Lu Yang didn't need to observe Meng Jingzhou to know that this grandson was purely pretending. His heart must have been blooming with joy, and who knows how happy he was.

If you ask why, it's because Lu Yang now also has a face full of righteousness.

Sending the merchants to Yanjiang County, the sky was already bright. The heavy rain that had fallen all night finally stopped, and a faint rainbow hung in the sky.

"Speaking of which, did we forget something?" Meng Jingzhou always felt that something was forgotten.

"Didn't forget anything." Lu Yang counted the number of people; there were three people, three brains, and nothing was lost.

"It's just that I always feel something is missing. Forget it, don't think about it."

In Qinghuai County, a carriage was parked in the backyard of the inn. The old horse was eating the feed left by Meng Jingzhou in a leisurely manner.

Why hasn't the Meng family boy come to find me yet? The feed won't last for a few days. Didn't he say the mission would be done in five or six days?

The old horse is a strange demon beast, naturally it cannot eat ordinary feed like mortal horses. What it eats is the feed containing spiritual power that Meng Jingzhou bought at a high price and prepared carefully.

The old horse snorted and smacked its lips, feeling bored. It accidentally caught a glimpse of a little mare with snow-white hair next door.

After the three entered the city, they chose a teahouse at random, ordered a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks, and calculated what to do next.

"Yanjiang County is so big, how are we going to find this Qin Yuanhao? Should we ask the local government for help?" Man Gu frowned.

Yanjiang County is not a major cultivation county. Compared with other counties, the number of people is also ranked behind. It is inconspicuous on the map, and even the imprecise map doesn't have it. But no matter what, Yanjiang County is also a county with a population of two million. Finding one person is like looking for a needle in a haystack. How easy is it?

Lu Yang waved his hand: "Not appropriate. The demonic sect has been hiding here for I don't know how long. The forces involved behind it are intertwined. Maybe there is support from the local government."

Man Gu didn't understand Lu Yang's meaning: "Isn't the demonic sect something everyone should kill? Why would the government help the demonic sect?"

Without Lu Yang answering, Meng Jingzhou was most familiar with this aspect: "Precisely because everyone should kill it, the Great Xia Dynasty added a 'number of demons killed' item to the local official performance appraisal. The more demons eradicated and the higher the cultivation, the more performance points."

"Think about it, the demonic sect can fully make an agreement with the county magistrate to provide demons to the county magistrate regularly, and the county magistrate promises not to reveal the location of the demonic sect."

What Meng Jingzhou said was not a story, but a fact told by the elders in his family who were officials.

The elders in the family said that the Xia Emperor killed batch after batch, but there were still fish that slipped through the net.

There were also people in the court who proposed to remove this assessment indicator, but it was stopped by the prime minister. The assessment indicator is still there. Most officials do their best to eradicate the demonic path, while a small number of people collude with the demonic sect. If the assessment indicator is removed, it is hard to guarantee how many officials are still willing to spend effort to find the traces of the demonic sect.

In general, the existence of this assessment indicator does more good than harm.

Meng Jingzhou's words gave Man Gu a feeling of subverting his cognition. He had never thought about such things before.

Lu Yang said: "The probability of the county magistrate and the demonic sect joining hands is not high, but we must always prepare for the worst."

"If the county magistrate and the demonic sect are really in the same group, then expressing our intentions to the county magistrate will naturally lead the county magistrate to hand over Qin Yuanhao in order not to be exposed. But the entire Yanjiang Branch will hide after receiving the news, causing us to miss the opportunity to sneak into the demonic sect. It's a small loss for a big gain, which is very inappropriate."

"The current plan is for us not to expose our identities, find Qin Yuanhao first, and if we can't find him, it's not too late to ask the government for help."

Man Gu nodded, feeling that what the two said made sense.

"Then how to lure Qin Yuanhao out?" Man Gu had many thoughts in his mind, but felt that none of them were good methods, and they all had big flaws.

Posting flyers and issuing notices is definitely not okay; it's too flashy.

Go to the black market to inquire about information? If Qin Yuanhao learns that someone is inquiring about him, he will hide, and maybe he will lead the demonic sect members to encircle and suppress them. It's very passive and won't work.

Man Gu wanted to know what high opinions Brother Lu and Brother Meng had?

On the way down the mountain, Lu Yang had already thought of a way. He hehe laughed: "Do you know that unlike our righteous sects, those who mix in the Jianghu value face the most."

"Especially those in the demonic sect, who regard face as status. Whoever hits his face is more uncomfortable than killing him."

"So we need to publicize that Qin Yuanhao is kind-hearted and does good things every day. When the rumors spread throughout Yanjiang County and everyone in the demonic sect thinks Qin Yuanhao is a good person, Qin Yuanhao will feel he has lost face and will definitely jump out!"

"This is our opportunity!"

Meng Jingzhou summarized simply: "It's just making things up and spreading rumors."

Coincidentally, he, Meng Jingzhou, is self-taught and best at this.

Man Gu suddenly realized that this is really a good way. If you can't find Qin Yuanhao, just force him out.

But what is meant by "unlike our righteous sects, those who mix in the Jianghu value face the most"? ===== CHAPTER 52 =====