The City God of Chunhui Prefecture had a gloomy face, but he was still unwilling to leave. His Dharma image floated high in the sky and kept scanning the hills. The two judges of the Merits and Demerits Department and the chief officer of the Yin-Yang Department were beside him.
The chief officer of the Yin and Yang Department had two illusory auras in his eyes as he scanned the area below. The civil and military judges of the Merits and Demerits Department took out the chapter book in one hand and held the judge's pen in the other. As long as he found any clues, he would immediately lock the book.
"This monster has become quite powerful. I don't know where it came from. How could it be missing in just a few moments?"
The chief officer of the Yin and Yang Department was shocked, angry and confused.
The City God of Chunhui Prefecture narrowed his eyes, looked at the hills and then looked in the direction of the prefecture city.
"I'm afraid this demon has been doing evil in Chunhui Mansion for a long time without being discovered by us. I don't know how many mortals have been deceived in secret!"
The two judges and the chief officer of the Yin-Yang Division all had sullen faces and remained silent, especially since he had just killed the night patrol attendants, which showed that the monster did not take the Chunhui Mansion Yin Division seriously at all. It was simply a shame to be provoked in person.
The City God's supervision of the underworld has many restrictions. Some monsters and ghosts can still temporarily avoid the supervision of the underworld. For those with deeper Taoism skills, it is not impossible for them to live among mortals even if they conceal their aura.
However, for some evil spirits who understand how powerful the underworld is, the means of harming people should not be too violent. This is because when a local person is born, the elders in the family will often go to the temple to pray for blessings and offer sacrifices to their ancestors at home, and the birthday and luck will be "recorded" in the local underworld.
Once the evil spirits harm mortals with violent means, there will be a light change in the underworld, which will be discovered by the on-duty ghosts and report to the chief officer, thus making the underworld aware that something has happened.
However, it is not that there are no evil spirits with deep Taoism or proficiency in strange arts who can avoid it. For example, they slowly erode the victim by living together day and night, or the most common one is seducing the victim with beauty to make him willing.
At this moment, the City God of Chunhui Prefecture was a little angry. He waved his sleeve and a golden chain was thrown towards the hill below. It penetrated the rocks and soil like an illusion, and stirred it underneath, but it was of no avail.
About a quarter of an hour later, the City God and his subordinates finally admitted that they had completely lost any trace of the monster and could only return to the city to make further plans.
"Let's go check out the city first. The fire that just broke out was particularly strange. We should also check the books in the underworld as much as possible."
Even though they were mentally prepared, the two judges secretly groaned when they heard this, but there was nothing they could do as it was their duty.
This so-called "checking the books as much as possible" involves the population of Chunhui City, which is a huge task even for ghosts and gods. The Merits and Demerits Department and even the Twenty-Four Departments will have to work hard on this matter for several days.
As for the City God, he naturally doesn't need to personally participate in such matters as reconciling the account books.
At the inn, Yin Zhaoxian fell to the ground and curled up. Although the source of the intense and real pain in his body had faded away, the feeling still stimulated him in waves.
Moreover, Yin Zhaoxian's body temperature was extremely high and his whole body was still red. The sweat that had just come out was immediately evaporated. If there had not been a gentle force in his abdomen that always soothed the pain in his body, he would have collapsed long ago.
"Huh...huh...huh..."
After a while, the pain finally disappeared, and Yin Zhaoxian's body temperature slowly dropped to a high fever level. It might only be a short while in the outside world, but for him, every breath felt like a year or a month.
In fact, it really didn't take long, because just now there was a loud noise when Madam Red was hit by the recoil and the wall of the inn was broken. It was only now that the noisy voices were heard, which shows how short the time was.
"What happened just now?" "I don't know, it sounded like thunder!"
"Hey, didn't you hear a woman screaming?" "I heard it, it was a strange person...!"
"There are several holes smashed into this side of the inn!"
"Could it be struck by lightning?"
"Oh, this is Yin Jieyuan!" "Really!"
Two servants and several guests of the inn finally discovered Yin Zhaoxian. Someone hurried in to check on him, sniffed his breath and found that he was still breathing, and touched his forehead and found it was burning hot.
"Call the doctor, call the doctor!"
"Oh, and report it to the police!"
…
Almost all the guests in the inn were awakened late at night. Some came out to check, while others lay awake and hid in their houses. Of course, there were also a few scholars whose yang energy and lifespans had been sucked away in advance and were still unconscious in their beds.
There was a flurry of activity in the inn. Some were trying to rescue people, some were calling the police, and some were holding lanterns and going outside to check the broken wood and bricks. Then more officials arrived.
After all, the list of top scorers had just been announced, and another state's top scorer was suspected of being attacked, which was definitely not a trivial matter.
Beyond the naked eye, on the high roofs of buildings such as the inn, the City God of Chunhui Prefecture and his subordinate officers were looking down, and many ghost officials were investigating the case just like the officials in the world of the living. The security foundations of the two worlds, the Yin and Yang, met without either side being aware of it.
"Just now, a flame rose up and repelled the monster, but at this moment, there is not even a single scorch mark on the curtains in the inn. It's very strange!"
The City God's vision seemed to be able to penetrate the roof and see the situation in Yin Zhaoxian's original room in the inn. Then he turned his gaze and looked at Yin Zhaoxian who had already been moved to another place.
"It is rare for an ordinary scholar to have a trace of righteousness in his mind, and it is very easy to dissipate. However, this person's righteousness is so strong that it can actually be manifested. It is really rare!"
"Your Excellency is right, but he is only a mortal. It is impossible for him to have the strength to repel a powerful monster."
The chief officer of the Yin-Yang Department had already visited Yin Zhaoxian and knew that he had neither practiced martial arts nor had any spiritual energy. Of course, Yin Zhaoxian himself was extremely talented, had a profound literary temperament, and possessed a noble aura, which made him unusually extraordinary.
"This man is a man of great integrity. Maybe he really saw some traces of the monster. I will personally send him a dream later to ask him whether he saw it or not!"
After the City God finished speaking, he turned around and left with his officials, returning to the temple.
Although sending dreams and entering dreams by those who practice immortal cultivation seem to be similar, they are not the same kind of techniques. The former can be regarded as a gift from ghosts and gods, while the latter is a special technique that requires those who practice immortal cultivation.
In the inn, the doctor diagnosed Yin Zhaoxian with just a cold. He told him to keep warm and take some medicine to sweat, and the symptoms, which had now turned into a low-grade fever, would subside. Yin Zhaoxian also stayed awake for a while after the doctor came, and although he soon fell asleep again due to exhaustion, some servants and the innkeeper were relieved.
When Yin Zhaoxian was sober, he only told the officers that he was attacked by a woman in red who called herself Madam Red, but he did not say that what he saw was a monster. He did not want to be regarded as a crazy scholar.
It was the fourth watch of the night. After the night watchman had been beating his gong for a while, a gust of cold wind from the smell of incense blew into Yin Zhaoxian's guest room. However, compared with other things, the presence of the City God did not bring a gloomy feeling to people.
The City God of Chunhui Prefecture glanced at the inn servant who was guarding Yin Zhaoxian's house, who was dozing on the table. Then he looked at Yin Zhaoxian, waved his sleeves, and his figure disappeared in a blur.
Yin Zhaoxian, who was sleeping on the bed, immediately frowned.
In his dream, he found himself sitting in a dimly lit room with a bed under him. In front of him, there was a man whose half body was shrouded in darkness. He could not see clearly but looked like a high-ranking official of the imperial court. He was sitting on a stool in front of a table.
The more Yin Zhaoxian wanted to see clearly, the more blurry it seemed, and the other party exuded a depressing aura.
"Where am I? Sir, who are you?"
"Don't be afraid, Yin Jieyuan. I am the City God of Chunhui Prefecture. I have come to ask you a question!"
The voice of the City God was like a loud bell, ringing in the front and echoing all around, helping Yin Zhaoxian to calm down.
People's thoughts in dreams are often unclear, their emotions are amplified, and sometimes they do stupid and illogical things.
When Yin Zhaoxian heard that the other party was the City God, he was shocked and hurriedly bowed.
"Yin Zhaoxian meets the City God!"
"Well, Yin Jieyuan, let me ask you, did you see the face of the woman who attacked you in the inn?"
It is not easy to tell this kind of thing to others, but one must tell the truth to the City God. At this moment, Yin Zhaoxian thought that it was most likely the City God who saved him when he was almost killed by the monster.
"Thank you, Lord City God, for saving me in my critical moment. The woman just now was not a mortal. I vaguely saw that she looked like a bloody skeleton. She called herself 'Madam Red'."
The City God frowned.
"Madame Red?"
"That's right. The rest of Yin didn't know about it either. He was really dizzy and in great pain at the time."
The City God smiles, and one can imagine a scene where an ordinary person who may have never seen a ghost in his life encounters a monster. Fortunately, he has a righteous spirit.
However, the City God suddenly thought of the flames before, and thought that Yin Zhaoxian might have had another adventure.
"Oh, there is one more thing, Yin Jieyuan. When the monster was about to harm you, a strange flame appeared and repelled it. However, nothing in the inn was burnt. Did the master give you any protective items?"
When the City God asked this question, Yin Zhaoxian realized that it was not him who saved him at the most dangerous moment just now. The first thought in his mind was Ji Yuan, and then the old man who swallowed half a tree of dates in one bite that night.
"To be honest, I am fortunate to have made a friend who has the ability to make ghosts, gods and monsters admire him. He is definitely not an ordinary person. When I left him, he gave me a book... But I dare not reveal his name without his consent..."
The City God nodded slightly, as long as he understood the reason.
"I think it was this person who protected you. He must have seen that Yin Jieyuan was very powerful and helped you..."
The City God pondered for a moment and realized that Yin Zhaoxian would not be able to give any clues.
"Thank you, Yin Jieyuan, for clearing up my confusion. Goodbye!"
In the dream, the City God bowed slightly, and Yin Zhaoxian hurriedly returned the greeting. In a trance, the dream ended and Yin Zhaoxian fell asleep again.