When Qi Wu first found the old hunter, there were several families nearby. They seemed normal, but they were all transformed by ghosts.
After the tiger demon was brought to justice, the ghosts were at a loss for what to do for a moment. They were in chaos. Some said they should go down the mountain, while others said they should continue hiding in the mountain. No one could decide what to do.
Just as they were arguing, three people appeared and captured them all. Meng Jingzhou revealed a little bit of his pure yang energy, and these ghosts began to cry in pain on the ground.
"There's no need to keep so many. Two are enough to pretend to be demonic monks." Lu Yang said coldly. There was no need to sympathize with these accomplices who were helping the evildoer.
If you do not agree to the tiger demon's request, you will not be able to become a ghost.
Deserve to die.
Lu Yang tried, but still couldn't subdue the ghost servant, so he could only let his soul leave his body.
"Man Gu, it's up to you."
Man Gu didn't say much. He left behind two travelers who had transformed into ghosts and killed the rest cleanly and neatly.
Using the hunter's ghost will easily be discovered by the Demon Cult, who will guess that the treasure was obtained by killing the tiger demon. Using the traveler's ghost will be much less risky.
"Collect." Man Gu took two travelers' minions, a man and a woman, into his body.
This is also part of the art of exorcising ghosts, collecting ghosts into the body and summoning them out to fight when necessary.
When the three were heading towards 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.
"Benefactor!" Qi Wu and others were extremely excited when they saw Lu Yang and the other two, as if they had seen a life-saving straw.
"Your kindness is so great, we will never forget it!"
"The mountain god has appeared!"
"I will never forget your life-saving grace!"
They all thanked the three people sincerely.
Seeing the people who were rescued 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.
"As cultivators, we should follow the right path. There is no need for thanks." Meng Jingzhou stated his position with a serious face. He said saving people was his natural duty and he did not do it for the sake of being thanked by others.
Man Gu observed Meng Jingzhou with a righteous look on his face and felt that he was worthy of being his role model. He was calm in the face of difficulties and he himself could not do that.
Lu Yang knew without observing Meng Jingzhou that this grandson was just pretending. He must be very happy inside, and there's no telling how happy he was.
If you ask why, it’s because Lu Yang now has a righteous look on his face.
By the time the merchants arrived at Yanjiang County, the sky was already bright. The heavy rain that had fallen all night had finally stopped, and a faint rainbow hung in the sky.
"By the way, have we forgotten something?" Meng Jingzhou always felt that he had forgotten something.
"You didn't forget anything, did you?" Lu Yang counted the number of people. There were three of them, three brains, and nothing was lost.
"I just always feel like something is missing. Forget it. I don't want to think about it anymore."
…
In Qinghuai County, a horse carriage was parked in the backyard of the inn, and the old horse was leisurely eating the feed left by Meng Jingzhou.
Why hasn’t the Meng family kid come to find me yet? The feed will only last for a few days. Didn’t you say that the task could be completed in five or six days
The old horse is an alien monster, so it naturally cannot eat ordinary feed like ordinary horses. It eats feed containing spiritual power that Meng Jingzhou purchased at a high price and prepared carefully.
The old horse snorted, smacked his lips, and felt very bored. By chance, he glanced at a snow-white mare next door.
…
After entering the city, the three of them randomly chose a teahouse, ordered a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks, and thought about what to do next.
"Yanjiang County is so big, how can we find this Qin Yuanhao and ask the local government for help?" Man Gu frowned.
Yanjiang County is not a large county for cultivation, and its population ranks behind other counties. It is inconspicuous on the map, and it is not even on the inaccurate maps. But no matter what, Yanjiang County is a county with a population of two million. Finding a person is like looking for a needle in a haystack, which is easier said than done.
Lu Yang waved his hand: "Not appropriate. The Demon Cult has been hiding here for who knows how long. The forces behind it are complicated and intertwined. Maybe they have the support of the local government."
Man Gu didn't understand what Lu Yang meant: "Can't everyone kill the Demon Cult? Why would the government help the Demon Cult?"
There was no need for Lu Yang to answer, as Meng Jingzhou was most familiar with this aspect: "It is precisely because everyone can kill them that the Great Xia Dynasty added an item called 'number of demons killed' to the performance evaluation of local officials. The more demons eliminated, the higher the level of cultivation, and the more achievements one has."
"Think about it, the Demon Cult can make an agreement with the county governor to provide him with demons regularly, and the county governor promises not to reveal the location of the Demon Cult."
What Meng Jingzhou told was not a story, but the facts spoken by his elders who were officials in his family.
The elders in the family said that Emperor Xia killed batch after batch, but there were still some that slipped through the net.
Someone in the court also proposed to remove this assessment indicator, but was stopped by the prime minister. The assessment indicator is still there. Most officials are dedicated to eradicating the evil ways, while a small number of people are colluding with the evil cult. If the assessment indicator is removed, it is hard to guarantee how many officials will be willing to take the trouble to find the traces of the evil cult.
In general, the existence of this assessment indicator has more advantages than disadvantages.
Meng Jingzhou's words gave Man Gu a feeling that his cognition had been subverted. He had never thought about such a thing before.
Lu Yang said: "The probability of the county governor and the Demon Cult joining forces is not high, but we must always prepare for the worst."
"If the county governor and the Demon Cult are really in cahoots, then we should tell the county governor our purpose. In order to avoid being exposed, the county governor will naturally teach Qin Yuanhao out. However, if the entire Yanjiang rudder gets the news, they will hide, causing us to miss the opportunity to infiltrate the Demon Cult. It is not appropriate to lose the big picture for the small one."
"For now, it is better for us not to reveal our identities and look for Qin Yuanhao first. When we can't find him, it won't be too late to ask the government for help."
Man Gu nodded, thinking that what the two said made sense.
"Then how do we lure Qin Yuanhao out?" Many thoughts flashed through Man Gu's mind, but he felt that none of them were good methods and had major flaws.
It’s definitely not okay to post flyers or notices; they’re too conspicuous.
Go to the black market to get information? If Qin Yuanhao knew that someone was snooping on him, he would hide himself and might even lead the demon sect to encircle and suppress them. It would be very passive and would not work.
Man Gu wants to know what Brother Lu and Brother Meng have to say
Lu Yang had already thought of a solution on the way down the mountain. He chuckled and said, "You know, unlike our famous and upright sects, the people in the underworld value their face the most."
"Especially for the people in the Demonic Cult, who regard face as status, if someone hits him in the face, it would be more painful than killing him."
"So we need to publicize that Qin Yuanhao is kind and does good things every day. When the rumor spreads throughout Yanjiang County, everyone in the Demon Cult will think that Qin Yuanhao is a good person. Qin Yuanhao will feel embarrassed and will definitely jump out!"
"This is our chance!"
Meng Jingzhou simply summed it up: "It's just fabricating nonsense and making up rumors to cause trouble."
Coincidentally, Meng Jingzhou was self-taught and was the best at this.
Man Gu suddenly realized that this was actually a good idea. If he couldn't find Qin Yuanhao, he could just force him out.
But what do you mean, unlike us noble and upright people, those who are in the underworld value their face the most