novelapdf Chapter 126 Catching the Female Ghost
Chapter 126 Catching the Female Ghost
Demon?
Hearing Ji Hongyuan's words, Jiang Mu did not show much surprise.
The Yancheng Demon Slaying Division has been infiltrated like a sieve; it wouldn't be surprising if a few purebred demons emerged, let alone demons.
However, since we're in the vicinity, we still need to be careful.
However, Jiang Mu was still preoccupied with another matter: the orthodox star position at the Heavenly Gang level.
Although he is currently at the early stage of the fourth realm, with the blessing of the Earthly Star and the three demonic shadows training him day and night, it is only a matter of time before he breaks through to the great perfection of the fourth realm.
If there isn't a suitable Heavenly Star position by then, and you're stuck at a bottleneck with nothing to show for it, that would be truly frustrating.
It's always good to be prepared and plan ahead.
He did have some information about the Heavenly Star position.
Back in Huzhou City, several wandering martial arts practitioners tried to seize his star position.
An old man named Dong Wanhai did the opposite, asking him for help in taking revenge and promising him easily obtainable information about the orthodox Tiangang star positions as a reward.
Jiang Mu didn't answer at the time because she thought it was too much trouble.
But now that I think about it, maybe I should go and find out what's really going on.
"Once things are settled in Yancheng, we'll go find that old man and ask him for details."
Jiang Mu secretly made his own plans.
The next morning.
Jiang Mu had just finished washing up when there was a gentle knock on the door.
Upon opening the door, they saw Shui Miaozheng standing at the entrance holding a food box.
"Little Jiang, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Aunt Shui made you something to eat."
Shui Miaozheng said softly.
The woman wore an apricot-colored long dress today, which was more vibrant and beautiful than yesterday's light blue dress, making her already delicate face look even more radiant.
Jiang Mu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stepped aside to make way for her: "Aunt Shui, why are you making this for me yourself? I'm so embarrassed..."
"What's there to be embarrassed about?"
The woman entered the house and placed several delicate side dishes and a bowl of hot porridge on the table. "You worked so hard yesterday, and since I had nothing better to do, cooking you a meal is nothing."
Jiang Mu looked at the breakfast on the table, her feelings quite complicated.
This water steward...
Isn't it too immersive?
Does she really think of herself as a godmother?
Or is she fulfilling Aunt Tang's duty of taking care of the younger generation?
Shui Miaozheng sat down on the wooden stool next to her.
The plump, soft flesh was spread evenly by her weight, like a pool of cream overflowing onto the stool in a crescent shape, its edges gently spilling over the edge before softly receding. The woman picked up her chopsticks and served Jiang Mu the food, her eyes full of affection: "Try it quickly, see if it suits your taste."
Jiang Mu had no choice but to go and have a meal.
He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
To be honest, her cooking skills are far inferior to those of Bai Xiang, the cook at home.
But it wasn't bad either.
"How is it? The taste is alright, isn't it?"
Shui Miaozheng asked softly, her watery eyes looking at him expectantly.
"Very good, very good, very delicious." Jiang Muyan praised insincerely, and then picked up another piece of food and stuffed it into her mouth.
Upon hearing this, Shui Miaozheng's eyebrows curved into crescents, and her smile grew even gentler:
"Eat more if you like it. Young people are growing, so don't neglect yourself."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Xu Fu poked half his head in:
"Old Jiang, get ready..."
He was stunned when he saw the scene inside the room.
Xu Fu's lips twitched, and he cursed inwardly:
This guy is a real ladies' man! He gets women taking care of him wherever he goes, from eighty-year-olds to eighteen-year-olds, he's got them all, huh?
Jiang Mu noticed Xu Fu's strange look but didn't pay it any mind. She continued drinking her porridge and asked:
"You're here so early, did you get the mission?"
Xu Fu first greeted Shui Miaozheng before speaking seriously:
"Yes, Elder Tian and the others have finalized a preliminary plan. Let us clear the area southeast of the city."
That area was originally the territory of the Golden Roc Demon. After the rebellion in Yan City was quelled, although the main force of the demons withdrew, they left behind a considerable number of remnants and scattered demons. This tough nut was left for our Huzhou City to crack.
Old Tian has already taken Yan Fenghuo and Wen He to the site for a site inspection. We'll meet up with them outside the city in a little while and then decide on a specific plan.
Jiang Mu nodded.
It seems that because he slaughtered the Golden Roc Demon's lair, this area was naturally given to them.
Tian Wenjing went to investigate personally, probably because he was terrified by the messy intelligence from Yancheng.
Firstly, it is impossible to guard against traitors.
Secondly, seeing things with your own eyes gives you peace of mind, and makes for a more comprehensive plan.
Jiang Mu finished her breakfast in a few bites, put down her chopsticks, and asked:
"Is there a powerful demon?"
Xu Fu shook his head: "Based on the current intelligence, there shouldn't be any powerful figures left, at most just some fifth-tier minor leaders."
Shui Miaozheng chimed in from the side:
"The area we are responsible for cleaning in Fazhou City is adjacent to yours. If you encounter any trouble, you can send a signal at any time, and we will provide support as soon as possible." After saying that, she cleared away the dishes and got up to leave.
Watching Shui Miaozheng walk away, Xu Fu withdrew his gaze and leaned close to Jiang Mu with a mischievous grin:
"Old Jiang, it's not that I'm meddling. But the Water Master has no shortage of suitors. Princes and nobles in the capital, and young heroes from the martial arts world, are all lining up to fawn over him."
If you really get involved in some ambiguous rumors with her, all those swarms of admirers will drown you in their spittle. You'd better watch out! Jiang Mu rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to pay attention to this guy with a head full of nonsense.
After breakfast, Jiang Mu and Xu Fu each tidied up their subordinates and left the city.
As Jiang Mu passed by the entrance of the Demon Slayer Division in Yancheng, he glanced around but did not see Yan Wu.
It's likely that the person in charge least wants to see right now is this troublemaker who has made him lose face.
Jiang Mu didn't care.
About an hour later, they arrived at a pre-arranged meeting point outside the city.
An unassuming farmhouse courtyard.
Tian Wenjing was already waiting in the courtyard, standing with his hands behind his back, looking serious.
"Tian Lao."
Jiang Mu dismounted, clasped his hands in a salute, and asked, "Where are Lao Yan and the others?"
Tian Wenjing pointed to the distance:
"I assigned them a task: to go with Hall Master Wen to clear out several low-threat demon lairs. I personally scouted the area and found no signs of powerful demons. They are more than capable of handling it."
Xu Fu stepped forward and asked, "Old Tian, what about us? Should we go too?"
Tian Wenjing shook his head and handed a piece of intelligence to Jiang Mu:
"I'm going to give you two a special mission: to catch ghosts."
"Ghost hunting?"
Jiang Mu was taken aback, and subconsciously remembered the task Ran Qingshan had assigned him to catch the mole.
However, after he opened the intelligence report and looked at it closely, he realized that this time it was really about catching ghosts.
The intelligence report stated that there was an abandoned temple called Meiruo Temple, located more than ten miles to the south.
A powerful tree spirit dwells there, raising a troop of alluring ghosts who particularly enjoy luring and harming young men, especially handsome scholars.
During the period of chaos in Yancheng, many people passed through here to avoid disaster, but most of them never returned.
After the rebellion was quelled, the tree spirit and the group of beautiful ghosts went into hiding.
It occasionally pops up and causes trouble.
The Yancheng Demon Slayer Division had sent men to besiege them several times.
Unfortunately, the tree demon is highly skilled at hiding and always manages to detect and escape in advance, which is why it has not been eradicated to this day.
"That tree demon is a fifth-tier early-stage demon."
Tian Wenjing spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on Jiang Mu's face.
"That beast is extremely fond of men. I plan to have you, Xiao Jiang, disguise yourself as a down-on-his-luck young master from a family seeking refuge, and try to lure out that tree demon and his group of beautiful ghosts."
After all, Xiao Jiang, your face is indeed quite likable.
"As for Xu Fu..."
Tian Wenjing glanced at Xu Fu beside her and said indifferently, "You look too ordinary, so just pretend to be Xiao Jiang's personal servant."
Xu Fu: ....."
He clutched his chest, looking hurt.
"Old Tian, you're going too far. I'm handsome too, okay? Back in the day, I was a well-known handsome young man for miles around!" Tian Wenjing ignored him, took out two talismans from his pocket and handed them to the two of them, instructing Jiang Mu:
"Be careful in everything you do. These are two high-level concealment talismans. Once activated, they can completely conceal the fluctuations of your star power, making it difficult for even a sixth-order great demon to detect them. The effect lasts for three hours."
Remember, that tree demon has special abilities; it can sense the aura of cultivators as long as there are trees within a five-mile radius.
Therefore, we cannot get too close to ambush them; we can only wait from a distance.
"When the time comes, engage them as much as possible. Once you succeed, immediately send out fireworks as a signal. Of course, it would be best if you could kill them outright. After all, Xiao Jiang, you have the strength to do so now."
Jiang Mu took the talisman, somewhat speechless.
I never expected that my first official mission in Yancheng would be to act as bait to seduce a female ghost.
What kind of mess is this?!
But then I thought, since it's all about slaying demons and monsters to recharge the "cheat code," what difference does it make how I kill them?
He carefully put away the talisman and asked, "Shall we set off now?"
Tian Wenjing shook his head, took out two thick booklets, and handed them to Jiang Mu and Xu Fu:
"No rush, let's go when the yin energy is stronger at night. We still have some things to do right now. This is a detailed file of all the personnel in the Yancheng Demon Slaying Division, which I transferred from the headquarters."
Go through this together and circle the suspicious individuals.
Jiang Mu casually flipped open a book and found that it contained extremely detailed records.
From their place of origin, personality and preferences, to the time they joined the Demon Slayer Division, their achievements, and the situation of their family members, etc.
Everything, big or small, is provided.
Jiang Mu frowned, looked up and asked, "Were they transferred from the headquarters?"
Tian Wenjing nodded slightly, his expression solemn:
"That's right, I specifically went to the headquarters to retrieve it before I left."
The situation here is unique; people's hearts are unpredictable, and no one dares to easily entrust their back to a colleague whose identity is uncertain, whether they are friend or foe.
"While these few booklets alone won't be enough to definitively identify the mole, at least we'll have a general idea and won't be completely clueless." Xu Fu curled his lip, unconvinced.
"Since we don't trust each other, why don't we just do our own thing and not go on missions with them? Why make things so complicated?"
If you ask me, we could even request the headquarters to suspend all the people in Yancheng for investigation. After all, we have quite a few reinforcements this time, enough to deal with those demons.”
"Nonsense!"
Tian Wenjing snorted coldly and glared at him.
"Do you think this is child's play? That you can solve the problem with just a few words?"
"If they were all suspended, not only would it be difficult to clean up the mess in Yancheng, but the very act of suspending them would discourage the Demon Slayer Divisions of other prefectures! Everyone here is risking their lives; if you condemn everyone indiscriminately, who will dare to sincerely serve the court in the future? Everyone will be insecure; how can you lead such a force?"
He paused, his tone becoming more serious:
"Moreover, the demons will not give up easily and there is a high possibility that they will launch a second, even more intense attack."
The rebellion in Yancheng was led by the Red Umbrella Cult, with demons playing a supporting role. Now that the rebellion has been quelled, the Red Umbrella Cult has gone into hiding, and demons have become the main force. And the demons' greatest and most hated enemy is our Demon Slayer Division.
Now that we've sent a large number of reinforcements, the demons will definitely make a move, and a fierce battle is inevitable. At that time, we'll need to fight alongside the Demon Slayers of Yan City.
Therefore, we must be wary of them, but we must never reject them! Understand?
After hearing these words, Xu Fu was speechless and somewhat sullen.
Jiang Mu gained a new understanding of the usually rigid and strict Old Tian.
Although the old man had a bad temper, he was indeed shrewd and composed in his overall perspective and way of dealing with people, and he thought things through much more thoroughly than they did. The three of them said no more and each opened their booklets to carefully examine them.
One person points out a suspicious point, and the other two raise questions, engage in cross-examination, and repeatedly scrutinize the issue.
They worked until evening before finally narrowing down the suspects.
There are about ten of them.
As darkness approached, Jiang Mu and Xu Fu changed into casual clothes they had prepared beforehand, carefully concealed the talismans that concealed the star power, and headed towards Mei Ruo Temple under the cover of night.
The night was pitch black, as if ink had been spilled on it.
Jiang Mu and Xu Fu arrived at Mei Ruo Temple under the moonlight.
By the faint moonlight, it was clear that most of the temple gate had collapsed, and the two wooden doors with peeling red lacquer were leaning askew.
One of the doors had fallen to the ground and was covered with moss.
The plaque above the door hangs askew, and the three characters "Mei Ruo Temple" can be vaguely discerned.
Withered vines crawled between the strokes of the brush.
The courtyard walls were in disrepair in many places, revealing the outline of the palace buildings hidden by weeds.
"Right here..."
Xu Fu, disguised as a pageboy, carried two heavy books on his back. He peeked inside and whispered, "It looks pretty creepy." Jiang Mu was dressed in a blue robe.
Although he deliberately made himself look a bit wrinkled and dusty, it couldn't hide the scholarly air about him.
He held a folding fan in his hand, his brows furrowed, and looked at the dilapidated little temple, letting out a long sigh.
Then he lifted his foot and stepped over the threshold.
The weeds in the yard were knee-high, and they rustled underfoot.
"Young master, please slow down."
Xu Fu followed behind, his face contorted in a grimace. He deliberately raised his voice, "Is this place even habitable? Let's go back to town. Even sleeping in the stables would be better than here."
Jiang Mu turned around, tapped Xu Fu's head with her folding fan, and said in feigned anger:
"Go back to town? Do you still have any money?"
"Their travel expenses have all been stolen by those refugees. If we don't find a place to stay soon, we, master and servant, will have to sleep in the wilderness and feed the wolves tonight." He said as he stepped into the main hall.
He found a relatively clean open space, brushed away the dust with his sleeve, and sat down with a worried expression.
"Alas, I thought that coming to Yancheng would allow me to seek refuge with my second uncle and make a living. Who would have thought that Yancheng would be in such a chaotic state, and my second uncle's family has disappeared without a trace. Now I am penniless and have wandered here. Is Heaven going to destroy me...?"
Xu Fu threw the book on the ground, plopped down, rubbed his sore shoulders, and complained, deeply engrossed in the role:
"Young master, I told you not to come, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened, this dilapidated temple is so gloomy, and I even heard crows cawing behind me. It's bad luck, so very bad luck."
"Stop talking nonsense and start a fire!"
Jiang Mu glared at him.
"Even if we die, we should die with a full stomach. Let's take out the remaining half of the dry rations and roast it."
Xu Fu muttered as he got up.
They searched around the hall and found some wooden window frames and dry straw, which they piled up in the open space.
"laugh"
The tinderbox lit up.
A faint light flickered in the darkness, eventually igniting the firewood.
The orange glow of the disc player dispelled the darkness several feet around it and brought a faint warmth to the deserted temple.
The two sat around the campfire.
Xu Fu took two cold cakes out of the bamboo basket and put them on the fire to bake.
"Young master, why has the world become like this?"
Xu Fu sighed and muttered to himself as he turned the steamed bun over.
"I wonder when we'll be able to live a peaceful life. By the way, I heard this area is rather unsafe, with demons and monsters often appearing. Are we going to run into them tonight?"
Jiang Mu leaned against the pillar behind him, putting on a composed scholarly air.
"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. We act uprightly and sit honestly, so what are we afraid of? Besides, even if there are ghosts, we are so poor that we only have these two lives left, even ghosts would find us pathetic."
He took the hot pancake from Xu Fu, took a bite, and almost broke his tooth, so he couldn't help but sigh again.
The two sat around the campfire, exchanging a few words occasionally, but mostly remaining silent.
The wind howled outside the hall, making the dilapidated windowpanes creak.
I don't know how much time passed.
A muffled rumble of thunder suddenly rolled across the sky.
Jiang Mu looked up and, through a hole in the roof, could see that the night sky, which had once held a few stars, was now completely obscured by dark clouds. "It's going to rain."
He had barely finished speaking when large raindrops began to pelt down.
Immediately afterwards, a strong wind arose.
The already shaky windows rattled and banged loudly in the wind.
Large raindrops poured down like a torrential downpour, instantly creating a dense curtain of rain between heaven and earth.
Jiang Mu and Xu Fu exchanged a glance, both surprised.
If this rain is just God being unreasonable, that's one thing. But if it's caused by a demon, then that demon is more powerful than we imagine.
"This darn weather, it changes so suddenly!"
Xu Fu grumbled and added a few more pieces of firewood to the fire, afraid that the wind would blow it out.
After a while.
A gust of cold wind, carrying rain and mist, swept into the hall.
The campfire flickered violently and almost went out.
Jiang Mu narrowed his eyes and subconsciously reached for his waist, but then remembered his persona as a "fallen young master" and withdrew his hand. He then saw that the person who had just arrived was a burly man with a thick beard.
He was wearing a tattered raincoat, which was soaked through by the rain, and his full beard stood up like steel needles.
He carried a huge sword case on his back, almost as tall as himself.
He was carrying a gourd of wine in his hand.
He exudes a wild and untamed spirit.
Jiang Mu's heart stirred slightly.
He has reached the pinnacle of the four realms and is even faintly approaching the threshold of the fifth realm.
His aura was refined and domineering, carrying a strong sense of righteousness and killing intent, clearly indicating that he was a seasoned martial arts expert who had spent years licking blood from the edge of a knife. As soon as the burly man entered, he shook off the rain and his gaze swept over Jiang Mu and his companion with lightning speed.
Then, he grinned:
"It's raining too hard outside, could you two mind if I borrow a place to take shelter?"
Mu quickly stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and adopted a manner befitting a learned and virtuous person.
"It is fate that we have met, brave warrior, please make your way. This temple is also unclaimed, and my master and I are just taking shelter from the rain and seeking lodging here."
The big man didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight to the campfire, plopped down, and slammed the sword case off his back onto the ground.
It made a muffled "thump" sound.
He uncorked the gourd, tilted his head back, took a big gulp, and exhaled a satisfied breath of alcohol.
"Good liquor! In this awful weather, you need this kind of strong liquor to keep warm!"
He glanced at the hard, dry flatbread in Jiang Mu's hand, then casually pulled out a packet of braised beef wrapped in oil paper from his pocket and tossed it over.
"What's the point of just eating broken flatbread? Come on, have some meat!"
Jiang Mu accepted the gift without hesitation and thanked her.
"Thank you for your generosity, brave warrior. My name is Jiang Shu, and this is my pageboy, Xiao Fu. May I ask your esteemed name, brave warrior?"
"name?"
The burly man wiped the wine stains off his beard and said heartily, "I am Yan Zixiao, a wandering swordsman who makes the world his home."