Chapter 51: Forgot Something

When Qi Wu had first found the old hunter, there were still several households nearby, all seemingly normal yet actually manifested from ghost-slaves.

After the tiger demon was brought to justice, the ghost-slaves were instantly left at a loss, thrown into a chaotic frenzy, some saying they should descend the mountain, others saying they should remain hidden in the woods, with no final consensus reached.

Just as they were arguing, the three individuals appeared and captured them all, and as Meng Jingzhou revealed just a trace of his Pure Yang essence, these ghost-slaves began to wail and weep in agony upon the ground.

"There is no need to keep so many, two are enough to impersonate cultivators of the demonic path," Lu Yang said coldly, feeling no need for sympathy toward these ghost-slaves who had abetted the tiger's tyranny.

If they had not agreed to the tiger demon's demands, they would never have become ghost-slaves.

They deserved death.

Lu Yang tried but found he still could not subdue ghost servants, and could only allow his own yin soul to leave his body.

"Mangu, it is up to you."

Mangu said no more, sparing two ghost-slaves who had been transformed from travelers, and obliterated all the rest, clean and neat.

Using the hunter ghost-slave would make it easy for the demonic sect to discern clues and guess that the tiger demon had been slain, whereas using traveler ghost-slaves carried far less risk.

"Retrieve," Mangu commanded, drawing the two traveler ghost-slaves, a man and a woman, into his body.

This was also part of the art of ghost-driving, taking ghosts into the body to summon them for battle when necessary.

While the three were heading toward Yanjiang County, they encountered Qi Wu and his companions, who were still spinning in circles within the mountain forests.

It was still raining at this time, and since Qi Wu and the others did not know the way, they naturally could not find the path down the mountain.

"Benefactors!" Qi Wu and his group grew extraordinarily excited upon seeing Lu Yang's trio, as if they had spotted a saving straw.

"The great kindness of our benefactors is something we shall never forget in our lifetimes!"

"The Mountain God has manifested!"

"The grace of saving our lives shall be remembered for eternity!"

They chimed in one after another to thank the three, their emotions genuine and sincere.

Seeing the several people who had been saved and hearing their heartfelt words of gratitude, the gloom in Lu Yang's heart gradually dissipated, and he stopped thinking about the bones in the cave.

"Cultivators of our generation ought to walk the righteous path, there is no need for thanks," Meng Jingzhou declared his stance with a solemn expression, believing that saving people was a matter of course and not done to earn gratitude.

Mangu observed the righteous-faced Meng Jingzhou and felt he was indeed a worthy role model, remaining unflappable in the face of events, something he himself could never achieve.

Lu Yang did not even need to observe Meng Jingzhou to know that this grandson was purely putting on an act, surely rejoicing in his heart long ago, absolutely delighted.

If one were to ask why, it was because the current Lu Yang also wore a completely righteous expression.

By the time they delivered the merchants to Yanjiang County, the sky had grown bright, the torrential rain that had fallen all night finally ceased, and a faint ribbon of a rainbow hung across the horizon.

"Speaking of which, did we forget something?" Meng Jingzhou always felt as though something had been left behind.

"We didn't forget anything, did we?" Lu Yang counted their numbers; there were three people, with three brains, and nothing was lost.

"It's just that I always feel something is amiss, forget it, let's not think about it."

……

Within Qinghuai County, a carriage was parked in the backyard of an inn, where the old horse was deliberately chewing on the fodder Meng Jingzhou had left behind.

Why hasn't that Meng family brat come to find me yet? This fodder won't last more than a few days. Didn't he say the task would be settled in five or six days?

The old horse was a rare beast of a different breed, so it naturally could not eat ordinary fodder like a mortal horse; what it consumed was spiritual-energy-imbued fodder that Meng Jingzhou had purchased at a high price and meticulously prepared.

The old horse snorted and smacked its lips, finding it terribly boring, and chanced to glimpse a small filly with snow-white coat next door.

……

After the three entered the city, they randomly chose a teahouse, casually ordered a pot of tea and a few plates of pastries, and began scheming their next move.

"Yanjiang County is so vast, how are we supposed to find this Qin Yuanhao? Should we ask the local authorities for help?" Mangu frowned.

Yanjiang County was not a great county for cultivation, and its population ranked near the back compared to other counties, making it completely inconspicuous on maps—cruder maps did not even feature it—yet no matter what, Yanjiang County was still a county with a population of two million, and searching for one person was simply like fishing for a needle in the ocean, far from easy.

Lu Yang waved his hand: "Inappropriate. We do not know how long the demonic sect has been hidden here, and the forces entangled behind them are complex and intertwined; it might very well have the support of the local government."

Mangu did not understand Lu Yang's meaning: "Shouldn't everyone execute the demonic sect upon sight? Why would the government help the demonic sect?"

Without waiting for Lu Yang to answer, Meng Jingzhou, who was most familiar with this aspect, spoke: "Precisely because everyone must execute them, the Great Xia Dynasty added a 'number of demons slain' metric to the performance evaluation of local officials; the more demons eradicated and the higher their cultivation, the greater the political achievements."

"Think about it, the demonic sect could entirely strike a deal with the County Governor, periodically providing demons to him, while the Governor agrees not to leak the location of the demonic sect."

What Meng Jingzhou spoke of was no story, but a fact personally recounted by elders in his family who held office.

The family elders said the Emperor of Xia had executed batch after batch, yet there were still fish that slipped through the net.

There were also those in court who proposed removing this evaluation metric, but they were stopped by the Chancellor. With the metric intact, the majority of officials diligently eradicated the demonic path while only a minority colluded with them; if the metric were removed, it was hard to guarantee how many officials would still be willing to expend the effort to search for traces of the demonic sect.

On the whole, the existence of this evaluation metric brought more benefits than harm.

Meng Jingzhou's words gave Mangu a feeling that his perceptions were being overturned, as he had never considered such things before.

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

"If the Governor and the demonic sect are truly in league, then revealing our intentions to him would naturally cause him to hand over Qin Yuanhao to avoid exposure, but the entire Yanjiang Branch would catch wind and go into hiding, causing us to lose the opportunity to infiltrate the demonic sect, losing the greater picture for a minor gain, which is highly inappropriate."

"Our strategy for now is to keep our identities concealed and search for Qin Yuanhao ourselves first. If we cannot find him, it will not be too late to seek help from the authorities."

Mangu nodded, finding that the two made sense.

"Then how do we draw Qin Yuanhao out?" Many ideas flashed through Mangu's mind, but he felt none were good methods, all possessing great flaws.

Posting flyers and announcements certainly would not do, as it was too ostentatious.

Going to the black market to fish for information? If Qin Yuanhao learned that someone was inquiring about him, he would hide away, and might even lead the demonic sect members to encircle and suppress them, leaving them passive, which would not work.

Mangu wished to know what brilliant views Brother Lu and Brother Meng held.

Lu Yang had already thought of a method on their way down the mountain, and he chuckled: "Do you know that unlike us from orthodox sects, those who roam the martial world value reputation above all else?"

"Especially those in the demonic sect, who view face as their status; whoever slaps his face makes him suffer more than killing him."

"Therefore, we need to widely publicize that Qin Yuanhao is a benevolent man who neglects his proper duties every day to perform good deeds. Once the rumors spread across the entirety of Yanjiang County, and everyone in the demonic sect believes Qin Yuanhao is a good person, he will feel he has lost face and will bound to lose his patience and leap out!"

"That will be our opportunity!"

Meng Jingzhou summarized simply: "Concocting fabrications and spreading rumors to stir up trouble."

Coincidentally, he, Meng Jingzhou, was self-taught and excelled most at this matter.

Mangu suddenly understood; this was indeed a fine method—if they could not find Qin Yuanhao, they would simply force him out.

Yet, what did it mean by 'unlike us from orthodox sects, those who roam the martial world value face the most'?