Chapter 82: Report Truthfully

"Long time no see, I've brought food." Lu Yang's tone was warm and familiar, a geniality thoroughly honed from his days at the barbecue shop.

After more than a month of rigorous practice, Lu Yang's feigned smile had reached a standard that could deceive even the sharpest eye; Meng Jingzhou, upon seeing it, praised him by saying the smile looked just as genuine as his own.

At the sound of Lu Yang's voice, Chi Xulong, who had been brooding with pouted lips, whipped his head around, his eyes flashing with raw malice. If this brat hadn't invited the constables over to dine, how could he have ended up in this wretched state?

"What are you doing here?" Chi Xulong sneered, his tone laced with ill intent. Ever since their first meeting, this kid had posed as an examiner to deceive him, and just a couple of days ago during dinner, he had dug another pit for him to fall into. The boy was simply a vessel of malice, and now, showing up with this hypocritical offer of food, he undoubtedly harbored some sinister design!

Compared to a cold-blooded executioner like himself who had taken countless lives, Chi Xulong felt that Lu Yang was far more unscrupulous!

Lu Yang had no intention of mocking Chi Xulong in the dungeon; after all, they would have to assist each other in the future, and there was no need to strain their relationship so severely—this was also the Sub-chief's explicit intention.

However, Lu Yang's hearing was somewhat lacking, and he misheard Chi Xulong's query as an inquiry into whether he had become a deacon: "What? How did you know I've been promoted to deacon? But don't be too excited; as long as you perform well, you can become a deacon too."

It was truly unexpected that Chi Xulong could be so well-informed even while confined to a cell.

With those words, Lu Yang went so far as to fish out his waist token to flaunt it, the two characters for 'Deacon' exceptionally striking, which caused Chi Xulong's anger to flare up in a towering rage: "The Heavens must be blind!"

Lu Yang offered words of comfort once more: "Don't be angry, either. The Chief even asked me to pass a message along to you."

Hearing that it was a message from Sub-chief Chu, Chi Xulong calmed down slightly, consoling himself with the thought that the Sub-chief still held him in high regard, having specifically sent someone to deliver a message: "What did the old gentleman say?"

"He said it would be best for you to cultivate a good relationship with me."

Chi Xulong erupted in a furious roar, realizing just how highly the Sub-chief favored this brat: "I would rather die than strike up a good relationship with you!"

Seeing that Chi Xulong actually refused to heed the Chief's words, Lu Yang let out a sigh, left the food behind, and departed.

The prisoners caught the savory aroma of the food, their mouths watering; one could never taste such delicacies within the confines of the dungeon.

Toward the other inmates, Lu Yang's attitude was remarkably pleasant, encouraging them to reform themselves properly in prison and strive to become new men upon their release to benefit the Central Continent, his words brimming with genuine care.

Anyone unaware of the circumstances would have assumed they were to be locked away for eight or ten years.

Upon emerging from the dungeon, Lu Yang reported the state of affairs truthfully to Sub-chief Chu: "I took food to the dungeon to visit Chi Xulong, and mentioned that there were some misunderstandings between us. Since we are fellows of the same path, we will inevitably cross paths in the future, and fostering a good relationship would facilitate our future work. I placed particular emphasis on the fact that this was your wish, Sub-chief, and added that as long as he performs well, he could become a deacon just like me."

"Who would have thought that Chi Xulong would fly into a rage and unleash a torrent of abuse, claiming that whoever appointed me as deacon must be blind, and that even if he died, he would never forge a good relationship with me. I cannot recall the exact words, but that was the general gist of it."

Sub-chief Chu's gaze instantly turned ice-cold: "Who did he say was blind?!"

Lu Yang hastily bowed his head, then looked up with cautious eyes to steal a glance at Sub-chief Chu, replying in a tone of utter reverence and trepidation: "That person's status is far too exalted, and such words constitute a grave irreverence; I dare not speak them aloud."

Sub-chief Chu already had the answer in his heart: "Very well, I understand. You may dismiss yourself."

Lu Yang let out a sigh, thinking to himself that Chi Xulong truly lacked any filter on his mouth, daring to utter absolutely anything: "I must also ask that the Sub-chief does not reveal that these words came from me; perhaps my memory has failed me and I have confused the details."

Sub-chief Chu waved his hand impatiently; he naturally understood how to handle such matters.

After Lu Yang departed, Sub-chief Chu tapped against his jade chair, letting out a cold snort: "What a Chi Xulong, daring to claim that I am blind!"

During the day, everything proceeded as usual: Meng Jingzhou went out to stroll the streets, Mangu exercised his body in the backyard, the chang ghost Datang was skewering meat in the main hall, and Lu Yang was washing clothes.

Lu Yang's garments were of mundane quality, incapable of remaining untainted by dust.

"Dammit, why can't I seem to master the Clothes-Cleansing Curse," Lu Yang muttered, scrubbing the fabric with vigor; out of the three of them, he was the only one who needed to wash his clothes. "When I have the money, I will definitely buy a set of garments that never require washing."

A short while ago, he had sought out Meng Jingzhou to learn the Clothes-Cleansing Curse; Meng Jingzhou himself did not know the spell, but he possessed a manual titled 'Minor Spells of Daily Life,' which his younger sister had stealthily stuffed into his belongings before his departure.

Recorded within that book was the spell known as the Clothes-Cleansing Curse.

The Clothes-Cleansing Curse, as the name implied, was an incantation that could render garments clean, simple and easy to learn.

The three of them gathered together to study it, and Meng Jingzhou and Mangu were the first to master it; with a descent of refreshing spiritual energy from above, the originally soiled garments instantly became snowy white, looking entirely brand new.

Both Meng Jingzhou and Mangu were thoroughly pleased; working in a barbecue shop made it incredibly easy for clothes to get dirty, which was immensely troublesome.

Given Meng Jingzhou's wealth, he naturally possessed refined garments that were spiritual artifacts, requiring no washing and automatically maintaining cleanliness; however, the quality of those clothes was too high, making it obvious at a glance that he possessed a profound background, which was detrimental to lurking within the Demonic Sect.

Lu Yang's high talent for spells was plain for all to see, and he had learned it as well, though the result was somewhat unexpected.

After he executed the Clothes-Cleansing Curse, following a brief distortion of space, a brand-new set of clothes manifested out of thin air.

At that moment, Lu Yang fell into a long silence, wanting to curse but not knowing which line to begin with.

In terms of sequence, this was the very first spatial spell Lu Yang had mastered, possessing immense significance.

In terms of innovation, this was a creative modification of the Clothes-Cleansing Curse, equivalent to fashioning an entirely new spatial spell.

In terms of logic, there was no logic whatsoever.

Looking at the collar where a tag reading "For So-and-So" was attached, Lu Yang knew that these clothes were highly likely completed garments from a tailor shop; before the person who ordered them could arrive, they had been summoned hither by his spatial spell.

"Why is it that the Clothes-Cleansing Curse I cast directly summons a new set of clothes! Then what kind of effect would manifest if I were to cast the Body-Cleansing Curse!" Lu Yang raged, feeling that the Heavens deemed his talent too brilliant and were deliberately restricting his aptitude for spells.

Such clothes naturally could not be worn since they belonged to someone else, but Lu Yang had no inkling as to who the owner was, rendering him unable to return them even if he wished to.

Meng Jingzhou had also enthusiastically offered to cast the genuine Clothes-Cleansing Curse to help Lu Yang clean his garments, but after a series of attempts, it concluded in failure.

The Clothes-Cleansing Curse could only clean the garments upon one's own body; Lu Yang could hardly strip off his clothes for Meng Jingzhou to wear just to wash them, only for Meng Jingzhou to take them off and return them after the spell was done.

Left with no alternative, he could only wash his clothes honestly by hand.

After completing the wash, Lu Yang intended to hang the clothes out of the window; with a slight slip of his hand, the drying pole slid downward, looking as though it were about to strike a pedestrian right on the head.

"Watch out!"

To his surprise, the pedestrian possessed excellent agility, shifting sideways to evade the drying pole with ease.

Lu Yang hurried downstairs, only to discover that the pedestrian was a recent acquaintance—Lan Ting, the disciple of the Laurel Immortal Palace who had aided him in slaying the tiger at Mount Matsu.

More than a month had already passed; why was she still here? Lu Yang was mystified.

Lan Ting lowered her head, staring at the drying pole that had fallen upon the ground in silence, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as though she were pondering a deep question.

Curious, Lu Yang inquired: "What are you thinking about?"

Lan Ting spoke without a second thought: "I am wondering why this drying pole does not fall toward the heavens, but instead falls toward the earth; could it be possible that an invisible force is pulling at all things in creation?"

Lu Yang: "..."

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(End of chapter)