Fan Wu opened the door of the Taoist Temple and saw several people standing outside, all dressed in the uniform of constables from the county government. Above each of their heads hung attribute information that only he could see.
[Qiulong County Arrest Officer——Life: 66——Power: 2——Technique: None]
[Constable A——Life: 59——Power: 1.5——Technique: None]
[Constable B——Life...]
[...]
At a glance, these were the names of NPCs with no presence to speak of; it was truly difficult to comment with any enthusiasm. In the face of the Golden Finger, these constables didn't even deserve names!
Their attributes were not very high, with the arrest officer in the lead having the highest [Power] attribute.
But he was still far from matching up to Fan Wu.
The group of constables had arrived out of breath, knocking on the door impatiently, and were inevitably a bit irritable. However, when they saw Fan Wu standing in front of them like an iron tower...
Their breathing faltered.
They dared not breathe too heavily.
Any anger they had dissipated like smoke.
Fan Wu's arm muscles were a bit thicker than their thighs; how could they not be afraid?
They had heard that this disciple of the old Heavenly Master had once killed a mad bull with his bare hands!
A supremely ruthless person!
The lead arrest officer was not meeting Fan Wu for the first time, but each time he felt an almost imperceptible oppressive aura emanating from Fan Wu, which made him involuntarily swallow his saliva.
This Daoist Priest...
Seemed more like a bandit!
The arrest officer took a deep breath and quickly explained the strange events that had occurred in Qiulong County in detail, "Daoist Priest Fan, do you remember the incident a few days ago with the 'dirty' thing? It's the one that Magistrate invited you to suppress!"
"It was already suppressed by you, but for some reason, it cropped up again last night and dragged a person into the water!"
"Fortunately, there was someone with that person who managed to pull him back."
"When the dragged person woke up, he was like he was possessed, constantly shouting about... cough, a 'dirty' thing!"
"He even saw the 'dirty' thing with his own eyes!"
Throughout, the arrest officer dared not utter the word "ghost". If it hadn't been for Fan Wu standing in front of him, he probably wouldn't have dared to casually mention the words "dirty thing" for fear of attracting a ghost to himself.
Fan turned silent at this.
Of course, he remembered the incident. It had been because of that errand for the Magistrate to suppress the evil spirit that he had missed the best chance to run off with the money, leading to all sorts of troubles.
But how could he, Fan Wu, possibly exorcise ghosts?
He had to pretend to perform exorcism rituals, imitating the street performances of his fraudulent master.
Plus, referencing the ghost movies he had seen in his former life, he staged a few "exorcism performances".
Later, when nothing happened... Fan Wu thought it had all been an unfounded alarm.
But now, with the arrest officer knocking on his door and bringing up the matter again, even talking about someone seeing the appearance of a ghost,
It seemed quite convincing.
Didn't it mean that this time... he, the fake disciple of a Daoist Priest, had encountered a real ghost?
Ah, what?
Fan Wu realized that during his "exorcism ritual" a few days ago, had he not unwittingly made it to the very gates of the underworld?
He knew nothing about performing exorcisms!
In that instant, Fan Wu's mind raced with countless thoughts, but eventually, he gave up on the idea of knocking the constables unconscious and making a run for it. If he really did so, he would most likely... become a fugitive wanted by the Imperial Court.
Becoming a fugitive would mean making an enemy of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!
Fan Wu didn't want to live life on the run.
The few exorcism performances he had conducted over the last few days had barely managed to fool them. He could only wait and see if he could pull the wool over their eyes again this time.
"Daoist Priest? Dao... Daoist Priest?" The arrest officer saw Fan Wu with a stern face and no reaction, and couldn't help but feel uneasy, timidly asking, "Could it be... could it be that the 'dirty thing' is too fierce? Do you find it very troublesome?!"
"Indeed, it is somewhat troublesome," Fan Wu replied vaguely.
"But Daoist Priest, we can't delay! It's getting dark again, and tonight the 'dirty thing' might come out to harm people again. If it causes a death, it will be troublesome!"
While deaths from accidents were very common, dying from an accident and dying at the hands of ghosts were two different concepts.
An accident typically only kills one person.
But a ghost...
Could kill many people!!!
"Hmm, I understand, wait a moment," Fan Wu replied indifferently, then closed the doors of the Taoist Temple and immediately went to the main hall of the temple, where the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor resided.
Fan Wu didn't know Taoist magic, he was good at fighting, but clueless about exorcising ghosts.
But...
The situation was not absolute.
Fan Wu looked at the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor once again, and those three lines of text entered his vision again. The statue was a full four meters tall, donated to the Taoist Temple by some wealthy landlords of Qiulong County.
However, what Fan Wu cared most about was the sword in the hands of the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor.
That was a real sword forged by the best smith in Qiulong County, modeled after the mythical "Northern Black Chariot Gunky Horn Demon-Slaying Heroic Sword" of the True Martial Great Emperor.
A sword made by mortals was, of course, a very ordinary one, generally not useful for driving away ghosts and subduing demons.
But the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor in the Taoist Temple already possessed the power of incense offerings!
Wouldn't the sword it held also undergo a transformation?
It certainly wouldn't be as formidable as the genuine "Northern Black Chariot Gunky Horn Demon-Slaying Heroic Sword," but even if it held only one-billionth of the original's power, it would still be enough to give Fan Wu the confidence to face malevolent spirits.
Yes...
Fan Wu intended to borrow the sword.
He solemnly took three sticks of incense, bowed three times in a proper manner, and muttered, "The scriptures my swindler master gave me were all made up by him, I don't know what professional terms to use, so I'd like to borrow this treasured sword."
"If I really encounter a true evil spirit, I hope this sword can be of some use. I don't aspire to kill the ghost, just frightening it enough to make it not come out tonight would suffice."
"Because... after tonight, I must make a run for it."
"May the Heavenly True Martial Spirit respond and protect The Holy Emperor!"
Then, Fan Wu climbed up the altar.
He stepped on the knee of the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor, then reached out to grab the hilt of the treasured sword.
At that moment, Fan Wu suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if a pair of eyes from above was silently watching him.
"Don't blame me, don't blame me..."
"May the True Martial Great Emperor protect me!"
"May the Flying Heavenly Being protect me!"
"Immeasurable Heavenly Honored!"
"Amitabha!"
"Amen!"
Fan Wu swiftly took the treasured sword down. It was exceptionally large and could be considered a greatsword. Seven feet two inches long, weighing twenty-four pounds, and four and eight-tenths inches wide.
Fan Wu curiously drew the treasured sword.
The sharp blade made no one doubt whether it could kill a person.
Was it because the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor had gained some power, and thus the treasured sword in Its hands also received a certain boost?
After all these years, his swindler master had never maintained the treasured sword.
Yet it remained extremely sharp.
Not a speck of rust on it.
A twenty-four-pound sword was fundamentally unusable by an ordinary person, likely leaving one's arms exhausted after a few swings.
But to Fan Wu, the weight of the sword...
Was just right for his taste!
The length was indeed a tad too long, seven feet two inches in the Great Zhou Dynasty was already a length of one meter ninety, almost matching Fan Wu's height.
Such a sizeable sword, even if it wasn't sharpened, could still be used as a blunt weapon.
Fan Wu was just about to leave with the treasured sword when, after a moment's thought, he returned, took a piece of yellow paper, wrapped up some incense ash, and stuffed it into a cloth bag.
He believed that the incense ash used to worship the statue of the True Martial Great Emperor should also have some effect on driving away ghosts.
As for how to be sure? Hadn't the arrest officer mentioned that someone in Qiulong County had been bewitched by ghosts?
Wouldn't that be a perfect test subject?
Fan Wu was wearing a gray-blue Daoist robe.
He carried the "Northern Black Chariot Gunky Horn Demon-Slaying Heroic Sword" on his back.
With a bag of incense ash tied to his waist.
He opened the door again.
The arrest officer waiting anxiously outside the Taoist Temple was stunned when he saw Fan Wu in this peculiar attire. One might even think that Fan Wu was about to go out on a plundering spree!
"Daoist Priest Fan... what are you doing?" the arrest officer stammered.
"Going to kill a ghost," Fan Wu declared as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "What else could it be? Leading someone to their death? Lead me to see the person who was dragged into the water by the ghost last night first."
"Ah? Oh!"
...
...