Lu Yu rested in his room for a while, put his luggage down, and then slowly made his way to the inn's main hall, ready to order some food to pay tribute to his stomach.
Those who had gone out to join in the excitement had gradually returned to their places. This scene was, after all, just a fleeting episode in their lives, and would become nothing more than additional fodder for conversation in the future.
"It looks like that malevolent Taoist is in for trouble!" said someone well-informed, showing off in front of others. This prompted a buzz of excitement among the crowd, urging him to share his exclusive news with everyone.
"What you don't know is that the child who was saved at first turns out to be the young master of the Prefectural Governor's family!"
"I heard that our Prefectural Governor had his son at an old age and dotes on the child the most."
"Exactly, and one of the government officers who had been to the County Governor's Office recognized the young master at a glance. Once the news reached the Prefectural Governor, he was infuriated and issued a sea arrest warrant offering a hundred taels of silver for the capture of that person, dead or alive."
Lu Yu ate his plain dishes, listening to the constant discussion around him, and for the first time felt truly alive in another world, not dreaming or playing a game.
"I say, waiter bro, what's with that look of gloom and doom?" The only thing that bothered Lu Yu was the waiter's sullen face.
"Customer, it's a disaster!" The waiter didn't share the same enthusiasm, for he had been anxious since learning that the malevolent Taoist had escaped the encirclement.
"Oh! What disaster could there be when everything was fine? You're young; why are you so pessimistic?"
"Customer, don't you see? That malevolent Taoist, having had his plans ruined by us, won't let us off easily. That guy's got skills and who knows what evil techniques he'll use to harm our lives. I haven't even taken a wife yet!" The waiter was irritated by Lu Yu's calm demeanor, feeling that this gentleman hadn't realized the gravity of the situation, and internally cursing himself for interfering in business that wasn't his.
"Haha, I thought it was something serious. Don't be afraid. If anything, I'm the mastermind here, and you're at most an accessory. If I'm not worried, what's there for you to fear? If that malevolent Taoist seeks revenge, he should come for me first."
Lu Yu's words had no effect and only made the waiter's face look even more bitter.
In the night of Wan City, where the moon shone and stars were sparse, people had already gone to sleep early in this entertainment-deprived ancient era; only the night watchmen rhythmically clapped their clappers on the streets, informing people of the time.
In a dilapidated temple north of the city, a horse-faced Taoist with a prominent mole on his face looked hatefully at the night sky, revealing him to be the malevolent Taoist who had escaped during the day.
"Damn meddlesome Scholar, ruining my trade. I'll make sure you pay for this." The Taoist muttered resentfully.
He had just made connections with the Blood Cult and gone to great lengths to gather these children to bring to the Main Altar of the Blood Cult. He fantasized about the generous Sect Hierarch passing down the Immortal Law to him, enabling him to indulge in luxury and longevity.
But who could have predicted that in Wan City, a meddling Scholar would ruin everything? Just thinking about the Sect Hierarch's divine skills sent a chill down his spine, and he grew to hate Lu Yu even more inside.
"Humph! Since you dared to ruin my plans, don't blame me for being ruthless!" After saying that to himself, the Taoist took out an ebony plaque from his bosom.
"To die at the hands of my Ghost General would be a fortune for this brat." With a fanatical look, he gazed at the ebony plaque in his hand. He hadn't used this technique often, but its power was extraordinary, allowing him to relish in a perverse pleasure, the feeling of easily controlling the life and death of others in the palm of his hand addicted him.
He quietly chanted a spell, and soon enough, a fierce ghostly entity with a green face and fangs crawled out from the ebony plaque. The ferocious ghost was hideous, with buckteeth exposed, sparse red hair on either side of its head, and a shiny, pointy skull. Its only striking features were the two large eyes gleaming with a menacing light.
The Taoist was pleased with the ghostly entity he had summoned, feeling exceptionally suave. He commanded the entity to merge, and the ghost stretched out its claw, grabbing at the top of the Taoist's head, and pulled out a transparent figure from the body—it was the Taoist's soul and spirit.
As soon as the soul and spirit appeared, it instantly floated onto the ghostly entity, making the somewhat sluggish ghost suddenly more agile.
"This feels really good!" The ghostly entity let out a grating voice, which on closer inspection was actually the Taoist's own tone.
"It's a pity that staying possessed for too long will harm my soul and spirit. Otherwise, becoming a Ghost King like this would allow me to go anywhere in this vast world without fear!" The Taoist said with some regret.
After saying this, he turned into a wisp of blue smoke and quickly floated towards the Tongfu Inn. In no time at all, he arrived at the inn's entrance. The Taoist had already collected Lu Yu's scent, and using the ghost body, he sniffed out Lu Yu's location. However, for some reason, deep inside he felt a slight resistance, not wanting to get close to where Lu Yu was at all.
Shaking his massive head, he thought he was being paranoid and stopped dwelling on it. Hatred had gradually filled his heart, and at this moment, all he wanted was to torment Lu Yu. Of course, the waiter with the weak will was not going to be spared either.
Being incorporeal, passing through walls and over thresholds was as easy for the ghostly entity as drinking water. Walking into the room, he saw Lu Yu asleep on the bed, snoring soundly.
Watching Lu Yu sound asleep before his eyes, the Taoist's rage intensified, as he himself had become like a rat crossing the street. Yet this fellow was slumbering so sweetly here.
In the Taoist's mind, a variety of thoughts had already flashed by. He was ready to savor the expression on the loathsome Scholar's face when tortured. Thinking of this, his ugly ghostly face was full of excited color.
Extending a thick ghost claw, the Taoist prepared to extract Lu Yu's soul and spirit first, before slowly dealing with him.
However, just as the ghost claw was about to touch Lu Yu's body, the Taoist discovered in horror that the Scholar he had considered as prey had suddenly opened his eyes, looking at him with great interest. Those eyes held excitement, amusement, and curiosity but conspicuously lacked fear.
As someone who had been through the trials of life, how could he not know that he had encountered a tough nut to crack? He had already thought of retreating.
Just then, a sword light shone from within Lu Yu's embrace, which in the eyes of the ghostly entity was so pure and bright, much like the sunlight in the heat of summer.
A pain that pierced to the heart was transmitted through the ghostly entity's body to the Taoist's soul and spirit; in an instant, the Taoist felt as if he was being sliced by a thousand knives.
By the time he recovered from the pain, he found a small green sword had already pierced close to his side. The body he had once been so proud of, the Ghost King's Physique, proved to be as fragile as paper in front of this tiny sword, melting away in an instant.
Without time to feel the pain, the Taoist's soul and spirit was already scattered by the Flying Sword, with no chance for reincarnation.
"Sword Immortal, Flying Sword!" The Taoist only left these words before he completely dissipated from the world, taking his lifetime of sin with him.
The next day, as the people of the Tongfu Inn were discussing the strange screams from the previous night, Lu Yu had already packed his bags and left the place under the inquisitive gaze of the Waiter.
Following the Flying Sword's guidance, Lu Yu headed north, and after half a day's journey, he finally arrived at the ruins of the temple where the Taoist had taken shelter.
The dilapidated temple was in an inconspicuous corner, surrounded by desolate wasteland – even the beggars in the city were reluctant to take refuge there. Lu Yu sighed to himself, acknowledging that the Taoist had indeed chosen a good hiding spot.
Parting the waist-high overgrown weeds, he walked into the run-down temple. A figure in a Taoist robe was lying quietly on the ground, none other than the nefarious Taoist.
At this moment, he still breathed, but the body without its soul and spirit was already that of a vegetable.
Lu Yu was not polite. He started to search the Taoist to find out what treasures he was hiding. He knew well that a person like the Taoist would trust no one, and all his valuable possessions must be on his person.
As Lu Yu had predicted, he found a good deal of Silver on the Taoist. Aside from that, there was a book and an Ebony Plaque.
Opening the book, Lu Yu couldn't help but be overjoyed, "This is perfect timing, what a great find."
It turned out that the Taoist had somehow obtained a book of cultivation notes, which included records of some lesser-known Techniques, such as the Invisibility Technique the Taoist had used earlier to escape, and the technique for nurturing ghosts with the Ebony Plaque – all clearly detailed in the book. What was even more valuable was that the Taoist had recorded his own cultivation experiences alongside.
"This Taoist has really been good to me," Lu Yu said, not shying away from the vegetable lying next to him, and began to enthusiastically examine the book.
After a while, Lu Yu sighed deeply and rubbed his swelling forehead, feeling fortunate, "It seems that the Taoist didn't have this book for very long. Otherwise, if he had fully mastered the techniques within, it would have been troublesome."
What Lu Yu didn't know was that the Taoist lacked talent and whatever he took up, he couldn't stick with for more than three days. He wouldn't settle down to delve into the secrets of the book. Only the segment detailing the Express Technique for summoning and commanding spirits deeply pleased him. After managing to kill a passerby and capturing that person's soul and spirit, he fancied himself to be a genuine cultivator.
The Taoist had a good eye and instantly spotted the most valuable Technique in the book. Unfortunately, in his haste for success, he chose the Express Technique.
The Technique was originally intended for the Ritual Refinement of Dharma Protector Spirits. After capturing ghosts, one should use Secret Technique to create Spirit Nurturing Incense, enhancing the power of the Dharma Protector Spirits with the Power of Incense and Fire.
Asthis, the resulted Dharma Protector Spirit was balanced and righteous, with the ability to suppress evil and exorcise demons, making it quite outstanding among the sidestream left-handed techniques.
It is a pity that the Taoist was too reluctant to part with his wealth and considered this upstanding technique too slow to take effect. Therefore, he resorted to using human blood for the Ritual Refinement, turning a proper Dharma Protector Spirit into a Ferocious Ghost!
Lu Yu sighed at the Taoist's short-sightedness, while continuing to flip through the book. He found it recorded the creation of various talismans and some cultivation anecdotes. He felt deeply that the author of this book was indeed a warm-hearted predecessor. The Taoist, having only learned some superficial knowledge, was eager to show off and really failed to capture the true value of the treasure mountain he had stumbled upon.