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Chapter 328 Only Seeking Merit, Not Fighting Hard Battles (Part 3)

On the shore, the river supervisor led dozens of soldiers.

The River Supervisor is also a sixth-rate scholar, but he hasn't fought in person for many years.

When he discovered the cargo ship, he was carrying a scholar's sword and, in a commanding manner, led his men to the riverbank.

This sword is thin and delicate, with an exquisite scabbard and a shiny blade.

Scholars wore them at their waists primarily for decoration...

Upon seeing how terrifying this evil spirit was, the river supervisor's expression changed drastically!

Then, she quietly shrank back and smoothly disappeared behind everyone.

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei were also taken aback.

Zhu Zhanmei came here this time because she had secretly discovered some clues related to the "Ghost King's Body".

She brought two squads of her own men with her.

Miao Yu is pitiful; he still has only those two trusted confidants by his side.

A warship was torn apart, and everyone on the shore turned pale.

However, the adjutant on the largest warship, his river garrison officers and soldiers, and even the 150 battalion soldiers who fell into the water from the small boat, all showed no signs of panic.

The evil spirits on the cargo ship used all their large feet to paddle together and then rammed into the second small warship.

The adjutant general stood at the bow of the large ship and snorted coldly, "They actually underestimate our river management camp like this!"

The torn-up small warship, its various parts seemingly "connected by threads," revealed strands of spider silk.

The spider silk pulled and intertwined the parts, and they were pieced back together, becoming a complete warship once again!

The soldiers who had fallen into the water were all entangled in a spider web, and they used the web to climb onto the boat.

The crowd seemed to vaguely see a ten-foot-long, spindle-shaped spider phantom flash by in the cabin of the warship.

The warships regrouped and chased after the treacherous cargo ship, joining another warship in a pincer attack.

The river supervisor breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness."

The river camp was well-equipped, and its warships were all handcrafted!
However, they did not notice that a panel on the cargo ship's hull had opened, and a large number of golden worms had crawled into the river.

……

Xu Yuan returned to the South City patrol post from the canal wharf. Old Qin hurriedly came up to greet him: "Sir..." Before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly came out of the gate, pushed Old Qin aside.

Old Qin didn't dare utter a single word.

The man grabbed Xu Yuan: "Let's go."

Xu Yuan was greatly surprised: "Sir, you arrived so quickly?"

Fu Jingyu and Song Lu followed: "The old master personally hung up the calligraphy scroll and then sped off with us. It only took half an hour to get back."

Xu Yuan wondered why the old man was in such a hurry.

Ma Tianshou said, "Were you chased out by those people from the Grand Canal Administration?"

"Did the old man anticipate this?"

"I've worked with both the river supervisor in Champa and that Liao Lieutenant General from the river management camp. I know their character very well!"

"Is the old master worried that they will be defeated by the Ghost King?"

"What does his Canal Administration have to do with me?" Ma Tianshou said, "It's good that he lost, then we can enjoy the show."

Xu Yuan found it strange; the old man wasn't usually like this.

The Canal Administration lost the battle and could not stop the Ghost King's conspiracy. Champa will surely suffer a terrible catastrophe.

Ma Tianshou grabbed Xu Yuan's arm and quickly walked out of the city: "Tell me, kid, if this matter were entrusted to you, what would you do?"

"Hmm?" Xu Yuan asked in confusion, then looked at the old man and guessed, "Could it be... that you and I have the same idea?"

"Hahaha!" Ma Tianshou laughed loudly: "That's why I rushed here in such a hurry, I must resolve this matter before dark."

Xu Yuan smiled and said, "Please wait for me a moment, I'll go back to the yamen to get an auspicious item."

"Oh? It seems you've indeed come up with a plan. Go quickly."

Xu Yuan went back and looked at the bridge stone.

This official possesses the "Dragon Transformation Technique," granting him immense physical strength.

It is indeed possible to move it.

But why should I carry it myself?

"Old Qin!"

"Ji Shuangqiu!"

"Lang Xiaoba!"

The strong martial artists under Lord Xu immediately stepped forward.

Then Lao Qin first carried the bridge stone.

He came first, and we took turns on the way.

Old Qin was absolutely certain that he must have offended the adults in some way that he hadn't noticed...

The group quickly left the city and headed towards Xiaoyu Mountain.

After entering the mountains, Xu Yuan took the lead.

With this fifth-rate elder in charge, we're not afraid of even evil spirits like the Ghost Queen or the Wild Boar Fang.

The group moved extremely fast, and Xu Yuan arrived at the weasel family's dwelling in a flash.

These "servants" faithfully carried out Lord Xu's orders.

The word "loyalty" is actually completely unrelated to the cunning and treacherous weasel tribe.

The weasel family took Master Xu's money, intending to shirk their duties.

But for some reason, I just can't stay idle.

I feel uneasy if I don't work.

This whole family has never felt this way before: diligence makes me happy!

An old weasel led Xu Yuan and the others straight into the depths of Xiaoyu Mountain.

After trekking for a hundred miles, as darkness fell, they arrived at a cold lake in the mountains.

Surrounding the lake are large areas of buildings that have long since collapsed and fallen into disrepair.

Some of the details show that this place was quite luxurious back then.

The old man then shouted, "Evil spirit, show yourself at once!"

A huge calligraphy scroll, three zhang long, flew into the air.

The four large characters above read: "Sunshine Shines Brightly!"
Suddenly, a burst of intense light shot out, as if a great sun had risen again above the cold lake.

The light pierced through the lake water, and the cold lake suddenly "boiled".

A large amount of yin energy surged up from the bottom of the lake and bubbled up from the surface.

Beneath the broken walls and ruins by the lake, a large number of evil spirits lurk.

As soon as the light shone on them, they rushed out screaming.

The old man carefully took out a small bronze stove.

There was a piece of bright red ember in the bronze furnace.

The old man tossed the bronze stove aside, and the embers fell into the lake with a thud.

The lake water is truly boiling this time...

That charcoal was a fifth-rate "treasure".

The old man borrowed it from a prominent family in Luocheng.

The ghosts hiding at the bottom of the lake could no longer remain concealed and rushed out of the lake water.

The old man laughed heartily, and with a pen in his hand, he quickly wrote out calligraphy, and the ghosts under the calligraphy disappeared into ashes one by one!

Xu Yuan quickly beckoned to Ji Shuangqiu: "Shi Lai!"

Ji Shuangqiu roared and hurled the bridge stone at Lord Xu.

Lord Xu used the "Dragon Appearance Technique" to skillfully catch the bridge stone and put the Dragon Slayer Sword into it.

Suddenly, a bright yellow auspicious light burst forth.

Wherever the auspicious light shone, the evil spirits screamed and their bodies emitted white smoke, before they were completely melted away in no time.

Ma Tianshou and Qiao Shi were in the center, while Xu Yuan led the others on the perimeter. They cooperated with each other to encircle and intercept the enemy. The tens of thousands of Yin ghosts in the cold lake only lasted for a little over half an hour before they were completely wiped out as soon as it got dark.

These evil spirits are not very powerful.

They have been eroded by time, and each one is incomplete.

If given the opportunity to coalesce into mountain spirits, they would still have a fighting chance against Ma Tianshou.

But the old man and Xu Yuan acted decisively, giving them no chance to retaliate.

The scattered and disorganized spirits posed no threat whatsoever to the Exorcism Bureau.

"Hahaha!" Ma Tianshou laughed heartily.

Xu Yuan and Master Ma both keenly realized one thing: to protect Zhancheng, it was not necessarily necessary to take down the Ghost King's body.

Destroying or capturing the Ghost King's body is indeed a radical solution, addressing the problem at its root.

However, the Ghost King needs the cooperation of these spirits to wreak havoc and occupy the city.

In comparison, this group of incomplete and wraiths is definitely an easy target.

Xu Yuan used "business law" to turn the weasel family into servants, making them keep watch in secret—not only on the ghost king in the river bend, but also on these yin ghosts.

If the river monitoring station allows Xu Yuan to participate in the operation today.

Xu Yuan would then offer this plan.

The river camp surrounded and annihilated the Ghost King.

If you can kill them, then kill them; if you can't kill them, then entangle them so they can't escape.

Then another team was dispatched to wipe out this group of evil spirits!

The canal authorities dismissed Xu Yuan—so of course, Lord Xu would have to go it alone.

Even without Master Ma, as long as Qiao Shi is there, Xu Yuan is still 70% confident of success.

Lord Xu is also a sixth-rate alchemist, and there are many alchemists in the Champa government.

Everyone gathered their inner fire to counteract these evil spirits.

At this moment, Xu Yuan's most "loyal" first servant, Huang Thirty-Six, rushed out of the bushes and shouted, "Master, the Grand Canal government has been defeated!"

……

General Liao's three warships were all handcrafted.

But the quality is not high.

They are not the main force after all.

If it were only the cargo ship that was the evil spirit, Liao Canjiang would have no problem winning.

However, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse as soon as the Ghost King made his move.

Those golden worms were constantly gnawing at the warship in the water.

Before long, the three warships sank completely.

The evil spirit on the cargo ship displayed its supernatural powers in the river, swallowing up as many as 300 of the 500 soldiers who had fallen into the water!
The Ghost King withdrew the golden worm, donned his armor again, and charged ashore—the canal officials were no match for him and fled in defeat.

The river supervisor was the first to run away.

No resistance was offered.

General Liao fell into the water and was dragged ashore by a dozen or so personal guards who risked their lives. When he looked back, he saw that the ghost king, who was more than ten feet tall, had already stood up from the warehouse.

He then disregarded his five hundred men on the other side of the river, who also fled in disarray.

Only Miao Yu shouted, "Evil spirits must be exterminated!"

He then released his own magical seal.

The Ghost King raised his sword and struck.

The great seal and other religious objects rolled into the dust and mud.

Miao Yu coughed up a mouthful of blood, and suddenly a jade-like hand reached out from behind him, grabbed his collar, and dragged him away.

It is Zhu Zhanmei.

Zhu Zhanmei said in a deep voice, "The situation is hopeless. Staying here would only be a pointless sacrifice!"

Zhu Zhanmei handed Miao Yu over to his two trusted men, Inspector Zhang and another person, who then quickly carried Miao Yu away.

The five hundred soldiers naturally scattered in all directions.

The Ghost King didn't bother chasing them; it was already dark, and it headed step by step towards Buddha Ridge.

The remnants of the canal government's forces fled back to the dock, each one more disheveled than the last.

The River Supervisor ran wildly in the moonlight, losing his official hat somewhere, his hair disheveled, and his hair falling over his face.

The river patrolman screamed, "River sacrifice! A river sacrifice must be performed immediately! Please, Dragon King, save Champa!"

The river supervisor, enraged, slapped him hard across the face: "Idiot!"

If we perform a river sacrifice and report everything to the Grand Canal Dragon King, wouldn't our foolish defeat be exposed? Besides, even if the Dragon King can destroy the Ghost King's body, he may not be able to save Champa.

Those evil spirits entered my dreams, possessed the bodies of my descendants, and wreaked havoc throughout the city. They cannot be dealt with simply by having great power.

We still need to send a large army into the city to screen them one by one and find all the traitors.

General Liao also returned, having stripped off and discarded his armor to run faster.

Its current image... is not much better than that of the River Supervisory Bureau.

"Go to the camp!" Lieutenant General Liao said, "Many of these laborers at the docks are local natives. What if they start a riot too..."

Everyone then realized that the real issue wasn't how to resolve the crisis in Champa, but rather how to save their own lives!

The group immediately headed to the military camp.

Many soldiers also escaped back, and they were all from the Ming Dynasty.

The military camp is the safest place right now.

After settling into the camp, the river supervisor and the others finally calmed down.

Miao Yu, already injured and seething with anger, finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "If Xu Yuan had been left alive, things might not have turned out this way!"

Everyone except Zhu Zhanmei glared at him angrily.

That idiot, he always brings up the very thing he shouldn't have said.

How did he become the head of the Mountain and River Law Bureau?

Oh, so the Miao people aren't easy to mess with either? I understand now.

The river patrol officer said with a gloomy face, "So what if the man surnamed Xu is here? Everyone has seen how powerful the Ghost King is. You, Lord Miao, are indeed brave, but you were also knocked down by a sword."

"How capable can a mere inspector possibly be to turn the tide and resolve tonight's crisis in Champa?"

Miao Yu then argued with him: "Driving Xu Yuan away was a terrible move. We suffered a crushing defeat, and who knows how the Exorcism Division will laugh at us in the future!"

The river supervisor roared, "Stop arguing!"

He looked out of the camp towards Champa and sighed, "Everyone... be prepared. If anyone escapes from the city, try to help them. Saving more people will lessen our guilt."

In the river camp, everyone was on tenterhooks, waiting for the anticipated riot to break out.

……

The Ghost King arrived at the dilapidated temple and sat down on the shrine, quietly waiting for the spirits of the previous dynasty.

The evil spirit on the cargo ship withdrew all its hands and feet and waited quietly in the river bend.

Suddenly, a small, pointed head popped out from the grass on the bank.

Immediately afterward, a large foot stomped down the weeds next to its head with a soft "plop."

A group of people rushed over quickly.

Huang Thirty-Six ducked his head, squeaking as he warned the living people, "Watch your step..."

Nobody paid any attention to it.

Lord Ma took the lead, carrying a tiger-head guillotine.

This is the tiger-head guillotine of the Luocheng South Police Station.

He rushed all the way to the riverbank and slammed the tiger-head guillotine into the shallow water.

"Execute!"

With a loud shout, the old man raised the guillotine with one hand.

Xu Yuan followed suit and charged out, simultaneously launching a pair of Dragon-Slaying Swords and a sword pellet.

The evil spirit on the cargo ship suddenly shook, and dozens of thin, withered hands and feet stretched out.

It devoured three hundred soldiers, greatly increasing its strength!
However, it is still restrained when facing the Tiger Head Guillotine.

But they are not without the ability to fight!
Unexpectedly, as soon as these hands and feet were extended, Xu Yuan swiftly severed more than a dozen of them with his three swords!
Xu Yuan secretly released three more hairpins.

The mediocre craftsmen crawled into the ship's cabin, constantly piercing through the flesh and blood that had become one with the ship's hull.

Each blow caused these fleshy creatures excruciating pain.

Ordinary swords and knives cannot harm the evil spirits on the cargo ship.

Not only will it not cause injury, but once it strikes, it will be directly absorbed by the flesh and blood, then wrapped layer by layer, and will melt and be absorbed in a short time.

Just like the "bait" for alchemists!
However, the works of fifth-rate craftsmen are different.

Each stab from the three hairpins caused the evil spirits on the cargo ship to tremble in agony.

Three hundred of General Liao's five hundred sailors were eaten by the evil spirits on the cargo ship, and most of the remaining sailors climbed ashore and fled in panic.

Some of them also drowned in the river.

There was a leader among them, who was a low-level cultivator. His magic could disguise him as various objects around him.

At that moment, the evil spirit on the cargo ship reached out a hand and almost grabbed him.

He disguised himself as a piece of waterweed in the river.

I dared not move and have been hiding until now.

Unexpectedly, such a powerful evil spirit on the cargo ship was like a lamb to the slaughter in front of Xu Yuan and the old man.

He stopped practicing and seized the opportunity to swim ashore with all his might.

On the side of the Exorcism Division, the main force fighting against evil spirits was naturally Ma Tianshou and Xu Yuan, with several inspectors also helping out.

Then no one else could get involved.

When he was swimming upstream, Lang Xiaoba and the others noticed him. As soon as they got ashore, he was grabbed: "A little evil spirit crawled out of the river!"

"You're really blind to have run into your Eighth Master's hands!"

The foreman hurriedly shouted, "I am a soldier from the river management battalion!"

"Are there any survivors from the River Camp?"

With a mournful face, he said, "I was almost eaten by that evil spirit! Thank goodness you came. If it had been even a moment later, my magic wouldn't have lasted, and I would have been eaten anyway..."

Lang Xiaoba carefully checked and confirmed that there was no problem. He then said to a Danxiu captain, "Make a fire for him. Look how frozen he is, like a grandson."

The weather was already a bit chilly, and after soaking in the river for so long, I was shivering as soon as I pulled my head out of the water.

The captain breathed out a mouthful of fire and lit a pile of dry grass to warm his head and body.

Huang Thirty-Six sprang out of the haystack, squeaking and cursing as he ran away.

Warm up your head before watching the battle in the river.

Lord Xu has severed all the evil hands and feet of the cargo ship's evil spirit.

The ship was riddled with holes.

This was certainly not Xu Yuan's achievement alone. The Tiger Head Guillotine's restraint and suppression also played a crucial role, leaving the evil spirits on the cargo ship with no option but to take the beating and unable to retaliate.

Finally, the evil spirit on the cargo ship was stuffed under the tiger-head guillotine.

Lord Ma responded with a resounding shout: "Cut—"

With a snap, the guillotine, which had already stretched for ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), swiftly fell down, cleaving the evil spirit on the cargo ship in two.

The two sections of the cargo ship twisted and struggled on the ground for a while, so Xu Yuan simply went up and added another bit of fire.

The evil spirit was completely burned to ashes.

There was a good piece of material in the ashes. Xu Yuan didn't have time to look at it for long before picking it up and leaving.

"withdraw!"

The evil spirits on the cargo ship are appendages of the Ghost King.

The Ghost King must have already sensed something.

The Ghost King is waiting for those evil spirits, so he may be in a dilemma: continue waiting or save the evil spirits on the cargo ship first.

But the Ghost King should soon realize that he should save the evil spirits on the cargo ship first.

The members of the Exorcism Division fled as fast as they could.

Turn your head and run quickly.

As a result, he tripped over something halfway there and stumbled and fell into a deep ditch.

After finally climbing up, the members of the Exorcism Division had vanished without a trace.

A small weasel was standing on a small hill in the distance, and a person was standing there mocking him.

Huang Thirty-Six is ​​petty.

But it didn't dare to confront the people from the Exorcism Bureau, instead holding a grudge against the leader for almost being roasted.

It tripped him up and he fell flat on his face.

But the leader didn't dare to cause trouble for the weasel. It was still night, and they were still within the Xiaoyushan area. They had to run!

The leader fled all the way back to the river camp.

The Ghost King roared and charged back to the river bend.

Unable to catch the murderer, he thought about it and angrily returned to Foye Ridge.

As night fell, the ghosts of the previous dynasty still did not appear to keep their appointment.

As a result, he became increasingly irritable.

It is not a local evil spirit.

They only knew about Buddha Ridge, but didn't know where the ghosts of the previous dynasty lived.

So, just before dawn, he gritted his teeth and dragged himself away from the dilapidated temple, disappearing into a cold, gloomy ravine.

It sat on that shrine, merely intending to lure the ghosts of the previous dynasty.

I didn't dare sit there for too long.

That place doesn't belong to it.

Although the true master may have already perished.

But what if... it's still hidden somewhere in the turbid realm?
……

Xu Yuan and Master Ma had already discussed it: they would never confront the Ghost King head-on.

Even if I could win, I wouldn't fight.

This time, we'll only seek credit, not fight any tough battles.

This is a mess created by your Canal Administration and the Demon Exorcism Army. Why should our Exorcism Division clean it up?
So after Xu Yuan and Ma Tianshou killed the evil spirits on the cargo ship, they fled back to the city in a flash.

Ma Tianshou wrote a memorial to the throne overnight.

To commemorate the achievements of the Bureau of Purification, the Champa Canal Office was also severely criticized.

Don't think that doing this is dishonest. In fact, in most cases, the imperial court is not capable of sending people to conduct on-site investigations.

Therefore, when disagreements arise among local officials, it really comes down to whoever files a complaint first and gains the upper hand.

……

At the Grand Canal Administration, the river supervisors and others waited anxiously.

Any slight movement outside the camp was interpreted by them as the Ghost King's manifestation.

Even when the commander returned, the people in the camp were already terrified, and someone immediately shouted, "The evil spirits are attacking!"

So the camp gates were tightly shut, and they even unleashed a hail of arrows at the battalion commander.

The captain didn't die from the evil spirits, but he was almost shot to death by an arrow from his own men.

After finally explaining everything, they opened the door and let the boss in.

He was then immediately brought before General Liao and the River Supervisor.

"Tell me, how did you get back?"

The captain sensed something was wrong, but he could only bite the bullet and say, "The Exorcism Division... killed the evil spirit on that cargo ship, and by chance, by chance, saved the captain's life."

He Jian and Liao Canjiang were very unwilling to accept this fact.

Everyone, including the river patrol officer, looked as if they couldn't poop, their faces turning somewhat bluish.

The most painful thing is that we lost; the most painful thing is that our opponent won.

"Explain the whole process clearly and thoroughly, without omitting any steps," Commander Liao ordered in a deep voice.

The captain could only speak in a low voice.

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei were also there.

Miao Yu sneered repeatedly, glancing sideways at the river patrol envoy.

What did I just say? You idiot, you still dare to argue with me! As it turns out, I, the Law Master, was right.

Zhu Zhanmei suddenly thought of a question: "What use is it for the Exorcism Bureau to kill the evil spirits on the cargo ship?"

The river patrol officer immediately said, "That's right. Killing the evil spirits on the cargo ships will not help resolve the crisis in Champa."

This time, Zhu Zhanmei couldn't help but glare at him. This guy is really stupid.

Am I trying to excuse you?

I think there must be a reason why the Exorcism Bureau did this.

"Could it be..." Zhu Zhanmei said slowly, "that the Exorcism Bureau has already resolved the crisis in Champa?"

"Impossible..." Liao Canjiang and the others blurted out, of course they didn't believe it: "Xu Yuan is only a sixth-rate person, he has no ability to kill the Ghost King. Even if Ma Tianshou is added, the chances of winning are not great."

(End of this chapter)