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Chapter 392 Offspring (Three-in-One)

Xu Yuan was also surprised. In broad daylight, were evil spirits already so blatant?
The situation at the docks was similar to that in the city.

Every nook and cranny, every dark and secluded place, is a breeding ground for evil spirits.

At night, the evil spirits roaming the docks are far more numerous than those in the city.

But during the day they all hide very obediently and dare not show themselves.

When that thing bites, it's like a venomous snake devouring a person, as fast as lightning.

But then Dafu raised one of his feet in a very awkward posture.

With its large webbed feet spreading out, seemingly slowly but "just in time," it wrapped its hand around the evil spirit's head.

With a stomp, it was firmly pressed to the ground.

Then, Dafu used its flat beak to peck at the evil spirit's long body several times.

It's like a master chef tossing a cleaned eel onto the cutting board, then raising his cleaver: thud, thud, thud...

It was cut into pieces.

Then Dafu took a bite at a time, stretching his neck to swallow it.

Xu Yuan carefully examined the evil spirit.

This thing looks a bit like a four-legged snake.

However, its body is more slender.

It had a rat's tail trailing behind it.

Its scales are rougher than those of a typical lizard.

The human face on its head, after being pecked to death by Dafu, turned into a wisp of black mist and dissipated in agony.

This shrunken face is a fragmented, wretched spirit.

After the spirit dissipated, it revealed its true form as an evil spirit.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a rat's face.

Xu Yuan found it strange: What kind of evil spirit is this?
Rat's tail, rat's head.

If you look closely at its four feet, you'll recognize them as rat paws.

But why is its body slender and covered in scales?
When this evil spirit fought with Dafu just now, it was clearly only of the lowest caliber.

Looking at it now... it's probably just some low-class evil spirit.

Evil spirits generally follow a basic rule: the stranger they look, the more powerful they are.

The strange look he gave off just now made him seem like someone you shouldn't mess with.

Now it's nothing more than a cunning rat.

Xu Yuan was puzzled as to how the broken spirit could be covered on the face of the evil spirit like a mask.

After Dafu finished eating, he gave Xu Yuan a dissatisfied look. You can imagine what that means.

The cook no longer provides meals, so I have to hunt for myself now.

Xu Yuan asked it, "Are you feeling unwell? Don't always eat random things outside."

Dafu's eyes widened: Listen to what you're saying!

If you don't feed me, you won't let me come out and find food on my own!

Dafu turned away in a huff and staggered back home.

Xu Yuan did not leave immediately. Instead, he went to the base of the wall and looked into the ditch.

Something else seemed to quickly shrink into the depths of darkness.

Lord Xu frowned, but then unceremoniously spat out a mouthful of fire.

"Squeak..."

A strange sound came from the gutter.

This fifth-rate alchemist, who lacked any martial ethics, spewed out a mouthful of fire, which quickly spread to both sides, filling the entire ditch!

This ditch is over a hundred feet long, with several branches in the middle.

It is part of the drainage canal on the dock.

Who knows how many little evil spirits are lurking inside.

With that single burst of fire, all the evil spirits inside were instantly burned to death.

The vast majority turned directly into ashes.

Very few skeletons were left behind.

Only a handful were at the end of the ditch, near the exit leading to the canal.

He escaped into the canal and that's how he survived.

Xu Yuan snorted coldly: "You broke the rules first, showing yourselves in broad daylight, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The few that survived floated on the river, cursing in a low, eerie whisper.

Where is our daytime world?
We were hiding perfectly well, but your stupid goose stuck its neck in and pecked us, dragging us out!
Lord Xu couldn't understand.

Xu Yuan turned to go back, but suddenly saw a cloud of black smoke rising from the cracks in the bricks of the sewer a dozen feet away.

Just like the broken, ghostly spirit that had been shrouding the rat's face!
"Hmm?" Lord Xu keenly sensed the abnormality, stretched out his hand, and the tendon pill fell into that section of the ditch, quickly dragging out a skeleton that had already been partially burned.

But it was a catfish.

It still retains the shape of a catfish at both its head and tail.

But its body, like that of the rat, became thin and long like a snake.

Xu Yuan simply used his tendon pills to form a net and searched the entire sewer, but he did not find a third skeleton that looked similar.

But Lord Xu always felt that this was no coincidence.

The evil spirits on the dock seem to be transforming into a certain "form".

Xu Yuan then went directly to the Grand Canal Administration Office to inquire about the situation.

But they were met with a cold shoulder.

The local dock patrol officer didn't even glance at the evil remains brought by Xu Yuan, and said indifferently, "Lord Xu has lived in the city for a long time and is unaware of the evil spirits on the dock. The evil spirits here are all kinds of strange and unusual, nothing to be alarmed about."

They were practically mocking Lord Xu for being "uncommon."

Everyone at the canal dock had no good feelings towards Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan didn't say anything more; that would only be a waste of breath.

After leaving the Grand Canal Administration Office, Xu Yuan went to his "Yuansheng" ship.

Tell Uncle Yang, "Gather all the men together."

Yang Laicai immediately called over all the shop's employees.

Xu Yuan described the appearance of the rat-like evil spirit, and then asked, "You are all from the docks. Have there been such evil spirits at the docks before?"

The shop now employs eight workers, all of whom shake their heads: "We've never seen the kind of evil spirit the master is talking about."

One of the younger men even asked an old man next to him, "Seventh Master, you've been at the docks for decades, have you seen this place before?"

The old man thought and thought for a while, then shook his head: "Really not. If you're talking about snakes with human faces or rats with snake faces, I, Seventh Master, have actually seen them."

This is unprecedented – a rat transforming into a snake with a human face.

Xu Yuan then understood the situation.

Some anecdotes are more accurate when asked about the people making a living at the docks than at the canal docks.

"Alright, everyone go ahead and get busy." Xu Yuan then left in a hurry.

……

The front yard of the canal wharf is imposing and solemn, while the back yard has high walls and a deep courtyard.

The wall blocked the view of outsiders, and several luxurious courtyards were built in the backyard.

At this time, four fourth-rate individuals and An Chengyuan lived inside.

Two fourth-rate members of the Fu family, along with three other members of the Fu family, were gathered in a dark room.

This wasn't actually a dark room; the Fu family had simply covered all the doors and windows with calligraphy scrolls.

On the round table in the middle of the room, a birdcage was placed neatly.

The birdcage is a piece of work by a fifth-rate craftsman!

Inside, however, was not a caged bird, but a puppet dragon made of human skin and hair!
The dinosaur was only about half a foot long, and its tail was fixed to the horizontal bar in the cage with a gold nail.

The Fu family members all gathered around the birdcage, watching as wisps of strange black energy leaked out of it.

Even sealing the doors and windows with calligraphy scrolls couldn't stop the black energy; it seeped out through the cracks.

If a cultivator with exceptional eyesight were to concentrate and look closely, they would discover that these fine, black wisps are actually formed by countless tiny, invisible insects intertwined.

The tiny insects resembled skin flakes or dragon scales!
The two fourth-rate experts were at a loss and said helplessly, "We still can't seal this 'Nian Shen'!"

[Note: 眚 (sheng, third tone) means misfortune or disaster, not an eye disease.]

The three people who escorted the birdcage and the puppet dragon said, "We did our best, using all sorts of methods to at least ensure safety on the road, but... the Nian Shen broke through these barriers a day earlier than we expected!"

"By now, countless evil spirits outside have already transformed into 'devourers'!"

"We can't wait any longer, we have to leave tomorrow morning!"

"Tonight... something bad is likely to happen. Everyone keep your mouths shut. No matter what happens, you must not reveal that this matter is related to us!"

The Fu family knew from the beginning that bringing the Puppet Dragon out was an extremely risky act.

This secret technique is not yet perfect and should not have been used so early.

However, none of the Fu family members present considered warning others.

They only thought about disclaiming any responsibility if something went wrong.

The entire Fu family was influenced by the "Dragon Transformation Technique," becoming selfish and ruthless, and never considering the needs of others.

Inside the birdcage, the tiny puppet dragon was actually alive!

It was waiting for a pair of embroidered eyes, waiting desperately for two fourth-rate individuals.

He seemed to have many complaints, but his dragon mouth had been sewn shut.

One of the fourth-rate men said, "Nephew Hongyu, you don't need to resent us. It was the family that chose you, not the idea of ​​us two old folks. Actually, it might not be a bad thing for you..."

The Pikachu Dragon couldn't make a sound, but its whole body trembled, and its eyes grew increasingly venomous.

The fourth-rate person retorted angrily, "You don't know what's good for you!"

So I stopped talking to him.

……

Xu Yuan told Miao Yu about the evil spirits at the dock that had "changed" again.

Indeed, Xu Yuan felt that these strange occurrences must have been influenced by something, resulting in a second bizarre change.

As for what exactly caused the influence... Xu Yuan was 80% certain it was related to the Fu family.

It's like when the Crown Princess arrived in Champa, Xu Yuan was assassinated, and everyone knew it was the Crown Princess who did it.

Everything was fine until the second group of people from the Fu family arrived, and then things changed—it wasn't because of you, so explain why it was such a coincidence.

After learning about the situation, Miao Yu found it difficult to make a decision.

He trusted Xu Yuan completely, but he also knew very well that Xu Yuan had already run into a snag with the Grand Canal Administration, and that if he went to the Grand Canal Administration again because of this matter, it would probably be of little effect.

“If we want the Grand Canal Administration to take action and prepare for this new evil, one person alone is not enough,” Miao Yu said. “I need to approach Zhu Zhanmei again.”

Therefore, Miao Yu asked again, "Do you think this new evil spirit will cause great harm?"

If it's similar to the other evil spirits on the dock, there's no need to waste this effort.

Xu Yuan said in a deep voice: "No evil spirit is a trivial matter!"

Miao Yu smiled wryly: "Alright, let's go find Zhu Zhanmei."

Zhu Zhanmei and Miao Yu lived not far apart, and the people from the Shanhe Division, including Zhu Zhanlei, also lived together.

It was already evening when Xu Yuan and Miao Yu arrived. Zhu Zhanmei had already finished her shift, changed out of her Shanhe Division official uniform, and was wearing her usual dress.

She had lost some of the heroic air of a branch officer and gained more of the delicate beauty of a young girl.

Xu Yuan couldn't help but take a second look.

But after listening to their conversation, Zhu Zhanmei gave a strange smile: "Lord Xu has asked the wrong person." Xu Yuan asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Zhu Zhanmei said slowly, "You come to beg me... Miao Yu and I will go to the Grand Canal government office again, going up the chain of command. There's a high chance we'll have to argue with the officials there a few times."

This wastes a lot of time, and by the time it gets dark, we might not be able to get the job done.

However, there is another person who greatly admires you.

That person is a favorite of Lord Luo. Go to her; if she agrees, she can immediately mobilize the entire dock.

Xu Yuan asked blankly, "Who is it?"

“Xu Miaozhi,” Zhu Zhanmei said with a smile.

Xu Yuan thought about it carefully and realized that Xu Miaozhi owed him a favor.

Although I said I had ulterior motives...

However, in Xu Miaozhi's view, she did indeed owe her a debt.

Xu Yuan decided to give it a try: "Zhu Zhanglu is right."

Xu Yuan stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "I'll go find Xu Miaozhi first. If she refuses, we'll have to proceed as we discussed. Please go to the yamen with Miao Yu to remind them to be more vigilant!"

The matter was urgent, so Xu Yuan didn't mince words and turned to leave.

As soon as he stepped out the door, Zhu Zhanmei's pretty face turned cold.

"Hehe, if they don't agree, they can come back to me..."

Miao Yu put down his teacup and quietly slipped away.

I didn't hear anything.

However, I should take Brother Xu to Baiyue Pavilion more often in the future; all the female cultivators under him are like men.

Brother Xu has too few opportunities to interact with girls, so he doesn't understand women's thoughts at all.

……

After Xu Yuan came out, he realized that he had no idea where Xu Miaozhi lived.

Then, turning around, she saw Miao Yu coming out as well, and quickly grabbed him: "Do you know where Xu Miaozhi lives..."

Miao Yu looked at Xu Yuan with some sympathy: "Are you really going?"

"This is a matter of great importance." Xu Yuan was selfless and devoted to the public good: "Even if Xu Miaozhi makes a few sarcastic remarks to me, I will accept it."

Miao Yu sighed: "Come with me."

Xu Miaozhi was a scholar and was reading at the moment.

Coincidentally, when Xu Yuan and Miao Yu came to visit, Xu Miaozhi was also dressed in casual clothes, not in his official robes.

Her clothes were loose and comfortable, but the areas that needed to be voluptuous still bulged out high.

Strength doesn't need to be deliberately proclaimed; it will always be revealed in the unexpected ripples of life.

Xu Miaozhi's personal maid led Xu Yuan and Miao Yu into Xu Miaozhi's study.

The maid said with a half-smile, "My young lady only allows people she is close to into her study."

Xu Yuan kept his head down, thinking the whole way about how to persuade Xu Miaozhi to help him.

He didn't hear a word the maid was saying.

He couldn't really call himself "friends" with Xu Miaozhi. Because of Zhu Zhanlei, they had some friction, and he was secretly plotting to take advantage of Xu Miaozhi's handcrafted item...

Therefore, Xu Yuan felt he had to use his words to persuade Xu Miaozhi.

You need to carefully consider your words.

Unexpectedly, after entering the room and hearing the whole story, Xu Miaozhi's expression turned serious, and he said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged Lord Xu. Your insight is truly remarkable."

He paused for a moment, then added, "It is even more rare to have such a sense of public duty."

As she spoke, her clear, bright eyes slowly turned to Xu Yuan with appreciation, scrutinizing him intently.

Miao Yu quickly lowered his head.

I didn't see anything.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Xu," Xu Yuan said.

Xu Miaozhi readily agreed, "Don't worry, I'll go see Lord Luo right away."

Xu Yuan was about to get up and take his leave when Xu Miaozhi said, "No rush, I'll change my clothes and then go see Lord Luo. Wait for me a moment, I'll see you out."

Xu Yuangang couldn't refuse someone's request for help.

So they waited.

Xu Miaozhi changed into his official robes and personally escorted Xu Yuan and Miao Yu to the gate, after which the two sides bowed to each other in farewell.

Xu Yuan and Miao Yu turned back—only to see Zhu Zhanlei, with two men, staggering past on the other side of the street.

Seeing them come out of Xu Miaozhi's place, Zhu Zhanlei asked in confusion, "What were you doing going to see that wicked woman?"

Miao Yu quickly pursed his lips.

I won't say anything.

Miao Yu felt extremely aggrieved: I'm about to become a three-no-monkey!
……

Xu Miaozhi acted quickly, and soon there was a commotion on the dock.

With half an hour left before nightfall, the Mountain and River Bureau, the River Management Bureau, and the Canal Transport Bureau all sprang into action.

The members of the canal gang led the way, first cleaning up the evil spirits hidden in the ditches and dilapidated houses around the dock.

Some were burned and killed, but most were driven away.

Then, four teams were temporarily organized and stationed at the four directions of the dock so that they could deal with any evil spirits that might appear at night.

The fact that nighttime travel is not prohibited today is good news.

Seeing the actions outside, Xu Yuan felt a little more at ease.

Tonight, we can use Pilong to find an opportunity to devour one of these evil spirits.

This was Xu Yuan's personal motive.

This evil spirit is most likely due to some kind of influence from the Fu family.

Moreover, judging from its form, it is likely related to the "Dragon Transformation Technique".

However, if the canal authorities do not take this seriously and do not send people to suppress this evil spirit tonight, Xu Yuan dares not act rashly.

Xu Yuan didn't know if the Fu family had some kind of secret method to sense these evil spirits.

If we swallow it rashly, we might expose ourselves.

But the canal authorities have mobilized, and many evil spirits will be hunted down tonight, allowing Xu Yuan to take advantage of the chaos to eat one or two.

After nightfall, evil spirits would raise their heads from the darkness.

Under the cover of darkness, shadowy figures slithered, strange mouths drooled at the living people in the house, and an evil wind blew across the sky...

By evening, the evil spirits that had been driven off the dock had all returned.

Some evil spirits that weren't originally on the dock also came in to see what was going on.

Door gods are pasted on the doors of every household.

This made them extremely irritable and dissatisfied, causing them to emit all sorts of strange roars.

A clay pot filled with filthy blood rolled into the dock.

The foul smell of blood inside wafted through the window of a house as it approached.

The host, who had been working hard all day, smelled an enticing aroma.

Already hungry, he almost couldn't resist opening the door to go out and look for something.

Fortunately, his hand had already reached the door bolt, but he managed to hold back at the last moment.

"There must be evil spirits outside!"

The earthenware pot shook, and the filthy blood sloshed around.

The aroma was even stronger.

The homeowner slapped himself hard, then stuffed a rag into his nostrils, breathed through his mouth, and went back to bed to continue sleeping.

The earthenware pot wobbled precariously, the filthy blood inside making a clanging sound, as if it were cursing someone.

In the night sky, an invisible wisp of silk drifted by, yet it remained oblivious to the earthenware pot.

This thing is incompatible with my nature.

The thin thread drifted for a while, then collided head-on with a pale white "evil aura" in mid-air.

Yet they still only passed through the evil aura.

Finally, it discovered a strange fish, covered in pus, with barbels growing wildly around its lips like tentacles, which was using its fins, which had turned into webbed hands, to crawl out of the canal and slowly make its way to the dock.

The fine threads then fell onto its body.

I've completely blended in.

Suddenly, a patch of eerie fire ignited in the strange fish's eyes.

Its body stretched rapidly.

It viciously devoured the surrounding little evil spirits in one gulp.

Still seemingly starving, they began hunting for food.

As it continued to eat, its body grew rapidly, reaching over ten feet in length. Suddenly, it raised its head—

The spirits within a ten-zhang radius were drawn together by some indescribable force and gathered in front of it.

But it was picky and seemed dissatisfied with everything.

The angry breath dissipated, and it continued to wriggle, searching the vicinity.

As it passed in front of a row of houses, that indescribable force suddenly pulled out more than a dozen souls from the houses!
The people who were fast asleep in the house were suddenly lured away in their dreams!

The doors of these houses are decorated with door gods, but there is no response whatsoever!

It was finally satisfied this time, looking up at the dozen or so souls, feeling that each one was beautiful and making it difficult to choose.

So he chose one of them and put his face on his own.

Then he opened his mouth and swallowed, sucking the other souls into his stomach, and then he would wear these faces in turn.

……

Those "spirits" drifted in the night sky, constantly searching for a suitable object.

Finally, one of the "breeding animals" happened to be near the house where Xu Miaozhi's team was stationed.

Suddenly, everyone felt their souls swaying, like a lamp in the wind.

Apart from Xu Miaozhi, everyone else collapsed.

His soul has been taken away!
Xu Miaozhi was horrified and quickly recited a poem called "Ode to Righteousness". The feeling that tugged at her soul made her shrink into the darkness like a wild beast frightened by flames!

"How could this be!" Xu Miaozhi thought to herself, "Could it be not evil spirits, but man-made disaster? There are door gods pasted on the door, how could evil spirits have infiltrated?!"

She gripped her personal magic brush holder in one hand and a stack of calligraphy copybooks in the other, carefully sticking them behind the door. Peeking through the crack in the door, she saw:
The evil spirit that Xu Yuan described was outside the door, proudly raising its head and selecting the souls!

However, this one was much larger than Xu Yuan had described, measuring ten feet in length and as thick as a water bucket.

The soul is like water plants floating in the water.

Blinded and ignorant, it floated in mid-air above its head.

Xu Miaozhi was even more shocked: It really is an evil spirit?!
But how did this evil power manage to bypass the door gods' restrictions?
Xu Miaozhi had no time to think further. If the souls of his subordinates were eaten by this evil spirit, they would truly be dead!
She quietly pushed open the door and went out, tossing the mountain of pens in her hand.

boom!
The pen mountain transformed into a heavy stone mountain and crashed down, instantly turning the evil spirit into a bloody pulp!

……

Pilong raised its head from the river.

They set their sights on the monstrous offshoot on the street not far from the riverbank.

The other person suddenly realized something and turned around to see Pi Long.

A clear look of jealousy and hatred appeared on one of the faces. How could you be more like a dragon than me!

The monstrous creature flew into a rage and charged forward, declaring, "If I devour you, I will become even more like a dragon!"

(End of this chapter)