This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 52 I can’t keep you here
Although Zhuang Lin's visit this time was partly for sightseeing, he also had a general purpose.

First of all, I will also find out where Tao Yuanming went. Although I have asked about the origin of "Asking for the Way" last time, maybe I can find out some more this time.

Since he had encountered something similar to what was mentioned in the notice, it was truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road. Intuitively, Zhuang Lin felt that it was related to the last time, not to mention that he could also eliminate harm for the people!
Although he came in a hurry last time, Zhuang Lin still had a deep impression of Zuifenglou. The food and drinks were just average, but in terms of being well-informed, this place was the best in Wuling City.

The city was bustling at the moment, and although Zhuang Lin still felt a sense of novelty, it was not like the beginning of last time when he was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Instead, his gait was more indulgent.

When they arrived at Zuifenglou, the doorman greeted Zhuang Lin warmly upon seeing him approach.

"This guest, please come in, come in, boss, a distinguished guest..."

As soon as Zhuang Lin entered the restaurant, another waiter came to take over his care. He greeted him and politely greeted him. He was then taken to a seat at the long table upstairs.

After ordering some dishes and a plate of corn, Zhuang Lin put down his bookcase and waited on the side, while listening to the conversation inside the restaurant.

When Zhuang Lin paid close attention, his ears were sharp and he could clearly hear the voices of many people chatting.

Zhuang Lin automatically skipped over some trivial and obscene personal matters, but there were also many rumors about Peach Blossom Spring.

After listening for a while, Zhuang Lin finally heard something that concerned him now. He turned his head and glanced over there. He saw a few people sitting in the corner with two tables together.

"Have you heard that a while ago, the head constable of the yamen led his men to ambush the bandits and killed several brave men?"

"Everyone knows that. They're not bandits, they're clearly monsters." "How can hearing that roar in the middle of the day make my hair stand on end?"

"It's said that Captain Lu injured the monster during an ambush more than half a year ago. Unexpectedly, after lying dormant for a while, it came back again. The so-called expert we hired at the time performed the ritual for a lot of money, but now it's back to do it again, to no avail!"

"They're all charlatans!" "Then Captain Lu didn't take action this time?"

"Alas, Captain Lu is no match for me this time. He got a big cut on his body."

"What should we do then? Can the government handle it?"

"The Yamen doesn't care about our lives. How many heroes like Captain Lu are there in there?"

"I think Lu Jing is just the same." "I don't agree with that."

"I disagree. That monster is obviously here to seek revenge on him. If he has the guts, why not settle the grudge himself? Isn't that just hurting everyone?"

"It seems that people outside the city are afraid to go out after dark now?"

"Not only that, but all the hunters who helped Captain Lu before seemed to have run into trouble while hunting in the mountains."

The person on the other end seemed a little excited, but tried to keep his voice low.

Zhuang Lin listened here, frowning slightly from time to time. If he had come across such conversations on the Internet in the past, he would have just typed a few words in reply, but now he had no interest in even joining in the conversation.

"Sir, your dishes are here~~~This is cabbage with lard, this is steamed lamb, and this is corn rice"

The waiter enthusiastically placed the food from the tray on Zhuang Lin's table. This guest had an elegant demeanor and appearance, so he must be treated with care.

Of course, Zhuang Lin only came once, and no one at the restaurant seemed to recognize him.

At this moment, Zhuang Lin asked without waiting for the waiter to leave.

"Hey, young man, I want to ask you something. Is that convenient?"

The man quickly bent down again.

"Look at what you said, sir, there is no inconvenience at all. If you ask, I will tell you everything I know!"

Zhuang took out a five-cent coin and handed it to the waiter, who immediately smiled.

"I'm a student from abroad. I've just arrived in Wuling and haven't had much information. I just entered the city and saw a government notice that there seem to be bandits. But I've heard from guests nearby that there's something else going on. Could you share some information with me, young man?"

The guy thought about it and knelt down beside the table.

"Sir, you've come to the right person. No one is more informed about the news in the Wuling area than us."

As he spoke, the guy looked around and then lowered his voice.

"Actually, they're not bandits at all. It's clearly an evil spirit at work. When I left the city, I saw officials handling a corpse. The neck was ripped open, with no flesh or blood left. How could it be done by a human? I thought it had been eliminated by a wizard last time, but who would have thought it would come back again. But don't worry, sir. Just stay home after sunset and you'll be fine."

The waiter kept talking for a while until other diners called him and he stood up to say goodbye.

After listening to the restaurant waiter's narration and the conversations of other diners in the building, Zhuang Lin had a thoughtful look on his face.

Now Zhuang Lin was basically certain that the so-called evil spirit was the same one they had encountered last time, basically the woman who had mysteriously disappeared.

It’s just that the evil spirit may have been afraid of them last time, so it didn’t show up.

But in general, Zhuang Lin's evaluation of this so-called evil spirit is that its cultivation level is not very high, but it is insidious and cunning, and can pose a greater threat to ordinary people. It has begun to devour human souls to practice, and its evil should be punished!
Although Zhuang Lin didn't know much about monsters, it was not difficult to infer that these monsters harmed people mostly by wanting to "borrow" human spirituality, and the way they "borrowed" was brutal, vicious and primitive, that is, eating people and drinking blood!

Moreover, this method is as addictive as drug abuse!
I can’t leave you alone!

Zhuang Lin pondered over it, then looked down at the plate. The food was cold and the lard had frozen, so he could only pick up his chopsticks and eat the meal hastily.

Now that he had made his decision, Zhuang Lin decided not to visit Yu Jingxuan and Zhao Chenyu today. After all, there would be a flurry of pleasantries trying to keep them, and it would be inconvenient to leave. Wuling was a mountainous area, and it got dark quickly.

After paying the bill and leaving Zuifenglou, Zhuang Lin walked straight along the main road and then turned onto another road, heading towards the northeast gate.

According to the waiter at Zuifenglou, the evil spirit may have suffered losses before, so it rarely harms people near the county town now.

There were rumors that people were killed in places such as the mountains, the valley outside the southwest gate, and the Shili Pavilion outside the northeast gate.
Zhuang Lin had a vague feeling in his heart almost immediately after hearing it, as if it were a spiritual resonance, and he roughly knew which direction that thing would be swinging tonight.

So at this time Zhuang Lin had a clear direction. Although he was carrying a book box, his steps were not slow.

After leaving the city, he kept walking quickly. When there were few pedestrians, it seemed like he was walking on a gust of wind. He could often walk the distance that an ordinary person would take more than ten steps in just a few steps.

So sometimes some passers-by may see a Confucian scholar passing by, but when they look again after a while, they find that he is already far away, but no one pays attention to him.

Shili Pavilion, as the name suggests, is a pavilion set up ten miles northeast of Wuling City. It is used by passers-by to rest and shelter from the rain.

However, this pavilion was built a long time ago, and the road has been slightly changed. It has changed from a main road to a small road, so it looks a bit desolate. However, on weekdays, people on the main road need to rest and can get here by walking a short distance.

When Zhuang Lin arrived, he saw that the area around the pavilion was overgrown with weeds. He simply used the wooden stick he was carrying to sweep the weeds in front of the pavilion. The weeds were immediately cut off. Then he flicked his sleeve and the weeds were blown into a corner of the pavilion by the wind.

Zhuang Lin walked into the pavilion, put down the bookcase, and saw a black mark of fire in the center of the pavilion. He looked around and saw that it was still early, so he went out again. When he came back, he was holding a lot of wood.

After late autumn, the weather becomes cold, so it is normal to light a bonfire, and the firelight can easily attract attention at night.

Zhuang Lin was not worried that the thing would find something wrong after getting close. His spiritual perception would definitely be higher than the other party's. By then, how could it escape?

The sun soon set and the sky began to darken. No pedestrians could be seen on the main road in the distance, let alone the pavilion where Zhuang Lin was.

Apparently, the rumors of evil spirits around Wuling were still quite intimidating, especially at Shili Pavilion, where passersby were almost extinct before dark.

Zhuang Lin circulated the five elements in his body, the wood spirit in his liver became active, the fire energy in his heart grew, and he pointed his sword at the firewood.

"Wow~"

A cluster of flames rose from the center of the firewood pile and quickly ignited the firewood, bringing some warmth to the pavilion.

Zhuang Lin sat cross-legged on the straw pile next to the bookcase, took the brown sandalwood heart he had received from the master in the valley, and took out a small carving knife from the bookcase, and began to carve the wood bit by bit.

The unusually hard brown sandalwood heart was easily shaved off layer by layer of thick or thin shavings by the knife in Zhuang Lin's hand, and the wooden stick gradually changed in his hands.

As time passed, the firelight in the pavilion unknowingly overwhelmed the afterglow of the sunset. The flames swayed with the surrounding breeze, dragging Zhuang Lin's shadow with it.

The wooden stick in Zhuang Lin's hand was becoming more and more like a sword.

It was probably a spur of the moment. Today, Zhuang Lin saw some Confucian scholars in the city wearing swords. He had always wanted to make a "big toy" of his own in the future, and with what happened today, he decided to use the materials in his hand to carve a wooden sword!
There is no satisfactory magic to use now. Zhuang Lin thinks that using fists is not very elegant. A wooden sword is enough to get rid of this evil spirit!
Now, Zhuang Lin has experienced the influence of the Hidden Immortal Valley and has made great progress in his cultivation. He is worthy of the title of clever and dexterous. Even a wooden sword would not be made lightly. Although it would not be too fancy, it must be natural and satisfactory.

The sun has set and the sky is getting darker.

The surroundings were not only wilderness but also worse than wilderness. The calls of various animals became more frequent, and the wind was whistling, causing Zhuang Lin's clothes to flutter from time to time.

Zhuang Lin seemed completely oblivious to the changes in the outside world, immersed in carving the wooden sword.

Suddenly, Zhuang Lin paused what he was doing and looked up. It wasn't the evil spirits that were coming, but there were actually several people walking towards him from the direction of Wuling in the distance.

Obviously, the visitor was surprised to see the fire in Shili Pavilion. His footsteps became much faster and he soon approached here.

"Ah? There's actually someone out here sleeping like this?" "Is he a Confucian scholar?"

There were four visitors in total. They all came to the pavilion and looked at Zhuang Lin in astonishment. The scholar seemed to have seen and heard nothing, and was just scratching the wood with a knife. A closer look in the firelight revealed that he was actually carving a red wooden sword?
The man in the lead had a pale face, as if he had lost all the blood. He carried a large ring-handled sword on his back and walked into the pavilion first. He glanced at Zhuang Lin's bookcase and other things before speaking.

"Sir, have you come to Wuling to study? Are you not aware of the rumors here?"

Zhuang Lin looked up at the people coming. The one leading the group was a government official. Although he was not wearing any official uniform, he could tell that he had a faint official aura about him.

The other three were full of energy, one was holding a gun and two were holding knives, and they also had a mixed murderous aura, they must be gangsters!
Do you also want to get rid of that thing?

This thought only lasted a moment, and Zhuang Lin replied with a smile.

"Rumors? Oh, of course I've heard them. I heard there's a Peach Blossom Spring in Wuling, a place where the remnants of the pre-Qin dynasty lived. I came here specifically to see it, but it's getting late. This pavilion is called Ten Miles, and the journey is still far. I can't walk any more, so I decided to stay here for the night."

Someone said immediately.

"Don't linger. Wuling City is just ahead. There's a place to stay overnight at the harbor outside the southeast gate. Leave quickly!"

"No, it's dark now. It's too dangerous to walk at night!" "Then should we send him off? That would be a waste of time and energy!"

"We might as well just leave him here. Nothing happened here the past two days, and it's probably the same today. That thing must be scared when it sees us guarding it!"

After several people said this, the leader nodded and looked at Zhuang Lin.

"Sir, since that's the case, let's all squeeze into this pavilion together. Don't go out alone. Don't worry, I'm Lu Jing, the head constable of Wuling County, not a bad guy!"

Zhuang Lin was slightly surprised and looked at the man carefully. This man was Lu Jing. How dare he come out?
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(End of this chapter)