The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 33 You are the County Magistrate

"Senior brother..."

"As far as I know, this is how the Shanyang ghost plague has changed from beginning to end!"

The middle-ranking Daoist disciple in the outer courtyard, dressed in blue robes and appearing to be in his thirties, addressed Li Qing as his senior brother and recounted the events that had transpired in Shanyang to him.

After all, there is no order of precedence in the Way; the one who is accomplished is the elder brother!

Moreover, the fact that this senior brother in blue robes brought the dragon and the paper demon to Shanyang truly gave him a chance to relax his tense mind, which had been on edge for so long.

Hey, now even the Taoist priest has someone above him.

Previously, he was the only mid-level Daoist disciple leading the effort in the entire Shanyang County. Could he bear the responsibility for the ghostly calamity involving hundreds of deaths?
I absolutely cannot bear that responsibility!

This finally allows him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Only the county magistrate and the insect master on the side looked awkward, after all, they had managed to govern Shanyang County in a rather embarrassing way.

Furthermore, with that six-crowned dragon head right above them, how could they not feel awkward?
"Hmm, according to you, skinning someone to make a madman and cutting off their head to make a lamp are the two tricks it has used so far."

"On that rainy day, a skinned ghost came rampaging through the rain, so we performed a rain-making ritual for it."

Li Qing picked up the pale white lantern and, together with the others, examined the ruins where they had just fought the day before.

The area was covered in smoke and fire, which seemed to have been left by this fellow disciple, a mid-level Daoist.

The Five Internal Organs Stove Fire Qi is a fundamental fire qi that is offered up within the Five Internal Organs Temple. Taking the meaning of mutual generation of the five elements, it is nurtured within the Five Internal Organs Temple and can be considered a top-grade fire qi among the fire-based spells of the outer courtyard.

The human skin ghost that had been burned to ashes by the fire still had some remnants. Li Qing broke off a pear branch from the pear tree next to the courtyard and began to search through the scorched earth for any remaining human skin ghosts.

Look! The human skin is like silk, delicate and soft, and the texture and wrinkles on it have disappeared. After being smoked by the fire, it looks just like an old yellow paper.

However, the lingering eerie aura on the ghost skin and its suspicious texture spoke volumes about its extraordinary nature.

Human skin demon, skin-peeling ghost!
It can control all sorts of ghosts and demons, but its true form is a lurking ghost in the shadows. It's really troublesome!
"Where are the Taoist disciples from Wenfeng Hall in the nearby counties? Why didn't they send this suspicious information back to the mountains in time?"

Li Qing had been tricked by Wenfeng Hall's intelligence more than once. Thinking back to the day the mountain lord was so fierce, his ribs still ached slightly.

This question caused the magistrate of Shanyang County and the insect master to change their expressions even more. After pondering for a moment, the magistrate of Gong County braced himself and answered.

"Revered Daoist! That Daoist from the upper temple was originally on duty in Shanyang County. It was that Daoist who first encountered the ghostly affliction, and we haven't seen him since..."

"I've heard... that someone saw that wise man's figure in that human skin demon."

Wenfeng Hall is not as easy as everyone imagines. Traveling all over the south, its casualty rate has always been the highest among all the halls in the inner and outer courtyards.

Why has the follow-up information on the Shanyang ghost disaster not been presented to the temple for so long?
This Taoist disciple was immediately struck by a ghostly affliction. In ordinary prefectures and counties, urgent reports would probably take more than half a month to arrive!
"..."

Death is the greatest loss, so there's nothing more to be done.

Li Qing glanced at the three people in the room: a worm master from the Poison Gu Department of the South, a magistrate of Shanyang County who had passed the imperial examination in the South, and a Taoist disciple in blue robes from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Two are of low grade and one is of middle grade, all at the Qi Refining Realm!
However, since they were able to escape the skinning demon's test, the terror of the demonic affliction should be limited; it's just that the scope of its impact was rather large.

"When I came here, I saw that there was still a faint trace of human activity in the south of the city. I'm afraid that many people are staying indoors and dare not go out."

“Changes have occurred in various villages, and the people are fleeing their homes in fear. They can only worship gods and ghosts in the eastern village. If this continues, great changes will surely occur.”

"Quickly select skilled warriors to eradicate the evil spirits and allow the people to return home!"

Standing up from the scorched earth and ruins, Li Qing tossed aside the pear branch, exchanged a glance with the vermilion dragon coiled beside the pear tree, and then turned to give the magistrate of Shanyang County an ultimatum.

To be able to govern a county with a population of over 100,000 to this extent in just one month, the magistrate of Shanyang County must be considered a "talented person".

Shanyin County is only separated by the Tianshan Mountains, and Qingping Prefecture on the eastern plain should be able to borrow a few sorcerers, right?
Is a dignified county magistrate really only capable of going from the county to the prefecture, and from the prefecture to the road, going through layer upon layer of procedures to wait for Tiannanguan to come from afar to put out the fire?
Why is he so dull-witted?

"But... Venerable Dao, the people of Shanyang have all temporarily moved to Ma's Eastern Township. If the evil calamity is not eliminated, they will certainly not want to return to their hometown?"

The magistrate of Shanyang County looked distressed and spoke with obvious helplessness.

County Magistrate Ma and his soldiers from Shanyang County escorted the villagers into the Ma family's ancestral hall in the east of the county. How could he possibly move them?

Without county soldiers, how can we maintain order and quell the evil spirits?
If the evil spirits do not disappear, how can the people of the villages be willing or dare to return to their hometowns?

This seemingly intractable problem was utterly unsolvable for the magistrate of this remote county!
Instead of fleeing to Dongxiang with the masses, he led a small force to wander around Shanyang, maintaining his last shred of dignity as the magistrate of Shanyang County, which was already a sign of his loyalty to the Southern Kingdom...

"You shall issue an order to the county magistrate to lead the county troops to patrol Shanyang."

"Summon the shaman of the Ma family in Shanyang again to find the whereabouts of the ghostly affliction!"

"Along the way, I have only seen beggars and unemployed hooligans from various villages, staying in local temples or roaming the countryside breaking into houses and stealing, or becoming outlaws and going up the mountain..."

"Don't tell me you haven't read the Southern Dynasties' laws and don't know what this means."

Li Qing didn't know whether the magistrate of Shanyang County was truly stupid or pretending to be. Given the current state of the Shanyang incident, he should bear direct responsibility.

When ghosts arose in the villages, he could neither organize soldiers to patrol nor mobilize the people, leaving them to either enter ancestral halls and village fortresses or scatter in all directions.

Even if the ghost problem is solved, the theft cases in those villages will resurface in the future. Rogues and beggars will roam around to avoid trouble, or they will go into the mountains and forests to become bandits. Shanyang County will still be in chaos.

“But that Master Ma is just putting on an act, and the ignorant villagers only listen to him. I can’t command the county magistrate and the sorcerers…”

The magistrate of Shanyang County simply stated frankly that the powerful clans in this area could easily leave him, the magistrate of Shanyang County, out in the cold if trouble broke out. What could he possibly do?

However, such irresponsible words angered Li Qing.

The cold, aloof young man raised an eyebrow slightly, and the magistrate of Shanyang County immediately felt a suffocating sensation.

It was as if a three-foot-long red ribbon was hanging around his neck, leaving his soul adrift in an endless darkness. Beneath him lay mountains of white bones and a carpet of remains, and a chilling aura instantly surged from his feet to the top of his head. The terrifying image of endless white bones flashed by in an instant, and in that brief moment, Magistrate Gong was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, cold sweat pouring down his entire body.

"waste!"

"One Ma San on the left, one Ma San on the right."

"If you can't get the Ma family to come, are you expecting my fellow disciples from Tiannan Temple to serve you hand and foot?"

"Or do you want my fellow disciples to patrol the mountain and run errands?"

The Taoist priest in blue was so angry he almost laughed. He had been holding back his anger for days and was burning with rage. He grabbed the magistrate by the collar with one hand and lifted him up, then unleashed a torrent of abuse on him.

Now that someone has come to the temple, he's determined to teach this fool a lesson about who's the most powerful person in the entire southern region!
Li Qing flicked his fingertips and stepped forward, only to see that this "junior brother" was about to raise his True Qi Fan to slap the county magistrate, so he immediately stopped him.

The Taoist priest in blue gave Li Qing face, snorted, and pushed Magistrate Gong to the ground without touching him again.

"Shanyang County, send a message to the prefecture and Tiannan Temple at the same time: a great calamity has arisen in the county. One is a skinning demon that skins people and controls them, using their heads as lamps, and is a high-ranking evil spirit; the other is a large demon that has set up a lewd shrine and controls the displaced people, and may have been secretly colluding with the skinning demon for a long time... Prepare five copies of each and report them to the three prefectures and one county in Tiannan and Tiannan Temple at the same time. Remember to have someone from the Ma family in Dongxiang deliver the message to you!"

"You are the magistrate."

"The Ma family shaman, the county magistrate, is unwilling to leave Dongxiang? Then summon the Ma family ancestral spirit to stand guard in Shanyang City!"

"If the local spirits and deities of Shanyang insist on not taking action, then I will come."

"But if you want me to take action, I'll have to resort to some unorthodox methods!"

Li Qing looked down at the county magistrate on the ground, slightly raised his right hand, and the six-crowned Zhu Qiu behind him brought up five sheets of spirit paper from who-knows-where. Zhu Qiu held the paper in his mouth, used ghost blood as ink, and the words grew on their own. In no time, five edicts were formed. Judging from their format, they seemed to be from the Jiangnan Road - Red Bean Academy lineage...

All that's left is for the county magistrate to affix his seal.

He didn't have the ambition to stoop so low, running around everywhere, begging and pleading with anyone to save the people!

In his view, the ghost problem in Shanyang was entirely caused by the Ma family, which made it impossible for the county to organize any troops to exorcise the evil spirits. The villagers scattered, allowing the ghosts to roam freely and disappear without a trace.

That damned evil spirit must die! If it doesn't die, then we'll skin that old ghost from the Ma family alive too!

The ghosts and spirits below the Purple Mansion level have never been able to cause any trouble in the hands of this "Ghost Lord"!
One is suppression, two are also suppression...

The six-crowned dragon nodded, and the five letters, shimmering with spiritual light, scattered down. The writing flowed smoothly, each stroke sharp and full of unyielding intent.

Upon seeing the five imperial edicts being distributed, the magistrate did not hesitate at all. He sat down on the ground, grabbed the edicts, took out his official seal, and stamped each one on the letter.

He's not stupid, he's just... too afraid to take the lead!
Seeing that things were going badly, the sorcerer beside him, along with two county officials, volunteered to deliver the message and issue the decree...

These two disciples of the Upper Temple were more domineering than the other. Judging from his words, actions, handwriting, and disdainful demeanor, the blue-robed Taoist was probably also from a prominent family. How could he tolerate this great ghost from Shanyang causing trouble?

He was so displeased with a single word that he attacked the magistrate in full view of everyone.

The insect master muttered to himself: If Magistrate Gong were to say another word, he would probably be fed to the dragon on the spot, and these venerable Daoists might even dare to report that the magistrate of Shanyang County had suffered a ghostly calamity.

This is a true dragon crossing the river!

I'd better stay out of the way for a bit and leave the problem to that old devil in the Ma family...

Seeing the sorcerer carrying the decree eastward, the magistrate of Shanyang County stood up from the ground, brushed the dust off his official robes, looked intently at the two Taoist disciples from the upper temple, and said in a deep voice:

"The ancestral spirit of Dongxiang, Ma San Taiye, is scheming, obsessed with officialdom, and extremely vengeful. I, Gong, cannot summon him or provoke him."

"If you really want to force this local bully to change your ways, you should probably prepare for this old devil's counterattack in advance!"

Judging from Magistrate Gong's words and actions, he was initially deferential but later became obsequious. After drinking this penalty wine, his mind seemed to have cleared up.
The Taoist priest in blue robes secretly sneered and said:
"Otherwise, Magistrate Gong, the Ma family's ancestral shaman is in a high position and cannot be ordered around."

"Are the Taoist disciples of my Tiannan Temple considered inferior?"

This trip to Shanyang left him feeling incredibly frustrated. He probably cursed Ma Yuan to death in his heart and wouldn't give the Ma family of Shanyang any face.

With an indifferent expression, Li Qing picked up the cold white lantern and watched as the three paper spirits and paper demons passed through walls and houses, searching for where the people in the west of the city had hidden.

“The old devil of the Ma family has crossed the line. He ordered many villagers to burn incense and candles and kowtow. In Jiangnan Province, this is a capital offense that will result in the extermination of three generations of his family.”

Even in Lingnan Dao, where the Ghost Path is most prevalent, no one dares to do this!

As Li Qing recounted Ma San's misdeeds, she glanced back at the county magistrate.

"Which academy did Magistrate Gong graduate from?"

These words were truly scathing, leaving the middle-aged magistrate utterly ashamed.

The first step for scholars from the South to enter the academy was to enlighten the people, guide them in education, and break up superstitious practices... Every scholar from the South should not sit idly by in the face of such a situation.

"You should know that when villagers worship ghosts, there are no sacrifices, it is not in accordance with the proper rites, and it will shorten their lifespan."

"It doesn't matter whether Ma San retaliates or not, I don't have time to fight him."

“The local spirits have a duty to protect their land. If he can find that skinning demon, work together to quell the matter, and destroy the altar, we will not strangle him and will simply pretend we did not see it.”

"If not..."

Li Qing and the Taoist in green exchanged a glance, each seeing a hint of coldness in each other's eyes.

In the twelve temples of the Southern Kingdom, privately engaging in licentious worship is a grave sin!
"My senior brother's words resonate deeply with me."

The Taoist priest in blue cupped his hands in agreement, his eyes fixed intently on the dragon that coiled up along the entire street.

There is only one local tyrant in the southern region...

That's called Tiannan Temple!
(End of this chapter)