The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 346 The Suppressing God (4k)

After a long while, the old man, realizing he had truly missed a tremendous opportunity, sighed and slowly got up from the ground.

He immediately ordered, "Quickly gather all available funds from the surrounding counties and prefectures!"

But before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by a scholar beside him with a single sentence:

"My lord, is such a priceless treasure truly meant to be used now?"

The scholar stepped forward quickly and added in a low voice, "Or rather, should it really be you who makes the move?"

After saying this, he bowed and apologized, saying, "Please forgive my indiscretion!"

The Ruyi Stone can resolve all the knots in one's heart.

In other words, it is the ultimate treasure that can answer all questions.

Such a divine object is not something that insignificant figures like them can touch. Even an elder like the ruler would not use it lightly.

To put it more bluntly, even if the emperor himself were to come, he would probably have to think it over carefully!

After all, the current situation is only a hair's breadth away from the separatist rule of regional warlords, and this statement is even based on inferences from ancient history.

But where had the ancients ever seen such a bizarre and unpredictable change in the world? The situation at that time might be infinitely worse than he had predicted.

Whenever the scholar thought of this, he would lament deeply.

In such a treacherous world, Heaven truly shows no mercy to man, and Earth shows no kindness to its people!

The old man remained silent for a long time, then finally waved his hand:

"First, gather all the necessary materials for the next Ruyi Stone, then fetch paper and pen. I need to report to the Emperor."

The scholar immediately bowed and accepted the order.

The county magistrate of Taotu and the left inspector of the patrol office stared wide-eyed—this matter was actually going to alarm the Emperor?
Du Yuan, completely unaware that her impulsive act of giving away a Ruyi Stone, imitating the legendary Ji Gong, had already stirred up a huge uproar in the shadows, was standing at the gate of Taotu County.

Very few people came and went, and even those who did were mostly filled with fear and anxiety.

What bothered Du Yuan even more was that the city gate seemed to be soaked in blood.

That couldn't be human blood, and it even exuded a hot, dry aura from afar. Looking again at the dozens of chicken coops beside the city gate, filled with roosters, Du Yuan immediately realized.

This city gate must have been splattered with rooster blood many times to become like this.

Not only were the city gates decorated in a way that was different from the past, but the walls on both sides were also covered with yellow talismans of all sizes.

The talisman paper was covered with characters and symbols that Du Yuan had never seen before.

Even the militia and yamen runners guarding the city had yellow talismans or other talismans on their bodies to ward off evil.

Items such as copper coin swords and small deity statues were carried around, and incense and candles were also always with them.

Various talismans and shrines can be seen on the streets of the city. In fact, it would be quite unusual if they weren't there under such circumstances.

It gave Du Yuan a feeling of being crazy, but not quite crazy.

The entire city was like a terrified drunkard, desperately trying to set up various methods to ward off evil, yet it exuded a sense of utter decay and collapse.

Yellow talismans were pasted layer upon layer, and shrines were set up all along the way.

But the entire county town continued to decline day by day, never to return to its former glory. There was a kind of despair in it, knowing it was useless, yet having no choice but to endure it.

Having realized this, Du Yuan sighed slightly and prepared to enter the city.

Upon reaching the city gate, Du Yuan was stopped by a constable, who immediately handed her a bowl of talisman water, his voice devoid of emotion, simply saying:

"Come on, drink it!"

Du Yuan took the bowl of water and looked closely. The water in the bowl was murky yellow, with some talisman ash floating on it, and it also emitted a pungent smell of realgar.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Besides, this was clearly a rule to prevent evil spirits from invading, so he naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

In fact, Du Yuan couldn't understand why some protagonists in novels would make things difficult for clearly reasonable rules, believing that not cooperating with them was a huge mistake.

The constable had sharp eyes and carefully scrutinized him. He could be described as diligently performing his duty, but his heart was filled with an inexplicable sense of helplessness.

Logically speaking, in this day and age, one should carefully examine the travel permit and question its origin.

But nowadays evil spirits are rampant. They are good at disguising themselves and bewitching others. They can forge travel permits and fabricate convincing stories. If you really want to investigate them carefully, it will take a lot of time and effort.

The problem is that this has almost no effect on evil spirits that can leave their own territory and infiltrate the city!
He even remembered that, not to mention other areas, even in their own county, at the very beginning, despite careful investigation, a strange creature still managed to sneak into the city and slaughter half a street!

Even now, the memory of that tragic scene still makes his heart clench.

This talisman water was drawn with great effort by the officials of the patrol office. It was mixed with realgar at noon. Common evil spirits that come into contact with it will either appear in their true form or be completely destroyed. Ordinary people will only find it slightly bitter.

Although it is not a perfect solution, it is the fastest and most effective method at present.

We can't just keep all the living people out of the city for fear of them slipping through the net. We can only gamble on the effectiveness of this talisman water and on the fact that everyone who enters the city is innocent.

Seeing that Du Yuan's expression was normal and there was nothing unusual, the constable slowly nodded, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue:

"Okay, let's go in."

This ease of use surprised Du Yuan. Shouldn't it have been more complicated? Like checking travel permits or questioning his origins? He had already prepared a plan on the way, but he didn't expect that he would pass through simply by drinking a bowl of talisman water.

Seemingly aware of his confusion, the constable said:
"The effects of this talisman water can last for half a day. Few evil spirits can remain undetected for so long. Afterwards, there will be patrol officers from the patrol office carrying various magical artifacts to patrol the streets and alleys."

But after saying that, he smiled wryly and said:
"Don't worry too much, because once you've come this far, there's no point in worrying."

Everyone knows that this is just self-deception and comfort; if there are truly powerful evil spirits that have slipped through the net, this kind of method will definitely not work.

In this world where evil spirits reign supreme, being able to hold onto the city gates—this meager line of defense—is the limit of what they can achieve with all their might.

Du Yuan, who understood the implied meaning, did not say much, but simply cupped her hands in greeting and walked into Taotu County.

Unlike the pharmacist's jurisdiction, in this place where evil spirits reign supreme, no one restricts the people from possessing weapons.

It can't protect against evil spirits, but it can protect against people.

And so, Du Yuan entered Taotu County.

Once inside, the strong smell of smoke easily overpowered the heavy stench of blood on the city gate.

It had reached a point where the stench was unbearable, but only in this way could the local people feel somewhat at ease.

After shaking her head, Du Yuan found an inn and decided to stay there.

The staff and manager were a little surprised to see a customer arrive.

Taotu County used to be a wealthy county with many travelers, but now evil spirits are rampant. Although order has been barely restored in this area under the rule of the imperial court, there are very few travelers willing to travel between the two places and even those who need lodging.

"Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Du Yuan glanced at the shop, which was also covered with yellow talismans and contained more than one statue of a deity, and said:
"All."

"Okay, I'll go and tidy up your room right away, but what would you like to eat?"

Du Yuan casually said:
"Just bring out your signature dishes."

As Du Yuan was led to her seat, the waiter went to the kitchen to urge her to hurry up and go upstairs to clean up.

Du Yuan, who had taken her seat, carefully examined the statue in front of her.

This statue does not resemble a deity from Buddhism or Taoism, and inexplicably exudes a fierce and evil aura.

After gazing for a moment, Du Yuan remained silent, simply turning her attention away and listening attentively to the conversation among the few guests present.

After Du Yuan finished her lunch, she asked the shopkeeper who was doing the accounting:
"Shopkeeper, I have a question for you."

Her accent was still not quite standard, and she couldn't speak in too complicated a way, but Du Yuan could already communicate with them in a general way without relying on her cultivation in the three religions.

Du Yuan discovered her own peculiarity after arriving here: she learned things very quickly.

Of course, Du Yuan couldn't say for sure whether this was due to her innate talent or simply a side effect of her abilities.

As Du Yuan placed a Yin De Bao coin on the table, the shop assistants, the manager, and several regular customers all stared wide-eyed – this was a real, substantial sum of money!

The shopkeeper rubbed his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then hurriedly and carefully put away the precious coins, his face beaming with an extremely enthusiastic smile, and said:

"Sir, please ask away! I promise I'll answer everything I know to the best of my ability!"

Du Yuan raised her hand and pointed to the statue that exuded an evil aura, then her gaze swept over the other shrines around her.

It was one thing that he didn't recognize any of these statues, but the problem was that they all had ferocious faces and didn't resemble any righteous deities at all.

"Whose idol is this?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly pressed his hand down and said urgently:
"Sir, can't you tell? This is Marquis Wu Shan!"

Marquis Wu of the Mountain? He had only heard of the Three Mountain Lords and the King Wei, whose whereabouts were unknown. This Marquis Wu of the Mountain was truly unheard of.

Seeing the doubt on Du Yuan's face, a hint of surprise flashed across the shopkeeper's face:
"Sir, you don't know? This Wu Shanhou is the most powerful evil spirit in our Taotu County. He's the one who forbids people with the surname Zhang from entering the mountain!"

Worshiping evil spirits?! Du Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and she exclaimed in astonishment:
"You actually enshrine evil spirits in your shop?"

These words terrified the shopkeeper so much that he nearly jumped out of his skin. He hurriedly reached out to cover the man's mouth and said urgently:
"Sir, you can't speak carelessly! This is a guardian deity; how can you address it like that?"

If it weren't for the fact that it's a precious coin of hidden virtue, anyone else who dared to say such a thing would have been kicked out long ago!
Du Yuan frowned and pondered for a moment, gradually figuring out the key point.

Although this so-called Marquis of Wushan forbids people with the surname Zhang from Taotu County from entering the mountains, he does not restrict people with other surnames.

Furthermore, its strength is formidable; it can carve out its own territory in Taotu County and act according to its own rules, clearly indicating that it has suppressed other evil spirits within the territory.

As a result, the local people set up a shrine for it, hoping to use evil to suppress evil.
With this in mind, he looked at the other shrines again, and his previous doubts suddenly became clear. The reason why these statues had no solemn and dignified appearance was that they were not fierce gods to ward off evil spirits, but simply powerful evil spirits.

Du Yuan gazed at the statues and asked again:
"Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble by doing this? If all else fails, why not just invite Buddhist or Taoist deities to worship?"

The shopkeeper shook his head with a wry smile:

"Sir, we have no choice! As for the Buddhist and Taoist statues you mentioned, well, this is the state of the world these days. Where are those gods and bodhisattvas then?"

Du Yuan nodded upon hearing this. That was indeed true. People worship gods seeking protection; if the deities they worship are ineffective, they naturally won't persist.

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case.

He came from another realm and clearly knew that there were gods and bodhisattvas in this world, and that even the heavens were not indifferent to worldly affairs.

But how did this world become like this? Moreover, he had heard Zou Zi say that this place was originally a Taoist territory, so how could evil spirits be allowed to roam so freely?
What exactly happened to the three religions? Was it only happening here, or had the entire Taoist world encountered a major crisis? For a moment, Du Yuan couldn't figure it out either.

However, the only thing that made Du Yuan feel slightly relieved was that he came.

As he pondered this, Du Yuan's gaze fell upon the numerous evil statues. He didn't immediately smash them, as he couldn't offer the people a better option at the moment.

But that day is not far off!

Thinking of this, Du Yuan smiled faintly at the statues.

The next moment, the birds and beasts in the mountains and fields surrounding Taotu County felt a sudden tremor, as if the entire mountainous area was shaking slightly.

When Du Yuan withdrew her gaze and prepared to go upstairs to rest,

He suddenly heard several exclamations coming from the street outside the restaurant:
"Something's happened! Something's happened to Old Han!"

"Evil spirits! Evil spirits are coming!"

This was followed by a commotion among the crowd, with many people fleeing from the direction from which the sound came.

At the same time, several martial officers with numerous yellow talismans affixed to their bodies rushed past against the flow of people.

Seeing this, Du Yuan was about to follow when she heard the shopkeeper say:
"Sir, you don't need to worry. That's the south of the city, where many vagrants and beggars gather. Trouble often happens there, but it won't be a big problem in the county town."

"The valiant lords of the Patrol and Inspection Division will be dealt with soon!"

Du Yuan simply shook her head and said:
"Since we've encountered this, we should naturally do something about it."

"Oh? Sir, you mustn't go! Evil spirits are deadly! Even valiant generals often lose their lives by carelessness!"

Du Yuan simply smiled and cupped her hands in greeting in response to the innkeeper's reminder, then walked out of the restaurant and went against the flow of people.

Following behind several military officers, we arrived at the south side of the city, as the shopkeeper had mentioned.

There were no decent houses here, only rows of dilapidated shacks and a large group of even more dilapidated people.

Instead of fleeing with the crowd, they all stood frozen in place, their faces filled with terror.

All eyes turned to the center of the crowd.

The arriving military officers were unsure what kind of evil spirit was at the scene.

Incidents often occur in the south of the city, but they are usually caused by some starving refugee who eats something he shouldn't have because he doesn't care about his own life.

So everything else is easy to handle, but they've never seen anything like this before!
In an instant, all the military officers were drenched in sweat.

But since it was their duty, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.

As the saying goes, in times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary. The Martial Inspectors of the Patrol Division possess power and privileges far beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Furthermore, if any evil spirits desert their posts, regardless of the reason, their entire family will be executed!

(End of this chapter)