Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 100: The Dog-Headed Household God, Seemingly Familiar
It's a strange feeling, somewhat like the soul leaving the body.

In the orthodox teachings of the Xuanmen school, the astral projection of the primordial spirit is a high-level technique that requires profound Taoist cultivation.

This technique, "Soul-Capturing Technique," uses a portrait as a medium to break down the barriers between two people and create a unique passage.

You can sneak past without anyone noticing along the passage.

As for what kind of thing to do and whether it can be accomplished, it depends on the spellcaster's skill and the purpose of the spell.

Chen Jin's mission was clear: to eliminate Magistrate Zhao.

Soon, he "saw" Magistrate Zhao.

The other person was fast asleep in bed, in a state of peace, relaxation, and complete lack of vigilance.

This is a perfect opportunity to take action.

But suddenly, Chen Jin felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up and saw a statue of a god.

The statue was placed in a shrine in the center of a bookshelf, with the statue facing the bed, as if on guard.

This is a black statue of a human body with a dog's head. The dog's head is huge, with its ears standing up and its eyes wide open.

It seemed to have discovered something, and its head began to twist, its eyes flashing with ferocity, as if it were about to pounce.

Swish!
Almost simultaneously, Chen Jinfa finished his meditation, returned to his room, quickly rolled up the portrait, and fell into deep thought.

From the beginning, he was mentally prepared, knowing that Magistrate Zhao was not so easy to deal with.

It's not that the other person being an official will give them any kind of aura or authority.

That's not the case.

Even the highest-ranking official is still made of flesh and blood.

However, some officials came from distinguished backgrounds, were skilled in both literature and martial arts, and were themselves experts.

Moreover, as those in high positions, they possess distinguished status, abundant resources, and are surrounded by bodyguards and other extraordinary forces for protection.

For example, the human-bodied, dog-headed deity statue placed in Magistrate Zhao's bedroom.

These are the household gods.

Chen Jin didn't have much contact with or understanding of "household gods." He remembered that he first heard about it from a mountain demon, who recognized Kui Xing kicking the Dipper lamp as a "household god."

In a sense, Bao Deng has always silently protected Chen Jin, relieving his worries and difficulties, and can indeed be called a "household deity".

However, this household deity has an extremely important background; it is the legendary "Kui Xing God," and is no ordinary being.

Of course, it seems that it is not the true form of Kui Xing, but rather a clone or a lingering remnant.

The specifics remain unclear.

Household deities exist, belonging to the category of gods, and come in many types, each with different functions and effects.

Its basic functions are nothing more than protecting the home, warding off evil spirits, attracting wealth, and bringing good fortune...

Generally speaking, only wealthy and powerful families could afford to invite household gods.

Chen Shounian's household also had household gods, but he gave them to his eldest son, Chen Heming, to take with him when he took up his post. This was because, in Chen Shounian's view, his home was located in the center of his ancestral land and was protected by the ancestral gods, so household gods were dispensable.

On the other hand, the son was in a different situation. He was sent to serve as an official in a remote area, where the circumstances were more complicated, and he needed the protection of the household gods even more.

However, the role of household gods is not omnipotent; ultimately, it is still people who are the most important.

Just look at Chen Heming; he should have been imprisoned when he deserved it, yet his career remained fraught with difficulties.

It's not surprising that Magistrate Zhao is now protected by household deities. As a direct descendant of a prestigious family, with his official rank already achieved and a high-ranking official position at a young age, his future is limitless. Naturally, his clan will provide him with abundant resources and protection in many ways.

Just like when Chen Jin returned this time, Chen Shounian chose elite guards to act as bodyguards, precisely because he was worried that Chen Jin might be assassinated.

With this human-bodied, dog-headed deity statue nearby, posing a menacing threat, Chen Jin's magic was greatly interfered with and affected. His original plan was difficult to carry out, and he needed to rethink and make new plans.

Do not be like Mr. Gu, who recklessly rushed over and ended up having his magical powers destroyed by the God of ...

This is also the limitation of unorthodox methods; they are subject to many restrictive factors and are difficult to do openly and honestly.

Therefore, it is neither the right path nor the kingly way.

If Chen Jin achieves mastery of his cultivation, he can break through all spells with a single sword strike, and he will no longer need to cast spells.

The problem is that he's not capable of that at this stage. Besides, unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't choose to directly assassinate someone with a heavy sword.

The county government office was heavily guarded, with many skilled fighters and powerful crossbows and arrows. Forcing a way in would be extremely risky and unlikely to end well.

After considering it, Chen Jin had no choice but to leave, and quietly returned to the backyard of the Green Mountain Sword Shop.

Xiao Ci appeared and asked, "Sir, what do you need me to do?"

Chen Jin immediately began to give it instructions.

Xiao Ci nodded repeatedly, "I understand."

It flapped its wings and flew away, quickly disappearing into the night.

The next day, everything was business as usual.

Shi Qifeng went out to find a buyer and returned quite depressed, complaining, "The current market is all ruined by that corrupt official; it's a complete disaster. Such a large mansion, in a decent location, is now being sold at half price and no one is interested. It's a terrible drop; what kind of world is this?"

Things are different now. Since we have decided to settle in the prefectural city, we no longer need to keep our properties in Maoxian County. We should sell them to at least recoup some money.

Although we are no longer short of money, who would ever complain about having too much money?
Moreover, after the establishment of Datang Lane, the ancestral home of the Chen family, Chen Jin had to become independent and should not continue to rely on Chen Shounian's support.

That would be outrageous.

We've already received so much help along the way.

If that's the case, there will be many more places to spend money in the future.

Chen Jin said, "Old Shi, you don't need to worry too much. The house is here, we can't run away. Besides, we still have to live here."

Upon hearing this, Shi Qifeng was quite puzzled.

Aside from dealing with this property, there's nothing else to do in the city.

Therefore, he did not understand what Chen Jin meant by saying that he wanted to stay for a period of time.

Nostalgia?
Not very reliable.

Were they here for Magistrate Zhao?
The key question is, we've already met them, so what else can we do?
Are we really going to lead a group into the government office and start a massacre?
How can it be?

Doing that would be a real rebellion.

After much thought, Shi Qifeng suddenly thought of a possibility: Could it be that Chen Jin moved into the city and began to collect evidence of various misdeeds and crimes committed by Magistrate Zhao, and then went to his superiors to file a complaint?
Believe it or not, this actually has some feasibility.

After all, given Chen Jin's status, if he were to go all out and report the matter to higher authorities, officials in the prefectural city, or even the state city, would likely accept the case and send people to investigate. Perhaps then, he could bring down Magistrate Zhao.

However, this approach is not very much like Chen Jin's style...

Shi Qifeng couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. After lunch, he went out again. Suddenly, he saw someone lurking suspiciously outside the door, peeking around furtively.

The man was dressed in rags and had disheveled hair; he looked like a beggar.

However, according to experience in the martial arts world, beggars are the best disguise for concealing one's identity.

The other person seemed surprised when they saw him, and quickly lowered their head and walked away.

Shi Qifeng frowned and strode after him.

The beggar secretly turned around and saw that he was following closely. He panicked even more and quickened his pace, almost running.

Shi Qifeng sneered inwardly. With his keen eye, he quickly saw through the fact that although the other party had some martial arts skills, they were obviously not very good and were just a third-rate person.

So he followed at a leisurely pace, wanting to see where he came from.

A while later, the beggar, in his panic, ran into a dead end and was caught by Shi Qifeng.

"who are you?"

Shi Qifeng pressed him loudly, closing in step by step.

"me……"

The beggar's voice was hoarse, and he wanted to rush out.

Shi Qifeng reached out with his one arm, grabbed him, and pinned him to the ground. He then saw a face revealed beneath the disheveled hair, a face that seemed vaguely familiar:
"It's you?"

(End of this chapter)