Headless Immortal

Chapter 139 Night Talk at the City God Temple

Zhang Huaisu followed Lu Xun's finger and saw the girl breaking open the fish bones and sucking on the tender meat attached to them.

Noticing the Taoist's gaze, the girl suddenly looked up, glancing left and right, her face flushed with two red clouds, and whispered like a mosquito, "I don't usually eat this much."

As he spoke, he slowly put down the remaining half of the fish in his hand, but drool was bubbling up from the corner of his mouth.

Zhang Huaisu examined it carefully, then formed a hand seal and touched his forehead, the light making his pupils and the whites of his eyes the same color: "Spirit Official's Dharma Eye".

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Zhang Huaisu didn’t say it wasn’t, but rather that it didn’t seem like it.

He couldn't tell what kind of monster the girl was—a fox, a rabbit, a raccoon dog, a clam, a carp, a lotus maiden… He sniffed her again, but there was no trace of a demonic scent; on the contrary, there was a strange fragrance wafting from her.

"Eat up, you'll have energy when you're full." Shu'er picked a large fish, removed the bones, and handed it over.

The girl glanced timidly at the towering Living Buddha Lu Xun before taking the item into her hands.

Zhang Huaisu lowered his body, tidied his wild, unruly hair behind his head, and asked with the most benevolent expression he could muster, "What kind of monster are you?"

The girl burst into tears.

Bah, bah, bah.

Pearls fell to the ground down her cheek.

Zhang Huaisu picked up a pearl, crushed it into powder, examined it closely, and exclaimed in surprise, "A pearl. A pearl formed from tears, a mermaid?"

Now he understood. No wonder Lu Xun said the girl was a monster. Merfolk lived in the deep sea and rarely showed themselves. They were no different from monsters in the deep mountains and forests.

No wonder he couldn't see it even with his divine eye. Merfolk grow legs when they are out of water for a long time, and they look no different from ordinary people.

Seeing the girl crying louder and louder, and Pearl running around wildly, Zhang Huaisu quickly raised his hand, stood up and took two steps back. He glanced at the expressions of the monsters around him and hurriedly said, "It has nothing to do with me."

He's good at exorcising demons and monsters, but he's not good at coaxing children.

Shu Er looked at the girl with pity and sighed softly without saying a word.

The toothless, cold-faced eagle seemed completely oblivious to the crying. It skewered all the grilled fish onto one skewer, opened its beak, and performed a performance of eating six fish in one bite. Without even chewing, it puffed out its cheeks, swallowed the grilled fish with a gulp.

Black Armor sat on the ground like a block of iron ore, frowning. He disliked hearing children cry. In his memory, the alligators of Xunyang River were forbidden to cry after emerging from the riverbank; any crying brothers or sisters became food for other ferocious beasts. Some alligators would deliberately wait on the riverbank for their baby alligators to hatch.

I suppose white people are better at coaxing children.

Whitey let out a cry, shrugged, and turned his head away. Whoever made him cry should comfort him.

Benlei didn't understand any of this. After eating and drinking his fill, he lay down on the spot, tilting his head to reach the leaves and grass, treating them as after-dinner snacks, chewing and chewing but not swallowing.

Shen Lian said, "Child, tell me what's wronged you. They're all good people..." Lord Shen paused. Apart from Zhang Huaisu from Longhu Mountain, everyone present was a demon. Praising them as good people was indeed inappropriate. So he changed his words and said, "It will be better if you cry it out."

Lu Xun did not force the girl; his motivation was not curiosity, but rather wariness of outsiders.

Toothless, Black Armor, and White Skin had been with him for a long time. Although the magistrate was somewhat unclear about them, they had worked exceptionally hard in Meng County and had gone through life and death together, so they could be trusted.

He couldn't just make a rash decision about the girl's fate; that would be treating the lives of the monsters like a joke.

He grabbed a two-foot-long fish, opened his blood-red maw, and crushed it into minced meat in two bites.

Her voice trailed off, perhaps from exhaustion or perhaps to calm herself down. The girl wiped away her tears and said, “My name is Gong Li, my nickname is Nuan Nuan. I am a woman of the Merfolk. The Dharma King of the White Lotus Sect captured my parents and told me to go somewhere with the Holy Maiden. They said they would release my parents then.”

Zhang Huaisu exclaimed in surprise, "You...you are the Holy Maiden of the White Sect!"

"No, I am Nuan Nuan."

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. What I meant was…” Zhang Huaisu paused, then turned to look at the Living Buddha Lu Xun sitting by the campfire. Seeing Lu Xun nod slightly, Zhang Huaisu stopped speaking.

It would be better not to say anything about this, as talking about it would only backfire.

Moreover, this is also cruel for a mermaid girl.

Lu Xun said in a deep voice, "A blessing in disguise, the Taoist's kindness has yielded good results."

Unexpectedly, the White Sect's Holy Maiden was a decoy; the real "medicinal ingredient" was the merman Gong Li.

No wonder the White Sect's Holy Maiden was so calm and composed, seemingly indifferent to her own life and death, yet she relentlessly pursued them as they escaped the county government. It turns out that what she didn't care about was the lives of others.

"Fate plays tricks on us." Zhang Huaisu chuckled. He hadn't thought much about it; he just saved her on a whim. He could consider it achieving his goal.

He wanted to kill the White Sect's Holy Maiden to eliminate future troubles. Now that Gong Li has been rescued, they no longer need to worry about the Corpse King of Juying Mountain completing his transformation in a short time.

Head transplant.

The Living Buddha Lu Xun transformed into a pale-faced scholar.

He picked up some fish, shrimp, and crabs of various sizes from the shelf and walked towards the temple next to him, saying, "We've eaten and drunk our fill, but this person in the temple is still hungry."

The doorposts were pitch black, moss covered the steps, rust blocked the path, and ivy covered the walls, obscuring the yellow plaque.

Inside the palace.

Wearing a black cloak, official robes, and a jade belt, the City God sits on a high seat. The face of the clay statue is always meant to be upright and dignified, making it impossible to tell who it depicts.

To the left and right of the City God's seat stood the Judge and the Impermanent Ones, while Ox-Head and Horse-Face stood at the entrance of the hall, each holding a long halberd, their eyes glaring fiercely.

"Take more," Lu Xun instructed Shu Er.

Shu Er held up grilled fish and shrimp wrapped in coarse leaves.

Zhang Huaisu demonstrated his incense-making skills on the spot, using yellow talismans from Longhu Mountain to make a bundle of incense sticks, which he then distributed to the demons, reciting a purification mantra to wash away the dust and grime from their journey.

He walked to the incense burner first, muttering: "The way of incense is learned through the heart, the divine incantation transmits the incense to the jade burner..."

Seeing the Taoist priest so serious, with a complicated process from lighting incense to chanting incantations, Lu Xun wondered if he should also chant something. However, he had no background, so he lit three incense sticks, flicked away the flame, and stepped forward to firmly insert them into the incense burner: "We have been traveling for a long time, and it is getting late. May we borrow this place for the night?"

"The temples of the God of the Changshen are built right at the doorsteps of ordinary people, receiving incense offerings day and night. How come this one is in the deep mountains and forests?" Lu Xun looked at the clean table and the incense burner piled with bluish-white ash. Some wild fruits were placed on the offering table, indicating that there was still worship going on.

Lord Shen explained, “Mr. Lu, you may not know this, but legend has it that this man couldn’t stand Qi County being controlled by the wicked Jiang family. So he took up his sword and stormed into the Jiang family to rid the people of this scourge. Unexpectedly, the old patriarch of the Jiang family was quite powerful, with unparalleled skill in controlling corpses. He was surrounded and devoured by zombies. Before he could catch his breath, he entered the body of the Corpse King, becoming a ghost god and wiping out the Jiang family. To prevent himself from becoming a demon and harming the people, he summoned a bolt of lightning to strike him on the head, turning him into a charred lump. This, along with the Jiang family’s ancestral home, turned into a sea of ​​fire, burning the wax corpses that had accumulated over the years to ashes.”

"The people of Qi County, grateful for his deeds and noble character, built a temple for him, sculpted a statue of him, and elected him as the City God. When casting the divination blocks, they asked this god where he wanted to be placed. He wouldn't go to the prosperous east of the city, nor to the bustling west, nor to the crowded south, nor the west... In the end, they had no choice but to roughly choose a location."

"This gentleman insisted on coming to the deep mountains."

"There was no village or shop in sight, no one to clean or sweep for him, and even the incense was not burning."

Zhang Huaisu laughed and said, "He's got a temper."

"Talking about the City God in the City God Temple, be careful we don't dump you in the middle of the night."

"I don't think this City God will do it."

into the night.

The Taoist priest stretched his shoulders as he walked out of the City God Temple and immediately saw the Living Buddha Lu Xun sitting on the riverbank.

Lu Xun's mind sank into the strange space, where three more heads appeared.

First, the Wan brothers; second, General Liu, who commanded the Iron Corpse Warriors. The battle formation was too fierce, and he was unable to clean up the battlefield. He had no choice but to leave behind the heads of those extraordinary individuals, which was truly a pity.

[The head of Jing Shih-jun's 'Tiao Yong']

Species: Snake (monster - lizard)

Quality: Common; Spell: Giant Transformation

吐雾
蛇绞
The commentary states: It resembles a yellow snake with four legs and fish wings. It draws water and spews mist, and its appearance is accompanied by light. It prefers dry conditions, and its appearance foretells a severe drought in the region.

Do not drink.

"Crush."

[Received ashes: 2.7 taels]

Tiaoyong was clearly inferior to Mingshe. Even without enhancement, Mingshe could still play a significant role. Tiaoyong almost lost to the Black Armor of 'Dianjiang'. It was uncertain who would emerge victorious if the Black Armor dragged him into the water.

Now with the added bonus of transformation, Black Armor can easily defeat Tiao Yong.

[The head of Jing Shih-Chun's 'Liu Kai-Zhi']

Type: Snake (people - human)

Quality: Normal

Spell: Corpse Control

Hyōchi
Military formation
Commentary: An attacker must have the art of attacking the mind; a defender must guard his own spirit and wait for the right moment. With a continuous army formation and the might of weapons, this is the mark of a general.

[Welcoming the Saintess]

"Crush."

[Received ashes: 2.1 taels]

The skull of Wan Chaohai, commander of the Jingshi Army.

Type: Snake (corpse-human)

Quality: Rare

Spell: Silver Armor

勾星
刀罡

Five Tigers Soul-Severing Force

Military Strategy
Commentary: It has a white face, a body covered in fire armor, and is not a corpse that has not decomposed after long burial, but rather a corpse refined by a living person. It has a blue face, fangs, and is covered in white hair. It transforms into a demon, and may roam at night, seizing anyone it encounters.

【revenge】

Lu Xun was very interested in Wan Chaohai's spells 'Hooking Star' and 'Blade Qi', but he obviously couldn't slit his own throat. In addition, there was a zombie king deep in Zhangzhou. The zombie heads he had obtained were all crushed into ashes to offer to the Living Buddha of Peach Blossom Spring, which also crushed Wan Chaowu.

"Crush."

[Ashes obtained: 6.8 taels]

[Received ashes: 3.1 taels]

"Repair the skull."

A portion of the ashes disappeared, the Living Buddha's injuries were fully healed, and the head of the Five Tong Mountain Lord stored in the strange space was also repaired.

Cremated remains: 16.2 taels

Set aside 4.2 taels for emergencies, and the rest can be used to enhance the spell three times.

Just as he was about to make a move, Lu Xun glanced sideways and saw a figure walking behind him. He turned around and asked, "Master Daoist, why are you enjoying the moon so late at night?"

Zhang Huaisu scratched his head and laughed, "Well, I have something to discuss with you."

"Gongli?"

"clever."

Lu Xun rolled his eyes. He didn't even need to think to know it was about this. He waved his hand and said, "You don't need to hunt down the White Sect's Holy Maiden anymore. Just protect her and leave Zhangzhou. If all else fails, find a reliable family to hide with for a while until things calm down."

Zhang Huaisu sighed, "It won't work. She's going to Hao County, and I can't stop her. If we keep her with us, we can keep an eye on her. But if we entrust her to someone else, she'll definitely run away. If she walks right into our trap and causes the Corpse King to be reborn, that would be troublesome. I can't just use a single sword strike like I did with the White Sect's Holy Maiden..."

"Sigh." Zhang Huaisu plopped down on the ground, opened the gourd at his waist, and took a few big gulps.

Lu Xun said, "Send it to Zhang County, or I'll ask the headmaster."

"Come."

When the king gave the signal, General Toothless approached, took out a box about the size of a thumb from a small pouch at his waist, opened the box, and inside was a white cocoon. He said, "The bookworm is inside. Your Majesty only needs to write something down and feed it, and the academy will receive the message within half a day."

Zhang Huaisu exclaimed in surprise, "A bookworm!"

He shifted his gaze in surprise, looking at Lu Xun and saying, "That's quite a clever tactic."

"Is that so?" Lu Xun had actually guessed it, which is why he didn't have Wuya take out the Bookworm in front of Huang Jinliang after reading the letter.

During that trip to Meilan, Yang Shen and Ma Ye must have carried the academy's bookworms with them, which is why they were able to contact the academy in such a short time.

Zhang Huaisu said, "Of course. You don't know how unreliable carrier pigeons are. If one out of fifty carrier pigeons reaches its destination, that's already lucky. Besides, carrier pigeons can only travel short distances. If you want to send messages to cultivators all over the world, you have to use a unique method."

"Mechanical birds, talismans, cranes, bookworms, memorial tablets, incense... each of these is something that ordinary families cannot afford, just like soldiers and guardian deities, which represent their foundation."

Zhang Huaisu changed the subject: "What I mean is, fellow Daoist, please take her with you first."

Lu Xun narrowed his dark, golden eyes: "Where is the Taoist priest?"

“I still need to hunt down the White Sect demoness.” Zhang Huaisu cupped his hands and said, “Although it is very likely that we have already obtained the ‘medicinal ingredient,’ it is hard to say whether this is just a smokescreen released by the White Sect. I cannot let her go to Juying Mountain safely. It would be better if we could intercept her halfway.”

"It seems the Taoist priest is no match for him..."

Zhang Huaisu pondered for a moment: "I'll go and borrow the guardian deities, soldiers, and magic weapons from my martial uncle."

“Whether you herd one sheep or two sheep, it’s all the same. There are so many monsters in the water here, one more won’t make a difference. Besides, the girl has an advantage. She’s a mermaid and has a treasure that stores water, which will allow your ‘Water Monkey Transformation’ to come into play. She’s not a burden.”

Lu Xun nodded slightly: "That works too."

With a hint of shame, Zhang Huaisu relinquished his responsibilities, passing the hot potato to Lu Xun: "However..."

"what?"

“Since the Jingshi Army has lost the ‘medicinal ingredient,’ they will probably gather their forces to cause you trouble. It’s difficult to mobilize a large army, and there are bound to be many heretics and eccentrics.”

"It's alright, I plan to meet up with the captain."

To kill the Corpse King, the rebellion of the Jingshi Army must be quelled, which requires the imperial army.

I just don't know how capable this General Di of the Jiangbei camp is.

Zhang Huaisu suddenly turned around, the greatsword of purple and blue behind him humming, and shouted, "Who's there?"

Shen quickly replied, "It's my wife."

At some point, a woman in a light red palace dress stood in the distance, hesitant to approach. When she saw Shen Lian, she burst into tears of joy: "Master."

Shen Lian jogged over, took the oil-paper umbrella from the woman, held it up for her, and said softly, "Why are you here?"

(End of this chapter)