A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

"Oh, I see, it's the Five Elements Alchemy."

Ji Zuodao threw the intelligence report in his hand aside, shook his head, and looked as if he had just watched a poorly made online movie, showing utter disdain.

"My goodness, which remote mountain village cultivator came from? What era is this? Still using such outdated methods to refine pills?"

"This is only in ordinary times. If this were in the Han Dynasty, these people would be shown in the first episode, then 749 would beat them to a pulp in the second episode, and by the third episode they would be singing 'Tears Behind Bars' in prison."

Ji Zhengdao leaned closer and asked curiously, "Brother, what's this Five Elements Alchemy?"

"It's a particularly troublesome method of alchemy."

Ji Zuodao explained to him, counting on his fingers.

"You have to calculate where and when people with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are most prosperous, and then you have to time it perfectly to kill them. You have to take out their corresponding heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, and then find an auspicious place to put them into the furnace while they are still hot."

"Then you need to burn dozens of people as firewood, carefully controlling the temperature, humidity, and fire. One wrong move and the furnace explodes. After three days and three nights of this, you finally refine a pill. Eating it will probably increase your cultivation level by three to five years."

After listening, Ji Zhengdao blinked and said, "That's it?"

Ji Zuodao shrugged. "Yeah, that's it. All that effort, killing so many people, and in the end, you only gain three to five years of cultivation. Isn't that just pointless, a complete waste of time?"

"Killing someone involves picking and choosing, calculating the time and place—it's incredibly troublesome. Why go through all that trouble? Just grab a few unlucky guys, throw them in the furnace, add some seasonings, set it on a big fire, and you're done. Simple, brutal, efficient, and quick."

"Their alchemy methods are not only complex, but also particularly easy to detect patterns in."

If we're talking about those who understand heretical cultivation best, it has to be the heretical cultivators themselves.

That's absolutely true.

Xiao Rizi was run around like a dog by that group of evil cultivators, exhausted like a grandson, without even getting a chance to touch them.

But what about Ji Zuodao? He just flipped through some intelligence on the plane, drank some juice, and ate some sunflower seeds, and he already knew everything about that group of evil cultivators.

The modus operandi? I understand now.

The modus operandi? I've figured it out.

The motive? I see through it.

He even calculated where they would strike next, how they would do it, who they would kill, and what organs they would take.

If these things were left with Xiao Rizi and their officials investigated, it could probably be made into several seasons of a TV series.

Whether it's "Detective Conan: The Mystery of the Evil Cultivator" or "The Kindaichi Case Files: The Five Elements Murder Case," whatever makes it suspenseful and convoluted, that's what matters.

Interspersed throughout are various love-hate entanglements, such as a witch falling in love with an evil cultivator, or an evil cultivator sacrificing himself to protect the witch, and finally a tragic ending that makes the audience cry their eyes out, with the Douban rating soaring to 9.5.

Basically, they drag it out as much as possible, make it as watery as possible, and make it as heart-wrenching as possible.

But in the eyes of Ji Zuodao, a seasoned heretical cultivator, these things were as transparent as transparent.

In his eyes, the methods of those evil cultivators were like a thousand-year-old fox looking at a fox cub whose fur hasn't even fully grown in—"Your tail twitches, and I know what kind of shit you're going to take."

With such limited skills, you dare to venture out into the world?

It's just good luck that I ran into a bunch of colleagues who only know how to date, and that's how I've managed to get to where I am today.

If this were in the Han Dynasty, the grass on the grave would be three meters high.

Of course, Ji Zuodao didn't want to complete the mission so quickly.

If you finish the work on the first day, what are you going to do for the rest of the days?

Go back to China? Wouldn't that mean we'd come all this way for nothing?

Have you enjoyed a relaxing hot spring bath? Have you eaten Wagyu beef? Have you shopped at the duty-free store? No, right? Then what's the rush?

This kind of work has to be done slowly; slow and steady wins the race.

You need to let others see your efforts, your dedication, and how hard you rack your brains and devote yourself to completing the task.

Only then will you have the nerve to ask for money, to demand bribes and favors, and to say to people, "Oh, this mission was so tough! Look how gray my hair has become. It wouldn't be right not to give you some compensation, would it?"

If you finish the job in a few quick steps, people will think:

Oh, is it that simple? I can do it myself, why would I need to hire you?

Then your service fee will be reduced, your extra benefits will be lost, and you won't even have the chance to ask for some local specialties.

What is this called? This is called workplace wisdom, this is called interpersonal skills, this is called the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the employee who knows how to act gets paid.

Ji Zuodao is an absolute expert in this area.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, a faint smile playing on his lips, already plotting how he would act out this drama once his days came.

As the plane passed through the clouds, the view outside the window changed from a vast sea of ​​clouds to a blue sea, and then from a blue sea to a verdant land.

"Brother! Look! We're here!" Ji Zhengdao shouted excitedly, leaning against the porthole, like a child taking his first airplane ride.

Ji Zuodao opened his eyes, glanced out the window, and saw a strange land.

"Hey, Daoist Master, here I come!"

He stretched and loosened his muscles, feeling much more energetic.

The plane landed smoothly at Tokyo International Airport.

"Let's go, we're getting off the plane," Ji Zuodao called out, leading the way down the gangway.

Behind him, Ji Zhengdao skipped along, while Doggy followed with elegant steps at the back. Qiqi was held in Zhao Ya's arms, looking around curiously.

Zhao Ya wore large sunglasses and casual clothes, carrying a limited edition bag. She looked like a wealthy lady on vacation, exuding an air of elegance.

As soon as the group stepped out of the arrival hall, they saw a row of people standing outside.

The leader was a low-level official, dressed in a sharp black suit, with his hair neatly combed and a standard professional smile on his face.

It's that kind of smile that looks polite, but actually has no warmth at all.

There were seven or eight people standing behind him, men and women, young and old. Some were wearing suits, some were wearing hunting robes, and some were wearing shrine maiden outfits. It looked like a cosplay convention, with all sorts of people.

The official in charge froze for a moment when he saw Ji Zuodao and his entourage come out.

He had assumed that the person sent by the Han Dynasty would be an experienced, mature, and steady expert, or at least a middle-aged or older Qi cultivator.

After all, being a heretical cultivator is no joke; without decades of cultivation, who would dare to take on this job?

But what he saw was a young man who looked to be no more than twenty years old.

And his mother brought her whole family with her.

Bringing along a little girl is one thing, but bringing along a dog too?

What's up, are you here for tourism?

Why didn't you bring your mother along?

Wait a minute—

Holy crap, they actually brought it.

The official in charge's gaze fell on Zhao Ya. Looking at her elegant attire and the limited-edition handbag she was carrying, his expression was quite interesting.

His lips twitched, then twitched again, and finally he forcefully suppressed the urge to curse.

He took a deep breath, forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, stepped forward, bowed to Ji Zuodao, and said in heavily accented Chinese:

"Hello, are you Mr. Ji Zuodao, sent by Bureau 749 of the Great Han Dynasty?"

Ji Zuodao nodded, a harmless smile on his face. "It's me. Hello, hello. Thank you for coming all this way to pick us up. I'm so sorry."

As he spoke, he extended his hand and shook hands with the leading official. His enthusiasm was so great that anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was visiting relatives.

The leading official quickly waved his hand, then bowed again. "It's no trouble at all, it's my pleasure. I'm the head of the Tokyo Onmyoryo (Bureau of Yin and Yang), my name is Yamamoto Ichiro. Welcome to Japan, Mr. Hime."

"Mr. Yamamoto, you're too kind," Ji Zuodao said with a smile. "We've come here to help you resolve the issue of that group of evil cultivators. Don't worry, leave it to me. I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Ichiro felt a slight sense of relief.

Although this young man doesn't seem very reliable, since he was sent by the 749th Bureau of the Great Han Dynasty, he should still have some ability, right?

But before he could even catch his breath, he heard Ji Zuodao say another sentence:

"By the way, Mr. Yamamoto, we've had a tiring journey. Could you perhaps arrange a place for us to stay?"

"It doesn't need to be too fancy, a five-star hotel will do, preferably a sea-view suite with a wide view. Also, we haven't eaten yet, how about we find a place to grab something to eat first? It doesn't need to be too expensive, kaiseki cuisine will be fine, along with a few bottles of good wine, just a simple meal will do."