My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Report.

The ghost lander raised his eyes:

"explain."

The ghostly soldiers' voices were hoarse and low, as if they came from underground:

"The place where the lightning struck was about ten miles away. On the mountain path over there, a group of people were traveling."

The local earth god frowned:

"Pedestrian? What pedestrian?"

Yin Soldier Path:

"Four people. A Taoist priest, a female martial artist, a young master, and a corpse driver."

The ghost land god was stunned:

"Corpse transporters?"

The ghost soldiers nodded:

"That Miao boy often takes this route to deliver corpses; he's a familiar face in this area. The Taoist priest and the female warrior are strangers."

The ghost lander pondered for a moment:

"What does that lightning have to do with them?"

The ghost soldiers paused for a moment, seemingly organizing their thoughts.

"That Taoist priest... said something."

Ghost land:

"What did you say?"

Ghost Soldiers:

"When evil spirits run rampant, divine punishment will surely follow."

The local deity was stunned.

It looked at the ghost soldiers, and a hint of disbelief flashed in its cloudy old eyes.

"Just that one sentence?"

The ghost soldiers nodded:

"Just that one sentence. The thunder roared down the moment the words left his mouth."

The ghost lander fell silent.

It sat there, clutching its cane, its knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.

One sentence, and it summoned a thunderbolt from the sky?

Do such people really exist in this world?

It recalled its fear just now, the imposing pressure of that lightning bolt, and how utterly insignificant its meager cultivation was in the face of it.

If that lightning bolt was indeed summoned by that person...

The local deity suddenly shivered.

But it quickly calmed down.

wrong.

Even if the lightning was summoned by that person, it might not necessarily be aimed at them.

The lightning that struck the mountaintop wasn't aimed at them.

Moreover, since that person summoned thunder but took no further action, it means...

What does this mean?

The local deity thought for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

The smile on that kind face remained kind, but a hint of coldness flashed in its eyes.

"Go and invite that expert here."

The ghost soldiers were taken aback:

"please?"

The local deity nodded:

"Tell me, this local landowner would like to invite him for a cup of tea."

It paused, then said:

"Please be polite. If we can't get them to come, we'll think of another way."

The ghostly soldiers received their orders and were about to retreat when the local earth god added another sentence:

"Have them keep watch over those roads. Don't let anyone escape."

The ghost soldiers disappeared.

The local deity sat there, looking at the bloody flesh on the offering table, then at the pile of white bones under the table, a smile playing on his lips.

A master?

Summon thunder?

It wanted to see just how skilled this expert really was.

If it is truly high, it will treat it well and escort it out of the country with courtesy.

If it's fake high...

It licked its lips and looked at the meat again.

If it's a false tally, then there will be a few more fresh dishes on the offering table.

......

The night was dark.

On the official road, a horse and a person walked side by side at a leisurely pace.

The two were Pu Songlin and Zhao Shouzhou.

Zhao Shouzhou originally intended to follow in the footsteps of that Taoist priest with Pu Songlin.

Unfortunately, after chasing for several days, we didn't even catch a glimpse of him.

He turned his gaze away and looked ahead.

"Mr. Pu, how much longer until we reach Jingyang Prefecture?"

Pu Songlin, riding on another horse, thought for a moment after hearing this:

"It's not far now. We'll see the city gate in another hour or so."

Zhao Shouzhou's eyes lit up:

"An hour or two? Then let's hurry and get to town tonight to stay at an inn!"

Pu Songlin shook his head:

"The city gates are closed at night, so we can't get in. We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning."

The excitement on Zhao Shouzhou's face immediately vanished:

"Oh? So where are we staying tonight?"

Pu Songlin looked around:

"There should be a village nearby; we can find a house to stay with for the night."

Zhao Shouzhou sighed and said nothing more.

The two continued walking forward.

As the night deepened, the moon hid behind the clouds, and it was pitch black all around.

Zhao Shouzhou took out a talisman and slapped it on the horse's head. The horse's eyes immediately lit up, and it could see the road clearly.

Pu Songlin glanced at him but didn't say anything.

After walking for about half an hour, a few lights finally appeared ahead.

It was a small village, with only twenty or thirty households scattered along both sides of the main road.

Crops were planted around the village, rustling in the night wind.

Zhao Shouzhou's spirits lifted:

"There's a village! Let's ask for lodging there!"

The two horses quickened their pace and headed towards the village.

......

The village was very quiet.

The houses had all turned off their lights and closed their doors and windows; only the occasional bark of a dog broke the silence of the night.

Zhao Shouzhou and Pu Songlin led their horses along the village path, looking around.

Suddenly, a door in front of them opened.

The dim light shone through the door, illuminating the figure of an old man.

The old man looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with gray hair, a face full of wrinkles, and wearing coarse cloth clothes; he looked like an ordinary villager.

He stood in the doorway, smiling as he looked at the two of them:

Are you two traveling at night?

Zhao Shouzhou quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Sir, we missed our journey to town. We would like to ask if it would be convenient for us to stay overnight in your village?"

The old man nodded repeatedly:

"Convenient! It's so late at night, you must be tired from traveling, come in and rest!"

He stepped aside to let the two of them in.

Zhao Shouzhou and Pu Songlin exchanged a glance, tied their horse to a tree in the yard, and followed the old man into the house.

......

The house was clean and tidy, with a square table, several long benches, and some farm tools piled in the corner.

The fire was still burning in the stove, and the water in the pot was bubbling and steaming.

The old man invited them to sit down and brought over two bowls of hot water:

"Have some water to warm yourself up. You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"

Zhao Shouzhou took the bowl and took a sip:

"Thank you, sir. We were in a hurry and haven't had time to eat yet."

The old man nodded and turned to walk towards the stove:

"That's perfect, I'll cook you some meat."

Zhao Shouzhou was taken aback:

"Meat?"

The old man had already lifted the pot lid, scooped out several pieces of well-cooked meat, put them in a bowl, poured a spoonful of hot soup on top, and brought it over.

"Come on, have a taste. It's homemade, and it smells wonderful."

Two bowls of meat were placed on the table, steaming hot and emitting a wonderful aroma.

Zhao Shouzhou and Pu Songlin looked down and were both stunned.

The meat was cut into pieces, making it impossible to tell what part it came from. It was white and very tender, cooked until it was so soft that a chopstick could easily pierce through it.

But the aroma was different from that of ordinary pork and mutton, carrying an indescribable...sweetness?

Zhao Shouzhou swallowed hard and looked at Pu Songlin.

Pu Songlin looked at him but didn't say anything.

The old man stood to the side with a smile:

"Eat up, don't be shy. Meat is very cheap here; you can buy a big piece for just a few coins. Every household can afford it."

Zhao Shouzhou couldn't help but ask:

"How much? That's so cheap?"

The old man nodded:

"That's right! Ever since Wanfu Butcher Shop opened, even we poor, remote villagers can afford to eat meat. You must be from out of town, right? It's normal that you don't know."

Zhao Shouzhou looked at the meat in the bowl again.

Wanfu Meat?

He had never heard of this kind of meat before.

Moreover, this meat looks...something just doesn't seem right.

He picked up his chopsticks and poked at the piece of meat.