From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

After a fierce battle, Huishui Bay was a scene of devastation, with corpses and the stench of demon blood everywhere. Among them, the corpse of the giant monster fish, the River Patrol King, was the most conspicuous.

Yunya Daoist looked at the huge fish monster corpse lying on the water's edge and suddenly instructed Zhang Zhixuan and the other two to cut open the fish's belly.

The three were exhausted and could only grimace at the slightest movement. They didn't know what this senior expert wanted them to do by digging up the fish monster's corpse, but they could only do it without complaint.

Zhang Zhixuan, carrying his sharp magic sword, walked to the side of the enormous demon corpse of the River Patrol King, raised the sword and plunged it into the fish's belly, then slashed it forcefully.

Suddenly, a foul-smelling stench mixed with undigested bones gushed out, the pungent odor making people want to vomit. The group quickly held their breath and stepped aside.

Yunya Daoist walked over, pinching his nose. With a flick of his whisk, all the filth was cleared away in an instant, and the next second, a bronze box about a foot square was revealed.

"Senior, what kind of box is this?" Zhang Zhixuan asked in confusion.

"A box for human heads."

"Pretend to be human heads? What kind of human heads?" Zhang Zhixuan had barely uttered the words when he immediately realized what he meant.

"Is this... the head of that headless scribe?"

"Yes, it's him."

After saying this, Daoist Yunya reached out and grabbed the bronze box on the ground, which immediately flew into his hand.

Daoist Yunya handed the bronze box to Zhang Zhixuan: "Open it."

Before me was a square bronze box, about a foot in size, with lotus and pine and crane patterns cast on its body during the Wu Ming period, and the seal characters "Songjiang Xia Clan" engraved on the corners.

Zhang Zhixuan took a deep breath and solemnly opened the clasp on the bronze box. With a soft "click," the bronze box opened, and a faint scent of pine soot and ink mixed with aged sandalwood wafted out, overpowering the surrounding stench.

The box was lined with moisture-proof oil paper, and a jade pendant lay quietly on the top layer.

Zhang Zhixuan remembered that this jade pendant was the one worn by the headless scholar. Below it was a white jade box, which was warm to the touch and showed no signs of erosion from the years.

Zhang Zhixuan carefully opened the jade box, and inside, on a bright yellow silk, lay a white skull.

"You've been submerged in this dark, cold river for over a hundred years, and then swallowed by a fish monster. Alas, you've truly suffered, Xia Linyuan," sighed Daoist Yunya, looking at the white skeletal skull.

"Does Senior Yunya know the identity of this headless scholar?" Zhang Zhixuan hurriedly asked. Speaking of which, the headless scholar had helped them several times. Without him, they probably wouldn't have been able to succeed in this demon-slaying mission.

Before Daoist Yunya could speak, Wuming and Qingxuan, who were standing to the side, were both startled and exclaimed in astonishment, "So this headless scholar is actually Xia Linyuan!"

"Shame on us! So shameful! To have mistaken such heroic souls for evil spirits!" The two men stamped their feet and beat their chests in deep regret.

"Who exactly is this Xia Linyuan?" Zhang Zhixuan didn't know much about this person.

When Xia Linyuan was mentioned, Qingxuan and Wuming's faces were filled with admiration and regret. They then recounted the story: "At the end of the Wu Ming era, the Qingman cavalry marched south. Fourteen-year-old Xia Linyuan joined his father and teacher in raising an army to resist the enemy. Later, his father and teacher were defeated and died for their country. Xia Linyuan then gave away all his family's wealth and contacted righteous armies to continue fighting against the Qingman army..."

"Unfortunately, Xia Linyuan was betrayed by a traitor and was ultimately defeated and captured." Qingxuan's expression was indignant.

"After being captured, Xia Linyuan was presided over by Hong Chouyan, a surrendered official who had once served as the Governor-General of Wuming Jiliao."

"Hong Chouyan saw that Xia Linyuan was young but had extraordinary cultivation. He tried to persuade him to surrender with high-ranking official positions and generous salaries. Xia Linyuan not only refused, but also cursed Hong Chouyan, calling him a traitor to the country and his clan and unworthy of being a human being. Hong Chouyan, that traitorous villain, was so scolded that he turned red in the face and was speechless. In the end, he sentenced Xia Linyuan to be beheaded immediately."

"Before his execution, Xia Linyuan held his head high and refused to kneel. The executioner was so intimidated by his righteousness that his hand trembled and he could not bring himself to strike. In the end, Hong Chouyan personally took the knife and beheaded him. Xia Linyuan was only seventeen years old when he died."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhixuan was filled with awe and his heart remained unsettled for a long time: "It turns out that the headless scholar was actually a young hero with unwavering loyalty and courage. He is truly worthy of praise and tears."

"But how did Xia Linyuan's head end up inside this fish monster's belly?" Zhang Zhixuan wondered.

Qingxuan and Wuming shook their heads, not knowing. At this moment, Daoist Yunya added: "After Xia Linyuan died, some chivalrous people risked their lives to steal his remains, intending to carry his coffin back to his hometown. When their large ship reached the Linshuigu ferry, it encountered the Qingman pursuers. After a bloody battle, the chivalrous people were ultimately defeated, and their ship was sunk by the Qingman's cannon fire. Xia Linyuan's head, body, and coffin also sank into the river along with the ship and were coincidentally swallowed by this fish monster."

After what Daoist Yunya said, the three of them immediately recalled the old story that Old Sun had mentioned that day, and everything suddenly made sense.

"So that's how it is. It's a pity that such a heroic soul was misunderstood as a malevolent ghost and used as a shield by this real man-eating demon." Zhang Zhixuan and the other two sighed.

As they spoke, Zhang Zhixuan suddenly remembered that the alligator dragon demon had mentioned the "blood pact" between the demon dynasty and the human dynasty. Intrigued, he asked, "Senior, what is the blood pact? Did that alligator dragon demon even intend to use it to pressure you?"

Mentioning this blood pact, everyone looked resentful.

Daoist Yunya roared, "Hmph! What blood pact? It's all bullshit! Just thinking about it makes me furious!"

"Normally, the rise and fall of the Great Xia dynasty and the change of regime are all in accordance with the will of Heaven. We outsiders have no interest in the mess in the court. However, the Qing barbarians are different from other Great Xia dynasties when they entered the Central Plains. In order to gain the world, they did not hesitate to use the fate of the human nation, the dragon vein, and the souls of the people as collateral to sign a blood pact with the Nine Domains Demon Dynasty, so that those great demons would join forces with them to attack the Wu Ming Dynasty."

"It was because of this 'blood pact' that after the Qing barbarians gained control of the world, the human defenses were completely torn apart. From then on, evil spirits filled the land and the people suffered greatly."

Zhang Zhixuan was equally indignant, angrily saying, "These barbarians are so wicked and depraved, is there no one to resist them?"

Qing Xuan gritted his teeth in anger: "How could no one resist? Ever since the Qing Barbarians established their kingdom, righteous men from all over the world have never stopped resisting. But those righteous men of the past had to face not only the Qing Barbarians' suppression but also attacks from various demons and monsters, and even betrayals from their own people. It was tough..."

"What's most hateful is that one of the Qing barbarians' ruling empress dowagers, who even said things like 'I'd rather give it to foreign demons than to my own slaves!'"

"The Qingman people would rather sell out the interests of the human world than lose their imperial power. They are afraid that the rise of righteous people and anti-demon righteous armies will overthrow the rule of the Qingman Dynasty. In the end, they even shouted the treacherous slogan of 'using the resources of the Great Xia to win the favor of the demons' to the Nine Domains Demon Dynasty." Qingxuan became angrier as he spoke, and Zhang Zhixuan was equally furious.

Just then, Daoist Yunya suddenly flicked his whisk, and with a "smack," the whisk struck the enormous fish head of the River Patrol King. With one blow, the enormous fish head shattered into pieces on the spot. Then, a miniature version of the River Patrol King's soul quickly emerged from the fish head and was about to disappear into the water when Daoist Yunya caught it in his hand.

"Spare me! Spare me!" The miniature version of the River Patrol King pleaded repeatedly, trembling with fear.

"This fish monster isn't quite dead yet!" Zhang Zhixuan and the other two were stunned. Fortunately, Daoist Yunya was there today; otherwise, if this River Patrol King had escaped, it might have made a comeback and continued to harm people.

Daoist Yunya scoffed, "It seems this fish monster has a special cultivation method. Even with its natal demon pearl shattered, it can still protect a wisp of its demon soul. It's just waiting for us to leave so it can seize the opportunity to escape."

As Yunya Daoist spoke, he gently shook his hand, and the miniature soul of the River Patrol King instantly vanished into thin air.

[Slaying a powerful, malevolent fish monster increases the River Patrolman's proficiency by 25.]

Zhang Zhixuan was taken aback. No wonder there was a prompt to increase his proficiency in all trades when he killed the monster fish before, but not this time. It turned out that the River Patrol King was not completely dead. What surprised him even more was that even if he was not the one who finished off the monster fish, he would still get a proficiency increase.

Having completely dealt with the River Patrol King, Daoist Yunya solemnly said, "Today, we must let the people of Linshuigu know that the culprit was not Xia Linyuan's headless soul, but the fish monster in the water. After clearing his name, I will personally perform an altar ceremony to deliver his soul to the afterlife."

"Rest assured, senior, we will take care of it immediately. Such heroic souls should not suffer injustice!"

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a commotion and a jumble of footsteps coming from not far away. Looking closely, they saw a large group of people, each holding sticks and weapons, rushing towards them with great momentum. Behind the group of people were several detectives from the government's patrol and arresting department.

As the group approached the backwater bay, they saw the devastation left by the great battle. The riverbank was littered with the corpses of giant fish monsters and severed limbs, a horrifying sight. Some people, out of fear, stopped and walked away.

"Hey! Isn't that the young man who saved people the other day? And the Taoist priest and master who performed the ritual for the mother and child to help their souls find peace..."

"Hero Zhang! Daoist Qingxuan! Master Wuming!" Old Sun, the leader, saw Zhang Zhixuan and his companions standing there in tattered clothes and disheveled state from afar. He shouted as he led a large crowd of people over.

Upon seeing the arrival of the people from Linshuigu, Zhang Zhixuan and his companions recounted the truth and the events that had transpired. The detectives from the patrol department, who were following behind the crowd, listened to the entire story and knew that this was definitely a major case. They dared not delay for a moment and hurriedly returned to the government office to report the matter. They were just waiting for the government office to draft a formal report detailing the entire incident to console the innocent people who had died unjustly and to clear Xia Linyuan's name.

"Now that the truth has come to light, the evil monsters have been completely eradicated, and the heroic soul of Xia Linyuan can finally rest in peace."

"Gentlemen, follow me back to the canal ferry to set up an altar and pray for the souls of the departed!"