From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

"Evil spirits, how dare you harm people here!" Zhang Zhixuan was truly enraged and, without saying a word, directly unleashed his Demon-Slaying Sword Intent.

In an instant, a sword aura shot out from Zhang Zhixuan's hand and slammed into the demon.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang underwater, the headless monster with a gaping mouth on its chest was instantly killed by Zhang Zhixuan's Demon-Slaying Sword Intent. Its tall body exploded in the water, stirring up turbid mud and sand.

The next second, a familiar interface for all trades popped up in Zhang Zhixuan's eyes:

[Slay a wicked water ghost, River Patrol Proficiency +6]

At this moment, Erhu and Captain He were no longer restrained and immediately sank to the bottom of the water.

Zhang Zhixuan dared not delay and quickly lifted the two people out of the water and swam rapidly to the shore.

"Quick! Give me a hand!"

The people on the shore rushed over and hurriedly lifted Erhu and Captain He ashore, and began to provide emergency medical care.

Taking advantage of this moment, Zhang Zhixuan urged the Xuanwu puppet to swim back and pull the floating body ashore.

[Soothe the vengeful spirit of a drowned person; River Patrol Proficiency +8]

Zhang Zhixuan returned to the shore and put away the Xuanwu puppet.

Meanwhile, Erhu and Captain He, after undergoing emergency treatment, also managed to escape death.

The two vomited large amounts of black water and lay on the ground, their faces ashen, their lips purple, and their bodies bleeding from the wounds inflicted by the water ghost.

Zhang Zhixuan took out a bottle of special medicinal powder from Longhu Mountain that he had obtained from Daoist Lingxu, poured some for the two of them, and applied it to their wounds.

The powder landed on the wounds, and immediately a hissing sound rang out. The two grimaced and endured the excruciating pain. Before long, the black blood turned red, and the evil spirits that had invaded their bodies were completely cleared away.

After finishing these tasks, Zhang Zhixuan silently walked into a nearby shed to change into clean and neat clothes.

At this moment, Erhu and Captain He had just escaped death, both of them pale-faced and dejected.

Erhu, in particular, had completely lost his arrogant and haughty demeanor. He was slumped on the stone steps, panting heavily, his face pale, his lips purple, and his eyes fixed on the gray sky, his pupils unmoving.

The other members of the body retrieval team squatted down next to him, patted his face, and called his name several times before his eyes finally moved.

"I...I saw that thing down there...that thing had no head...standing there...its mouth was on its chest...it was wide open and grabbing me...trying to eat me..." Erhu said in a trembling voice, his voice filled with fear.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. It's all over now. We're lucky to have met such a benefactor today, as we were able to escape death." Captain He, having calmed down, hugged the still terrified Erhu and comforted him like a child.

Those around them fell silent at the sight, some sighing and worried for the two of them.

Zhang Zhixuan changed his clothes, came out of the shed, glanced at the situation on the riverbank, and knew that the two were alright. He was about to leave.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd:

"I remember now!"

"You...you're the expert who solved the series of missing persons cases with Master Pei of Longhu Mountain a while ago! Your photo was in the newspaper!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding crowd erupted in chaos.

Pairs of eyes turned to Zhang Zhixuan, scrutinizing him closely, their gazes filled with surprise and awe.

"Yes, yes, I remember now! The Tianjin serial disappearances case, my goodness, it caused such a stir back then, the whole city was in an uproar, even the local police station couldn't figure it out, but this guy stepped in and solved the case in just a few days!"

"Incredible! I knew this person looked familiar; it turns out he's that master!"

"Thank goodness someone was there, otherwise Erhu and Lao He would have both been scapegoats for that river drifter!"

Erhu propped himself up halfway from the ground, his expression changing from horror to disbelief. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

He had just been sarcastic and mocking towards Zhang Zhixuan, saying that the man was talking nonsense and trying to scare people.

Instead of holding those things against him, the other party saved his life. Thinking of this, Erhu's face burned with embarrassment.

Hearing the crowd talking about him, Zhang Zhixuan quickly waved to them.

He wasn't good at handling these kinds of situations, so he could only manage a few dry laughs before preparing to leave.

Just then, Captain He's anxious voice rang out from the crowd: "Mr. Zhang, wait!"

Zhang Zhixuan stopped and saw Captain He and Erhu being helped over. The two men looked apologetic and grateful, and bowed respectfully to Zhang Zhixuan to express their thanks.

"Mr. Zhang, Erhu and I were blind to your greatness just now. Please don't take it to heart. If it weren't for you, we would both be dead."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I was just helping out when I saw injustice. I'm glad you two are alright. Well, I have something to do, so I'll be going now." Zhang Zhixuan cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd and prepared to leave.

At that moment, his gaze inadvertently fell on the floating corpse he had pulled up.

A casual glance made Zhang Zhixuan frown, thinking to himself, "Why does this corpse's clothing and appearance look so familiar? It's like I've seen it before..."

At that moment, the young man with glasses and a scholarly air squeezed in from the back of the crowd.

Zhang Zhixuan looked at the young man, who was the same one who had just been sheltering from the rain in the shed. He was wearing a long gown and glasses, and had a refined appearance. He was holding a photograph.

Zhang Zhixuan was suddenly stunned, then looked at the corpse on the ground, his heart skipped a beat: "Could it be such a coincidence!"

The bespectacled young man staggered over, his eyes fixed on the corpse on the ground.

After a long silence, the young man gradually began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Brother! Brother!"

The young man knelt down beside the corpse with a thud, his voice trembling and choked with sobs, crying out in utter grief.

She shouted until she was hoarse, and then burst into tears.

The situation was quickly reported to the prefectural police station, and soon a team of detectives arrived at the scene.

An officer wearing a peaked cap, a black and white uniform, and sporting a small mustache was the first to push his way through the crowd.

"What's going on here? Everyone's crowding around. What's so interesting about a dead body? Make way, make way! This is a police investigation! Unrelated personnel, please step aside!"

Zhang Zhixuan, the police chief with the small mustache, also knew him; they were practically acquaintances. Lu Bingyi was the police captain who had taken over the case when Zhang Zhixuan and Pei Shouzhen solved the serial disappearances in Tianjin.

As Lu Bingyi spoke, he walked to the stone steps. He didn't look at the corpse first, but instead scanned the people present. His gaze lingered on Zhang Zhixuan for a moment, and his expression immediately changed from businesslike to warm.

"Oh my, Master Zhang Zhixuan! What brings you here!"

Lu Bingyi clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, smiled broadly, and stepped forward, saying, "With you here, this case is no big deal!"

Zhang Zhixuan smiled and said, "Captain Lu, you're too kind. Well, if there's nothing else for me here, I'll be leaving now."

"It's alright, it's alright. You go ahead and do your thing. You wouldn't believe it, but in a place like Wuhekou, at least fifty or eighty bodies are pulled up every year. I've seen it all before, it's nothing. You go ahead and do your thing, I'll see you off."

Lu Bingyi took two steps forward, but Zhang Zhixuan waved his hand to indicate that it wasn't necessary. Lu Bingyi didn't insist, and after stopping, he added, "Master Zhang, I'll treat you to drinks another day. Let's get together sometime!"

Zhang Zhixuan gave a polite reply and turned to walk out of the crowd.

After all this commotion, the sky was gradually darkening, and twilight spread from the river, turning the entire ferry crossing a dark gray.

Zhang Zhixuan left the crowd and hadn't gone far when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Mr. Zhang, please wait!"

Zhang Zhixuan turned around and saw that it was the bespectacled, refined young man from before.

The young man rushed towards him, nearly slipping on the wet mud and staggering a few steps before regaining his balance.

"Is there something you need?" Zhang Zhixuan stopped and asked.

The refined young man stood before Zhang Zhixuan, panting heavily. He opened his mouth, but for a moment didn't know what to say.

"It's alright, don't worry, calm down first," Zhang Zhixuan patiently comforted her.

Seeing that Zhang Zhixuan wasn't impatient with him, the refined young man took a deep breath, bowed deeply to Zhang Zhixuan, and said in a humble tone, "Mr. Zhang, I...I want to ask you for a favor!"