A Scroll of Infinite Glory

In the Liu residence, Qiu Mu and Qiu Hua lay flat in the guest room.

Qiu Shi was using fine thread to sew up the horrifying wound in Qiu Mu's abdomen.

Beside her, Qiu Di held a porcelain bowl, which already contained medicinal powder poured from several small bottles. At this moment, three paper talismans were placed on top of it and slowly burned. The ash from the paper seeped into the liquid, causing it to swirl and form a dark green color like moss.

Qiu Shi took the bowl of talisman water, picked up a clean brush, stirred the viscous liquid, and brushed it layer by layer onto the centipede-shaped wound.

The skin around the wound was a pale, macerated color, making the dark green liquid stand out starkly.

Guan Luoyang leaned against the door frame, watching the scene before him with a subtle expression.

Although he knew that magic existed in this world, and that what these Taoist priests were doing was definitely effective, the sight of such dirty water being sprayed directly onto the freshly stitched wound was still a bit hard for him to accept.

When only half of the talisman water remained in the bowl, Qiu Shi lifted the wounded man's head and poured it down his throat, his lips turning green.

After covering his junior brother with a soft silk quilt, Qiu Shi straightened up, breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to turn around when his feet tripped on the flat ground, and he almost fell.

Qiu Di quickly reached out to support him.

Qiu Shi had been holding on in the old house for most of the day and was already exhausted. After being rescued, he swallowed a bottle of pills and immediately brought his two junior brothers to the Liu residence to remove their clothes and treat them.

After working intently for more than half an hour, he was nearing his limit.

"Luckily, you brought enough medicine. It's a pity that Junior Brother Qiuhua's severed arm was possessed by a monkey demon, causing bone marrow necrosis. It can't be reattached, it can't be reattached, alas..."

Qiu Shi's voice grew softer and softer as he leaned against Qiu Di, emitting a light snore.

Qiu Di helped him to bed and lay him down.

The three Taoist priests, one injured and two seriously wounded, all fell asleep. Qiu Di quietly closed the door and went outside with Guan Luoyang.

"How's the injury on your shoulder?" Guan Luoyang asked with concern.

Qiu Di rubbed his shoulder and said, "That was my own magic sword, pure and serene, untainted by evil. Although it pierced through me, the wound wasn't big, and there are no aftereffects. With external application of pills, I'll be able to move again in three or four days."

"However, I'm a little worried about my master and uncles..."

The characteristics of Master Luo, Monkey Official Tang Zhi, and the others were too obvious. Although Qiu Di was one of the younger ones in Zhenwu Temple, he knew their background. They were all notorious figures among the Five Prefectures Water Bandits.

At that time, the army besieged and the fleet pursued them. Only a few remnants of this group were left. They were chased overseas and disappeared for a long time. Unexpectedly, they have reappeared this time and dared to set up a trap against the Fengzhao Zhenwu Temple. It is clear that they have accumulated power again and have the intention to make a comeback.

Therefore, as important figures who once gathered sorcerers from various prefectures to participate in the war, Jiu Ying and Jiu He must be even more of a thorn in the side of these people.

Guan Luoyang said, "Didn't you mention before that there was some kind of paper crane communication technique, saying that your own skill wasn't good enough to track the auras of your two masters? Among your fellow disciples, are there any others with this ability?"

Qiu Di shook his head: "Among all of us fellow disciples, our eldest brother is the best at using the paper crane to send messages, but he can only send messages from various places to the Zhenwu Temple. Among the people I know, only Uncle Jiuhe can send a message to anyone within 300 miles, provided that the birth date and time are known."

Guan Luoyang said, "Then we can only wait. It's hard to say about Daoist Jiuhe, but Daoist Jiuying has a clear destination. Send someone to contact the Commander's residence and inquire. That should tell us if he has encountered any trouble."

Qiu Di had no better solution and said, "I've searched those sorcerers' bodies, but there aren't any valuable clues. However, their corpses are all tainted with evil energy, so we can't just leave them like this."

"Especially that monkey official Tang Zhi, after he died, those monkey ghosts disappeared with him, and a bit of pure evil energy returned to their bodies. I'm afraid that within three days, their hair and nails will grow wildly, their canine teeth will protrude, and they will show signs of turning into corpses."

Guan Luoyang said, "Then let's burn it?"

Qiu Di said, "Zhao Qianniu and Wa Qing can be burned directly. Before burning them, you should have someone from the Liu family act as a witness and receive the reward money. As for the other three corpses, they should be taken back to the Zhenwu Shrine to cleanse them of their evil influence. Otherwise, if they are burned in the fire, the evil energy will spread and may cause the nearby people to suffer from nightmares and serious illnesses."

Guan Luoyang nodded silently, gaining a deeper understanding of the danger posed by these sorcerers.

Although in a direct fight, these people were only at the level of a Grand Master of Boxing. The old man who was killed first wasn't even a Grand Master. But Grand Masters fight openly and honestly, unlike these people who are so treacherous that they can still harm people even after they die.

The next morning, people from the Liu family delivered the reward. After taking Qiu Di's medicine, Old Master Liu felt much better and went out in person to express his gratitude.

Qiu Di used the Liu family's connections to have the prefect of Chengyin forward a letter to the Commander-in-Chief's residence, specifying that the reply should be sent directly to the Zhenwu Temple.

Subsequently, Guan Luoyang and his group politely declined the suggestion to stay there for an extended period, and only asked the Liu family to prepare a few carriages.

The corpses were stuffed into one carriage, while Qiu Mu and Qiu Hua each lay in another carriage.

Especially since Qiu Mu is still not very resistant to bumps, Qiu Shi laid out several cotton quilts in his carriage and pasted a talisman for calming and stabilizing the eight corners of the carriage, so that he could find stillness in motion and sit on the boat or carriage as if on flat ground.

The journey from Liu's residence back to Zhenwu Temple should only take about an hour, but when they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they found seven or eight sedan chairs and four horse-drawn carriages already parked in front of the stone steps.

There were also some magnificent sedan chairs, some decorated with lotus flowers made of silk, adorning the inside and outside of the gauze curtains, and others with seats placed on the backs of large water buffaloes, with the backs of the chairs carved with cranes, tai chi symbols, koi fish, auspicious clouds, and so on.

Many monks and Taoist priests dressed in unusual attire waited quietly around these ritual vehicles.

However, these people were very polite and did not block the path leading directly to the stone steps.

Guan Luoyang and his entourage's carriage stopped right in front of the stone steps, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

A young Taoist priest was the first to flick his whisk and bow in respect.

The people around bowed in succession, and Qiu Shi and Qiu Di also got off the carriage to return the greeting.

Guan Luoyang jumped down and whispered, "Who are these people?"

Qiu Di's lips moved slightly, her voice as low as a mosquito's buzz: "They are all people from sects with real skills. However, those left at the foot of the mountain are junior followers. The main figures should have all gone up the mountain."

Just then, a Taoist priest came down from the mountain and hurriedly appeared before them. He was about thirty years old, with a thick, shiny black beard and clear eyes.

"Senior Brother, Qiu Di, you're finally back."

Qiu Shi asked, "Qiu Liang, what happened?"

Qiu Liang looked somewhat anxious and said, "We just got back this morning and haven't even finished our porridge yet when all the seniors from various places arrived. They said they wanted to see Master and Uncle to discuss the Mid-Autumn Festival Jade Register Grand Ritual and the Ullambana Festival on the fifteenth of next month."