How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

Li Hu was puzzled by what he heard, so he went to the water's edge.

Looking down, I saw that it was indeed myself reflected in the water. In just a short while, I had become emaciated, with sunken eyes and an unusually pale appearance, as if I had been drained dry.

Li Hu was terrified. What on earth was going on?

At this moment, Yuan Sou also ran over timidly, and as soon as he saw Li Hu, he said, "Master Hu, stop right now!"

"What exactly did you ask?"

"I... I didn't ask anything. I just assumed I was talking to a sword immortal and tossed some coins a few times." Li Hu was puzzled, but when he rubbed his wrists and other parts of his body, he found that he had lost a lot of weight and was now almost as thin as a bamboo pole.

"No, Tiger, it's all my fault. I completely forgot to mention it."

Old Yuan slapped his thigh and said, "The art of divination is an act of prying into the secrets of heaven. Ordinary fortune tellers are always very careful, afraid of asking things they shouldn't ask or predicting things they shouldn't predict. Otherwise, misfortune such as the five deficiencies and three lacks, shortened lifespan, and violent death will come knocking on their door!"

"Fortune-telling should be done in moderation! Don't just seek momentary pleasure!" Old Yuan earnestly advised.

"Look at my current sorry state! It's mostly because of that fortune teller's wild predictions; the retribution has fallen on my head!"

Li Hu understood immediately; he realized he was suffering the consequences of his actions in this life.

So Li Hu checked his body again.

The internal energy was as normal as usual, but he was thinner and more haggard, which did not hinder his work.

Luckily, Wong Tai Sin stopped me just now. I got too engrossed in asking questions, otherwise, if I had continued asking, I don't know what would have happened when I was already too thin to lose any more weight.

Li Hu then put the copper coins into his pocket, sighed, and said, "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine."

Old Yuan dragged over a large amount of tonics from somewhere, seemingly originally intended as a tribute to the fortune teller. He piled the ginseng, abalone, and other such items in front of him, and clasped his hands apologetically, saying:

"Tiger, please eat these things."

"Although immortals don't need to eat or drink when they transform into spirits, eating more nourishing foods will allow their bodies to recover quickly."

Don't try to fool me.

Li Hu just smiled wryly and waved his hand, "Old Yuan, I don't believe a word you say now."

Old Yuan was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head in annoyance.

The group looked at each other for a moment, relieved to have survived the ordeal, and then burst into laughter.

But at that moment, Old Man Yuan suddenly knelt down and coughed up blood. He was in so much pain that he curled up into a ball, but his eyes were filled with a look of relief.

Seeing this, Wong Tai Sin quickly went over and helped Yuan Sou up. Li Hu stepped forward and asked:

"Old Yuan, what's wrong with you?"

Chi Yue also looked thoughtful, and asked curiously, "Old monkey, did you just tell another lie?"

Old Yuan chuckled as he collapsed to the ground, casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He then knelt before Li Hu and said:

"Tiger Lord, everyone."

"I, Yuan Sou, have tricked everyone into coming here to help me revive my grandfather. I have offended you all and this is my unkind act."

"But I cannot be unjust!"

"Tiger Lord, when you received this copper coin, it was indeed just an ordinary object, but I just used your imagination to transform it into a true spiritual object."

"But I haven't lied to you about one thing: when a lie is exposed, everything will freeze in time."

"Now! These three copper coins truly possess the ability to perform divination in your hands, not just for that one moment."

"Please use with care and avoid injuring yourself!"

"This is all I, Yuan Sou, can do to make amends."

After saying this, Old Man Yuan kowtowed heavily to the ground and remained silent for a long time.

It was Chi Yue who broke the silence first, her eyes filled with tears as she said, "Old monkey, why are you saying these things? Are you going to die?"

"Go! Go! Go."

Yuan Sou struggled to his feet and waved his hand, "Although my lifespan is almost over, it's not time for the King of Hell to take me away right now."

"Don't talk about those foul things."

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

To be fair, although Yuan Sou dragged everyone into danger, it wasn't intentional, and the fortune teller didn't really do anything to anyone.

Everyone could understand his desire to revive his grandfather, since most of the people present had lost relatives to varying degrees.

Considering that Yuan Sou repented in time, they did not make things difficult for him any further.

However, from now on, no one will believe anything Yuan Sou says.

And so, the group stayed at Blackwater Mountain for a while longer, recuperating for more than half a month.

Yuan Sou's health gradually improved, and Li Hu's emaciated appearance also gradually returned to normal.

He calculated the time and found that he would have a divination every three days, a frequency that his body could handle.

In extreme situations, you can consult multiple divinations, as long as you stop in time.

On this day, Li Hu called everyone together, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have known each other for a while now, and we have all sorted out our own troubles these past few days. I am deeply grateful for your company during this time."

"I, Li, am now returning to Qingyuan County in Dengzhou to search for my remaining two corpses. The journey is long and arduous; shall we part ways here?"

"Huh?" Chi Yue immediately bristled.

"You promised to help me get an official title! You promised to say I'm like a god! You can't just abandon us! My grandma entrusted me to you; do you want her to die with regrets?"

"Then you will come with me, and Yan Yang will come with me too," Li Hu said.

After a moment's thought, the remaining few clasped their hands and said, "Brother Li, I have nowhere else to go in this world. If we part ways, I really don't know where I should go. How about I come with you to Dengzhou?"

Li Hu nodded and agreed.

Qi Yuehong spoke next. He did hesitate for a moment, but after a moment of thought, he said, "If Brother Li is willing to take me with him, I will go to Dengzhou with you. Anyway, we can't go back to Broken Limb Ridge, and Blackwater Mountain is an ominous place. We really have nowhere else to go."

Li Hu agreed at the same time, and then turned his gaze to the last old man, Yuan.

Yuan Sou frowned and shrank back. Blackwater Mountain was a place full of sorrow for him. He really wanted to leave with Li Hu, but he was ashamed to say it because he had almost messed things up.

But this time Li Hu took the initiative to speak up: "Old Yuan, why don't you come with me to Dengzhou? Otherwise you might deceive someone else and cause them harm."

Everyone laughed heartily, and Old Man Yuan was also overjoyed, repeatedly bowing and clasping his hands in greeting to Li Hu.

The group then set off on their journey once more. Li Hu's goal this time was clear: to cultivate the Three Corpses True Understanding, he needed to collect his other two corpses first.

Therefore, it is necessary to return to the old place.

When he first transmigrated, he was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Qingyuan County, Dengzhou, and was an only child.

Li Hu has been obsessed with practicing swordsmanship and seeking immortality since he was a child, oblivious to everything else, truly a sword fanatic.

The parents had a son late in life and worried that their son would be mentally challenged and no one would take care of him. So, they planned ahead and, when Li Hu was five years old, they found him an eight-year-old girl to be their adopted daughter-in-law. She took the Li family name and was named Li Sujin. She and Li Hu were childhood sweethearts.

When Li Hu turned sixteen, his parents, knowing their days were numbered, forced them to get married and then passed away.

Li Hu was not entirely satisfied with this arranged marriage. Although Li Sujin was very beautiful and the two had grown up together and developed feelings for each other, Li Hu was a straight man, and he didn't know how to handle this sudden change in relationship when his beloved older sister suddenly became his wife.

So he devoted himself even more to the path of cultivation, ascended to immortality at the age of twenty, and then all the things that happened later occurred.

Now that he has to go back, Li Hu really doesn't know how to face his wife of many years.

As the group traveled, Dengzhou was not far away. In just three to five days, they could already see the smoke rising from the chimneys of Qingyuan County.

Old Yuan complained of being hungry and thirsty, so the group sat down at a rest stop more than ten miles outside the city and ordered some food.

"Brother Li, you'll probably be recognized by many people in Qingyuan County soon," Huang Daxian suddenly asked.

"That's right, I grew up here, and I know all the neighbors well," Li Hu replied.

At this point, Li Hu realized what he wanted to say.

Li Hu's fame spread far and wide after his ascension to immortality; even Granny Mouse in Peach Blossom Spring knew of him.

Returning so abruptly would likely cause a sensation.

Just like when Huang Daxian returned to Zhongzhou City, all the people in the city had personally witnessed Huang Daxian ascend to immortality.

Whether entering the city as an immortal or as a malevolent spirit, it would be quite inconvenient for him to do anything.

Thinking about this, Li Hu couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Do I have to wear a straw hat and mask when I get home?

"Hey, sir, look, there's a teahouse here. Why don't we rest here for a while?"

As the group was talking, another group of people arrived outside the tea stall. There were more than a dozen servants carrying a sedan chair. They were playing music and making a grand entrance. From a distance, the person in the sedan chair looked like a rich and noble person.

The person inside the sedan chair gave a gesture, and the head servant nodded, lifted the curtain, and invited the person out.

The man in the sedan chair had a goatee, looked middle-aged, and was dressed in expensive clothes.

Then the servants came into the shop and waved to the people inside as if to drive them away.

"Go away, go away! My master has booked this place. Everyone, get out of here and don't hog seats."

The man was aggressive, making noise everywhere, and the remaining servants also squeezed in, completely clearing the place out.

Li Hu and the others did not want to cause any more trouble, so they simply followed the people who were being driven out and stood outside the shop.

This aloof and powerful demeanor, which kept strangers at bay, was quite an eye-opener for Li Hu.

"Please wait a moment, Tiger Master, let me go up and ask about the situation." Yuan Sou said with a smile, cupping his fists to Li Hu, and then quietly went inside alone.

He went to the head servant, patted him on the left shoulder, and then hid on the right.

When the man realized something was wrong and looked to his right, Yuan Sou hid on his left.

"Who called me?" the man asked, puzzled.

"It's me, it's me." Old Yuan jumped in front of him, smiling and cupping his hands in greeting. "May I ask, sir, who is your master, and what brings you to Qingyuan County in Dengzhou?"

"Is it any of your business to ask about my husband?"

The man scoffed, shoving Yuan aside and yelling, "Don't you know your place? Get out of here! Do you want a beating?"

Yuan Sou was pushed back repeatedly by the servants, but he was not angry.

Upon seeing this, the goatee-wearing man waved his hand to stop his servants: "Zhang San, be polite to these people."

He turned to look at Yuan Sou, shook his head, clasped his hands in a fist salute to his side, and introduced himself: "I am the Qingyuan County Lieutenant appointed by the imperial court. I am taking office today and am new to this place. I hope you, my fellow villagers, will be kind to me in the future."

He smiled, looking rather smug.

The tea drinkers who had been driven away were all shocked. When they saw that it was an official who had taken the seat, they all ran away. No one wanted to get into trouble, so they just swallowed their anger and let it go.

Yuan chuckled and said, "As an official who serves the people, you should love them even more like your own children."

"This shop isn't small; it could easily seat ten more people. Why are you driving us away?"

Upon hearing this, the county constable immediately became uncomfortable and put on a stern face.

Seeing this, the servants behind him hurriedly stepped forward to drive Yuan Sou away, saying, "Go away, go away! My master is an official; how can he sit with you commoners?"

Immediately afterwards, the servants used their cudgels to knock Yuan out.

Old Yuan skipped back to Li Hu's side, glanced at Li Hu's expression, looked around the shop carefully, and counted the number of people.

Then Yuan Sou chuckled and came to Yan Yang's side, nudging him with his elbow and saying:

"Kid, how about we work together to give Tiger a new outfit?"

Seeing Yuan Sou's wicked smile, Yan Yang understood immediately. He took the iron sword from his waist and rushed into the shop without saying a word.

Old Yuan followed closely behind, and the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, overturned all the tables, chairs, benches, servants, and guards.

Old Yuan snatched a staff and wielded it with great skill, knocking out a large number of servants with a few blows.

Yan Yang didn't even draw his iron sword. One was a mortal who had cultivated immortality for many years, and the other was a hundred-year-old monkey spirit. Although they were not among the top fighters in Li Hu's team, they dealt with a group of county constables who were only lightly armed with their own weapons with ease.

In the chaos, the goatee crawled hastily on the ground, avoiding the thrashing crowd, and fled outside.

"Hey! You corrupt official, don't you dare run away!"

Yuan Shou cursed loudly, spun around and leaped forward, striking the county magistrate on the back with his stick, knocking him unconscious.

Before long, with the two working together, there were hardly any servants left standing there.

When Yuan Sou arrived at the place where the group of people had piled up their luggage, he searched through the chests and found half a chest of silver ingots, a set of green seventh-rank official robes, and a letter of appointment stamped with the imperial seal.

With a smile, Yuan Sou took out a silver ingot from his pocket and tossed it to the shopkeeper. He then hurriedly carried the light green official robe to Li Hu's side.

"Tiger Lord, it's time you changed out of that red brocade robe."

After saying that, Yuan Sou tossed the official robes over his shoulders and draped them over Li Hu.

"What does this mean?" Li Hu asked, puzzled.

"Oh, aren't you just wondering what identity to present when you go home? This is perfect, let's go and visit the Qingyuan County government office in Dengzhou!"

Having said that, Old Man Yuan pulled and tugged Li Hu into the sedan chair, then beckoned Yan Yang, Huang Daxian, and the others to lift the chair. He himself walked in front, took a copper gong, cleared his throat, and began to strike it while shouting:

"Lord Li Hu has taken office! Silence! Get out of the way!"