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

"I have never seen you before, but your red beard and hair remind me of an old friend," Li Hu replied casually.

The red-haired Taoist priest merely showed a suspicious expression upon hearing this, then continued eating and drinking nonchalantly.

Judging from his attitude, he didn't seem to take Li Hu's answer to heart.

"Master, aren't you afraid I've told a lie?" Li Hu asked.

"If Lord Li says it's a familiar face, then I believe him. I'm not one to be suspicious of others," Zong Shanyue said, pouring himself a drink and waving his hand.

"Furthermore, Lord Li, you may simply call me by my name. There is no need to address me as Master. I have calculated that Lord Li's abilities are no less than mine."

"I'm afraid even if I didn't come, I'd have the ability to drive away these little devils myself, wouldn't I?"

Li Hu laughed heartily, raised his cup in a toast, and said, "Ta Dou Lang Guan is indeed extraordinary."

Zong Shanyue returned the toast, and the two exchanged drinks, soon having already gone through several rounds.

Li Hu was certainly not drunk, but Zong Shanyue was clearly drunk; his face was flushed, his eyes were glazed, and he was speaking in drawn-out tones.

"Speaking of which, I still need to ask Lord Li for a favor." Zong Shanyue suddenly remembered something and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Hu.

"Please speak freely, sir!" Li Hu replied.

"I have come to Qingyuan County in Dengzhou in search of a lost treasure." Zong Shanyue frowned. "I once had a bronze bell, which was an unclean and extremely dangerous object. I predicted that it would appear in Qingyuan County recently, so I came here in pursuit."

"This creature has already acquired the ability to take human form. I heard that it committed many evil deeds in Zhongzhou a few days ago. If it has truly caused suffering to the people, I feel very distressed."

"I would be grateful if you could help me find this item, as it would benefit the local community."

Upon hearing this, Li Hu was startled. After a moment of thought, he suddenly understood the multiple layers of this matter. He never imagined that the red-haired Taoist he had seen before was indeed the bell in disguise, taking on the appearance of its master, which was why Li Hu had been puzzled until now.

"Leave this to me."

Li Hu suppressed his emotions and said solemnly, "I will mobilize all the constables in the county to search for this item. If there is any news, I will report to the magistrate immediately."

Li Hu was worried that keeping the bell around would be a nuisance, and he didn't know what to do with it. Now that he had finally found its owner, he would give it to Zong Shanyue as a favor in a few days, and that would be the end of the matter.

"Thank you very much," Zong Shanyue said, beaming with joy and laughing heartily.

The two continued drinking and toasting, and the conversation lasted for over ten minutes.

Li Hu could only say that he could taste the wine, but he was already invincible, while the red-haired Taoist was becoming increasingly confused.

He swayed, wanting to pour himself another cup, but suddenly realized the wine pot was empty.

The wine jars beside them were empty. Looking around, the three jars of wine that Master Zhou had initially brought out had been completely drunk by the two of them.

"Ah, a thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend, it's not satisfying!" Zong Shanyue shouted.

"Sir, you should drink in moderation, lest you harm your health," Li Hu advised.

Zong Shanyue did not reply immediately. Instead, he looked at the paintings hanging on the wall of the hall, scanned them, and then smiled suddenly as his gaze became unfocused.

"It's alright, let me fetch some more wine so we can drink together."

After saying this, Zong Shanyue got up from his seat, went to a painting of Lü Dongbin drunk with a wine pot, casually tore off a piece of paper from another painting, and with a single twist, turned it into a paper straw with a hollow center.

Zong Shanyue, holding a straw, bowed to the painting of Lü Dongbin and said with a smile, "Our patriarch drinks every day, how about granting this junior a sip?"

Then, he thrust the paper straw in his hand into the painting, and it sank three-tenths of the way into the wine pot.

Behind the painting was a solid brick wall. When the paper straw was inserted, it looked as if it had been inserted into a wine pot, and some fine wine flowed out with a splash, which Zong Shanyue caught with a cup.

"Thank you, Master, for the wine."

Zong Shanyue chuckled and waved to Li Hu with delight, saying, "Come on, let's have a drink."

Zong Shanyue held the straw, and when Li Hu arrived, he let go, and sure enough, more wine gushed into Li Hu's glass.

Before Li Hu could even react, Zong Shanyue tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass.

"It really is good wine." Zong Shanyue smacked his lips and smiled contentedly.

Seeing his expression, Li Hu tilted his head back and drank it down as well. He found that the wine was indeed extraordinary, smooth and sweet as it went down his throat, something he had never tasted before.

"May I ask, sir, where did this wine come from?" Li Hu asked curiously.

"Ha, Lu Zu has already ascended to heaven, so this wine is naturally the celestial wine of Baiyujing!"

Zong Shanyue tilted his head back and swayed his body, drinking heartily, and soon downed several more cups in a row.

Seeing that he was almost drunk and unconscious, Li Hu assumed he was just talking nonsense and joined Zong Shanyue in grabbing the wine.

But not long after, Zong Shanyue suddenly discovered that when he held out his cup, no more wine came out of the straw, as if he had drunk it all.

However, when Li Hu extended the cup, wine flowed out of the straw instead, as if Lü Zu was deliberately preventing Zong Shanyue from drinking.

Seeing this, Zong Shanyue frowned and shouted, "Our patriarch is stingy! Stingy!"

Then, smiling broadly, he approached Li Hu, blushing, and leaned on Li Hu's shoulder, whispering, "Young friend, how about sharing some with me?"

Li Hu chuckled, his gaze becoming somewhat unfocused. As an evil spirit, he shouldn't be drunk, but now a flush appeared on his face, indicating a hint of intoxication.

"Since it was Lu Zu who bestowed this wine upon you, how can I share it with you?"

Li Hu pushed him away and said, "The patriarch saw that you were drunk, which is a warning to you that you should drink in moderation. If I share some wine with you, Lu Zu will probably blame me."

Seeing Li Hu's attitude, Zong Shanyue lost interest and lay down on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum, simply closing his eyes.

"It's not fun, it's not fun!"

Li Hu didn't care about any of that and just kept drinking, one cup after another, as if he were obsessed.

Gradually, Li Hu felt his body become much lighter, and the true energy hidden in his dantian surged up, seemingly expanding a bit more under a slight undercurrent.

But Li Hu, completely drunk, had no time to care about any of that. He just stared at the portrait of Lü Zu and smiled foolishly, focusing only on drinking.

Suddenly, Zong Shanyue, who was lying on the ground, seemed to have thought of a wicked idea. He got up, went to Li Hu's side, and put his arm around his shoulder, saying:

"Young friend, I knew you were an evil spirit, but since Lu Zu was willing to give you wine, it means that you are recognized by him. If you were an ordinary person, you would be like me now, unable to get a single drop of wine."

Li Hu was shocked to find that Zong Shanyue had already seen through his evil nature. He broke out in a cold sweat, but he was also relieved.

But what Zong Shanyue said next surprised Li Hu even more.

"Since you are approved by the patriarch, even if you are an evil spirit, it doesn't matter. How about we become sworn brothers?"

"Sworn brotherhood?" Li Hu turned around unsteadily, his eyes glazed over.

"Excellent! Sir, you are a capable man. I admire you greatly, and I hereby declare myself your sworn brother!"

So Li Hu and Zong Shanyue knelt down in front of the statue of Lü Zu. Zong Shanyue took three unused chopsticks, and with a flick of his wrist, the chopsticks lit up like matches. He used them as incense and stuck them on the floor in front of the statue of Lü Zu.

"Now I worship the mountains!"

"I am Li Hu!"

"Hmm? Aren't you called Li Fengcongyao?" Zong Shanyue turned his head and asked suspiciously.

"Harmful."

Li Hu waved his hand, "Brother, you're being foolish. Evil spirits must act discreetly; otherwise, how can they be called evil spirits?"

Li Hu was in a daze and couldn't say anything illogical. He didn't know how to explain it and just mumbled a couple of sentences.

Zong Shanyue nodded, shook his head vigorously trying to clear his mind for a moment, and then continued facing the statue of Lü Zu:

"Today, I, Zongshan Yue, wish to become sworn brothers with Li Hu. With our ancestral master above and heaven and earth as our witness, we do not ask to be born on the same day, month, or year..."

"Hey!"

Li Hu suddenly became somewhat displeased and interrupted, "Why talk about such vulgar things? Do you expect me to be buried with you if I die, brother?"

"Then how do you say it?" Zong Shanyue asked.

"A stick of incense burned towards the heavens signifies the passing of parents!"

Li Hu bowed before the statue of Lü Dongbin and said, "My parents gave me life, and we have helped them through this desolate world. If you ask how I can repay them, I will ensure that there are no more hungry people in the world!"

Zong Shanyue laughed heartily, bowed down before the statue of Lü Zu, and shouted:

"There will be no hungry people in the world!"

After finishing his prayers, Zong Shanyue immediately took out his cup, went to the statue of Lü Zu, looked at Lü Zu with anticipation, and smiled ingratiatingly.

Splash!

The patriarch has finally bestowed wine upon us again. Zong Shanyue was overjoyed and raised his cup to Li Hu, saying, "Thanks to my brother's blessing, this is the last cup for today."

"The last cup..." Zong Shanyue tilted his head back and drank it, revealing an expression of enjoyment.

By this time, the process of confiscating Ji Heng's property was almost complete.

So he pushed open the door and went in to look for Li Hu. He found Li Hu completely drunk and hurriedly came over to help him up, saying, "Master, how did you get so drunk?"

Li Hu looked up and saw that it was Ji Heng, so he asked:

"How was it? How much did you copy?"

"The total amount of gold and silver is more than 10,000 taels, the amount of cloth and silk is more than 800 bolts, and the amount of furniture, furnishings, horses and other miscellaneous items is more than 5,000 taels of silver," Ji Heng replied.

"Hmm." Li Hu nodded, slowly recovering from the effects of the alcohol. He looked up and said, "We'll keep the horses. As for the gold, silver, cloth, farm tools, and grain, we'll give half to all the tenant farmers in the county, and we'll keep the other half."

"When the disaster victims in the surrounding area hear this news, they will definitely gather here. We will then use this money to resettle them."

"Yes!" Ji Heng nodded in agreement, then turned and left the hall.

"My virtuous brother is truly generous, worthy of being a local official," Zong Shanyue, still sober and lying on the ground, said from afar, bowing respectfully.

"I'm originally from Qingyuan County. Now that I'm back, it's my duty to do my job well," Li Hu replied casually.

"Brother, to be honest, my act of exorcising the evil spirit from that child today was actually aiding and abetting evil."

Zong Shanyue sighed and said, "Since the Five Ghosts were arranged by the Queen Mother of the West, I am going to leave. I wonder what the Queen Mother of the West will think, and whether I will bear any karmic consequences because of this."

Li Hu then comforted him, saying, "Evil spirits harm people, so of course they must be eliminated. This immense wealth harms the people, so of course it must also be eliminated. There's nothing for you to worry about, sir."

"I hope so." Zong Shanyue leaned against the wall, looking somewhat dejected.

"Since we've come to the topic of the Queen Mother of the West, I'd like to ask you, sir."

Li Hu suddenly asked, "Who is this Queen Mother of the West? Her sudden intervention in the mortal realm, leading evil spirits to harm people, may seem like an act of good, but it doesn't seem like the behavior of an immortal."

"What my brother says is true," Zong Shanyue nodded.

"Immortals are originally mortals, each with their own personality. Some are like sword immortals, detached from worldly affairs, while others are like the Three Pure Ones, who establish sects, gather incense offerings, spread the Tao among the people, and enlighten the world."

"But although the Queen Mother of the West is a senior figure, I have never heard of this sect before. It must have only recently appeared."

"First, they find evil spirits to do good deeds for them and spread the name of the Queen Mother of the West. Once there are many people who benefit from their kindness, they then establish their own sect and collect incense money. I've seen this kind of petty trick many times."

"If the Queen Mother of the West were truly sincere in upholding fairness in this world, she could simply clap her hands and the rice from the Zhou family would flow to ordinary households. The world would be completely different now. Why go through all this trouble? She is utterly hypocritical, deliberately revealing her name while doing good deeds in the hopes that people will come to worship her."

"If you ask me, it's all bullshit, they're all up to no good!"

"Look at what happened the other day, when rice rained down from the heavens over the Central Plains. That was truly a meritorious act!"

"I just don't know why it only dropped for a short time, and there hasn't been any news since."

As Zong Shanyue spoke, fueled by the alcohol, he became increasingly agitated and indignant, even cursing the immortals.

Li Hu also thought it made sense. If Bai Yujing truly advocated fairness and goodness, then the human world would have been completely different long ago.

The Queen Mother of the West's good deeds were probably for a purpose.

After calming down for a while, Zong Shanyue said, "Anyway, no matter what, my dear brother, you should stay away from these strange little gods. They may not have any good intentions."

Li Hu nodded and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "I have learned a lot."

The two chatted for a while, and then Li Hu left the hall, while Zong Shanyue also needed to find a place to sleep.

After arriving home, Li Hu greeted Li Sujin and then went to the attic to rummage through drawers and cabinets, searching for the bell.

Zong Shanyue was a straightforward person, and Li Hu decided that it would be best to return the bell to its rightful owner.

After searching for a while, Li Hu stuffed the bell into his pocket, preparing to deliver it to Zong Shanyue first thing tomorrow morning.

But at that moment, Li Hu discovered that someone had built an altar in his attic.

The white porcelain statue above is of a goddess, who looks to be over middle-aged, plump, and draped in colorful auspicious clouds. The entire statue is lifelike and looks much more magnificent than the old man I had seen before.

In front of the statue is an incense burner with three half-burnt incense sticks inside; it's unclear who placed them there.

Li Hu frowned. He was now extremely wary of such things. He had just discussed the Queen Mother of the West with Zong Shanyue, and now he was even more cautious about goddesses and immortals.

So Li Hu called his wife to the attic and pointed to the statue, saying:

"Su Jin, did you set up this altar? And what are these offerings?"

Li Sujin nodded and said, "I built it. I invited a statue of the Queen Mother of the West from outside and prayed to it day and night. The monks in the temple said it could bless you to pass the imperial examination, so when you were not around, I invited this statue and prayed to it day and night."

"It really worked! My husband passed the imperial examination with flying colors."

Li Sujin chuckled, still unaware of what had happened.