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

"I think there's something fishy about this."

Zong Shanyue immediately sensed something was wrong and asked sharply, "Did you all see how my virtuous brother defeated those ghostly soldiers?"

"I saw it clearly!"

Old Yuan quickly replied, "Tiger Lord's eyes were bloodshot, and he swung his sword with incredible speed, like a god descending to earth!"

"Nonsense," Chi Yue said skeptically. "I saw several flying swords beside my brother, their aura so powerful they were slashing at the Yin soldiers. He wasn't carrying anything in his hands, so how could he just swing a sword and start slashing?"

"No, I think Tiger is using the Bagua stance and the Wudang Dan Sword, with sword formations all around him, making every step he takes resemble a lotus flower," Yan Yang interjected, a rare occurrence for him.

"Um?"

Qi Yuehong looked thoughtful and joined the discussion, "But I think that when Brother Li was holding two swords, he was using the battle formations of the border troops outside the pass."

Huang Daxian belatedly realized what everyone was talking about and quickly asked:

"Could it be that the Brother Li we know uses a different set of moves?"

"This is truly amazing!" Wong Tai Sin exclaimed.

"Alas!" Old Yuan waved his hand at the crowd and said, "Tiger Lord is an extraordinary man, always has been. There is no battle he cannot win."

"No, no."

Zong Shanyue quickly denied it, saying, "That's not what I care about most."

"I know Brother Li's talent, but no matter how strange it is, being able to defeat this group of ghost soldiers is the thing I can't understand the most."

"May I ask, sir, how much do you know about these ghost soldiers?" Huang Daxian asked, clasping his hands in greeting.

The battle had just begun suddenly, and the group didn't really understand anything about it. They could tell that the cavalry was no ordinary group, but in their eyes, since Li Hu had been able to defeat them, he was no invincible force.

I don't know where Zong Shanyue got this doubt from.

Zong Shanyue pondered for a moment, pacing back and forth as he organized his thoughts, and said:

"These ghostly soldiers come in large numbers and are capable of destroying a country. It is normal that you have not heard of their horrors."

"Legend has it that this army of ghost soldiers came from underground. Buddhists call it Avici Hell, while we Taoists call it Fengdu."

"Regardless, this cavalry force did indeed originate from the Netherworld. Historically, it has appeared three times, each time in a major event that changed the course of the world. Each time, this ghostly army played the role of the victorious force's ultimate weapon."

"The appearance of this dark figure is no joke; it means ten out of ten will die without injury. How can mortals possibly overcome its unpredictable power?"

"Let alone me being a high-ranking official, even if all the officials from the four departments of Immortal Slaying, Demon Extermination, Ghost Suppression, and Celestial Surveillance were gathered here today, including the old men in the departments, and with the full strength of the Tang Dynasty and His Majesty's dragon cultivation power protecting us, we would only have a slight chance of contending with them."

"Is it really that terrifying?" Wong Tai Sin was still somewhat skeptical.

If this ghostly army is really that powerful, then wouldn't Li Hu be invincible?

"Harmful!"

Old Yuan waved his hand and said, "Perhaps it's just hearsay, let's not worry about it."

"We're already lucky to be alive today. Let's hurry back and check on things. Tiger was just muttering that Madam has come back to life. We need to go and see her. We can't let her walk alone on the road, lest she encounter some evil spirits."

Everyone nodded in agreement and quickly followed Li Hu's footsteps to catch up with him.

Li Hu practically ran at full speed. Having just experienced a brush with death, he no longer cared about his image.

From a distance, he looks like an ape, leaping ten meters in a single bound. When he encounters a difficult path, he even leaps directly to the treetops, swinging forward from there.

It was still dark, which meant that the kill order against Li Hu had not been lifted.

But strangely enough, when Li Hu returned, he encountered almost no evil spirits.

"Could it be that they were scared away by that group of ghost soldiers?" Li Hu muttered to himself.

"You're so wrong!" Li Bai drifted to Li Hu's side from afar, hanging behind him like a kite.

"Evil spirits fear me, and Li Hei too!"

"Please excuse my poor skills. I'm not actually that good, hehe." Li Hei scratched his head and said in his deep voice.

He was over ten feet tall, but he followed Li Hu's pace with ease.

Strangely, even though Li Hei's weight was probably three times that of Li Hu, he didn't leave a single footprint as he walked on the muddy road, as if his feet didn't touch the ground.

"Please wait a moment, I'll deal with your matter later."

Li Hu had sharp eyes and noticed this, but he didn't have the energy to care. He simply leaped forward, using the fastest and most efficient method to get ahead.

Before long, Li Hu gradually returned from the muddy country roads to the rammed earth roads and stone slab roads.

Qingyuan County is right in front of us.

However, when Li Hu returned, he noticed the devastation all around him.

Qingyuan County was not exactly wealthy to begin with, and the houses where the people lived could only be described as decent places to shelter from the wind and rain. But when they returned, there were ruins everywhere, collapsed houses were everywhere, and the streets were filled with the heart-wrenching cries of the people, as if they had just experienced a plunder.

Some women sat in front of the collapsed door, holding their husbands' bodies and weeping bitterly. Some children were not even properly dressed and walked barefoot on the streets littered with debris.

The cries of the people, the rumble of collapsing houses, the crackling of fires, the terrified barking of guard dogs—all sorts of sounds filled with suffering suddenly rushed into Li Hu's ears.

Li Hu suddenly realized that this was not his original Qingyuan County.

Li Hu hurriedly went to the street and asked some people before he learned that on the night he fled for his life, not only evil spirits and ghost soldiers, but also bandits, mountain bandits, rebels and outlaws from Jinan Prefecture, and all sorts of people from all walks of life had rushed into Qingyuan like madmen.

After searching unsuccessfully, they began burning, killing, and looting.

In the end, it was the defeated ghostly army that passed through the area, which scared these people away.

Li Hu realized that the kill order might not only target evil spirits, but also ordinary people who could take his life and might even have the opportunity to ascend to immortality.

Right now, Li Hu has become like a piece of Tang Monk's flesh, and everyone who sees him wants to take a bite.

Li Hu walked dejectedly down the street. The people of Qingyuan County were all his fellow villagers. How was he supposed to face them?

The excitement he felt upon returning to Qingyuan had faded, and Li Hu walked the streets, helping as many people as possible who were buried by the rubble.

Li Bai, who was always so foul-mouthed, fell silent at this moment, staring blankly at the scene, lost in thought.

Li Hei, on the other hand, was honest and kind. He would try his best to help passersby when he walked on the street. If he encountered a passerby whose leg had been broken, he would help them immobilize their limbs. If he encountered a fire that was difficult to extinguish, he would rush up and use his fan-like palm to extinguish the fire.

Before he knew it, Li Hei was already in tears, not even having time to wipe his snot, as if he could personally feel the pain of those people.

Li Hu helped as many people as he could along the way, and gradually, he arrived at the street near his home.

This area was the first to be hit, and naturally, it suffered the most damage.

From afar, Li Hu saw a woman dressed in plain clothes standing in the crowd, bandaging the wounds of a critically injured civilian, using simple splints to immobilize limbs, and using a thin blade to clean arrows and wood chips embedded in flesh and bone. She moved hurriedly and skillfully, appearing very busy.

She was petite, and even among women, she was considered delicate.

She often cries and acts like a little woman, hoping that Li Hu will take better care of the family. At the same time, she is very timid, so timid that three months ago, she was even wary of things like swords.

But now she's serious, frowning, standing on the front lines of disaster relief, doing what Li Hu should be doing.

While busy, Li Sujin looked up by chance and noticed Li Hu, who had been standing on the side of the street for a long time.

She was initially delighted, but then realized she shouldn't be smiling in this situation. So she waved to Li Hu and urged, "Don't just stand there, come help me, I'm overwhelmed."

Li Hu then snapped out of his daze and quickly went to Li Sujin's side, handing her gauze, scissors, bandages, towels, and medicine powder.

Li Hu felt that if his heart could beat, it would be off the charts right now.

How could someone who died right in front of him just moments ago suddenly reappear before him?

Li Hu tried his best not to think about those miscellaneous things, and just silently followed behind Li Sujin, as quiet and obedient as a child.

He did whatever Li Sujin said, fearing that the person in front of him might suddenly break down because of something he did.

"Why are you being so obedient today, my lord?" Li Sujin asked playfully during a moment of eye contact with Li Hu.

"Ah." Li Hu was taken aback for a moment, then looked away somewhat awkwardly.

"No, I just...feel a little guilty."

"You really went to Baiyujing and the Queen Mother of the West cured you?" Li Hu slowly realized what was going on and asked.

Actually, he still didn't quite believe Li Bai's statement, but he believed it for a moment.

He found it difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was fake.

"What makes the Queen Mother of the West so special?" Li Hu asked, but then realized his question was ambiguous, so he explained,

"I want to know, since I'm the one who angered her, why is she acting like this... Is she really that principled?"

Li Hu had mixed feelings. If the Queen Mother of the West was truly a benevolent deity, was it really too much for him to send Yuan Sou to bury her statue and to forcefully prevent his wife from having any further contact with such things?

Li Hu was finding it difficult to stick to his principles.

"I don't know either, I don't remember anything." Li Sujin shook her head and then continued with her work.

Li Hu was also starting to get confused, not knowing what was going on. But he didn't have time to think about it right now. Li Sujin was busy and sweating profusely. There were suffering people all around her, so Li Hu had no choice but to throw himself into it and do his best as a local official, even if he was just a fake one.

It was still dark, so I guessed it was already afternoon.

With the earth lacking sunlight for a long time, the temperature in Qingyuan gradually returned to winter levels.

Li Hu frowned in thought. The dangers brought by the darkness were not limited to what was in front of him. It was only the first day and it was already this cold. If it continued for a while, people on the road might freeze to death.

Leaving aside whether the unripe spring wheat in the field can even grow, Li Hu felt that the end of the world was coming.

Gradually, the more Li Hu thought about it, the worse it seemed.

He recalled a question the master had asked him when he was at Xiazhu Academy.

"If you were asked to sacrifice your life for righteousness, to save the people and the nation, what would you do?"

As long as the manhunt for Li Hu continues, the sun will likely never rise again. At that time, the entire world will be in a life-or-death situation, and if this goes on for too long, perhaps only evil spirits will be able to survive.

The current situation truly confirms what Confucius said.

Thinking of this, Li Hu couldn't help but shudder.

So Li Hu found Ji Heng in the crowd and instructed him: "Find a few people to go to the warehouse in the east of the city. There are hundreds of thousands of catties of high-quality charcoal, thousands of hemp tents, and dozens of carts of grain inside."

"Take it all out and distribute it to the people of the city for me."

Ji Heng's eyes lit up instantly, but he still asked doubtfully, "Master, I've never heard of any warehouse in the east of the city. Where are you referring to?"

"Look."

Li Hu pulled him aside, pointed in a certain direction and said, "Go that way, and when you see the third old locust tree, just turn around and look."

"I had already ordered people to prepare these things, just in case. Take everyone from the yamen office and a few dozen strong young men, and go directly there."

Ji Heng nodded in agreement, his face beaming with undisguised elation.

According to the master, those supplies should be enough to last everyone for a few days.

"Hey, when did you become such a smooth liar? Didn't you always disdain lying? Did your wife die and you suddenly become a know-it-all?"

Li Bai suddenly appeared behind Li Hu, still spitting knives out of his mouth.

Li Hu was also somewhat angered upon hearing this. He had never seen anyone with such blatant offensive power before, so he turned around and said:

"Brother, we are complete strangers, meeting only today. Although I don't know who you are, why do you always speak so vehemently?"

"Yes, Li Bai, you should say less."

Li Hei also came over and spoke up in defense of the injustice.

He had just been helping Li Hu with his work, treating the wounds of the local people.

"I'll say less? Fine, I won't say anything more until you're dead." Seeing that neither of them were on his side, Li Bai simply tucked his hands into his sleeves and turned to leave.

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Li Hei." Li Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute to the tall Li Hei.

"Hey, it's nothing." Li Hei scratched his head shyly and gave a simple, honest smile.

"Husband, what are you talking about to yourself?" Li Sujin was puzzled by Li Hu's strange behavior, his tone sometimes deep and sometimes high-pitched.

"Ah, it's nothing." Li Hu waved his hand, casually brushing it off.

"No, let me see, I feel something's wrong with you."

Li Sujin still came to Li Hu, forcefully touched his forehead, and then pulled Li Hu's wrist to take his pulse.

Upon closer inspection, Li Hu smelled the faint scent of herbs on his wife, just like before, which made his nose tingle with emotion.

"No, I think something's off about you too," Li Hu suddenly said, staring at Li Sujin.

Logically speaking, his wife should have known long ago that Li Hu was an evil spirit. Taking pulses, observing, listening, asking, and feeling the pulse are all methods used on living people. Why is she still pretending as if they had just reunited?

When Li Hu realized this, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"We've been husband and wife since childhood, and you've always been like this, but perhaps because I'm a little slow today, your version is a bit outdated."

Li Hu's eyes reddened, filled with utter disappointment.