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

"Don't cry, don't cry. When your brother dies, remember to find a knife and cut off some flesh. That way, he can live a little longer." Wong Tai Sin spoke softly, saying things that sounded terrifying to ordinary people.

"Zhongzhou, I grew up here and know this is not a place to flee famine. You should go to other places and get through this early spring."

Wong Tai Sin's lips and forehead were bruised and swollen. He forced an ugly smile and spoke so much in one breath that it looked ridiculous. He even drooled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.

But seeing this scene, the little girl didn't feel any better; instead, she cried even louder.

"Your time has come; your life is over!"

The red-haired Taoist squinted at the sundial, reached into the box, took out a token, and threw it out.

"Execute!"

The executioner, dressed in a half-red robe, took a sip of wine, held it in his mouth, and then spat it all out onto the nine-ringed broadsword in his hand.

Li Hu gripped his sword tightly at this moment. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. The more attention was drawn to the crowd, the less likely he would be to be noticed before he made his move.

However, seeing the little girl still crying in front of him, Wong Tai Sin suddenly became uneasy. His head was pressed down, but he struggled to lift it up again.

"Whether you can eat it or not, remember to eat me. I just gave out porridge yesterday, so not many people will be fighting with you for meat today."

Before he could finish speaking, the executioner grabbed his hair again and forced his head down, but Wong Tai Sin continued talking relentlessly.

"Take some meat, salt it, and head south. The climate there is warm; you can survive on tree bark alone!"

"You must live!"

Seeing Wong Tai Sin's head shaking wildly, the executioner added another kick.

Finally, after Huang Daxian finished speaking, he resignedly lowered his head and quietly waited for the knife, like a big yellow dog at the village entrance that was about to die of illness.

The executioner steadied the head, adjusted its angle, and then raised his knife.

Li Hu's true energy surged, and his eyes shone like cold stars.

Just then, a rain cloud suddenly drifted in from the horizon, unnoticed by anyone, and thunder rumbled loudly.

At noon, the sky was clear and blue when thunder rumbled, and the executioner's hand holding the knife trembled involuntarily.

"Master Dao, this weather is probably an ominous sign."

Just as the executioner was about to turn around and say a few words to the red-haired Taoist, the sky suddenly brightened, and a thunderbolt struck the execution platform.

Crackling and booming!

In an instant, sparks flew everywhere, startling the red-haired Taoist so much that his beard stood on end.

Li Hu was also surprised, and he turned to look at the sky.

The heavenly gates opened wide, and in the blink of an eye, the rain clouds dispersed, revealing a sky full of colorful auspicious clouds under the sun.

"Huang Mingzi, you have distributed porridge for thirty years, saving eight thousand lives. You are charitable and dedicated to helping the world. Now your merits are complete and your mortal tribulations are over."

"Having observed your profound elixir reflecting in your Purple Palace, and with compassion severing mortal ties, by the decree of the Heavenly Emperor, you are hereby appointed to the Celestial Palace, in charge of the Five Grains and Earthly Qi. Your celestial ranks are ready; please step onto the Rainbow Bridge!"

Suddenly, several tall figures appeared in the clouds, holding jade tablets, wearing purple, red or blue Taoist robes, with kind eyes. They all rode the clouds, and the shadows of cranes fluttered in their backs.

Li Hu caught a strange floral scent in his nose, a scent he had only ever smelled once in his life.

It was three months ago, during his ascension.

The immortals' shadows reflected rainbow-colored light spots, each face hidden behind the light spots, making it impossible to see their features. Their robes fluttered, exuding an ethereal aura, completely different from the Moon Fairy that Li Hu had once seen.

A miracle occurred, and apart from the terrified red-haired Taoist priest, all the common people and minor officials present were stunned for a moment before kneeling down and weeping bitterly.

Wong Tai Sin stared blankly at the sky. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on his body, and a phantom rose into the air. It looked exactly like the Ghost of Impermanence, except that it had Wong Tai Sin's face on its head.

Although the figure of Wong Tai Sin was dressed in linen clothes, he was neatly dressed, his face was no longer swollen, and he looked energetic.

This is Huang Mingzi's soul that left his body.

However, Huang Daxian was still somewhat bewildered after emerging from the body when another voice rang out from the clouds.

"Please step onto the Rainbow Bridge!"

Wong Tai Sin turned to look at his body, which was still kneeling on the execution platform. The body was drooping and disheveled, and had stopped breathing. Its life was over.

Seeing this, Wong Tai Sin, who was floating in mid-air, lowered his gaze, sighed, and seemed to have seen through everything.

He turned to face Li Hu, who stood motionless with his sword in the crowd, smiled slightly, and bowed respectfully from a distance.

Li Hu nodded in response. He had long seen that Huang Daxian's cultivation had reached its end, and now that his merits were complete, it was a joyous occasion for him to ascend to immortality.

Perhaps feeling that Wong Tai Sin was moving too slowly, the voice from the clouds sounded again, this time with a hint of anger and urging.

"Huang Mingzi! Quickly cross the Rainbow Bridge!"

Huang Daxian then realized what was happening, turned around and looked at the group of ethereal figures in the sky, slowly floating upwards.

"May the Great Immortal protect us! May the Great Immortal protect us! May the Great Immortal protect us!"

The people kneeling around the execution platform kept chanting and kowtowing, their heads pounding like drums.

Wong Tai Sin raised his head and closed his eyes; it was unclear whether he had heard any of those voices.

After about half a day, Huang Daxian finally floated onto a crane. He sat back on the crane, and a bundle of wheat appeared in his hand. His linen clothes had also changed, and he was now wearing a long, yellowish-brown robe with fluttering sleeves, exuding an air of elegance.

Before long, the figures of the immortals in the sky gradually faded away.

As the auspicious clouds dispersed and the sun shone high in the sky, the sky instantly returned to its original state.

Right now, apart from the people who are saying auspicious words and praying for peace and health, the execution platform is completely silent.

The officials who were originally waiting to collect the body were now trembling with fear.

The red-haired Taoist sat quietly before the desk, his eyebrows furrowed, his beard and hair bristling, his eyes flashing with resentment and anger.

"Though I have ascended to immortality, the laws of my Great Tang Dynasty still apply!"

The red-haired Taoist's eyes were fierce, and his breath was like a dragon's.

"cut!!!"

"Your Honor, please reconsider..." Upon hearing this, the executioner's legs suddenly went weak, tears streaming down his face, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I'll do it myself!" The red-haired Taoist drew his golden sword and charged forward.

"If a despicable villain like you, who colludes with evil spirits, can ascend to immortality, how can I, a third-rank official of the Ghost Suppression Division, who has cultivated immortality for fifty years, not become an immortal myself!"

His eyes were bloodshot; he was blinded by rage and kept cursing.

"I see those pigs and dogs in the Jade Palace as nothing more than beasts in human clothing. Even if you ascend to immortality today, you won't escape taking my sword!"

"Wow!!!"

He drew his longsword, and the head on Wong Tai Sin's corpse rolled off the stage.

The severed head didn't bleed much, and it rolled quietly into the crowd.

"snort!"

The red-haired Taoist narrowed his eyes and waved his hand.

"Men, throw him into a mass grave and feed him to the dogs!"

After he uttered those words, no one dared to approach and disturb Wong Tai Sin's corpse. The officials and guards were all trembling with fear at the Red-Haired Taoist's disrespectful aura.

Upon seeing this, the red-haired Taoist's eyebrows furrowed, his hands forming a sword incantation, and his long sword pointed towards the heavens:

"Anyone who dares to disobey will be executed on the spot!"

Upon hearing this, the trembling guards stepped forward, crouched low, and hurriedly lifted Huang Daxian's body, picked up his fallen head, and ran away from the execution platform in a flash.

The crowd fell silent, waiting for the red-haired Taoist to finish venting his anger, sheathe his sword, and sway away before the matter was considered closed.

After noon, the sky gradually darkened.

Li Hu arrived at the mass grave and, together with Yan Yang, dug up the newly filled soil and pulled out Huang Daxian's body.

Beside them was a crying little girl, the very same one whom Wong Tai Sin had instructed on the execution platform.

"Don't worry, little girl. We're looking for something on your brother, and we'll be leaving right away," Yan Yang said with a smile, calling out to the little girl from afar.

The little girl held a rusty knife in her hand, standing at a distance, quiet and not saying a word.

She would occasionally wipe away a few tears, her eyes fixed on Li Hu and Yan Yang's actions, remaining motionless.

Li Hu ignored him and focused on digging the hole.

The immortal Wong Tai Sin has already ascended to heaven. Judging by the time, the evil spirits on his body should have emerged by now.

Li Hu's purpose in this search was to find the evil spirit Huang Daxian, lest he suffer the same fate as his two three corpses in the future.

And it must be done quickly.

But to avoid damaging the body, Li Hu could only dig with his bare hands, and couldn't even bring himself to use any tools.

After a while, they finally found Huang Daxian's coarse cloth clothes in the mud. When they lifted them up, they saw Huang Daxian lying neatly and properly in the pit, covered in wounds.

Li Hu even wanted to drag the entire body out and search it thoroughly.

Just then, a group of refugees squeezed in from a path in the distance.

These people were quite different from the emaciated people in the city. They all had red eyes and fierce expressions. Although their bodies were thin, they still had some spirit.

"Get out of the way! This rice meat is ours!" the leader shouted.

They charged forward in a swarm, carrying short sticks. Upon seeing this, Yan Yang hurriedly drew his sword and confronted them from a distance.

When the little girl saw this, she wanted to run away, but the group blocked her way. She hurriedly turned back and hid behind Li Hu, trembling.

"Kid, do you know these people?" Li Hu asked gently.

"They...they were just like us, fleeing famine from northern Anhui." The little girl clutched Li Hu's clothes tightly, her voice distorted.

"But... if someone starves to death on the road, they will rush over and snatch the body. My father's body was stolen by them."

The little girl burst into tears, clearly very sad, but she was trying her best to control her voice, obviously terrified.

It goes without saying what the refugees were trying to do by snatching the corpses; upon hearing this, Yan Yang closed his eyes in despair.

"Tiger, leave these men to me."

Yan Yang turned around, picked up his sword, and walked up. Although his martial arts skills were average, they were more than enough to deal with some emaciated refugees.

"Kill him."

The leader of the refugees waved his hand and spoke frankly to the group behind him.

That group of refugees took up arms and went to war. At this moment when Wong Tai Sin had just become an immortal, they dared to defy the world. They were really forced into this situation.

If they don't fight and eat, they won't survive.

Yan Yang showed no mercy, his longsword wielding with impenetrable skill, easily taking down several opponents in the first round.

With so many people, there was a lot of blood splattered. Yan Yang felt as if it were raining, with tiny particles hitting his face everywhere.

He wanted to make another move, but after a few rounds, he suddenly realized that the refugees around him were ignoring him and staring blankly at the sky. Yan Yang found it strange, so he distanced himself and also looked up at the sky.

The sky was overcast, and some white particles fell on his face; they didn't look like rain, nor did they look like blood.

He reached out and grabbed some long, plump grains of rice!

As far as Yan Yang could see, rice grains were falling, and before long, they had spread into a thin layer on the ground.

At that moment, rice rained down from the sky.

Yan Yang seemed to understand. This must have been sprinkled down by Gu Xiucheng, the immortal. Huang Daxian in heaven couldn't bear to see them fighting each other with swords, so even though they were wicked people who were desperate for food, he chose to send down rice rain.

Of course, it could also be the work of Wong Tai Sin's evil spirits, who knows? In any case, it's inextricably linked to him.

"Tiger Lord, this..."

Yan Yang felt he could no longer hold the sword. He looked at the people he had just killed, somewhat bewildered, and turned to Li Hu to ask.

"Come back, it's alright."

Li Hu looked up and was somewhat surprised by the rain of rice, but only for a moment before he quickly came to his senses.

There have been too many unusual things happening these days, and he doesn't quite understand anything that's related to immortals.

That's so strange, so strange.

Besides, there's not much time for him to think it over carefully right now.

The most urgent task is to find a new Brother Huang.

So Li Hu continued to squat down and anxiously search Huang Daxian's body.

After a while, he finally found a black bean in Wong Tai Sin's pocket.

Of all his possessions, besides this tattered garment, all that remained was this black bean.

Li Hu understood immediately; this was Huang Daxian, who had transformed into an evil spirit.

Since becoming a malevolent spirit, Li Hu has long noticed that he is exceptionally sensitive to the difference between pure and turbid energy. He is almost certain that this is a malevolent spirit, just one that has not yet awakened.

Li Hu silently tucked the black bean into his pocket, stood up, and looked at the group of refugees standing somewhat dazed in the rice rain.

The refugees, who had been baring their teeth and brandishing their claws, looked at the Wong Tai Sin statue that had been dug out of the mass grave from afar, their faces covered in tears, and one after another they knelt down.

The cries of wailing and lamentation blended together as they gleefully shoveled rice from the ground, their wails echoing across the field like a horde of madmen.

Li Hu turned his head away, ignoring all of this.

He knew that Gu Xian must be watching this space right now, so he looked up, clasped his hands in a salute to the sky, and then quickly left with Yan Yang.

He was unsure what the attitude and relationship would be between the immortal Huang Mingzi and the evil spirit Huang Daxian.

But the most urgent task is to save the life of this black bean!

Li Hu and Yan Yang fled, passing through Zhongzhou City again. They took a shortcut through the alley to avoid the crowds and exited the city through the south gate, intending to circle back to the bamboo forest where Qi Yuehong and the others were.

As we passed through the city, we saw a scene of jubilation everywhere.

This rice rain caused quite a stir throughout the city. Although it only lasted for a short while, every household painstakingly collected all the rice on the ground. On average, everyone received a small half-jar of rice, and this did not even include the area outside the city.

This food should be enough to sustain the people here until the autumn harvest.

Li Hu also admired Gu Xian. After sighing for a while, he found a secluded place, changed back into his original brocade robe, and quickly left the city.