The ultimate master in the city

Upon hearing this, Monk Yuanzhi felt uneasy and whispered, "Since things are so complicated, perhaps we should... stay out of it?"

Zhou Fengchen shook his head. "Now that they've come knocking, it's not just meddling anymore. We can't hide even if we wanted to, you believe me?"

Monk Yuanzhi asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhou Fengchen said, "There's a little ghost inside this carp. What ability does it have to know I'm here? That's ridiculous. There must be some ghostly thing that told it. I cultivate the Taoist Three Powers Returning to Origin Technique, maintaining my virgin yang body and possessing a sharp and righteous aura. Only mountain gods or ghost messengers can sense it."

Monk Yuanzhi swallowed hard. "So, what are you planning to do?"

Zhou Fengchen glanced at the proprietress next to him and whispered, "I'm exhausted after traveling for days. Let's have a good meal and drink first, then get a good night's sleep. We'll talk about it when the carp appears in my dream."

After discussing it, the two followed Old Man Xu and his family into the small villa. On the bed in a side room on the first floor lay a seven or eight-year-old girl who was unconscious. She had sparse fish scales on her forehead, which looked very natural and very strange.

Old Xu's eldest son lifted the blanket, pointed to the little girl's upper body, and turned to Zhou Fengchen, saying, "There's one here too. What should we do?"

Old Xu and the rest of his family members also looked over with intense eyes, as if to say, "If you're a master, then show us what you've got!"

Zhou Fengchen chuckled lightly, "Bring a basin of water and place it in front of the child's head."

Old Xu's eldest son hurriedly fetched a basin of cold water and placed it on the cabinet in front of the little girl's head.

Zhou Fengchen pinched out a talisman, placed it in the basin, and then made a handprint on the little girl's Guanyuan, Shenque, Huagai, and brow. Afterward, he patted the little girl's crown and gently pulled her into the basin.

A miraculous scene unfolded: a wisp of pale blue smoke suddenly emanated from the little girl's crown, attempting to dissipate. However, it was drawn into the water by the talisman in the basin, and soon the entire basin of water turned pale blue.

The fish scales on the little girl's body visibly disappeared, her fever subsided, and her breathing became even.

Zhou Fengchen clapped his hands and looked at the stunned Xu family, then explained, "It's nothing serious, it was just that the carp's yin energy was tainted, which is commonly known as being tainted by dirt."

Monk Yuanzhi cursed indignantly, "That big carp is no good either; it even harms children!"

"Duke Zhou is amazing!" The Xu family didn't understand these things, and their expressions changed instantly. They became extremely respectful. After all, there is a huge difference between boasting and real skills. This was a true master.

Old Xu hurriedly went to fetch chairs, then shouted to his family, "Don't just stand there, get some cigarettes and tea!"

A group of people bustled around, getting cigarettes and water. After they sat down, Old Xu asked with a forced smile, "So, what's next? Do you need any rituals performed?"

Monk Yuanzhi scoffed, "What kind of ritual are you performing? Haven't you seen us traveling all day in this heavy snow without eating anything?"

Zhou Fengchen didn't stand on ceremony and said, "That's right! Isn't this big carp looking for me? Let it come to see me tonight. Now let's get some food and prepare a place for it to sleep."

The Xu family hurriedly prepared a large table of dishes. Zhou Fengchen and his two companions released Chu Xiaoling and her son, then concealed themselves and enjoyed a hearty meal together. After finishing, they wiped their mouths and told the Xu family to go about their business before entering the prepared room.

There were two rooms in total. The landlady shared one room with Chu Xiaoling and her son, while Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi shared the other. Since it was still early, the three of them and the two ghosts chatted together for a while.

Zhou Fengchen asked the landlady, "It should be okay if we're delayed by two days, right?"

The proprietress gave a wry smile. "Xiao Zhou, I've been feeling uneasy ever since I got to this area. It's like something bad is about to happen. If it's not necessary, let's not cause any more trouble."

Sometimes, only those directly involved can sense these premonitions. Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi exchanged a glance and said, "Then let's try to hurry?"

The proprietress nodded.

Zhou Fengchen then instructed Chu Xiaoling and her son, "You two should get some sleep later. Don't worry about anything you see, especially Xiaobao!"

Chu Xiaoling pulled Xiaobao aside and pouted, "I know, as if anyone wants to care."

After the landlady took Chu Xiaoling and her son back to their room, Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi soaked their feet in hot water, lay on the bed and chatted. Monk Yuanzhi, who always slept very well, said "Haha, this is so funny" and then started snoring the next second.

Zhou Fengchen also wanted to go to sleep early, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He finally drifted off in the middle of the night.

Just as I was falling asleep, a giant fish head appeared before my eyes, letting out a grotesque laugh and opening its massive jaws to bite. "Are you the Duke of Zhou (the god of sleep)? Let me eat you!"

Zhou Fengchen shouted fiercely, "You ungrateful wretch, get out of my way!"

The fish's head snapped open, and it tumbled out with a thud. It flipped over, revealing its carp body, and its pair of fish eyes stared intently at Zhou Fengchen. "Lord Zhou, please don't be angry! I was wrong, I was wrong! I shouldn't have tested you!"

Zhou Fengchen shouted again, "You dog, kneel down!"

Fish don't kneel, do they? But this big carp immediately pressed its two pectoral fins to the ground, lowered its head, and really looked like it was kneeling, wailing loudly, "I'm innocent! I'm Zhang Feng from Willow Town ahead. My family runs a food processing business. I'm an innocent human being, but a monster cast a spell and turned me into a fish! Please, God of Zhou, save me!"

"An innocent person like him would cause trouble?" Zhou Fengchen cursed. He wasn't really interested in how the guy turned into a fish; he was more curious about how this guy knew he was there. He asked, "You're just a lonely soul. How did you manage to find out I was here? Who told you? If you dare to tell a lie, don't even think about being human. I'll beat you to a pulp!"

The giant carp trembled slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "I dare not hide it from the Duke of Zhou. I was cast a spell by a monster and turned into a giant carp in the Tuo River. However, at night, my soul can leave my body and wander around, but I dare not go too far because there are always wandering ghosts that want to eat me."

A couple of days ago, I ran out of Old Xu's pond for a stroll and was chased by a weasel. In my panic, I ran onto a strange road with many purple flowers growing by the roadside. Then I saw a group of people carrying a large sedan chair by. I was running too fast and bumped into a woman who looked like a maid. Then several men took whips and tried to beat me to death.

Later, a man wearing a hat and a long robe, holding a book, stopped them, pulled me aside, and said to me, "Are you courting death? How dare you offend the carriage of the Immortal King of Bazhong Mountain?"

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".