Nine Netherworld Demon Subduing Record

A cold wind swept across the willows along the bank. Fu Qing sat on the stairs, watching the passersby. Those who came were full of hope, while those who left were mostly dejected.

Fu Qing wasn't too disappointed with the result. He hadn't held out much hope to begin with; he'd only come to broaden his horizons. The world was vast, and he believed he would eventually find out the truth. Becoming a Daoist Master was just a means to an end; he only wanted that one result.

Aside from the fact that he still occasionally vomits.

"What exactly are they feeding me? It can't be harmful, can it?" Fu Qing wondered anxiously.

Not long after, Fu Qing heard two footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Chen Xing'an and Bai Yi walking over.

Although Bai Yi still looked as energetic as ever, Fu Qing clearly felt that Bai Yi was a little different. Even though he was right in front of her, he still had a somewhat unreal feeling.

"How is it?" he asked hurriedly.

Fu Qing shook her head. Seeing this, she said, "You don't seem very disappointed. It's okay. You don't have to become a Taoist master to live a good life. You know so many characters. Even if you take the imperial examination, I believe you can pass it."

Bai Yi was clearly unaware of the crux of Fu Qing's concern, and offered this comfort.

"Let's go first. Thank you for your help today. Let me treat you to a meal," Fu Qing said.

Chen Xing'an pondered for a moment and said, "Next time. Bai Yi just broke through and needs to go back and digest it."

"Breakthrough?" Fu Qing suddenly realized why Bai Yi seemed different.

"Then congratulations, Master Bai." Fu Qing cupped his hands in greeting.

But she gave a mischievous smile and asked Fu Qing: "Would you like to try it out?"

"Experience?" Fu Qing was a little stunned. Although she didn't know what kind of experience it was, judging from Bai Yi's personality, he was probably going to play a prank again.

After mentally preparing himself, Fu Qing said, "Okay."

"Then close your eyes."

"Blindfolded again?" Fu Qing was quite puzzled, but still closed his eyes.

"Combine!" Bai Yi's voice rang out.

But after that sound, there was no sound for quite a while.

After a while, seeing no sound, Fu Qing asked curiously, "Is it done?"

No one answered.

He waited there for about two more minutes and asked again. When no one answered, Fu Qing slightly opened his eyes.

With just one glance, his heart trembled violently.

Before them lay the depths of the netherworld, shrouded in mist, with scattered ruins and broken walls.

"Am I... back here again?"

At this moment, Fu Qing felt a little excited. But he was more nervous than excited. He was afraid that the black-faced ghost would appear around him again, so he walked very carefully to avoid making a sound.

After walking several dozen meters forward, Bai Yi's voice suddenly rang out from all around.

"Leave!"

Fu Qing's vision suddenly changed, he shuddered, and opened his eyes again.

Before him lay a lake, willow branches swaying in the wind and brushing against the back of his hand. He looked down at his feet and saw a bottomless expanse of water.

He actually walked more than ten meters away.

He turned his head and saw Bai Yi looking at him triumphantly. Fu Qing then realized that he must have been under an illusion.

After marveling at the Taoist master's strangeness, Fu Qing stepped forward to greet him.

"How was it? Fun, right?"

Fu Qing nodded with a wry smile; the scene just now was almost indistinguishable from reality.

What's even stranger is that even though I was fully prepared, I didn't suspect anything when I fell into the illusion.

"That's amazing."

Bai Yi looked smug, but Chen Xing'an calmly said, "Alright, we've done what we needed to do. Let's go back now."

With a wave of his hand, the armadillo beast by the roadside dragged its body over. Chen Xing'an stepped onto the beast-drawn carriage and then beckoned Bai Yi and Fu Qing to get on.

-

"What kind of magic was that you just used?" Fu Qing asked.

At this moment, the beast-drawn carriage was crossing the lake shore, and Bai Yi excitedly transformed his arm into the shape of purple mist, observing it closely.

"The Six Separation and Union Techniques, huh? What's wrong?"

Chen Xing'an, holding the reins of the beast-drawn carriage, said without turning his head, "He's asking you what this trait is."

"Oh, as you can see, it's an illusion."

"Special trait?" This was the first time Fu Qing had heard this term. He had witnessed the power of the illusion, but he didn't know what this special trait was.

"Hmm... anyway, it's an ability given by a breakthrough." Then she patted Fu Qing on the shoulder and said generously, "If anyone bullies you in the future, just come to me, and I guarantee I'll scare them so badly they'll run away with their tails between their legs."

I've noticed that you two good partners both quite like patting people on the shoulder," Fu Qing said, nudging Bai Yi's arm.

-

The carriage quickly arrived at the gate of the Imperial Household Department. Fu Qing jumped off the carriage, said goodbye to the two, and watched the carriage disappear into the alley before turning around and entering the department.

He was dressed in the clothes from the laundry room, and the guards on both sides remained unmoved and did not stop him in the slightest. Fu Qing greeted the two men, and they returned the greeting with smiles.

His dream of becoming a Daoist master was shattered, and he had to get back to his current tasks. After tidying up for a while, he returned to the library. The six-armed old woman was still there by the dark table. She nodded happily when she saw him return.

"Since becoming a Taoist master is not feasible, it would be better to prepare for the imperial examinations first. Perhaps once you become an official, you will have more opportunities to engage with different things."

"I just don't understand how the examinations for official rank work in this world. Is it the same as the imperial examinations in ancient times?"

The afternoon's work was quickly finished, and that evening Fu Qing lay on the wooden box, his mind wandering.

As drowsiness washed over him, just as Fu Qing was about to turn off the light and go to sleep, he suddenly felt his heart tighten.

This feeling was something Fu Qing had never experienced before. With that powerful heartbeat, Fu Qing felt his blood rushing to his head, followed by a tingling sensation in his limbs.

He sat up abruptly, clutching his chest with his right hand.

As a modern person, Fu Qing understood very well that any abnormality in the heart area could be fatal. Fu Qing dared not be careless, but he didn't know what to do, since there were no emergency medical organizations like 120 here.

After calming down for a while, Fu Qing suspected that the heartbeat was just disordered due to fatigue.

"Perhaps he's just been too tired these past few days?" Fu Qing wondered.

This surprise didn't last long; soon, an even stronger heartbeat came.

"Thump!"

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock knock!"

Her heartbeat quickened, and with each heartbeat, Fu Qing's face grew paler and paler.

He struggled to get up, but found that he had completely lost his strength and collapsed straight into the pile of debris.

He tried to call for help, but his throat felt like it was stuck, and he couldn't make a sound until his whole face turned red and then turned a liverish color.

"Help...help...who...me..."

Fu Qing's vision blurred, gradually turning black. He could no longer hear any sound, only the piercing ringing in his ears and the pounding of his heart like a war drum.

"Knock knock knock knock!"

The only thing he could feel now was the excruciating pain in his body, as if it were being torn apart, especially in his chest, where it felt like his bones were being ripped out.

His limbs became stiff and began to twitch uncontrollably.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt something breaking through his body. It felt as if a vengeful ghost was hiding inside him, and his body was its shell. It was tearing open the shell, trying to break out of his body.

Finally, a black substance that was growing strangely appeared before Fu Qing's eyes. Although he was still in pain, he had regained some control over his body.

With trembling hands, he supported himself and stumbled to the mirror. It was a smooth copper basin, something Fu Qing had taken from the pile of junk to use as a mirror.

Fu Qing glanced at her reflection in the mirror with only a blurry view.

His pupils suddenly shrank.

In the mirror, he saw himself covered in black lines, extending from his heart to every part of his body, leaving almost no good skin visible. With each heartbeat, these lines would twitch.

He saw that his pupils had also become strange, turning bright silver, with what appeared to be tiny runes flashing inside.

He stroked the "center" on his chest, and as his fingers touched it, the center turned gold, and all the black lines on his body turned gold as well.

This was the last sight Fu Qing saw, accompanied by that extremely powerful heartbeat.

"Thump!"

Fu Qing's vision went black, and she lost consciousness.