Chapter 34: Possessed by Evil Spirits?
“I didn’t expect you to have such a talent for martial arts. How did you train?” Fang Qinglan asked curiously.
She had once said that Li Yanchu’s aptitude in martial arts was average at best, that he’d never amount to much in that field. At most, he’d be able to take on three or four ordinary people. She hadn’t expected to be proven so completely wrong, and so quickly.
Li Yanchu replied, “I just kept training and… suddenly broke through?”
“…” Fang Qinglan instantly regretted asking this question. She shouldn’t have asked!
Li Yanchu walked up to her and said, “You’re still injured… How about I carry you back?”
Fang Qinglan’s cheeks flushed. She replied softly, “No need, I can manage on my own.”
Li Yanchu nodded. “Alright then, let’s go.”
With that, he turned and started walking.
Fang Qinglan was stunned. So I play a little coy, and you don’t even ask twice!?
Seeing Li Yanchu walking away, she hurried to follow. But the pain from her wounds still flared up with each step. Her expression changed involuntarily, and she let out a faint hiss of pain.
Hearing the sound, Li Yanchu turned around. “Maybe I should just carry you. If your wounds tear open again, it’ll take even more effort to fix them.”
This time, Fang Qinglan didn’t speak, she only gave the slightest nod in response.
Then, she saw Li Yanchu hand her a garment. It was one of her own clothes from her bundle.
“Put this on for now,” Li Yanchu said. “It’s not convenient for you to change with me standing here. We’re in the middle of nowhere, your clothes are torn up, and it won’t look good if people see you like this when we get back.”
Fang Qinglan pursed her lips, nodded, and took the clothing from him.
Li Yanchu said, “Let me do it. Be careful with your arm.”
With that, he casually draped the clothing over Fang Qinglan’s shoulders and helped her put it on.
“Good thing I brought your bundle along,” he added with a grin. “Otherwise, if I’d had to cover you with my Daoist robe, people might’ve thought I did something to you.”
Fang Qinglan blushed and spat lightly, “Nothing but nonsense from that mouth of yours.”
Li Yanchu didn’t mind in the least. He turned around, crouched down, and carried Fang Qinglan on his back, then headed toward Wei City.
Resting against Li Yanchu’s back, breathing in his clean, comforting scent, Fang Qinglan felt a rare sense of peace and security. Feeling how considerate he was, she couldn’t help being a little touched. She let out a long, relaxed sigh.
As they passed by a rundown temple along the way, they happened to encounter a group of armed constables conducting a search. They had just entered the ruined temple and were stunned to find the two jianghu men lying in pools of blood.
An older constable gasped, “That looks like the Black Fiend, Zhang Linghu!”
A wave of noise and astonishment followed.
The Black Fiend, Zhang Linghu was once a notorious fugitive. He had slaughtered twenty-seven people in a single night years ago, and all of them had died horribly. He’d disappeared without a trace ever since. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the older constable had been the one handling the case back then, even he might not have recognized the man.
The constables were shocked. Zhang Linghu was once a well-known martial arts expert. And yet now, his arm was severed, and his spine was shattered; he was a cripple. Only then did the constables notice Li Yanchu walking over with Fang Qinglan on his back.
“It’s Daoist Master Yanchu and Miss Qinglan!” a startled cry rang out.
The saber-wielding constables all rushed forward.
Fang Qinglan was young, beautiful, skilled in swordsmanship, and carried herself with a cool, aloof temperament. She fit the image of a jianghu heroine perfectly. Serving as a leader in Wei City’s constabulary had already left these constables in awe of her. Now that she’d gone missing, everyone had been deeply concerned.
Seeing her reappear on Li Yanchu’s back, many of the constables suddenly had a moment of realization.
“No wonder Zhang Linghu looked so familiar in his miserable state, turns out it was Daoist Master Yanchu’s handiwork.”
They all vividly remembered how Li Yanchu had broken the arms and legs of Liang Qi at the Taiping Inn. Such ruthless, no-nonsense methods were brutal but efficient, and it left a strong impression on them.
When Li Yanchu mentioned he had killed another one earlier, the constables were even more stunned.
“Daoist Master Yanchu is truly fierce and ruthless.”
They were quite experienced in handling these situations and quickly sent someone to report the matter.
Meanwhile, Li Yanchu carried Fang Qinglan back to Wei City. When the innkeeper saw her younger sister return, she let out a long sigh of relief and hurried to send for a physician.
After delivering Fang Qinglan back to the inn, Li Yanchu returned to Qingyun Temple.
***
“The Five Lakes Gang, huh?” Li Yanchu sat boldly at his table, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected that this time, the threat wouldn’t come from evil spirits, but from human malice.
The ambush set by the Five Lakes Gang’s second-in-command against Fang Qinglan left Li Yanchu somewhat uneasy. He couldn’t be sure whether this had been that man’s personal action, or something carried out under the orders of the gang leader.
Just then, a contemplative look crossed his face.
***
News of Li Yanchu’s actions quickly spread throughout Wei City, and his name once again stirred waves across the city. As he walked down the streets, many people looked at him with different expressions now. This was someone who had killed wanted criminals.
The authorities had posted a public notice: the man who died was named Lu Dayuan, also a notorious fugitive. He had once been the leader of a mountain bandit stronghold, infamous for pillaging, killing, and committing every imaginable evil. After an army assault was launched to wipe them out, he had escaped.
Both he and the Black Fiend, Zhang Linghu, were wanted by the government. Who would’ve thought that after coming to Wei City, one would end up dead and the other crippled?
As for the matter of the Five Lakes Gang’s second-in-command, the gang claimed complete ignorance and promptly sent people to smooth things over. In the end, the Five Lakes Gang avoided any consequences.
Of course, this was also partly because Magistrate Xu was somewhat wary of the gang, which controlled the docks and river trade.
Twenty years ago, the Five Lakes Gang’s leader had been the strongest martial artist in Wei City. Though he had aged and gradually withdrawn from the jianghu, the gang’s influence remained powerful and continued to inspire caution. Li Yanchu learned of this through Magistrate Xu, who once again rewarded him at the yamen.
However, Magistrate Xu also used this opportunity to send a subtle warning to the Five Lakes Gang. Whether or not they were truly involved behind the scenes, for the time being, Fang Qinglan’s safety was no longer a concern. If anything, since the gang now wanted to distance themselves from the incident, they would more likely assign people to protect Fang Qinglan instead.
This time, Li Yanchu unexpectedly received one hundred merit points, which caught him a bit off guard.
“So it’s not just slaying evil spirits that earns merit, even killing vicious criminals works too?”
However, Li Yanchu felt it probably wasn’t that simple. After all, cultivating through killing could easily lead one down the demonic path. There was no guarantee that such deeds would always bring merit, so he didn’t place too much importance on it. His main focus remained on battling evil spirits and monsters.
***
Three days passed.
At this time, Li Yanchu was seated in meditation at the temple, cultivating using the methods in the Yellow Court Classic. During his breathwork and energy circulation, the technique also helped calm and center the mind.
He kept a full daily schedule, and his training of the Deity Summoning Art was steadily advancing.
The three martial arts he had mastered—Primordial Chaos Technique, Divine Astral Hands, and Six Yang Saber Art—had all been trained to their peak. He had officially stepped into the level of a second-rate expert.
Just then, an unexpected business request came knocking.
A wealthy merchant family in the city, the Feng family, was reportedly experiencing supernatural disturbances, throwing the household into panic. They had sent someone specifically to Qingyun Temple to invite Li Yanchu to take charge.
With its convenient river routes, Wei City had a thriving economy and was considered a prosperous region overall.
The Feng family was one of the city’s prominent clans, dealing in medicinal herbs and possessing considerable wealth.
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