Day and night tour

Chapter 439 Fishing for Ghosts and Barbarians
The angler was a middle-aged man.
The person holding the paper doll, though eerie, can be identified upon closer inspection as a woman.

Zhou Xuan wasn't quite sure where the two men came from, so he gestured with his lip towards them and asked Lu Xingzhou.
"Mr. Lu, who are that angler and that person holding the paper figure...? They seem to have ill intentions."

These two men, though their behavior was strange, didn't sneak in; they entered the street openly and boldly.

Since they made no attempt to conceal their presence, Lu Xingzhou, with his extremely high combat power, was naturally able to detect the whereabouts of the two.

Without even glancing at him, he said to Zhou Xuan, "We don't have many main halls in Huangyuan Prefecture, only two. One is the 'Ba People,' and the other is our Bitter Ghosts."

What is the main hall?

Zhou Xuan asked Lu Xingzhou.

"The gods and otherworldly beings linked to them are celestial deities, specifically the ones behind the 'Ba people' in the main hall, called 'Tianjun.'"

This name needs no further introduction; Zhou Xuan is very familiar with it.

He once gave Gu Ling a tattoo—a white tiger head.

The white tiger head is a symbol of "slaying the king".

This "King of Annihilation" can travel between the human world and the underworld, and control the wandering dead.

"That angler was the second-in-command of the 'Ba people,' named Wan Guiyi. He wasn't fishing for fish; he was fishing for the souls of the dead, invisible to the naked eye."

"Within Huangyuan Prefecture, besides the 'Ba people' and 'bitter ghosts,' further back in the line of halls are the 'corpse drivers.'"

Lu Xingzhou explained to Zhou Xuan, "Corpse-driving techniques include methods to control corpses, and they are also extremely skilled at raising zombies. They also have divine fighting techniques. The otherworldly ghost linked to them has already reached the nine-incense-stick level, making them quite formidable."

The woman holding the paper doll, Madam Jiang, possessed a paper doll capable of summoning Five Elements Dry Corpses; she was a formidable opponent.

"What brings them here?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"It's still unclear."

Lu Xingzhou said, "However, the birth of Pisces is such a crucial moment, and the fact that the two of them came here so openly must be related to Pisces."

"If they come to steal my Pisces..."

"Don't worry about that. With me, Lu Xingzhou, here, they won't be able to take Pisces away from us."

Lu Xingzhou was extremely confident in his artistic career.

"With Mr. Lu's words, I can rest assured."

Zhou Xuan no longer focused his attention on Lady Jiang and Wan Guiyi, but stood in front of the fish-cutting platform, preparing to distribute the remaining fish meat in an orderly manner.

"There isn't much fish left, but there's still a fair amount. Everyone, please line up to get yours."

"The elderly, women and children should come first, and those with serious illnesses in their families should be given priority. If you want to take my things, just follow the order I set."

Zhou Xuan waved his folding fan and spoke slowly.

As he spoke, a faint red mist spread across the street, and the entire population stood within it.

This mist from the "Red Fish" contains an ominous aura; if inhaled, it will make a person irritable and restless.

A once frail scholar, who wouldn't even dare to raise his voice in an argument, turned into a shrew after inhaling the mist, and might even be ready to fight back fiercely.

People who are normally fierce become emboldened to kill after inhaling the red mist.

Distributing the remaining fish and meat without causing any trouble is not an easy task.

Sure enough, when Zhou Xuan proposed the principle of "dividing the fish," some people objected, waving their chisels and shouting.

"Why should I listen to you? I'm almost there, and if we follow your logic of giving priority to the elderly, women, and children, then I won't get any fish. Tell me, why?"

The man became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his face turning red.

Zhou Xuan turned around abruptly, flicked his finger slightly, and a white bone tooth flew out, pressing against the man's brow.

The person who had been questioning him still had a lot of anger to vent, but when the bone fangs hung there like snakes, he suddenly felt that the fish and meat didn't matter anymore; being alive was the most important thing.

He regained his senses and stopped speaking. Zhou Xuan asked slowly and deliberately, "Continue, why are you not talking?"

Those who had doubted him lowered their heads.

Zhou Xuan continued speaking to the crowd: "He just asked me why I should listen to him!"
I've made it crystal clear: does Huangyuan Prefecture not disregard the law and listen to whoever has the biggest fist?
"Here... my fist is the biggest. That was just a small warning, but from now on, if anyone breaks the rules I've set, I'll show no mercy. Line up!"

Eighty percent of his words were addressed to the common people who were fishing, while the remaining twenty percent were meant for Madam Jiang and Wan Guiyi.

Madam Jiang remained calm, standing under a sycamore tree, looking up at the falling leaves, seemingly unmoved by Zhou Xuan's words.

But Wan Guiyi's expression changed.

In the coming years in Huangyuan Prefecture, the only ones who will have the opportunity to take down the "Bitter Ghosts'" shrines are the "Ba People".

Strictly speaking, the Ba people were not a clan or shrine, but rather a tribe. They originated from Dongba County in Huangyuan Prefecture, and the surnames "Wan" and "Qian" were the most common among this branch of the Ba people.

These clan-based shrines are more united and ambitious than ordinary shrines.

The desire to hold the top position in Huangyuan Prefecture has never diminished.

Zhou Xuan's words just now affected the distribution of power in Huangyuan, so Wan Guiyi was naturally unhappy.

Since they were unhappy, and given the Ba people's lawless behavior in Huangyuan, sometimes even disregarding the suffering ghosts, they naturally had to retaliate.

He gently shook the fishing rod in his hand, causing several unseen souls to attach themselves to the bodies of a few ordinary people.

There's a saying in this world that people are "bewitched by ghosts." When a ghost enters a person's body, the possessed person starts causing trouble, clamoring for a share of the fish and disregarding the rules Zhou Xuan had just established.
Even with the advice of their relatives and friends, they completely ignored Zhou Xuan's scorching gaze.

This was Wan Guiyi's move—to sow discord and put Zhou Xuan in an awkward position.

Zhou Xuan, don't you think you're qualified to set order? I'll cause some trouble for you and see how you maintain your order.

But his slight movement of turning the fishing rod just now did not escape Zhou Xuan's eyes.

Zhou Xuan sneered inwardly. He was looking for someone to establish his authority, and now one had delivered himself to his doorstep.

What is meant by establishing authority?

If you don't kill a few people, and don't let the crimson blood stain a warning sign on the street, what kind of authority are you trying to establish?

Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan immediately put on the mask of the Dao Ancestor, and with a "Dragon Walk and Tiger Step," a dragon-like aura rose from the ground, the wind and clouds changed color, and the noisy people were forced to prostrate on the ground.
At the same time, he increased his footing force again, and the dragon's power entered the bodies of the people.

The possessing, malevolent spirit, terrified of the dragon's power, hastily fled without its master's command.

Upon seeing this, Wan Guiyi was also afraid that his lost souls would be harmed, so he hurriedly grabbed a fishing rod to fish. However, before he could exert any force, Zhou Xuan pointed with his right hand and condensed the "Boundless Sage" from the Valley Scripture.

The power of a sage can destroy the strongest things in the world, let alone a few small, dead souls.

“Those sneaky and despicable people dare to act presumptuously in front of a sage.”

With a shout, Zhou Xuan concentrated his saintly aura at his fingertips and unleashed it instantly, shattering those few souls into dust.

"you!"

Wan Guiyi, having suffered a setback, was still unwilling to give up and turned his gaze toward Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan, however, put his hands behind his chest and said coldly, "Wan Guiyi, how dare you! I have established rules for distributing fish, and you are assigning dead souls to disturb my peace."

These words further enraged Wan Guiyi.

He was angry not because Zhou Xuan had reprimanded him, but because—in Huangyuan Prefecture, only he could utter such condescending words and act in this manner!
"You stole my lines?"

Wan Guiyi's figure fell silently from the tree to the ground like a falling leaf. As soon as he landed firmly, he immediately questioned Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan then said, "Didn't I just say that anyone who breaks my rules will be executed without mercy?"

The moment the word "斩" (chop/slay) was uttered,

Wan Guiyi almost burst out laughing—"Kill me? Kill me on the territory of Huangyuan Prefecture?"

Do you know who I am...?

Wan Guiyi had only spoken halfway when Yun Ziliang stepped forward. His Taoist robe fluttered in the wind, nine large dragon cloud patterns on it stirred restlessly, his powerful aura no longer concealed. The leaves of the plane trees along the entire street were swept off their branches and fluttered about in the strong wind.

Yun Ziliang said with a sneer, "If my master wants to kill you, then I will kill you."

After sensing the overwhelming aura, Wan Guiyi immediately realized that Zhou Xuan's words "determine no mercy" were not just empty talk; he was serious.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of panic flashed through his mind.
Fortunately, this panic was neither long-lasting nor very intense; the reputation of the Ba people of Huangyuan Prefecture was the foundation of his confidence.

After forcibly calming his panic, he asked, "Do you know who I am? I am Wan Guiyi of the Ba people. Everything east of Huangyuan Prefecture is our Ba territory."

"So it was that old ghost Ba who pretended to be a sage. After you die, when you meet your ancestor 'Tianjun' in the depths of the underworld, remember to tell him that the one who killed you was Yun Ziliang, the Grand Master of Dragon Seeking of Hidden Dragon Mountain."

As soon as Yun Ziliang uttered his harsh words, his footwork changed, becoming as swift as a dragon and as powerful as a tiger, shrinking the distance to an inch.

He and Wan Guiyi were originally several tens of feet apart, but in an instant, he closed the distance to each other.
He had barely met Wan Guiyi when he drew an ancient-style "mountain" character on the ground with his right foot before disappearing again with his ghostly movements.

"What about people?"

Wan Guiyi was casting his rod towards Yun Ziliang. His empty rod appeared to be without hook or line, but it actually had a hook and line.
He used "incense as the thread, talismans as the hook, and blood as the bait"—a thread and hook capable of hooking into the depths of the living soul.
Once hooked firmly, it can pull the opponent's soul out of their body alive.

For many years, Wan Guiyi forcibly extracted the souls of many masters from their bodies, poured them into their bones, and turned them into objects to play with in his spare time.

But before he could even cast the hook, Yun Ziliang had vanished without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone.

He quickly released his senses to try and detect Yun Ziliang's figure, but unexpectedly, a shout came from above.
“Your Uncle Yun is here.”

Upon hearing the sound, Wan Gui looked up abruptly and saw a Taoist robe slowly descending from the sky, surrounded by nine large dragons.

A large dragon alone can add a touch of grandeur to Yun Ziliang's image.
The nine large dragons added nine points to Yun Ziliang's imposing presence.
The dragon and the human are integrated into one, creating an extremely impressive aura.

"Oh no, the dragon-seeking Taoist's dragon momentum has been formed."

Wan Gui initially intended to fish for Yun Ziliang's soul with a fishing rod, but upon further consideration, he realized that the opponent's aura had already reached its peak, and that engaging in direct combat would be a poor strategy.
"Let's retreat a bit and avoid their sharp edge."

Wan Gui tried to escape immediately, but after taking a step, he found that his feet could not move an inch.

He looked down and saw an ancient-style character for "mountain" on the ground.

The character "山" (mountain) seemed to be alive, having grown to a size of seven or eight meters square, its entire surface shimmering with ink.

These dark, lustrous colors, like clumps of sticky mud, tightly bound Wan Guiyi's feet.

In the past, this mud would only have confined Wan Gui for a short while, and he wouldn't have needed much effort to leave if he wanted to.

But now is the time for a life-or-death struggle. Let alone "a moment," even a moment of distraction could mean the difference between life and death.

"cunning."

After Wan Guiyi cursed under his breath, Yun Ziliang's overwhelming force arrived.

Nine great dragons, with the imposing presence of mountains, resemble a giant, rolling stone mill, grinding down from above.

Wan Guiyi, who originally intended to flee and had no intention of fighting back, now had his feet bound and could not escape. Moreover, the dragon's momentum gathered too quickly, leaving him no time to change his tactics.

"Hey, I lost."

With Wan Guiyi's defeat inevitable, his only thought now was to hope that his opponent would hold back after learning his identity and not kill him.

Stay safe as a human being so we can meet again in the future!
Unfortunately, neither Yun Ziliang nor Zhou Xuan believed in this "law of the Jianghu".

"Crack, click, click."

The sound of bones breaking echoed incessantly, causing the villagers who were collecting fish to retreat in fear.

Wan Guiyi was trampled until his bones were broken and his muscles were torn apart. He was reduced to a pile of flesh and barely had a breath left. He stared longingly at Yun Ziliang.

"Anyone who disrupts the order of my great master will be executed without mercy."

Without saying a word, Yun Ziliang immediately stomped on Wan Guiyi's head, crushing it, and then walked towards Li Changxun without looking back.

Li Changxun immediately cheered for Yun Ziliang.

"Grandmaster, you truly deserve to be called the number one Daoist sect in eight hundred years. This battle strategy is truly intricately linked."
First, they silently laid down the "Mountain Formation," then launched a surprise attack from one side to draw the old ghost's attention. Using this feint, the formation exploded, unleashing a dragon-like attack from both sides, swiftly slaying Wan Guiyi—a brilliant move.

"If you know how wonderful it is, then learn more about it in the future. People like you are wasting the exquisite skills of Xunlong Hall."

Yun Ziliang reprimanded him.

Wan Guiyi has already "submitted to the law." Zhou Xuan nodded and smiled at Yun Ziliang, then said to everyone, "Now let's continue distributing the fish. If anyone still disagrees with my rules, they can stand up and continue making trouble."

The look in everyone's eyes was now incredibly clear.

In their eyes, Wan Guiyi was practically a "god among men," and they killed such an old god without hesitation.
Ordinary people like them, who have no power to fight back, would probably die without even knowing how if they offended Zhou Xuan.

In an instant, the entire street was filled with an order never before seen in Huangyuan Prefecture, with everyone treating each other with respect and maintaining perfect order.

"Isn't the eldest gentleman a bit too fierce?"

Lu Xingzhou was speechless. He had even thought that Yun Ziliang would hold back, but he hadn't expected him to kill so cleanly and efficiently.

There is absolutely no room for maneuver.

He was tempted to persuade Zhou Xuan to leave. Since he had killed Wan Guiyi, he might as well let him go; it would only cause trouble for the Ba people.

Those Ba people are all vicious and bloodthirsty; Zhou Xuan would be best off leaving as soon as possible.

But in the past two days, he had been in contact with Zhou Xuan and knew his personality well—a person who was not afraid of anything, not even gods, so how could he be afraid of the Ba people?
Therefore, you can't persuade them to leave.

Lu Xingzhou didn't try to persuade them, but instead sent a secret message to the sect... All the disciples of the Water Village gathered in the center of the city to prevent the Ba people from resorting to desperate measures.

After the secret message was sent, Zhou Xuan pointed to the orderly line of fish handlers and said to Lu Xingzhou, "Mr. Lu, you see, the people of Huangyuan Prefecture are actually quite easy to manage. They are all very civilized."

"..." Lu Xingzhou.

He sighed and said, "Master, if I had your courage, I could have easily executed the second-in-command of the Ba people. I would have cured Huangyuan Prefecture long ago."

"Then you'll have to be like me from now on. You have to be lenient, but you also have to kill. If you don't kill a few chickens, some jumping monkeys will really think they're human."

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Lu Xingzhou sighed inwardly once more—"I, Lu, am no match for the great master of Mingjiang Prefecture."

……

As Zhou Xuan distributed the fish, the amount gradually decreased.

Meanwhile, Lady Jiang, standing under the sycamore tree, was becoming increasingly unsteady. Despite her calm demeanor, she was actually struggling internally.

At that moment, a young man wearing an oil-stained long shirt walked up to her and gently patted her shoulder.

"How dare you..." Madam Jiang was suddenly offended, and her anger flared up on the spot. The paper doll in her hand opened its eyes.
“Madam Jiang, Wan Guiyi died in your place.”

The young man said.

Madam Jiang immediately realized that this man was no ordinary person and asked, "Who are you?"

The young man wiped his hands on his oil-stained long robe and said, "If Wan Guiyi hadn't interfered, given your temper, you would have been the one to provoke Zhou Xuan first."
Tell me, didn't Wan Guiyi die in your place?

"who are you?"

Madam Jiang always felt that the young man's eyes were too deep, as if they held many inexplicable feelings, and she became increasingly curious about his identity.

The young man laughed and said, "You're here to steal Pisces too, right...? Wan Guiyi was killed quickly, and Zhou Xuan hasn't even made a move yet, Li Changxun hasn't made a move either, and Lu Xingzhou hasn't made a move either. Do you still have a chance?"

"So, you're here to steal the fish?"

"not quite."

The young man pulled a butcher's knife from his waist and said, "I originally came here to butcher pigs... I have no name, and those who know me call me the butcher!"

After he finished speaking, he waved to Zhou Xuan, then pointed at the knife and said, "Young Master Zhou, would you like to learn from me?"

"Later, later, I have something to do." Zhou Xuan pointed to the fish, speaking with a familiar smile, as if he were chatting with his good buddy about a workout session...

(End of this chapter)