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Chapter 479 Jiao Ya Liu

Jia Zongdao is Jia Zongdao, and also a water corpse.

The middle-aged man was a water corpse, and also Jia Zongdao.

A water corpse only has a "spirit" but no soul.

They become evil spirits, drifting in the canals, acting entirely on instinct.

After Jia Zongdao drowned, his soul and spirit left his body, but were captured by the evil spirits of the fake village. They were then reassembled using underworld methods, with one half given to Jia Zongdao and the other half to the water corpse.

Jia Zongdao and the water corpse were "resurrected".

Their memories, like their souls, are confused and disordered.

At the "appropriate" moment, Jia Zongdao remembered that he was a water corpse.

The water corpse will also remember, at the right time, that it is actually the shipwreck owner, "Jia Zongdao".

The "appropriate" time should be after Jia Zongdao's incident.

The fake village's evil spirits were arranged in several layers.

The first layer is guarded by Jia Zongdao.

He is the most suitable candidate.

If Jia Zongdao is exposed—discovered by the Exorcism Bureau—he will remember his identity as a "water corpse" and then turn on people in a bizarre manner.

The Bureau of Purification will surely execute him.

After that, the middle-aged porter who also lost his memory and was carrying bags at the dock will regain his memories.

Thinking he was "Jia Zongdao," he inquired about another "Jia Zongdao" in the city and eventually found the mortuary.

Once the time is right, the evil spirits of the fake village will take over everything from the middle-aged laborer and complete the final step of their plan.

This is what Xu Yuan deduced after talking with Jia Zongdao in the "Dreams Come True" carriage.

Most importantly, after being rescued from the bizarre incident, Jia Zongdao finally understood which parts of his memories truly belonged to him and which were forcibly inserted into his mind.

Among those unreal memories, there was even a part that Jia Zongdao and the water corpse unintentionally "shared" after entering Champa due to the connection between their souls!

Previously, Jia Zongdao also believed that these memories were his "past".

This shared memory helped Xu Yuan pinpoint the location of the water corpse.

Xu Haoran and Fu Jingyu escorted the middle-aged laborer back to the South City patrol post.

On the road, a middle-aged man, shackled and chained, walked slowly, the chains making a grating clanging sound as they dragged across the bluestone pavement.

The middle-aged laborer's eyes gradually became lost amidst the mechanical, repetitive sounds.

Upon reaching the gate of the South City Patrol Office, he suddenly regained his senses and stood before the gate, shouting, "Ah!"

He said urgently to Xu Haoran, "Sir, I remember who I am..."

Xu Haoran said calmly, "Your name is Jia Zongdao. You came to southern Jiaozhi to do business with a ship full of goods, but unfortunately, you were unlucky and the ship capsized. You and the entire ship of goods sank to the bottom of the river."

The middle-aged laborer was stunned: "You, you, how did you know...?"

Xu Haoran did not answer, but raised his hand and waved, signaling the captains to take the middle-aged laborer into prison.

Then he walked up to Mr. Feng, bowed his head and asked for guidance: "Teacher, I have some questions."

Mr. Feng said, "Speak."

"Like this water corpse, and Jia Zongdao, as well as the guardians of Lucheng and Liancheng, and the zombies who share their souls—are they considered living people?"

These "people" were brought back to life using underworld methods.

But they are already dead. They haven't passed through the gates of hell, walked the road to the underworld, climbed the platform of longing for home, looked into the Three Lives Stone, and then gone through the six realms of reincarnation to be reborn in the mortal world—so they can't be considered to have been reborn.

However, from another perspective, a person's "death" is determined by the underworld.

These people are now considered by the underworld to have "never died"!
Then they are still alive!

However, their souls are more or less incomplete.

But what if... the Exorcism Division acted swiftly and decisively this time, killing the City God's evil spirit first?

The hidden dangers in these people's bodies will never be "triggered".

They actually had the opportunity to continue living a relatively normal life.

So what exactly are they?

If Jia Zongdao and the middle-aged laborer are not "awakened" by evil spirits, they are both good people.

Even Jia Zongdao, due to his own abnormal behavior, took the initiative to "turn himself in" to Lord Xu.

Jia Zongdao was well aware that doing so would be extremely detrimental to him.

Xu Haoran felt a strong sense of pity for these people.

Mr. Feng stood with his hands behind his back under the gate of the South City Patrol Office, and sighed, "Similar situations are not uncommon in this world."

“Your grandmaster also told us that these… are human excrement.”

"They are no different from the deformed people in the streets and alleys who are created by those gangsters through the practice of harvesting and mutilating them."

"Your master's solution was to establish an almshouse to gather them together..."

Xu Haoran interrupted, "But wouldn't that also deprive them of their normal lives?"

This time, Mr. Feng also fell silent.

The master and apprentice stood under the gate, with the plaque of the "Department of Purification" hanging above their heads.

There was silence for a long while.

Finally, Mr. Feng said slowly, "Then there is only one solution: completely eradicate all evil spirits in the world!"

……

In Lucheng, Chen Tong would occasionally glance at the folded documents in his hand.

But they never received a reply from Xu Yuan.

Chen Tong frowned from time to time, various guesses arising in his mind:
Was it Dong Daiyun's incompetence?

Was it because Xu Yuan was young and successful, arrogant and dismissive of others, that he disregarded my reminder?
still is……

As he was speculating, one of his subordinates rushed in: "Sir, Lord Ma is here!"

Chen Tong jumped up and rushed out to greet them.

"Your subordinate, Chen Tong, the Chief Lawyer of Lucheng, respectfully welcomes the Commander!"

Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Tong and Ma Tianshou met face to face, and Chen Tong hurriedly paid his respects.

Ma Tianshou nodded: "No need for formalities. The matter is urgent. Let's go inside and talk."

Ma Tianshou led a group of men, their horses laden with calligraphy scrolls, and galloped to Lucheng.

After a brief private discussion in Chen Tong's office, the entire Lucheng Exorcism Division, led by Chen Tong, set out.

An hour later, they arrested a farmhand at the "Old Well Workshop" in Lucheng.

……

Ma Tianshou personally came to Lucheng because he was worried that Chen Tong would not submit to Xu Yuan.

If an order is given directly to Chen Tong to obey Xu Yuan's command, and Chen Tong outwardly complies but inwardly disobeys, it could ruin everything.

Ma Tianshou personally came to suppress Chen Tong.

As for Liancheng, they only sent Xiang Qinghuai.

The entire Liancheng Bureau obediently cooperated, not daring to offend Xiang Qinghuai, the commander's confidant.

After arresting the farmhand, Chen Tong led his team back to the yamen.

"Commander, you are truly diligent in your duties. In fact, I will obey your orders without hesitation at your command," Chen Tong said with a smile.

If Ma Tianshou really made him accept Xu Yuan's command, he would naturally feel uncomfortable, but he would also consider the overall situation.

This sentence is a statement.

Ma Tianshou nodded: "This is a matter of great importance, so it's more reassuring to make the trip myself."

Chen Tong then said, "With the commander in charge, that evil spirit will surely be utterly defeated this time."

However, after the large group of men entered the Lucheng government office, Ma Tianshou, along with Chen Tong and several trusted lieutenants, changed into civilian clothes, made some disguises, and quietly came out through the back door.

……

Along the canal, Zang Tianlan had already led Xu Yuan into the fake village.

Xu Yuan strictly adheres to the principle of letting capable people go first and tall people hold up the sky if it falls.

He stayed hidden behind Zang Tianlan the whole time.

I also witnessed firsthand the formidable power of third-rate martial arts practitioners!
Zang Tianlan's "extraordinary appearance" was never revealed.

Even the martial arts secrets were not used.

With his incredibly strong body, he charged in, rampaging through everything in his path. No matter what methods the evil spirits used, whether it was a thunderous roar—"Slay the evil and break the illusion"; or a head-on collision—"One force breaks all laws"; or an explosion of his blood and energy—"All evil cannot invade!"
The evil spirits of the fake village were powerless against this "monster".

In just over half an hour, they reached the core of the fake village.

Zang Tianlan grabbed the withered tree at the village entrance and pulled it out.

Inside the house behind the tree, the villager wielding the axe was glared at by Zang Tianlan and his entire body seemed to explode.

More than a dozen houses were suddenly transformed into enormous brick and stone monsters, which were shattered into dust by Zang Tianlan's punch!

They fought their way to the center of the village, which was actually the home of the village headman in the real Pingquan Village.

The village headman walked out of his house, his face filled with a dark and sinister aura.

Zang Tianlan grabbed its neck, lifted it up, and tore the "village head" in two with both hands.

Instead of blood and internal organs spilling out, a cloud of yin energy, like dust and haze, burst forth.

Even a fourth-rate cultivator would faint on the spot if hit by this gloom.

However, when this strange technique was used on Zang Tianlan, it only caused a burst of smoke and fire.

The fierce blood and qi in the body of a third-rate martial artist were like raging fire, quickly burning him away.

An evil spirit fell out of the "village head's" body.

It is only half a person tall, with a skull bird head on top, and a long, pointed beak.

Although it has a human body, there is no flesh and blood, only a layer of dry skin tightly wrapped around its body.

There was also a Yin Si tooth token hanging on its waist.

After it landed, its sharp claws reached out and grabbed at Zang Tianlan from a distance—

Xu Yuan, who was behind Zang Tianlan, was not the target of this evil spirit's attack. He still felt his soul shaking uncontrollably, almost losing control and being taken away from his body.

Zang Tianlan merely sneered: "A petty trick!"

Seeing that it could not shake Zang Tianlan's soul, the evil spirit could only shrink back and open its beak to speak in human language: "You are dead!"

Yinsi Judgment.

Zang Tianlan took a step forward, rushed in front of the evil spirit, and punched it in the face.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you determine my life or death!"

With a "smack," the evil bird's beak snapped off, and it was blasted into the ground.

Zang Tianlan reached out and grabbed it again, tearing the underworld token from its waist. The token was engraved with:

Under Yin Shuai's Bird Beak, the patrol battalion's leader, Jiao Ya Liu, was in charge.

After Zang Tianlan removed the ivory token, the entire fake village began to shake violently. With a series of rumbling sounds, the village collapsed rapidly and eventually vanished into nothingness.

The other evil spirits in the village were all subordinates of this "head of the Jiaoya Liu".

One by one they fell out, crashed to the ground, and then tried to escape in all directions.

"Humph!"

Zang Tianlan let out a cold snort and suddenly slammed his fist into the ground.

thump—

A powerful shockwave swept violently outwards.

These evil spirits were instantly pulverized in the shockwave!
One by one, the ivory tokens fell.

Then, Zang Tianlan grasped "Jiao Ya Liu" with both hands and began to rub them together.

They actually managed to knead this evil spirit into a ball no bigger than a fist!
During this process, his strong blood and qi forced out the evil yin energy. Zang Tianlan looked at the "ball" in his hand with satisfaction, turned to Zhong Die and said, "This is good material, I'll give it to Fourth Uncle."

Zhong Die touched her forehead with her hand.

Under no circumstances should martial arts practitioners be allowed to handle the materials.

After he kneaded it like that, less than 40% of it was usable.

Shameful waste!
Miss Jinxi stood next to Zhong Die and whispered to her, "Senior Brother Zang organizes all his belongings in this way."

“In his dwelling, all his clothes, letters, gold and silver were crumpled up in this way and stuffed somewhere.”

"They often stuffed themselves so much that they couldn't even find their own food. When they had to drink, they didn't have money to pay the bill and would secretly ask their fifth uncle for help."

Everyone under the Jianzheng Gate knows that Fifth Uncle is the God of Wealth.

Zhong Die sighed. She had been complaining just now, but now she felt a little sorry for him.

A child raised by a tiger has no idea what "tidying up" means.

The Imperial Academy is full of talented people, and Chen Chui and Mr. Feng Si are close friends.

But further down the line, some people only see each other a few times a year.

Zhong Die knew Zang Tianlan far less than Miss Jinxi did.

……

The sun was shining brightly in Champa in the morning, but it turned cloudy around noon.

As evening approached, dark, thick clouds filled the northern sky.

In the distance, the Xiaoyu Mountain range rises and falls, its curves winding across the horizon in a deep indigo hue.

Before the torrential rain, the world was a perfect ink painting.

It got dark earlier that day.

Large raindrops fell densely on the surface of the canal, like countless tiny silver fish leaping out of the water.

At the entrance of the mortuary in the city, Xiao Ling, a singing girl, sat under the eaves, propping her cheek with her left hand and gazing wistfully at the rain.

As a newlywed, she possessed a blend of youthful innocence and mature grace, a truly beautiful moment.

The winding curves of her figure, like the peaks of Xiaoyu Mountain, perfectly illustrate this point.

"My husband still hasn't returned."

She sighed softly, and from the room behind her came her grandfather's cough. Disappointed, she got up and went into the kitchen.

Food was kept warm in the large stove, while medicine was simmering on the small stove.

She poured out the medicine, which scalded her slender fingers until they turned red. She quickly pinched her earlobe and jumped up and down twice.

Once the medicine had cooled down a bit, I quickly brought it over, called out, "Grandpa, it's time to drink your medicine," and helped the blind old man sit up so he could slowly drink it.

Then I went to the kitchen to get some rice.

The meal was clearly prepared for three people.

Ever since Jia Zongdao left, she has eaten the same way every meal.

But she never got to eat with her husband again.

She brought the food into the side room; tonight it would just be her and her grandfather again.

After dinner, Xiaoling helped her grandfather wash his face and feet, helped him to bed, and then washed herself up briefly before lying down to sleep as well.

The city was especially dangerous on a rainy night.

Many evil spirits that rarely appear on ordinary days will fall into the city with the rain.

Among them is an evil spirit shaped like a tadpole.

They are completely transparent, mixed in with the rainwater, and move around the city along the streets and alleys.

But whenever they smelled the fragrance and tried to rush over, they were deterred by the faint golden light of the door gods.

After failing dozens of times, they suddenly discovered that a house's door was not closed!

So dozens of these evil spirits rushed in all at once.

This house has a very large yard.

But there are only two places that emit the fragrance that attracts them.

The one in the side room wasn't quite as sweet as the one in the main room; it was the one that made them drool.

So all the evil spirits rushed against the current towards the main room.

Then he climbed over the high threshold and onto Xiaoling's bed!

Xiaoling was in such a hurry to give her grandfather his medicine that she forgot to close the front door!

These evil spirits left clear trails of slime on the ground, and after crawling onto Xiaoling's body, they tried to burrow into her nostrils and ear canals!

They feed on human brains, and after they are full, they mate and then lay their eggs in the internal organs of the corpse.

Their eggs control the carcasses to go out and forage for food to feed them.

Until they are fully mature, one day when another torrential rain falls, they burst forth from their bodies and then disappear without a trace.

But just as an evil spirit was about to crawl into Xiao Ling's left ear, a slender tongue suddenly emerged from between Xiao Ling's lips, deftly wrapped around the evil spirit, and swallowed it whole.

The remaining evil spirits were shocked and tried to run away, but it was too late.

Xiao Ling's lips parted from the inside, revealing a dozen identical thin tongues, blooming like flowers.

Each of them grabbed one of the evil spirits and dragged them into her mouth.

Xiao Ling seemed to still be asleep, but her cherry-like lips, which could sing a little tune so melodiously that Zhu Zhanlei was haunted by her voice, had now become a terrifying abyss!

Xiaoling didn't forget to close the door; she deliberately left it open!

This is how it was after Jia Zongdao left home.

The local evil spirits have already suffered greatly and dare not come again.

Unfortunately, it rained heavily today, which brought some evil spirits from outside into the city!
The night before last, the corpse python in the nearby pond, unable to smell Jia Zongdao's scent, also crawled out and went to the mortuary to check.

But in the end, they stopped at the gate, not daring to cross the line.

The heavy rain continued, and the water lines under the eaves formed a continuous stream.

Xiaoling had her eyes tightly closed, but suddenly sat up stiffly from the bed.

Then he turned and got out of bed.

They walked step by step toward the last room of the mortuary, the one with the most coffins.

That place is the gateway between Champa and the Turbulent Lands.

Xiaoling stood in front of the door and raised her hands to press on the door lock.

A key appeared in her hand.

The key had always been in Jia Zongdao's possession, but at some point, Xiao Ling made a copy of it.

"Ugh--"

A soft sigh suddenly came from the darkness.

It was like a thunderbolt, instantly blasting Xiaoling open her eyes!

But her eyes were a terrifyingly pale white, without a single black pupil!

A person walked out in the heavy rain.

Xu Yuan kept a watchful eye on things, harboring a sliver of hope that he had guessed wrong.

If he guesses wrong, then Jia Zongdao, who suffers a tragic fate but is kind-hearted, can still have a somewhat perfect ending.

Xu Yuan could let him take Xiao Ling and leave the mortuary, and rent a small courtyard next to the government office to continue living.

"But unfortunately, I guessed right after all." Xu Yuan said with great regret, "The City God's evil schemes are layered upon layer."

"Besides the shipwreck victims and the water corpses that are replaced and merged with each other, there is also the arrangement of the third layer."

If Jia Zongdao and the middle-aged laborer are both caught, Xiaoling will become the one to carry out the plan.

Xiao Ling was mostly influenced by Jia Zongdao and became an evil spirit controlled by the City God of Lucheng.

Xiaoling didn't turn around. She pushed the door open forcefully with both hands and rushed inside.

But then a rope wrapped around his neck and pulled him out.

Inside the room, the coffins had already been arranged by Xiaoling into the shape of a memorial archway.

As soon as the door opened, the portal in the archway emitted a ghostly blue light. It was already vaguely visible that in the turbid realm, there was a malevolent spirit whose entire body was deformed and could only be roughly identified as human. It was wearing tattered underworld official robes and was eagerly waiting for the moment when the plan would succeed and the joy of reaping the rewards!
"boom!"

A pool of muddy yellow water surged up, crashing heavily against the door.

The portal shook, and the eerie blue light became a barrier.

Without the cooperation of the "Two Realms Law," the barrier on this side of the mortal realm cannot be fully connected.

The evil spirit from the underworld was extremely anxious, opening its mouth to roar and uttering incredibly strange sounds.

He urged Xiaoling on this side.

Xiao Ling struggled and twisted, her body suddenly split open, and she instantly became a bloody monster!

"Roar--"

She roared at Xu Yuan, who hesitated for a moment, but still raised his hand and sent out a bit of fire from his abdomen.

The flames, no bigger than soybeans, landed on Xiao Ling and exploded with a bang, instantly burning the flesh-and-blood monster to ashes!
Lord Xu turned out to be heartless!
Previously, Xu Yuan had time to use his life-saving techniques to weaken Jia Zongdao's strange transformations time and time again, and finally saved Jia Zongdao.

However, the three consecutive life-threatening techniques left Xu Yuan extremely weak.

However, facing the evil spirits in the turbid world, Xu Yuan had neither time to slowly save Xiao Ling nor to preserve his strength, because he was protecting the entire Champa!

When the evil spirits of the underworld saw Xiao Ling being burned to ashes, they were filled with rage and stirred up the murky yellow water into huge waves, slamming it hard against the door.

Xu Yuan frowned; the water looked somewhat familiar…

This is the water of the River of Oblivion!

Xu Yuan was shocked: "The City God of Lucheng has degenerated into an evil spirit and will surely be rejected by the underworld!"
How can it possibly control the waters of the River of Oblivion?!

……

In Lucheng, the farmhand had an affair with a middle-aged maid in the master's household.

Just before nightfall, the second steward of the manor was instructing her to light the lamps in the west courtyard when she suddenly stretched out her hands and twisted them sharply.

The second steward's neck snapped with a "crack," and his head turned completely backward.

The middle-aged maidservant went out through the back door and headed straight for the mortuary, where she was caught red-handed by Ma Tianshou.

The same thing happened in Liancheng. Xiang Qinghuai had no powerful subordinates, so he took matters into his own hands, leading four seventh-rate individuals to intercept him. The process was extremely dangerous.

At the last moment, they were able to succeed thanks to the help of a mysterious sixth-rate figure.

This mysterious sixth-rate official is none other than the River Supervisor.

The River Supervisor was originally going to Lucheng.

Halfway there, Xu Yuan changed his orders, sending him to Liancheng to secretly support Xiang Qinghuai.

……

Zang Tianlan led the group, rushing back to the city in the rainy night.

Xu Yuan left around noon.

Accompanying Zang Tianlan into the fake village was Lang Xiaoba, who was impersonating Xu Yuan using the "Liyuan Law".

The city gates were already closed. Lang Xiaoba was still negotiating with the soldiers on the gate tower when Zang Tianlan took to the air, leaped over the city wall, and headed straight for the mortuary.

He doesn't care about anyone else.

He walked dozens of feet in one step within the city. When he passed the sinking pond, the corpse python just happened to show its head, and he stepped on the corpse python's head.

The masked demon in the underworld immediately hid when evil spirits appeared.

He tried to control the Corpse Python to see the situation in the mortal realm, but was stomped to death by Zang Tianlan!

The masked ghost spewed out yin energy and cried out in despair.

When Zang Tianlan arrived at the mortuary, Mr. Feng Si and Master Miaoyan were already there. They looked at the evil spirits of the underworld constantly stirring up huge waves in the River of Oblivion in the turbid chamber, and their expressions were solemn.

"I'll charge in!" Zang Tianlan immediately volunteered for battle upon arrival.

(End of this chapter)