No taboos

Chapter 504 I can’t hold it anymore
Xu Bo spent most of the day writing a total of five hundred low-quality calligraphy samples in the Champa government office.

He could write phrases like "soaring through the clouds" and "riding the wind" with ease.

But this "power" is his "literary power" as a scholar.

As for his physical strength... physical strength is what Wenxiu is least good at.

Confucian scholars spend their entire lives studying the most revered teacher, Confucius.

But in those turbulent times, the most important reason why Confucius dared to travel around the world with his disciples, besides the grand reasons mentioned in the classics, was that Confucius himself was nine feet tall and could uproot trees to make sticks to scare away bandits.

Judging from his height... even the Martial Saint might not be as tall as the Supreme Sage.

The Confucian scholars learned to be completely powerless.

Such a person, skilled in both literature and martial arts... throughout history, after the Han and Tang dynasties, there are very few.

Xu Bo was sore all over.

He dragged himself back to the inn.

But he can't rest yet; he still has important things to do!
For two consecutive days, his plans had inexplicably failed—Xu Bo felt there must be a reason behind it. Could it be that Xu Yuan had already discovered it?
He needs to go and discuss this with Song Weiming.

But as you walk down the street, you hear the peddlers, laborers, and idlers on both sides talking amongst themselves.

Some storytellers in teahouses are even planning to write a story.

It is said that early this morning, evil spirits blocked the official road outside the city.

A small caravan was possessed by the evil spirit and was about to die a violent death.

Suddenly, a master rode in from the northeast, rising into the air from his horse. His hands seemed to hold up the sun and moon, their light shining brightly and illuminating the earth—in fact, he directly roasted the evil spirit into charcoal!

Even now, that section of the official road is still a gray-black expanse.

Everyone is speculating about who this person is.

No one can tell.

Some say that he went into the city and stayed in a dilapidated temple in the south of the city.

Some say the assailant simply bypassed the city, and that the master was merely passing through Champa and incidentally helped everyone avert the calamity.

Some people say that the person was actually our Lord Xu, who does good deeds anonymously...

Xu Bo, of course, did not believe it; he was already at the government office early in the morning.

Xu Yuan doesn't have time to go out.

Do we have to take a huge detour and attack from the northeast?

Moreover, the method used did not resemble the fire in Xu Yuan's abdomen, but rather a certain type of magical cultivation.

Xu Bo had some doubts about whether Xu Yuan had noticed that his plans had been broken for two consecutive days—but now he dispelled those doubts.

It must be because I've been having bad luck lately, and the damage was caused by a roadside repairman.

Although my arrangements over the past two days have caused tremendous damage, they are actually not of a high standard.

A sixth-rate or fifth-rate person could solve the problem.

These "rumors" were, of course, spread by people arranged by Xu Yuan.

It's not too easy for the "Third Sisters Society" to do something like this.

Xu Bo secretly took a medicinal pill and recovered some of his strength—since meeting Xu Yuan, the rate at which Young Master Xu consumed his medicinal pills had increased dramatically.

Inventory is running low.

He mustered his spirits to see Song Weiming.

Song Weiming's attitude was slightly better this time than yesterday.

"I've heard about it too," Song Weiming sighed. "It's not your fault."

Xu Bo said, "I'll think of another way. I refuse to believe that Xu Yuan's luck will always be this good!"

Song Weiming nodded, having lost faith in Xu Bo.

After seeing Xu Bo off, Song Weiming called Du Jincheng over and said, "Xu Bo is having bad luck."

We shouldn't cooperate with him anymore, otherwise his bad luck will affect us.

Du Jincheng has recovered from his injuries and is now very obedient. He no longer dares to disobey Lord Song's orders or act on his own.

"Sir, please tell me what to do."

Song Weiming then whispered something in his ear, and Du Jincheng nodded repeatedly.

……

After leaving Song Weiming's place, Xu Bo wandered around the city twice, but as it was getting dark, he still hadn't come up with a good solution.

He's a bit clever.

However, he thought he had "thought things out well".

But in reality, the level of the schemes he could come up with was only the kind from the previous two days.

After much thought, I've decided that this is still the type of plan I'm considering.

Then I thought, since I failed the first two times, I might not succeed the third time.

Finally, Xu Bo gritted his teeth, went out of the east gate, and furtively dug a hole in the official road outside, throwing in a piece of bloody white bone.

Then they quickly fled back.

He was filled with unease, but he comforted himself: Song Weiming and Mr. Wenqi were both third-rate; even if something serious happened, the two of them could suppress it together.

This bone has an extraordinary origin.

It comes from the southeastern coast of Zhengzhou, a place that was once a "mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​bones"!
Why would Xu Bo, a scholar, always carry these things around?
Xu Bo just likes collecting these things, always feeling that he can use them!
……

The two little foxes rushed back, trembling with fear.

"That thing...we dare not take it!"

Xu Yuan's expression changed, and he turned to look out the window. It was about to get dark!

"Xu Bo deserves to die!" Xu Yuan cursed angrily.

Then he immediately went out and headed straight for Dafu's courtyard—but stopped halfway there.

If Dafu can't handle it, wouldn't that ruin it?

Xu Yuan felt sorry for him.

So they changed direction, left the government office, and headed straight for the City God Temple.

Inside the temple, the statue suddenly opened its eyes.

Lord Xu has already arrived at the door.

A phantom figure floated down from the statue.

Lu Chenghuang laughed heartily: "Brother, you've arrived."

"Your Majesty the City God."

Xu Yuan clasped his hands in greeting, and Lu Chenghuang patted him on the shoulder and led him inside: "Why are you being so polite? Please come in quickly."

As soon as Xu Yuan entered the temple, he immediately sensed that it was quite different from when he last visited.

The space inside this City God Temple is no longer in the mortal realm!
It is not in the turbid realm either.

Xu Yuan vaguely sensed that this place was like a "bubble" in space, slowly but steadily drifting towards a certain place.

Where to go?

That must be the underworld.

Lu Chenghuang is trying to connect the City God Temple with somewhere in the underworld.

More than two hundred years ago, all the city god temples in the world could connect directly to the underworld.

Now they are all separated from the underworld.

The City God gave Xu Yuan great benefits, renting a "lucky charm" to guard the City God Temple.

This is clearly what needs to be done.

But what good would it do to re-establish contact with the underworld?

If things were that simple, all the city god temples in the world wouldn't have been abandoned.

Xu Yuan doesn't have much information right now, and he can't figure out what Lu Chenghuang and the Venerable One behind him are planning.

Moreover, Xu Yuan did not come here to explore the mysteries, so he put aside his questions and got straight to the point: "I have a favor to ask of you."

Lu Chenghuang laughed loudly again: "Brother, look what I said before, our staying in Champa will be of great help to you."

Tell me, what is it? Brother, I'll definitely..."

Another figure floated down from the temple's statue; it was the Right Clerk who had come from the underworld with the City God.

The City God's right-hand man.

As soon as he appeared, Lu Chenghuang scratched his head and changed his tune, no longer making such a big promise: "Brother, I will definitely do my best, but what exactly is it?"

Xu Yuan then said, "There is a mountain of corpses and bones in a certain place outside the city. If it is allowed to be tainted by the night, it may trigger a terrible zombie horde. I would like to ask the City God to send someone to retrieve it."

Lu Chenghuang frowned.

This is really a difficult situation for them.

He has indeed established himself in the mortal world.

But that auspicious stone on the bridge can only allow them to "stand" here.

The role of bridge stones in the City God Temple is equivalent to that of door gods in ordinary people's residences.

All living people believed that these contaminations in the mortal world came from the "yin energy" of the underworld.

However, if underworld messengers linger in the mortal realm for too long, they can also become corrupted and turn into evil spirits.

Therefore, in all the city gods and earth gods temples in the world, there are no longer any earth deities appointed by the underworld.

If the Yin energy invading the mortal realm truly originates from the underworld, why are the underworld officials unable to resist it?

The venerable ones in the underworld had secretly studied the matter and seemed to have reached a conclusion, but they never announced it to all the underworld officials.

Lu Chenghuang only knew a part of it vaguely.

Does the City God Temple still need door gods for protection?
This is outrageous!

Although the underworld already knew that an auspicious object could protect the underworld officials in the temple from contamination.

—Only in the temple.

If people come to the temple to pray and ask for help, but the underworld officials cannot go out to perform their duties... wouldn't that be even more awkward?
Therefore, the underworld had no choice but to withdraw and retreat entirely back to the netherworld.

As for the claim that if a local official returned the City God's golden seal to the City God's statue, they would immediately return in a fierce attack.

Clean the murky room once.

This is a tacit understanding between the living court and the underworld.

The imperial court knew that underworld officials could not linger in the mortal realm, but if they wanted to send them back, they still had to produce a number.

From the perspective of the underworld, these are the living people of the mortal world, used to "reward the troops."

After all, our underworld messengers are helping you go to war.

Even more bizarrely, this "infection" in the mortal realm, which is clearly more severe than in the mortal realm, has no effect on the underworld officials!
But once he entered the mortal realm, he could no longer live.

The immunity granted by the underworld officials to this kind of contamination has completely disappeared in the mortal realm.

Lu Chenghuang is now in this awkward situation.

To the living, sending His men out of the city to retrieve that mountain of corpses and bones seemed like a simple matter.

Living people dared not go, because it was getting dark soon.

But even the City God Lu dared not go!

I sent my men out, and something strange happened that night—when they returned, they brought back a mountain of corpses and bloody bones!
If it were to knock on my temple door, I wouldn't dare open it!
But as mentioned before, the underworld does not want to reveal the secrets behind this.

Revealing this to the living is tantamount to revealing it to evil spirits.

Xu Yuan knew that the underworld officials could also be unpredictable in the mortal world, but Lord Xu believed that Lu Chenghuang's men could hold out for a while.

They didn't expect things to change drastically immediately, which is why they sought help.

Lu Chenghuang racked his brains, trying to figure out how to get rid of the matter.

But being a straightforward person, he couldn't come up with an excuse for a long time.

His right-hand clerk then said, "Lord Xu, these young men under your command are all from the battlefield, and they are all unruly."

Even my own family members, if they want to work, they have to be paid a full salary.

Xu Yuan hurriedly said, "I can provide ghost silver; just name your price."

The Right Clerk shook his head: "No, my underworld is not like your Ming Dynasty. No one drinks the blood of soldiers, and our men are not short of money."

Xu Yuan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Let's talk business. It's not fair of you to expose the shortcomings of my Huangming Dynasty."

The Right Clerk continued, "What benefits do they want... like auspicious objects?"

The Right Clerk had a special ability: he could eavesdrop on conversations among everyone in his jurisdiction.

Of course, this ability can't be kept on forever.

Even before the eerie and supernatural tales were rampant, the clerks in the City God Temple always possessed this ability. Whether He listened or not was another matter.

But when He wants to hear, He will surely hear.

This is used to determine everyone's merits, karmic obstacles, etc.

That's no longer possible; the Right Clerk can only listen for half an hour every three days.

This also made Him aware that Xu Yuan had another auspicious object, namely that chess piece-like flying stone from outer space.

Xu Yuan frowned, realizing what the other party wanted.

But Xu Yuan also wanted to keep a lucky charm with him.

Moreover, the quality of this chess piece is even better than that of the bridge stone, so Xu Yuan couldn't bear to part with it.

"This..." Xu Yuan hesitated, "Your company also wants to rent it?"

The clerk then said, "This humble official will inquire on your behalf, sir."

After saying this, He turned to look at the statues of gods in the temple.

Instantly, countless shadows emerged from the darkness, chirping and uttering all sorts of ghostly language that no living person could understand.

The clerk on the right seemed to reprimand them a few times.

However, those dark figures were unruly, and several of their leaders even spread out their bodies, seemingly about to rush up to the Right Clerk to argue.

He was forced back by Lu Chenghuang's glare.

They discussed it for a while longer, and then the ghostly figures slowly shrank back, disappearing without a trace.

The clerk said with a wry smile, "These arrogant and unruly soldiers are unruly and have made you laugh, sir."

Xu Yuan shook his head expressionlessly: "It's alright."

Your performance was far worse than Lang Xiaoba's.

The clerk said, "These lowly scoundrels want you to lend them that auspicious object so they can play with it for a month..."

Xu Yuan's expression changed.

The clerk, observing their expressions, changed the subject: "I rebuked them for their unrealistic ideas. I negotiated with them and eventually got them to accept that I would only lend them the money for three days."

Xu Yuan's expression finally returned to normal. He took out the celestial stone and handed it to City God Lu: "Please, City God, send out troops immediately."

Xu Yuan originally intended to wait in the temple.

But after receiving the flying stone from the sky, Lu Chenghuang said, "My lord, just go back. That thing will appear at your bedside first thing tomorrow morning."

Xu Yuan coughed lightly and said, "There's no need to put it on the bedside table, just put it on the table."

When I woke up, I opened my eyes and saw a piece of bloody white bone next to my pillow!

Are you kidding me?

Lu Chenghuang slapped his forehead and said apologetically, "I was being inconsiderate. Alright, I'll have my men put it on the table for you, brother."

Xu Yuan then bowed and left.

As soon as I stepped out, the temple gate behind me closed automatically.

Then, that chilling sound came from inside again.

As Xu Yuan walked, he pondered: When he handed over the celestial stone just now, even the City God Lu's eyes showed excitement—they desperately needed auspicious objects.
The bridge stones can only prevent them from being defiled in the mortal world.

Falling stones from the sky can make them come out of the temple.

The City God and the Right Clerk have been plotting to borrow the celestial stone from me, and I suspect they'll be taking action in the next three days...

Xu Yuan returned to his room and fell asleep peacefully.

The next day, upon waking, I opened my pocket-sized almanac; today was a day of prohibitions:
Breathing, writing, weaving, gazing at the moon.

Such days are very unfriendly to Wenxiu.

When encountering evil spirits, they can only use calligraphy samples they have written before, and cannot write on the spot.

Xu Yuan also felt a little regretful: he had originally wanted to fool Xu Bo and serve as a slave to the Exorcism Department for another day.

Then Xu Yuan glanced at the table in the bedroom again.

Sure enough, there was a piece of white bone stained with blood.

Xu Yuan put the fishy stuff in a plastic bag, then opened the door to wash up.

……

Xu Bo has learned his lesson today.

He came to the yamen to pay his respects to His Highness, and after waiting for an hour, he found that no one had come to report the case, so he knew that his plan had failed again.

He was already suspicious yesterday.

It was only after hearing the gossip in the marketplace that his doubts were dispelled. If something goes wrong again today, even if Xu Bo were stupid, he would know that the situation is not good.

He quietly slipped out of the government office and headed straight for the inn where Song Weiming and the others were staying.

Upon knocking on the door, they discovered that Song Weiming and the others were already inside the inn.

They did not go to wait outside the city.

Xu Bo, without a second thought, said urgently, "Lord Song, I'm afraid Xu Yuan has already discovered our plan..."

Song Weiming sneered: "You self-righteous fool! How could I possibly believe you? You've wasted these past few days!"

He gave Du Jincheng, who was standing next to him, a wink.

Du Jincheng then opened his mouth with a sinister grin.

Xu Bo saw a gaping, blood-red maw.

From one of the teeth in that huge mouth, all the teeth in the mouth rapidly and strangely transformed into sharp fangs.

Xu Bo cried out in alarm, only to find himself frozen in place by the gaping maw of the creature.

"Lord Song..." Xu Bo cried out in alarm, begging for mercy, when the huge mouth swallowed him whole.

Song Weiming stood to the side, watching Du Jincheng open his mouth to an enormous size, easily devour Xu Bo, and then return to its normal shape.

A long, thin tongue stuck out and licked its lips, as if it wanted more.

"Go," Song Weiming said. "We've wasted three days because of this idiot. We must get results today."

Du Jincheng nodded, put a straw hat on his head, and went out.

Song Weiming and others did not go with him.

If something really goes wrong, it will be because Du Jincheng disobeyed orders and acted recklessly, and it has nothing to do with Song Weiming or the Shanhe Division.

……

The straw hat covered the eyeball on Du Jincheng's forehead.

His eyes seemed to have their own consciousness, darting around his head and greedily surveying the entire city through the gaps in his straw hat.

Sometimes, when he can't see clearly enough, a hint of irritation will show in his eyes.

Du Jincheng had a tuft of hair on his head, which would lift his straw hat up a little to create a larger gap so that his eyes could see more clearly.

As he walked, Du Jincheng felt a tooth sticking out of his mouth uncontrollably!
It turned into a sharp fang.

Du Jincheng forcefully shoved the fangs back in.

This process is repeated continuously.

Du Jincheng can only use his left hand because his right hand is becoming somewhat out of his control.

My right hand has grown to six fingers.

One of the fingers remained curled up throughout.

The four things in the pod had already attached themselves to him.

Although these things were somewhat disobedient, Du Jincheng felt stronger than ever before!
When I walk, I feel light and airy, as if I could fly away at any moment.

This feeling made him somewhat carried away.

They didn't realize that this was a sign that things were "out of control".

He walked all the way to the entrance of the Champa government office, and the eye on his forehead saw the five officers of the Exorcism Division guarding the gate.

The one leading the group was none other than Old Qin.

Old Qin's fierce and menacing appearance deterred passersby from approaching the gate.

But Du Jincheng was not afraid at all; instead, he revealed a sinister smile.

With that smile, that tooth was showing again.

One long, sharp, and curved!

Old Qin also noticed the man, slapped his sword, and angrily shouted, "All irrelevant people, disperse immediately!"

Du Jincheng raised his right hand for the first time.

The sixth finger beckoned to Lao Qin.

Old Qin and the other four captains in front of the gate were immediately controlled by some kind of inexplicable trickery.

Both the body and the soul became sluggish.

She stiffly followed Du Jincheng.

Du Jincheng's eye on his forehead swept over the five people.

One of the five men had a large blood vessel burst.

They followed Du Jincheng away, and blood flowed all the way.

They walked through the bustling city.

When the people saw the long trail of blood behind them, and then noticed the official robes of the five men from the Bureau of Purification, they gasped in alarm and scattered in all directions.

The owner of a fabric shop, witnessing this scene, was so shocked that his hair stood on end. He hurriedly patted his employee, shouting, "Close the shop immediately..."

The men hurriedly and hastily boarded up the door.

The shopkeeper, still shaken, stammered as he hid inside the shop, "They... they must be possessed by evil spirits! Quick—go out the back door and report to Lord Xu..."

The shop assistants were young and had mustered up their courage to put the door up. Now they were terrified and their legs were so weak they could barely walk.

The landlord stamped his foot and left on his own.

He ran breathlessly to the entrance of the Exorcism Department, just as Yu Yunhang came out and cursed, "Old Qin is getting more and more arrogant, daring to abandon his post..."

The landlord rushed up: "Sir, something terrible has happened..."

Yu Yunhang also saw the shocking bloodstains not far from the gate!
Not long after, Xu Yuan and Ma Tianshou stood together outside the door, looking at the bloodstain that stretched into the distance.

Ma Tianshou grabbed Xu Yuan and said, "Don't be impulsive!"

Xu Yuan struggled, but the old man held him tightly: "Come in with me, we're going to see His Highness!"

"it is good."

Ma Tianshou breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to calm the brat down.

But as soon as he turned around to walk back, he felt his hand go empty, and Xu Yuan had already broken free!

When the old man turned around again, he saw that Xu Yuan was already thirty feet away.

"My lord, we can't delay any longer, I'm afraid Old Qin won't be able to hold on!"

Ma Tianshou stomped his feet in anger, then gritted his teeth and rushed towards His Highness's courtyard.

……

Xu Yuan followed the bloodstains and easily found Old Qin and his group of five by a canal outside the city.

They remained standing there, motionless.

He had almost bled to death.

A person sat on the ground beside them.

Perhaps it can no longer be defined by "human" anymore.

On his forehead was a huge eyeball.

His eyeballs were already three times the size of his head!
It was covered in blood vessels!
It was connected to his forehead by a piece of deformed flesh and a dozen tendons.

His hair was a tangled mess at the back of his head.

Dry and withered, bent and twisted.

They wriggled like insects.

A thick set of fangs grew from his mouth, each one reaching down to the ground.

His right hand became enormous, with rough skin, and hung heavily on the ground.

The eye that first spotted Xu Yuan immediately revealed a look of madness.

A voice came from the monster's mouth: "You've finally come, hehehe..."

It opened its mouth, which immediately turned into a gaping maw, spitting out the unconscious Xu Bo.

"If I kill you, Xu Bo will be the scapegoat!"

(End of this chapter)