Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 437-436 Fighting Evil Spirits (Third Update)

The man glanced at Feng Xiuhu: "It's extremely useful!"

"With the incense coupons, you can exchange them for grain at the government office. If you eat them sparingly, it can feed the whole family for several days. If you exchange all the grain for bran cakes mixed with sand, it can last even longer."

The man sighed and shook his head, saying, "It's a pity that there are only so many incense coupons each day, and not everyone can get them. Only those who want to try their luck and are quick on their feet will run to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. If you don't get any, you'll go hungry."

"So most people still prefer to go to the fields. Although grass roots and tree bark don't fill you up, at least they can keep you alive."

Feng Xiuhu's doubts did not diminish: "When I entered the city, I saw fields outside, but they were all abandoned. Now that there are no natural disasters, why don't you grow your own food?"

The man gave a wry smile: "We grew it ourselves... Many years ago, we grew it ourselves. Back then, Zizai City was nothing like it is now."

"Ever since the evil spirits appeared, the Jingzhe Temple and the Night Church have imposed a curfew in an effort to exorcise them. At first, it didn't have much of an impact; at worst, people weren't allowed to go out at night, and life went on as usual."

"But for some reason, the evil spirits can never be driven away, and the curfew is getting longer and longer. Now, the monks and priests only give us one hour a day to go out. What can we do in such a short time? The fields are naturally left to fall into disrepair."

Feng Xiuhu's eyebrows furrowed: "Don't you know how to run? Why do you have to stay here and wait to die?"

"run?"

The man stared blankly at the wall lamp above him, his eyes somewhat vacant: "Some people have thought of this, but the evil spirits won't let us escape. Those who tried to escape were all killed by the evil spirits."

Feng Xiuhu narrowed his eyes: "You can't stop talking about this evil spirit. Just what kind of evil spirit is so powerful? Have you seen it with your own eyes?"

The man shuddered and quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening before letting out a sigh of relief: "You can't just say things like that. There really are evil spirits in our Zizai City, and they've existed since ancient times."

Fearing that Feng Xiuhu might "talk nonsense" again, the man explained, "The older generation has told us since we were young that Zizai City is connected to the Yin and Yang realms, so ghosts are often seen wandering around there—these words have been passed down from generation to generation, and they cannot be false."

Feng Xiuhu wasn't surprised; the reason was easy to understand—this was the overlap between the mortal world and the spirit world, so it was perfectly normal for spirits to appear more frequently compared to other places.

The problem is that spirits are not the same as evil spirits.

Only spirits that remain in the mortal world due to obsessions can potentially transform into evil spirits, while the vast majority of spirits existing in the spirit world lack independent consciousness.

So he countered the man's question: "You yourself said that this has been the case since ancient times. Didn't life go on as usual before the exorcism? Why is it that now that the exorcism has begun, life has become unbearable?"

"So what's causing your demise—is it evil spirits, or something else?"

The man hesitated, not daring to respond.

Just then, a bell rang overhead.

Clang—Clang—Clang—

The bell tolled three times.

The man took the bowl from Feng Xiuhu's hand, stood up and said, "It's curfew, let's go back."

As he was about to push open the door and enter the house, the man kindly advised Feng Xiuhu, "Don't run outside now. Stay put underground, or the cultivator's supernatural powers won't care whether you're a human or a ghost."

……

When Feng Xiuhu returned to the cellar, he found that Granny Song was already asleep on the straw mat.

Fang Youliu said, "She must have been starving for a long time, and then she ate too much..."

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "Let her rest."

He sat down at the table and told the two of them everything he had found out.

Shunzi's face darkened as he listened: "This is practically pushing people to their deaths. I want to go out and see what that damn evil spirit looks like."

Fang Youliu pulled Shunzi back: "Don't rush."

Then he looked at Feng Xiuhu and said, "There's something wrong with what I'm saying."

Feng Xiuhu nodded and said, "Go on." Fang Youliu frowned and said, "Regardless of whether the claim of performing rituals to exorcise evil is true or false, how do cultivators and priests cast spells?"

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback, then suddenly realized what was happening.

Indeed, the special location of Zizai City interfered with the operation of magic, but according to outsiders, Jingzhe Temple and the Church of the Night did not seem to be affected.

No wonder Fang Youliu stopped Shunzi; if they really ran into trouble outside, they would suffer.

Shunzi retorted angrily, "What curses or spells? Let's see if my double-barreled shotgun agrees!"

He really didn't need to worry too much. Even without the gun, Shunzi's skills were mostly concentrated in this physical body.

Or to be more precise, the only one of the three who needed to be wary of was Fang Youliu.

Having figured this out, Feng Xiuhu said to Fang Youliu, "The man next door said that evil spirits prevent people from leaving the city—we can't be trapped here. Here's what we'll do: you stay here and watch the house, and Shunzi and I will go out and check the situation."

Fang Youliu thought that this made sense, so he nodded in agreement.

Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi tiptoed up the stairs, lifted the wooden planks, and returned to the house on the ground.

They stood by the window, cautiously peering outside for a long while.

The city was deathly silent, and the empty streets were so deserted that not even a mouse could be seen.

Shunzi looked at Feng Xiuhu: "Brother, which way should we go?"

Feng Xiuhu thought for a moment, then pointed in the direction he came from: "Out of the city, let's see who dares to stop me."

Without further ado, the two stopped trying to hide their intentions and ran openly down the street toward the city outskirts.

They encountered no evil spirits or cultivators along the way, and were about to reach the passageway at the city gate.

Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the ground in the shadows of the passageway.

The shadowy figure pointed at Feng Xiuhu and the other person, and chanted aloud: "The curtain of eternal night, the shadows are stripped away."

Shunzi paused, letting out a muffled groan, but Feng Xiuhu didn't feel anything.

Feng Xiuhu quickly stopped and looked at Shunzi: "What's wrong?"

Shunzi rubbed her chest and shook her head: "It's nothing—it felt like someone was trying to pull my spirit out, but they couldn't."

Feng Xiuhu breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at the "shadow" opposite him: "Looks like that's an evil spirit. Crush it!"

The shadow opposite was also stunned. It was the first time he had encountered a situation where the spells didn't work. By the time he came to his senses, Shunzi had already charged in front of him like a small mountain.

Without a second thought, the shadow immediately chanted the incantation: "Return to shadow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished into the shadows beneath his feet.

"Want to run?"

Feng Xiuhu arrived a step too late, grinning maliciously as he shouted, "Dream on!"

With the power of shadow at his command, Feng Xiuhu reached out and grabbed at the air, forcibly pulling out a dark shadow.

The two brothers had a tacit understanding. As soon as Feng Xiuhu threw the shadow to the ground, Shunzi immediately grabbed the gun barrel and smashed it down. Every time the spikes of the mace fell, blood splattered.

"Ah! Stop it!"

"You've made a mistake—ouch!"

"I am not an evil spirit!"

(End of this chapter)