Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 79: Entrusted to the wrong person, dragon energy leaks out.
As time passed, Wang Cheng focused on refining his magic.

He also checked the income and expenditure information in the ledger at Qianyan.

However, the owner of the [Five Mountains Coin] on the other side has not responded since, and it is unknown whether it is because he has been busy recently or because something unexpected happened.

In a world where everyone has to be wary of the evil Nian beast and various folk customs during the Lunar New Year, unexpected events are the norm.

Just like Wang Cheng, if it weren't for the treasure protecting him, he would have been dead long ago.

But he believed that as long as the Five Sacred Mountains Coin still existed in this world, its whereabouts would be found sooner or later.

Next, Wang Cheng turned a deaf ear to what was happening around him and quickly digested what he had accumulated during this period.

In his spare time while forging the dragon robe, his unique skills, the Divine Incense Manual and the extraordinary art of Ghostly Talismans, gradually got on track.

As the liaison between the Shan Hai Hui and the Tian Fei lineage, he soon learned that the series of misfortunes he encountered that night were not just due to the "fortune" from Si Hai Tong Bao Payment.

Furthermore, because "blood offerings cross the river, and the righteous gods do not accept them," after several days of continuous fermentation, its power completely erupted!

This taboo ritual, permeating the entire Moon Harbor with the power of unclaimed incense and prayers, quietly brewed a cauldron of celestial offerings that possessed a deadly attraction to evil spirits.

When he submitted his petition for rice earlier, he discovered that the spirit of the old father's statue in the roadside shrine was completely obscured, and this was the root of the problem.

The first to notice the anomaly was Ah Xiao, who lived under the same roof as him.

When Wang Cheng reported this to his master and asked A-Xiao how to handle it, he received a very calm reply:

"Let's wait and see."

"With me here, it won't matter if they accidentally leave behind any temple."

Woo woo woo.
A chilling wind, carrying the stench of decay and blood, kept blowing into Moon Harbor.

Numerous evil spirits that escaped during the sending off of the royal ship and the New Year's sacrifices flooded into this port city on a scale ten or even a hundred times larger than before.

【Frozen Bones】, 【Flesh and Blood Tailor】, 【Starving Ghost】, 【Kowtowing to Borrow Life】, and 【High-flying Snake】 are just appetizers.

[Ghost knocking on the door], [Ghost patting the shoulder], [Cat-eating rat], [Embroidered shoes], [Red and white duo], [Tiger Granny], and so on, followed one after another.

Thus, with the gentry faction withdrawing en masse, the Wufengqi and Shanhaihui took full control of Yuegang's defenses.

Meanwhile, the person involved in this incident, Lady Yan, the temple keeper A Xiao, also joined the ranks of temple keepers and temple guards from various temples of the Tianfei lineage, becoming the third pole of Yuegang.

He simply kept a low profile and didn't concern himself with anything other than supporting his followers.

The three forces, using the octagonal tower in the city and the Baoshan beacon tower at the port to form a pair of horns, forcibly suppressed the "Eight Directions Ascending to the Wind Pavilion Bureau" and imposed a curfew in the city.

Only then did the gentry faction finally discover a serious problem.

During this period, manpower was gathered many times to hold processions, and even the major temples and private temples in the city were covered with "blood offerings across the river". The task has been completed 99.9%.

But there's still one tough nut to crack.

That is the Tianfei Temple on Baoshan Beacon Tower, personally overseen by Elder Shen, the "Director of the Imperial Household"!
A mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals who dwell there. Water is not sacred for its depth, but for the dragons that inhabit it. Though the temple was small, it was a huge hidden danger to their plans.

The most crucial purpose of polluting the willpower and severing communication between humans and gods is to prevent the Heavenly Princess lineage from interfering remotely at critical moments.

In particular, since the reincarnation of Lady Yan and the heir of Prince Jinghai have not yet been captured, Pu Shouying is always worried that these truly powerful and influential second-generation gods might seize the loopholes and create big trouble for him.

Therefore, instructions were issued immediately:

"When people watch a play, they always like to laugh at the losers, who scheme and plot but fail to understand anything."

In fact, the most effective strategies are also the simplest and most unpretentious. As long as you don't make any basic mistakes, you've already won half the battle.

I believe that human will can overcome nature, and that fate and spirits are not reliable indicators!

"Qian Laowu, I'll give you five thousand taels. Go and fill this last loophole for me."

"Yes, Big Boat."

The local bully, Master Qian, had no choice but to accept the task despite his reluctance.

He knew, of course, that showing off his skills in front of Elder Shen, the Chief Official of the Imperial Secretariat, was suicidal.

How did the vulnerability arise? Wasn't it because they all coincidentally avoided that spot when they went on their spiritual journeys these past few days?
But not going is not an option.

A few days ago, some wicked and treacherous person spread rumors, slandering Xie He as having abandoned the darkness and betrayed the gentry faction.

Although both he and Pu Dachuan knew that the "keep your mouth shut" condition had been triggered, Xie He neither knew too many secrets nor would he possibly reveal the little bit of information he did know.

However, in order to quell the unrest among the gentry, Pu Shouying had no choice but to make an example of Xie and sent men to burn the Xie family's old house to the ground.

Not even a dog was spared. At that moment, who would dare disobey Pu Shouying's orders?
When moving forward, it may only be your own death; when retreating, it may be your entire family that dies.

Therefore, he chose
"Matchmaker Ye, please consider the bigger picture. I have an important task for you, and you must complete it at all costs!"
I specially secured three thousand taels of silver for you from your employer. You will lead a procession of spirits to Baoshan Beacon Tower.

We'll make sure it's done cleanly, and once the mission is complete, we'll head straight out to sea.

Not only will you get the money, but you'll also avoid the Moon Harbor vortex beforehand. And you'll definitely get a share of the rewards afterward. I'm doing this all for your own good.

With a heavy heart, Master Qian took out a portion of the "activity fund" given to him by Pu Shouying and handed it over to the most composed and seemingly honest matchmaker.

Matchmaker Ye reached out and took several bank drafts. Just like when she mediated the conflict between the corpse retriever and the cobbler, she nodded with a great deal of strategic thinking.

“Okay. Fifth Master Qian, I’ll go right away.”

After leaving the house, he suddenly stumbled and found Yang Asheng, whom he had worked with during the past few days of the God of War procession.

He was also an outsider who came to Yuegang to make a living, with no ties and no weaknesses.

Matchmaker Ye smiled sinisterly and said to him:

“Ah Sheng, I have two thousand taels here. You can divide it with your brothers. There is only one place for this procession: Baoshan Beacon Tower.”

This money is enough for you to buy a lot of land and go home to live a wealthy life.

Yang Asheng took the silver and nodded vigorously in return.

Without saying a word, he turned around and walked into a teahouse.

Instead of going to find his own team, he went to find Mo Tianbao, the leader of another team next door who was drinking heavily.
"Tianbao, I have a big job for you. Do you want to do it? The employer has given me a thousand taels of silver to hire someone to perform a ritual for the gods."

After a while.

Mo Tianbao found Lin Kangsheng and Ling Laosi in his team and said to them in a tone that implied he was looking out for them:
"The two brothers are here to do work again."

This time the employer paid a hefty price—look, a full one hundred taels!

"Just go to that last temple one more time, and the money will be yours. Then you can marry a woman with big hips. Wouldn't you be thrilled?"

At the crucial moment, the two men did not hesitate. Each of them carried a huge sum of fifty taels of silver ingots, lifted the palanquin that Yang Asheng had prepared in advance, and left.

When they were just one intersection away from Baoshan Beacon Tower, Ling Laosi saw two young men walking together up Baoshan.

He exchanged a glance with Lin Kangsheng behind him, then quickly chased after them and called out to them:

"Brothers, I have two taels of silver here. Please help me carry this palanquin up."

We ate something bad today and have diarrhea so bad our legs are weak. We can't take it anymore, we need to go to the toilet again.

Please help me out, thank you!

Wang Cheng and his third senior brother Zheng Qian, with strange expressions, each accepted a tael of silver, and then watched the two of them nimbly disappear into the crowd.

Then, a magnificent bird with a white head and a golden beak cast a dark shadow on the ground, following closely behind like a fleeting shadow.

Following the two men, they found the first group of wandering spirits who had already broken up on the spot. Through this group, they found Mo Tianbao, who had just boarded the ship and was preparing to run away with a huge sum of money.

Through Mo Tianbao, they found Yang Asheng, who had already boarded a boat and was preparing to return home.

Using Yang Asheng and his money exchange as a matchmaker, they found Ye, the matchmaker who had long since fled to Xiangzhou City to resume her old profession.
Only when Master Qian trusted him to keep his mouth shut did the effect of his words not fail.

Although he spent a lot of money, and the "femme fatale" and her gang disappeared without a trace, it was all within his expectations, and he was quite satisfied with the outcome.

The next day, when they went to check from afar, they found that the temple gate of Baoshan Beacon Tower was indeed closed, and the spiritual light was obscured.

Subsequently, everything proceeded smoothly, as if an invisible hand was secretly cooperating.

The evil and malevolent energy emanating from the evil spirits violently impacted the security defenses of the Mountain and Sea Society, and cracks gradually appeared in the [Eight Directions Ascending Wind Pavilion Formation].

This situation has become increasingly serious over time.

Until the night of the 28th of the first lunar month, in the dark and gloomy midnight hour, the [Eight Directions Ascending Wind Pavilion] suddenly trembled.

A unique aura, cool yet dignified, suddenly leaked out.

In Moon Harbor, cattle, sheep, and horses collapsed, while flying insects and flies scattered in all directions like madmen.

Overjoyed, Master Qian lit incense and reported to Pu Shouying, whose true form was not in Yuegang:

"At the bow of the ship, Madam Yan has been exposed!"

(End of this chapter)