Headless Immortal

Chapter 128 Clearing Up the Misunderstanding: Three Teams

At the entrance of the horse market, a seven-foot-tall man walked towards us, wearing a blue turban with two swallowtails, a leopard-like head and round eyes, a swallow-like jaw and tiger whiskers, and a pair of piercing eyes that shone brightly.

He carried a sword case on his back and a steel knife at his waist.

He raised the token, gestured for a moment, then put it down, smiling and bowing with his hands clasped, saying, "Gao Qingzhi, Commandant of the Earth Bureau, greets the Daoist Master."

The Taoist priest did not sheath his sword; crackling lightning flashed as he made a Taoist bow with one hand: "Zhang Huaisu of Longhu Mountain greets the Captain."

Lu Xun glanced at the approaching high school lieutenant with his pale golden eyes, a look of surprise flashing in them.

Wasn't he supposed to send a message to County Chief Zhang, asking Gao Qingzhi to stay at the yamen to cooperate with him? Why is he here instead? Judging from Gao Qingzhi's travel-worn appearance, he must have traveled day and night.

"It's a misunderstanding, Daoist Master. My friend is a rare hero." Gao Qingzhi defended him, "Some time ago he saved the villagers of Hejiao Village and killed a monster for them. Now he is heading north to investigate the source of the drought. If you don't believe me, Daoist Master, there is Niu Xiaoting from Zhang County to testify. The people call him Niu Qingtian."

Zhang Huaisu was mostly convinced, mainly because when they first met, the scholar had asked if he used women to practice evil magic. He still hadn't sheathed his sword, and the Yin-Yang Wheel slowly turned: "Years ago, I captured a hidden monster in Huanglian Village. It begged for mercy, saying it only wanted to cultivate properly. Remembering that it had done good deeds for the village, I spared its life. Then it killed half the villagers and fled into the deep mountains and forests. I caught up with it and asked why. It said that it was exposed here and had to travel a long way. There was no food on the way, so it made some meat, but it didn't expect to kill so many people."

Zhang Huaisu gripped the longsword in his hand even tighter: "I prefer to believe in those who are inherently good."

“But that has nothing to do with him. He used a secret cultivation method.” Gao Qingzhi had heard of Zhang Huaisu’s great name. He was the successor of the Thunder Technique of Longhu Mountain and had a great reputation in the martial arts world.

He gripped his waist knife and said in a deep voice, "Could it be that you haven't witnessed the many changes in my friend?"

Zhang Huaisu frowned. He did see the demon monkey turn into a black cat, and then the scholar turn into a demon monkey. It was indeed puzzling. Each transformation seemed to be not the work of magic, but rather the actual appearance of the demon, without any flaws.

He couldn't help but ask, "Does such a wonderful method exist in the world?"

Gao Qingzhi released his grip on the waist knife, crossed his arms, and said, "The world is vast, and there are countless great paths, nurturing all kinds of cultivators. There are Confucian cultivators, Buddhist cultivators, Taoist cultivators, martial arts cultivators, as well as smoke cultivators, vehicle cultivators, demon cultivators, and so on. Fellow Daoist, please don't be surprised. If my friend can't imitate the real thing perfectly, how can he unleash his full power?"

"Taoist priests live in their caves for a long time and are unaware of the ever-changing world. My friend is one of them, known as the Thousand-Change God."

Lu Xun looked at Gao Qingzhi, who was explaining with a serious face, and couldn't help but laugh. Fortunately, the captain didn't give him the nickname 'Changing Monster'.

Zhang Huaisu went from being skeptical to mostly believing.

Mr. Shen, who had just arrived, clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Boss, those women have been found."

Nourishing.

A flash of lightning startled Mr. Shen, who quickly hid behind Lu Xun.

Without further ado, Lu Xun spat out two words through his fangs: "Save them!"

Head transplant.

The red-faced, blue-toothed Five Gods transformed into a white-faced scholar.

"I'll go as well."

Zhang Zhong, who wasn't scared out of his wits, volunteered; he had come specifically to save people.

Looking again at the figure hovering beside the scholar, one could understand why the scholar had calmly sat down after murmuring to himself. It turned out they had already sent someone… a ghost, to search for the woman in the manor; indeed, they were thorough.

Lu Xun didn't move, but said to the water ghost, "I'll trouble Mr. Shen to lead the captain to rescue those imprisoned women."

In the period before the collapse of the court, government officials were always trustworthy, and he also had to clean up the mess.

As he spoke, he picked up a long knife from the pile of corpses.

With a single stroke, he chopped off the dwarf's head, then cut off Yan Xiu's head as well. Only then did he look at the tall, robust, dark-blue, armored, ferocious iron corpse, raising his long sword straight for its neck.

Ding.

The long sword snapped in two.

"Ordinary weapons cannot harm the armored corpse."

Zhang Huaisu slung the sword over his shoulder, secretly admiring the scholar's meticulousness. He even went so far as to behead each person, demonstrating his ruthless methods.

"Wait a minute before you make a move. The Earth God has the means to control zombies. Why don't you let me have it?"

Gao Qingzhi raised his hand to stop Lu Xun from continuing his attack. He pulled a large fox carcass from his lower back, grabbed it by the tail, and handed it over, saying, "I rode my horse in and saw it running away, so I killed it with one stroke."

"I'll go first, and we'll talk when I get back."

The captain followed the water ghost out of the horse hall.

Zhang Zhong followed.

The hall fell silent as the swordsman tended to the wounds on his abdomen and chest.

"Don't move. You've been poisoned by corpse poison. If you don't get rid of it, you'll turn into a zombie." Zhang Huaisu approached the songstresses and dancers who were hiding around like quails and asked, "Do you have any glutinous rice? Find some glutinous rice."

"Have."

The man who looked like the manager quickly went into the back room and asked the cook to bring some glutinous rice.

Zhang Huaisu soaked the talisman in water, took out a red talisman from his pocket, threw it into the bowl, and the water began to boil.

He reached out and grabbed some glutinous rice, kneaded it into powder, mixed it with a talisman, and stuck it on the knife-wielder's wound. With a 'sizzle,' he put the hot iron into the pork and scalded it. Even the knife-wielder screamed in agony.

"Hold it in."

After applying the medicinal powder and re-bandaging the wound, Zhang Huaisu said in a deep voice, "Do not eat meat or fish, do not get it wet, and especially do not eat raw food or drink blood for three days. My wound medicine from Longhu Mountain will guarantee you will be lively and energetic for half a month."

"Thank you, Taoist Master."

The swordsman cupped his hands and asked, "Won't this interfere with drinking?"

"Influence."

"what."

The swordsman sighed helplessly and said, "I am Liang Yufei, a swordsman from Jade Mountain Villa. I was invited by the lord of Zhangjiabao to be a bodyguard, but I never expected to get involved in such a big deal."

Zombies, foxes, smoke goddesses, Taoist priests, scholars, imperial officers, and...

Liang Yufei glanced at the pale-faced scholar. He had never heard of the Thousand-Change God before, but with his monster-like abilities, he was sure to become famous throughout the martial arts world, and he was undoubtedly a witness to it.

Lu Xun saw Zhang Huaisu's actions as he helped the armored soldiers up and treated their wounds.

He felt that treating the swordsmen was one thing, but the swordsmen's choice to remain neutral in this battle was already biased towards them, not to mention that they had shared the fighting power, giving him the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

The soldiers lying on the ground followed Zhang Baohou's orders and surrounded the two men. If they hadn't been skilled, they would have died under the hail of knives long ago.

Lu Xun was about to finish off the rest with his knife when Zhang Huaisu stopped him.

He frowned and asked, "Why bother treating them?"

Hearing the hoarse, cold voice, the surviving soldiers trembled with fear.

He hurriedly begged for forgiveness, saying that he knew nothing about it and was only following the orders of the lord of the fortress.

Zhang Huaisu said, "They were just following orders and were deceived by Zhang Baohou. As long as they haven't gotten involved with that stuff, there's still hope."

That thing?
Just as Lu Xun was about to ask, his ears twitched, and he said, "Someone's coming."

Looking back.

The clanging of armor was like a torrential downpour hitting roof tiles, crackling and popping. A squad of armored soldiers stepped onto the steps in unison, half-kneeling on the ground as they drew their horn bows, the taut bowstrings creaking and making a teeth-grinding sound.

Behind the five men were five more men; only these ten were armored, the rest were mostly dressed in plain clothes.

The soldiers parted to make way, and a young general in bright silver armor stepped forward. He immediately spotted the corpse in the horse stable and the familiar spear, which clearly belonged to his father. He roared, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into my Zhang Family Fortress and kill my father? My father was an official appointed by the imperial court!" The Taoist priest immediately stood up and was about to announce his name.

"Second brother."

A weak cry came from behind the young man, his breath faint.

The young soldier turned around and exclaimed, "Brother! You're not dead!"

The pale-faced youth shook his head, his lips completely bloodless: "My father betrayed us and joined the rebels. He drew my blood to practice his evil magic, and I was imprisoned in the dungeon. Fortunately, I was rescued by a military officer from the imperial court."

"Put down your weapons."

The two brothers embraced and wept bitterly, instantly easing the tense atmosphere and adding a touch of sadness.

The old squire sighed, "Even a tiger wouldn't eat its cubs, this man..."

“After drinking blood, its humanity will gradually fade.” Zhang Huaisu sneered, then continued, “That’s why I have to stop that thing from being born. If that thing gets the blood of the White Sect’s Holy Maiden, its power will definitely increase greatly, and then the entire Zhangzhou will become a parched land.”

Lu Xun looked at Zhang Huaisu questioningly: "That thing?"

Zhang Huaisu didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed its origin: "Ba. It's not yet, it should still be in the process of transformation."

Gao Qingzhi's arm suddenly stopped. Looking at the armored corpse in front of him, he said regretfully, "It seems that it won't work. Although the Earth God has the means to control zombies, if a zombie is made to face the demon, it will probably rebel the moment it sees him."

"Let me kill him instead."

Lu Xun decisively took the waist knife from Gao Qingzhi.

This knife is not made of ordinary iron; it can cut through gold and jade. In addition, it has a red talisman, which prevents the armored corpse from using its copper skin and iron bones. This benefits Lu Xun, who not only obtains the fox's brain but also removes the armored corpse's head.

Zhang Zhong led the girl out of the crowd and knelt in front of Lu Xun. He looked at the girl and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, benefactor."

"Get up, get up."

Lu Xun pulled the two of them up from the ground and asked again, "Has the old man's daughter been found?"

"found it."

Among the rescued women, a rather pretty girl stepped forward and said she was going to kneel down as well.

Lu Xun stepped forward to support the other person and gently comforted them, "Go home."

……

The manor was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, truly welcoming a joyous occasion: the old lord had passed away, and the new lord was the kind and benevolent eldest son.

It turns out that the old lord of the fortress used human blood as material to imprison the eldest son and a group of women in order to cultivate evil magic. Fortunately, the imperial court discovered this and sent a captain to Zhangjiabao. With the help of the scholar and the Taoist priest, the captain killed the old lord who had fallen into demonic possession.

The banquets that reopened were much simpler.

"Dry!"

Everyone raised their glasses together.

After drinking, Lu Xun lowered his voice and said, "What will happen to the government office if we both get stuck here? There will be no one to inform us if we get trapped."

Gao Qingzhi waved his hand and said, "It's alright, I'll have Magistrate Niu look after our rear."

“He’s like a clay Bodhisattva crossing a river, barely able to save himself, and I think he’s determined to die to prove his innocence…” Lu Xun’s face darkened. Niu Xiaoting was a good man, but he didn’t understand the situation here. Given Niu Xiaoting’s status as a convicted official, even if he submitted a memorial, he wouldn’t gain the court’s trust. On the contrary, the captain could get the local officials to help him.

According to the Taoist priest, there is a zombie king in Hao County, Zhangzhou, which is about to transform into a 'ba' (a type of monster), and this is not something that the two of them can handle.

Seeing the two whispering, the Taoist priest stretched out his ears, held a cup of plain wine, and said with a smile, "Fellow Taoists, do not worry. My Uncle Jingqing from Longhu Mountain has already led a group of fellow disciples to Hao County to subdue the demon."

"I received news that the Holy Maiden of the White Sect would be coming to Zhangjiabao, so I sent troops here."

Lu Xun's face lit up with joy. He considered whether he should write a letter back to Bailudong Academy to ask the headmaster for help.

Toothless, with its wings folded, was swallowing a fish when it saw the king's gaze coming towards it. It spat the half-eaten fish back into the plate and raised its wings to push the king towards it.

It's as if it's saying, 'Your Majesty, you eat first.'

"you eat."

Upon hearing this, Captain Gao slapped his thigh and said, "Oh no! There are still tens of thousands of rebel troops in Hao County. Even if you Taoist priests are powerful, you will not be able to save your lives once you are caught in the army's formation."

Zhang Huaisu remained calm and lowered his voice, saying, "This requires the captain to go to the Jiangbei camp to explain the situation so that the army can march to Hao County to suppress the rebellion. We can then take the opportunity to kill or seal the drought demon so that it cannot cause trouble. I believe that with Gao Qingzhi's reputation, General Di will definitely take this seriously."

The captain looked at Zhang Huaisu in surprise.

Zhang Huaisu cupped his hands and said, "His sword is renowned for its prowess in three prefectures and six counties, and his saber is used to kill on both the north and south banks of the river. He is known as the master of both sword and saber."

Lu Xun couldn't help but glance at him. He hadn't expected Gao Qingzhi to have such a great reputation. Indeed, when he killed Wu Tongshen, the captain had clearly not exerted much effort, and he seemed to handle the White Sect's ambush with ease. If it weren't for the lives of 'Executioner' Lu Xun, the groom, and Xiao Douzi, he could have killed all five of them by himself.

Zhang Huaisu suggested, "Let's split our forces into two groups."

"The captain went to the Jiangbei camp to find General Di, while this fellow Daoist and I headed north to track down the White Sect demoness."

“Three routes.” Lu Xun raised his hand.

Zhang Huaisu was surprised, thinking that Lu Xun was upset that he had 'misunderstanding' and didn't want to be with him.

Lu Xun said, "I promised Mr. Shen that I would first send his remains back to Meng County, and then continue north."

Zhang Huaisu looked at the water ghost beside him.

The water ghost smiled.

I understand now that's how it is.

"That's fine too." Actually, Zhang Huaisu felt it was alright whether Lu Xun helped him or not, as long as Gao Qingzhi agreed to go to the camp and write to the court that a zombie king had been born in Zhangzhou.

At that time, the army will be able to hold back tens of thousands of rebels, allowing my uncle to lead my fellow disciples in setting up the altar for subduing demons.

Zhang Huaisu asked with a smile, "I wonder if you intend to leave or come north with us to subdue the demon?"

The old man whose name was called retracted his claws, looked at the three of them, and shook his head, saying, "This old man doesn't have that much ability, so I won't get involved."

"Where is the swordsman?"

"I need to go back to the manor and ask the old master what he thinks."

Lu Xun pondered for a moment and asked, "Should we inform Bailudong Academy and Donglin Temple?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huaisu's expression became slightly unnatural. He deliberately avoided mentioning this matter because he didn't want the two families to know.

Gao Qingzhi made the final decision, setting the tone: "All sects, shamans, and sorcerers on both sides of the Xunyang River must contribute!"

“If any of them dare to back down, I will petition the court to strip them of their temples and monasteries and demolish them as well. I will have the Jiujiang Prefectural Office handle this matter.”

Lu Xun nodded slightly, raised his cup to the young man seated above him: "Lord of the fortress, do you have any good horses in your manor? Sell me two."

The young man pondered, “Most of them have fever, but there is one strange beast that doesn’t eat grass and feeds on internal organs and flesh. Even my father couldn’t tame it. It’s very fierce…”

Lu Xun became interested: "Why don't you take me to see it? If it's good, I'm willing to spend a lot of money to buy it."

"My benefactor is too kind."

(End of this chapter)