A master of comedy!

Chapter 23 The Five Witches' Army
Upon hearing this voice, Zhou Sheng was initially startled, but then relaxed.

It's Master!
At the same time, he closed his eyes, and the remaining magical power in his dantian rose up from the Du meridian, passed through the Fengchi acupoint, and entered the Shuaigu acupoint, causing his brow to swell slightly.

His spiritual awareness subsequently reached its peak.

Immediately afterwards, he indeed sensed an extremely cold and fierce gaze from three zhang to the southeast of his back.

In an instant, the pores on his back stood up like those of a startled wildcat.

Great!
The battle at the Zhu residence had depleted his magical power considerably. In addition, the sun had risen, dawn was breaking, and the east was turning white, so most evil spirits dared not appear, which made him lower his guard.

Unexpectedly, a ruthless soldier sneaked up behind them!
The so-called "Changbing," also known as the Five Changbing, is an extremely ferocious ghost. Some say that Changbing are the heroic spirits of soldiers who sacrificed themselves in the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou, while others say that Changbing are the remnants of the Six Cave Heavenly Demons subdued by Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master.

Zhou Sheng didn't know which statement was correct, but he knew that among all the ghosts, Changbing was notoriously domineering and ferocious.

Ordinary Taoist priests don't even dare to set up an altar to invite the barbarian soldiers, because the barbarian soldiers only care about carrying out orders and don't care about the process at all.

For example, if you ask a mad soldier to exorcise a certain evil spirit, it will even kill all the wandering ghosts within a radius of dozens of miles.

If one is not satisfied or pleased, the Taoist priest who opened the altar may even turn against them.

Extremely bloodthirsty and violent!

If a temple is built for the Five Witches, but incense is rarely offered, the Witches will deliberately harass nearby living people, causing them to become confused and fall seriously ill.

Therefore, he is also known as the Cold Altar Overlord!

Zhou Sheng had never seen the mad soldiers before, but seeing the sun rise in the east and they still dared to show themselves and take action, he knew how fierce they were.

Ignoring the question of why the Zhu family would support rampant soldiers, Zhou Sheng felt every pore on his body tense, a chill running from his tailbone straight to the top of his head.

Because he sensed that the mad soldiers three zhang away were gradually approaching him.

Two zhang, one zhang, four chi, three chi, two chi, one chi...

As the distance drew closer, the sense of oppression Zhou Sheng felt grew stronger and more terrifying. Although it was early morning with the sun just rising, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, as if he were shrouded in a shadow darker than the night.

His back was soaked with sweat, and his skin under his clothes was covered in goosebumps.

Clang…

He vaguely heard the sound of swords being drawn and smelled a faint scent of blood that even the morning breeze couldn't dispel.

Was the other party testing me, or did they really intend to... kill me?

Zhou Sheng lowered his eyes slightly, revealing a resolute look.

He doesn't even have time to use the Luoshu divination method anymore, because swords are already at his neck and could fall at any moment.

Fight!

Just as Zhou Sheng was preparing to fight for his life, the gate of the Zhu mansion suddenly opened, and a figure stepped out.

At that very moment, the soldiers behind Zhou Sheng seemed to show some fear and subconsciously took a few steps back.

"You brat, why are you so late? Where are the medicines I asked you to get?"

Yu Zhensheng walked out of the Zhu residence carrying a medicine box. Upon seeing Zhou Sheng, he shouted a greeting, his expression completely natural, seemingly oblivious to the hordes of soldiers behind him.

Zhou Sheng immediately realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped forward, smiling, "Master, my stomach hurts, and I forgot when I went to the toilet. The medicine you wanted is all in this box."

Yu Zhensheng nodded and said, "That's good. Let's go back first. Something happened at the Zhu residence, so we don't need these medicines for the time being."

"Master, what happened? I heard a commotion inside, and no one answered when I knocked."

Yu Zhensheng gave him a sharp tap without any hesitation.

"Kids, stop asking questions and mind your own business."

The two then walked towards home, and the soldier behind them hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not follow.

……

Upon returning home, Yu Zhensheng's face instantly turned cold, and his expression became extremely serious.

"You've really gotten bold, daring to sneak into the magistrate's house, even singing about Jiang Taigong and using palm thunder, hehe..."

He casually picked up a white ash stalk from the side, his voice chilling.

"You'd better give me an explanation, or I'll break your legs so you can't perform those grotesque plays anymore. That would be better than having to collect your corpse one day!"

“Master, I never expected that Magistrate Zhu’s home would actually be supporting a mad soldier…” Zhou Sheng took a deep breath and then recounted the whole story.

Yu Zhensheng's expression remained unchanged until he heard that the evil corpse was Old Man Xu, at which point it changed slightly, but only briefly.

"Master, I suspect that Uncle Xu was murdered by people from the Zhu family. He—"

"enough."

Yu Zhensheng coldly interrupted.

"Take off your shirt, ten lashes."

Zhou Sheng immediately put on a bitter face and said, "Master, do you really want to fight?"

Yu Zhensheng said calmly, "Twenty strokes."

Zhou Sheng immediately became obedient, took off his clothes, revealing his muscular upper body. His muscles were well-defined and his features were as if he were wearing a suit of fish scale armor.

boom!
Yu Zhensheng brought down his staff, using the explosive and trembling force from his spear technique. He swung the white waxwood staff fiercely, lashing Zhou Sheng's back like a whip, even making a whooshing sound.

With a sharp crack, Zhou Sheng winced in pain.

After twenty strokes, his back was covered in bruises, with hardly an inch of unscathed skin.

"Do you know you're wrong?"

"Your disciple knows his mistake."

"What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't meddle in other people's business."

"wrong!"

Yu Zhensheng suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze sharp and resolute.

"Old Xu helped you practice your singing for three years and helped you get through the vocal cord slump. This is a favor we have to repay, otherwise we would really become the 'unrighteous actors' in the eyes of the world."

"Remember this: no matter how others look down on us opera singers, we must never look down on ourselves!"

“If you’re going to sing the operas of our ancestors, you can’t disgrace them, otherwise you’ll never be able to sing the operas well in your life.”

Zhou Sheng was taken aback, a look of astonishment on his face.

"The neighbors in Qinggu County have taken good care of you, and you have helped them to catch the culprit, which is not wrong. Old Xu has been kind to you, and you have taken his spirit to find the murderer, which is also not wrong."

"Master, why are you still hitting me—"

"Your mistake lies in your arrogance and recklessness, which stems from your advanced cultivation and the acquisition of some minor skills. You dared to sneak into the Zhu residence without knowing much about it, and even staged a shady play!"

"Do you consider yourself the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, or the leader of Maoshan Sect?"

"Do you know that if I hadn't been invited to treat the magistrate's wife today, and hadn't sensed your presence and secretly stopped the mad soldiers for a while, your body would probably be cold by now!"

Zhou Sheng suddenly realized why the rampaging soldiers hadn't arrived when he was fighting the evil corpse in the mansion, but were only targeted after he left the Zhu mansion.

"Master, I was wrong. I will definitely guard against arrogance and impetuosity in the future, and think twice before I act!"

Seeing the seriousness on Zhou Sheng's face, Yu Zhensheng's expression softened slightly. He casually tossed the white waxwood pole, which landed upright in the corner behind the door.

"Alright, it's good that you know you were wrong."

"Open the altar for raising ghosts and let Old Xu out."

Yu Zhensheng sat in the armchair, his fingers lightly tapping the back of the chair. Suddenly, his eyes, which were full of vicissitudes, became cloudy and flashed with a fierce and intimidating light.

Like a skinny tiger that had been sleeping for a long time in the wind and snow, suddenly opening its pupils and shaking off the frost and snow.

Even without the tiger's roar, the entire mountain forest was already filled with a chilling atmosphere.

"Next, let's see who Yama... has called on."

……

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(End of this chapter)