Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

The night wind swept through the ruins, the stench of blood mixed with dust, creating an indescribable oppressive atmosphere in the air.

Yang Xuangui was still lying on the ground.

He was trembling like a leaf, and the stench emanating from his crotch was particularly pungent in the quiet courtyard.

Shen Mo didn't look at him again.

He simply lowered his head and gently wiped away the tear stains on Yang Yuhuan's cheeks with his fingertips.

The movements were slow and focused.

It was as if there was nothing else in the world that could distract him.

"Taoist Master..."

Yang Yuhuan's voice was still trembling, but her fear had largely subsided.

She gripped Shen Mo's Taoist robe tighter and asked softly, "Why...why did my uncle say that just now...?"

She couldn't figure it out.

It was clearly the Taoist priest who saved her and everyone in the entire courtyard.

Why would a close uncle repay kindness with enmity and slander the Taoist priest as a sorcerer?

Shen Mo paused in his movements.

He raised his head and his gaze fell on Yang Xuangui, who looked like a lump of mud not far away.

"Because in his eyes, your innocence, the Yang family's reputation, and your future prospects of currying favor with the powerful are more important than your life."

His tone was calm.

"It's more important than my life."

Yang Yuhuan froze.

She looked at her uncle in disbelief.

Yang Xuangui felt that gaze and trembled in fright, scrambling to retreat.

He mumbled incoherently, pleading, "No...no...demon...Taoist Master! Please spare me! I was just confused! I was terrified!"

All he wants now is to survive.

As for the glory of the Yang family and the Princess Consort of Shou, to hell with them!

In front of this terrifying being who could make the three hundred Golden Guards cower in fear, he was nothing but a fart!

"You just said I ripped her clothes off?"

Shen Mo spoke slowly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it made Yang Xuangui's heart stop abruptly.

"No...no! I was talking nonsense! I was blind! I had a foul mouth!"

Yang Xuangui slapped himself repeatedly, the sound of the slaps echoing as his cheeks quickly swelled up.

"You're saying I'm a demonic cultivator, plotting against her?"

Shen Mo asked again.

"No, no, no! You are a deity! You are a living deity descended to earth to save us from suffering!"

Yang Xuangui wept uncontrollably, wishing he could tear out his heart to prove his repentance.

"I was blind to your greatness! I'm worse than a pig or a dog!"

Shen Mo remained silent.

He simply looked at Yang Xuangui quietly.

There was no anger or murderous intent in his eyes.

There was only a bottomless indifference.

But it was this indifference that made Yang Xuangui feel as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into the freezing cold.

A chill emanated from between his bones.

He suddenly understood.

The other party didn't take him seriously at all.

Just like when a person walks, they don't care about the ants they step on.

This utter disregard filled him with more fear and despair than any form of torture.

Shen Mo raised his hand.

Yang Xuangui's pupils suddenly contracted, thinking that his death was imminent.

But the next moment——

An invisible force shot out from his fingertips and entered his dantian.

Yang Xuangui shuddered, and then felt a piercing pain erupt from deep within his lower abdomen.

"Aaaaaahh ...

He was rolling on the ground clutching his stomach, veins bulging on his forehead, and his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

That kind of pain wasn't physical.

It was a piercing pain that surged from the depths of the internal organs, from the bone marrow, and from the depths of the soul.

It felt like countless red-hot steel needles were piercing his body.

"This is a life-or-death talisman."

Shen Mo spoke softly.

"It flares up once a month on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, and each time it's ten times more painful than the last."

"A year from now, you'll be in so much pain that you'll want to bite your tongue and kill yourself."

"But you can't bite it off."

"Because by then, you won't even have the strength to lift your hand."

Yang Xuangui's eyes widened, his lips trembling as he tried to say something.

But the excruciating pain rendered him unable to speak, only allowing him to howl like a wild beast.

Shen Mo turned away, no longer looking at him.

"Yu Huan, where do you live?"

Yang Yuhuan paused for a moment, then subconsciously replied, "In...in Xinghua Ward in the south of the city."

"We can't stay here anymore."

Shen Mo glanced at the devastated courtyard.

"I'll take you back."

"But……"

Yang Yuhuan hesitated.

"Taoist priest, aren't you leaving? Those soldiers..."

"I said I'm not leaving for now."

Shen Mo gently tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears.

His mind was racing.

This world is not the Divine Eagle.

That mirror transported him to a completely unfamiliar era.

The Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, Prince Shou... these names left a deep impression on his memories of his previous life, but he didn't know the specifics.

More importantly—he still didn't know how to shoot the eagle back.

The mirror gave him no clues.

Those metallic monsters that fell from the sky, and that blonde woman, came from the Main God Space.

Acting rashly now will only put you in a passive position.

He needs time.

Time will tell, and we'll find a way back to the world of The Eagle.

As for the distinction between good and evil...

A thoughtful look flashed in Shen Mo's eyes.

There's no rush.

"There are still some things I need to figure out in Chang'an."

Shen Mo's tone was very calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

But to Yang Yuhuan, it brought a sense of inexplicable peace of mind.

She nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

As long as she's by this person's side, she won't be afraid even if the sky falls.

Shen Mo helped her to her feet and wrapped the Taoist robe draped over her even tighter.

Then, he took her hand.

The girl's hands were cold and trembling slightly.

Shen Mo's palm was broad and warm, and a calming power flowed through his hand.

Yang Yuhuan's cheeks flushed slightly, and her heart skipped a beat.

But she did not break free.

Instead, I instinctively gripped it tighter.

The two walked past Yang Xuangui.

Shen Mo didn't look at him again from beginning to end.

Yang Xuangui collapsed to the ground, watching the two figures walk away hand in hand.

His eyes first flashed with relief at surviving the ordeal.

Then it was replaced by endless resentment and fear.

He knew he was finished.

Not just in front of that Taoist priest.

He was completely finished in front of his niece.

The Yang family is finished too.

The excruciating pain continued.

He curled up on the ground, like a worm waiting to die.

The night in Chang'an was no longer peaceful because of the changes at the Yang family's villa.

General Chen Guangyuan of the Imperial Guard led three hundred men and retreated like a tide, but dropped a huge rock on Chang'an City.

The news spread through elite circles with astonishing speed.

—The villa where the Yang family's future princess was to marry into the Prince of Shou's mansion was destroyed, resulting in heavy casualties!

—A mysterious Taoist priest appeared at the scene, and he is suspected to be related to this matter!

Three hundred elite Golden Guard soldiers were forced back by that Taoist priest alone!

Every piece of news was enough to cause a huge uproar in Chang'an.

Moreover, these three messages are superimposed on each other.

Countless eyes opened in the darkness, gazing in the direction of the Yang family's villa.

---

Daming Palace.

Inside the brightly lit Zichen Palace, Emperor Li Longji of Tang, who had just been awakened from his sleep, listened to the eunuch's report with a gloomy expression.

"Evil spirits causing chaos? Beyond human power to defeat?"

Li Longji tapped his knuckles lightly on the armrest of the dragon throne, producing a dull sound.

"Is that what Chen Guangyuan said?"

"Your Majesty, the report personally submitted by Chen Guangyuan, the General of the Golden Guard, is exactly as it appears."

The old eunuch Gao Lishi bowed and replied in a steady voice.

"Oh."

Li Longji let out a cold laugh that was difficult to decipher.

"My general is quite capable of knowing when to advance and retreat. Three hundred elite troops were intimidated by a single sentence; he needs to come up with a respectable reason."

"His Majesty."

Gao Lishi looked up, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

"This old servant believes that General Chen may not be exaggerating. The devastation at that villa seems beyond human capabilities. Especially the enormous crater several feet deep in the courtyard, and that pile of unheard-of metal debris..."

Li Longji remained silent.

He is a believer in Taoism and has always preferred to believe in the existence of supernatural and ghostly things rather than deny their existence.

"Where is that Taoist priest?"

Li Longji asked in a deep voice.

"Have you found out where it came from?"

"Your Majesty, not yet. All we know is that he is very young and claims to be passing by."

Gao Lishi paused.

"However, it seems that the young lady from the Yang family has a very close relationship with him."

"A close relationship?"

Li Longji frowned.

That's what he's most concerned about.

A soon-to-be princess gets involved with a Taoist priest of unknown origin on the eve of her wedding.

If this gets out, it will be a disgrace to the royal family!

"Has the Prince of Shou found out?"

"His Highness Prince Shou's residence is tightly shut, so he probably hasn't received the news yet. However, this matter probably can't be kept secret for long."

Li Longji's expression grew increasingly grim.

He pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Let Li Linfu handle it."

Gao Lishi was startled.

Should the current prime minister, Right Chancellor Li Linfu, personally handle this matter?

It seems that His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter to a degree that far exceeds his expectations.

"Reveal my imperial edict."

Li Longji's voice echoed in the empty hall.

"Tell Li Linfu, I want to know the whole truth. Investigate clearly whether that Taoist priest is human, ghost, immortal, or demon!"