The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

End of the Xu hour.

Jinxia Building, Room No. 1 (Tianzi No. 1)

The scholar and his companions all wore what they considered their most valuable clothes, since they had heard of the famous Jinxia Tower when they were in Baiyun County, and those who frequented the place were either rich or noble.

The scholar, dressed in a white robe, straightened his chest and exhaled a few long breaths to appear more relaxed.

Turning his head, he saw Old Li staring blankly into space, and the scholar patted him on the shoulder.

"Old Li, what are you daydreaming about? We need to stay calm and not let people look down on us."

Old Li chuckled: "No~"

Lin Zikai was also sitting upright, clearly a little nervous, with a bit of sweat on his forehead.

He smiled and said, "It's really a bit hot in this room. Let's open a window to let some air in."

As soon as I opened the window, the sounds of the street noise came in along with the late autumn wind.

Lin Zikai chuckled awkwardly.

"These windows are really good at soundproofing."

We need to close the window.

"Let's leave it running; it's a bit smoky."

Shen Qing stopped Lin Zikai; he actually quite liked the feeling.

In her past life, Shen Qing liked to linger in the snack street downstairs after get off work.

Amidst the commotion, Shen Qing and the others devoured all the dishes on the table, including glutinous rice stuffed duck, steamed eight-treasure pork, sweet and sour lotus seed rice, shrimp balls, and egg drop soup.

Everyone had eaten their fill and was now sitting in chairs, drinking tea and listening to the storytelling downstairs as they digested their food.

The storyteller had just finished telling a story and was about to put the table away.

The listeners around them started clamoring, "Not enough! One more! One more!"

The storyteller hesitated for a moment, then sat down: "I do have a new story to tell, would you like to hear it?"

Immediately, someone threw over a few copper coins: "Tell me about it."

The storyteller carefully put away the coins and smiled mysteriously: "Have you ever heard of the name of Shen Qing, the next Yama?"

"Oh! Is that Lord Shen, the newly appointed magistrate of the West City Hundred Household Office?"

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow. Why did it sound like she was involved in this?

Lin Zikai immediately turned his gaze to the scholar, as did Black Dog and the others, and Shen Qing also shifted his gaze.

The scholar explained, "Boss, actually, this name had already spread throughout Luoshui City when you first captured Sun Yun, the Cloud-Seeking Hand. Storytellers were busy making up stories about him."

"However, each storyteller makes up a different name. I went around and found that the three most famous ones are: one is the World-Saving Yama, one is the Blue Yaksha, and the other is the Blood-Handed Butcher."

"I feel that the other two names don't sound very good. In the entire martial arts world of Da Wu, there are at least eight hundred or a thousand people named Yaksha."

"Bloody Hand Butcher is a less common name, but it's still a pretty common one."

I gave the storytellers some silver to get them to agree on the same story and all say it was about the Yama who saves the world.

The storyteller struck his gavel: "That's right! It is indeed Lord Shen Qing, the centurion."

"Speaking of which, this 'Crossing the World Yama' is truly legendary. He infiltrated for two years, exposed the traitorous leader, captured the White Dragon Cult's wicked disciples, personally killed three members of the Xu family, wiped out the cannibalistic Zhang family, and arrested the notorious bandit 'Cloud Detective' Sun Yun! He was incredibly awe-inspiring!"

Someone in the crowd asked, "Then why is he called Yama?"

"Good question. Legend has it that Shen Qing wore a silver flying fish robe and wielded the Qinghe Blade. Wherever he went, there were severed limbs and broken bodies, displaying the methods of Yama. He was so majestic and awe-inspiring, a peerless young master."

"I've heard that before, but wasn't the original saying, 'A gentleman as handsome as jade, unparalleled in the world'?"

A voice rang out: "Isn't jade fragile? Lord Shen Qing's jade is incredibly hard!"

"Oh? Have you tried it?"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the crowd.

The storyteller struck the gavel again: "Now that we've finished talking about Yama, would you like to know where the words 'saving the world' come from?"

He smiled mysteriously at the people around him, stopped talking, and simply pushed the small basket for collecting money forward.

A chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd, but they still managed to toss in several copper coins.

The storyteller chuckled and continued, "There are two versions of the story. One is that Yama kills only evil people and then takes them to the underworld. The other is that Shen Qing was originally a celestial being who was just passing through this world for one lifetime."

Everyone nodded, their expressions showing sudden realization.

"Next, I'll tell you how this 'Salvator Yama' infiltrated for two years, personally killed the traitors, and captured the White Dragon Cult members. As soon as Shen Qing arrived at the Baiyun County headquarters, he noticed something was off about the headquarters commander, Sun Yan. So he devised a plan, step by step, to lure Sun Yan into a trap..."

Even Shen Qing, sitting upstairs, couldn't help but laugh. He had no idea he was so awesome until he was told.

Just as the storyteller was getting into the swing of things, a flapping sound of wings approached, and a white dove flew in through the window and landed on the scholar's hand.

The white dove has a pale red silk thread tied around its neck. It is a red carrier pigeon of the Zhenfu Division. These carrier pigeons are generally used for emergency communication. Compared with ordinary carrier pigeons, these pigeons are more accurate and can accurately find their targets by scent.

The corresponding scent is produced by a special sachet. Each centurion's office is equipped with this special sachet, which is usually hung on the centurion's body. However, Shen Qing found it troublesome and hung it on the scholar's body instead.

The scholar took the secret letter and read it.

"Boss, several people have gone missing in Lijiapo in the north in the past few days. The yamen's investigation suggests that it was the work of a group of ferocious beasts, and they are quite powerful. One person escaped and was swept downstream by the river. He said it was a pack of wild wolves, and he also said that a five-meter-long carp saved him. The Zhenfu Division wants us to go there."

Lin Zikai asked, "The north? That's not our territory. How did this task fall to us? Is there some kind of trap?"

The scholar glanced at the secret letter: "The reason is written here as well. Because of the diary that the boss handed over, the Zhenfu Division immediately sent people out to catch the Japanese pirates. As a result, no sooner had the people been driven away than the government office sent a request for help."

"Boss, what about us?"

Shen Qing felt somewhat embarrassed listening to the storyteller downstairs's increasingly exaggerated tales, though the title of "Transcendent King of Hell" was quite fitting. With a flick of his finger, Shen Qing sent a tael of silver precisely into the storyteller's small basket.

"Let's go to Lijiapo."

The storyteller downstairs was stunned for a moment when he saw the silver, then quickly got up and gave a fist and palm salute with a strong sense of chivalry to the person upstairs.

"A golden signboard and silver ingots are no match for the good fortune of the gentleman upstairs! I wish you boundless blessings and a bright future."

The storyteller paused for a moment, then continued his narration.

"But we have to get this straight from the beginning, this one or two taels of silver..."

"I'll just talk all night at most."

......

North of Luoshui City is Lijiapo.

Flames flickered in the darkness, as a young constable waved a torch and urged them on.

"Hurry up, everyone! The wolves are probably coming again."

An old farmer dressed in hemp clothing asked tremblingly, "Sir, are there really wolves?"

The constable didn't even turn his head, but kept glancing at the darkness at the other end of the village: "Old man, just sit quietly on the donkey cart and don't cause any trouble."

"The body of Li Lao Er from the village entrance has been brought back; it's been gnawed so badly it's unrecognizable."

"There were only a few wolves a few nights ago, but tonight there will probably be more."

The old farmer stopped speaking, and a childish voice came from behind him.

"Grandpa...hug..."

The old farmer glanced back at the obedient little girl sitting on the box; her clothes were clean, and her face was round.

This is the old farmer's granddaughter, who has just turned three.

A tender look welled up in the old farmer's cloudy eyes as he reached out and picked up the little girl.

"Little Sprout, be good."

"Grandpa will take you to town to buy candied hawthorns, okay?"

A glint of light flashed in the little girl's bright eyes: "Okay, Grandpa will eat too."

A burst of crimson fireworks suddenly erupted in the night sky behind them.

The constable's expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned around and shouted, "Everyone get on the vehicle! No luggage! Hurry!"

Immediately afterwards, several wolf howls rang out, seemingly from the other side of the village.

A rocket streaked across the night sky, and a line of fire suddenly lit up at the other end of the village. It was a makeshift fire wall built of wood and straw, which might not be very effective, but it could buy them some time.

Suddenly, the old farmer saw a timid child peering out from the darkness. It was Li Lao Er's child, who had been carried off by a wolf at the village entrance the day before yesterday.

"A bunch of careless people."

The old man cursed under his breath, then got off the carriage. The group of people were so focused on carrying their own belongings that they completely forgot about a child.

However, the old man had difficulty walking, and just as he picked up the baby, the constable shouted, "Set off immediately!"

All the constables immediately fed a black pill into the mouth of the donkey being pulled. Within a few breaths, the donkey's eyes were filled with scarlet blood, and the donkey, which had been walking slowly, suddenly sped up.

This is a beast-specific Blood-Burning Pill developed by the Precious Medicine Pavilion. Ordinary livestock will burn their life force after consuming it, unleashing extraordinary speed and endurance, but they will die within half an hour.

Little Sprout murmured, "Grandpa..."

The old woman in front of the donkey cart turned around: "Little Bud, be good, wait for Grandpa..."

But behind the donkey cart, only Xiaoya was sandwiched between several boxes; the old farmer was nowhere to be seen.

"Little Sprout, where's Grandpa?"

Little Sprout stretched out her finger, and following the fingertip, the old woman saw the old farmer standing at the village entrance.

"Old man!"

The old woman screamed and tried to jump off the carriage, but was held back by the yamen runners beside her.

"It's too late!"

Before long, the sound of the wolf pack grew closer and closer; they had circled around from both sides of the wall of fire.

The old farmer's expression changed, and he cursed angrily.

"A bunch of damned beasts."

His eyes darted around frantically, and he noticed a water vat on the side. The old farmer quickly hid the doll inside, but it was too late for him to find another hiding place.

As the wolf howls drew ever closer, and even in the darkness one could see pairs of deep, emerald-green pupils, a hint of resentment flashing in their eyes.

The old farmer picked up a scattered carrying pole from the ground and walked shakily toward those emerald green pupils.

"Damn beast..."

After a brief pause, the wolves realized that the old farmer in front of them had no power to resist them.

A wolf howled and pounced on the old farmer.

However, the old farmer soon threw the carrying pole aside and closed his eyes.

If you only have a few breaths left to live, why waste them on dealing with wolves?

Let's think about something else.

The crops in the field are growing exceptionally well this year, but I won't have a chance to harvest them.

My son wrote to say that he received a gift from a very important person in Luoshui City, and he will be able to return to the village soon to build a new house. He hasn't even moved in yet.

My spouse, who has been with me for sixty years, has never had a single good day.

Gradually, a strong smell of blood wafted over, and the wolf had already opened its bloody maw and was standing in front of him.

In his final moments, he thought of Xiaoya, realizing he hadn't yet seen his lovely granddaughter grow up and get married.

The old farmer tilted his head back, exposing his neck, and waited for death to come, hoping only for a quick and painless death. But the pain he had imagined did not come.

The old farmer slowly opened his eyes. Shen Qing, dressed in a magnificent robe, stood in front of him, pinching the wolf's mouth with one hand.

"Grandpa, where do you want to go?"

"If it's the underworld, then you might need to change your plans."

"The road to the underworld is about to be full."

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