Old Refining Spirit

The capital city, the Vermilion Bird Gate.

The towering, dark gold city gate, standing thirty feet tall, resembled the gaping maw of a prehistoric beast, mercilessly swallowing merchants and refugees from all corners of the land.

On either side of the city gate stood two rows of heavily armored royal guards. In the very center of the gate stood a massive bronze cauldron. Every commoner wishing to enter the capital had to pay an exorbitant copper coin and, under the watchful eyes of executioners, prick their middle finger and drip a drop of blood into the bronze cauldron.

"Hurry up! Stop dawdling! This is the 'Demon Testing Cauldron' set up by the Imperial Advisor. As long as a demon takes human form, a drop of blood into the cauldron will cause black smoke to rise!" A burly Imperial Guard captain brandished a barbed whip and shouted.

A gaunt old farmer trembled as he pricked his finger and dripped his blood into the cauldron. The blood fell into the boiling water and was instantly absorbed without a trace, without emitting any black smoke.

"Pass! Next!" The captain waved his hand impatiently.

The old farmer, profusely thanking everyone, entered the city gate. Little did he know that the drop of blood he had just spilled contained the last vestige of his innate lifespan. That so-called "Demon-Testing Cauldron" wasn't for warding off demons at all, but rather a "feeding trough" used by the Great Yuan Dynasty to harvest the lifeblood of its people at fixed times and in fixed quantities every day!

Soon, it was Li Xuangeng and Xiaoman's turn to join the queue.

Xiaoman, leading her skinny horse, looked at the bronze cauldron that exuded a strange, bloody smell, and then at the fierce-looking imperial guards. Her face turned slightly pale, but she gritted her teeth, secretly touched the golden talisman that Li Xuangeng had drawn for her in her bosom, and forced herself to straighten her back.

"Blind man, and that little girl, drip blood!" The captain glanced sideways at Li Xuangeng's faded Taoist robe, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

Li Xuangeng ignored the cauldron. He tilted his head slightly, his face covered with white silk, facing the captain, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

"I have been suffering from a cold constitution since childhood, and my qi and blood are deficient. I'm afraid I can no longer keep this rule of blood transfusion."

"Are you courting death?!" The captain roared in fury, drawing his steel sword and pointing it at Li Xuangeng's nose. "This is the capital, under the Emperor's nose! If you don't shed blood, you're a demon or a spy. Kill me on the spot!"

The surrounding people were so frightened that they all backed away, afraid of getting splattered with blood.

"A demonic spy?" Li Xuangeng chuckled, slowly pulling a heavy object from his wide sleeve and tossing it forward.

"Clatter".

The object landed precisely on the bluestone slab at the captain's feet.

The captain was about to lash out when he looked down and his pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpoints! It was a square waist plaque carved from the finest Hetian jade, with a four-clawed python coiled around it, and two large characters engraved in the center in nine-fold seal script—"Ministry of Revenue." At the edge of the plaque, there was still a trace of dried, pungent, and foul-smelling green viscous liquid.

This is the personal token of Zhang Dehai, the Minister of Revenue, a second-rank official in the Da Yuan Dynasty! Seeing this token is like seeing a high-ranking official in the court!

"This...this is Lord Zhang's waist token! How did it end up in the hands of a wandering Taoist priest like you?!" The captain was so frightened that he dropped his steel sword, his legs going weak. Zhang Dehai was a favorite of the Imperial Preceptor; he wouldn't dare offend him even if he had ten lives.

"Oh, Lord Zhang was inspecting the disaster situation outside the city yesterday and unfortunately caught a cold. I happen to have some medical knowledge, so I performed a bone-scraping treatment for him," Li Xuangeng explained gently, his tone so sincere that it was impeccable. "Lord Zhang is grateful for my kindness and has specially gifted me this waist token, as well as his house on Zhuque Street, so that I can settle down in the capital."

"Scraping... scraping the bone to remove poison?" The captain swallowed hard. Although the words sounded extremely bizarre, the authority of a second-rank official on his badge was undeniable.

In the Dayuan Dynasty, a higher rank could have a crushing effect, especially for the Minister of Revenue, who held the reins of finances.

"It was my fault for not recognizing your greatness! Please, Master, please come in!" The captain was sweating profusely and quickly made way for Li Xuangeng, even bowing respectfully to present the waist token with both hands.

"Thank you." Li Xuangeng picked up the waist token with two fingers, disdainfully used his true energy to evaporate the green poison on it, and then put it back into his sleeve.

"Let's go, Xiaoman. Let's go see our 'new home'."

Alone, with a horse and a maid, they crossed the gates of hell in the capital with the cheers of the Imperial Guards of Dayuan.

Zhuque Avenue is the most prosperous and central area for the wealthy and powerful in the capital.

Those who could afford a residence here were either extremely wealthy or of high rank, starting as high-ranking officials of the third rank. The residence of Zhang Dehai, the Minister of Revenue, occupied the most auspicious central position on the entire street.

The vermilion gate, the three-zhang-high courtyard wall, and the two majestic white jade lions in front of the gate exude luxury.

Xiaoman looked up at the huge golden nanmu plaque with the words "Zhang Residence" written on it. Li Xuangeng's rented courtyard was on the back street of Zhang Dehai's house, and Li Xuangeng's front yard was adjacent to Zhang Dehai's back yard. Xiaoman swallowed hard, somewhat incredulously: "Daoist Master...we'll be living here from now on?"

"It's just a temporary stay. The air here is too dirty and needs to be cleaned up properly."

Li Xuangeng walked up the steps, but instead of knocking, he kicked the door open.

"boom!"

The two heavy wooden doors, studded with copper nails, were kicked inwards, smashing the screen wall in the courtyard.

The head steward was a thin, tall middle-aged man in his fifties with a mustache and a sinister look in his eyes. He strode forward, about to shout insults, but his gaze met Li Xuangeng's face, which was covered with a white silk ribbon.

To ordinary people, he was just an arrogant blind Taoist priest.

Because the courtyards were connected, Li Changgeng could clearly see the scene of Zhang Dehai's house. The artificial hills, ponds, and precious flowers and trees inside were all made of human bones and resentful blood. The entire mansion was shrouded in a dense layer of semi-transparent spider webs, which tightly locked in the foul stench and demonic aura emanating from the mansion, preventing it from leaking into the street.

Inside the courtyard, a dozen or so servants dressed in short blue jackets were gathered together whispering.

The butler with the mustache in front of them was clearly a black widow spider the size of a small calf beneath his human skin! The servants, on the other hand, were all mutated spider slaves who had not yet fully transformed!

Zhang Dehai is a giant centipede, and his steward is a poisonous spider. This Minister's residence is practically the "breeding ground for poisonous insects" of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

"So you're the steward of this house?" Li Xuangeng slowly stepped over the threshold, seemingly ignoring the servants who had drawn their weapons. "Zhang Dehai has already given this house to me. Now, you can all get out."

"Give it to you? How dare you!" The steward laughed angrily. "My master is a high-ranking official of the second rank in the court. How could he possibly give his mansion to a blind man like you! Guards, beat him to death with clubs and throw him into the dry well in the backyard to be used as fertilizer!"