Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

If there are even two or three idiots in there, then they're doomed.

Chapter 124 Young Heroes Emerge (Part 2)

After hearing Zhuang Xing's idea, the old Taoist nodded.

"When it comes to exorcising demons, it's better to use skill rather than force. Go and give it a try, and I'll stay here to oversee things for you."

"This disciple will definitely get rid of these water ghosts," Zhuang Xing said.

Master Qingxuzi brought him to Yidu to exorcise demons, just to see how much he had improved.

Over the past three years, the Taoist priest has given him and Yunling many medicines and talismans, from body-tempering liquid refined by the clam demon to the Qi-gathering powder given every month, and even life-saving talismans when they go down the mountain.

Since the Taoist priest had taken such good care of him, he naturally wanted to do his best and not disappoint the priest.

He's grown up not just to eat for nothing. If he can't even get rid of this bunch of little water ghosts, how will he ever amount to anything in the future?

"Officer Yu, please allow my disciple to give it a try," the old Taoist said, looking at the officer beside him.

Officer Yu glanced at the young Taoist priest beside the old Taoist priest. He felt that the young Taoist priest looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

The young Taoist priest looked about the same age as his son, which was hardly a convincing appearance.

He assumed the old Taoist priest wanted his disciple to practice on these water ghosts, and didn't have any expectations for the young Taoist. He thought the old Taoist priest would definitely make a move later.

He had witnessed Master Qingxuzi exorcise demons without needing any arrows or bait; the master could simply evaporate these water ghosts into nothingness with a wave of his hand.

"Then let's wait for the young Taoist priest to make a move."

Officer Yu remained respectful, but Zhuang Xing knew that this respect was not directed at him personally, but rather at the fact that he was wearing the Taoist robes of Xuanqing Temple and that a famous Taoist priest from Xuanqing Temple was standing beside him.

"I'd like to borrow two pieces of cloth clothing from Officer Yu, and some meat, preferably fresh pig's heart and lungs," Zhuang Xing said.

"Young Taoist priest, are you perhaps trying to lure those water ghosts out with meat? That won't work. We've tried many times, and we've only ended up feeding those water ghosts for no reason."

Officer Yu thought to himself that young people are unreliable; they only know how to answer questions according to the instructions and don't know how to be flexible.

They had done this before: throwing fresh animal entrails far out onto the river and waiting for the water ghosts to appear before shooting arrows. However, the water ghosts, who knew water magic, had their attacks neutralized, and the water ghosts simply had a good meal.

Later, they even added poison to the internal organs, but the water ghosts had a keen sense of smell and would not eat anything if they detected other smells.

Despite trying various methods, they were unable to kill even one of the water ghosts, wasting a lot of effort. Zhuang Xing wanted to use the old methods they had used, but he naturally did not want to repeat the same mistakes.

"I just wanted to make two straw figures," Zhuang Xing said.

"But what's the point of doing this?" Officer Yu asked, puzzled.

"That should force the leader of those water ghosts to show himself," Zhuang Xing said.

"This..." Officer Yu still didn't quite understand, but after glancing at the old Taoist priest beside him, he decided to do as he was told. "Then please wait a moment, young Taoist priest."

"Thank you for your help, Officer Yu." Zhuang Xing bowed.

"As long as we can get rid of these water ghosts, it's not much of a problem," said Constable Yu, before heading off to prepare the necessary items for the estate.

Zhuang Xing then drew his sword and chopped down a few pieces of wood and some clumps of dry reeds by the river.

He tied two straight pieces of wood together to make a cross. After Officer Yu brought the cloth clothes, he hung the rough clothes on the wooden frame, stuffed them with straw, filled the clothes, and then nailed pig hearts and lungs with a strong fishy smell into the frame to make two scarecrows.

He stuck the two straw figures close to the bank and into the mud.

After completing this step, he turned to Constable Yu and said, "Constable Yu, I hope you can tell the officers around you to take cover for a while. Otherwise, with your swords and longbows, those water ghosts won't dare to approach the shore."

“But young Taoist priest… isn’t this trap… too fake…” Officer Yu’s expression was a little strange.

These officials were just guarding this area a moment ago, and then suddenly they left, setting up two straw figures to hide. Even a child could see something was wrong with that, right? Is this water ghost really that stupid? Would it fall for something like that?

“Since we’ve already made this straw figure, why not give it a try?” Zhuang Xing said softly.

"This..." Constable Yu looked at the old Taoist priest, who remained silent, so he had no choice but to agree.

Constable Yu went to the side and told the officers to leave and hide.

"Everyone's hidden. What's next?" Officer Yu asked upon returning.

"Please wait patiently for a while. It won't be long before some of the water ghosts take the bait," Zhuang Xing said. "At that time, I will cut off the leader of these water ghosts, and then I will ask Constable Yu to lead the other officers to shoot arrows and kill the group of water ghosts."

"Young Taoist priest, do you intend to deal with this group of water ghosts by yourself?" Officer Yu finally couldn't help but ask. "Forgive my bluntness, but these water ghosts are no benevolent creatures. More than a dozen people in the city have been killed by them. You can't fight them all. Even if you are practicing at Xuanqing Temple, you should still think things through before you act."

"Thank you for your concern, Officer Yu, but they're just a bunch of water ghosts who dare not come ashore. It's nothing serious," Zhuang Xing said.

"Master, why don't you also try to persuade your disciple?" Officer Yu said, looking at the old Taoist priest.

"Has Officer Yu ever seen the Hooked Serpent?" the old Taoist priest asked in return.

"I saw this... once many years ago by the Songjiang River..."

"What does Officer Yu think of the Hooked Serpent compared to the Water Ghost?"

“Naturally, the hooked snake is far superior to the water ghost.”

"Then there's no need to worry."

"..."

Having no other option, Constable Yu had to hide behind the grass with the other officers, away from the shore.

After he hid, the old Taoist and the young Taoist also hid, concealing their true qi.

Zhuang Xing silently looked at the water. After the officials dispersed, the water ghosts that had been swimming around on the surface of the water also stopped moving.

Some of them looked at the scarecrow by the river, clearly attracted by the smell of blood.

"Do you think they will come?" the old Taoist asked in a low voice.

"I deliberately set up two straw figures and put some meat on them to make the officials leave, just so it would think there was something wrong. The water ghost leader definitely didn't want his tribe to come here," Zhuang Xing said. "But I didn't do anything to those pig hearts and lungs, so even with the water ghost's sense of smell, it wouldn't be able to smell anything unusual."

"Their lingering here, deliberately putting on a show to lure the officials closer to the water, indicates that they must be hungry and want to eat meat and drink blood. Unless all these water ghosts are as clever as their leader, there must be some who cannot resist the temptation."

"At that time, I will wound them without killing them. In their panic, they will surely beg the leader for help."

Before Zhuang Xing could finish speaking, three or four water ghosts had already swum toward the shore.

This is called the temptation of low health. Knowing that there might be a jungler lurking in the bushes, who can resist the temptation when they see a low-health enemy dangling in front of them?

Those who can resist temptation have learned from their mistakes and suffered losses, but these water ghosts obviously don't have that opportunity to learn from their mistakes. After all, they can't be resurrected in the spring after they die.

Four water ghosts climbed ashore, greedily tore the straw man's clothes to shreds, and took out the pig's heart and lungs to gnaw on.

Zhuang Xing pinched a few blades of grass, infused them with his true qi, and threw them out.

With a whoosh, wounds appeared on the four water ghosts, and bluish-black blood flowed out.

Zhuang Xing deliberately avoided injuring their vital organs, but it was enough to give them a hard time, and they felt extremely painful.

In their panic, they cried out and quickly lost their order, rushing straight into the water.

The four water ghosts all shouted in one direction. The water ghosts that were lying in ambush underwater surfaced, and the four wounded creatures timidly gathered around one of the water ghosts.

Although there was no difference in appearance, Zhuang Xing already knew that the one that was surrounded was their leader.

The leader looked very angry and punched one of the water ghosts hard on the head.

At the same time, Zhuang Xing stopped concealing his presence and stepped forward.

Once the main party has been found, the rest is quite simple.

The longsword flew out of his hand.

The water ghost seemed to sense the danger. Waves surged around it, forming a small barrier. The murky blue river water swirled like a spiral, obscuring the view.

This barrier is fine for blocking light things like arrows, but it's far from enough to stop a sword, not to mention that the sword is imbued with Zhuang Xing's innate Qi.

The next second, a flash of blue light appeared, and the water barrier collapsed along with an ugly head.

Zhuang Xing only targeted the water ghost leader. His sword technique was deadly, and blood gushed out like a spring. Even the water surface was cut open by the sharp true qi, creating a vacuum zone that lasted for a moment.

Before his true energy was exhausted, the flying sword returned to his hand. After killing the water ghost, Zhuang Xing shouted behind him, "Captain Yu, shoot the arrow quickly!"

Shocked, Constable Yu finally realized what was happening and quickly led his men out to fire arrows at the water ghost.

This time, without the obstruction of the water flow, the arrows successfully killed all the water ghosts.

Many floating corpses floated to the surface of the water. The old Taoist priest took out the water-controlling talisman he had drawn the day before. The water-controlling technique washed the water ghosts that had escaped from below the surface to the surface. In no time, these water ghosts that had troubled the officials for so long were eliminated.

When Constable Yu arrived before Zhuang Xing, after Zhuang Xing explained the purpose of the straw man, he no longer dared to look down on him.

Although the young Taoist priest was small, his skills were extremely powerful. He killed the annoying water ghost leader with a single sword strike.

The old Taoist patted Zhuang Xing's head with satisfaction. With Zhuang Xing's cultivation level, he could easily lure the group of water ghosts ashore and fight them alone, especially with his elder present.

But Zhuang Xing was not reckless. At only eight years old, he had such a mindset, was not arrogant despite his talent, and was very thoughtful, which pleased him greatly.

With the water ghost gone, Constable Yu breathed a sigh of relief and settled the payment with the Taoist priest, a total of ten taels of silver.

The old Taoist priest didn't take a single penny; all the money went into the bank's pocket.

“Young Taoist priest, I was only being disrespectful because I was concerned. After today, I have witnessed your abilities. Please forgive me,” said Officer Yu.

"Officer Yu, please don't make fun of a junior like me." Zhuang Xing bowed slightly.

The old Taoist priest said, "Now that the water ghost has been eliminated, please let Constable Yu and his men handle the rest."

"Of course." Officer Yu looked at Zhuang Xing's face, and the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. "However, I still have a question for you, young Taoist priest. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Officer Yu, do you still remember the human trafficking case from two years ago?" Zhuang Xing asked.

Officer Yu was stunned for a moment. When Zhuang Xing said that, he suddenly remembered that it was the child who was standing next to the mandrill at that time.

"May I ask your surname and given name, young Taoist priest?"

"His surname is Zhuang and his given name is Xing."

...

Before leaving, Zhuang Xing bowed to Constable Yu one last time.

He watched the boy's figure disappear from sight. He had heard the story many times in the teahouse and restaurant, and today he finally met the real person.

No wonder the young Taoist priest wasn't afraid of the water ghosts at all. He had even subdued a terrifying monster like the white-tailed jackal. What was there to fear about a bunch of little demons who dared not come ashore and only dared to stay in the water?

He used to think the story was a bit exaggerated, but after meeting the person in person today, he realized what it meant to be even more extreme.

The graceful swordplay of that strike, and the gentle, calm demeanor of Zhuang Xing when he soothed the mountain demon covered in long black hair two years ago, all left a deep impression on Constable Yu. He gazed at the corpse of the water ghost floating on the river and let out a long breath.

Truly, heroes emerge from among the young.