Chapter 44: Zhou Shunzi Returns

It seems those three brothers from the Ding family aren't doing very well for themselves either.

I nodded slightly to the three of them, said nothing more, and followed Li Yiran to the next stop.

This time it was an elderly man, even older than old man Zhang Yuxuan, around seventy years of age, with a white beard and leaning on a walking stick.

However, he still looked quite spirited.

"Grandpa Zhang!"

Seeing the old man, Li Yiran took the initiative to greet him, and then introduced him to me. "This Grandpa Zhang used to partner up with my third uncle. He has good strength and quite high seniority."

"Elder Zhang!"

I bowed slightly to show my respect.

"Yiran, where is your third uncle? Is there still no definite word on when he'll be back?" the old man asked.

"Not yet, but it should be soon. My third uncle took the afternoon direct flight to the imperial capital to gather manpower, and he should be back before noon tomorrow," Li Yiran replied.

"Then we'll just wait for your third uncle to return. With the people from Unit 749 helping out, we'll have a better grasp of the situation this time." The white-bearded Elder Zhang did not put on senior airs and spoke quite amiably to Li Yiran.

As for me and old man Zhang Yuxuan, he completely bypassed us.

I glanced sideways at Zhang Yuxuan. Look at that, both of you surnamed Zhang, yet look how well he is doing. And then look at you—still nobody thinks anything of you.

After introducing him, Li Yiran took me to visit several other experts in the circle.

As for the rest, Li Yiran didn't mention them; she probably figured those people were not sophisticated enough and saw no need to introduce them to me.

Many of them had come at Li Lanshui's summons, and most were just here to make an appearance and pick up some quick travel allowance.

As for any genuine dedication to subduing demons and devils, that simply did not exist.

...

Under the cover of night, a bonfire was burning near the entrance of the town.

It was already October, and the weather was turning cold. Very few people could endure sitting outside all night like this.

Some had gone back to sleep in their cars, others stayed directly in tents, while some sat quietly right by the bonfire.

This night seemed destined to pass in such a manner.

I had originally planned to return to my room to rest, but Li Yiran ended up sleeping in the very bed I had occupied, and I had no desire to squeeze onto a bed with the old man.

So I had no choice but to sit here by the fire, blankly gazing up at the firmament.

The old man had also intended to go back and rest, but I dragged him over to pull an all-nighter with me.

"Whimper..."

A dog's whine came from the distance.

The old man looked back and saw a large black dog standing not far from us.

"Big Black, come here."

The old man pulled a ham sausage from his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and lured the large black dog over.

"This big black dog is actually quite nice. Brother Jiang, do you think if we ask for this big black dog when we leave, the owners will agree?" the old man asked.

"Let's try. If they don't agree, we'll talk then. It's just a matter of money." Since I had around one hundred thousand RMB in cash on me after all, I felt a lot more confident speaking.

In our eyes, this big black dog was a treasure, but to everyone else, it was just a local mongrel.

Within a thousand or two thousand yuan, it could definitely be bought.

"Whimper..."

The big black dog whined a couple more times, lowered its head, and crouched on the ground to eat the ham sausage.

...

As the night grew deeper, the old man and I sat by the bonfire, chatting out of sheer boredom.

"Woof woof..."

Suddenly, the big black dog crouching on the ground sprang up, its black fur bristling all over, as it stared intently in the direction of Zhou Shunzi's house.

"Not good, something's wrong!"

I gave a shove to the old man, who was sitting on the ground and nodding off.

A dog's eyes were far more sensitive than a human's; it could see many things that people could not.

"Let's go, take a look."

The old man scrambled to his feet as well.

Behind us, those people gathered around the bonfire also grew alert.

"Evil presences have descended nearby."

The white-bearded Elder Zhang warned, "Don't panic everyone, let's close in together."

With veterans like Elder Zhang backing us up, a shred of a sense of safety returned to the hearts of the old man and me.

Without hesitation, the two of us rushed up to the gates of Zhou Shunzi's courtyard and hammered heavily on the door.

"Coming, who is it?"

A voice sounded from inside.

The woman threw a coat over her shoulders and came over to open the door.

She had been unconscious the previous night, but after sleeping, she seemed to have sobered up.

"Why is it you two again?"

The woman's face darkened. "Didn't I tell you two to get lost?"

I ignored the woman, pushed her aside, and strode into the courtyard.

At this moment, a table was set up in the courtyard, and that peer of Zhang Yuxuan's was setting up an altar and performing rituals right there.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The scammer peer of Zhang Yuxuan rebuked the old man and me angrily. "Can't you see the poor Taoist is performing a rite? If something goes wrong, are the two of you going to take the blame?"

"Let me tell you, this is a matter of life and death!"

"Oh, come on, Old Chen, it's not like I don't know your capabilities; who are you trying to scare?" The old man retorted. "This isn't something you can handle, get out of here right now!"

"Well, well, Zhang Yuxuan, you're lecturing me now? Look at the state you're in—you've only gone downhill, and now you're trailing behind a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet just to make a living." The man called Old Chen mocked Zhang Yuxuan.

The two of them had frequently clashed in the past, and now they were immediately at each other's throats.

"I don't have time to argue nonsense with you!"

Moving in two strides, I stepped forward and tore down the talisman paper displayed on the table inscribed with Zhou Shunzi's birth characters, and then flipped the entire table over.

"Let me tell you, this is no game. If you want to keep your life, get the hell out of here while you still can," I said, grabbing the scammer by the collar and reprimanding him.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Scarcely had my voice fallen when a heavy, ragged sound of breathing echoed through the courtyard.

The Yin energy within the courtyard began to grow rapidly and densely.

"You're trying to scare—oh holy mother, what is that?"

The scammer surnamed Chen instantly leaped into the air with a start.

Standing in the courtyard was a figure radiating black mist all over, drooling from the mouth, walking toward us step by step.

"Shunzi, you're back?"

Instead of feeling any fear, the woman rushed forward excitedly. "It's good that you're back! You must be hungry? I'll fix you something to eat!"

"Get back!"

I yelled at the woman.

To my dismay, the woman completely ignored my warning and continued walking toward Zhou Shunzi.

"Slash!"

With no time to spare for anything else, I gripped the inscribed great sword, leaped into the air, and brought it down heavily upon that dark figure.

"Sizzle..."

This strike landed squarely on Zhou Shunzi's shoulder.

The black mist swirling around his shoulder seemed to be driven away by the inscribed great sword.

No blood flowed, but my strike cut deep, and a foul, rotting stench immediately emanated from the wound.

"Ah..."

Zhou Shunzi let out a miserable scream and stumbled back several steps. The evil spirit possessing his body had also suffered severe injuries from my sword strike.