Quickly Invite Mr. Li

"What kind of karma did Old Luo stir up, to land himself in trouble with an evil spirit?"

Xiao Ming sighed too. The situation now was truly hard to handle.

Advancing was impossible, and retreating was just as bad.

"Lord Lin, Lord Xiao, let's rescue the City Lord first before anything else."

Captain Ma spoke up.

"Captain Ma, the two of us have known Old Luo for decades, and we're even in-laws. We're more anxious than you, but we can't act rashly now. If we do, we won't save Old Luo—we'll just get ourselves dragged in too."

Xiao Ming said to Captain Ma with some displeasure.

"Apologies, that was reckless of me!"

Captain Ma realized his mistake. These two men before him weren't people he could order around.

"Has Master Konglun been summoned?"

Xiao Ming asked Captain Ma.

Master Konglun was the abbot of a temple near Yulin City, rumored to possess profound spiritual power.

"He has, but Master Konglun said he needs to prepare."

The City Lord's Mansion steward replied.

"Prepare for Old Luo's funeral, more like!"

Xiao Ming knew Master Konglun was making excuses—probably getting ready to flee.

They had some understanding of supernatural matters and knew Master Konglun was just a bluffing fake monk with no real divine abilities.

He spent his days begging for incense money, but when he was actually needed, he vanished.

Hearing Xiao Ming's words, the City Lord's Mansion staff and the City Guard all looked awkward, but they knew Xiao Ming meant no harm and dared not say anything.

"For now, let's go check on Old Luo's condition first, then decide."

Xiao Ming said, seeing everyone fall silent.

He didn't argue with them about who should scout ahead. He grabbed a member of the Luo family and headed toward the ancestral hall, intending to see Luo Jingxing's state for himself.

That Luo family member, though trembling, obediently led the way.

Stopping a few dozen meters from the ancestral hall, Xiao Ming gazed from afar at the Cat-Faced Monster.

The evil spirit before him had a round, pitch-black cat face, its eyes lifeless like a dead thing. Its entire body was covered in fur, and its hands had turned cat-like, able to extend sharp claws.

The Cat Ghost stared from a distance at Xiao Ming in his iron armor, but didn't act rashly, as if afraid of letting Luo Jingxing escape from the Luo Family Ancestral Hall.

Xiao Ming steadied his breath in his Dantian and bellowed:

"Old Luo! You dead yet?"

Xiao Ming's voice carried great force, reaching Luo Jingxing's ears inside the ancestral hall.

Luo Jingxing had one hand scratched, oozing black blood, but his breathing was still steady. He sat upright before the ancestral tablets.

That shameless old fool Xiao Ming, so flippant—it left him speechless.

Still, he was quite moved.

Demons and ghosts were no trivial matter. Every time they appeared, it meant mass death. Others fled far away, yet his brothers still came to save him—how could that not stir one's heart?

"Not dead yet!"

Luo Jingxing replied in a deep voice.

"Good! Old Luo, how much longer can you hold out?"

Xiao Ming pressed further.

Luo Jingxing glanced at the House-Protecting Talisman pasted in the corner of the ancestral hall. One corner of the talisman had already turned black and charred. If the Cat Ghost launched a fierce assault, the talisman probably wouldn't last even the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

"Brother Xiao, go settle my family first. I'm in no hurry."

Luo Jingxing said calmly.

He had accepted his fate. Everything was the result of past karma, and now it was time to repay.

"Old Luo, Captain Ma has already taken care of your family. Just wait peacefully. We'll discuss a bit more, then come save you."

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Xiao Ming saw the Cat Ghost's demeanor was off, finished speaking, and slipped away, lest he get dragged in too.

Back outside the building, Xiao Ming said to the group:

"Old Luo's doing fine. He can hold out a bit longer."

"Brother Ming, if we could invite Mr. Li over, maybe Old Luo could still be saved."

Lin Fangzheng said to Xiao Ming.

Li Xingxiao had thoroughly studied the classics and possessed Vast Righteous Qi—perhaps he could subdue the Cat Ghost.

"Can he really? Old Li himself can barely hold it together!"

Xiao Ming was deeply skeptical. Li Xingxiao, a frail scholar, would be lucky if his Vast Righteous Qi could even protect himself.

"Gentlemen, we have no other choice. I'll send someone to fetch Mr. Li right away."

Captain Ma said at once.

After another agonizing half hour or so, Captain Ma's men brought back some items.

"Mr. Li said he's not skilled in combat, so he poured all his Vast Righteous Qi into these sheets of paper. If you gentlemen wrap them around your weapons, they might help you slay the ghost."

The guard presented a stack of paper, the ink still wet.

"It'll have to do."

Lin Fangzheng sighed.

They had discussed it at length just now. To save Luo Jingxing now, they had no choice but to kill the Cat Ghost.

As for summoning a true Daoist master—if luck was on their side, they might find one in two or three days. If not, they might not see one for months.

By then, Old Luo's seventh-day memorial would have long passed.

Everyone wrapped the paper around their weapons and prepared to enter and slay the Cat Ghost.

Lin Chan's mind was sharp. Seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces, he knew the situation was dire.

Fortunately, he was young and had talents like [Doubled Strength], [Quick Reflexes], and [Deterrence]. If things went south, he would make a run for it.

He might not be faster than the Cat Ghost, but he could definitely outrun everyone else here.

When it came down to it, he'd just have to run fast, then go study at Shu Mountain, and come back to avenge them all.

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.

Donning their helmets, the group headed toward the Luo Family Ancestral Hall.

The crescent moon hung like a hook. Inside the Luo residence, everyone stood ready.

As planned, Lin Fangzheng and Xiao Ming charged ahead with their blades, Lin Chan and a few armored warriors closed in from the sides, while Captain Ma directed the archers to loose arrows at the right moment.

The arrows were wrapped in cloth strips bearing intact characters, using wolf-tooth arrows of some repute.

"Loose!"

When Lin Fangzheng and Xiao Ming were five paces from the Cat Ghost, Captain Ma gave the order.

A dozen archers loosed their arrows at once. The wolf-tooth arrows streaked past the armored men, aimed at the Cat Ghost, arriving before the charging pair. But only a few struck the Cat Ghost; most were dodged.

The arrows that hit made black vapor rise from the Cat Ghost.

"It's working!"

Captain Ma was elated, but this wasn't the time for a volley. He simply had the archers prepare again.

Soon enough, Captain Ma's hopes faded.

The damage was negligible to the Cat Ghost—it only made it angrier.

Lin Fangzheng and Xiao Ming were now close to the Cat Ghost, their broadswords wrapped in white paper slashing toward it.

The Cat Ghost flickered, landing on the tips of their blades, and lashed out with its claws at Lin Fangzheng.

Lin Fangzheng immediately pulled back his sword and raised his arm to block.

The claws scraped across the armored vambrace, sending up a shower of sparks.

But at least it didn't tear through the iron armor like paper—the armor could hold for a while longer.

At that moment, the quick-witted Lin Chan stepped forward and swung his blade, coming to Lin Fangzheng's aid.