The next day,
Early in the morning, word that the county yamen was haunted spread everywhere, becoming the talk of every street and alley.
"Have you heard? A vicious ghost appeared in the county yamen last night, saying it wanted Magistrate Wang's life. It caused a huge commotion, and the magistrate nearly lost his life."
"I heard. My second uncle's sworn brother works at the yamen. He was there last night and said the ghost had a green face and fangs, stood over ten feet tall, and possessed immense strength. The constables tried to save the magistrate, but with one wave of its hand, the ghost sent them all flying."
"I also heard Magistrate Wang was badly injured and so terrified he wet himself. He's still clutching the Earth God's statue and refusing to let go."
Hearing that, someone could not help snickering. This was the biggest joke in the county. Magistrate Wang did not have a particularly good reputation here; he scraped the sky above, scraped the earth below, and even scraped the air in between. If Lanxi County had not been fairly prosperous, the people would have long since been drowning in complaints.
"That vicious ghost said it gave the Earth God face last night, but it would come again tonight."
"Ah, it's coming again? This time, the magistrate probably won't escape. Hehe."
So many constables and yamen runners had witnessed it firsthand the previous night that the matter could not possibly be concealed. In just one morning, news that an evil ghost had wreaked havoc in the county yamen and demanded the magistrate's life had spread throughout all of Lanxi County.
That afternoon,
A group of monks entered through the city gates and passed through the streets. There were around twenty of them, all dressed in Buddhist