Thoughts of Leaving

Malevolent Spirit incidents had been occurring with increasing frequency, and Chen Mu had no good solution.

During the day, he stayed close to Jie Jia; at night, he hid beside the Zuo Family.

Both of them were capable of dealing with Yin Souls.

At the same time, he redoubled his efforts to grind the Body Tempering Technique's Proficiency.

Jie Jia had once said that once the Body Tempering Technique reached mastery, it would grant one or two chances of resisting Yin Souls.

That night, a sudden scream jolted Chen Mu awake from his sleep.

The voice was filled with terror, as though its owner had encountered something unimaginably horrifying.

Chen Mu immediately scrambled up and rushed to the window to listen.

Yet outside was utterly silent—not even the chirping of summer insects could be heard.

A Yin Soul?!

So close?!

That scream had come from not far away.

Otherwise, he would not have heard it so clearly.

How could Chen Mu possibly dare go back to sleep?

He got dressed and sat by the door, ready to flee at any moment.

He spent the entire night trembling with fear.

Only after broad daylight came did he cautiously step out of his room.

On the way to the Residence west of the city, Chen Mu encountered a group of yamen soldiers.

They had cordoned off a small alley, keeping the curious onlookers nearby at bay.

Chen Mu could not help looking over.

The alley was pitch-black, as though it had been scorched by a massive fire.

Chen Mu's heart immediately tightened.

He had passed by here yesterday afternoon, and the alley had been perfectly fine then.

To burn an entire alley black, the fire must have been enormous.

Yet he had sat awake from midnight until dawn without seeing any firelight or hearing the slightest commotion.

At that thought, his heart clenched.

Could it have been a Yin Soul causing trouble?

He did not dare look any longer and hurried away.

Before leaving, he spotted the Zuo Family's eldest young master among the crowd.

The man wore a grave expression as he stared fixedly at the blackened alley.

Chen Mu grew even more nervous.

Even the Zuo Family's eldest young master was treating this so seriously. This had to be connected to a Malevolent Spirit!

Weren't Yin Soul Monsters only supposed to frighten people and possess them? How could they set fires without a sound?!

"Yin Souls vary in strength," Jie Jia said calmly behind Tianyi Hall in the west of the city.

Chen Mu smacked his lips, feeling miserable.

He did not even know how to deal with ordinary Yin Souls, and now a powerful one had appeared.

"Can't Assistant Magistrate Li think of something? Qingshan County is the Li Family's territory now, isn't it?!" Chen Mu said, somewhat frustrated.

"The Li Family's direct line has already been sent to Nanyang Prefecture," Jie Jia said blandly.

"He can bear to abandon such a large estate?" Chen Mu could hardly believe it. Was he planning to run away in secret?!

"He himself has not left." Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu and spoke calmly.

Chen Mu calmed down and pondered. "Assistant Magistrate Li has something to rely on, but that reliance is not entirely dependable."

Jie Jia nodded. "He has offered rewards through Qingshan County's secret channels, including Zhu Yi Pavilion, seeking large warding treasures. There has been no news so far."

"Qingfeng Temple outside the city also has some means. In a crisis, they can hold out for a couple of days."

"Qingfeng Temple?" Chen Mu immediately committed the name to memory.

When he had first arrived in this world, he had awakened at Qingfeng Temple.

The previous owner's inexplicable death at Qingfeng Temple had always made him keep his distance from it.

He had not expected it to truly possess methods for dealing with Malevolent Spirits.

Even though Assistant Magistrate Li was responding actively, Chen Mu still felt uneasy.

He did not want to entrust his safety to someone else.

"Is Nanyang Prefecture safe?" Chen Mu suddenly asked.

At that moment, he began considering leaving Qingshan County.

"It's fairly safe. The roads are just difficult to travel," Jie Jia said.

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia in confusion.

"Nowadays, Great Liang is plagued by constant natural disasters and calamities. Bandits infest the wilderness, and Yin Souls lurk along the roads. The journey truly isn't easy," Jie Jia patiently explained.

"Can't I travel with a merchant caravan?"

Although Qingshan County was remote, there were always one or two merchant caravans willing to risk going to Nanyang Prefecture for trade.

"Those people may not fear bandits, but they have no means of dealing with Yin Soul Monsters." Jie Jia spoke calmly. "You only see the merchant caravans that return safely. As for those that never come back, you couldn't see them even if you wanted to."

Chen Mu's expression immediately turned grim.

"Is there really no safe route?" Chen Mu refused to believe it.

Otherwise, how had Assistant Magistrate Li sent his family's direct descendants away?

And Boss Zhen, the owner of Wonderful Painting Workshop, had gone to Nanyang Prefecture as well.

Jie Jia said nothing. His eyes shifted, and he glanced at Chen Mu's right sleeve.

Chen Mu's face instantly darkened.

This old man had set his sights on his money pouch again!

The road was unsafe, but as long as he found a reliable bodyguard, there was nothing to fear.

Jie Jia was exactly such a reliable bodyguard.

"Qingfeng Temple has a way to deal with Yin Soul Monsters?" Chen Mu asked with a hopeful expression.

"Yes." Jie Jia remained unhurried.

"But you can't afford the price of asking them for help." Jie Jia deliberately adopted a cold tone.

Chen Mu's face sank at once.

Seeing Chen Mu look so unpleasant, a trace of amusement flashed through Jie Jia's eyes.

"Nanyang Prefecture has a large Exorcism Mirror, so Malevolent Spirit incidents rarely occur there. It also gathers several great families, all of whom possess methods for restraining Yin Souls." Jie Jia softened his tone and coaxed him patiently.

"Go." Jie Jia spoke softly but firmly. "I can guarantee that I'll get you there safely."

Chen Mu's expression turned stern. "You said Qingfeng Temple has some capabilities?"

"What?" Jie Jia nodded in confusion. Shouldn't he be asking about the bodyguard's price?

"Then I won't go." Chen Mu nodded calmly. "You may not know this, but I'm quite close with Master Cheng Yi of Qingfeng Temple. Last time, I even stayed at the temple for over half a month."

Jie Jia: "..."

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known Qingshan County had such a safe place." Chen Mu grinned.

"Why, thank you!"

Jie Jia's face immediately darkened.

At night, beside the Zuo Family estate.

Chen Mu tightly shut all the doors and windows.

He did not dare light a lamp either. Every movement he made was silent, for fear that too much noise would draw a Yin Soul over.

In the dark, he pulled a Clay Pot out from beneath the bed.

Chen Mu sat before the Square Table in his room and poured out a pile of broken silver and copper coins from the Clay Pot, then began counting.

He had made it sound easy during the day, but that had mainly been to tease Jie Jia.

What relationship did he have with Cheng Yi? It was already good enough that they were not enemies.

From their several encounters, that old Taoist had never treated him particularly well.

If a real crisis came, he might truly have to spend money to hire Jie Jia to escort him away.

One hundred and fifty-six taels of silver, and nine hundred and sixty-seven copper coins.

"Not quite enough."

Given how black-hearted old Jie Jia was, he was not sure whether this would be enough to hire him.

"The White Wave Gang won't do either." Chen Mu looked dissatisfied.

Those fellows had become increasingly clever lately. They did not even carry a single copper coin on them.

Last time, he had drained a whole gourd from that Hall Master Jia of his, only to find a single tael of broken silver on him.

The chief of the White Wave Gang's three hall masters, carrying only one tael of silver? What a fucking disgrace!

"Perfect. I have to sell fish tomorrow anyway—I'll stop by and have a chat with Gang Leader Zhang."

As the leader of a gang, he had to be wealthier than a Hall Master, right?

The next day, at a private residence in Dengjia Alley, west of the city.

Several White Wave Gang members were on patrol.

"Don't leave after we wrap up this afternoon. Your big brother will take you boys to Anle Ward for some fun." The Minor Leader waved a hand grandly.

"Did sister-in-law come into some good fortune? She actually didn't take away the monthly pay you got yesterday?" a gang member behind him teased.

"Get lost, get lost! Why should I hand my pay over to her?" The Minor Leader rubbed his gleaming bald head and stubbornly stuck out his neck.

"Boss is tough!"

"Big Brother is mighty!"

"Ha ha..."

The Minor Leader did not get angry at his underlings' teasing. He grinned. "I told her I was going to buy her rouge from Apricot Blossom House today."

"Then you still dare invite us out for wine and girls? If you don't have money for the rouge, aren't you afraid sister-in-law will scratch you up?"

"Ha ha..."

"A wise man has his own tricks." The Minor Leader looked smug.

"I'll just say I ran into that Poisoner again today. He robbed me of all my money—gone!"

The gang members' mouths fell open at once.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" A short, fat gang member immediately beat his chest and stamped his feet in regret.

"Heh heh!" The Minor Leader looked even more pleased with himself, and his bald head seemed to shine a little brighter.

The next moment, he suddenly felt dizzy. Looking up, he saw that there were somehow two suns in the sky.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Turning around, he saw that several of his subordinates had already expertly collapsed beneath the cool shade of a large tree.

He had barely taken two steps before he fell to the ground with a thud.

This familiar feeling...

Fuck!