When in doubt, scatter a handful of incense ash first

Fan Wu was fully armed. He only talked about killing ghosts, but in truth... he knew exactly what he was capable of.

Prison Dragon County was no place to stay any longer. That swindler of a master had thoroughly screwed him over... What if some great demon suddenly appeared in the county one day?

Wouldn't the County Magistrate invite him to fight it?

Wouldn't that be suicide?

He might have awakened a Golden Finger, but that did not make him invincible from the start!

"Ah, so that's how it is..." Fan Wu had merely said it casually, yet the Constable actually believed him! He even wore an enlightened expression, as though he had figured something out.

He looked up at Fan Wu, draped in a Daoist robe with a massive sword on his back.

For no reason, he felt a wave of reassurance.

The Constable's fear of ghosts and monsters was mostly swept away at that moment.

He immediately said with a solemn expression, "Daoist Master, rest assured. Old Liu and these brothers from the County Yamen will absolutely not hold you back!!"

The other Runners nodded repeatedly. They all knew that Fan Wu's master was the famous "Old Heavenly Master" of Prison Dragon County.

That Old Heavenly Master could slay ghosts and banish demons—there was nothing he could not do!

His cultivation was extraordinarily profound!

As the Old Heavenly Master's disciple, Daoist Master Fan surely found killing ghosts effortless as well.

As for why Daoist Master Fan's rituals from a few days ago had failed to completely suppress that ghost...

That had to be because Daoist Master Fan wanted to give the evil ghost another chance.

Unfortunately.

The evil ghost did not cherish it!

Fan Wu and several Runners went down the mountain together. By the time they arrived at a household's door, night had already fallen. The Runners carried lanterns and crowded desperately close to Fan Wu, as if they could draw a little safety from him.

The cold wind that swept through the night always made hearts quiver, while the moonlight added a few shades of chill to all things.

"Daoist Master Fan, it was in this household that someone was dragged into the water by something unclean last night. That unlucky fellow is called Wang Lao Er. He has a wife, but no children. If someone had not quickly pulled him out, he probably would have died."

The Constable first explained things to Fan Wu in a courteous manner.

Then he pounded hard on the door, his face changing as he began to shout sternly, "Wang Lao Er! County Yamen business! Open the door, now! Wang Lao Er! If you don't open up, I'll smash the door down!!"

As the banging grew louder and louder, hurried footsteps finally sounded from within.

The door opened, revealing a woman.

Attribute information also hung above the woman's head. Fan Wu glanced at it and ignored it, because she was an ordinary person.

Upon seeing so many Runners, the woman hurriedly said, "So it's Constable Liu. This commoner, Madam Wang, greets Constable Liu..."

Constable Liu waved a hand. "Cut the empty formalities. Where's your Wang Lao Er?!"

The woman said worriedly, "He's lying in bed. Ever since he... he encountered that thing last night, he came back looking a whole circle thinner, so weak that he could barely stand. He keeps muttering those terrifying words too. I tell him not to say them, but he won't listen."

"Constable Liu, do you think... could my husband have had his yang energy sucked away by that unclean thing?"

Constable Liu gave a disdainful laugh. "It's just a petty ghost. Tonight, I invited Daoist Master Fan! Step aside and let the Daoist Master take a look. If you delay the Daoist Master's ghost-slaying, you'll have no good fruit to eat!"

The group entered the house.

The place where Wang Lao Er and his wife lived was not large. With so many people squeezing in, it was crowded beyond measure.

Wang Lao Er lay weakly in bed. His cheeks had already sunk in, his lips were faintly blue, and his entire body trembled.

He looked extremely gaunt, as though he had not eaten for ten days and nights.

There was no light in his eyes, and his mouth kept repeating the same sentence...

"I saw it. It has its eyes on me."

"I saw it. It has its eyes on..."

"..."

The hoarse voice echoed through the cramped room. Those endlessly repeated words made the County Yamen Runners' hair stand on end, and they suddenly did not want to meddle in this rotten business anymore.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily turned toward Fan Wu in his Daoist robe.

In their eyes, the only professional present...

Was Daoist Master Fan.

Fan Wu, meanwhile, frowned as he looked at Wang Lao Er lying there.

The man looked as though he had indulged himself too many times in a single day. His face was frighteningly pale, as if he might suddenly drop dead the next moment.

[Wang Family's Second Son—Life: 47—Strength: 0.2—Skill: None]

A Strength attribute of 0.2—so weak he could not even truss a chicken. That was probably what it meant.

It looked like he really had encountered a ghost.

Only an encounter with ghosts or monsters could make a normal adult this weak, babbling mad nonsense all day.

Good heavens...

This time, he had probably truly run into something uncanny!

That cheap swindler of a master had never encountered a single uncanny matter in his entire life. Why had they become so easy to find after Fan Wu came along?

"You." Fan Wu turned to Wang Lao Er's wife and said, "Bring me a bowl of water. Warm water."

The woman knew who Fan Wu was. After all, Fan Wu and his swindler master were both rather famous in Prison Dragon County.

But the woman did not know some of the secrets behind that.

She thought Fan Wu truly was the disciple of an accomplished master, and that he had come to save her husband.

At Fan Wu's instruction, she immediately ran off and brought back a bowl of warm water.

Fan Wu took out a yellow-paper packet from the cloth pouch at his waist.

He poured a little Incense Ash from the yellow-paper packet into the bowl of warm water, then continued, "Help him up and let him drink it."

After all, a little Incense Ash would not kill him.

Wang Lao Er already looked as if his days were numbered. He was weak to this extent; if he suddenly croaked the next day, that would be perfectly normal.

Fan Wu could use him to test the Incense Ash from the Daoist temple and see whether it truly had some miraculous effect.

After Wang Lao Er was forced to drink the incense-ash water.

Something strange happened.

His eyes bulged wide like those of a dead fish, and his entire body began to cough violently.

From the look of it...

He seemed ready to cough up his very organs.

"It... cough cough cough cough!!!"

"It has its eyes on... cough cough!!"

"Cough cough cough!!"

"Bleurgh!!"

Wang Lao Er suddenly bent over and began vomiting. It was as though something was drilling out of his mouth.

Looking closely, it was actually strands upon strands of hair streaked with traces of blood!

A thick, fishy stench spread through the room as Wang Lao Er continued vomiting for dear life. A clump of hair had already piled up on the ground, making everyone shudder.

If Fan Wu had not been there to "hold down the fort"...

Those Runners would have been scared off by this sight long ago!

After vomiting for who knew how long, Wang Lao Er finally stopped and began gasping heavily as though he had collapsed from exhaustion.

"Daoist Master, he seems... his face doesn't look so pale anymore." Constable Liu glanced at Wang Lao Er and said in shock, "And he's stopped saying those strange things! But... but how did he eat all this hair? How could he vomit up so much hair?!"

Fan Wu did not answer. How was he supposed to know why Wang Lao Er had vomited hair?

He looked thoughtfully at the packet of Incense Ash in his hand.

So...

This thing actually worked!!

When it came time to make a run for it, he could take all the Incense Ash from the Daoist temple with him.

This stuff might not be useful against people.

But against demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters, could it be used like lime?

When in doubt...

Scatter a handful of Incense Ash first?

"Thank you, Daoist Master! Thank you, Daoist Master, for saving his life! Thank you, Daoist Master, for saving his life!" Wang Lao Er's wife was overjoyed.

Although her husband was still weak and gaunt.

At least he was no longer quite so possessed.

Fan Wu was pulled back from his thoughts. He nodded, looked at Wang Lao Er, and asked, "Do you remember what the ghost you saw last night looked like? Did it have any distinguishing features?"

Wang Lao Er's mind was muddled, and he answered instinctively, "I... I saw it had lots of hair. It... it was a female ghost! Yes! It was a female ghost! I didn't see wrong! A female ghost!"

Wang Lao Er cried out in alarm, "It was naked, and it wore a pair of shackles on its feet! Its face... its face, I feel like I've seen it before! But... I also feel like I can't remember it."

"I..." Wang Lao Er's consciousness grew ever more muddled, his voice drifting as he murmured sleepily, "I, I can't seem to remember anything else."

Seeing him like this, Fan Wu knew that he probably could not get any more information from him.

"Let's go." Fan Wu spoke, then turned and left.

Constable Liu had just begun to follow when he quickly sensed that something was not quite right.

Turning around, he saw that every one of his County Yamen men was hesitating, fear written across their faces.

Constable Liu immediately felt like iron had failed to become steel.

He lowered his voice and gritted his teeth. "Why aren't you hurrying up and following? With the Daoist Master holding the field, what the hell are you afraid of?! Whoever performs well in front of the Daoist Master later might even receive a stroke of fortune from him!"

"Remember that bowl of water Daoist Master gave Wang Lao Er? I saw with my own eyes that the Daoist Master poured a little powder into it, and then Wang Lao Er was completely fine. That had to be some miraculous immortal medicine!"

"With something this good, if the Daoist Master casually rewarded each of you with a little, you could treat it as a family heirloom! If you sold it, getting several hundred taels of silver would be no problem at all!"

"A bunch of cowards!"

"Hurry up and follow?!"

After Constable Liu's reminder, the Runners finally came to their senses. Their eyes nearly shone with light as they listened.

Several hundred taels of silver!

A family heirloom!

That was right! The boss was right. With Daoist Master Fan around, there was nothing to fear!

Hadn't the boss been so scared before finding Daoist Master Fan that he did not even dare say the word "ghost"? Once he found Daoist Master Fan, he even dared to follow the Daoist Master to kill ghosts.

The Runners were greatly invigorated. Whether it was for the several hundred taels of silver or because they truly had courage, no one knew.

Late at night.

A large group of people.

Walking together in a cluster.