The Injured Imperial Astronomy Bureau! Encountering Anomalous Events Again!

One was Daoist Master Fan from Dragon-Imprisoning Monastery, and the other claimed to be a Squad Leader from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

The dialogue between these two made the young masters present dare not interrupt!

This was because their families merely had some spare money and, at most, some minor influence in the local area.

But before them... whether it was Fan Wu or Shen Jiyue.

Both were individuals possessing extraordinary skills and holding significant positions!

How could these young masters dare to speak?

Even when Shen Jiyue, the Squad Leader from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, directly called them "fops," they didn't dare to retort or even harbor the slightest dissatisfaction in their hearts!

In this World of Gods and Anomalies.

Those who possessed extraordinary skills...

Held noble status!

Suddenly.

Another person arrived at the Inn. The newcomer exuded a sharp and stern aura. As soon as they entered, their gaze and attention were drawn to Fan Wu.

He paused for a moment.

But he still forced himself to look away and towards Shen Jiyue, cupping his hands and saying earnestly, "Squad Leader, your subordinate has an urgent matter to report. May I speak with you privately?"

"Just say it here!" Shen Jiyue waved her hand indifferently and said casually, "What is it?"

"Ah? But, my lady, this is..."

"Just, say, it, here."

"...Yes, my lady!"

The newcomer was clearly also from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

Seeing that Shen Jiyue was unwilling to move and had reminded him a second time, word by word... he could only brace himself and walk a little closer to Shen Jiyue.

Then, he lowered his voice and reported, "Reporting to you, my lady, a person claiming to be an Imperial Astronomy Bureau Lieutenant has arrived. They say they've brought something we desperately need."

"Is his name Xie Jiuyi?" Shen Jiyue recalled briefly and then asked.

"Yes."

"I understand. I'll go see him when I get back. Take this wine for me." Shen Jiyue nodded.

She picked up a sealed jar of wine from the table and casually tossed it to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau person, who fumbled to catch it.

Just as Shen Jiyue was about to reach for her money pouch...

Her movement suddenly stopped.

She looked at her subordinate.

The subordinate immediately fell silent.

Soon, with a practiced ease that was almost heartbreaking, he said, "My lady, I'll pay for you."

"Mm." Shen Jiyue wasn't embarrassed. She grabbed something leaning beside her and stood up.

The Inn patrons finally noticed that a weapon was placed by Shen Jiyue's feet—it was a Xuanhua Axe that looked incredibly heavy!

Faintly visible on the axe shaft were densely packed mystic scripts.

The axe blade was covered in mottled red marks, making one seriously suspect it was a large patch of dried blood!

The patrons in the Inn were almost stunned!

They had just come out for a meal, and now everyone they encountered in the Inn was more outrageous than the last?

Two were from the rumored Imperial Astronomy Bureau!

One was a terrifying Daoist priest!

Shen Jiyue paid no attention to the strange looks from the surrounding people. Now that she had stood up, her height was definitely greater than all the men present, except for Fan Wu.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I bid you farewell for today. I hope we can meet again another time."

Shen Jiyue cupped her hands in farewell.

Meet again, my foot!

Fan Wu didn't want to say anything more to her and could only force a stiff smile that was awkward yet polite.

After watching Shen Jiyue and the other Imperial Astronomy Bureau member leave.

Fan Wu immediately dropped the smile.

He didn't dislike Shen Jiyue or the other person; he simply didn't want to have too much interaction with the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

After all, a government department like the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, which frequently dealt with anomalous events...

Must surely be plagued by countless troubles in their daily lives.

Just like a few days ago, when he encountered Xie Jiuyi, the Imperial Astronomy Bureau Lieutenant, who had proactively approached him for a conversation.

And then...

That night, they ran into an anomalous event!

If Fan Wu hadn't been strong enough, he probably would have died that very night!

All one can say is…

Don't go near the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

You'll become unfortunate!

Time.

It quickly turned to night.

During the day, Fan Wu had bought everything he needed to purchase. For example, some clothes for changing, and some dry rations to eat on the road, and so on.

Moreover, during the day, he had specifically taken Old Green Ox to get its hooves shod… which was basically putting four things similar to horseshoes on Old Green Ox.

After all, if Old Green Ox were to travel a long distance with him, enduring the wear and tear of mountains and rivers day and night, its hooves would definitely suffer significant abrasion.

Shoeing the ox took quite a bit of time. By the time the old craftsman finished, it was already close to evening.

Fan Wu decided to stay one night in Baihe County.

It was a chance to rest properly.

To avoid encountering anyone from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau again, Fan Wu deliberately chose a different inn.

At this moment, he was looking out at the night scenery while playing with a silver ingot.

The hard silver ingot felt like a piece of pliable rubber in his palm, being molded into various shapes at will.

"Silver doesn't last long! It was indeed necessary to prepare some travel expenses for the journey," Fan Wu sighed after fiddling with the ingot for a long time.

He had only been in Baihe County for half a day, and he had already spent over ten taels of silver!

If he hadn't received a chest of gold and silver from Xuan Shizi.

Relying on the dozen taels of silver he had obtained from Constable Liu in Prison Dragon County earlier, along with his own private savings of over ten taels accumulated over the years…

He probably would have turned into a bandit out of poverty before even reaching the Southern Commandery Prefecture!

Suddenly.

Fan Wu seemed to sense something unusual, and his eyes narrowed.

The pitch-black night sky seemed unable to block his gaze.

He could see clearly into the distance.

[Imperial Astronomy Bureau Squad Leader -- Vitality: 310 -- Strength: 8.5 -- Skills: Dragon Elephant Body Protection Skill, Hundred Killings Divine Path Technique, Seven Seals of Demon Suppression, Imperial Astronomy Bureau 16th Edition Comprehensive Talisman Guide]

Even though it was very far away, with Fan Wu's current astonishing eyesight, he could vaguely see even tiny fonts like mites.

This was a familiar status panel.

It was that Squad Leader from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau!

"Her [Vitality] attribute has dropped quite a bit compared to earlier today… I remember her [Vitality] attribute was 329 during the day, and now it's only 310. Is she injured?"

Fan Wu raised an eyebrow.

Having witnessed Xie Jiuyi's strength before, he could roughly guess the strength level of this Squad Leader.

Someone in Baihe County was able to injure an Imperial Astronomy Bureau Squad Leader?

Moreover, the Squad Leader's attribute information only flashed by in the distance before disappearing.

It looked like… the other party was chasing something.

Fan Wu withdrew his gaze, not curious about it, nor wanting to get involved.

Rashly interfering in the affairs of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau would be asking for trouble!

Offending one Great Venerable was already enough.

If he were to encounter a few more existences similar to a Great Venerable, Fan Wu felt… he would have to find a secluded mountain forest and lie low for a while.

However, just as Fan Wu was about to close the window and get a good night's sleep.

His movements suddenly paused.

The next moment.

A terrified cry, with a trembling voice, rang out from the first floor of the inn where he was staying.

"There's… a ghost! There's a ghost! AAAAAAAAH!!!"

Fan Wu: "..."