What Was Wrong with This Guy?

That third-rate scam gave Yu Ziqing such a strong sense of déjà vu that he sucked in a cold breath.

Setting aside their greatest talent—bewitching people's hearts—just talking about the scam itself, it really was rather low-level.

But considering the actual circumstances, it really was effective.

Those people were practically starving to death. If you gave them food in exchange for reciting scriptures, then half a year ago, when Yu Ziqing had nearly starved to death himself, he reckoned he would have been willing to do it too. His mindset probably would have been nothing more than free wool for the picking.

But in this world, this kind of wool was not so easy to fleece.

There were probably quite a few people who had initially come here with that mindset. But in the end, amid the repeated sounds of scripture recitation, they were brainwashed without a sound, until they completely lost themselves and became devout fanatics who knew nothing but chanting scriptures.

After infiltrating the camp, Yu Ziqing did not even dare to chant those sinister scriptures over and over. He had been slacking off the whole time while investigating in secret.

Wu Shuangge, on the other hand, studied them seriously, recited them seriously, and ate seriously. On the surface, he looked even more devout than those pious believers.

In reality, his serious study was for learning the characters, and his serious recitation was for practicing spoken language.

As for eating seriously, that was innate. He had also been frightened by hunger. Being enthusiastic about eating was because Yu Ziqing had once casually spouted a saying: the first rule of the Hungry Ghost Dharma Canon—if you were not enthusiastic about eating, there was something wrong with your ideology. Cècè had even carefully written it down.

He looked very devout, but when each aspect was examined separately, not one of them had anything to do with the believers' requirements...

If they could really brainwash Wu Shuangge, whom even Yu Ziqing might not be able to persuade, with nothing but a single scripture, then their White Sun Holy Mother would have long since made everyone under heaven a believer and ground the Three Divine Dynasties into the dirt.

Yu Ziqing acted like a good-for-nothing, slacking off and gathering information every day. In less than two days, he had narrowed down the targets he approached for conversation to several of the most devout households.

The family next to the thatched hut he shared with Wu Shuangge had one of the most devout women in the entire camp.

This Sister-in-law Li was so devout that, apart from eating, drinking, relieving herself, and sleeping, she spent every remaining moment reciting scriptures. She barely paid any attention even to her own children.

Yu Ziqing had seen Sister-in-law Li only a handful of times, but every time, he could tell that she had already lost herself and fallen completely.

The believer distributing food appeared again, pushing a small cart.

Whenever he saw Wu Shuangge, he would smile. The porridge he gave him was always boiled thick, almost like plain rice. What he most liked to see were devout believers.

"Come on, fool. Eat a little more."

But when he saw Yu Ziqing, his expression instantly turned sour. Yu Ziqing was the typical free-wool slacker. Even when he tried to pretend to be devout, it was the kind of act that could easily be seen through.

There were many people like him in the camp.

As long as they braved the wind and snow to flee to Great Li, and as long as they arrived alive, Great Li would give them land and grain. That news had spread long ago.

But here, they only needed to recite scriptures. They did not need to farm or work, and they could still get a mouthful of food. Compared to taking risks and laboring bitterly, they would rather stay here.

The believer still gave the slackers thin porridge instead of letting them starve to death, because one day, those slackers would become more and more devout.

Everyone began to eat. Sister-in-law Li's son, White Dog, was still squatting beside Wu Shuangge as he ate.

He liked it more and more. Whenever he watched Wu Shuangge eat, his own food seemed to taste much better, his appetite opened wide, and his muddled mood improved considerably. Sometimes, the murmurs he heard at the edge of his ears would disappear as well.

"White Dog, have you ever thought about the future?" Yu Ziqing asked casually as he slurped his thin porridge, speaking to White Dog, who was eating plain rice porridge.

"The future? I'll serve the Holy Mother well. The Holy Mother will bestow houses upon us, and then we won't have to live in thatched huts anymore."

"Have you never thought about going to Great Li? Having a plot of land of your own, where you could grow vegetables and grain?"

"Why would I go to Great Li?" White Dog asked, his face full of confusion.

"..." Yu Ziqing was rendered speechless for a moment, unable to figure out how to answer in a way that would dispel his confusion.

Night fell, and the camp sank into silence.

Wu Shuangge brought Yu Ziqing back to the inn. After relieving themselves as usual, they met up with Cècè, who had gone out to investigate.

"Young Master, the White Sun Evil Sacrifice sent more than one Joy Lantern Priest. There is also a Grand Priest of higher standing. They noticed my investigation, but they didn't discover me.

"This time, the White Sun Evil Sacrifice is somewhat different from what Senior Old Yang told us. They have probably been developing in secret for a long time before finally showing themselves.

"That Joy Lantern Priest is already fifth-tier, and the Grand Priest was able to lock onto my direction the instant he noticed the investigation.

"If I hadn't hidden myself immediately, a distance of several dozen li wouldn't have been enough for me to escape."

"Don't casually unfold your domain again over the next few days."

"All right. According to my investigation, they're advancing one city at a time. They'll arrive here in at most three days, or at least a little over one day."

"Did you find out what happened in Great Zhen?"

"No. But I discovered that an agent of the Shadow Division has entered the city as well."

"Hm? How did you discover the Shadow Division's agent?" Yu Ziqing was greatly surprised. When it came to fleeing for their lives and hiding themselves, those people were unrivaled under heaven.

"When he used the Great Shadow Escape to emerge, I still had my investigation domain open. Besides, his distinguishing feature was particularly easy to recognize."

"What was it?"

"He has no left arm."

At those words, Yu Ziqing immediately perked up.

A feature like that was far too easy to find. After all, agents of the Shadow Division still had to disguise their identities and pretend to be ordinary people under normal circumstances. They were not rats that burrowed underground all day long.

Among the newcomers to the camp that day, there was a thin young man missing his left arm.

As they were speaking, Wu Shuangge emerged from underground.

"Young Master, something happened in the camp. They've begun gathering everyone."

Yu Ziqing immediately followed Wu Shuangge as he slipped back into the camp. When they stepped out of the thatched hut, torches had already been lit outside, illuminating the surroundings.

Dumb Girl from the neighboring thatched hut had a sharpened wooden stake through her chest. She lay on the ground, already lifeless.

Beside her stood a disheveled man with a wild expression, his body and hands covered in blood. At that moment, people were pinning him to the ground.

The believer distributing food approached with an ugly expression. When he saw that the dead girl was Dumb Girl, his face grew even darker. This was the household considered the most devout.

Sister-in-law Li's face was filled with grief as she collapsed onto the ground, hurriedly reciting the scriptures. It was as though doing so could bring her daughter back to the Holy Mountain.

White Dog stood there blankly, reciting the scriptures along with his mother.

The people around them also began unconsciously reciting the scriptures along with them.

The group wore solemn yet frenzied expressions, devout but despairing.

The believer distributing food recited the scriptures as well, drew his long saber, and chopped off the murderer's head with a single stroke.

Yu Ziqing felt completely out of place. No matter how convincingly he acted, he still looked less natural than those slackers.

Two people had died, yet no one changed much. They each went back to sleep, replenishing their energy so they could continue reciting scriptures for their livelihoods the next day.

Only the next day did Yu Ziqing learn the full story.

He knew the murderer as well. He was one of the members of those several most devout households.

Because White Dog's family had been deemed the most devout, they received two pieces of meat with every meal, and sometimes even three pieces of glistening white fat. None of the other families got any.

That man had therefore intended to strike ruthlessly at night and kill White Dog's entire family. That way, his own family would become the most devout and be able to eat that glistening white fat.

But in the end, he had killed only one person before the commotion attracted the attention of the believers.

Yu Ziqing could understand that kind of mentality. He, too, had experienced starving to death after falling into despair. But understanding it did not mean he could accept it.

This place had nearly become a human hell. No, it had been one from the very beginning.

They could no longer stay here. A Grand Priest would arrive in another two days.

He would stir up some trouble first, then investigate along the route that Grand Priest had taken in the opposite direction. He felt that he had vaguely grasped something. Starting from the lowest level really was the best method. The information here was completely unhidden, and bit by bit, it was pushing his deductions forward.

Night fell, and the camp once again sank into dead silence. Yu Ziqing was already preparing to leave.

He quietly arrived at one of the thatched huts. The one-armed young man sleeping inside immediately sat up. When he saw Yu Ziqing, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he hurriedly asked, "Big Brother, what are you doing? I don't have any food. Not a bit. I only drank one bowl of thin porridge during the day."

"I came to ask you about something." Yu Ziqing sat down beside the young man of his own accord and placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Originally, I had some grudge against these heretics and planned to ambush a Joy Lantern Priest and kill him, just to vent some anger. But who would have thought that a Grand Priest would be coming this time too? If I fail to kill him, I'll be exposed. To be safe, I can only leave first. Before I go, I'm planning to uproot this den while I'm at it, and I'd like to ask for your help."

Before Yu Ziqing could finish speaking, the one-armed young man's body began to fade into nothingness. The arm Yu Ziqing had placed on his shoulder grasped empty air.

However, the instant the young man prepared to escape underground, Yu Ziqing's alarm bells rang loudly. There seemed to be something extraordinarily vicious beneath the earth. If he dared to burrow down, he would definitely die.

The young man immediately gave up and dispelled his escape art. The panic vanished from his face as well.

He glanced at his vanished left arm. With such an obvious distinguishing feature, he was indeed at a greater disadvantage than ordinary Shadow Division agents. How the other party had discovered him was no longer important.

"What do you want to do?"

Yu Ziqing placed one hand on the young man's shoulder and put on a benevolent smile.

"Don't be nervous. I only want to cooperate with you. Rest assured, it won't harm your interests. At the same time, I'll help you obtain information. We'll both benefit.

"If our cooperation goes well, I can even tell you how to restore your left arm more easily, without needing to slowly accumulate merits to exchange for that expensive spirit medicine for regrowing severed limbs.

"With your cultivation level, there's definitely no hope of obtaining a spirit medicine of that grade in the short term, right?"

"I am Qing Ziyu. And you are?"

The young man fell silent for a moment. He knew that this man was right. He had risked coming to Great Zhen precisely to accumulate more merits.

"Su Li."

"Good. Brother Su, I hope our cooperation goes smoothly. This time, before leaving, I'll go butcher those believers. Brother Su can tell as well, can't you? I'm only a body cultivator, and I'm truly mediocre when it comes to cleaning up afterward.

"When the time comes, I hope a professional like Brother Su can help deal with the aftermath. For someone like you, this simple task should be a piece of cake."

Su Li raised his head slightly, unable to conceal the surprise in his heart. His mindset shifted somewhat as well.

You came over in the middle of the night, exposed my identity, and buried something monstrously vicious underground so I couldn't escape. You had the means to discover me and even paid such a high price to prevent me from fleeing, all just to make me do this?

In all his years in the profession, he had never encountered—or even heard of—anyone who captured an agent of the Shadow Division just to have that agent clean up after he had finished killing people.

What was wrong with this guy?