A Game of Wits

Hearing this, Feng Yang looked at Kong Wu in surprise.

Although Evil God Cultists had no proper cultivation methods and could not compare to orthodox cultivators like them, they were still no ordinary people.

Since Constable Kong Wu had managed to deal with an Evil God Cultist, that meant that although he had never cultivated and had no True Qi within him, his combat prowess was still on par with some low-level cultivators.

No wonder Feng Yang had faintly sensed a pressure emanating from him.

Yet even after thinking it over, Feng Yang truly could not understand how an ordinary person who had never cultivated could accomplish such a thing.

Kong Wu paid no attention to Feng Yang's strange gaze. He walked out of the room and looked around, discovering a rugged trail that seemed to lead toward the back mountain of the temple.

In the darkness, he could vaguely make out some buildings farther up the mountain.

Seeing Kong Wu stride straight up, Skinny Monkey hurried after him and said in a low voice, "Constable Kong, don't you think there's something wrong with that bull-nosed daoist?"

Feng Yang followed as well. The cultivator's keen hearing caught Skinny Monkey's whisper, but he paid it no mind.

What status did he have? Even in the provincial capital, Qingfeng Mountain was one of the foremost major sects. If not for Kong Wu's extraordinary physique and overwhelming yang energy, he, an Inner Disciple of Qingfeng Mountain, would not even have spared an ordinary county constable a glance.

The moonlight was blocked by the dense mountain forest, leaving the path ahead pitch-black.

Kong Wu and Feng Yang relied on their own powerful senses and paid no attention at all to the shadowy mountain path.

The candle stand Skinny Monkey had been carrying had been snuffed out by the cold mountain wind. He could only follow closely behind Kong Wu, step by step, nervously staring at the dark woods around him, as though some demon or monster might charge out of them at any moment.

Not long after they started up the mountain path, the three arrived at a somewhat more open area.

The scattered tombstones all around showed that this was a graveyard.

Kong Wu was walking along the path when he casually glanced to the side of his eye and suddenly stopped.

Skinny Monkey, who had been shivering in the mountain wind, saw Kong Wu halt and pick something up from the roadside.

"This isn't..."

With the moonlight's help, Skinny Monkey saw the broken half of a blade in Kong Wu's hand. The more he looked at it, the more it resembled the Wild Goose Feather Sabers issued by their county office.

"Something's wrong!"

Feng Yang had been leisurely walking at the rear, but now his expression suddenly grew solemn as he warily watched the graveyard.

"What's wrong?"

At Skinny Monkey's words, he instinctively turned his head, but stopped halfway through.

He slowly opened his mouth, his teeth chattering as he pointed at a dark figure that had appeared in the middle of the graveyard at some unknown point. Trembling, he asked, "Wh—wh—what is that?"

The dark figure swayed as it walked toward them, gradually becoming clearer beneath the moonlight.

"Niu Dazhuang?"

Skinny Monkey froze when he saw the familiar face.

It was one of the constables who had gone out with Captain Li earlier.

It was just that Niu Dazhuang likely could no longer hear Skinny Monkey's greeting.

Half of his head was missing, while the remaining half was covered in bite marks.

It was a wonder that Skinny Monkey could still recognize who he had originally been.

Inside a pavilion on the mountain, a white-robed daoist sat before a chessboard, pondering as he held a black stone.

Opposite him sat an old man dressed like a wandering physician. He was sprawled there, lazily swinging his feet.

"Still haven't decided? You're far too indecisive."

The white-robed daoist sighed. After wavering again and again, he finally placed his stone where he had long since intended to.

"That's more like it. Back when your father was a bandit, he was decisive and resolute. How did you become so hesitant and indecisive?"

The old man picked up a white stone and casually placed it on the board.

"Senior Zhu Yin Sheng, times have changed. I can only act more cautiously. The imperial court is unstable now, and powerful clans are scattered throughout the land. Who knows when some formidable figure might emerge?"

The white-robed daoist picked up another black stone and began pondering again.

Seeing him like this, Zhu Yin Sheng scratched his toes and said helplessly, "So you still don't want to come to our village? You saw it yourself earlier—the benefits I gained after sacrificing that constable were enormous."

The white-robed daoist shook his head. "My father obtained a secret technique in his early years, but unfortunately, he had no spiritual root and could not cultivate it. Heaven opened its eyes for me, and I was born with a spiritual root. Naturally, I must follow the proper path of cultivation."

"The proper path of cultivation?" Zhu Yin Sheng sneered. "You mean your corpse-refining method? Do you have some misunderstanding about the words 'proper path'?"

The white-robed daoist did not answer and continued thinking.

Seeing this, Zhu Yin Sheng sighed. "Bai Shen, Bai Shen. Your father gave you this name with perfect accuracy. But don't you think you're being overly cautious?"

Idly picking at his toes in irritation, he continued, "You've holed up here for more than a decade, single-mindedly focused on cultivation, and you really did succeed. You're already at Qi Cultivation Level 5. There's no one in all of Qingshan County who can defeat you, yet you're still cowering here."

Bai Shen placed the chess stone in his hand and nodded in satisfaction before saying, "We evil demonic daoists cannot stand in the light. I'm afraid that the moment those lunatics from the Demon Suppression Division catch our scent, they'll come charging over. The matter with those constables a few days ago won't remain hidden for long. I should move somewhere else tomorrow or the day after."

Zhu Yin Sheng tugged at the corner of his mouth and said speechlessly, "Daoist this, daoist that. You're just like your father. You've played the bull-nosed daoist for so long that you're almost forgetting you're a bandit."

After grumbling, he casually placed another stone.

Bai Shen's eyes lit up, and he praised, "What a brilliant move... Hmm?"

Before he had finished speaking, he suddenly looked up toward the outside and frowned.

"What is it?"

Seeing this, Zhu Yin Sheng asked.

"One of the works I made a few days ago has awakened." Bai Shen spoke somewhat strangely. "Could an outsider have come in?"

"In this lousy White Cloud Temple of yours, who would come here in the middle of the night for no reason? Most likely it's one of those constables' colleagues, here to investigate."

Zhu Yin Sheng tossed out the remark casually, then lay down on the floor and said lazily, "I wonder whether Old Man Fang has found any suitable sacrifices in the county. He's been gone for two days without returning. Could he have met with disaster?"

Bai Shen smiled. "The only cultivator at Qi Cultivation Level 2 in the county belongs to the Qian Family. Even if Senior Fang is no match for him, he should still be able to escape. He ought to be fine."

"True." Zhu Yin Sheng nodded. "That fellow probably got another bout of his gambling addiction."

Bai Shen shook his head and continued studying the chessboard.

But before long, the chess stone in his hand suddenly fell. The crisp sound made Zhu Yin Sheng, who had been squinting, open his eyes and sit up.

Bai Shen's face was ashen as he stared outside. "I've lost contact with that work of mine."