It's Better to Speak of Such Things Early

"Young Master, is the blood on your clothes from when you fought those strange apes outside the city?"

"That's right."

"You should wash it quickly, or it'll set in."

"I was planning to wash it after I eat."

"Then you'll have to wait a bit longer!" the man said, frowning seriously. "Besides, there are women here at the inn who can help with laundry. Why not ask them?"

A nearby inn employee, who was just serving food, overheard this and immediately saw a business opportunity. He nodded repeatedly.

"My old mother is here at the inn washing clothes for guests. She's been washing clothes her whole life and can clean even the dirtiest garments without damaging them!"

"Then why are you still talking?" Before Lin Jue could speak, the other man interjected. He reached into his robes, pulled out some money, and slapped it on the table. "Hurry up and take the Young Master's clothes to be washed clean!"

"Right away!"

"Whoa, whoa…"

The employee moved with incredible speed, practically jogging over. Before Lin Jue could stop him, he grabbed the coins with one hand and Lin Jue's clothes from the bench with the other, then hurried off towards the back.

Lin Jue frowned, confused, and looked at the man.

The man simply cupped his hands towards him, speaking very politely.

"What this employee said makes sense. Washing clothes doesn't cost much. If you're not skilled at scrubbing and ruin the clothes, that would be a much greater loss. It's better to leave such tasks to those women. Your hands, Young Master, are for slaying demons and monsters and ridding the people of harm."

Lin Jue, however, was starting to feel that something was amiss.

He had actually heard about such things from the village elders—

A martial artist who had just rid the people of harm came to a tavern and met someone who was moved by his heroic spirit. That person happened to be bold and generous, so they gifted a pot of wine and invited him to drink together.

That was understandable.

But those who admired the martial artist's heroic spirit, besides giving food and wine, would they also pay to have his clothes washed?

Lin Jue turned his head again, looking closely.

This time, he noticed a hint of worry between the man's brows and a faint trace of weariness on his face.

"So that's how it is…"

Lin Jue fell silent and put down his chopsticks.

"You have a request for me."

The man froze at his words.

"This…"

After a moment of distraction, he no longer concealed his intentions. He hastily stood up, strode two steps to Lin Jue's side, and actually bowed deeply.

"I am Wei Yuanzhong. To be frank, in the past month, my household has been plagued by strange occurrences. My family and I are always woken up from our sleep by inexplicable beatings. I've reported it to the authorities and invited people to examine it. They say it's the work of demonic ghosts. We've tried many remedies, but they haven't been very effective. The people nearby say that inviting someone brave and full of vigor to stay at our home for a night might scare away the demonic ghosts."

"Unexplained beatings?"

Lin Jue found it both novel and frightening.

"Precisely!"

This man, Wei Yuanzhong, immediately lifted his clothes to show Lin Jue—

His body was covered in crisscrossing wounds, some about as thick as a finger, others even thicker. They were purple, red, and bruised. They didn't look like they were inflicted in a single day. Against his pale, fleshy body, they appeared exceptionally clear and ghastly.

"These were all inflicted by that thing for no reason, causing our entire family to be afraid to stay at home! My brother too, he's been living in the tea shed all day!"

"Tell me more about it."

Lin Jue urged him to continue.

"There's not much more to tell, as we don't understand what's happening ourselves," Wei Yuanzhong said helplessly and sat down again. "My father died this year. We handled the funeral arrangements. There were rumors on the street that we were unfilial and angered our father, or that this had angered the gods and spirits. But we didn't neglect any rituals. At most, there were some issues when dividing the family property, but it wasn't a major problem. Moreover, these strange occurrences didn't happen when my father died; they only started two months later, proving it wasn't due to our unfilial conduct and is unrelated to that matter."

Lin Jue merely hummed, not daring to say more.

Who would come out of nowhere, say nothing about their actual problem, offer food and wine under a different pretense, and then ask for this kind of favor?

Especially since he wasn't a true demon-slaying Daoist priest.

"It started at the end of last month. We were living at home, sleeping soundly, when suddenly we were beaten. It hurt a lot, and we vaguely heard some noise. At first, we thought burglars had broken in, but when we got up and lit a lamp, there was no one there. The doors and windows were all securely shut. Since then, this has happened repeatedly, and we are all very frightened."

"It sounds a bit like the stories where ghosts and monsters want to occupy a person's residence, or when someone offends them, leading to these rituals."

"Everyone says so too."

"Is it only beatings?"

"Only beatings. But it's exhausting. Now we don't dare to live at home and can only stay in inns outside. Our entire family of over twenty people, money is flowing out every day."

"You said earlier that you tried many remedies, but they weren't very effective?"

"We've tried many folk remedies. Some didn't work, some had a slight effect, but nothing significant."

"For example?"

"For instance, people in the market say that if you sprinkle black dog blood and boy's urine on the ground, evil spirits won't dare to enter. This had almost no effect; instead, it seemed to anger the thing more, and the beatings became more severe. Another example is sprinkling flour on the ground at night, supposedly to know where the thing comes from and goes, which was completely useless. Then there was seeking talismans from temples; these helped a little, but only for a few days."

Wei Yuanzhong also seemed a bit scared as he spoke, taking a sip of water.

"The most effective one was a Martial Official Statue brought from the City God Temple. After we brought it home, my nephew slept soundly for several nights without being beaten by that thing. We even moved the statue into our bedroom, but after a few days, the statue stopped working, and the whole family was beaten again. This was our last resort. If even the City God's Martial Official statue didn't work, I doubt any other method would be effective."

"There's actually such a thing…"

Lin Jue's interest in this story was already piqued.

He had always enjoyed listening to these kinds of strange tales back in the village. Hearing it now felt different, as if he were witnessing it firsthand, experiencing it personally. The stories were gradually transforming from mere tales into reality.

The wonders of this world were continuously unfolding before his eyes.

"Alas, after all that trouble, we realized that all the sorcerers and practitioners in the vicinity are nothing but charlatans, utterly useless."

"Then why did Lord Wei seek me out?"

"It's out of desperation, you know, grasping at straws. Yesterday, I heard that a very powerful Taoist had arrived nearby, someone who had supposedly vanquished powerful demons in the neighboring county with his Taoist magic. I don't know if it's true or not, but we've already sent the young men from my household to find him. Now, it seems, we likely won't find him." Wei Yuanzhong's voice grew more sorrowful. "Fortunately, my elder brother came to find me today, saying that two chivalrous heroes had dealt with those demon monkeys outside the city. As the saying goes, bold and courageous individuals can suppress monsters, which is why I came to find you, Young Master, hoping you might grace my home with your presence for a night. Perhaps your vitality and courage can drive that thing away."

After speaking, he looked at Lin Jue expectantly.

It sounded quite similar to Old Master Wang's idea in Heng Village, both relying on human presence to deal with demons.

Lin Jue remained silent for a moment.

While he was indeed interested in such matters, his interest was purely in the stories themselves. Wei Yuanzhong was asking for his help, which was a different matter entirely.

Lin Jue lowered his head, looking at the food and wine on the table, and fell into deep thought.

He pondered and deliberated.

If he agreed, he wasn't a true Taoist with magical abilities, nor was he a peerless martial artist. He couldn't be sure he could deal with that entity.

If he refused…

He had come out in search of immortality and the Tao, and he possessed an ancient book that reacted to magical arts. It wouldn't be accurate to say he had no interest in ghosts and monsters. At the very least, the Wang Family of Heng Village and the monks at the roadside temple had shown him that the magic used by ghosts and monsters, as long as it was usable by humans, could trigger a reaction from the ancient book.

Besides, he had already drunk the soup and tasted the wine.

And there was the favor of borrowing the saber for release earlier today.

His thoughts were thus in a tangle.

"Alas…"

Lin Jue couldn't help but sigh, lamenting, "Brother, if you wished to ask for my help, you could have simply stated your name and the matter directly. Given the favor of borrowing the saber, I might not have refused. Why go through all this?"

"It was truly out of desperation…"

"I really thought someone admired me and invited me for meat and wine."

"Young Master, you see clearly! That is also part of the reason! Even without the matter at my home, I, Wei, would still have invited the Young Master for a pot of meat and a bowl of wine!"

"If everything Lord Wei has said is true, and I stay at your home for one night, do you dare to accompany me?"

"Accompany you?"

Wei Yuanzhong was taken aback for a moment.

"Do you dare?"

Lin Jue stared intently at his expression.

He saw a flicker of fear in the man's eyes, a wavering gaze. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. "If you dare to step forward and help my family with our affairs, how could I not dare? At worst, I'll just get beaten again!"

"Good!"

Seeing his resolve, Lin Jue believed him. The demon only beat people, it didn't kill them.

There must be some underlying reason for this.

"With this half chicken and cup of wine you gifted me, and with the kindness of your elder brother lending me his saber today, what's to stop me from sleeping at your estate for one night? However, I'll say this upfront: I only agree to stay for one night. I have no skill in subduing demons or monsters. At worst, I'll endure a beating along with you!"

This was truly what Lin Jue thought.

Therefore, his words carried a certain straightforwardness and nonchalance.

"I absolutely dare not presume to ask the Young Master to undertake such a task for merely half a chicken and a cup of wine. Please, Young Master, go ahead. Tomorrow, there will surely be a generous reward."

"I won't be polite then."

"When shall we go?"

"After I finish eating!"

Lin Jue then picked up his chopsticks again.

With the matter settled and the request accepted, he felt a sense of relief. Eating this meal now felt much more grounded.

He extended a hand, first tearing off a chicken leg from the half chicken, placing it in his mouth, and chewing heartily. He savored the texture of the meat fibers and its rich aroma, then took a large mouthful of rice. What a delight!

If he had stayed in the village, he probably wouldn't have been able to experience such a life.

Two quarters of an hour later, Lin Jue was full of food and drink. He dropped his chopsticks, went upstairs to get his cleaver, and then headed out.