Evil Spirit

Wu Tao held his iron sword and stood by the door. He wouldn't open it unless the person outside identified themselves clearly.

The next second, he heard Zhang Li's voice, trembling slightly, "Fellow Daoist Li, it's me, Zhang Li."

Wu Tao didn't open the door immediately. Thoughts flashed through his mind before he asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, what was the first thing I said to you?"

"Hello, I just moved in yesterday? Fellow Daoist Li, can you open the door..." Zhang Li's voice was filled with fear.

Wu Tao breathed a sigh of relief. It was Zhang Li.

Clang, the door opened. Zhang Li stood at the entrance, still wearing her undergarments. Her body trembled slightly, and fear was evident on her face. She looked at Wu Tao, her lips quivering, "Li Mo, I'm scared!"

"Come in first," Wu Tao glanced at the night behind Zhang Li. None of the residents of New Virtue Alley had come out; they had all bolted their doors shut.

He pulled Zhang Li inside and closed the door.

The dim lamplight illuminated their faces, clearly showing the fear they couldn't suppress, which was etched all over them.

'Low strength is the original sin,' Wu Tao sighed inwardly. He then did his best to calm himself and comforted Zhang Li, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, fear is contagious. If you're scared, I'll be even more scared. My cultivation is even lower than yours."

Zhang Li felt a little more settled by his words, but the effect was minimal. She slowly shook her head, "I've never fought before, and I don't know any combat spells..."

Wu Tao pondered for a moment before making a decision, "You can stay here tonight. One person keeps watch while the other sleeps. I'll take the first half of the night, you sleep first, and I'll take the second half."

This was the only way.

He hoped it wasn't a major problem and that the patrol squad responsible for protecting the loose cultivators would resolve it quickly.

Zhang Li didn't speak. She glanced at Wu Tao's calm expression, climbed onto his bed, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep. She needed to be well-rested to take over the second half of the night. At times like these, she knew she couldn't be a burden.

Wu Tao sat on a chair, watching the candlelight flicker, his mind highly focused, constantly alert to any movement outside.

Fortunately, the night passed quickly.

No accidents occurred.

Wu Tao was groggily woken by Zhang Li. He got up, pressing his swollen forehead, and saw Zhang Li's haggard face. She had kept watch during the second half of the night. The first thing he did upon waking was ask, "Was everything okay in the second half of the night?"

Zhang Li shook her head.

Wu Tao got up, took the iron sword from Zhang Li, and said to her, "Stay inside the house. Don't go out. I'm going to scout the situation outside."

"Okay, be careful."

Wu Tao went out. Residents of New Virtue Alley were already on the street, gathering in small groups, seemingly discussing the screams from last night. He pretended to be passing by, hoping to overhear any useful information.

"Confirmed, it was an evil spirit in the neighboring alley, New Peace Alley. One person died."

"An evil spirit? Did they catch it?"

"Not yet, we need to be careful tonight. It's best if we all stick together and watch out for each other..."

Hearing this news, Wu Tao's heart sank. Evil spirits again.

To confirm the situation, he gathered more information and finally confirmed that an evil spirit had indeed appeared.

He hurried home and said to Zhang Li, "I've found out. There's an evil spirit causing trouble in New Peace Alley next door. One person has died. I have an urgent matter to attend to. You can either go home or stay here with me. Although evil spirits rarely act during the day, it's still best to be cautious and don't sleep too deeply."

"Fellow Daoist Li, wait... are you going to buy Evil-Breaking Talismans?" Zhang Li grabbed Wu Tao's arm.

Wu Tao nodded and said, "I need to hurry. Once an evil spirit appears, I'm not afraid of the shops taking advantage of the situation, but I am afraid they'll sell out. People have already died, we can't rely entirely on the Patrol Squad for our safety..."

Zhang Li stopped talking and quickly ran back into her room. She reappeared moments later, holding a Spirit Stone Bag, and handed it over. "Fellow Daoist Li, this is all my savings, ninety Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Take it and buy as many Evil-Breaking Talismans as you can. Let's get through this crisis first."

Zhang Li's actions made Wu Tao look at her with even greater respect. He stopped wasting words, took the Spirit Stone Bag, said "Wait for me to return," and then rushed out, heading straight for the market.

He rushed into the Yuanyou Talisman Pavilion and breathlessly said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I want to buy Evil-Breaking Talismans."

"They're sold out."

Damn it, I should have known. With evil spirits appearing, Evil-Breaking Talismans would definitely sell like hotcakes. I'm still a step too late. I'll have to check other shops. Wu Tao's thoughts raced as he hurried to another shop that sold talismans.

He visited three more shops in a row, and all of them were sold out.

Just as Wu Tao was about to despair, he found an establishment in the fourth shop that still had Evil-Breaking Talismans for sale.

"Don't push, don't push! If you keep pushing, get out!" The shopkeeper tried his best to maintain order, urging the Loose Cultivators to queue up, but these Loose Cultivators lived near New Peace Alley and were desperate for their lives.

However, under the shopkeeper's threats, they dared not push anymore.

Wu Tao joined the queue, watching as one Loose Cultivator after another emptied their pockets to buy Evil-Breaking Talismans. He could only pray in his heart that they wouldn't sell out and would leave at least one for him.

Finally, it was Wu Tao's turn. He hurriedly asked, "How much is one Evil-Breaking Talisman?"

"Thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones each."

"Give me four."

As expected, the price had increased. Wu Tao gritted his teeth, took out the Spirit Stones, paid, and grabbed the Evil-Breaking Talismans. As he left the queue, he heard the seller shouting, "I told you not to push! From now on, Evil-Breaking Talismans are fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones each!"

He no longer paid attention to the continuously rising price of Evil-Breaking Talismans. He carefully placed the talismans close to his body. Together with the one he had bought earlier, he now had five. His sense of crisis had slightly lessened.

"Fortunately, I bought one earlier."

"Back to square one in an instant. It can't be helped. Spirit Stones can be earned again, but if I lose my life, then everything is lost. After this crisis passes, I need to prepare more Evil-Breaking Talismans. The best way is to buy a formation that can ward off evil and break evil, and refine Magic Tools specifically for evil spirits myself."

"Fellow Daoist Zhang is also clear-headed, knowing that life is more important."

Wu Tao clenched his Iron Sword and walked in the direction of his home. Along the way, he encountered Loose Cultivators selling Evil-Breaking Talismans, the price having risen to sixty-five each. Someone nearby shouted in frustration.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, your Evil-Breaking Talismans are outrageously priced!"

"Buy it or get lost. What, you want to rob me?"

Although the Loose Cultivator surnamed Chen was unremarkable in appearance, he seemed to have something to rely on, so no one dared to act rashly.

Wu Tao turned into an invisible person and quietly passed by, quickly returning home. knocked gently on his door, and soon Zhang Li opened it. was already dressed.

Seeing Wu Tao return safely, Zhang Li couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wu Tao slipped inside, closed the door, took out five Evil-Breaking Talismans from his embrace, and handed over three. "The price of Evil-Breaking Talismans has risen to thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones each. When I left, the price had already risen to sixty-five each. Here are your three."

Zhang Li took them, carefully put them away, and said, "It's good that we could buy them."

Wu Tao looked into her eyes and saw that was even more tired. asked, "You didn't rest just now?"

Zhang Li shook her head. "I didn't dare to sleep alone. I wanted to wait for you to come back before sleeping."

Wu Tao understood. Although Zhang Li had performed well in this matter, from keeping watch to taking out Spirit Stones to buy Evil-Breaking Talismans, hadn't relied entirely on Wu Tao, but in the end, was still a woman, and physiologically and psychologically, couldn't compare to a man.

Thinking of this, Wu Tao said, "Then don't sleep yet. Refine this robe. This is a First-Grade Level Two Gale Robe. It can double your speed, which can be used to escape in critical moments."

After speaking, Wu Tao took out two robes, gave one to Zhang Li, and refined one himself.

Zhang Li didn't hesitate. (She) knew that at this moment, time was life. (She) would save her life first before saying thanks. (She) quickly took it and sat on the bed to refine it.