Sly Fox

"You're already ghosts, yet you're still this naive. If ghost talk isn't to be trusted, does that mean human talk is?"

Lu Yan stored the bottle containing the three ghosts back into the Kamui Dimension, turned toward the direction of the town the female ghost had mentioned, and sped off.

He hadn't gone far when he heard the sounds of a struggle ahead. Lu Yan slowed his pace, hid in a lush, leafy tree, and looked down.

Below, a middle-aged man in a grey robe, wearing old-fashioned spectacles and wielding a peach-wood sword, was locked in a fierce fight with a young woman in a white dress.

The woman had a slender, graceful figure and a beautiful face, but she was wreathed in demonic energy as she darted between the trees; clearly, she was no ordinary being.

"It's him."

"The Republic era, warlords, Simu, ghosts... so this is that world."

Upon seeing the middle-aged man's attire, Lu Yan recognized him as Taoist Priest Simu. Combining this with the intelligence he had extracted from the three ghosts, he finally understood which world he had arrived in.

"It seems the harvest this time won't be small."

Lu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Although Taoist arts were in decline in this world, they had once been glorious, and there were many good things to be found.

With that thought, Lu Yan leaped down from the tree and shouted, "Priest, I'm here to assist you!"

The two combatants reacted differently to Lu Yan's sudden appearance.

The woman in white was startled at first, then delighted, calling out in a soft, seductive voice, "Young master, save me!"

Taoist Priest Simu, however, looked anxious and shouted, "Watch out for her illusions!"

Hearing the woman's seductive voice, Lu Yan shuddered. He pulled the Ebony from his coat and fired a shot at the fox spirit.

Bang!

As the gunshot rang out, the fox spirit let out a miserable shriek, curled up on the ground, and burst into flames.

"A male fox spirit trying to pull illusions on me, an Uchiha? You're just asking for death."

Recalling the eyesore of a moment ago, Lu Yan still felt unsatisfied. He pulled the Ivory from the other side of his coat and fired another shot at the burning fox.

Instantly, the screaming stopped abruptly; the burning fox spirit was encased in a block of ice.

Simu watched this shocking scene, eyeing the mysterious young man who had suddenly appeared with a measure of wariness.

Just then, a "crackling" sound echoed as fissures appeared on the ice, shattering it into countless pieces.

"True: No Corpse Left Behind."

Simu's mouth twitched, and his expression grew even more guarded.

Lu Yan came to his senses and, seeing the priest's wary look, felt a bit awkward. He explained, "Priest, that male fox spirit tried to use a seduction technique on me. It was truly disgusting; I couldn't help myself."

"A male fox spirit?"

Simu muttered to himself, his expression turning strange. His demeanor softened slightly, and he cupped his hands in a salute. "I am Simu of Maoshan. Young brother, you have impressive skills. May I ask which sect you belong to?"

"I am Lu Yan. I studied abroad for many years and inherited some Western Arcanist traditions. I only just returned to the country."

Lu Yan returned the salute, careful not to mention being a "wizard," as that term didn't sound like a righteous path in the Chinese language.

"An Arcanist?"

"That's a first for me. But what brings you out here in the middle of the night, young brother?"

Simu scrutinized the young man before him. He wore a black suit, high boots, and a trench coat. With his black hair, black eyes, and handsome, noble features, Simu found his story somewhat believable.

Unlike his senior brother Lin Jiu, Simu traveled extensively to transport corpses and was well-traveled. He had seen foreigners and wealthy men in the provincial capital dressed much the same way.

Lu Yan didn't panic at the questioning; he had already prepared his story. "I left home when I was young. Upon returning, everything had changed, and I have no ties left. I heard there is a master of Taoist arts in the nearby Ren Family Town, so I intended to pay a visit and exchange knowledge."

"I see. Many thanks for your help, young brother. Let us part ways here."

Simu narrowed his eyes, kept his expression neutral, cupped his hands, and turned to walk toward his group of hopping corpses.

"So guarded?"

Lu Yan was stunned. He hadn't expected a character who seemed somewhat comedic in the film to be so cautious and shrewd in reality.

It seemed the plot couldn't be trusted entirely. Lu Yan thought to himself, but he stepped forward and called out, "Priest, please wait!"

"Is there something else, young brother?"

Simu stopped, turned around, and looked into Lu Yan's eyes, his body slightly tense.

"I just saw you fighting the fox demon, and your Taoist arts are clearly profound. I was wondering if we could exchange some pointers?"

Lu Yan felt a bit helpless. I know appearing here in the middle of the night is suspicious, but I'm just a kid, what are you so afraid of?

"It's the middle of the night, and I have to get these corpses back. It is not convenient to discuss the Dao with you, young brother."

Simu shook his head, refusing to engage further.

"Wait, I'll go back with you."

Lu Yan had no other choice but to act like a rogue, walking forward alongside the priest.

Simu hadn't expected this young man to be so persistent, but he didn't refuse again, tacitly allowing him to accompany them.

"Whoa, it's all a mess! Brothers, stop jumping around!"

"Watch your heads!"

Simu watched as his clients fell into complete chaos, hurriedly hoisting the corpse snatched away by the fox spirit onto his back before rushing toward the rest of the group.

"By the urgent order of the law, hop!"

Watching the corpses link up one by one with Daoist Simu leading the way, Lu Yan found it quite amusing. In his past life, the Necromancer Sect's sorcerers studied similar arts, but they differed significantly from the Maoshan corpse-driving technique.

"Daoist, this is too much trouble for you. Let me help."

Lu Yan activated his Sharingan, using a genjutsu to hypnotize a toad, then had Daoist Simu tuck a talisman into it so it could hop in their stead.

"Many thanks, little brother."

Freed from his burden, Simu let out a sigh of relief, though he looked at Lu Yan's eyes as if he had something to say but held back.

Seeing the constipated expression on Simu's face, Lu Yan felt the Daoist looked quite a bit like his movie counterpart, so he explained:

"This is the Sharingan, a dōjutsu I awakened at birth. It has many marvelous uses."

"I see. These eyes are truly quite unique."

Simu nodded, feigning an air of nonchalance, as if he had seen it all before.

However, this broke the ice, and the two began to chat back and forth as they walked.

"Daoist Simu, I have heard that the high-level practitioner of Daoist arts in Ren Family Town is also from the Maoshan Sect. Do you happen to know him?"

"Oh, that is my senior brother, Lin Jiu. Everyone calls him Uncle Nine."

"I see. The Maoshan Sect is truly a prestigious school of the mysterious arts."

"Haha, not at all, not at all. Just now, I saw you pull out two foreign rifles. Their power was far greater than any I have seen before, and they could even unleash fire and ice. I wonder what kind of magical artifacts those are?"

Simu asked the question that had been weighing on his mind. In this era, Daoist arts were in decline, and practitioners were still mere mortals who feared foreign guns. Given the immense power of Lu Yan's weapons, it was no wonder Simu had been so cautious earlier.

"These guns are still foreign in style, but I have inscribed many auxiliary magic arrays inside, and the ammunition is specially refined. They can be considered a type of unique magical artifact..."