House-Guardian "Immortal"

Qiu Mei gloomily pulled back Xiaocui, who wanted to explain.

The two of them had helped; he simply hadn't seen it.

"Fine!"

She did not explain. Explaining now would only make people resent her.

Could someone really change their heart so quickly? Then what was the point of her waiting for him?

She no longer worried about survival, yet she had begun to fret over gains and losses.

Second Aunt carried out breakfast and set it on the table, tossing over a steamed bun.

"What are you talking about, boy? They help every time. I've been a lot less burdened now."

Gao Fei glanced at Qiu Mei and the puff-cheeked Xiaocui.

Realizing he had wronged them, he scratched his head awkwardly.

Just as he was embarrassed and did not know what to say, Xiao Liu rushed in from outside.

"Sir, Liu Chief Constable has summoned us to the yamen. There's an assignment."

Gao Fei hurriedly rose and placed the silver on the table.

"Second Aunt, expenses have been high lately. Take this silver for now. I have something to do, so I'm leaving first."

With that, he grabbed Xiao Liu, who was still taking steamed buns, and tried to leave.

Lu Xiaoliu struggled free and snatched a steamed bun from the table first.

"Sir, one won't fill me up. Let me take another..."

"Once we're outside, I'll treat you..."

Gao Linyue looked worriedly at the two men who were about to leave.

The Marquis had hoped he would live as an ordinary man and peacefully finish out his life, but in this world, how could an ordinary person possibly live to old age?

"Liu Fatty may be leaving the city to kill monsters. Be careful. There's no shame in running away. Come back early. The martial hall competition is tomorrow—don't let it delay you."

"Alright!"

Gao Fei looked back. He was actually telling him to run away. He glanced at Lu Xiaoliu, whose face remained expressionless. He had probably heard such words many times before.

This Second Uncle was rather interesting.

As for the martial hall competition, he had little interest in it. If he had time, he would go take a look.

Hearing the reply, Gao Linyue looked at the family seated at the table and thought of the current situation. Where was there any safety to be found?

Within the county town, some people could no longer hold themselves back and had begun seeking a way out.

Second Aunt, however, liked Qiu Mei and Xiaocui more and more the longer she looked at them.

Qiu Mei had already begun considering a way forward. She had preserved her chastity and left the brothel, but how was she supposed to live from now on?

Liu Chief Constable of Yueyang County stood in the main hall of the yamen.

The moment Gao Fei entered, their eyes met, and he completely ignored Zhang Constable standing against the wall.

"Sir, may I ask what the assignment is?"

From what this man had said to Second Uncle that night, this matter was likely not good news.

But he only had a few dozen coins on him now and could do nothing. His Merit Points were also running low.

He just did not know how many Merit Points this fatty had.

"This time, I'm leading the team. You, Zhang Constable, and three white-runners will carry out the assignment together. We need to visit four locations. I need to know the situation outside the city."

As he spoke, he pointed at the two white-runners outside the yamen and Lu Xiaoliu, beginning to call names.

At this point, Zhang Constable walked over from the wall. Upon hearing they were leaving the city, he studied the map with them.

The route passed through several villages, running from east to northeast. It was basically all Dog Demon territory, with the final stop at the border between the Dog Demon and Yellow Great Immortal territories.

"Take your weapons. Prepare to depart!"

Liu Chief Constable gave the order. Gao Fei and Xiao Liu did not idle around, heading to the weapon rack and each taking another spear.

Lu Xiaoliu had found throwing spears handy last time. Gao Fei's spear technique had reached the Ultimate Realm and specialized in armor-piercing, making it more formidable than a blade, so he took one as well.

Zhang Constable did not take one. Instead, he advised them.

"When practicing martial skills, what matters is refinement, not quantity. Mastering one is enough."

Gao Fei nodded, showing his agreement, but his hands did not stop moving.

Lu Xiaoliu and the other two white-runners were the same. They nodded, counting it as agreement with his words.

They specialized in listening to advice without changing a thing.

Looking at everyone holding spears and carrying Tang sabers across their backs.

Liu Chief Constable said nothing more and led the way out, leaving Zhang Constable speechless as he followed.

Gao Fei looked at the three men and then himself. This was starting to resemble going off to war.

War it was, then. Better than being unprepared and dying outside the city.

He still needed this official identity to learn the whereabouts of monsters. Searching for monsters alone could not compare with an entire county filing reports.

If not for that, he would have stopped serving them long ago. Let things go however they pleased.

Along the way, no one spoke much.

Their first destination was a village a few li outside the city, near the mass graveyard.

It was a large village, with over a hundred households.

The person who had reported the case claimed the place was haunted.

As the six men passed several homes, everyone they saw was basking in the sun to drive away the yin energy from their bodies.

When they saw the constables arrive, they all ran into their homes, shut their doors, and hid.

Before they had gone far, an old man came hurrying over on a cane. If not for a young man supporting him at his side, he would have fallen to the ground long ago.

Before he even arrived, the old man shouted loudly.

"I am the village head of Leaning Mountain Village. Greetings, my lords. Our village is not haunted. There have simply been many deaths lately, and rumors have grown ever more outrageous."

From the moment he entered the village, Gao Fei's perfected Skin Tempering Realm skin had sensed a trace of chill.

The Skin Tempering Realm did not only increase defense; it also greatly enhanced the skin's sensitivity.

Combined with the people sunning themselves when they first entered the village, nothing about this felt right.

"How many households have had deaths?"

"Four were elderly people who died of old age, and one was a girl who had just turned ten. They have all been buried. There was nothing unusual."

Liu Chief Constable did not believe a word the elderly village head said.

"Lead the way. I'll inspect them one household at a time!"

After inspecting all six households,

aside from the spirit tablets, every deceased person had a clay figurine placed in the main hall. They were not particularly exquisite, but they looked somewhat lively.

"You're keeping your deceased relatives in the mortal world as House-Guardian Immortals?"

Though Liu Chief Constable was fat, he had some ability. At a glance, he saw through the whole affair.

Everyone suddenly understood, except Gao Fei, who wore a baffled expression as he looked around.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoliu hurriedly pulled Gao Fei aside and began explaining.

Though they were called House-Guardian Immortals, they were actually close relatives kept within clay figurines and offered incense every day.

They would reach the Wandering Soul Realm in ten days. If there were many people making offerings, they would take shape even faster.

Wandering souls were of the same rank as Minor Monsters with Awakened Intelligence, equivalent to the Body Tempering Realm.

Among those of the same rank, wandering souls were the weakest and were restrained by many things. A martial artist with vigorous qi and blood was someone they could not even approach.

They could only create illusions and interfere with the senses of humans and monsters. The first one Gao Fei encountered had been the weakest kind of wandering soul, one that had only just taken shape.

Faced with Liu Chief Constable's interrogation, the elderly village head knew he could not hide it any longer and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"My lord, we have not done anything bad. Rat Demons are running rampant, and many people have vanished. We only wanted to protect ourselves."

Liu Chief Constable stood still, revealing a trace of mockery. "Oh? So now you're blaming us for failing to protect you? How do you explain the person who died after reporting the case?"

"The youngest House-Guardian Immortal escaped and harmed someone only by accident. It was not our intention. Please show mercy, my lord, and spare us a path to live."

Standing behind him, Gao Fei recalled the ghostly wall he had encountered just after transmigrating and added a sentence.

"Did it escape three... four days ago?"

"My lord, how did you know?"

At this point, the village head seemed to remember something and continued, "Later, we went looking for it, but it had already vanished. Perhaps it was too dim-witted and got sunburned to death during the day!"

Liu Chief Constable had been interrupted and grew somewhat angry. He turned to Gao Fei with a stern expression.

"You're capable. You handle this matter!"