Red Leaf Town is located 30 li Jianye City; traveling at full speed, it only takes about an hour.
This town is not large, about the same size as Tuji Town near Spring Autumn Temple Tuji Town, but much more prosperous. As its name suggests, the town is covered with maple leaves, and now, in late autumn, the maple leaves are as red as flames, making it exceptionally beautiful.
A large river flows past the town. This river is called the Lishui River. It leads directly to the East Sea and is an important waterway for Jianye City. Every day, a large number of ships pass through it, which has made Red Leaf Town prosperous.
However, when Shen Luo arrived, the town was not very lively. The streets were deserted, and although the shops on both sides were open, there were not many customers. The shop owners also seemed to be preoccupied.
A somber atmosphere permeated the entire town, and even the stray cats and dogs on the street seemed frightened, hurrying past.
Shen Luo didn't linger on the street. After asking around, he went straight to a courtyard at the east end of the town, knocked on the door, but there was no response.
"Not home?" He frowned slightly and continued knocking.
"Who is it? You've been making a scene outside, haven't you caused enough trouble already?" An annoyed voice came from inside the house. The door was flung open with a bang, and an old man with gray hair stormed out. He was taken aback when he saw Shen Luo outside.
"Who are you?" The old man looked Shen Luo and down, asking in surprise.
"Are you the village chief, Mr. Sun? I am Shen Luo, a guest of the Bai Family in Jianye City. I have accepted your mission." Shen Luo took out his identity token and waved it in front of the old man, secretly pleased.
Judging from the situation, he was the first person to arrive in Red Leaf Town. If he could find out the reason for the ghost before the others arrived, he could be the first to rush over and kill the ghost, thus avoiding attracting attention.
"Oh my, it's the Bai Family's guest elder? You've finally arrived! My surname is Sun, you can just call me Old Sun. Immortal Master Shen, please come in!" the old man said with delight, bowing to Shen Luo.
"Village Chief Sun, you're too kind. I've come here to inquire about the cause of the ghost story..." Shen Luo said.
"Huh, someone actually arrived before us. That's rare." Just then, a voice came from over there.
A series of footsteps sounded, and three men in green robes swaggered over from a distance, looking quite arrogant.
Shen Luo turned around and glanced at the three of them, lingering particularly on the cyan tokens hanging from their waists.
The green wood mark on the cyan token is the Lin Family's symbol.
"Oh, it's a guest elder of the Bai Family, a new face!" Among the three men in green robes, the leader was a short, thin, and ugly man who glanced at Shen Luo and said with slight surprise.
The other two were short and stout, and hunchbacked. The three had similar faces and were all exceptionally ugly, seemingly siblings.
" Shen Luo of the Bai Family." Shen Luo nodded slightly.
" Shen Luo? I seem to have heard of that name before. Ah! I remember now, I recently heard that a country bumpkin came to the Bai Family and became a guest elder of the Bai Family by virtue of his relationship with Bai Xiaotian, the eldest son of the Bai Family. That person is you, isn't it?" The withered and ugly man said with a face full of disdain.
"Tsk tsk, this bottom-tier guy dares to take on this kind of mission? He must be tired of living, haha!" The short, fat, ugly man glanced at Shen Luo and laughed loudly.
Shen Luo narrowed his eyes, feeling rather uncomfortable.
Previously, the Bai Family's retainers had repeatedly belittled him, and although he hadn't taken it to heart, he was still somewhat annoyed. Now, to be ridiculed again here, did they really think he was some kind of clay idol who wouldn't get angry?
"Kid, this mission to Red Leaf Town is taken by the Ouyang Three Heroes. If you want to stay alive, get lost." The withered, ugly man waved his hand and scolded.
"My brother told you to get lost, are you deaf or mute?" Seeing that Shen Luo didn't move, the hunchbacked ugly man raised his hand and slapped him down like a demon.
A beam of green light shot out from his hand, instantly condensing into a tiger claw phantom. In a flash, it arrived in front of Shen Luo with astonishing speed, viciously grabbing down at Shen Luo's cheek.
Before the claw shadows could land, Shen Luo swayed left and right, white light flashing on his feet, and he transformed into four or five afterimages, disappearing from his original spot and rushing to the three ugly men in a flash.
The three were taken aback by Shen Luo's unexpectedly fast movements. However, they were not ordinary people, and their bodies immediately glowed with a ghostly green light, faintly forming a green tiger shadow.
But before the tiger's shadow could fully materialize, a flash of lightning appeared in Shen Luo's sleeve, and three white bolts of lightning shot out from it, striking the three people with lightning speed, dazzling white electric light bursting forth.
The protective tiger shadows of the three ugly men let out a mournful howl, as if they had encountered their nemesis, and collapsed under the dazzling lightning.
Moreover, residual white arcs of electricity spread across their bodies, causing the three of them to freeze in place.
Following closely behind the lightning, Shen Luo's right palm suddenly grew almost twice as large, drawing a semicircle in the air, enveloping the three of them in a fierce palm wind before striking out with devastating force.
Bang bang bang!
The three of them were sent flying backward like leaves in a whirlwind, crashing heavily to the ground.
"You..." The gaunt, ugly man rolled over and tried to get up, but as soon as he moved, a sharp pain shot through his chest, as if his bones were being shattered.
The other two seemed to be in the same boat, a hint of fear flashing in their eyes as they looked at Shen Luo.
Shen Luo's expression remained unchanged, but he was secretly delighted.
Over the past month, in addition to cultivating the Nameless Art, he has also been diligently practicing the Slanting Moon Step. Based on his experience in the dream, he has already reached a minor level of mastery. Today, he put it to the test, and its wonders were indeed boundless.
The three people before him were all at the same level as him in terms of cultivation, but their speed was far behind his. With the help of the Minor Thunder Talisman, the effect was indeed quite good.
It was his first time on a mission, and he was initially worried because he lacked practical experience. However, using these three Lin Family retainers as a test subject gave him a boost of confidence.
"Village Chief Sun, do you know where that ghost is causing trouble now?" Shen Luo clapped his hands, ignoring the three ugly men, and turned back to the somewhat dazed Old Sun, asking.
"Ah, yes, yes! That ghost appears in the White Reed Marsh outside the town. It doesn't come out during the day, but it wanders around the river at night, attacking passing boats and injuring many people. Now no one dares to go into the water at night, and business during the day is also greatly affected." Old Sun finally came to his senses and said anxiously.
"It won't appear until tonight... Don't worry, Village Chief Sun, our Bai Family will handle this matter properly." Shen Luo frowned, then smiled slightly and said.
"Then I'll leave it to Immortal Master Shen." Old Sun glanced at the three Lin Family retainers who had just gotten up in the distance, and then bowed warmly to Shen Luo.
Shen Luo quickly ascertained the location of White Reed Marsh and then took his leave without lingering.
"Brother, should we follow them?" the hunchbacked, ugly man asked in a deep voice.
"This kid's got some weird tricks up his sleeve! I heard his cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, how come his movement is so fast?" The short, fat man rubbed his aching back and said through gritted teeth.
"Hmph! The three of us were caught off guard and fell into this kid's trap. Come on, follow him! Be careful in the future," the withered, ugly man snorted.