Shen Luo reached out and took the jade box. After opening it, he saw a piece of red wood about a foot long lying inside. The wood grain was delicate, and the surface emitted a red light like flames. At the same time, a burst of scorching heat rushed out.
"That's right, it's Fire Qilin Wood! Thank you very much." Shen Luo smiled and thanked him.
"These are all well-deserved. May I ask where you plan to take on your next mission, Mr. Shen? I can offer some recommendations," the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
"Not for now, I have other things to take care of," Shen Luo said, shaking his head.
Although the ghost-catching missions issued by the government offer generous rewards, firstly, he doesn't lack Immortal Jade at the moment, and secondly, his cultivation level is too low. Even with the Falling Thunder Talisman, the risk of carrying out the mission is still considerable. It would be safer for him to wait in comfort, cultivate behind closed doors, and focus on waiting for the Horse Face to summon him.
He speculated that the tasks that the Soul-Snatching Horse-Face had to perform were mostly the tasks that the government had to exorcise, and the two were not contradictory.
A hint of disappointment flashed across the middle-aged man's face, but he said nothing and quickly took his leave.
" The Bai Family seems to want us guest retainers to do more tasks. It seems that the exorcism mission issued by the government this time is probably involved in something else." Shen Luo returned to the house and secretly guessed.
However, these things had little to do with him, so he didn't think much of it. Looking at the jade box in his hand, a smile appeared on his face again.
"We've already acquired the Fire Qilin Wood, the main ingredient. Next, besides searching for a Spirit Fire that complements it, once we gather the other auxiliary materials, we can attempt to refine the Pure Yang Sword Embryo."
Unfortunately, the Spirit Fire is hard to find, and the other auxiliary materials are also difficult to gather. He has asked Shopkeeper Ma to keep an eye out for them, but there is still no news.
Shen Luo shook his head, put the jade box into the Stone Casket, and then planned to continue cultivating.
At that moment, he felt a warmth at his waist and took out an object from his robes— the Message Transmission Token that Horse Face had given him.
"They've arrived so quickly! It seems I can't expect to cultivate in peace until the ghost problem in Jianye is eliminated." Shen Luo muttered to himself before focusing on examining the object in his hand.
The side of the amulet inscribed with runes turned pitch black, and a line of small white characters appeared on it:
Come to Liu Gong Bridge as soon as night falls.
" Liu Gong Bridge, it seems to be in the west of the city," Shen Luo murmured to himself, his eyes flickering slightly.
This bridge is said to have a long history. It was named after Mr. Liu Gong, a great Confucian scholar from the previous dynasty. Bai Xiaotian had taken him there before when he was touring around Jianye City, so he had some impression of it.
"I remember seeing this place name on the list." As he pondered, he got up and went to the accounting office.
As the sun was setting, most of the retainers who had gone out to carry out the mission had not returned; only two or three remained. The rest were members of the Bai Family who had come to watch the spectacle.
Shen Luo walked to the front of the crowd, glanced at the task list, and quickly browsed through it.
"Really!"
His gaze landed on a spot on the list, corresponding to a mission location near Liu Gong Bridge. The mission described how ghosts were appearing at night in an abandoned temple near the ancient bridge, injuring many passersby.
The reward for this task is thirty pieces of Immortal Jade, making it one of the most rewarding tasks on the list, suggesting that it is likely quite difficult.
"It seems there's probably no mistake. Since the Bai Family also has this task, we might as well take advantage of it." Shen Luo's gaze fell on the Liu Gong Bridge task, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Have you heard? Apparently, the Lin and Du Families sent over a dozen people yesterday to do that mission at Liu Gong Bridge. They say that several people died in just one encounter, and although the others escaped, they were seriously injured." Shen Luo was about to turn around when he heard someone talking.
"Everyone, do you know the details of yesterday's battle Lin and Du Families and the ghosts?" Shen Luo stopped and asked.
"What? You want to take this mission?" a guest retainer asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shen Luo his displeasure, Shen Luo lost interest as well, smiled noncommittally, and turned to leave.
"Just because you managed to complete the mission in Red Leaf Town by luck, you think you're so great? You're simply courting death." The man spat as he watched him turn to leave.
"Well, you can't say that. I think he does have some skill."
Once the two or three guest retainers started talking, the onlookers joined in the discussion, with more doubts than praise in their words.
Shen Luo listened to the various discussions behind her but didn't pay much attention and went straight back to her residence.
It was nearly evening.
He took out the Message Transmission Token, glanced at it, pondered for a moment, then grasped it and channeled his Magic Power into it, but the black tablet did not react at all.
Undeterred, he used the Nine-Nine Treasure-Passing Formula again, attempting to refine the talisman, but the black talisman remained unchanged.
"It seems this item requires a special method to open." Helpless, Shen Luo gave up trying, put away the magic tablet, then took the storage Stone Casket, took out all the talismans inside, and carefully counted them again.
This ghost is clearly not easy to deal with. Although we have Horse Face leading the charge, we must make thorough preparations.
I drew quite a few Minor Thunder Talisman a while ago, and used about half of them in Red Leaf Town. Now I have more than forty left, in addition to five Ghost-Expelling Talisman and two Falling Thunder Talisman.
"After this task is finished, it seems I'll have to draw some more." Shen Luo thought to himself, carefully putting the talismans into an easily accessible place in his sleeve.
After leaving the courtyard, he didn't go through the main gate, but instead leaped over the wall and left the White Residence. He headed straight for the west of the city and soon arrived at a small river.
A quaint stone bridge spans the stream, with two rows of tall evergreen trees planted on both sides of the riverbank. Although it is late autumn, the leaves are still lush, making the ancient bridge appear unusually dark and secluded.
There is no moon in the sky today. Because of the ghostly affliction, most of the people in the city are hiding at home after dark. There is not even a dog to be seen at the ancient bridge. The evening wind blows across the bridge, making a howling sound, which is quite eerie.
He glanced around a few times, silently memorizing the surroundings. But when he turned back to look at the ancient bridge again, he was startled to see a white figure that had appeared on the bridge.
"Hey, Senior Horse Face, why didn't you say hello before you arrived? Your sudden appearances are really scary." Shen Luo breathed a sigh of relief after recognizing the person, and then complained.
"Stop talking nonsense and come with me."
The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face spoke to Shen Luo, then turned around and walked towards the other side of the ancient bridge.
Shen Luo pursed her lips and had no choice but to follow.
Across from Liu Gong Bridge, there was no one living in the area; it was quite desolate, with only a dilapidated temple standing alone, surrounded by weeds that were half a person tall.
The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face and Shen Luo crossed the bridge one after the other and headed towards the temple.