Back at the beach.
Old Ox was swinging a great hammer with a clanging din when he saw Li Ping'an return.
He grumbled in dissatisfaction, "What took you so long!"
"The noodles have gone soggy!"
Li Ping'an ate the noodles, then stuffed down a large chunk of braised beef.
Old Ox worked on the boat with a steady clanging.
Jiaze visited the major Wandering Ghost factions within Wangjiao one by one.
Orange Cat went to the shore to gather pretty shells and pebbles, walking back and forth across the sand barefoot.
Li Ping'an sat a short distance away and took a crumpled sheet of yellow paper from his sleeve.
Then he took out the Knight-Errant Brush, using essence blood as ink.
Ordinary ink naturally would not suffice for sending messages over such a long distance.
Stroke by stroke, he wrote neatly.
Then he spread out the yellow paper.
The yellow paper floated into the air and folded itself.
In moments, it had turned into a Paper Crane.
Flapping its wings, it flew off into the distance.
Over the next few days, Wangjiao never had a peaceful night.
The sounds of fighting rang out often.
Sometimes, the sky even darkened as the fighting spilled straight out of the city, causing a tremendous commotion.
Jiaze was strong enough that he soon subdued several Wandering Ghost factions.
However, not all the Wandering Ghosts in Wangjiao were mere showpieces.
They had occupied Wangjiao for years; setting aside their own cultivation, they had also amassed plenty of Magic Treasures.
On top of that, they had strength in numbers.
So Jiaze often returned.
He always bore injuries.
Yet Li Ping'an said nothing about lending a hand, merely working patiently on the boat with Old Ox.
It was like having a child at home who often went