A-Xiang's Might

Youhe Street.

The street was the same as ever, black walls lining both sides of the road and forming winding alleys.

The sun was at its fiercest. Beneath its glare, a group of about ten men in short black tunics barged down the street and entered a tea pavilion.

Their leader flapped the hem of his tunic to fan himself, cursing under his breath, "Those damned dogs are enjoying themselves at home while they send us out to find people. Where the hell am I supposed to find them?"

At this, the rest of his men began pouring out their grievances, feeling that being assigned this sort of job was rotten luck.

Who knew what madness had seized those above them? Their attacks on the Zhou Family were practically out in the open now.

The steward of the Zhou Family's market, along with some of its hired hands, had broken legs or lay unconscious, all of them half-dead.

That was where the real spoils were. Those sent out to find people could not even get a sip of the soup. They had heard that the men back at the hall could pocket anything they seized from the Zhou Family.

It was a small Lineage, after all, with an entire market to its name. There had to be some good things there. Those bastards were getting a bargain!

While they grumbled, several people nearby were also talking, making for a noisy scene.

Zhou Muzhi was drinking tea at a low table on the farthest edge, with none other than Half-Immortal Xu beside him.

Half-Immortal Xu had aged considerably. After losing his identity as an Incense Maker, he looked increasingly like a little old man. The bundle he carried held the incense he had saved up in the past.

This incense was the very last of his reserves. Every stick burned meant one fewer left, and once it was gone, it could not be replenished.

Zhou Muzhi set down his wide-mouthed teacup and said softly to Half-Immortal Xu with a cheerful smile, "Didn't you want to see what Ghost Control was, Uncle Xu?"

Half-Immortal Xu's eyes lit up at this. It was indeed something he wanted to see.

As an Incense Maker who had weathered life's ups and downs for more than half his years, getting to witness Ghost Control, something even his master had never achieved, could be summed up in a single phrase: worth it!

Half-Immortal Xu nodded and grunted his assent. "Let this old Daoist have a look."

Zhou Muzhi wasted no more words. He raised his arm, and the threadlike markings peeled away from it. The next instant, a blood-red girl appeared beside him.

A-Xiang's skirts were blood-red. She stood quietly, looking very demure. Putting other factors aside, she was a beautiful young lady from a distinguished household.

Of course, Half-Immortal Xu could not see A-Xiang at that moment. It was not that ordinary people could not see ghosts in their ghostly forms, but that Zhou Muzhi had specifically told A-Xiang to conceal herself.

It was broad daylight, with too many eyes along the roadside. Exposing his trump card would cost more than it gained him.

Half-Immortal Xu looked at Zhou Muzhi, and when Zhou Muzhi nodded, he understood.

As an Incense Maker whose work brushed against ghosts, seeing one was still quite simple if he wished. He took a stack of triangular Yellow Talismans from inside his robe and unfolded them, revealing a pinch of Incense Ash inside.

He took a pinch with one hand, closed his eyes, and dabbed the ash onto his eyelids. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a different scene.

The sight of that blood-red figure radiating danger made him draw in a sharp breath.

"Hiss!" Then he added, "She looks fiercer than my master's ghost!"

He was right. The ghost his master had carried merely looked like an ordinary person after death; at most, its appearance was the same as a normal person's. It was nothing like this one, whose entire body was so red it was almost purple.

And she floated in midair. Just the chill coming off her skirts made his eyes ache.

Half-Immortal Xu hurriedly wiped the ash from his eyelids, then folded the Yellow Talismans back up and tucked them safely against his body.

Only when his eyes felt comfortable again did he nod and give Zhou Muzhi a thumbs-up, conveying that he really did have some ability and had actually pulled it off.

Zhou Muzhi's expression remained unchanged, showing little pride, as though he had done something perfectly ordinary.

Then he waved his hand lightly, issuing his command. A-Xiang suddenly floated over to the group and swiftly passed through them one by one.

The instant she passed through their leader, his face turned deathly pale and his pupils dilated. He felt all the warmth in his body rapidly drain away.

He reached out to grasp something, but in the end, his whitening fingers froze in midair, and he collapsed where he stood.

Thud, thud, thud!

Several bodies hit the ground in succession.

The commotion immediately startled the proprietor, the other customers chatting away, and some passersby.

Panic was plain on every face.

Some realized something was wrong and immediately rose to leave. Zhou Muzhi and Half-Immortal Xu were among them.

Only after they had gone some distance did Half-Immortal Xu ask, "Will controlling a ghost to kill like that affect you? I've heard that commanding these ill-omened things often comes at a price."

A price?

At Half-Immortal Xu's words, Zhou Muzhi lowered his head and pondered for a moment, recalling the strange sensation in his body earlier. If the tiny chill that had risen in his arm when he gave the order counted, then that should count as an abnormality.

But that chill barely affected him. As a Second Qi Martial Artist, the bones in his right arm had already undergone tempering, making that arm far stronger than the rest of his body.

With that foundation, the attached A-Xiang hardly counted as a burden.

"Perhaps there is one. I haven't felt anything yet."

Half-Immortal Xu grunted at this and said, "It's best if nothing's wrong. If something is, there's nothing I can do anyway. I'm just worried you won't be able to avenge me, boy. This old Daoist has invested too much, after all."

As he spoke, even breathing felt painful to Half-Immortal Xu. Who knew that the severing of his legacy would leave him so lost?

But remembering that a genius like this could surely avenge him, Half-Immortal Xu felt considerably better.

Never mind the process, as long as the outcome was good.

Zhou Muzhi grunted in agreement at his words. "Naturally, I'll do what I promised you, Uncle Xu. Come with me for now."

"All right. This old Daoist is counting on you."

Their conversation ended.

He had come here specifically to pick up Half-Immortal Xu, so that Qian Zhen's men would not get to him.

They passed through several streets and finally returned to the Zhou Family. Only this place was still reasonably safe and could shelter everyone from the attacks.

Half-Immortal Xu's expression was somewhat grave. Along the way, he had discovered that things were even worse than he had imagined.

Those running dogs had gone mad arresting people, yet even with things at this stage, the Constables responsible for maintaining order in the county town had not appeared, as though they had tacitly approved.

Zhou Muzhi turned to leave, only to hear Half-Immortal Xu's voice behind him.

"If things become impossible, pull out in time."

With that, Half-Immortal Xu slipped through the doorway.

Zhou Muzhi merely paused for a moment before continuing forward.

His objective this time was clear: find the running dogs' headquarters, use A-Xiang to extract Qian Zhen's exact whereabouts, and dispose of him under cover of darkness. That would settle the matter.

As for what would happen afterward, that was something to consider later. All he knew was that the key to the present problem lay with Qian Zhen.