A First Trial

Inside the Daoist temple, An Weiyan sat on the steps, feeling rather helpless.

There was nothing he could do. With not a single person in sight, how was he supposed to get anyone to offer incense?

Holding his phone, An Weiyan sank into worry.

But a moment later, he paused, then hurriedly began typing something into his phone.

"Wanted fugitives with bounties."

Countless listings immediately popped up online.

At a glance, An Weiyan saw that the listings included names, ID numbers, and photographs.

The first name was Wei Fengmou, with a bounty of 250,000! Suspected of a serious criminal offense.

The second was Zhang Fangmou, with a bounty of 50,000, also suspected of a serious criminal offense.

The third was Huang Rimou, with a bounty of 50,000, a fugitive suspected of killing three people.

As An Weiyan read through them one by one, his eyes began to shine.

Right, he could divine exactly where these people were hiding, then inform the police and earn money that way. If he divined enough people's whereabouts, he could even spread his reputation afterward.

At this thought, An Weiyan immediately got to work.

He studied the photograph on the webpage closely, then felt something cool seem to flow across his palm.

"On Yin, begin Great Peace; on Si, begin Lingering; on Wu, begin Swift Joy; on Wei, begin Red Mouth; on Zi, begin Minor Fortune; on Chou, begin Empty Void."

An Weiyan unconsciously recited a mnemonic, while his fingers began performing divination calculations of their own accord.

A moment later, a glimmer of understanding immediately rose within him.

"It's the Chen hour now. Southeast, the number nine. Got it."

An Weiyan opened a map and searched, and the next moment, he knew the location.

After noting down the location, An Weiyan began divining another person's whereabouts.

A little over ten minutes later, An Weiyan had written down the locations of all seven people, then dialed the number provided online.

"Hello, is this Officer Liang?"

An Weiyan asked once the call connected.

A middle-aged man's steady voice immediately came through the phone. Hearing it put An Weiyan at ease. "Here's the thing. I have some leads on the wanted fugitives you've offered bounties for."

"Really? Go ahead!"

A trace of delight immediately entered the middle-aged man's voice, and he hurriedly urged An Weiyan to continue.

"The first, Wei Fengmou, is in a factory outside Lian'an Town. The second, Zhang Fangmou, is..."

As An Weiyan read them out, the middle-aged man on the other end recorded everything in great detail. But as he continued writing, he suddenly felt something was off.

Had An Weiyan memorized the names of all their wanted fugitives?

Was this person playing them for fools?

At this thought, Liang Lijian frowned. "Are you sure these are their exact locations?"

Having finished recording everything, Liang Lijian looked at the addresses in his hand with some suspicion. He could hardly be blamed for thinking that way.

After all, none of these people were in the same place, and some were even quite far apart. How did An Weiyan know all their locations?

"I'm sure."

An Weiyan answered firmly.

Looking at the list in his hand, Liang Lijian thought for a moment, then said, "All right, I've got it. If the arrests are successful, we'll notify you."

After that, Liang Lijian asked whether An Weiyan could be reached at this phone number. Once he received confirmation, he hung up.

Knowing where seven people are all at once-what are you, a fortune-teller?

Looking at the addresses he had written down, Liang Lijian felt that the young man just now had been making a fool of him.

But then another thought crossed his mind: what if it was true?

"Hey, Xiao Zhou."

Liang Lijian looked up, spotted a young man who had just walked past, and called him over.

"What is it, Chief?"

"Here's the situation. Someone provided some leads. They don't seem very reliable, but we still need to take a look. Take a few people over there. This location is relatively close, too."

Sending everyone out to make arrests straightaway would waste too many police resources. Better to have Xiao Zhou take a few people to check first.

The young man named Xiao Zhou immediately perked up at these words. After acknowledging the order, he set off with a few people.

After finishing this, An Weiyan figured the arrests could not happen that quickly, so he returned to Linbei County.

The fact that he had just directly divined several people's locations left An Weiyan feeling somewhat excited.

However, having divined seven people's whereabouts earlier, he only had three chances left.

Once those were used up, he would have to ask the Earth God to replenish his divine power. Frankly, it was a little troublesome, but he had no other option at this stage.

An Weiyan left his room and went beneath the plaque to take a look. He saw that the words "A Bright Mirror Hung High" above had grown a little brighter.

At the sight, An Weiyan smiled knowingly. It seemed he really could not neglect his reading from now on, though he still did not fully understand some of the changes in his body.

Still, if he kept at it for now, he should eventually gain a clearer idea of just how much his body had changed.

After glancing at the plaque, An Weiyan headed onto the street.

But once he reached the main street, he immediately paused. Quite a few people had gathered ahead, seemingly discussing something.

Seeing this, An Weiyan took a few steps forward. When the townspeople saw him approaching, they all made way.

"What's going on?"

An Weiyan looked up and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"My lord, these are villagers who fled here from nearby villages."

One of the townspeople beside him spoke softly.

At these words, An Weiyan looked up and saw several villagers who had fled here. Every one of them was thin, their faces filled with terror.

They also looked rather frightened upon seeing An Weiyan.

"Don't worry. Our lord of Linbei County is very kind. He won't make things difficult for you."

Seeing this, someone nearby hurriedly offered reassurance.

"How did you manage to flee here?"

Looking at them, An Weiyan asked a question of his own. Hadn't they said the roads were full of jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and the like? Then how had these villagers reached this place?

As An Weiyan asked, he examined them and saw that the Qi above each of their heads was pitch-black as ink.

It was much the same as that of Linbei County's people, perhaps even a little darker.

The sight left An Weiyan rather speechless. If there were anywhere lower to go beneath black, it seemed the grade of these people's essence, Qi, and spirit could probably fall even further.

"We were originally trapped in our village with no way out. But for some reason, over the past few days, some of the evil things around the village disappeared without a trace, so we seized the chance to escape."

A middle-aged man nearby answered rather fearfully.

An Weiyan paused at these words, then immediately recalled what the Earth God had said earlier: a peach tree demon was undergoing its tribulation, and the female ghosts had all gone to fight over its corpse.

It seemed these nearby evil things had all gone as well.

If that was the case, the area around Linbei County had indeed become much safer.