"No need. One pound of beef, three bowls of rice, and a bowl of plain water for each person," the leading general said in a deep, resonant voice.
"Alright, sir, would you like some wine? We have some excellent Shaoxing wine..."
"I'm on official business and can't drink. Let's just drink like this."
"Yes, yes, yes." The shopkeeper quickly went back to greet the kitchen staff.
Xiahou, Xiaoqian, and the others watching from the side also found it quite strange.
"This soldier is different from the others we've encountered!"
“Indeed, I, Xiahou, have roamed the martial world for many years. I have never seen such a disciplined and powerful army. If the imperial army were all like this…”
He didn't elaborate, but everyone present understood his meaning. Lu Xuan had originally intended to offer the soldiers a drink, but seeing that they were on official business and wouldn't drink, he abandoned the idea.
Faintly, one could hear the soldiers talking to the general in charge.
"Lord Commander, we've already arrived, why don't we just make our move? If we're too late, will Fu Tianchou escape?"
"No, Lord Fu is an upright and incorruptible official who would never run away. However, he has served as an official for many years and has a large family and business. Let's give him some time to deal with it. The situation in the court is currently chaotic, and we soldiers cannot disobey orders. But at least we can give him some time."
Hearing this conversation, Lu Xuan vaguely sensed that it should be part of the main storyline of A Chinese Ghost Story II. However, the timeline is earlier, before Fu Tianchou has been captured. Zuo Qianhu, seemingly rough and unrefined, is actually quite shrewd and deliberately delayed, giving Fu Tianchou some time to deal with his family matters.
Just then, another person entered the restaurant. Seeing the room full of soldiers, the person was momentarily stunned. Then, after looking around, they sat down next to Lu Xuan and the others.
This was a young man. He was handsome, but his gait was unsteady, and he looked like he had been drinking heavily. The shopkeeper seemed to know him well and greeted him.
"Young Master Wang, it's been a while. What would you like to order?"
"Just do it the same as usual," the young man said weakly. It gave the impression that he was about to faint.
"Alright," the shopkeeper replied casually, instructing the waiter to prepare.
Lu Xuan also became somewhat interested in this young master. Because the boy exuded such a strong aura of evil that he probably wouldn't survive the night.
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Chapter 358 It's you!!!
"Evil energy" is actually a general term. For ordinary people, yin energy, ghost energy, and even the spiritual power of evil cultivators can all be called evil energy.
However, for a cultivator like Lu Xuan, the "evil aura" on an ordinary person is simply the state of their life force after it has been corrupted by external forces. The young man surnamed Wang before him, however, clearly had his life force corrupted by extremely strong ghostly energy. Even if the ghost didn't directly attack, he wouldn't survive the night.
Before long, Wang Sheng's food arrived. It was all highly nourishing soups and stews. It seemed he had also noticed his weakness and wanted to replenish his energy. However, not even understanding the simple principle that a weak body cannot tolerate strong tonics, this man's death was hardly surprising.
What interested Lu Xuan was the extremely conspicuous evil aura emanating from Wang Sheng. Clearly, he had offended a powerful demon, and this had been going on for quite some time. And yet, in Taiyuan City, there were quite a few cultivators, but not a single one had come forward to subdue the demon.
The cultivation world of this world seems to be hiding something. Along the way, Lu Xuan noticed many cultivators, but most of them were in a state of seclusion. They would occasionally show off their abilities in front of the public to make their presence known, but they basically didn't do anything productive.
It's not that cultivators necessarily have to exorcise demons or monsters. The issue lies in the fact that the opposition between the righteous and evil paths stems not only from differences in ideology, but more importantly from the competition for cultivation resources. The rise of demons and evil paths inevitably reduces the resources available to the righteous path. This is fatal for cultivators. Therefore, since ancient times, righteous cultivators have taken it upon themselves to exorcise demons and monsters.
On one hand, it's about maintaining our public image; on the other hand, it's a fundamental battle for resources. If the other side rises, we will inevitably weaken. For our own sake, we have no choice but to eliminate them.
However, based on Lu Xuan's observations along the way, this antagonism now seems extremely weak. A large number of cultivators simply watch helplessly as demons and ghosts roam the mortal realm. The streets are full of ghosts, but nobody cares...
It can only be said that this world is incredibly dark and hopeless. Although it is still at the tail end of its dynastic destiny, its power yet to be unleashed, in the eyes of someone like Lu Xuan, describing it as a collapsing edifice is an understatement.
Wang Sheng finished his nourishing soup. He seemed to catch his breath. He told the innkeeper, paid the bill, and went out.
Lu Xuan gestured to the others to book rooms at the tavern. He then went out alone.
It was late, and Wang Sheng walked briskly home. Lu Xuan followed closely behind. He didn't really have much desire to save him. Because he found him too late, it was truly beyond saving. Wang Sheng's vitality had long been completely eroded. Now, he was only experiencing a brief respite thanks to the tonic soup.
Wang Sheng entered the house but didn't go to the living room. Instead, he went straight through the main courtyard to the backyard and entered a small room. Lu Xuan's expression changed slightly as he saw a woman open the door and welcome Wang Sheng inside. She seemed to be Wang Sheng's concubine. What truly puzzled Lu Xuan was that he didn't see a ghost.
There were neither ghosts nor demons. Wang Sheng was shrouded in an aura of malevolence. However, Lu Xuan found no demons or monsters in his house!
The woman before him was undoubtedly the most likely candidate. However, Lu Xuan could not sense any ghostly or demonic aura, and even her human presence was extremely weak.
Wait a minute, Lu Xuan suddenly realized. There was no ghostly aura, no demonic aura, and even the human aura was extremely weak. Wasn't that obvious? Thinking of this, he quietly landed and stood in the courtyard.
The woman inside suddenly pushed away Wang Sheng, who was rushing towards her. Her face darkened as she looked towards the door.
Wang Sheng was pushed and fell over by the woman, looking completely bewildered. Then he saw the woman's face suddenly fall.
Literally, it meant "collapsed." The woman's face was indeed "flowing." Upon closer inspection, it wasn't flowing; rather, her entire face seemed elongated, as if it had lost its elasticity and sagged.
With a thud, Wang Sheng, already extremely weakened, couldn't catch his breath and fainted. The 'woman' stood up, opened the door, and walked into the courtyard.
"You've got some nerve, you're the first Taoist to dare enter this door." After Wang Sheng collapsed, the 'woman' no longer bothered to hide anything. She directly tore off the limp human skin covering her body.
That's right, it was covered in a human skin. Used to conceal its aura. And it wasn't ordinary human skin. It was painted with the likeness of a stunningly beautiful woman using some technique, and then used as a disguise. The Painted Skin Ghost, the most famous ghost in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*. This was, in fact, the first time Lu Xuan had ever seen such a ghost.
Its true form was humanoid. Its face was bluish-green, and its body resembled that of a person who had been skinned. However, it was a jet-black color. Its entire body was constantly writhing, as if some living thing was hidden beneath the black flesh and blood.
Frankly, this thing's design is a dinner killer. It's the kind of thing that would give a normal person a heart attack just by looking at it. And to make matters worse, it's emitting the voice of a young woman. That only adds to the extreme eeriness and dread.
Lu Xuan was naturally unaffected by these things. His focus was entirely on the Painted Skin Ghost itself. He had just discovered a fact that shocked him greatly: this Painted Skin 'ghost' had a physical body. In other words, the disgusting appearance described earlier was not a 'ghost' illusion, but a real, tangible physical body.
Ghosts don't have physical bodies; even if you achieve the Ghost Immortal path, you're still a spirit. But this thing before me radiates ghostly energy, clearly a ghost. Yet it possesses a real physical body. To say it's possession is a stretch; surely no human body looks like this?
"...What are you?" Lu Xuan hesitated, not making a move immediately. He was unsure what this thing was.
"What is that? Am I a ghost? Aren't you righteous people supposed to love catching ghosts? What's wrong, aren't you going to catch me? Hehehehe..."
A laugh that sent chills down Lu Xuan's spine rang out. His expression turned somewhat grim, but he steeled himself, waved his right hand, and the True Fire of the Sun appeared in his grasp.
"I've changed my mind. I'm not going to bother figuring out what you are or what you're up to. Anyway, once I set this fire, nothing will be left. What's the point of investigating?"