CHAPTER 614: CHAPTER 113_2

Li Zhiyuan walked to the side of the skeletal remains in a yellow Daoist robe. On the table at its sides, there were two paintings each.

The first painting depicted a woman in a green robe. She stood by the river, and within the river, a giant fish’s silhouette appeared intermittently.

In the second painting, a severely injured giant fish floated along the river, and in the distance where the river flowed, there was the shadow of a village.

The third painting showed a Daoist in a yellow robe leading his disciples, standing at the village entrance. The sign at the entrance read "Zhengmen Village."

The yellow-robed Daoist appeared ethereal and otherworldly, his disciples beside him equally poised and striking.

It seemed this Daoist shared the same hobby with him, enjoying recording his adventures of demon-slaying in a pictorial form.

However, this Daoist pursued details more than he did. While Alii only painted a single ending, this Daoist painted a whole series like a comic strip.

In the fourth painting, the Daoist and his disciples set up an altar, and a black mist loomed in front, with the silhouette of a giant fish inside.

There was no fifth painting, or rather, the skeletal remains in reality were the fifth painting, depicting their own outcome.

Li Zhiyuan shifted his gaze back to the first painting.

*Could the woman in the painting be named Liu?*

*According to the narrative in the painting, the giant fish should have been heavily injured by her. Yet, even in such a crippled state, when it ended up here, it still stirred chaos in the mountain village, and these Taoists couldn’t suppress it.*

*The aftermath beyond the painting should be that Yu Xuzi came here to seal the entire Zhengmen Village, preventing that giant fish from rampaging.*

*If the woman in the painting was surnamed Liu, it would explain why the giant fish appeared in Alii’s dream.*

*From the giant fish’s perspective, the "real culprit" for its misery wasn’t the yellow-robed Taoist or Yu Xuzi, but rather this woman from the Liu family.*

Li Zhiyuan didn’t know if she was a Dragon King of the Liu family of a certain generation, mainly because the yellow-robed Daoist didn’t leave any text in the painting, and the characters were depicted with a style focused on capturing the atmosphere.

The only information that could be gleaned from the figures was: female and green clothing.

Li Zhiyuan suspected that this scene might have been something the yellow-robed Daoist heard of and then imagined and painted as the beginning of his demon-slaying event.

*It must have belonged to a certain generation of the Liu family’s Dragon King,* he thought, *because the Daoist was a very narcissistic person. To make him paint himself dealing with a demon already heavily injured by others, and take pride in it, suggested that the woman’s identity was significant and quite prominent.*

*I went to assist the Dragon King’s cleanup. That’s quite a level up.*

Just...

Li Zhiyuan glanced at the four university students standing at the corners. *What was their purpose in leading us here?*

*Deliberately disclose some background?*

*Normally, the purpose of providing background is to prepare the ground.*

*So, are you planning to meet me next?*

Li Zhiyuan tiptoed and reached his hand towards the back of the yellow-robed Daoist’s head, sensing the terrifying wound.

Run Sheng leaned over and stretched out his hand to touch the Daoist robe.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng went to touch the robes of the Taoists on the mats.

Li Zhiyuan knew his companions misunderstood his intention; he didn’t want to touch things, just confirm the Daoist’s fatal wound.

However, he didn’t stop them verbally. If there were any relics that could help future generations better exorcise demons and safeguard the Righteous, or even aid in avenging themselves, the Daoists would likely be happy to bestow them.

But as it turned out, Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin found nothing, only Run Sheng managed to find a scripture on the yellow-robed Daoist.

Almost three hundred years were enough to turn most things into decay.

Li Zhiyuan glanced at the scripture, which talked about self-cultivation and had no value.

"Brother Run Sheng, give me three sticks of incense."

"Okay."

Li Zhiyuan held three lit sticks of incense, bowed three times in front of the skeletal remains of the Daoists, then inserted the incense into the incense burner.

At this time, the university students who stood at the four corners moved, and they walked out of the house carrying lanterns once again.

*It felt like a guided tour, where you are led from one attraction to the next after you’re done viewing.*

After Li Zhiyuan and his group exited, they followed the six university students and continued along the village road.

This time, they walked directly to the village entrance. There was a river at the entrance, and the river was widened here. There were many stone walkways by the river, convenient for the villagers to come here to wash.

The six university students walked to the edge of a stone path, standing in two opposing groups.

"Splash..."

A figure emerged from under the water and climbed onto the stone path.

It was an old man, half covered in fish scales, half transparent.

He was neither a living person nor a deceased soul.

As he appeared, Li Zhiyuan instinctively looked up; he could sense a resonance between the old man and the Array here.

*All things are divided into yin and yang. The Eyes of the Array within the Array can similarly be divided.*

*However, most Arrays didn’t have this configuration. Only those with extremely deep proficiency in Arrays could set up such an Array.*

The old man stood by the river, saluted, and said, "This poor Daoist is Yu Xuzi. Greetings to you all."

Run Sheng, Tan Wenbin, and Yin Meng were all shocked. They still remembered that Yu Xuzi’s skull appeared on the stone table at the entrance, and his skeleton was inside the stone table. How was he appearing here now?

But Li Zhiyuan could confirm that the other party was indeed Yu Xuzi.

His flesh was at the entrance, acting as the Yang Array Eye, while his spirit served as the Yin Array Eye within the formation.

The old man then asked, "May I know who you all are?"

"Ahem... ahem..."

Tan Wenbin cleared his throat, about to introduce them with grandeur, but Li Zhiyuan was a step faster:

"Corpse Recovery Diver, stationed at Huangshan Mountain Dock."

Tan Wenbin immediately nodded, and Run Sheng and Yin Meng followed suit with a nod.

At the same time, Tan Wenbin touched the Seven-star Hook, Run Sheng grasped the Yellow River Shovel, and Yin Meng clutched the Demon Exorcism Whip.

Because Brother Xiao Yuan didn’t perform the salute of the Qin Liu family, nor did he reveal his true identity, the three of them were all ready.

*As a team, such tacit understanding was expected.*

Yu Xuzi inquired, "If I’m not mistaken, were you the ones who assisted this poor Daoist in renewing the sealing formation?"

"That’s right, it was us."

"This poor Daoist thanks you all for your assistance!"

The Daoist was polite, "This is what we should do. It is truly admirable that you and your three disciples have made sacrifices from generation to generation."

"For us who practice Daoism, defending the Righteous and protecting the mortal realm is our duty."

Yu Xuzi waved a hand; although half his face was covered in fish scales, his manner still conveyed frank righteousness.

Just then, a vortex appeared in the water behind, and immediately, a huge fish, riddled with sores, leaped out directly toward Yu Xuzi.

Yu Xuzi retreated, dodging the big fish’s attack.

The big fish relentlessly twisted its body again, lunging at Yu Xuzi.

Yu Xuzi dodged once more, letting the giant fish miss again.

The giant fish became frenzied, twisting its body, sweeping sideways once again.

Yu Xuzi still retreated, not confronting it head-on.

After three successive attacks without result, the giant fish seemed to grow furious. It reared its head, jumping high, carving an arc through the air before crashing back into the water, splashing a massive spray.

This was not an attack, more like a pure tantrum.

Returning to the water, its red eyes swivelled, staring intently at Li Zhiyuan, emitting a sibilant cry.

Tan Wenbin, Run Sheng, and Yin Meng all looked at Li Zhiyuan, but he didn’t order them to attack, just stood watching.

Yu Xuzi pointed at the giant fish and said, "This monster has been suppressed for so many years, yet its ferocity remains unchanged. Fortunately, this poor Daoist has long understood its temperament."

Li Zhiyuan said, "What the Daoist says is true. Monsters are ultimately just monsters, limited in intellect."

"Regrettably, this poor Daoist’s soul is also being polluted by it day and night, resulting in this form, truly... unbearable torment."

"The Daoist has made great sacrifices, and I admire this deeply."

"However, though its ferocity remains unchanged, the vitality of this monster has been worn away by time to a great extent."

"This poor Daoist has a plan, not only to completely deal with this monster, eliminating future concerns, but also to facilitate my early release."

"Would you young friends be willing to lend this poor Daoist a hand?"

"Naturally, we are not willing."

"This poor Daoist’s plan is to... huh?"

—————

*Managed to force myself back on schedule, but felt out of it on the first day, completely dazed. I said I’d write more today, but I can’t keep that promise.*

*Sometimes when I’m not in a good state, I write less, just going with the flow. However, having made a promise, I will surely remember to make up for what I owe.*

*I owed 2k words yesterday, 6k words today.*

*Tomorrow I’ll write eighteen thousand to wrap up this section of the story.*