"Are the bloodstains on your clothes from slaying the strange monkeys outside the city, young master?"
"They are."
"You'd best wash them quickly. If they set, the stains won't come out."
"I was planning to wash them right after I eat."
"That will just delay you!" the man said, frowning earnestly. "Besides, there are washerwomen right here in the inn. Why not have them wash it?"
The inn waiter happened to be serving a dish nearby. Hearing this, he immediately smelled business and nodded repeatedly.
"My old mother washes clothes for the guests! She's been doing it her whole life. No matter how dirty the clothes, she can get them clean without damaging the fabric!"
"Then what are you waiting for?" Before Lin Jue could answer, the man spoke up. He reached into his robes, pulled out some Copper Coins, and slapped them onto the table. "Hurry up and get the young master's clothes washed!"
"Right away!"
"Hey, wait..."
The waiter moved incredibly fast. He practically trotted over, snatching the Copper Coins with one hand and grabbing Lin Jue's clothes off the bench with the other before Lin Jue could stop him. Then he hurried off to the back.
Lin Jue frowned in confusion and looked at the man.
The man simply cupped his hands, his tone extremely polite. "The waiter makes a good point. Washing clothes doesn't cost much. If you aren't used to scrubbing and ruin the garment, the loss will be far greater. It's better to leave such things to the women. Your hands are meant for slaying demons and ridding the people of evil."
Yet Lin Jue was starting to feel that something was off.
He had actually heard of this sort of thing from the village elders before—
A Jianghu martial artist who had just eliminated a threat for the people would walk into a tavern and meet someone moved by their heroism. If that person happened to have a generous and bold disposition, they might offer a pot of wine and invite the warrior to drink.
That was understandable.
But would someone who admired a warrior's heroism really go so far as to pay for their laundry, on top of gifting food and wine?
Lin Jue turned his head and took a closer look at him.
This time, he caught a hint of sorrow between the man's brows and a faint exhaustion on his face.
"I see..."
Lin Jue fell silent and set down his chopsticks.
"You have a favor to ask of me."
That single sentence made the man freeze.
"This..."
He froze for a moment, then dropped all pretense. Rising hastily, he crossed the distance in two steps and offered Lin Jue a deep bow.
"I am Wei Yuanzhong. To be entirely honest, my home has been plagued by strange occurrences for the past month. My family and I are constantly whipped awake in our sleep for no reason. We reported it to the authorities and hired people to take a look; they claimed demons or ghosts were causing trouble. We tried many remedies, but to little effect. The locals say that if we invite someone with strong courage and vitality to stay for a night, it might scare the evil spirits away."
"Whipped for no reason?"
Lin Jue found it both novel and unnerving.
"Exactly!"
The man named Wei Yuanzhong immediately lifted his robes to show Lin Jue—
Crisscrossing welts marred his body. Each was about the thickness of a finger or slightly wider, colored in varying shades of purple, red, and black. They didn't look like they had all been inflicted on the same day, and against his pale, flabby flesh, they appeared exceptionally stark and gruesome. The source of this chapter is g.com.
"These were all left by that thing lashing us for absolutely no reason. It's gotten so bad that our whole family is too terrified to live in the house! Even my older brother spends his days staying at the tea stall!"
"Tell me the details."
Lin Jue prompted him to continue.
"I can't really give you any more detail because we have no idea what's going on ourselves." Wei Yuanzhong sat back down helplessly. "My old father passed away this year, and we handled the funeral arrangements. There was idle gossip in the streets claiming that our unfilial behavior angered him, or that we provoked gods and ghosts, but we never skimped on the proper rites. At most, we had a few squabbles over dividing the inheritance, but nothing major. Besides, these strange things didn't happen right after he died. They began two months later. That proves it has nothing to do with us being unfilial or his passing."
Lin Jue simply murmured in acknowledgment, not daring to say much.
Who would come over for no reason, hide their true intentions, gift you food and wine under some other pretext, and then ask for this kind of help?
Besides, he wasn't a real demon-slaying Daoist.
"It started at the end of last month. We were sleeping soundly at home when we were suddenly thrashed. It hurt terribly, and we could faintly hear some sort of sound. At first, we thought thieves had broken in, but when we got up and lit the lamps, there was nothing there, and the doors and windows were perfectly closed. It's been happening repeatedly ever since, and we're all terrified."
"It sounds a bit like the stories—the kind where ghosts try to take over a mortal's mansion, or where someone offends an evil spirit and suffers the consequences."
"That's what everyone says."
"It just whips you?"
"Just whips. But it wears you down. Now we don't dare stay in the house at all. We can only stay outside at the inn. With a large household of over twenty people, the money flows out every day."
"You mentioned earlier that you've tried many remedies, but they didn't do much?"
"We tried a lot of folk remedies. Some were useless, and some worked, but not by much."
"For instance?"
"For instance, the townsfolk told us to sprinkle black dog blood and a virgin boy's urine on the floor, saying that sinister entities wouldn't dare enter if we did. That was completely useless. In fact, it just made the thing angrier, and the beatings got worse. Then we tried scattering flour on the floor at night, thinking we could track where the thing came from and where it went, but that didn't work at all either. We also went to the temple to request Talismans; that helped a little, but the effect only lasted a few days."
Wei Yuanzhong was visibly frightened as well. He took a sip of water as he spoke, "The most effective method was a martial deity statue we requested from the City God Temple. After we brought it back, my nephew slept in the house for several days without being whipped. We even moved back in. But after a few days, the statue stopped working, and the whole family took another thrashing. That was our last resort. If a martial deity from the City God Temple didn't work, nothing else will."
"To think such a thing could happen..."
Lin Jue had already developed a deep interest in this tale.
He had always loved hearing supernatural tales of anomalies back when he lived in the village, but hearing one now felt entirely different. It was like witnessing and experiencing it firsthand—as if these legends were steadily transforming into reality.
The wonders of this world were constantly unfolding before his very eyes.
"Sigh. After all this tossing and turning, we've finally realized that the sorcerers and Daoists around here are all frauds and charlatans. They're utterly useless."
"So why did you seek me out, Lord Wei?"
"It's because we're out of options—like a dying patient turning to any doctor in desperation. We heard yesterday that a powerful Daoist had arrived nearby, supposedly using his arts to eliminate a formidable demon in the neighboring county. I don't know if it's true or not, but we've already sent the young men in our family out to look for him. Given the time, they probably won't find him." Wei Yuanzhong grew more melancholic the more he spoke. "Fortunately, my older brother came looking for me today. He told me that two wandering heroes had wiped out those demonic monkeys outside the city. The old saying goes that bold, heroic figures can suppress evil spirits. That is why I came to you, young master. I wanted to ask if you would sit in my house and sleep there for a night, using your immense courage and vitality to see if you can force that thing to retreat."
Having said his piece, he looked at Lin Jue with expectation.
It sounded very similar to Old Patriarch Wang's idea back in Heng Village: using mortals to suppress demons.
Lin Jue remained silent for a moment.
It was true that he was interested in this sort of thing, but his interest was limited to the stories themselves. Wei Yuanzhong actually wanted his help, which was entirely different.
Lin Jue looked down at the food on the table, the wine cup, and the chicken soup, falling into deep thought.
He weighed his options.
If he agreed... he wasn't really a Daoist with magical arts and profound cultivation, nor was he a martial artist of extraordinary skill. He might not be able to deal with whatever was haunting them.
If he refused...
He had set out on a journey to seek the Dao and find immortals, and he possessed an Ancient Book that reacted to spells. To say he had absolutely no interest in demons and ghosts would be a lie. At the very least, the Wang Family in Heng Village and the incidents at the roadside temple had shown him that as long as the spells of demons and ghosts could be used by humans, they could also trigger a reaction from the Ancient Book. This chapter was copied from NovelPing without permission.
Furthermore, he had already drunk the soup and tasted the wine.
There was also the favor from earlier today, when they lent him the blade so he could vent his frustrations.
Thus, his thoughts were tangled.
"Sigh..."
Lin Jue couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said with feeling, "Brother, if you wanted my help, you could have just come over, introduced yourself, and spoken plainly. Given the favor of lending me the blade, it's not like I wouldn't have agreed. Why go through all this trouble?"
"I truly had no other choice..."
"I honestly thought someone admired me enough to treat me to meat and wine."
"You misjudge me, young master! That was part of it! Even if my family wasn't in trouble, I would still gladly treat you to a pot of meat and a bowl of wine!"
"If everything you've said is true and I go stay at your house for a night, Lord Wei, would you dare to keep me company?"
"Keep you company?"
Wei Yuanzhong couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
"Do you dare?"
Lin Jue stared intently at his expression.
The man looked somewhat timid, his eyes darting about before he finally gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. "If you're willing to lend a hand and brave the danger for my family, how could I not dare? The worst that happens is my body takes another thrashing!"
"Good!"
Seeing his reaction, Lin Jue believed his words—the spirit only whipped people; it didn't kill them.
There was most likely some underlying cause behind it.
"On the strength of this half a chicken and cup of wine you gifted me, and in return for your older brother lending me his Simple Saber this afternoon, what does it matter if I sleep at your estate for a night? But I'll say this right now: I'm only agreeing to sleep there. I don't possess the skill to slay demons or banish evil. If worst comes to worst, I'll just sit there and take a thrashing with you!"
Lin Jue genuinely meant that.
As a result, his words carried a sense of straightforward, carefree ease.
"I would absolutely never dare ask you to do such a thing for a mere half chicken and a cup of wine. Please, go ahead and eat. I will undoubtedly reward you handsomely tomorrow."
"Then I won't hold back."
"When shall we go?"
"Once I've finished eating!"
Lin Jue finally picked his chopsticks back up.
Now that everything had been laid out in the open and he had agreed to the request, his mind was instantly at ease. Eating this meal felt much more grounded and satisfying.
He reached out and tore a leg off the half chicken, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing heartily. The texture of the meat mingling with the rich chicken flavor, followed by a massive mouthful of rice—it was incredibly satisfying!
If he had stayed in the village forever, it probably wouldn't have been easy to live these kinds of days.
...
Two quarters of an hour later, Lin Jue was completely stuffed with food and wine. Tossing his chopsticks aside, he went upstairs, grabbed his Firewood Chopper, and headed out the door.