This merchant truly is…
The dull yellow talisman paper ignited in an instant, blazing with blood-red light.
The red light shot into the sky.
The crimson glow illuminated a strikingly handsome face—sharp, cold contours, deep, intense brows and eyes—yet wearing an expression of calm restraint, like a vast, dark, resplendent sea concealing a hidden vortex. In his deep, unfathomable eyes, a wisp of black smoke rose from the maidservants' ranks, unable to hide—
"Ahhhh!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out.
The black smoke surged skyward and fled, while the crowd screamed and scattered in panic.
Shang Daoling narrowed his long eyes. Burned by his talisman art, and it still had the life to escape?
Amid the confusion, it was Censor Li who remained composed: "Daoist Master, since that demonic entity has revealed itself, I implore you to slay it at once."
Li's father also snapped to his senses: "Daoist Master, that demonic entity isn't heading toward Shu'er's courtyard, is it? Please, Daoist Master, destroy that evil creature immediately!"
Shang Daoling leisurely glanced at the sky outside, which was gradually darkening. That thing was indeed heading for Miss Li's courtyard. But when he had passed by Miss Li's small courtyard earlier with the steward, he had already sent a paper crane talisman flying out, affixing itself to her door.
He said, "When I came over earlier, I already set up a Barrier at Miss Li's door. The two of you need not worry. However—if I recall correctly, my intermediary did inform you that I charge based on the number of Daoist arts I employ, did he not?"
The Li family quickly caught on. This meant the protective talisman would cost extra.
Song Siniang was quick to speak: "You Daoist, really… Fine, fine, extra it is!" With that, she removed a pouch of silver from her waist and handed it to Shang Daoling.
"Ah, this is silver, not Spirit Stones. I don't usually accept silver, you know."
Li Taijian understood his meaning at once: "My sister knows little of the ways of cultivators. I'll have the steward fetch Spirit Stones from the treasury."
"Now that's more like it," Shang Daoling said, his long lashes lowering as he smiled slightly. "I'll give you all a twenty percent discount, then. I'll take the silver for the Barrier talisman paper, and the rest in Spirit Stones."
"You really are putting on airs."
"Making money—nothing shameful about it," he replied in the gaps between his incantation chants. "If I don't 'put on airs,' how else do I raise my own value? Besides, this is my first time not killing but performing Evil Expulsion. Since I'm not charging per head, charging per use seems only fair."
He smiled. "Rest assured, if you have any other requests, the first one is free. Everything after that—at a friendship price. Or rather, an 'indebtedness' price—half off."
Rong Chunsong truly couldn't stand this pretentious act.
His face was beautiful, but his vile personality and shameless self-promotion "balanced" that out.
And so this trinity of vile personality, pretentiousness, and handsome face—the great protagonist—was now in the courtyard casting spells and performing rites.
Golden light flew one moment, red light blazed the next; now Buddhist chants arose, now Daoist incantations. Miss's courtyard gate was safe and sound, but the demonic entity simply refused to come out.
If he kept using talisman paper and Daoist arts like this, inflating his own worth and padding his fees, who knew how much he'd fleece them for.
Rong Chunsong said, "You're not planning to feign incompetence, are you? Use a dozen or two dozen techniques to rake in the money first, then drag the demonic entity out?"
Shang Daoling said, "How could I? My business is honest and fair to all, it's just that the demon is truly a bit hard to find."
"Really nothing?"
"Really nothing." Shang Daoling's smiling eyes curved, his words pure and good—it was simply impossible to tell truth from falsehood.
Ah, this pretentious, money-grubbing male lead, this little grubber—let her give him a little suffering to taste.
[Skill "Alluring Scent Infusion" activated.]
[Skill "Alluring Scent Infusion": Upon use, the target emits the most bewitchingly seductive fragrance in the world—both coldly alluring and sweetly smooth, penetrating silk and gauze, seeping into muscle and bone, like a spring day at the peak of blooming roses; its cold allure and rich sweetness are impossible to ignore.]
Rong Chunsong's commentary on this was: what's this about cold and sweet—it's not ice cream.
But then again, if it emitted a fragrance that was "impossible to ignore," couldn't it be used to lock onto some invisible, hidden target? Perfect—time to test it on this very good-at-hiding evil creature.
Soon, from behind the moon gate, a seductive, cold, sweet fragrance that was "impossible to ignore" drifted over.
Everyone present smelled it.
Father Li said, "Why is there such a strong fragrance… Daoist, has your spell taken effect?"
Shang Daoling's smile stiffened slightly.
It must be that Ghost Immortal causing trouble again.
He'd been thinking of casually casting his spell another forty-nine times before dragging out the demon, but now—well, now she'd made him lose at least twenty-nine talisman papers' worth of money for nothing. And… produced such a thick, vivid fragrance. Greatly undermining the mystery and authority of his Daoist arts. And—she'd actually even laid a hand on his…!
"What are you standing around for?" Rong Chunsong, seeing him unmoved, reached out and smacked his buttocks.
Mm, a very lean, firm, perky butt—felt great. Usually when she was riding and the horse wouldn't move, she'd give its rump a smack just like this.
Veins were practically bulging on Shang Daoling's forehead.
This shameless, propriety-defying female ghost—her purpose in granting him favors was to humiliate him, to molest him—
She had better, better not get caught by him, or she couldn't blame him for settling accounts with her—his "personally taught disciple"—to the last penny.
Shang Daoling smiled without smiling at the Li family: "Yes, it's my revered Lotus Heavenly Venerable lending his power. I invited the god to possess me." With a flick of his sleeve, as if venting his anger, a flock of blazing paper cranes flew from his cuff, heading toward the direction the alluring fragrance came from.
Instantly, several more miserable screams rang out.
Behind the moon gate was the path leading to Miss Li's courtyard.
The east wind blew, and peach blossoms had fallen all over the path.
Amid the fallen peach blossoms lay a humanoid creature, with hundreds of burning paper cranes upon it, their paper wings flapping, stirring up even more brilliant flames.
In the firelight and smell of scorching, one could barely make out the creature's "appearance." Deathly pale blue skin, limbs shockingly withered, thin, and elongated, hair long but sparse, growing like a horse's mane from the skull down the neck and along the entire spine.
Li Taijian and the painter recognized at a glance that its appearance and the hands at the tips of its elongated limbs bore a passing resemblance to the daughter.
If its face weren't so twisted and grotesque, and if what should have been its feet weren't a second pair of palms.
For a moment, everyone except Shang Daoling felt like vomiting.
Seeing Li Taijian hurrying over behind Shang Daoling, the evil creature immediately emitted from its throat a voice imitating a young woman: "Mother, save me… save me save me save me save me—"
Among the six gentlemanly arts, Li Taijian had neglected swordsmanship and archery for over a decade since entering officialdom. Even so, upon learning that a demonic entity lurked within the residence, she retrieved her childhood sword from its case and wore it at all times, ready to protect her family in times of danger.
Hearing that vile creature dare to mimic her daughter's voice, the veins on her sword hand bulged. The usually gentle and refined civil official's face was filled with fury as she drew her blade and struck the monster's head clean off in a single stroke.
But the head merely rolled a few circles on the ground, its two impossibly wide eyes blinking several times before mimicking a human expression of sorrow: "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Mother, it hurts so much!"
Shang Daoling, who had already lost a substantial fee, grew even more, infinitely more irritated upon hearing the thing's incessant shrieking.
His slender palm closed, and the eerie flames on the ground blazed with renewed ferocity.
The monster's severed head and headless body writhed in agony within the fire.
The aloof Daoist's gaze drifted downward, however, landing on the scattering of peach blossoms strewn across the ground.
Logically speaking, after this creature had just fled the main hall and discovered it could no longer return to its parasitic human host to siphon life force, it should have fled the Li residence entirely if it valued its existence. He had originally planned to put on a brief performance, then reveal the truth that it had likely escaped into the city of Gusu, and perhaps raise his fee while at it.
It was these peach blossoms that had trapped it.
Recalling the young lady's painting subjects and the words of the Li family, he seemed to understand something.
Ah, what an utterly tedious tale—the story of a scholar dying for one who appreciates him.
Dull. Boring.
That peach tree had bloomed so brilliantly this morning, likely because it was using the last of its cultivation to keep the painter alive.
For a painter who had tended to it a few times and painted it on several occasions, was it worth consuming decades of accumulated spiritual power?
Shang Daoling felt he could not comprehend such pointless sentiment.
The evil creature below, after a few more agonized cries, gradually fell silent.
He produced a yellow talisman from his sleeve and collected the charred remains—of course. Having lost a substantial fee, he would naturally take the corpse to refine and see if he could extract a demonic core to recoup his losses.
The demonic wind subsided, and all returned to calm. The warm afternoon sun cast thin rays of clear light through the parting clouds.
Father Li asked, "Daoist, what exactly was that demonic entity…"
Shang Daoling replied with a smile, "That, I wouldn't know. I only collect payment and do the job—I'm not an encyclopedia of demonic entities." Besides, how few were the unheard-of demonic entities not recorded in the books? In this vast and chaotic world, there were countless things beyond human comprehension.
This creature was likely something that mingled among humans, draining their life force before gradually taking their place. A young human with an official for a mother and a painter for a father was a rather advantageous substitute target. Though explaining even these few sentences would cost extra.
"No matter, no matter—I was merely asking casually… Ah, as long as Shu'er is safe, that's what matters. Thank you, Daoist, for slaying the demon and saving Shu'er."
Rong Chunsong thought to herself that this great artist truly had remarkable composure, still treating the young man with courtesy after being rebuffed twice.
With the creature dead, the Taijian and the painter hurried to the peach blossom courtyard to check on their daughter.
Through the System's display, the peach tree that had been blooming brilliantly that morning now showed many withered branches. But the family, anxious to see their daughter, paid it no mind.
Li Qianshu, carefully helped up by her family, said weakly, "Mother, Father, Aunt…"
"And… this is…?"
Li Taijian said, "This is the Daoist from the Nightmare Nest that Mother and Father invited to perform Evil Expulsion for you. He's also the one who destroyed the Jiang family's Ogre den in the city not long ago."
Li Qianshu, supported by Song Siniang, despite just recovering from illness, still forced her frail body to try to get out of bed to bow to Shang Daoling, but Song Siniang quickly stopped her. "You're still sick. As for bowing, Taijian and Second Brother already thanked him on your behalf."
Shang Daoling also said, "Right, Li Taijian and the others just thanked me. And I don't really care about thanks anyway—as long as the payment is delivered."
Hearing this handsome and elegant Daoist talk so openly about money, the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence for a moment.
It was Taijian who spoke up: "The steward has brought the Spirit Stones. Please count them, Daoist."
"Alright," Shang Daoling took the brocade box and opened it. "Judging by the number of talisman techniques I used, this seems to be a bit more than my fee."
Li Taijian explained, "That's something my brother and I added specially for you, in gratitude for your Evil Expulsion and demon slaying on our behalf."
Shang Daoling didn't stand on ceremony and smiled. "Then I'll graciously accept."
Remembering how he had put on airs earlier to squeeze more money out of them, and now acting so self-righteous, Song Siniang really wanted to roll her eyes. She smiled and said deliberately, "What a pity that Shuer was sick and couldn't see this Daoist of the Nightmare Nest's technique. After he performed his rituals for half the day, a strange, sweet, cloying fragrance suddenly drifted through the back courtyard, marking that evil creature."
"This…" Li Qianshu's expression also showed a moment of surprise, as if she hadn't expected this Daoist's technique to be so… alluring. Er, no…
Shang Daoling chuckled. "That wasn't my technique. It was the technique of the Great Compassionate Deliverer Heavenly Venerable of the Wondrous Lotus Pure Land."
"Ah?" Hearing him announce such a long string of titles, the young Miss Li, still in bed, looked even more confused.
Never mind. That Ghost Immortal was surely watching right now as well.
Shang Daoling said, "Abbreviated as Lotus Heaven. The leader of—our—Hua Zang Sect."
He deliberately enunciated the last few words with heavy emphasis, as if wanting everyone to know exactly what kind of divine being had performed such a strange technique.
Unexpectedly, Miss Li coughed and said, "I see, cough, cough… Truly a miraculous technique… Then I must thank this Lord of Lotus Heaven, cough, for manifesting to save my life…" With that, though half-reclining in bed, she pressed her palms together toward the empty air and bowed once.
Rong Chunsong thought to himself, this Miss Li is sincerely adorable.
Then, she patted Shang Daoling's shoulder through the air, speaking in the mature tone of a leader reviewing a subordinate's work: "Ah, Little Shang, you even helped promote me. How thoughtful of you."
Shang Daoling's thin lips pressed tightly together, his smile extremely stiff.
He was about to say something to counter her through the air when Li Qianshu's expression suddenly changed drastically.
Her eyes filled with shock and heartache as she looked out through the drifting gauze curtain at the half-withered peach tree outside the window.