Chapter 59 Never Underestimate the People of the World
At the fifth watch, the sound of roosters crowing filled Wuling County, yet the guests inside the Zhao family's guesthouse remained awake.
Zhuang Lin likely had not expected that he would spend the entire night reading two heterodox books, let alone gain so much from them, finding principles that intertwined and resonated with the knowledge he currently mastered.
Having essentially finished reading the books in his hands, he stood up from the desk with a hint of emotion, holding both volumes in his palms.
Walking over, he cracked the door open by just a sliver. The next moment, flames surged in Zhuang Lin's palm, the fire element flowing like water. The fire swept across the two books, and in merely half a breath, they were completely reduced to ashes.
The ashes rose along with the thermal current in the room, surging outward, and within moments, drifted away on the morning breeze into the sky above Wuling City.
Watching the ashes dissipate, Zhuang Lin closed the door, returned to the room, and walked over to the desk. His gaze landed on the remaining string of beads.
After reading those two books, Zhuang Lin understood that each bead on the string represented a demonic entity.
That great macaque could only be considered the latest creation of the heterodox cultivator Yang Zi'ang. It was not that he did not want to create more, but finding a spiritual and suitable creature, taming it, and subjecting it to Yang Zi'ang's methods was no easy task.
Zhuang Lin picked the prayer beads up from the table. The Qi on one of the beads had already dissipated, but a few others still faintly retained wisps of unusual demonic aura.
Some of this aura was slightly pungent, while other parts were nauseating—all of them carrying a faint stench mingled with a wild animal's musk.
Though each was slightly different, the overall sensation they gave Zhuang Lin could be categorized into a malignant class.
These were classified by the heterodox practitioner as "refined" demons. At this stage, they no longer frequently appeared to harm people, but were instead in a prolonged transitional phase of cultivation, which was why Yang Zi'ang had cultivated the newest great macaque.
Although he did not know the level of cultivation these demons possessed, they had all been cultivated through similar methods. Such ferocity went far beyond simply harming mortals, and leaving them about would forever remain a hidden hazard.
Zhuang Lin knew human strength had its limits, and he feared the grand momentum of history even more. While he could not claim to eradicate every injustice in the world, walking the immortal path with righteousness as a companion, and slaying harmful demons and evil spirits, was the proper duty of those on the immortal path!
Looking at it from another perspective, since I am a true cultivator empowered by heaven and earth, encountering me is simply your destined tribulation if you belong to the demonic and baleful kinds. If you have the ability to be stronger than me, fine—then I won't provoke you!
However, Yang Zi'ang himself possessed only this level of cultivation, so the demons he controlled could not possibly be too powerful. Zhuang Lin felt he should be able to deal with them quite easily.
Especially since the secret records written by Yang Zi'ang also contained detailed information on these demons, this amounted to the strong versus the weak, and the hidden versus the manifest.
After a moment of thought, Zhuang Lin immediately sat back down at the desk, retrieved two scrolls of blank brocade from his book chest, picked up his brush, and began writing new content.
Brewing his thoughts for a moment before the first scroll, he guided the brush and ink with his own spiritual mind and intent.
The General Outline of Demonic Eyes—Distinguishing Qi numbers, identifying various types of demonic aura...
The contents of the brocade scroll were not merely text; they also embodied Zhuang Lin's current spiritual intent and sensations. Future generations who read it might even be able to smell the various demonic auras Zhuang Lin had experienced at this very moment...
This scroll merely served as an opening, leaving blank spaces in the written parts to point out that auras could be strong or weak, thick or thin. Moreover, relatively speaking, all living beings had their good and bad sides; the key to distinction still relied on the reader combining it with actual circumstances to make a judgment. However, if such auras and shifts in Qi numbers appeared, one needed to be on high alert!
On the second brocade scroll, Zhuang Lin put brush to paper using the same method.
Demonic paths and evil ways, turbid and foul Qi...
The second scroll was similarly brief, but it offered quite intuitive judgments. Among cultivators, such turbid Qi was usually not a good omen. Whether human or demon, anyone who saw it would instinctively despise it by three fractions, and most likely it did not belong to the righteous path!
Comparatively speaking, cultivation was just like ordinary learning; knowledge from different books served as mutual references, and Zhuang Lin would not teach people to become bookworms who only knew how to read dead texts.
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The servants of the Zhao family had already begun waking up early in the morning, washing up and starting to sweep the courtyards and attend to other chores.
A servant held a broom, sweeping the fallen leaves blown from nearby trees into a pile bit by bit, and then swept them into a dustpan. Suddenly, he heard a "creak~" sound. Looking back, he saw that the guest in the guest room had already opened his door.
"Sir Zian, you're up so early?"
"Indeed, I couldn't sleep, so I got up!"
As Zhuang Lin spoke, he had already stepped out of the guest room. The Zhao family servant suddenly noticed that the guest was not only fully dressed and groomed, but actually carrying his book chest as well, and immediately reacted.
"Ah, Sir Zian, are you leaving? Why are you in such a hurry? I'll go call the young master..."
Zhuang Lin hurriedly stepped forward to stop the Zhao family servant.
"Hey, hey, my young brother, there's no need for that! I know your young master doesn't like waking up early, and he drank a bit too much wine last night, so he is sleeping soundly right now. Don't go disturb him..."
"B-but, if the young master wakes up and finds out you've left, he might punish me!"
Zhuang Lin patted the servant's arm.
"As the saying goes, the friendship of gentlemen is as pure as water. Encounters come and go, and there will surely be a meeting in the future; why must we cling to each other like glue? Just pass on a message for me. I believe that with Young Master Zhao's bearing, he certainly won't punish you!"
At most, his temperament would lead him to scold you a couple of times, but if I waited for him to wake up and got tangled up in all those polite pleasantries, it would be terribly troublesome!
Thinking this to himself, Zhuang Lin smiled and walked toward the courtyard gate, while the servant hurriedly chased after him with his broom.
"Sir Zian, let me help you open the door!"
When the gate was opened, Zhuang Lin thanked him and was about to leave, but the servant called out to him again, suddenly remembering what the young master had prepared the day before.
"Sir Zian, traveling alone like this today might prove quite inconvenient. The young master prepared some travel funds for you yesterday; please wait a moment, I'll go get them... Wait just a moment, just a moment!"
Zhuang Lin looked surprised, watching the servant scurry back into the courtyard. He glanced outside, hesitated, and decided not to leave immediately.
After about six or seven breaths, the servant hurried back, looking relieved to see Zhuang Lin still standing at the door, and handed over a small package.
"Sir Zian, inside are a few taels of broken silver and some copper coins, plus a clean set of spare clothes that should roughly match your size!"
Zhuang Lin took the package, weighed it in his hand, and looked at the servant again.
* "Did your young master prepare this specifically? Why would he think Zhuang needs these?"
* "This..."
* "If you don't tell me, I won't accept it!"
Hearing Zhuang Lin's question, the servant looked back toward the courtyard and hesitated before telling the truth.
"The young master said that when Sir Zian traveled last time, he was surrounded by throngs of attendants, yet he came in a hurry and left just as hastily. This time, however, he came all alone, and even carved a wooden sword to carry with him. Perhaps there were unspeakable difficulties he found inconvenient to mention, so the young master went to his uncle to draw his monthly allowance... Ah, and he got scolded by him again..."
Zhao Chenyu's parents had died early in his childhood, and he had lived under the care of his uncle. To prevent him from squandering his inheritance, most of the wealth left by his parents was kept by his uncle, and he only received a monthly stipend.
"Sir Zian, please just accept it! Otherwise, if I fail in both tasks, I really will be punished!"
With matters having reached this point, Zhuang Lin no longer declined.
"Very well, I shall accept it then. Many thanks to your young master for his kind intentions! I take my leave now..."
Zhuang Lin cupped his fists in salute, and amidst the returning bow of the Zhao family servant, he prepared to depart. Recalling the various traits of Zhao Chenyu in his mind, he took two steps, paused, and turned back to look at the person by the door.
"Does Sir Zian need anything else?"
Zhuang Lin shook his head with a smile, flicked his large sleeve, hooked the package onto his book chest with his wooden sword, and strode forward with the wooden sword in hand as he left.
I originally thought that despite possessing a sliver of cleverness, he was hard to distinguish from a wealthy wastrel. It turns out I, Zhuang Lin, have underestimated him!
The Zhao family servant stood at the doorway watching for a moment. In the brilliance of the morning glow, various morning stalls along the street were being set up. Amidst the bustling noise and rising dust, the departing figure of Sir Zian seemed to blend with the dust and share the light of the world, leaving a fleeting sense of transcendence beyond the mortal realm...
The Zhao family servant watched for a long time before closing the courtyard gate, yet his heart was filled with lingering thoughts.
Although his young master was constantly reprimanded by the county magistrate for lacking real skills and learning, most of the people the young master befriended possessed extraordinary bearing. That was true for Sir Yuanliang, and this Sir Zian also looked like no ordinary mortal. Could the young master really be lacking in true talent and learning?
If the young master were truly worthless, would these lofty scholars be willing to associate with him?
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The hour was still early, and the streets of Wuling City were not yet crowded, though everywhere along the roadside people were already beginning to bustle.
Peddlers carrying loads into the city and various vendors were setting up their stalls, and shops everywhere had already opened their doors to make preparations.
Normally, people coming from outside the city would enter a bit later, but clearly, the news that the demon had been eliminated had spread across Wuling County within just a single day through those entering and leaving the city.
Some bolder individuals already dared to carry goods from the countryside into the city before daybreak, allowing them to secure the best spots for setting up stalls.
Today, however, Zhuang Lin did not leisurely eat at any stall or shop. Instead, he casually bought some small snacks to satisfy his appetite, while walking briskly and unceasingly toward the northeastern city gate.
As he passed the county yamen, the area where the demon's corpse lay was still surrounded by a large crowd making critical comments. Naturally, those who had never seen one came to take a look, and some even brought others who had never seen one to witness it.
Some people were still discussing it on the side, telling stories with absolute conviction. As Zhuang Lin passed by, he listened intently for a moment and couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Sigh, that demon was terrifying! Even after death, it couldn't rest in peace!" "Ah? Why? Can it still harm people?"
"Hahaha, it can't harm people anymore, but dying with unfulfilled grievances leaves a heavy obsession! It was still screaming last night..."
"What? Last night?" "Yes, yes, I heard it too. It screamed so miserably..."
"I thought I was just having a nightmare!" "Oh goodness, what you're saying is giving me goosebumps!"
"Better burn it completely as soon as possible..."
"Sigh, have you all heard? Chief Constable Lu has resigned from his post at the yamen!" "What?"
"No way! Chief Constable Lu is so capable, why would he quit?" "I have no idea either..."
Hearing this news concerning Lu Jing, Zhuang Lin's forward pace involuntarily slowed down a fraction, and he subconsciously glanced in the direction of the yamen.