Heroes emerge in troubled times?
Upon hearing Wei Changqing’s analysis, everyone’s hearts tightened. After several encounters with Li Genmiao, no one doubted Li Genmiao’s ambition and methods. After all, in all these years, although the demon Taoists were rampant, no demon had ever managed to kill or force the death of a Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain. Li Genmiao was the first. This man harbored immense ambition and was utterly unhinged, resorting to any means to achieve his goals. If he truly intended to create a chaotic world, regardless of whether he succeeded in the end, it would inevitably bring a bloody storm to the Xuanmen world.
“The information obtained today is very important,” Yan Shouyi said in a deep voice. “When I get back, I need to have a good talk with Yu Luming.” Even if Li Genmiao’s placement of the Twelve Yuan Chen into various sects was true, if Yan Shouyi were to deliver the warning, few would believe him or take it seriously. However, if Yu Luming, as the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, informed the major sects, they would quickly pay attention.
After discussing for a while, the conclusion they reached was unsettling.
“What do we do with this fox spirit?” Yuan Jianxin asked. Weng Qianxiang immediately replied, “I suggest we kill him directly!” Yuan Jianxin and Wei Changqing agreed, the former for the sake of eradicating demons and upholding righteousness, and the latter simply finding the fox spirit an eyesore and believing that killing him would restore peace to the world.
The fox spirit’s face turned pale with fear, his lips trembled, and he was unable to speak, only shaking his head and pleading. “Don’t do that!” Han San objected. When Yan Shouyi asked for his reason, he replied, “I still want to keep him around to mock Old Weng for a few more years!” Weng Qianxiang glared furiously at Han San. If he hadn’t known he couldn’t defeat him, he would have pounced on Han San for a “1v1 man-to-man battle.”
Yan Shouyi stared at the fox spirit for a moment, and a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind. “That’s not right. The Painted Skin Master knows how formidable we are. If the fox spirit is the Painted Skin Master’s lover, he should try to protect the fox spirit, perhaps by giving us false information, leading us to be immediately recognized by the fox spirit upon landing on the island… But the Painted Skin Master said nothing. This is very strange.”
The others also sensed something was amiss. Weng Qianxiang wondered, “Why would that be?” “I suspect the Painted Skin Master wants us to get rid of the fox spirit,” Yan Shouyi said. The fox spirit was the first to object, “Impossible! We are in love, destined to be together, how could he harm me?” “You just said you’re destined to be together!” Han San chuckled. “If the Painted Skin Master can’t live, he wants to drag you down with him!” The fox spirit was momentarily speechless. Weng Qianxiang, on the other hand, remarked, “If I had such a disgusting lover, I’d want someone to kill him too.”
“There is indeed a possibility…” Yan Shouyi pondered, then said, “Let’s take him back and lock him up first. The dungeon is empty anyway.” Everyone agreed, only Weng Qianxiang was somewhat reluctant. Bringing the fox spirit back to the research society would be like bringing his shameful past back with them, wouldn’t it? But Weng Qianxiang prioritized the bigger picture. After warning everyone not to spread his affairs, he agreed to take the fox spirit back.
Wei Changqing muttered an incantation, and the wooden figure that bound the fox spirit shifted its limbs, locking the fox spirit’s limbs and head from behind. The fox spirit found himself still unable to move, his body controlled by the wooden figure, no different from a puppet. Wei Changqing pointed his finger, and the wooden figure, carrying the fox spirit, rushed out of the villa, leaped onto the rooftop, and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.
“The wooden figure will take the fox spirit back to the research society. Let’s go too,” Wei Changqing said. Yan Shouyi looked at Wei Changqing with admiration. In terms of mastery as a descendant of Lu Ban, he was already quite good, but compared to Wei Changqing, he seemed to be somewhat lacking. However, the difference between the two was mainly due to their different developmental directions. Yan Shouyi pursued balanced development, dabbling in all sorts of spells, with some spells being particularly potent. Wei Changqing, on the other hand, was severely specialized, focusing primarily on Qimen Dunjia and wooden puppet techniques. His mastery of Qimen Dunjia was extremely high, and in techniques like controlling wooden figures, Yan Shouyi was far behind him. “It seems that when I get back, I need to delve more into the skills of our Lu Ban lineage,” Yan Shouyi secretly resolved.
Just as everyone was about to leave, Weng Qianxiang suddenly whispered, “Wait…” “What is it?” Everyone looked at him in surprise. Weng Qianxiang said, “As I came here, I discovered that Jiazi Island is a very evil place. The fox spirit has imprisoned many young girls on Jiazi Island, forcing them to serve the rich and powerful of Jianzhou Province. Some of them are even children…” Yan Shouyi and the others’ expressions changed. If Jiazi Island were merely a venue for transactions of power and sex, they wouldn’t bother. After all, some women were willing to exchange their bodies for money. But if coercion was involved, it would be a different matter.
Weng Qianxiang said with embarrassment, “The island’s master has been captured by us. Can we spend a little more time rescuing all the pitiful girls on the island?” “When one sees injustice, one draws their sword to help; the matter of a hero saving a beauty, I Han San shall not shirk this duty!” Han San was the first to express his support. Yan Shouyi rolled his eyes at him. This guy purely wanted to play the hero saving the damsel, and then have her pledge herself to him. His motive was no different from those Jianzhou magnates; base!
Yan Shouyi thought for a moment and said, “This matter involves too wide a scope, and Jiazi Island is so large. With just a few of us, even if we work until dawn, we won’t be able to rescue them all.” “That’s true…” Weng Qianxiang looked a bit dejected, seemingly feeling guilty for not being able to save the girls. But Yan Shouyi immediately added, “I will contact Officer Xia Zhi right now and ask her to bring people to handle this. To prevent the scum on the island from leaving, let’s go and destroy all the boats at the port now!” As long as they prevented people on Jiazi Island from leaving, with sufficient witnesses and evidence, Xia Zhi and her team would be able to capture them all in one fell swoop! Weng Qianxiang immediately became happy again, believing Yan Shouyi’s plan was thorough.
So, everyone sprang into action. Yan Shouyi contacted Xia Zhi and informed her about the sinful existence of Jiazi Island. Xia Zhi was a police officer full of a sense of justice. Upon hearing about the matter, without a word, she immediately began organizing personnel, preparing to go to the island overnight to apprehend the culprits. Afterward, the group split up and discreetly destroyed the engines of all the boats on the island, doing so without anyone noticing. This way, when Xia Zhi arrived with her team, those people would only want to escape by boat but would find all the vessels unable to start, leaving them no choice but to wait to be arrested. Having done all this, Yan Shouyi and the others quietly left the island, coming and going without a trace, their deeds hidden and their reputations unblemished.