Qingzhou Dongyue City.
A frail old man emerged from a bungalow. Seeing that no one was around, he turned and walked into an alley.
He rummaged through a trash can for a long time. To outsiders, he looked no different from any other elderly person picking up plastic bottles for scrap. However, as the old man's hand emerged, the item it held was not a plastic bottle, but something like a broken bamboo chopstick.
The old man carefully wrapped the item, muttering, "Tsk, this fellow is really unreliable… he put his own life on the line, but at least he had the foresight to send the item back first…"
Then, the old man casually tapped the ground, a magic circle lit up, and he was teleported away.
...
Linfen Airport.
A woman, wearing sunglasses and carrying a handbag, alighted from the plane. A black Rolls-Royce slowly approached, its door opening towards her.
The woman got in, and the car immediately departed.
"Why are you all so inefficient? I had to rush back from Bazhou," the woman began questioning the man beside her, her brow furrowed.
"Aren't those police officers just useless? They can't even find a single robber, so I had to call little sister," the man replied with a fawning smile.
"Sigh…" the woman pinched her brow and asked, "Where's Long'er? Didn't he go for the special recruitment exam? How many school invitations has he received? Do you need my help?"
"Shao Long he…" The man's eyes immediately reddened. He held back tears, his voice hoarse as he spoke, "died in the special recruitment exam."
"What?!"
The woman was instantly agitated. "I know there was an accident in this year's special recruitment exam, but with Ye Shaolong's strength, couldn't he even protect himself?"
"According to my investigation, Shao Long wasn't killed by a demon beast," the man said, pulling out his phone and opening a chat record. "He was killed by this little brat!"
Seeing the photo on the phone, the woman's eyes narrowed, as if recalling something.
After a moment, she took out her phone and checked the news from the past few days. Her face darkened.
The young auxiliary police officer who had turned the tide in the bank robbery incident, featured in the news, was the same person in the photo on the man's phone.
...
Qingzhou University.
The tall, thin man finished embellishing the details of Mo Chuan's interview and then spoke, "In conclusion, I strongly oppose admitting such a talented but immoral, disrespectful, lawless, and fame-stealing scoundrel into our school. Furthermore, I believe his despicable actions should be exposed, and other schools notified, urging all schools that sent Mo Chuan invitations to publicly declare them void or retract them."
The board members before the tall, thin man fell into contemplation.
A bespectacled man spoke first, "Agreed."
The old man beside him glanced at the man and frowned. "Teacher Xu, isn't this a bit rash? Relying solely on Xiao Li's account might be somewhat one-sided…"
"One-sided? Then we shall see," Teacher Xu adjusted his glasses and said, "When fame is widespread, character will eventually reveal itself."
The board members looked at each other, then maintained their silence, clearly unwilling to get involved.
"Alright," the president of Qingzhou University said, "Let's discuss the next student…"
About seventy minutes later, the meeting concluded. However, Teacher Xu and Xiao Li remained, conversing inside.
"What do we do next?"
"Smear his reputation. Buy internet trolls to insult him online. Remember, focus on the person, not the issue. Try not to insult the police along with him, so the authorities can't protect him. Also, bribe those few people he saved. Find a way to make them claim Mo Chuan caused their more severe injuries, and then blow the matter out of proportion. Don't give him any chance to react or explain; crush him in one go."
"Understood," Xiao Li nodded and turned to leave the conference room.
Teacher Xu lit a cigarette and took out a photograph. In it, a girl with a slightly unnatural expression and a boy with a somber face were pictured.
"Ziru… Zixu…"
...
Longjing, Forbidden City, Taiheng Hall.
"Night of a Hundred Ghosts? Hmph! These petty scoundrels, their intentions are damnable!"
"Xin Lei, you're saying a Neon Ghost King-level entity defeated the Shuten Doji and several other ghosts? And with Su Daji's help, became the new King of a Hundred Ghosts?" an old woman's voice echoed.
"Yes, Human Emperor," Xin Lei nodded. "Not only me, but Bing Huo also witnessed the entire event. That ghost's power not only did not harm humans but actually annihilated all the other ghosts and contained them within a small lantern."
"Wait a moment," a wizened voice spoke. "Old Snake Skin, cast a divination."
… The hall fell silent, but the sounds of tortoise shell and stones colliding could be heard.
"The hexagram is Four, Heavenly Auspicious, Earth Ascending, Yin energy born in the East. This ghost is still in Long Country, and…"
The hall was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
"And it's a human."
"A ghost cultivator? Malicious intentions! We must find him immediately! The time for the northern beasts' southward migration is approaching, and we cannot afford any mistakes!" the wizened voice exclaimed.
"Emperor of Heaven, Emperor of Earth, Human Emperor, I am willing to go find this ghost cultivator and persuade him to serve the country," Xin Lei knelt on one knee, cupped his fists, and spoke.
"…Very well. Xin Lei, you are ordered to take Ding Yang and Ren Yin to find this ghost cultivator. Avoid conflict as much as possible, and assess their character. Rectify the righteous; suppress the evil; praise the good; tempt the greedy."
"Yes!"
...
The fourth day.
Mo Chuan was contemplating whether to take leave and accompany Mo Fei, when he heard a loud bang from the hospital room door. Zhang Henshui rushed in, "Mo Chuan! Don't go out these past few days! Don't go home even when you're recovered! Stay in the ward for now, and I'll process your industrial injury claim. Leave only when I give you the signal!"
"What's wrong?" Mo Chuan was stunned. Looking at the sweating Zhang Henshui, he felt a sense of unease.
Mo Fei and Tang Jingjing, sensing something amiss, also focused their attention on Zhang Henshui.
Zhang Henshui wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke with a slight gasp, "Didn't you watch the news yesterday? People are going crazy discussing you online!"
Mo Chuan looked bewildered and pulled out his phone to search for news about himself. Upon seeing it, his brow immediately furrowed.
First, in the comment section of the bank robbery incident:
"This operation could have resulted in the arrest of all the robbers, but this auxiliary police officer, a ghost cultivator, was always greedy for credit and advancement, repeatedly disrupting the police's action plan, which allowed the leader of the criminal gang to escape. He still hasn't been found, and the police have now issued a nationwide arrest warrant…"
"It's this ghost cultivator! He shot the robbers in the car, which caused the vehicle to lose control and crash into roadside stalls, resulting in dozens of casualties! The perpetrators are not just the robbers! He is one of them too!"