Chapter 1 They've Pulled All Eight Flags?

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."

"Eight flags, all pulled?"

"..."

The sudden scene changed the expressions of countless people in the Yan residence.

The Yan family treated them with courtesy, only wanting to invite the zougui zhuodao (ghost catcher) to appear and reason with them. At worst, they would show off their skills and bet on the outcome. No one expected a direct attack with blades.

They had seen this zhuodao enter through the main gate without disturbing the flags, thinking the plan was seventy percent successful. Who would have expected such a turn of events?

Not only had he pulled the flags, but he had pulled all eight of them, indicating that he had no intention of reasoning or fighting according to the rules. Was he really just here to kill people?

Most frighteningly, those outside guarding the flags and watching the formation were all skilled individuals, yet they hadn't heard a peep. The flags had been taken before they knew it...

...Everyone said the four chief officers of the Zhenchong (Suppressing Evil) Bureau were a joke, but where did they get so many junior officers?

This extremely unexpected and shocking change left everyone feeling caught off guard. Looking at the "zougui xiaozhuodao (junior ghost catchers)" wearing masks and sneering coldly, their expressions couldn't help but become flustered. Shouldn't it be the zougui dazhuodao (senior ghost catcher) who came to Guazhou to kill people, alone and besieged?

How had we become the ones surrounded?

"Good, very good!"

Amidst the chaos, the Yan family master suddenly spoke.

As the unexpected events unfolded and confusion reigned, the Yan family master abruptly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

This Yan family master wasn't actually involved in the underworld. He only read the classics and studied the art of assisting the ruler, never dabbling in these Jianghu (martial world) arts. But with a stern face, he exuded great authority:

"Is the Yan residence's iron gate a place where mere Jianghu rabble can trespass? Capture them first, then question them about the crime of invading the mansion!"

"..."

"Huh?"

The group of zougui xiaozhuodao had just gathered, their eyes full of excitement, when they were caught off guard by this shout.

"Crap, is he really going to attack?"

Those who had been invited to the Yan family residence for drinks also became worried.

They had come out of respect for the Yan family, but most of them didn't really want to fight. They hadn't expected things to reach this point. Now that the Yan family master had spoken, they had no choice.

After all, who in Guazhou could ignore the Yan master's orders?

As thoughts raced through his mind, one person rushed forward, raising his hand to grab a zougui xiaozhuodao standing next to the banquet, whose body reeked of blood. He shouted:

"You've committed the most killings. I'll start with you!"

This person was Master Gongyang, known for his sharp eyes and quick reactions.

Now that the Yan family master had spoken, even if they hesitated, they had to bite the bullet and attack. But even if they had to attack, they would still try to avoid attacking the zougui dazhuodao. Capturing a xiaozhuodao first would make them look good for following orders. Also, offending the Zhenchong Bureau would be a lighter offense.

Even if they couldn't avoid fighting the zougui dazhuodao in the end, they didn't want to be the first to attack him!

The xiaozhuodao he chose was wearing a rabbit mask with two large buck teeth, looking a bit foolish, making him the easiest to catch.

He snorted coldly and grabbed the other's chest, about to use his signature move to twist his neck and throw him to the ground.

Unexpectedly, the other party raised his hand and blocked the grab, then flipped his hand and slapped Master Gongyang in the face, cursing, "Who are you grabbing?"

"Huh?"

Master Gongyang was stunned by the slap.

What was going on?

His seemingly casual grab was meant to establish dominance and gain the upper hand. He had used all his lifelong skills.

Under these unexpected circumstances, he could grab anyone with certainty. Even if the opponent was an expert, they would have to struggle to break free after being grabbed by him. But now, grabbing this unremarkable junior officer had somehow missed? And the other party had slapped him?

Wait, where did that slap come from? How did he not see it?

"Damn it, daring to attack? Kill him!"

In the blink of an eye, while Master Gongyang was still dazed, the other zhuodao junior officers, with even shorter tempers than him, were already enraged.

His grab seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest. All the masked zhuodao junior officers were furious. With a shout, they charged forward to fight.

They didn't even see the dazhuodao give any orders...

*Whoosh!*

Some held knives, some held spears, some raised their hands and threw a handful of silver needles, some retreated behind the others and began silently burning incense and drawing talismans, and some grabbed bricks from the corner. In an instant, they rushed onto the banquet table, not caring who was sitting there, and smashed down on them, startling the Jianghu experts and forcing them to defend.

"How dare you!"

The elder with a long beard sitting in the seat of honor, Mister Liu from the south of Guazhou city, was a master swordsman. Seeing so many zougui xiaozhuodao being so reckless and fierce, he slammed his hand on the table, stood up, took a deep breath, and his chest visibly swelled. Then he shouted, and a beam of white light shot out of his mouth, heading straight for the four or five people in front of him.

It was his sword pellet technique, which he had cultivated for decades.

Unexpectedly, the zougui xiaozhuodao were also startled by his technique. They shouted and jumped aside, pushing someone who was retreating too slowly forward.

That person was wearing a goat mask, and he broke out in a cold sweat as he faced the sword light.

Suddenly, he violently lifted his mask halfway, revealing his mouth, and bit the flying sword.

The next moment, he hurriedly pushed the mask back down and mumbled, "Scared me to death..."

"Almost showed my face..."

"..."

"?"

Mister Liu was trembling with anger. "That's my flying sword! How many iron pills did I swallow, how many silver needles did I tie to my tongue to practice this technique?"

"I've been practicing for twenty years to only get these three sword lights, and you just swallowed one?"

"...You swallowed my flying sword, and you're only worried about showing your face?"

"..."

He was both shocked and annoyed, fueled by resentment, and took another deep breath, ready to spit out the second flying sword.

But before he could spit out the flying sword, something dark and gooey was slammed onto his face, salty, wet, and covering his mouth and face, forcing the flying sword back into his stomach.

Someone had grabbed a large bowl and smashed it onto his mouth, soup and all, forcing his second flying sword back down.

Before he could raise his hand to wipe it off, he was hit on the back of the head with a brick, and his eyes spun.

"How dare you, daring to run wild in the Yan residence?"

On the other side, Mother Li of Qiaoshou Hall was also furious. She reached behind her back and pulled out a series of paper cuttings from her waist pouch.

They were all paper figures of soldiers and horses cut from white and red paper. They flew into the air, swelled in the wind, wielded knives and swords, and shouted and killed.

They truly looked like an army, charging towards the strange group of zougui xiaozhuodao.

But among the xiaozhuodao, one person simply jumped out, wearing an ox mask. Facing the paper figures, he snorted from his nostrils, and two streams of green flames shot out from the nostrils of the mask, instantly burning the paper figures to ashes.

Mother Li was so shocked that her heart jumped into her throat and couldn't come down. "What kind of strange art is that that can break my magic?"

"Not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth, seeking death!"

On the other side, those who could sit at the same table as Master Yan were all extraordinary people, and they also began to act.

The Dharma Protector General under Iron Cage Wang was the most ferocious. Filled with anger, he suddenly pulled out an iron whip from his waist and swung it fiercely around him.

His swing was powerful and heavy. With the added strength from his shousui ren (year-guardian) status, he could probably split three or five people in half with this whip, possessing an unstoppable momentum.

But unexpectedly, the whip was only halfway through its swing when someone casually grabbed it with their hand, without any movement.

The other party curiously examined the whip, seeing that it was a good object filled with baleful aura. He immediately reached out and pulled, shouting, "Let go, give it to me!"

The Dharma Protector General was both shocked and angry, stunned on the spot, feeling like the iron whip was about to slip out of his hand. He desperately grabbed it, determined not to give it to him.

"How dare you, how dare you..."

Seeing the chaos break out, Master Yan was trembling with anger, both furious and feeling unexpectedly shocked, even a little frightened:

"Are these celestial beings descending to earth? Where did so many experts come from?"

"..."

He knew exactly how many experts there were in Guazhou's underworld. The most skilled were sitting at his table.

But the zougui underworld was notoriously declining. Where did all these zougui xiaozhuodao come from? They looked like they were fooling around, but each of them had unfathomable skills?

It seemed like any one of them was more skilled than the ones he had invited?

The most important thing was that among so many zougui xiaozhuodao, they seemed to be a motley crew, doing all sorts of things, but none of them looked like zougui at all...

"Good fellows..."

Hu Ma, the zougui dazhuodao wearing a smiling face mask, also found the scene lively and sighed inwardly.

"Don't drop the ball..."

Just then, a woman wearing a rat mask appeared beside him. Judging by her voice and figure, it was Miss Red Wine. She whispered:

"What kind of mess is this? That silly young master is really so generous, just handing out the title of junior officer so cheaply?"

"..."

Hearing the resentment in her words, Hu Ma could only smile awkwardly, thinking that even dogs wouldn't look down on this position, so there was no need to be so precise.

Miss Red Wine lazily reminded him, "I know you're holding this reward to first see the bottom line of these transmigrators, but they're also watching you!"

"After all, you're the initiator of this gathering. If you don't show off your skills and convince them, you probably won't be able to control them when the meeting starts."

"..."

"Understood!"

Hu Ma took a deep breath, the Fadao Daguan (Punishment Blade Great Official) in his arms unsheathed, squinted at the white-clothed scholar, and smiled: "It's almost midnight."