Chapter 98: Chapter 96: Trial of the Weird

Duan Xinghun spent several days carefully investigating the bottom of Bibo Lake.

After emerging, he told the Su Yang County Magistrate, Fang Jintai, "All traces of the Dragon Maiden are gone, and the depths are free of any anomalous aura. Su Yang City is relatively safe for now."

’Does that mean Su Yang City has become a livable city again?’

But soon after, Duan Xinghun’s tone shifted. "At the bottom of Bibo Lake," he continued, "what little remains of the Earth Vein Primordial Qi is still leaking out. Within a year or two, it will be completely depleted. When that happens, Su Yang may become a city fit only for mortals."

Indeed, without Earth Vein Primordial Qi, not even the lowest-level anomalies could spawn or survive, and demons would have no reason to come here.

And that went without saying for Cultivators.

Take Martial Artists, for instance. Before the Innate stage, they primarily focused on tempering their own Qi Blood, so their reliance on Earth Vein Primordial Qi was relatively low. But once they entered the Innate stage, Martial Artists also had to commune with heaven and earth, drawing upon the world’s Vitality, to have any hope of opening their Spiritual Acupoints and progressing further.

It was the same for Scholars. Without the nourishment of Vitality, their Talent could not extend beyond three inches—the length needed to manifest and strike down foes. Even if they were brimming with genius, they would be like dragons stranded in shallow water or trees without roots, their potential ultimately coming to naught.

As for those Cultivating Immortality, even less needed to be said.

Without Vitality, those Cultivating Immortality couldn’t advance a single inch!

Su Yang City might become a true mortal city—one with no Demon Fiends, no anomalies, and no Cultivators...

’What kind of world would that be?’

’How would the Great Zhou Court treat such a city?’

In the main hall of the County Magistrate’s Office, beneath the "Mirror Hung High" plaque, County Magistrate Fang Jintai glanced at his empty left sleeve.

The day the Flood Dragon was bled, Golden Dragon Blood had rained down. Fang Jintai, in his greed, had tried to collect some, only to have his left arm corroded away by the Golden Blood!

But what no one knew was that despite the cost of his arm, Fang Jintai had indeed managed to collect a single drop of the Golden Blood.

Not even Liu City God, who had shared in his hardships, was aware of this fact.

Duan Xinghun was also unaware of this. After reporting his findings, he used the "Mirror Hung High" plaque to transmit the information directly to Pinglan City.

Duan Xinghun then took his leave of Fang Jintai. The County Magistrate tried to persuade him to stay, but he couldn’t detain the esteemed disciple of Ye Lingguan.

A young Divinity Transformation Expert, ranked thirty-sixth on the Celestial Pride List—how could a mere Seventh Grade County Magistrate ever hope to match his stature?

After leaving the County Magistrate’s Office, however, Duan Xinghun didn’t exit the city. Instead, he walked alone into the streets of Su Yang.

His debate on the Dao with the Fox Demon had left a profound mark on Duan Xinghun. Even now, though he felt his Dao Heart slowly mending, the shock and doubt from that encounter still lingered deep within him, refusing to be smoothed over.

A thousand years was an incredibly long time, even for many Cultivators.

Unless one entered the Refining Spirit realm or became an Earth Immortal, even those in the Divinity Transformation Stage didn’t possess a thousand-year lifespan!

Thus, the young Duan Xinghun couldn’t truly determine who was right and who was wrong in the conflict between the Dragon Maiden and Xiao Hong.

But since he was already in Su Yang, he wanted to take a closer look. After being innocently entangled in this thousand-year feud between human and dragon, what had become of the city’s people?

So Duan Xinghun wandered through the desolate, decaying streets.

He saw a man tidying the facade of his shop. It was a clothier, but business was bleak, and the entrance was deserted.

The Shopkeeper glanced outside, sighed, and then turned back to meticulously wipe down the front counter with a cloth.

Something had left a small scratch on one corner of the counter. The Shopkeeper breathed on the spot and rubbed it, fussing over it for a long while, but the mark refused to disappear.

As Duan Xinghun walked past, he saw two men working together to carry a basket of rubble from around a street corner.

Both middle-aged men were drenched in sweat, clearly exhausted. They moved in silence, not exchanging a word.

Duan Xinghun also saw an old man with a white beard and hair sitting before his courtyard gate. He held a small charcoal brazier, his eyes fixed blankly on a half-toppled willow tree down the street.

The willow was half-withered, its branches broken and its leaves tattered. It was not a pleasant sight.

Yet the old man stared at it for a long time, his gaze unwavering.

Duan Xinghun paused for a moment before walking on.

Ahead, rows of gloomy buildings stretched on endlessly, but from a nearby alley, the sound of a little girl’s laughter suddenly echoed.

"One little ball, so round and bouncy, a kick sends stupid Jiujiu flying!"

"Jiujiu laughs, Jiujiu cries, Jiujiu opens its mouth, huffing and puffing..."

"Tee hee hee, Young Master Xu, you big shot! You’re so mad, aren’t you? But there’s nothing you can do..."

THUD!

Suddenly, there was the sound of a bouncing ball. As he rounded the corner, a disheveled, hairy orb flew through the air and slammed into the wall deep in the alley.

A faint, miserable cry emanated from the orb.

THWACK!

The orb hit the wall, fell to the ground, and rumbled to a stop at Duan Xinghun’s feet.

Duan Xinghun stopped in his tracks. Only then did he see it clearly. This was no orb. It was a grotesque human head with a tangled mess of hair!

An ordinary person would have been scared out of their wits, but Duan Xinghun, with his power and confidence, was unafraid.

He simply looked down. Amidst the head’s filthy, matted hair, a pair of desiccated eyes suddenly flared with brilliant light. Then, a weak voice trembled with utter, ecstatic surprise, "Save me..."

Little girls shrieked from deep within the alley.

Several semi-ethereal figures of little girls rushed out. They all had pallid skin and were dressed in garishly vibrant and ornate clothing.

They screamed as some rushed toward Duan Xinghun, yelling, "Bad man, trying to steal Nannan’s toy! Go away!"

Others rushed to "get the ball," shouting, "The ball is ours! Bad men can’t steal it!"

With a gentle flick of his Duster, the girls charging at Duan Xinghun seemed to pass right through a phantom image. It was as if they had hit him, yet they hadn’t.

As for the girls trying to "get the ball," they failed.

Duan Xinghun raised a finger. Thousands of white silks shot from his Duster, instantly ensnaring the head on the ground.

Wrapped in the Duster Silk, the head floated up behind Duan Xinghun. Then, with a shift of his Finger Technique, even more silks shot out in all directions.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

All the girls running about—whether at the mouth of the alley or deep within it—were tightly bound by the Duster Silks.

As if flying kites, Duan Xinghun pulled his string of "things" along and, in a flash, vanished into the earth.

’Why into the earth?’

Because he sensed that the source of these anomalies lay deep underground.

With Su Yang City’s Earth Vein Primordial Qi dissipating and the Dragon Maiden gone without a trace, all other Demon Fiends should have either fled or, if they were anomalies trapped in their place of origin, grown progressively weaker.

Yet these ones seemed different.

Therefore, Duan Xinghun decided to take both sides of this bizarre encounter underground to hear their stories before deciding how to act.

’The affair between the Dragon Maiden and Xiao Hong was indeed one where right and wrong were hard to distinguish. But is everything in the world like that?’

’Can’t some things be clear-cut, black and white?’

In Pinglan City, Song Ciwan had a busy day. She found a small, private courtyard in Shanren Square to serve as her temporary residence. Midway through her errands, she had also switched identities, taking on the appearance of a down-and-out young man named Mu Dalang to secure a job as a Demon Cleaner at the city’s Demon Refining Platform.

The Demon Refining Platform was a Government Office institution, and practically every city had one.

Even though Song Ciwan had left Su Yang, she had no intention of giving up her job as a Demon Cleaner.

’If possible, I’d be willing to quietly wash demons at the Demon Refining Platform for a hundred, even a thousand years. What’s wrong with that?’

’Surviving by lying low until the end of time—now that’s real skill.’

As evening approached, Song Ciwan used Escape into the Night to return silently to her room at the inn.

She then changed back into her Xin Mian identity, went downstairs openly, and extended her stay at the inn for another month.

Despite extending her stay, Song Ciwan left the inn again in the middle of the night.

This time, holding her Big White Goose and having switched to her Song Xun identity, she silently returned directly to her new "home" in Pinglan City.

It was a small courtyard with two main buildings.

It was remarkably similar to her home in Su Yang, with one building serving as a hall and the other as a bedroom. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The bedroom building was divided by a Treasure Cabinet into an inner and outer chamber. The inner chamber served as both a bedroom and a Cultivation Room, while the outer was a sitting room.

In addition, there were two small side-rooms. One served as a woodshed and storage room, while the other was the kitchen.

Song Ciwan set the Big White Goose down, lit a lamp, and happily surveyed her new home. "See, Big White? Doesn’t this layout feel familiar? This is our new home now. You need to watch the house for me, understand?"

The Big White Goose puffed out its chest. Despite being drowsy in the dead of night, it did its best to liven up, flapping its wings and following Song Ciwan with a dignified waddle.

As it followed her around, it gradually grew more excited, with no further encouragement needed from Song Ciwan.

Then, at one point, it spotted a goose cage placed against the eastern wall of the main hall.

"HONK!" The Big White Goose abandoned all pretense of dignity and joyfully charged straight for the cage.

It dove right inside, and a moment later, its head poked back out of the entrance.

"HONK! HONK!" the Big White Goose squawked.

It was as if to say, ’This is my home now!’

Song Ciwan chuckled, walked over, and patted its head. "Alright, of course this is your home. Since you like it so much, go on and get some rest."

After telling the Big White Goose to rest, she returned to her bedroom.

Before Midnight arrived, she had to use up the day’s remaining trades on the Heaven and Earth Scale.