Behind him followed Long Yan'er, whose face was also full of helplessness at the moment.

After Wu Ba entered the door, he used his body to brace the continuously swaying cabin door.

Wang Daoxuan rushed to the porthole in three steps, pushed open the window board with one hand, glanced a few times, and said with a bitter smile, "Brother Yan, trouble has come."

Li Yan slowly stood up and went to the window to check.

The scene outside the window was hair-raising.

The broad pier foundation was already completely packed, with a dark mass of people bustling like a flowing ant colony, stretching as far as one's eye could see into the depths of the street.

Countless men, women, old and young, dressed in plain and fine clothes, were mixing together.

Some people were holding up crude cloth banners with "Divine Healer Reborn" and "Life-saving Bodhisattva";

Some were forcefully knocking on the ship's side, the screeching sound of nails scraping against the ship boards mixed within the shouts;

Some were holding sick and weak children, their faces gray and vomiting foam;

Some were carrying an elderly person, barely breathing, on door panels, the elder's limbs stiff, with strange green-purple fingerprints on the exposed skin...

One face after another, intertwined with despair and hope, completely blocked the pier.

Wave upon wave of noise rushed in through the narrow porthole:

"Living God, save us!"

"Young Hero Li! Please have mercy and look at my son!"

"My wife runs into guests every night..."

...

"The news of Young Master Yu's recovery spread too quickly."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Plus, two days ago, you showing off in the fog, subduing demons... The people of Yangzhou really take you as a true immortal saving them!"

"Hmm..."

Li Yan's gaze was calm, scanning over those faces of despair and fervor, but his heart was filled with doubt, "Something doesn't seem right, perhaps someone is stirring the pot."

Sha Lifei suddenly understood, "Someone's fanning the flames, what do they want to do?"

"Of course, to stall us!"

Li Yan lightly tapped the window ledge with his fingers and said in a deep voice, "Looking at the scene below the ship, such a gathering is absolutely not possible in a day. Yangzhou's pirate troubles have only lasted a few days, yet people from nearby regions are pouring in like a tide... Someone must be kicking up a storm to deliberately trap us at this Yangzhou River Port!"

"Most likely it's those demons colluding with the pirates, or Jianmu!"

Before the words settled, the pier erupted with even more intense noise.

"Make way, clear a path!"

The copper gong pierced through the air, swords clashing, the government officials shouting hoarsely to open the way, the originally impenetrable crowd split apart like being cleaved by a giant axe, forcefully tearing open a path.

Two teams of soldiers in gleaming armor stepped in ordered strides to disperse the people, a sedan chair of green wool directly arriving at the treasure ship's gangway.

The sedan curtain lifted, revealing a black-bearded official dressed in a brand-new fourth-rank cloud goose robe.

Following behind was a court official dressed in a vermilion Qilin robe.

The government officials boarded the ship to report, showing that it was Yangzhou's newly appointed Magistrate Lin Qiong and the imperial envoy Yuan Changqing.

"Young Hero Li."

The newly appointed magistrate Lin Qiong boarded the ship and got straight to the point, speaking in a deep voice, "The situation is urgent, there is an emergency message from Qiankun Academy here, the pirates are rampant, the region is in turmoil, the court hopes the Twelve Primordial Spirits will save the day, I hope you will act righteously and help us capture the culprit in Yangzhou soon and stabilize the people!"

The imperial envoy nodded slightly and took out a bronze scroll from his bosom.

It was the token from Qiankun Academy.

Seeing this, Li Yan was somewhat speechless, "The lord has prepared thoroughly."

The imperial envoy Yuan Changqing stroked his beard and said, "Young Hero Li, please don't take offense, I and Brother Yan are close friends, knowing this task is difficult, I heard the Twelve Primordial Spirits are also in Yangzhou, so I went to Qiankun Academy to request this item."

He is truly a sly old fox.

If it were just the court's order, Li Yan would most likely ignore it.

But with the Academy's command, plus Yan Jiuling's connection, it requires some consideration.

Seeing Li Yan still hesitating, Yuan Changqing hastily added, "This matter also received the Ministry of Rites' Lord Pei's approval, should the disasters be quelled, besides the Academy's reward, the court's secret treasury will also release two secret treasures."

"Oh?"

Li Yan slightly squinted his eyes, cupping his hands, "Since both the Magistrate and the imperial envoy trust me, how can Li refuse to comply? I ask both lords to return first, and allow me to discuss a plan with my fellow brothers."

After the two left, Li Yan looked at the harbor, once again congested below, immediately closed the window, and addressed everyone, "The situation has reached a point of no return; there's no avoiding it. Let's go along with their plan!"

"The enemy wants to trap me here, so we'll abide by their wishes. Old Sha, Sister Long, and I will stay in Yangzhou to attract attention. Daoist, you will lead Wu Ba and Brother Lv San to investigate the whereabouts of the Yangzhou Tripod."

His arrangements were indeed intricate.

Sha Lifei's various skills were more suitable for city activities, and with Long Yan'er, most of the strange and chaotic ailments could be resolved.

Wang Daoxuan, familiar with the Mystical Sect secrets, and with Wu Ba guarding, Lv San tracking, they could handle unexpected situations, and if they received news, the hawk could report back.

Everyone was well aware and did not question it.

Having arranged everything, Li Yan looked at the surging crowd outside and thought aloud, "We just arrived in Jiangnan, and it's already known to everyone. I'm afraid we won't find peace in the future."

"Since things are this way, let's make a big scene. Daoist, act secretly and be careful..."

......

Outside the cabin of the treasure ship, the voices were like boiling water.

The giant ship of the Lin Family had unexpectedly become Li Yan's main hall.

He spread the news and registered people one by one, and finally, the chaotic scene calmed down.

The first to come up was a man, carried up, bound with ropes, appearing insane.

Li Yan merely sniffed slightly, then pinched a mantra with his left hand, and softly chanted the scriptures of the North Emperor Exorcism Technique, gently touching the man's forehead.

The man's face was ash gray, but as Li Yan spoke "Decree to calm the town," he shivered intensely, then breathed heavily, the ash gray receding from his face, looking bewildered around him, "Where am I...?"

"Weak Yang spirit, declining divine energy, avoid going to graveyards in the future. Next!"

Li Yan didn't waste words, advising briefly and then sending the person away.

The second was a woman, eyes red as blood, nails filled with grime, desperately scratching her neck, something seemed to be moving beneath her skin.

Without Li Yan needing to say more, Long Yan'er shook her wrist, the silver chain lightly vibrating, and a grain-sized, colorful Gu worm silently crawled out, gently landing on her ear lobe.

The Gu worm's antennae lightly touched, and the woman's body suddenly stiffened, then "Wah," she spat out a puddle of wriggling black liquid waste, filled with grain-sized maggots...

Honestly, these were minor issues like being bewitched or inflicted with Gu.

Perhaps such things were difficult for local witches and wizards, but for them, they could be solved with a mere wave of the hand.

Meanwhile, Sha Lifei walked along the ship's edge carrying a firearm like a storytelling master, his voice booming, narrating vividly, "Folks, take a good look!"

"Just now, this old brother, in the daytime offering homage at his mother's grave, stepped on grave money mid-way; that was the soul-summoning paper for spirit passage, be cautious when you encounter it in the future..."

"And this sister-in-law! The Gu is not caused by humans but came from eating raw river fish, Gu worms enter the stomach, gnawing day and night, remember, river delicacies must be cooked thoroughly before eating!"

"Oh, this one is a fresh case, tell me, did you offend a woodworker..."

He narrated as if it were a storybook novel, unknowingly drawing all attention.

And amidst this uproar, Wang Daoxuan and the other two used the Escape Technique, stealthily disembarking from the other side, passing through the blockade chain at the Yangzhou Pier, boarding a small dinghy, unmooring quickly disappeared onto the river..."

The crowd gathered at the harbor, but had also been accumulating for a while.

Ordinary villagers rested after sunset, dwelling in densely populated areas, it was not so easy to come across unclean entities, so by sunset and dusk, most of the matters were resolved.

However, the harbor remained lively.

Civilians from the city clung on, demanding peace charms, along with those watching the spectacle, small vendors taking advantage to sell food, turning it into a small marketplace.

Seeing this, Li Yan didn't say much, just had the Lin Family Chef prepare a meal, leisurely having dinner.

"Brother Yan, what are you waiting for?"

Long Yan'er finally couldn't help but ask.

"Do I need to say?"

Sha Lifei took over, laughing, "We're the bait, of course, waiting for the fish to bite."

Saying this, he glanced outside the window, "So many people, we've seen them all, if they want to continue trapping us here, the person behind the scenes will inevitably make trouble."

"Once they act, a flaw will show!"