Early in the morning, after having breakfast at home, Ao Qian hurried over to the Liu family to do her lessons with Liu Qingquan.
Zen Master Dejie left with Ao Jin in the morning. After greeting Lu Zheng at the entrance to Leping Building, he departed on his own.
As for Old Master Wang, who had come to Leping Building to listen to stories, he still naturally greeted the two. “Young Master Lu! Master Yu!”
Lu Zheng turned and saw that Ao Jin was maintaining his true appearance.
Ao Jin smiled faintly. “Except for you all, others still see me as Yu Jinbo.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “The Dragon King’s mana is profound. I did not even notice.”
Moreover, it was clear that Wang Xiaowan had not told her family about Ao Jin’s identity.
That was good.
Ao Jin also naturally returned Old Master Wang’s greeting. The three then entered the building together.
“I heard the city god manifested yesterday!”
As soon as they sat down in the building and heard the bustling discussions around them, Old Master Wang could not hold back. “A malicious entity caused harm. The city god manifested to exorcise the ghost. I heard a wandering eminent monk passing through also lent aid. The two worked together to slay the ghost!”
As he spoke, Old Master Wang gave Lu Zheng a subtle “I understand” wink.
Lu Zheng: “…”
Lu Zheng sighed, leaned close to Old Master Wang, and whispered, “Did Xiaowan tell you?”
“Xiaowan only told me a Netherworld ghost appeared and an extremely powerful old monk showed up to help you all,” Old Master Wang also whispered. “Since we cannot mention you, I spread it as the city god and the old monk.”
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up. “Exactly! That is precisely it!”
Old Master Wang beamed, believing he knew the truth, then cheerfully bragged to those nearby.
“Let me tell you, my daughter happened to be offering incense at the city god temple at the time. She saw it clearly. The ghost was over a zhang tall, with a blue face and fangs like a rakshasa. It fought the city god until heaven dimmed and earth darkened, inseparable. Just then, an old monk bathed in golden light suddenly descended from the sky. He chanted sutras beside the city god, making the evil ghost dizzy and bound hand and foot. Finally, the city god beheaded it with one strike.”
“Nonsense. Your daughter was probably scared unconscious. My nephew told me it was not a ghost but a demon—a fox demon. He even saw the fox demon’s tail. An old monk chased the fox demon to the city god temple. In the end, the city god lent aid and captured the fox demon!”
“You are both wrong. I was closest to the city god temple. It was a Daoist true person subduing demons. I heard peals of thunder. The golden light and thunder grew stronger one after another. It must have been a high master from a sect skilled in thunder methods!”
As they argued, each insisting on their version, none yielding—after all, they were all men of means.
Only when the storyteller took the stage did they huff and stop, sipping tea to soothe their throats and calm down, ready to enjoy leisurely.
“Pa!”
The gavel struck. The storyteller’s eyes gleamed. “Yesterday, we left off with Scholar Wang and his wife seeking help at the city god temple. By coincidence, an anomaly appeared at our Tonglin County’s city god temple yesterday afternoon. It so happened I was passing by on business, so I quietly slipped into the temple and witnessed the whole affair clearly!”
Lu Zheng: “…”
Yesterday they had fought right in the city god temple. With great powers like Zen Master Dejie and Ao Jin present, they might go undetected. But could an ordinary storyteller like him escape their notice?
Or rather, could he breach the illusion array around the city god temple and Shen Ying’s peach blossom sha array to reach the battlefield?
As an aside, the city god temple itself was shrouded in an illusion array. Normally, the outside world detected nothing within. Yesterday’s commotion was simply too great, with the combatants too powerful, so traces of ghost qi, thunder methods, Buddhist light, and more faintly broke through the illusion, manifesting anomalies outside.
However…
Once the storyteller spoke, the crowd below grew excited and began heckling.
“Tell us quickly!”
“What exactly happened?”
“Did the city god display great divine might?”
“Was it a ghost or a fox demon?”
“Was there a monk? A daoist?”
“Pa!”
The storyteller struck the gavel again. “While the one Buddhist and one Daoist fought fiercely with the evil ghost and fox demon, they revealed the inner details. So after organising it overnight, today I shall share it with you all!”
“Ah? Evil ghost? Fox demon?”
“One Buddhist and one Daoist?”
“All of them?”
“Pa!” The gavel struck.
“Precisely!” The storyteller said vividly. “As the saying goes:
Evil ghosts lack mercy, yet humans have feeling,
Fox demons’ true love moves the heart.
An eminent Buddhist monk subdues with dharma,
A Daoist true person wields thunder.
Ladies and gentlemen, listen as I recount one by one…”
Then followed a tale beginning with a fox demon falling in love with a scholar.
Next, an evil ghost caused mischief, concealing itself from the fox demon to drain the scholar’s yang qi. A Buddhist eminent monk discovered it and mistook the fox demon. A Daoist true person noticed the anomaly and intervened.
Finally, with the city god’s aid, they saw through the evil ghost’s true form. The Buddhist monk and Daoist true person assisted in subduing it. Then the fox demon and scholar returned safely.
A happy ending for all!
“Pa pa pa!”
The crowd applauded. The storyteller’s tale perfectly matched what they imagined.
Lu Zheng also clapped vigorously below the stage. “Well told! Exactly so. Reward!”
Old Master Wang glanced sideways, thinking Lu Zheng’s acting was truly superb. If he did not know the truth, he might have been fooled too.
“By comparison, someone like Master Yu who knows nothing is truly blessed!” Old Master Wang sighed, watching “Yu Jinbo” clap with a satisfied expression, then tipped the storyteller another half guan of money.
…
Lu Zheng speechlessly watched Ao Jin leisurely head to Cong’an Lane again. Your identity is exposed—why keep pretending?
But when he returned home at noon, he found Ao Jin and his wife already at the Liu family.
After lunch, Ao Yi accompanied little Ao Qian with her lessons. Ao Jin called Lu Zheng into the study and casually tested his cultivation.
…
Thus passed three days. Everyone gathered for meals, watched plays, admired snow, ate hotpot. Early on the fourth day, Ao Jin and Ao Yi departed.
They rarely left the East Sea. Now that identities were revealed and they had seen Ao Qian, they planned to tour Great Jing in the remaining time, viewing mountains and rivers, visiting old friends.
“We will return before the New Year. Then everyone can go to the East Sea together for the festivities and see the East Sea scenery.”
Those were Ao Jin’s exact words. Then he took Ao Yi, along with maids, servants, coachmen, and carriages, vanishing from sight.
“Oh, right. The large mansion north of the city and the shops in Cong’an Lane have been transferred to little Lu’s name. Take time to accept them.”
Lu Zheng: “…”
Everyone: “…”
