“Did he really say that?” the County Magistrate asked.
“He did, sir. He said he didn’t know how to read, but he had told me earlier that his cooking skills were learnt from a cookbook” Officer Liu reported.
The County Magistrate chuckled and asked: “What do you think is going on?”
“This subordinate doesn’t know either” Officer Liu said.
The County Magistrate stroked the bow in his hand and casually said: “As soon as he arrived, he volunteered to donate all of his bounty rewards, he was also an obedient person, as well as a considerate one. Most likely, he had purposely said that for you to not feel awkward”
Officer Liu sighed: “His archery was truly impressive. Even I felt a bit shocked when I saw it on the riverbanks”
The County Magistrate sounded surprised: “Distorting arrows isn’t an uncommon technique, so why do you feel that he’s impressive?”
Officer Liu wondered for a while before finally answering: “I don’t know either. I just felt like his killing intent was so heavy that I felt a chill”
The County Magistrate pondered this matter.
Even now when everyone’s strength has been limited, this person could still cause old Liu to feel shaken.
That’s not a simple matter.
The County Magistrate mused: “Then it seems his original strength was quite considerable—— perhaps I should join your banquet tonight as well”
“Understood, sir” Officer Liu said.
…
At another location.
A small courtyard house.
Gu Qing Shan had taken out the Reincarnation Gloomy Orchid and activated [Moon Invitation]
Lines of bright red text appeared in front of him:
[Because the living beings connected to you are all still in slumber, you cannot specify any individual to summon]
[One living being with relations to you will be randomly awakened and manifested here]
[They will lose all of their powers, keeping only one ability]
All the bright red text then disappeared.
A thin line of bright red light descended in front of Gu Qing Shan and opened to both sides like a gate.
A mature man of over 50 years old appeared.
His facial expressions were profound, his gaze filled with maturity and vicissitudes, currently wearing an expensive black suit with a cigarette in his mouth and a number of gem-ornate rings on his finger.
——a dandy old man.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his image shattered like glass:
“What the hell!? I was still studying the mysteries of androgyny during my slumber, why did you suddenly wake me up?”
Seeing the other party, Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but sigh.
“Liu Xing, long time no see” he greeted him.
“Long time no see. Don’t worry, everything in the home world is completely fine, your brother has been watching over it in your stead” Liu Xing said.
Indeed, this person was the most famous scientist of the Confederate who faked his death to avoid the Nine Lords’ pursuit and fled into space, Liu Xing.
Afterwards, he was ‘persuaded’ by Gu Qing Shan to return and worked with him on more than one occasion.
Liu Xing offered a cigarette to Gu Qing Shan.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t accept it, so he started smoking it himself.
After Gu Qing Shan had finished explaining the circumstances, Liu Xing appeared interested: “Although you’ve forgotten a lot of things, I can infer from your current state that all you Chosen Saints have gotten your powers sealed away, with only your original bodies and some basic abilities remaining”
“That’s right” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Speaking of this, he felt a bit grateful to Lin.
Not only was the martial scripture that Lin taught him quite mysterious, it was also exceptionally powerful. As long as one recited it before each cultivation session, one would continuously strengthen their body and improve their comprehension of martial arts.
He had never skipped out on reciting this martial scripture even once.
“I’ve left our home world for too long——- which cultivation realm are you currently at?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“Rejuvenation realm” Liu Xiu answered.
Gu Qing Shan was surprised: “That can’t be, you’re an accomplished scientist, your thought process should already be meticulous with peerless comprehension, you should have gotten into cultivation much quicker compared to anyone else”
Liu Xing’s face became a bit embarrassed and answered: “In truth, I originally wanted to catch up to you, but when I reached Rejuvenation realm, my lifespan was already a few thousand years and my body had gotten much healthier, so I couldn’t hold myself back”
“What did you do?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
Liu Xing seemed to be thinking about something and answered: “I’m the entire world’s leading scientist y’know, there are countless beauties who want to get close to the bleeding edge technology through me, there are long-haired, lively, big-eyed, thin hips, black stockings, matured, graceful, pure—— tsk tsk, I’ve already achieved my life’s goal”
Gu Qing Shan rubbed his temples and asked: “Didn’t you already have a lot of children?”
“Life is about continuing to strive forward and always be ready to face new challenges” Liu Xing shrugged.
Gu Qing Shan stared straight at him, almost ready to kick him back.
But [Moon Invitation] wasn’t something that could be used as he wished, it could only be activated once per day.
With that in mind, Gu Qing Shan asked directly:
“Old Liu, I’ve already informed you of the situation, do you have anything you can help me with?”
Liu Xing mused: “After you guys left, I’ve done some more research on Warp Bombs, I have a few of them with me here, enough to blow up a few planets”
“…No need, I want something that’s a little bit smaller in caliber” Gu Qing Shan said.
“How small?” Liu Xing asked.
“Enough to blow a structure that’s about two football fields in size” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Liu Xing asked: “—-That small? I don’t have anything like that at hand, the only one that would barely fit your need is a time bomb”
Gu Qing Shan said: “Give it to me, then you can go back to sleep”
Liu Xing hurriedly said: “Wait a minute! Let me stroll around this world a bit, I want to take a look at this world’s native characteristics”
Gu Qing Shan said: “You actually just want to see the women of this world, don’t you?”
Liu Xing awkwardly replied: “Ahaha, old Gu, you understand me well”
“—–Give me the bomb” Gu Qing Shan put out his hand.
“Here”
“Alright, bye bye”
Gu Qing Shan dispelled [Moon Invitation].
Liu Xing’s figure vanished from the courtyard as if he had never been here in the first place.
But Gu Qing Shan now had a square-shaped bomb that he didn’t possess before in his hand.
Gu Qing Shan was originally a mechanical scientist as well, so he put out a bit of time to study the bomb’s structure.
“A relatively perfect mechanical construct——- why would such a talented person let his progress be stopped by women? I really don’t understand”
He sighed, put the bomb into his bag, then left the courtyard house with his bow and blade.
…
Sunset.
The lanterns had just been lit.
The entire restaurant was lively like never before.
This couldn’t be helped, as the County Magistrate himself was participating in today’s banquet, the scale might be completely different from normal and the entire restaurant had been bought out.
Big merchants all kept their heads lowered without looking up, their gifts and red packets were all ready to be offered one by one.
Before the banquet, all the higher officials no longer kept their stern expressions and were happily gambling away.
The County Magistrate had also let go of his usual pride and enjoyed his tea with a smile.
Some girls with mundane beauty were all smiling as best as they could, trying to hide the nervousness in their expressions to serve the officials while also enduring the small bits of sexual harassment from them.
Without anyone noticing, it was time for the banquet.
The dishes had all been prepared.
The County Magistrate was the first to stand up.
The gambling immediately stopped, everyone hurriedly invited the County Magistrate to the host seat.
“Where is Officer Gu?”
The County Magistrate casually asked.
Officer Liu answered: “I think he still hasn’t arrived, perhaps still sleeping. Let me go fetch him”
“Very well, let us begin the banquet first” the County Magistrate declared.
Suddenly, a deafening bang resounded across the world.
The entire restaurant was shaken, causing quite a few cups of liquor and tea to fall.
Everyone was startled and panicked.
Not too far away in the sky, a bright red glow could be seen illuminating the night sky.
Fire and smoke were intertwined with one another, swirling towards the sky like a ferocious beast.
——fetch water!
This was everyone’s first reaction.
The County Magistrate’s expression then changed.
All the officials also became pale.
That direction——–
The administration office!
“Everyone, return with me!” the County Magistrate shouted.
“Yes!”
Everyone hurriedly ran downstairs and headed straight for the administration office.
In no time at all, they had all arrived.
Other than a few surrounding walls that had been charred, the entire admiration office had already been levelled.
The fire continued to burn.
Thick smoke swirled all the way to the sky.
One person was already standing with his arms crossed in front of the administration office, wielding a bow in his hand while looking at the group.
“Officer Gu! Did you see what happened here!?” the County Magistrate loudly shouted in question.
Gu Qing Shan happily laughed.
He looked at the fire and smoke behind him and explained with an introductory tone: “I saw everything. It was actually like this——-”
“I just blew up the administration office”
The County Magistrate suddenly halted his steps.
Everyone else’s expressions also changed.
“How dare you!” the County Magistrate furiously shouted.
Gu Qing Shan waved his hand dismissively: “No need to be worried sir, I’ve already collected all the seals that the royal capital distributed to the various villages”
Everyone sighed in relief.
The County Magistrate suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, questioning: “Gu Qing Shan, what exactly are you doing?”
“Nothing much. I’ve been travelling along various mountain villages so I ran into wraiths very frequently. And I discovered traces of the wraiths in the administration office” Gu Qing Shan replied.
——wraiths?
For some reason, a cold gust of wind suddenly blew past them.
Gu Qing Shan was standing in front of a collapse wall, constantly exuding an unseen suffocating eeriness.
Everyone couldn’t help but recall the day he arrived and breathed in a cold gasp.
That day, Gu Qing Shan came in from afar and stood in front of the administration office with nine severed heads in his hands.
“So you’re saying that there were wraiths in the administration office?” the County Magistrate asked with a grim expression.
“Yes” Gu Qing Shan answered.
“Where are those wraiths then? Don’t tell me you blew them up?” the County Magistrate coldly mocked.
Gu Qing Shan appeared a bit troubled: “I didn’t, but it’s fortunate that I’m about to blow them out of hiding”
“What do you mean?” the County Magistrate questioned.
Gu Qing Shan explained: “I’ve done some investigations and found that none of the villages in a hundred-mile radius around the city is being protected by a seal, causing monsters to constantly attack them. Being driven by fear, everyone had no choice but to come to the county city in search of a roundabout way to survive”
“So after this, I’m going to head to each and every village in order to release the seals, anchoring the Five Elements there to ensure their safety”
He patted the bag on his waist and curtly continued: “Every seal represents the lives of countless innocent people, and lives are bigger than heaven itself—— I believe that only wraiths in human skin would come out to stop me at this urgent point in time”
Complete silence.
No one said a single word.
So this was what he meant.
The County Magistrate’s expression trembled intensely as he started to exude immense killing intent.
“Gu Qing Shan, you have a death wish” the County Magistrate said.
“The only ones who will die here today are wraiths, anyone who’s still human will live” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The Officers, servants, as well as officials exchanged glances.
Several people sighed, then retreated far away.
The County Magistrate’s expression changed again.
“Get me my bow” he ordered.
The bow was quickly brought to him.
The County Magistrate grasped the bow tightly and shouted: “All men, forward! Anyone who kills him will get a big reward!”
“Yes sir!”
Everyone rushed forward straight at Gu Qing Shan.
The County Magistrate stood behind everyone else, slowly waiting for an appropriate chance to attack.
Gu Qing Shan tossed the bow aside and tightly grasped the blade.
While standing still, he stared straight at the group of people and muttered to himself:
“One-directional yet unbeatable… I can kind of sense the joy of using a blade”
“…When it comes to killing wraiths, I definitely like it”
