Chapter 10 Eliminating Evil and Protecting the People

"Of course we're going—to slay demons, eliminate the violent, and protect the peaceful!" Xue Xichang laughed heartily, appearing both heroic and true to his nature.

Jiang Chen looked at Xue Xichang; the more he looked at him, the more he resembled Yan Chixia!

He almost wanted to ask: Is there also a demon here called the Old Demon of Black Mountain?

"Second Senior Brother, I'll be taking Junior Brother down the mountain now." Xue Xichang gave a Daoist salute.

"Let's go, Junior Brother."

"Wait, let me grab some things first." Jiang Chen scurried back to his meditation room.

When he emerged again, his waist was bulging with supplies.

Xue Xichang stared in daze. "Junior Brother, what exactly do you have stuffed around your waist?"

Jiang Chen pulled a handful of Talismans from his robe and grinned. "Senior Brother, these are the Talismans I drew myself! Just in case they're needed."

Xue Xichang laughed. "Junior Brother, although my skills aren't as formidable as Eldest Senior Brother or Second Senior Brother, keeping you safe won't be a problem."

Jiang Chen shook his head. "If they aren't needed, once we're down the mountain, I'll see if any families need them and sell a few. It'll earn some silver, keep them safe, and allow me to verify the Spells I've learned. It's like killing three birds with one stone."

Xue Xichang gave Jiang Chen a deep look and gave him a thumbs up. "Junior Brother has such high Daoist nature; no wonder Revered Master broke the rules to take you as his Last Disciple."

"Last Disciple?" Jiang Chen was puzzled.

"That's right. After taking in Second Senior Brother, Revered Master told me and your Fourth Senior Brother that he would no longer take any more Personal Disciples, which is why we could only be Named Disciples. However, the old man broke his own rule for you."

Speaking of this, Xue Xichang felt a faint touch of envy.

However, he was a man who could let things go, and he quickly brushed off that bit of sorrow.

After descending the mountain, the two followed the mountain path all the way to Huangshan Village at the foot of the mountain.

"Junior Brother, this place is called Huangshan Village. I've been here once before; the villagers are warm, hospitable, and very simple-hearted."

Sometimes when Maoshan Sect Disciples went down the mountain, they would stop at this village to rest.

However, before they even reached Huangshan Village this time, Xue Xichang noticed something was wrong.

"Huh? Why is the Corpse Qi so heavy in this Huangshan Village?"

Jiang Chen glanced at Xue Xichang. Ye Fashan had told him that Xue Xichang's specialty was Spells involving Ghost-Binding and Corpse-Commanding. Seeing him now, he was indeed extraordinary.

"Let's go take a look." The two walked forward. Upon entering Huangshan Village, they found white lanterns hanging everywhere and white paper money scattered about.

Xue Xichang stopped a passing elderly man.

"Old uncle, has something happened in the village recently?"

The old man looked at Xue Xichang's Daoist robes and almost knelt on the spot; fortunately, Xue Xichang caught him.

"Immortal Revered Master, our village has not been at peace lately. Something filthy has appeared!"

The old man was emotional, his voice trembling and stuttering.

Jiang Chen quickly took out a Soul-Calming Talisman, stuck it on the old man's back, and patted him. "Old uncle, take your time. What exactly is going on?"

The old man's emotions calmed down instantly. He slowly began his tale: "A few days ago, something filthy came to our village. At first, it just ate some chickens and ducks. The villagers thought it was just a weasel."

"Later, that thing started eating cows and sheep. Everyone began to panic, thinking a tiger had come, but they searched the whole village and couldn't find it."

"And then, this thing started eating people!"

At this point, the old man's emotions surged again, filled with an inexplicable terror.

However, with the Soul-Calming Talisman in place, he soon steadied himself again.

"Over ten people in the village have been bitten to death by it. This thing is incredibly fierce. But strangely enough, it doesn't eat the meat; it only drinks the blood. Any person or animal bitten to death by it ends up looking like air-dried bacon!"

Jiang Chen was startled. Having seen many of Master Lin's movies, he naturally understood what kind of thing he had encountered.

A Zombie!

"Did no one report this to the authorities?" Jiang Chen asked.

The old man said with a long face, "We reported it long ago, but Liu the Third, who went to report it, hasn't returned yet. We haven't seen any sign of the officials."

Xue Xichang snorted coldly. "Nothing but a bunch of people occupying positions they don't deserve!"

"Don't worry. Now that we brothers are here, we won't let this evil entity harm the common people any longer."

The old man was so grateful he tried to kneel and kowtow again, but Xue Xichang stopped him.

"Senior Brother, how could there be a Zombie at the foot of Maoshan?"

Not to mention that Maoshan was a Daoist Holy Land where pure Qi manifested and numerous Ancestral Masters provided protection, it simply wasn't suitable soil for a Zombie to survive.

Moreover, Maoshan Disciples frequently traveled up and down the mountain and would eliminate any evil they encountered along the way.

"Yes, this is indeed strange. Zombies can only be formed in places of extreme Yin and cold. We'll talk more once we've slain this Zombie."

When the villagers learned that two Daoist Revered Masters with profound skills had arrived, they all offered warm hospitality.

They even slaughtered a young lamb, which made Jiang Chen feel both slightly overwhelmed by the favor and deeply honored.

Jiang Chen didn't want to accept the villagers' hospitality for nothing. Although they were going to help Huangshan Village eliminate the Zombie, slaying demons was the duty of Maoshan Sect Disciples. Even if the village had been cold and rude, it wouldn't have stopped their resolve to eliminate the evil.

In exchange, Jiang Chen gave every household in the village a Ninth-Grade Evil-Expelling Talisman.

Regardless, Evil-Expelling Talismans were what he drew most often, so he didn't feel any sting in giving them away.

Jiang Chen asked Xue Xichang when they would eliminate the Zombie. Xue Xichang said, "Based on their description, this Zombie should still be a common Green Zombie. It fears sunlight and can only come out at night. We'll wait for evening. During the day, the Yang Qi is vigorous, and any trace of Corpse Qi is burned away by it."

At dusk, the two brothers were preparing to head out.

However, at that very moment, a group of uninvited guests arrived outside the village.

It was a group of young people in fine clothes on spirited horses, each carrying a saber or sword, looking every bit like Jianghu heroes.

"Brother Zhao, it's getting late. Why don't we take a short rest here?" one of the young men asked the leader.

The leader was named Zhao Hong, the legitimate son of a wealthy family from Jurong County. However, since he loved the Jianghu by nature, he had become a Wandering Knight with this group.

Their martial arts were decent, and they were determined to make a name for themselves in the Jianghu.

Zhao Hong looked at the village. The sky wasn't completely dark yet, but there was very little sign of life in the village, which felt a bit eerie.

"Very well, we'll rest in the village and ask for some soup and food."

Just then, they saw two Daoists walking out of the village.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen and his companion, the group of Wandering Knights looked at each other, then dismounted in unison and cupped their hands toward them. "Greetings, Daoist Revered Masters."

"Are you two Revered Masters also here to rest?" Zhao Hong asked.

In the current era, the Emperor placed great trust in both Buddhism and Daoism, and the world held them in high esteem. Consequently, the status of monks and Daoists was not low.

Jiang Chen glanced at these people and noticed their temples were slightly bulging, indicating their martial arts were likely quite good.

However, there were no fluctuations of True Qi on them; clearly, they were just ordinary people.

He said, "You should not linger in this village. There is a man-eating Zombie inside right now."

Jiang Chen originally intended to scare them away, but to his surprise, as soon as the group heard there was a man-eating Zombie in the village, their eyes lit up.