120: Chapter 120 The Prefect Comes to Offer Incense

On the roof of Liuhe Village, Qin Yin and Qin Mo stood side by side, their gazes fixed intently on the direction of the county city to the north.

Looking from here, that Evil Tree was left with only a pitch-black silhouette, with bursts of golden light occasionally exploding across its canopy.

Being too far away, no sound could be heard, and they could only see those lights flashing beneath the dark red canopy of heaven.

Qin Yin and Qin Mo were certainly aware that it was Lord Qinling fighting against the Evil Tree.

Qin Yin's lips were pressed into a straight line, and her expression looked somewhat solemn.

A thought repeatedly spun in her mind that if she were stronger, she could accompany Lord Qinling to Guanhai County City.

Instead of staying far away in this Liuhe Village, unable to help Lord Qinling in the slightest.

"Do you think Lord Qinling will find us useless?"

Qin Yin suddenly spoke.

"Sister, Lord Qinling wouldn't think that."

Qin Mo shook his head.

Right at this moment, the curtain overhead split open.

Qin Yin's pupils shrank abruptly as she saw that layer of black curtain split open with a gap right down the middle.

The crack spread in all directions, and black fragments peeled off from the edges of the crack, turning into black powder in mid-air.

Sunlight leaked in through that crack, bright and shining, falling upon her face.

Qin Mo was startled by this scene, and the long spear in his hand almost slipped off the tiles.

He quickly gripped it tighter, and the shaft of the spear spun a full circle in his palm.

Tilting his head back, he saw that the crack was still expanding.

The sunlight grew more and more abundant and brighter, illuminating the sky that had been covered by the curtain for a long time until it was completely transparent.

Finally, the sky was completely revealed, a dazzling shade of blue.

Qin Mo turned his head to look at his sister, and Qin Yin also turned her head to look at her younger brother.

The two of them exchanged a glance without speaking, but both saw the exact same thing in each other's eyes.

Lord Qinling won!

Sunlight flooded the entire Liuhe Village, falling upon those half-collapsed roofs and upon the faces of the villagers walking out from their houses.

Qin Yin stood on the roof for a while longer, looking at that dazzlingly blue sky.

Then she turned around, jumped down from the roof, and landed on the muddy ground at the base of the courtyard wall.

Qin Mo followed behind, carrying his long spear on his shoulder, its spearhead flashing in the sunlight.

They had to rush back to Qin Family Village to offer a stick of incense to Lord Qinling!

Qilianshan sat on the bird's back, his eyes gazing intently down at Guanhai County City.

The Evil Tree had fallen; that Evil Tree whose branches blotted out the sky and whose roots occupied the entire Guanhai County died right before his eyes.

Yet evil spirits were clearly undying and indestructible!

It was not as if he had never fought against evil spirits; in fact, that very arm of his had been severed because of it.

The price of losing an arm made him all the more firmly believe the maxim "Evil spirits are undying and indestructible, and cannot be defeated by mortal might."

But what about now?

This Evil Tree collapsed right before his eyes.

The evil spirit died—not sealed away, not banished, not suppressed, but truly dead.

Moreover, this Evil Tree was no mere nobody; it was an evil spirit of the Five-Turn realm capable of deploying an Evil Domain.

Yet it still died!

Qilianshan's throat moved as his eyes stared straight at that golden figure still suspended in mid-air.

Qilianshan stared at that person's face, but he could not see it clearly; that mass of golden light veiled the person's features like a thin piece of gauze, leaving only a vague silhouette visible.

And the next moment, that golden figure vanished into mid-air.

Seeing the golden figure disappear, Qilianshan instantly grew nervous.

"Where else can I go to see Lord Qinling?"

Qilianshan turned his head to look at Pei Se sitting behind him.

Pei Se immediately reached out and pointed in a certain direction.

"Qin Family Village! Lord Qinling's temple is in Qin Family Village!"

Qilianshan did not hesitate, abruptly slapping the neck of the Ink-feather Stork.

The Ink-feather Stork beat its wings fiercely, darting rapidly toward the direction Pei Se pointed, the wind whistling past their ears.

Very soon, the Ink-feather Stork flew to Qin Family Village, its wings casting a shadow over the sky above Qin Family Village.

The villagers raised their heads and saw that giant bird with a wingspan of three zhang descending from above.

Several children playing at the mouth of the alley saw it first, pointing at the sky and shouting.

"Such a big bird!"

The villagers also came out of their houses, squinting as they stared at the approaching giant bird, their eyes full of vigilance.

The Ink-feather Stork landed on the open space at the entrance of the village, and the airflow stirred up by its wings rustled the leaves of the Old Locust Tree.

Pei Se jumped down from the bird's back, wearing dark red tight martial arts attire, with a row of wine gourds hanging from her waist.

As soon as she steadied herself, she saw the villagers pouring out from the alleys.

Seeing that the person who jumped down from the bird's back was Pei Se, the vigilance in the eyes of the villagers of Qin Family Village dissipated as well.

They all remembered how Pei Se had fiercely fought Huang Zu beside the village that day.

Seeing the villagers, Pei Se smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth curling up.

She waved at the little girl, who was momentarily stunned before letting go of the woman's hand, running over, and hugging Pei Se's leg tightly.

Qilianshan jumped down from the bird's back, supporting himself with his left hand on the bird's back, his empty right sleeve fluttering briefly in the wind.

Standing on the soil of the village, the scabbard at his waist bumped against the side of his leg with a soft sound.

Embroidered on his grayish-blue official robe were cloud geese, and the square patch was meticulously pressed against his chest.

The villagers who were greeting Pei Se swept their gazes across that figure, their pleasantries abruptly cutting off as their eyes shifted to look at that official robe, silver belt, and black gauze cap.

They did not recognize Qilianshan as a person, but they recognized that official robe.

The woman "peeled" the little girl off Pei Se's leg and pushed her behind herself.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang walked out from behind the crowd leaning on his cane, coming to a halt in front of Qilianshan.

He sized up the one-armed man before him, from that grayish-blue official robe to the silver belt, from that black gauze cap to the saber at his waist.

Then he cupped his fists, bowed, and said in a respectful tone.

"This official, this old man Qin Zongliang is the Village Chief of Qin Family Village. May I ask your esteemed name, sir, where you come from, and what business brings you to our humble village?"

Qilianshan looked at the white-haired old man before him and spoke directly.

"This official is Qilianshan, the newly appointed Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture."

The surrounding villagers who were still craning their necks and discussing stopped talking the moment they heard these words.

Many villagers gasped in a breath of cold air.

Goodness gracious!

The Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture?

They had never imagined that they would ever get to see a prefect in this lifetime!

The children did not know how high-ranking an official a prefect was, but they knew that someone who could suddenly make all the adults stop talking must be very important.

The little girl poked her head out from behind the woman, looked at Qilianshan's empty sleeve, tilted her head for a moment, and then pulled her head back in.

Hearing that he was the prefect, Qin Zongliang's knees had already bent downward.

The surrounding villagers behind him also bent down along with him, their knees getting closer and closer to the ground.

"There is no need."

Qilianshan's voice sounded, abruptly halting those bending knees.

Qin Zongliang's knees stopped mid-air—neither bending nor straightening.

The villagers behind him also froze there accordingly.

Qilianshan looked at them, shook his head, and said.

"This official has come here to offer incense to Lord Qinling, not to receive formal greetings."