144: Chapter 144 Eastward Squad

Qin Ling stood on Zhuguang Reef, his gaze sweeping over the group of monsters selected to head to the eastern waters.

There were five monsters in total.

Aside from Bengbu the Clam Spirit, who was at the peak of the Second Rank, the remaining four monsters all possessed the strength of the Third Rank.

These four monsters were a Blue Crab, a Sea Turtle, a Starfish, and a Mantis Shrimp.

Looking at these five bizarre-looking creatures, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Wasn't the westward journey team in Journey to the West composed of five members?

Tang Seng, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse.

It was just that this team of monsters formed on Zhuguang Reef wasn't heading west, but rather heading east.

Bengbu rolled over from the sandy ground, its shell gap opened wide and its tongue held high.

Its voice carried an irrepressible eagerness to please.

"Lord Qinling, rest assured, this minor demon will certainly not fail Lord Qinling's expectations."

"This minor demon will find the gathering places of those monsters and then spread Lord Qinling's benevolence."

"We will build new shrines so that more minor demons of the East China Sea can be under Lord Qinling's protection."

"This minor demon will spread Lord Qinling's reputation across the entire East China Sea, letting every minor demon know that there is a deity in this East China Sea!"

The more it spoke, the more excited it became, its tongue dancing wildly in the seawater and its eyeballs shining brightly.

Facing Bengbu's flattery, Qin Ling had grown somewhat accustomed to it by now.

After finishing its flattery, Bengbu rolled across the sandy ground, curled its tongue, and climbed onto the Mantis Shrimp's back.

The Mantis Shrimp had a slender body, its segmented shell emitting a dark red luster, with two long antennae drifting in the seawater.

Bengbu lay flat on its back and said,

"Mantis Shrimp, let's go!"

Although Bengbu's strength was only at the peak of the Second Rank, because of Lord Qinling, the Mantis Shrimp—a Third Rank monster—simply carried Bengbu like this as it headed east.

The Blue Crab followed closely behind, its eight legs digging furiously into the sand, its shell bobbing up and down in the water.

The Sea Turtle paddled its four legs leisurely, while the Starfish extended and retracted its five arms rhythmically as it swam forward.

The Sea Turtle and Starfish looked like they were moving slowly, but their actual speed was quite fast.

The five monsters formed a crooked line and swam deeper into the East China Sea.

Qin Ling stood on Zhuguang Reef, watching the receding backs of those five monsters.

He raised his hand and pressed his fingers against his temples.

Seeing the sight of Bengbu riding the Mantis Shrimp made him feel even more that this monster team resembled those five fellows from Journey to the West.

But regardless, this monster team formed on Zhuguang Reef certainly had strength.

Aside from Bengbu, they were all uniformly Third Rank monsters.

Even the weakest Bengbu was at the peak of the Second Rank; a team like this shouldn't have any major problems heading east.

Qin Ling withdrew his gaze, and his golden figure also vanished from Zhuguang Reef.

The group of Second and First Rank minor demons still remaining in the shallow waters lay flat on the sand, watching the direction where the golden figure had disappeared.

...

Meanwhile,

east of Guanhai County lay Qingxi County.

The streets of the county town were somewhat narrower than those of Guanhai County, and the shops were not as imposing either, but the foot traffic was quite heavy.

People carrying shoulder poles, pushing carts, and leading children were all crowding along the streets as they walked.

The lanterns at the entrance of the restaurant had not yet been lit, and the tavern banners fluttered in the wind.

A sedan chair was being carried over from the other end of the street, its curtains deep blue and red tassels hanging from the roof.

Four sedan bearers paced themselves steadily, walking very firmly.

The sedan chair stopped at the entrance of the restaurant.

The curtain was lifted, and a hand reached out first.

Then a figure bent over as he walked out of the sedan chair, stood straight, straightened his collar, and smoothed his cuffs.

This person was around thirty years old, with a fair complexion, regular facial features, and three wisps of a long beard.

He wore a dark cyan official robe embroidered with egrets on the badge, a silver belt tied around his waist, and a black gauze official hat on his head.

From this official robe, one could tell that he was Magistrate Luo Tang of Qingxi County.

A waiter darted out from the restaurant door, his face piled with smiles, his waist bent even lower than the threshold, and his voice bright and clear.

"County Magistrate, sir, you have finally arrived. The private room upstairs has been prepared for you."

"It's the same old spot, the one facing the street."

Magistrate Luo Tang of Qingxi County nodded and strode toward the restaurant entrance.

The waiter followed closely behind, bowing submissively and leading the way.

Those sedan bearers carried the sedan chair to the mouth of the alley, rested, and squatted down by the base of the wall to wait.

The guests inside the restaurant lowered their heads when they saw that official robe, not daring to look too much.

Luo Tang did not look at them and followed the waiter upstairs.

He walked to the door of the private room, stopped, twitched the corner of his mouth, and then pushed open the door and entered.

Stepping into the private room, Luo Tang looked over and saw that three people wearing County Magistrate official robes were already seated around the Eight Immortals table by the window.

The County Magistrate of Qingxi County was Luo Tang, so where did these three come from?

But seeing these three people wearing County Magistrate official robes, Luo Tang grinned and said,

"Yo, everyone has arrived quite early."

He cupped his hands in greeting, his tone casual.

The man sitting by the window rolled his eyes, cast a sidelong glance at him, and spoke with an impatient tone.

"You're the one who is late!"

Luo Tang wasn't annoyed either; he walked over with a smile, sat down in the empty seat, and reached out to pour himself a cup of tea.

"I ran into quite a few carriages blocking the road on the way, which is why I'm late."

Luo Tang explained, lifting his teacup to take a small sip.

"Traffic jam? Why your Qingxi County has traffic jams, don't you know yourself?"

The man who had glanced sideways at Luo Tang licked his lips and continued,

"You're not eating enough commoners. When there are too many commoners, the roads get blocked."

"Take my Yongning County, for instance. I frequently eat commoners, so there are fewer and fewer of those commoners, and the roads are never blocked."

The person speaking was none other than Magistrate Wang Rengui of Yongning County, which was next to Guanhai County.

Hearing this, Luo Tang put down the teacup in his hand and retorted,

"Brother Wang, precisely because you eat so many commoners, the incense offerings you receive are the fewest."

Wang Rengui curled his lips and said lazily,

"It doesn't matter. As long as the incense offerings are enough for me to withstand the evil qi, I'm not going to go fight evil apparitions anyway."

"If an evil apparition comes, I'll just run. As for the commoners in Yongning County, let them die if they're supposed to die~"

Wang Rengui was still curling his lips, twirling the teacup in his hand, and wanted to tease Luo Tang a bit more.

A voice suddenly sounded from the corner of the private room, saying,

"Alright, the reminiscing is about enough here; it's time to discuss business."

The speaker was likewise a man wearing a County Magistrate's official robe.

He was Magistrate Zheng Yang of Pingshun County in Zhenhai Prefecture.

"You all know that the entire county town of Guanhai County was shrouded by an Evil Domain, but not long ago, that Evil Domain shattered."

"Yet the commoners inside Guanhai County are still alive, and there are even rumors spreading that the Evil Tree which opened the Evil Domain was killed."

"According to the news brought by those commoners, the one who killed the Evil Tree is a deity worshipped by a village, named Lord Qinling."

Hearing the three words Lord Qinling, Luo Tang, who was standing to the side, seemed to recall something as he said,

"Lord Qinling? Wasn't there a rumor before that that fellow Huang Zu was killed by Lord Qinling?"

"At that time, Lord Yin originally wanted to make a move against Lord Qinling, but he was transferred to Anqing Prefecture by an imperial decree."