âDid he really say that?â the County Magistrate asked.
âHe did, sir. He said he didnât know how to read, but he had told me earlier that his cooking skills were learnt from a cookbookâ Officer Liu reported.
The County Magistrate chuckled and asked: âWhat do you think is going on?â
âThis subordinate doesnât know eitherâ Officer Liu said.
The County Magistrate stroked the bow in his hand and casually said: âAs 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 awkwardâ
Officer Liu sighed: âHis archery was truly impressive. Even I felt a bit shocked when I saw it on the riverbanksâ
The County Magistrate sounded surprised: âDistorting arrows isnât an uncommon technique, so why do you feel that heâs impressive?â
Officer Liu wondered for a while before finally answering: âI donât know either. I just felt like his killing intent was so heavy that I felt a chillâ
The County Magistrate pondered this matter.
Even now when everyoneâs strength has been limited, this person could still cause old Liu to feel shaken.
Thatâs not a simple matter.
The County Magistrate mused: âThen it seems his original strength was quite considerableââ perhaps I should join your banquet tonight as wellâ
âUnderstood, sirâ 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.
ââa dandy old man.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his image shattered like glass:
âWhat the hell!? I was still studying the mysteries of androgyny during my slumber, why did you suddenly wake me up?â
Seeing the other party, Gu Qing Shan couldnât help but sigh.
âLiu Xing, long time no seeâ he greeted him.
âLong time no see. Donât worry, everything in the home world is completely fine, your brother has been watching over it in your steadâ Liu Xing said.
Indeed, this person was the most famous scientist of the Confederate who faked his death to avoid the Nine Lordsâ pursuit and fled into space, Liu Xing.
Afterwards, he was âpersuadedâ 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 didnât accept it, so he started smoking it himself.
After Gu Qing Shan had finished explaining the circumstances, Liu Xing appeared interested: âAlthough youâve 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 remainingâ
âThatâs rightâ 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.
âIâve left our home world for too longââ- which cultivation realm are you currently at?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
âRejuvenation realmâ Liu Xiu answered.
Gu Qing Shan was surprised: âThat canât be, youâre an accomplished scientist, your thought process should already be meticulous with peerless comprehension, you should have gotten into cultivation much quicker compared to anyone elseâ
Liu Xingâs face became a bit embarrassed and answered: âIn 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 couldnât hold myself backâ
âWhat did you do?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
Liu Xing seemed to be thinking about something and answered: âIâm the entire worldâs leading scientist yâknow, 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, pureââ tsk tsk, Iâve already achieved my lifeâs goalâ
Gu Qing Shan rubbed his temples and asked: âDidnât you already have a lot of children?â
âLife is about continuing to strive forward and always be ready to face new challengesâ Liu Xing shrugged.
Gu Qing Shan stared straight at him, almost ready to kick him back.
But [Moon Invitation] wasnât 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:
âOld Liu, Iâve already informed you of the situation, do you have anything you can help me with?â
Liu Xing mused: âAfter you guys left, Iâve done some more research on Warp Bombs, I have a few of them with me here, enough to blow up a few planetsâ
â...No need, I want something thatâs a little bit smaller in caliberâ Gu Qing Shan said.
âHow small?â Liu Xing asked.
âEnough to blow a structure thatâs about two football fields in sizeâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
Liu Xing asked: ââ-That small? I donât have anything like that at hand, the only one that would barely fit your need is a time bombâ
Gu Qing Shan said: âGive it to me, then you can go back to sleepâ
Liu Xing hurriedly said: âWait a minute! Let me stroll around this world a bit, I want to take a look at this worldâs native characteristicsâ
Gu Qing Shan said: âYou actually just want to see the women of this world, donât you?â
Liu Xing awkwardly replied: âAhaha, old Gu, you understand me wellâ
âââGive me the bombâ Gu Qing Shan put out his hand.
âHereâ
âAlright, bye byeâ
Gu Qing Shan dispelled [Moon Invitation].
Liu Xingâs 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 didnât 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 bombâs structure.
âA relatively perfect mechanical constructââ- why would such a talented person let his progress be stopped by women? I really donât understandâ
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 couldnât be helped, as the County Magistrate himself was participating in todayâs 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.
âWhere is Officer Gu?â
The County Magistrate casually asked.
Officer Liu answered: âI think he still hasnât arrived, perhaps still sleeping. Let me go fetch himâ
âVery well, let us begin the banquet firstâ 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.
ââfetch water!
This was everyoneâs first reaction.
The County Magistrateâs expression then changed.
All the officials also became pale.
That directionâââ
The administration office!
âEveryone, return with me!â the County Magistrate shouted.
âYes!â
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.
âOfficer Gu! Did you see what happened here!?â 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: âI saw everything. It was actually like thisââ-â
âI just blew up the administration officeâ
The County Magistrate suddenly halted his steps.
Everyone elseâs expressions also changed.
âHow dare you!â the County Magistrate furiously shouted.
Gu Qing Shan waved his hand dismissively: âNo need to be worried sir, Iâve already collected all the seals that the royal capital distributed to the various villagesâ
Everyone sighed in relief.
The County Magistrate suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, questioning: âGu Qing Shan, what exactly are you doing?â
âNothing much. Iâve been travelling along various mountain villages so I ran into wraiths very frequently. And I discovered traces of the wraiths in the administration officeâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
ââwraiths?
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 couldnât 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.
âSo youâre saying that there were wraiths in the administration office?â the County Magistrate asked with a grim expression.
âYesâ Gu Qing Shan answered.
âWhere are those wraiths then? Donât tell me you blew them up?â the County Magistrate coldly mocked.
Gu Qing Shan appeared a bit troubled: âI didnât, but itâs fortunate that Iâm about to blow them out of hidingâ
âWhat do you mean?â the County Magistrate questioned.
Gu Qing Shan explained: âIâve 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 surviveâ
âSo after this, Iâm going to head to each and every village in order to release the seals, anchoring the Five Elements there to ensure their safetyâ
He patted the bag on his waist and curtly continued: âEvery seal represents the lives of countless innocent people, and lives are bigger than heaven itselfââ I believe that only wraiths in human skin would come out to stop me at this urgent point in timeâ
Complete silence.
No one said a single word.
So this was what he meant.
The County Magistrateâs expression trembled intensely as he started to exude immense killing intent.
âGu Qing Shan, you have a death wishâ the County Magistrate said.
âThe only ones who will die here today are wraiths, anyone whoâs still human will liveâ Gu Qing Shan replied.
The Officers, servants, as well as officials exchanged glances.
Several people sighed, then retreated far away.
The County Magistrateâs expression changed again.
âGet me my bowâ he ordered.
The bow was quickly brought to him.
The County Magistrate grasped the bow tightly and shouted: âAll men, forward! Anyone who kills him will get a big reward!â
âYes sir!â
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:
âOne-directional yet unbeatable... I can kind of sense the joy of using a bladeâ
â...When it comes to killing wraiths, I definitely like itâ
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