The Sword of the Taoist Priest

In Pingchuan City, Changqing was arranged to stay in an inn.

"This is ten taels of silver, as your reward. Stay here for now, and later I will have Sun Lin bring you some martial arts and techniques. You are not a force of the Zhenyu Si, and you won't be able to enter even if you go there," Sun Ju said.

"Train well over the next few days. I will find some appropriate tasks for you to gain experience," he added.

Changqing thanked him repeatedly.

Third Floor of the Inn, by the Street-facing Window

Changqing weighed the silver in his hand and looked out at the passersby.

Even though Pingchuan City was located on the edge of the Qingyun Kingdom, it was bustling and prosperous.

The streets were lined with shops. There were stores for martial arts manuals, elixirs, talismans, the Baibaoge (store for precious items), and Tiangongfang (crafting workshop)... everything was available.

Many people dressed in elegant clothes, with distinguished and noble bearing—clearly cultivators—were entering and leaving the shops. Those in the black clothes and black cloaks of the Zhenyu Si were of an even higher status.

Even the "force warriors" without golden embroidery on their clothes were highly respected.

"One tael of gold is worth ten taels of silver, and one tael of silver is worth a thousand copper coins. This is the first time I've ever held such a large chunk of silver," Dongfang Lan said, laughing at Changqing's foolish expression.

"One spirit stone is equivalent to ten taels of gold. Do you know how much reward you could receive from the Zhenyu Si by handing over the chicken head to Sun Ju?" she continued.

"How much?"

"Exactly one spirit stone."

"Damn those middlemen, their commission is so high!" Changqing cursed.

Changqing thought for a moment, then asked, "What if I hand over the chicken leg..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Dongfang Lan guessed what he was about to say.

"The chicken head only proves that you killed a common creature that has become a spirit. It is not the value of the chicken head itself. You want to receive rewards multiple times for the same creature? What were you thinking?"

Changqing immediately fell silent.

His gaze wandered to the street in the distance, where he could vaguely see a tall building with tightly shut doors and windows, with intricate carvings and painted beams. The red lanterns at the entrance were extinguished.

Changqing toyed with the silver in his hand and licked his dry lips.

"Do you know that brothels on the main street are not charged by silver?" Dongfang Lan sneered.

"Are you a worm in my stomach?" Changqing asked, his eyes wide.

"You make it so obvious," she replied.

"Do I?" Changqing glanced at Dongfang Lan, taking in her graceful figure, slender form, and innocent face... He couldn't help but think, If only she weren't a ghost.

Feeling Changqing's gaze, Dongfang Lan raised a finger and made a threatening gesture.

"I'm not thinking anything perverted! You misunderstood me, my heart is pure," Changqing protested.

Dongfang Lan rolled her eyes in reply.

"I have a question," Changqing said.

"What question?"

"A ghost is a spirit that has lost its physical body, so if it's just a spirit, where does the clothing come from? Can the clothing...?"

"Shut up!" Dongfang Lan snapped.

"Alright," Changqing answered obediently.

Zhenyu Si, Pingchuan City

The large and grand building stood out, incongruous in such a border town. From afar, one could feel a murderous and solemn atmosphere.

The Zhenyu Si was, of course, also a prison. It housed mostly non-human criminals.

"Wu Youwei is not here, but I can temporarily handle the task handover," an old man dozed in the seat of the Zhenyu officer in the front hall.

Sun Ju and Sun Lin had long since gotten used to this.

The head of the Zhenyu Si was known as the Zhenyu Officer.

The old man before them was just the steward of miscellaneous affairs, Liu Shanhe.

This position was typically held by a force warrior—thankless work with little reward. However, Liu Shanhe appeared relaxed and carefree, as if he had no desires or was simply here to retire.

No one knew Liu Shanhe's true strength, only that Wu Youwei, who was a cultivator at the Danhai realm, treated him with courtesy.

It was speculated that this old man might be a relative of Wu Youwei.

"Hey? It's you two?" Liu Shanhe squinted his eyes and saw them.

He lazily picked up a book from the table and tossed it aside. "Write it yourself."

Sun Ju took out the chicken head, then grabbed a brush and quickly wrote the record in the book.

Liu Shanhe remained motionless, his eyes half-closed.

He glanced at the chicken head but didn't react much.

After finishing writing, Sun Ju pushed the book forward.

"Anything else?"

"Anything else?"

"This is only the chicken head from the spirit creature. What about the zombie?" Liu Shanhe asked.

"Did the zombie's spirit disperse?" he continued.

A spirit, if scattered, only leaves a corpse. If the spirit remains, it's an evil ghost. Though they are often grouped together, there is a significant difference between them.

"No zombies..." Sun Lin started to speak.

Sun Ju quickly gave him a look to stop him and casually replied, "The zombie has already been killed, but when we went to kill the chicken demon, the body was burned by the people from Zizhuzhen. The Zhenyu Si requires proof for the reward. We can't testify for each other, so it won't count."

Liu Shanhe looked like he'd just heard something interesting.

Based on his knowledge of Sun Ju and Sun Lin, he wouldn't let it go so easily. It wouldn't be surprising if he even brought in people from Zizhuzhen to testify.

"How many casualties were there?" Liu Shanhe asked.

His tone seemed casual, but a flash of sharpness appeared in his eyes.

Sun Ju was a little surprised. Normally, this steward of miscellaneous affairs never asked about matters, but today he was unusually talkative.

Even more strangely, Sun Ju suddenly felt a chill, and his heart skipped a beat.

"No casualties," Sun Ju replied.

"No casualties?" Liu Shanhe looked surprised and gave the chicken head another glance.

"What about the chicken's body?"

"It was too large to carry," Sun Ju replied.

Liu Shanhe frowned and looked at the Qiankun bag at Sun Ju's waist.

"You should really change your Qiankun bag. If not, at least move the stuff around. You didn't bring back the whole corpse of the Yellow-level Beast, the Lie Mountain Tiger, last time. You should know that the corpse can be a hidden danger."

Sun Ju was becoming impatient.

Even if this old man was related to the Zhenyu officer, he was just a steward!

His cultivation might only be at the Spirit Awakening realm, just like himself.

"By the way, I still need a set of martial arts techniques and a combat skill—preferably something that can be learned quickly. I don't care what happens later, as long as I can use it to fight effectively in the Qi Condensation realm."

Liu Shanhe gave Sun Ju a deep look, then took out a spirit stone and two books.

Sun Ju handed the martial arts techniques and combat skill to Sun Lin, and the two left the front hall.

Liu Shanhe waved at the chicken head, storing it away.

Suddenly, he paused, then took the chicken head back out again.

Looking at the neat cut on the chicken's head, Liu Shanhe's drowsiness faded a little.

"What a sharp weapon—probably a yellow-level sword or knife."

"However, Sun Ju doesn't own such a weapon."

He carefully examined the chicken head and understood everything about it.

"So the Lie Mountain Tiger's corpse was really used by Sun Ju. He actually dared to do it!"

"But why were there no casualties in Zizhuzhen?"

"With my position, I can't interfere with the Zhenyu Si's matters..."

"Zhao Zhen, do you know that the Zhenyu Si has already rotted to the core..."