Blue Water Town
The next day.
Xiao Ze led the two to the city lord's mansion. The city lord was out handling some matters and hadn't returned yet, so the three found a place to wait for him. Looking at the various bird patterns carved on the wall, Wen Zheng asked, "Is the city lord also a peacock?"
She noticed that most of the decorations and carvings in the city lord's mansion were of the winged race, and since the feather fan that could release her seal was left by the Peacock King, she subconsciously assumed that the city lord was also a peacock.
Xiao Ze ate the food on the table, leaning lazily against the armrest of his chair. "His prototype is the Vermilion Bird, so he's a relative of the Peacock."
Because of this connection, the demons agreed to let him take charge of the peacock feather fan.
Wen Zheng nodded and waited quietly to the side.
Mu Qing was sitting with her eyes closed, resting, when she suddenly opened them and looked in one direction. "Someone's coming."
He was looking at the rooftop. Xiao Ze immediately became alert, sat up straight, and looked over. A few birds flew across the azure sky, but there was nothing else.
Xiao Ze relaxed and sat back down. "You're too nervous."
This is, after all, the city lord's mansion of the main city of the demon race. Not to mention that it is heavily guarded, with all kinds of arrays and mechanisms everywhere, and with the city lord, an old bird, here, nothing will definitely happen.
He calmed himself down, when a servant ran over shouting, "Something terrible has happened! The city lord has been injured!"
"Who did this?!" Xiao Ze stood up in shock and grabbed the servant, asking. The servant tearfully recounted what had happened, "The city lord was talking to someone when suddenly someone rushed in, struck him with a stick, and even poisoned him. The city lord is now seriously injured and unconscious."
After the servant finished speaking, a familiar feeling lingered in Wen Zheng's heart.
Here it comes again, here it comes again. She always has this bad luck at crucial moments; she feels like she's gotten used to it.
"Let's go see the city lord first," Wen Zheng said, getting up.
The three followed the attendants to the unconscious Lord of Vermilion Bird City. His lips were purple, his face was black, and his whole appearance could be described as multicolored.
Wen Zheng's brows twitched as she looked at it, and she nudged Mu Qing's arm, asking, "Do you know what kind of poison this is?"
How could someone be poisoned to this extent?
"Half-Month Powder," Mu Qing concluded. He had seen this poison before; it wasn't very potent and took half a month to take effect. The only difficulty was that the antidote required many different kinds of herbs, which were not easy to find.
Xiao Ze's face was grim. He grabbed the servant and asked, "Did you see who injured him?"
Who on earth is so audacious as to cause trouble at the City Lord's Mansion?
"I didn't see clearly. The person was covering their face, and the weapon they were using was an iron rod," the servant said, trembling.
Xiao Ze subconsciously thought about the demon experts among the demon race who used iron rods. There were many demons who used iron rods as weapons, but almost none of them could seriously injure the city lord.
Unable to come up with an answer, Xiao Ze had a headache.
Wen Zheng, standing to the side, reminded them, "Shouldn't we try to detoxify first?"
The city lord's face was like a palette of colors; he looked like he was about to die.
"Yes, hurry up and find a doctor." Xiao Ze said to the servant, then walked to the bedside and sealed the city lord's spiritual meridians.
While the three were waiting for the doctor, a loud noise came from the southeast corner of the city lord's mansion, which seemed to be an explosion, and several houses collapsed.
Wen Zheng went outside and looked out onto the roof, but the air was thick with dust, obscuring her view. She went back inside and asked, "Aren't we going to go check?"
Such a large explosion is too dangerous.
Xiao Ze had calmed down, his whole being like a calm lake surface, concealing an unfathomable abyss within.
"There's a peacock feather fan in the southeast corner of the city lord's mansion. It seems the person who injured the city lord went to steal the fan."
After he finished speaking, Wen Zheng turned to look in the direction of the explosion and asked uncertainly, "Aren't we going to try and stop it?"
With the city lord gone, Xiao Ze could only watch as others stole the feather fan?
Xiao Ze sneered, "You can't steal it. There's an array around the feather fan. That person should be seriously injured now."
His strange appearance made Wen Zheng swallow hard. She hid next to Mu Qing and said in the softest voice, "If there's a problem later, let's run."
She grabbed Mu Qing's sleeve, pinching it into wrinkles. Mu Qing glanced down at it and nodded.
The three waited for the doctor to examine the city lord and prescribe medicine. After seeing the doctor off, Xiao Ze instructed his servants to find medicinal herbs. Before leaving, he said to Wen Zheng and Mu Qing, "You two go back to the inn first. I will take you to see him after he recovers."
With the city lord neither alive nor dead, Xiao Ze, as his friend, had no choice but to take full responsibility for the detoxification.
"Okay, then we'll head back first." Wen Zheng tugged at Mu Qing's sleeve, and the two returned to the inn.
In the inn, Wen Zheng was idly drawing new talismans, discussing with Mu Qing as she drew, who exactly had injured the city lord.
"Do you think it's because of internal strife within the demon race that the city lord became cannon fodder?" This was the most likely explanation Wen Zheng could think of.
Mu Qing watched her draw talismans and said, "She's not a demon; the residual spiritual energy is from a human."
Wen Zheng was so frightened that she tightened her grip, splitting the ancient-looking talisman in two with cinnabar. She exclaimed in disbelief, "Humans? Where did these humans come from?"
The relationship between the demon race and the human race is not close, and very few cultivators come to the demon race, so where would you find such a powerful cultivator?
Speaking of powerful cultivators, Wen Zheng leaned closer to Mu Qing and asked, "Are there any immortal sects that are particularly good at using iron rods?"
She knew that she could also offer Xiao Ze some ideas, making him owe her a favor.
Mu Qing lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Apart from the monks of Puyun Temple, there are almost no other sects."
“You said…” Wen Zheng was interrupted by Mu Qing before she could finish speaking, “It couldn’t be the monks of Puyun Temple. They cultivate the path of all living beings and abhor killing.”
When her guess was refuted, Wen Zheng was discouraged and took out new talisman paper to continue drawing talismans.
Mu Qing waited a while, but when she didn't hear her speak, she asked, "Why don't you continue asking?"
Wen Zheng's hands didn't stop moving as she said, "Asking is pointless. Let's just wait for Xiao Ze's news." She quickly finished drawing the talisman in her hand and moved on to the next one.
After watching her for a while, Mu Qing asked, "Why have you been drawing this?"
The talisman on the table was a heating talisman that Wen Zheng had given him before. Now that it's so hot, people wish they could wear only a single layer of clothing, so it's completely useless.
He reached out to pick up a note to look at it, but Wen Zheng stopped him, saying, "Don't touch it, this is what I bought."
While she was looking for buyers for the heating talismans, she inadvertently chatted with Moxin about their effects. After mentioning the talismans, Moxin remembered that bird-type monsters in the sect often failed to hatch, so she asked for a few and sent them home to try.
Unexpectedly, the heating talisman really worked. The number of bird-like monsters in the Beast Taming Sect increased, and the sect elders bought a lot from Wen Zheng through Mo Xin.
Because it was an introduction from an acquaintance, Wen Zheng didn't ask for a high price, and even gave Mo Xin a small tip for his help. She also gave him a cooling talisman and told him to try it out at home.
For her first big deal, Wen Zheng put in her utmost effort to complete it, ensuring that every talisman was drawn perfectly.
"How much can we earn from these?" Mu Qing looked at the mountain of talismans piled on the table and estimated the price in her mind.
Wen Zheng drew talismans with one hand and made a number with the other. Mu Qing was silent for a moment after seeing her gesture.
Wen Zheng is willing to do it for such a low price; it seems she's really short of money.
Thinking about how Wen Zheng usually looked when she was short of money, Mu Qing sighed and decided to give her some advice.
“If you want to buy at a high price, you’ll need to draw some powerful talismans.” After saying that, he glanced at Wen Zheng, who was completely oblivious.
"Did you... hear what I just said?" Mu Qingyou asked quietly.
Wen Zheng nodded as she drew the talismans. "I heard that, but I'll keep the powerful ones for myself."
She reflected on the reasons for her bad luck and concluded that it was all because she was too weak and lacked the ability to withstand risks.
After observing the speed at which Wen Zheng drew the talismans, Mu Qing suddenly thought of something and asked, "How many did you keep?"
Judging from Wen Zheng's success rate in drawing talismans, she must have left quite a few.
“Not many, just over three hundred of each.” Wen Zheng uttered these words lightly. Mu Qing remained silent for even longer, and did not speak again until it got dark.
Just as Wen Zheng finished drawing all the talismans and was getting ready to sleep, Xiao Ze rushed over and knocked on her door.
She groggily opened the door and was jolted awake when she saw Xiao Ze's disheveled appearance. "What happened to you? You look like a mess!"
He was dressed much like a beggar on the street; his clothes were practically tattered rags.
"To make a long story short, that person is here again. It's a woman. She ruined one of the medicinal herbs, and I need your help." Xiao Ze leaned against the door frame, almost unable to stand.
He had just fought off the attackers and his injuries hadn't even healed when he ran to the inn to find Wen Zheng.
"What medicinal herbs? I'll go get them." Wen Zheng didn't ask why, but let him name the herbs.
Xiao Ze explained the names of the medicinal herbs in detail and solemnly instructed, "The herbs can be used within three days of being taken out. I will give you the mechanical bird; you must go and come back quickly."
"Okay, I'll leave now." Wen Zheng went back to her room to pack her things, then went out and knocked on Mu Qing's door. Before she could speak, Mu Qing had already packed everything. "Let's go."
The two set off under the cover of night to find medicinal herbs in Bluewater Town, a thousand miles away. Wen Zheng yawned as she piloted the mechanical bird; the night was dark, with only stars in the sky.
It took the two a day and a half to fly to Blue Water Town. As soon as they entered the town, they felt that the surroundings were very strange. All the demons were staring at them intently without blinking.
Wen Zheng stopped in her tracks and asked the short demon beside her, "Hello, is this Blue Water Town?"
When Xiao Ze described it, he clearly said that Blue Water Town had beautiful scenery and simple residents, which was completely different from what he saw now.
"Yes, you are a human cultivator?" The demon looked her up and down, his face filled with hatred, and attacked her.
Mu Qing pulled Wen Zheng behind him, interrupted the attack with a flick of his sleeve, and drew the sword from his back, pointing it at the demon race.
Wen Zheng was still out of sorts and didn't understand what had happened. She said to the demons, "The Lord of Vermilion Bird City is injured. We were ordered to come and collect medicinal herbs."
"Hmph, I don't care who you are." The demon who had attacked earlier was still not giving up. He took out his weapon and struck at the two men's faces, leaving them no way out.
Mu Qing pushed Wen Zheng aside and stepped forward to fight. After a few rounds, he defeated the demon. With his sword against the demon's neck, he asked coldly, "Where do you pick evening primrose?"
"Pah, don't even think about me telling you." The demon spat out a mouthful of blood, the hatred in his eyes puzzling Wen Zheng. She stepped forward and asked, "This is our first time in Blue Water Town, why is your hostility towards us so deep?"
How could someone hate you without even having met you? Wen Zheng didn't understand.
Upon hearing her words, the demon retorted angrily, "You human cultivators are the best at being hypocritical. You kidnapped children from the town a few days ago, and now you dare to come to our doorstep."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other demons around him also sprang into action, attacking the two of them with deadly blows.
Mu Qing pressed the demon's questioning, and seeing various moves coming at him, he was about to raise his hand to block them when talismans flew out from behind him.
The talisman moved incredibly fast, transforming into a golden protective shield in the air, blocking all attacks. Behind the golden shield, Mu Qing turned to look at Wen Zheng, who was still frantically searching for the talisman in her hand. Mu Qing kicked away the demon clan member who was pinning her down and charged towards the attacking demon clan.
Looking at the chaotic scene, Wen Zheng found the gravity talisman she had drawn earlier and threw it at the demons as if it were free.
Various talismans exploded among the demons. Mu Qing barely had to lift a finger before the demons fell. He sheathed his sword and reminded them, "Don't throw them away, they're almost done for."
They lay on the ground writhing like insects.
Wen Zheng stopped and looked at the remaining talismans. She walked up to a demon who didn't seem to be seriously injured and asked, "What did you mean when you said we kidnapped the children from your town?"
"Hmph, they've already been kidnapped, and you're still pretending to be kind." The demon scoffed at her and turned away.
Wen Zheng clicked her tongue, took out a short sword, and placed it on the demon's head. "If you don't talk, I'll shave your head."
She witnessed the entire time when the sect leader threatened Hua Rong, and hair must be very important to the demon race.
"You!" The demon was so shocked that he stood up, but Wen Zheng pressed him back down. She lightly sliced the demon's scalp with her short sword, and a tuft of long hair fell to the ground, turning into colorful animal fur.
"Hey, I didn't do this on purpose," Wen Zheng said guiltily. It was because the demon got up so quickly that she didn't have time to react.
Seeing his fur being shaved off, the demon racer rolled on the ground and screamed wildly, and Wen Zheng almost couldn't hold him down. Just as Wen Zheng was about to tell him to calm down, an older demon racer stepped forward.
"Stop." The older demon, leaning on his cane, slowly walked up to Wen Zheng, gently raised his hand to shoo her away, and saved the demon who was crying miserably. "They are just ignorant children. If you two want to know, come with me."
Wen Zheng glanced at Mu Qing, who nodded, and she followed him. Mu Qing sheathed his sword and followed beside her.
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