Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 24: First Officer Zhou's Impassioned Speech

It can't be a good thing to just go to someone else's house and steal a child without saying hello.

Meng Shuangjiang was already frightened and anxious, and was drenched by the rain, making his head dizzy. Although his face was pale, he felt like he was on fire inside and wanted to rush up and question him.

But just as he moved, Chu Tianshu grabbed his shoulder, his feet almost left the ground, and his body suddenly moved backwards.

Zhong Jinqiu, who was standing behind him, raised one hand and pressed it on his back to steady his body.

despair! !

Chu Tianshu pulled Meng Shuangjiang to the back with one hand, but he took a step forward and stepped on the water inside the threshold.

"It's so windy and rainy outside. What's the matter, Brother Zhou? Why are you coming here at this time?"

"I was so bored that I wanted to go out with Brother Chu to enjoy the rain, but I didn't expect to hear that the Meng family's child was missing."

Adjutant Zhou's stone-like face suddenly became lively and he sighed.

"Oh, I didn't expect that... He would... This is really..."

Chu Tianshu looked surprised. "I thought Old Master Xu invited me here because Xiaobao was so cute, but now seeing how Brother Zhou is, is there something else going on?"

Shopkeeper Ma also laughed and said, "Adjutant Zhou, you might as well explain yourself more clearly."

Adjutant Zhou looked embarrassed, but suddenly he gritted his teeth, as if he had made a great decision.

"Well! Although family disgrace should not be made public, the old man really went too far."

Adjutant Zhou said, "The old man is only the godfather of our regiment commander. Of course, his original surname was not Xu, but Chen. People at that time often called him Chen Jingong."

"When the captain and I were working as detectives in the capital, he was a eunuch in the city. He was quite powerful and supported us both. Therefore, the captain became our godfather and served us out of pure filial piety."

"After the emperor abdicated, we brought the old man to Yizhou to enjoy a good life. Who knew that he would develop a sorcery and eat children to prolong his life..."

When Meng Shuangjiang heard this, he burped in his throat, his eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted.

Zhong Jinqiu quickly exerted force with his palms to help him regulate his breathing.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious."

Adjutant Zhou said, "This kind of sorcery has specific time of day. We'll have to wait at least a few days before we can start using it."

He sighed loudly.

"The captain and I have repeatedly urged him, and the old man seems to have given up. I didn't expect him to still act like this in secret. If the captain knew, he would definitely kill his relatives for the sake of justice..."

Chu Tianshu raised his eyelids: "Okay."

"But Captain Chunxiao, he can't bring himself to do this!"

Adjutant Zhou's eyes were filled with tears as he added, "The old man did owe us some favors after all. Even I couldn't bear to do it myself. It was truly tormenting."

Chu Tianshu pursed his lips and smiled.

"Brother Zhou's point is, even though you don't have the heart to do it yourself, if some heroic and righteous person passes by and takes out this old eunuch, then you can just go along with it and let him die without any harm, right?"

Zhong Jinqiu snorted softly, "What a coincidence! The old eunuch arrived in this town, and there are several martial artists in the town, all of whom have some connection with the Meng family. No other family's children have gone missing, but the Meng family..."

Adjutant Zhou said with a sigh, "Perhaps it is true that everyone has his due in the end, and it just so happened that the old man ran into you guys."

Chu Tianshu said gently, "Since the heavens have been so kind, then when these heroic warriors were suppressing the bandits, they must have also obtained a batch of elite firearms from them, right?"

Adjutant Zhou's eyes glared, and after a moment's hesitation, he laughed out loud, "Brother, you're joking. What good guns can a bandit have? Even God can't make up stories."

Shopkeeper Ma said, "The bandits don't have any good guns, and the old eunuch shouldn't have many elite soldiers under his command. Adjutant Zhou, isn't it time for you and your men to return to the city?"

Adjutant Zhou was quite straightforward this time: "I had the same idea originally. I will ask for your leave from Eunuch Chen today and return to the city."

Shopkeeper Ma nodded and said, "Once we are sure that everyone is far enough away, a hero will emerge. But speaking of which, who are the experts around this eunuch? What kind of evil magic does he practice? Is there a name for it?"

"Have."

Adjutant Zhou nodded and said, "The evil magic he practices is called Wuchang..."

The big yellow paper umbrella was held outside the restaurant for a quarter of an hour, but no one entered the restaurant from beginning to end.

The rain didn't stop either.

I saw the figure turn around and the big umbrella go away.

Chu Tianshu's smile remained unchanged, his knuckles cracking as he was pressed. "The three of us working together should be enough to chop him to death. If we also let the old eunuch die suddenly and Captain Xu pass away from illness, it would be very pleasant to hear."

Zhong Jinqiu shook his head and said, "If he really wants to escape, it's hard to say. Besides, that Xu guy is not that easy to deal with."

Chu Tianshu glanced at the token.

Okay, killing the old eunuch's group of people is definitely not enough to make his fate complete.

It is indeed too reckless to chop continuously, and the success rate is not high, so be patient.

It just so happened that there was some time between the attacks, so he had some time to plan. When Xu was really attacked, it would be even more difficult to tell which enemy was responsible.

Shopkeeper Ma took out a small locust wood bottle and a shiny purple paper crane.

It was raining outside, so ordinary paper cranes and sparrows were useless. However, precisely because of the rain, the Yang energy was weakened, and the sparrows' spirits became more hidden.

Shopkeeper Ma chanted a spell and pressed the paper crane in his palm. When he opened his hand again, the paper crane had disappeared.

Only a wisp of smoke quietly drifted out of the door, watching Adjutant Zhou's movements from afar.

It was raining heavily, the air was filled with mist, and smoke was floating in it, making it impossible to see anyone.

"Two old foxes and a wolf cub. It's really not easy to gather three such people in such a small town..."

Adjutant Zhou thought as he walked, "Fortunately, it's me. I can handle it."

Captain Xu's house was in the southwest corner of the town, and it didn't take him too long to walk back there.

The gate is vermilion with a bronze beast biting the door knocker on it. There are five steps in front of the gate, and two stone lions are perched on the left and right.

The sound of a female role warming up her voice came from inside the door.

There were two guards on duty under the eaves, hiding from the rain. When they saw Adjutant Zhou coming, they immediately opened the door.

Adjutant Zhou walked in and around the screen wall, and saw a large blue and white ceramic lotus leaf vat in the courtyard, which was collecting rainwater.

Liu Si Niang paced the corridor, without makeup, looking quite pretty, her fingers curled like orchids, practicing her voice. "Adjutant Zhou is back?"

Liu Si Niang turned around and looked over. "Foster father was just saying he wanted to see you. Everything else is ready, but there's one thing left. You have to do your best."

Adjutant Zhou smiled and said, "I was just coming back to mention this. Don't be careless over there. When the auspicious day comes, you won't be performing the usual Wuxian Opera, but the Wutong Opera. There must not be any mistakes, or you'll ruin the old master's event."

Since ancient times, opera has been used to entertain and repay gods.

Therefore, when there are important events in villages and towns, festivals in the city, store openings, etc., experienced people like to invite people to perform operas to bring good luck and obtain the protection of the gods.

But the plays are divided into good and evil. The righteous plays are based on encouraging good deeds and worship Hua Guang, the Five Manifestations Emperor, as the ancestor. They practice benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and trustworthiness, and good deeds will be rewarded, only then can wealth come in.

The evil plays are dedicated to the Five Gods. No distinction is made between good and evil, the only thing that matters is whether one can please the Five Gods. There are also evil techniques such as human and blood sacrifices mixed in.

It is too difficult to make the Five Manifestations Emperor appear. If you only worship the Five Manifestations Emperor, you may suffer harm from his capricious mood.

Therefore, there gradually emerged a lineage of Dharma that mixed the "Five Manifestations" and the "Five Supernatural Powers," and it also made far-fetched connections and incorporated unorthodox magic.

Finally, they are collectively called the "Five Divine Methods".

The other members of the troupe gathered in the front hall to look through the script.

The drummer who was in charge of all the musicians had a bald head and a thick beard, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he tapped his fingers on the table. He was surrounded by a large group of people.

"Old Xu and Old Zhou, you're busy, but we were trained by our adoptive father in Beijing since we were young. We were part of the troupe that was supposed to perform for the Empress Dowager to prolong her life."

The drum master said, "Whether it's the Five Manifestations or the Five Passes, if you practice this your whole life, how could you possibly make a mistake?"

Adjutant Zhou said sternly, "A good swimmer can drown in the water. Your carelessness is truly worrying. Remember, you must focus on the performance. If you make a mistake and let the old master's work fail, the captain and I will never let you off!"

The drummer snorted coldly and ignored him.

Troupe leader Chen came out and led Adjutant Zhou through the backyard where the stage was set up and into the back hall.

As soon as Adjutant Zhou arrived at the door, he took two or three quick steps, knelt on one knee, and said with a smile, "Greetings to the old master."

There were no kerosene lamps in the back hall, but there were dozens of red candles lit on the tables on the pillars, which made the room bright.

Old eunuch Chen sat in the main seat. He was six feet tall and wore a brocade robe, but he was as thin as a dead tree. He had no braid at the back of his head, and a small tuft of white hair was loose.

Especially his face, which was covered with fine blue veins, and was most densely packed around his eye sockets, making his eye whites appear cloudy and his pupils dark blue.

When others looked at him, they felt inexplicably flustered.

"Get up quickly. We see each other every day. Why are you still being polite?"

The old eunuch's voice was hoarse as he laughed, "Among all the children in our family, you are the most polite. Unlike your leader, he always barges in without a care. He bows when he remembers, and forgets when he doesn't. Sometimes he even steals our soup."

Adjutant Zhou stood up and said, "The commander truly treats you as his own father!"

"We understand it in our hearts."

The old eunuch sighed, "We are tired of seeing all the ups and downs in this life. It is out of consideration for the child that I want to stay for a few more years and do some more things for your leader."

"Si Niang's Wutong Opera has been practiced for a long time. The boys with the right birthdays have already been collected and have been shipped here in the past few days."

The old eunuch pointed his slender finger at the screen next to him.

"Even this jade coffin, with the addition of the corpses of dozens of vicious bandits, can be considered as the final replenishment, and it is completely healed."

You can vaguely see the green jade coffin behind the screen, placed on four benches.

A statue of Huaguang, the Five Manifestations Emperor, was placed on top of the jade coffin.

When they first arrived in the town and were performing an opera in the west of the city, they secretly sent someone to bury the jade coffin at the place where the bandits were buried.

After seven days, the jade coffin will be dug out.

The two operas performed for the townspeople also made the statue more righteous, pressing down on the jade coffin, restraining each other.

On the day of the official ritual, the Wutong Opera began, and the motionless statue of Huaguang was shattered, and the corpse qi was stimulated, becoming even purer.

But the coffin was for the old eunuch to lie in, and it was missing a small golden tripod used for blood sacrifices to the children.

Adjutant Zhou naturally understood and said, "The commander has been collecting gold from all over the place for a long time. He has also hired grave diggers to dig up the gold objects in the graves and remelt them. It should be completed in the next two days. I will go back to the city to check it out tomorrow."

The old eunuch lowered his finger, and the servant beside him brought fragrant tea and put it to his mouth.

After taking a sip, he spat out the tea leaves and said, "Sorry for the trouble."

"Gold becomes a cauldron. Once used, it remains gold. There is no loss."

Adjutant Zhou smiled and said, "But the old man's successful extension of life is equivalent to keeping a great master by our side. According to the commander, this is a great advantage."

The old eunuch smiled and nodded.

Adjutant Zhou retreated and returned to his residence.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly got up and quietly opened the door.

The rain outside had stopped and everything was silent. The two guards on duty outside the door were his confidants.

"The Meng family's child was stuffed in?"

The guard nodded. "He was drugged, changed into new clothes, and stuffed into one of those iron cages for children. He won't be noticed."

Another guard whispered, "Adjutant, why bother with all this trouble? You have to go and kidnap a child yourself and then let us infiltrate the place. This child is just a decoy, so we can just kidnap him, kill him, and throw him away."

"Hmph! The people at the restaurant know magic, and they can probably tell if the child is alive or dead. Doing that will only cause more trouble."

Adjutant Zhou gave a low scolding and glanced towards the back hall.

It would have been a good deal to trade a group of kids for a skilled fighter, but Captain Xu no longer wanted a wild dad.

Besides, when he was worshipping his adoptive father, the old man secretly set up some evil spell. Did he really think that others didn’t know?

Tomorrow the leader won’t do it himself, and we are separated by a city and a town. Let’s see what you can do.

The confidant reminded him, "If those three people in the restaurant didn't die after winning..."

Adjutant Zhou didn't need him to finish, his eyes narrowed: "You kid, you are so mean."

(End of this chapter)