The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 27 The Buddha Lamp Lowers Its Eyes, Dressed in Heroic Attire

Chang'an, Zhou Yan?
These people subconsciously murmured the name, looking at the knife-wielding youth, who exuded a fierce and imposing aura. Everyone subconsciously held their breath.

Zhou Yan walked down the steps.

He was just a young boy, but the dozen or so armored soldiers in front of him, holding long spears, instinctively took a step back.

Then the young man's fierce spirit spread out even more. Zhou Yan exhaled and pointed at the monster, saying, "The monster ran a casino, and I have already killed him."

He then pointed at Lin Rongxuan and paused:
"This person may be in cahoots with demons."

Lin Rongxuan's face turned deathly pale, filled with boundless fear.

Zhou Yan exhaled a breath of stale air, pointed at the gambling den, and said his last words: "And what should be done with this gambling den?"

The three sentences were spoken softly, but each one carried a stronger momentum than the last.

The crowd outside subconsciously lost their composure. The constable glanced at Rat Head and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir."

"We understand."

His words carried a respect that he himself was unaware of.

They saw a monster in full view of everyone, and it was a gambling den.

The matter was quickly settled, after all, they were officials and county constables from the vicinity of Chang'an, and they knew to some extent about the existence of monsters and mystical officials. They subdued the monster before breaking into the gambling den.

Zhou Yan showed Zhang Shoutian's letter to the official in charge of arresting thieves.

The constable said respectfully, "Since it was his request, young master, you can go and get the three thousand coins. It's just a pity... we can't find the original three thousand coins."

Zhou Yan said, "I have my own way."

He picked up the package, and then, relying on his eyes, he found the money, which carried a faint trace of demonic energy—the woman's three thousand coins. Zhou Yan put all of that money into the package, leaving the rest untouched.

He carefully put away the dolls and wooden sword, placing them in the package. This package then resembled the one Zhang Shoutian had in his hand when they first met.

Zhou Yan put Zhang Shoutian's suicide note inside.

So the family was reunited.

Zhou Yan was about to leave, but the constable was worried that there might be some evil spirits around, so he begged Zhou Yan to scan the area. Zhou Yan didn't find anything, but he paused slightly when he passed the Buddhist shrine inside the gambling den.

There was an oil lamp in front of the Buddha shrine, but the lamp had burned a lot and only half of it remained.

However, the light from the oil lamp failed to illuminate the surroundings; instead, it cast a slight shadow on the Buddha statue, revealing only its soft outline and compassionate smile.

The texture, the feel.

It seems to be a treasure.

Zhou Yan's heart stirred slightly. He reached out and picked up the oil lamp, vaguely sensing a mysterious aura emanating from it. Seeing his expression, the constable knew there was something special about the lamp, and simply said:
“This monster was slain by you, my lord, so this oil lamp should also belong to you.”

Zhou Yan took the oil lamp away and was about to leave when he heard a commotion outside. It turned out that the town's officials had all arrived and were amazed when they saw the enormous rat head.

Then you see the monster itself inside the gambling den.

He was dressed in a rather lavish manor house.

But inside the wealthy man's clothes was clearly a large, obese rat.

An old man kicked the rat and cursed, "What a big rat spirit! It eats the hard-earned money of the common people, grows so big and fat, and wears fine silks and sat in a high hall."

"They deserve to die! They deserve to die!"

He cursed for a while, expressing his anger, before he finally seemed to see the young swordsman over there. He looked him over and saw that Zhou Yan was wearing a brown short coat and hemp shoes. If you only looked at him like that, he was just a respectable young man from an ordinary family.

They were even children from ordinary families who weren't well-off.

But there was a knife at his waist.

Even a broken sword, even one still in its sheath, exudes wisps of blood and killing intent.

Like the finishing touch on a painting, it instantly gave the young man a restrained sharpness. The old man stroked his beard and introduced himself as the county magistrate in charge of this town. He was on official business here and had come to see what was going on after hearing about this.

He thanked Zhou Yan politely, saying that he was grateful to Zhou Yan for breaking up the gambling den and killing a monster for the city. He was truly grateful and said, "Young master, you have rid the people of such a great scourge. Tonight, I have prepared some wine to celebrate with you."

Zhou Yan was interested in inquiring about Wang Chun, so he agreed first, saying:

"I also have something I'd like to ask the county magistrate."

The county magistrate said, "Please speak."

Zhou Yan recounted Wang Chun's story, saying, "This man has committed numerous evils. I want to find him, but he's too cunning and it's difficult to find any trace of him..."

The county magistrate thought Zhou Yan wanted some treasure or reward, but he didn't expect that he wanted clues about another villain. He felt that although Zhou Yan was righteous, his murderous aura was so evil that it was almost sinister.

This was somewhat against the rules, and the county magistrate glanced at Zhou Yan's knife.

I thought about the monsters that were chopped to death.

Good, he saw the rules.

He said decisively, "I will arrange for someone to go down and find all the files related to this person in the county, and make a copy for you, young master."

Zhou Yan expressed his gratitude.

While these people were dealing with the monster's corpse, they went to ask Shen Cangming.

Shen Cangming groomed Dahei's fur. Hearing Zhou Yan's thoughts, his face remained expressionless. Because of his own status, he was unwilling to have too deep a connection with the Tang Dynasty government, but he hoped Zhou Yan could maintain a clean reputation within the officialdom. Therefore, he said:

"Go ahead, don't worry about me."

After Zhou Yan left, Shen Cangming's movements as he stroked the warhorse slowed down. Finally, he patted the horse and whispered in the black horse's ear, "Keep an eye on the pack and armor."

He raised his sword, his movements swift and cold, and quickly disappeared into the darkening sky. As he approached the town, Zhou Yan, who had little experience in the martial world, found himself surrounded by cunning and slick people in the government offices.

He was worried that Zhou Yan would suffer a loss, so he followed him.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Shen Cangming peeked through a crack in the window. At the table, the county magistrate, county lieutenant, prison warden, city magistrate, and clerk were all there, chatting and laughing, their words laced with veiled sarcasm.

Shen Cangming shifted his gaze and saw a young man sitting cross-legged on a table to the side. He immediately felt relieved because Zhou Yan completely ignored the officials' idle chatter and the hidden traps in their words.

Zhou Yan was simply focused on cooking.

Using the magic of hungry ghosts will also intensify his hunger.

The food at the banquet was quite good. Zhou Yan swallowed it all, including fine rice and good meat. His hunger-ghost talent transformed it into qi and blood, and warm currents circulated through his body, restoring his strength and giving him a slight sense of satisfaction from physical enhancement.

Eating is so satisfying!

Gradually, the county magistrate's laughter stopped, and the county lieutenant's flattery of Zhou Yan also disappeared. They stared blankly at the young man who was eating voraciously. After all, he was a chivalrous hero who had rid the county of monsters, so no matter what, he had to be fed.

So the food was served plate by plate.

The cook was behind him, swinging his spatula until it was smoking.

"Have all the young men from the county government office come today?!"

What do you mean by "only one person is eating"?

"What do you mean there's no rice left in the kitchen?!"

The county magistrate stared in disbelief, holding his wine cup, unsure of what to say. Finally, he tried to offer some flattery, but then he subconsciously swallowed, realizing that his increasingly diminished appetite was returning as he got older.

Does it smell that good?

He subconsciously began to eat faster, making the meal truly just a meal. The county magistrate stroked his beard, feeling somewhat out of line, and said awkwardly, "The cook today has quite the skill, haha."

Everyone chimed in, "Yes, the food today tastes much better than ever."

The county magistrate asked gently, "May I ask where you hold your position, sir, and where you are from?"

Zhou Yan then put down his chopsticks and said:

"I am from Changle Town, Jingzhao Prefecture, and I travel around most of the year."

The county magistrate stroked his beard and said, "I observe that you, young master, possess martial arts skills, are full of righteousness, and are even capable of slaying demons and monsters. The world has only just been pacified, and there are defeated soldiers everywhere. Who knows where there are still demons and monsters?"

"Our Hu County is located south of Zhongnan Mountain and north of the Wei River. It has fertile farmland and mountain forests. It was a hunting ground for the sages of our Great Tang Dynasty. It can be considered a good place."

"If you are willing, young master, I can help you get an official position. With my rat-like brains, I can at least get you a position as a thief catcher. If you can bring peace to the people, even a county lieutenant position is not impossible."

The county magistrate proposed to recruit them.

The county constable standing next to him turned green with embarrassment, but he still had to force a smile.

The county magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture was quite perceptive. Even though he wasn't a Xuan official, he knew about the existence of demons lurking in the shadows. Now that the world had shifted from a prosperous era to a period of decline, and humanity was not thriving, the traces of demons began to emerge.

In this situation, with the fleeing soldiers and rebels, the presence of such a young, highly skilled martial artist who could slay demons and monsters gave him a sense of relief.

Zhou Yan had already roughly guessed Shen Cangming's identity and refused without hesitation.

"I'm easygoing and like to travel around, so I'll pass."

Although the county magistrate was disappointed, he did not insist on keeping him. He simply knocked on the table, and then several yamen runners came in carrying some things. They placed the things on the table in front of Zhou Yan and then withdrew.

The county magistrate said, "It is my misfortune that I cannot keep you here, young master. However, since you have slain demons for the people, I cannot leave without giving something in return. I see that your clothes are already quite worn out, so this set of clothes is my way of repaying you."

Zhou Yan couldn't refuse this.

After a series of real battles, his clothes were quite tattered, so he thanked him.

Seeing that he had accepted the gift, the county magistrate felt that it was at least a good deed, and smiled and said, "I don't know if the preparation is appropriate, young man, why don't you go to the room next door and change into this outfit, so that we can also see what a young hero looks like."

Zhou Yan went to the next room, shook out his clothes, took off the brown clothes that Shen Cangming had altered for him, carefully folded them, and then changed into the new clothes.

He wore a narrow-sleeved, tight-fitting short top underneath and leggings underneath for easy fighting and archery. He also wore a pair of hard leather arm guards and a pair of hard leather knee pads. After binding himself up, Zhou Yan clenched his fist, realizing that he would have more options in the battle.

His gaze swept around and he saw another heavy robe. He shook out his clothes and put the robe on. It was a robe with slits on both sides, made of a thicker, more durable fabric, and in a dirt-resistant indigo blue.

He also wore a leather belt with iron buckles around his waist for hanging small items, and a pair of leather boots. When Zhou Yan came out dressed, the county magistrate's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Good, good, good!"

"What a fine young hero!"

Everyone who looked on was amazed. Before, Zhou Yan was holding a knife and wearing only the villagers' short clothes. Now, in his long robe and leather belt, with his eyebrows raised, he exuded a handsome and heroic aura.

When the cook came out, he wondered for a moment if he had misjudged the situation.

In the past, it was always others who praised these officials. I've never seen so many officials gathered around a teenager, praising him one after another.

Today has truly been an eye-opening experience.

The county magistrate was full of praise, but noticed that Zhou Yan was still wearing his old clothes, and laughed.

As the saying goes, new clothes are worse than old ones, and old friends are worse than new ones.

"Young master, just leave these old clothes here; they're too cumbersome."

Zhou Yan shook his head.

"These clothes were given to me by an old friend."

The county magistrate was slightly taken aback. He was an old man, but shrewd. He said, "So, young master, you don't want to stay in my Hu County because of this old friend? But you don't know who this person is…"

Shen Cangming was about to leave, but when he heard these words, he subconsciously stopped. The young man, who had already developed a heroic spirit, put away his clothes. Thinking of the past, how could he describe it?
Is he a savior, a mentor, or someone you depend on for survival?

He replied:

"She is the most important person to me in this world."

Shen Cangming stood quietly outside, his eyes filled with the darkness of the night.

(End of this chapter)