Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

On a deserted dirt road, a young girl dressed in pink skipped along. Her pink dress was beautiful and gorgeous, but it was different from the current style of dress. There were a lot of gauze lace on the shoulders, collar and sleeves, and a circle of pearl tassels hung on the front of the neck. The edges of the collar and cuffs were also embroidered with gold thread.

No matter how you look at it, this outfit is very expensive and not something an ordinary girl could afford.

Her hairstyle was also unique; she didn't tie her hair up in a bun or wear hairpins. Her hair was worn loose down her back, simply tied with a few hair ties along the direction it was hanging down, and two thin braids hung down in front of her chest.

Besides her uniquely styled clothes, she also carried a whisk on her back, and her head and clothes were decorated with Tai Chi patterns, suggesting a close connection with Taoism.

Yes, this is our Lingling Daoist who broke away from the main group halfway through and went solo. Since she didn't have any mission she absolutely had to complete, she changed course midway without setting a destination in advance, and the map she bought was just for getting her bearings.

If there's no urgent matter, Ling Ziling doesn't bother with any fancy light-footed skills; instead, he chooses to walk on two legs, adapting to whatever comes his way and going wherever the situation takes him.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits~ My heart is sincere~ The spirits will surely respond~"

Thinking that the person looking for her had just arrived and was not from the same area, nor did she know where she was actually going, while she had been here for some time, it seemed that her side had the advantage.

Therefore, Lingzi walked very leisurely, even humming a song, and casually picked up a straight tree branch from the roadside that could be used as a sword.

"Guanyin Mazu, who hears cries of suffering and saves us from pain—you are so compassionate! I bow in reverence! Holy Mother of the Eight Treasures Golden Elixir of the Jade Pool, who saves all people—I bow in reverence!"

On dirt roads like this, where there are no buildings around and they are used specifically for traveling, travelers either ride in horse-drawn carriages, on horseback, or at the very least, on donkeys. In any case, there must be a means of transportation. But someone like Ling Ziling, who not only walks alone on a deserted road but also skips and jumps around with her own background music, is not like someone going on a spring outing at all.

This place is remote and deserted, making it an easy place for accidents to happen. Whether it's encountering robbers or a wolf or bear suddenly appearing from some hidden corner, the consequences could range from being injured and unable to find shelter to dying a violent death and being left to rot in the wilderness.

Lingziling, singing and walking like that, is a sitting duck.

"Brother, there's a girl here who looks rather strange. Should we rob her?"

Several robbers were crouching in the woods and bushes by the roadside. They had been committing crimes on this road for many years, robbing ordinary carriages and caravans, but this was the first time they had seen someone so brazenly hopping around.

Currently, the girl in pink is the only one on this road, so you can imagine how conspicuous she is. If they want to rob someone, they can only rob her.

"It's just a little girl, what's there to be afraid of? Putting aside her clothes, just her looks alone could fetch a good price if we caught her."

It was indeed strange for a young girl to be walking alone in the wilderness, but there was only one little girl on the other side, and there were four or five big men, all of whom were armed with knives. Surely they could handle a little girl.

"Isn't it said that there are three types of people you shouldn't mess with? This girl seems to have two of them. I heard there have been monsters around lately..."

The three types of people one should not mess with in the world are: old women and children, beggars, and monks and Taoists. It is rare for a girl of Ling Ziling's age to go out alone, because at this stage, most girls are waiting to be married and will choose a suitable husband to marry in a few years. Few families let their daughters go out on their own, especially not in such desolate and remote places.

Ling Ziling's singing voice was quite loud, and the robbers were hiding not far away. Judging from the lyrics and her attire, it was clear that she had some connection with Taoism, but she was quite different from the Taoist priests in the public's impression, so it was hard to be sure.

Regardless, it's really strange that a beautiful young woman would appear here, dressed in a pretty pink dress, walking fearlessly in the middle of nowhere.

This place is in the middle of nowhere, and at her hopping, skipping pace, which is like a spring outing, she wouldn't get very far even by nightfall. If she continued walking like this into the night, she worried that there would be not only bandits but also wild animals.

"Gods, oh gods, protect humanity, preserve peace... Ah..."

Ling Ziling suddenly stopped, sighed, and turned to look at the place where the bandits were hiding.

"Gentlemen, are you going to rob me or not? If not, I'm leaving."

She had already noticed someone hiding at this distance. She wasn't stupid; only bandits would be sneaking around in the dark in a place like this. She wasn't afraid, and she even kept a close eye on the situation to see how the other side would rob them.

If they are habitual criminals, there must be a bounty. Ling Ziling could just do his job to help them, but why haven't these guys come out yet?

Ling Ziling's sudden turn startled the other side, because this target looked really unusual. If it really was a monster, all of them would be doomed. So they decided to quietly follow and observe the situation.

The roadside woods were dense, and even the shortest weeds and shrubs were half a person tall. They were all experienced and knew how to hide without being discovered. They were very confident in their pursuit. When the little girl suddenly stopped, before they could even be curious, she was exposed by the other party.

The robbers: This isn't right, is it? What's wrong with this little girl's eyes? She gave herself away so easily?

Ling Ziling: What do you mean by being exposed or not? You're all the same as if you're not hiding anything in front of me.

"Oh no, bro, we've been found out!"

"Wow, this girl has such good eyesight?"

Isn't this a bit too good?

"This is pointless, I'm leaving. You guys can keep squatting."

After waiting for a while, Ling Ziling realized that the other side still hadn't come out to say any of their classic robbery lines, so she got bored and decided to turn around and leave.

As robbers, not only were they discovered by their target, but they also seemed to be looked down upon. What kind of ability could a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl have? Thinking this, the robbers decisively showed themselves, blocking Ling Ziling's way, and intended to teach this girl who didn't take them seriously a lesson.

"This road is..."

"This road is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave some money behind!"

When they appeared menacingly, ready to utter harsh words, the girl in pink tilted her head and uttered the classic line before they could.

"This young lady..."

"I advise you to be smart and obediently come with your brother. I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury from now on."

"...Don't..."

"Don't be so arrogant. We outnumber them, so the advantage is on our side."

"..."

Robber: She's using all my words!

Wait, this isn't right! Where did you get all this talk? And there were four or five big men with knives blocking your way. Shouldn't a teenage girl like you be scared? Shouldn't you be screaming a little?

"...Can't you be scared for a second?"

This was the first time they'd ever robbed someone, and it was so frustrating. Not only were the robbers not scared, they kept stealing their lines, making even the robber leader lose confidence.

"Well, it's not impossible."

Ling Ziling held the branch and pondered; the atmosphere was indeed a bit eerie.

"How many times can you call out to us, uncles?"

"Wait, no, that's not right!"

What are those burly men yelling about!

"I'm trying to scare you, you little brat, are you trying to play me for a fool?"

The gang leader pointed his knife at Ling Ziling. This girl in pink was too strange; it would be better to finish her off quickly.

"Then let me ask you something, uncles, you're repeat offenders, right?"

A quick and decisive victory? That's a good suggestion.

"So what if it is? Brother, go for it... Hey? Ouch!"

Not long after, Ling Ziling, accompanied by several bound men, stood in front of the city gate and talked with the soldiers guarding the entrance.

"They came to rob us, but I saw they were repeat offenders, so I beat them all down and brought them here. There's a reward, right?"

"There is indeed a bounty..."

The guards compared the wanted poster with the bruised and battered men. There were indeed wanted bandits, but these five guys were all tall and strong. How did this little girl manage to defeat them?

"Girl, how did you catch them?"

Looking at the petite girl in pink in front of him, who looked like a young lady from a wealthy family, it was hard to imagine that such a girl could have taken down and trapped these big men and brought them here.

Oh right, I didn't see how those five big men appeared. They were all tightly bound and unconscious, so they definitely couldn't have walked over. The gatekeeper didn't see them move either. He only saw a flash of light and then a pretty girl in pink pointed at the big men who had appeared out of thin air and said, "Come and claim your reward."

It's so strange, it feels like a dream.

The officers and soldiers wanted to know: how did Ling Ziling, who seemed to be completely defenseless, manage to defeat five people? Or, did she receive any other assistance?

However, Ling Ziling, who had just successfully performed her chivalrous act, was still in an excited state and her mind was not connected with the person asking the question. She thought the other person was asking her what she had used to defeat the bandits.

"Use tree branches."

"?"

No wonder these guys have so many scratches on their faces and bodies, they were whipped with tree branches... Huh? What? With tree branches?

“This young lady is also guilty of deceiving officers and soldiers.”

A seemingly defenseless little girl knocked down five fierce-looking men with a tree branch? This plot is so fake and ridiculous that no one would buy it even if it were written as a storybook.

However, the girl in pink opposite him spoke very seriously. These robbers often blocked the way, and many people were dissatisfied with them. It was a good thing that they had been dealt with, but he really didn't believe that a girl could fight five big men.

Moreover, the girl in front of me not only had a strange name, but also claimed to be a member of the Taoist sect. Her attire did seem to have some connection to the sect, but it also looked rather odd, making it difficult to be sure.

"In that case, could this young Taoist priest please show me your travel document and travel permit? Even if you don't enter the city, you still need to register your identity to collect the reward."

"Uh, what is that?"

"The travel permit to enter the city, and the ferry document you hold as a Taoist priest."

Thinking the other party hadn't heard clearly, the officers and soldiers repeated themselves.

Ling Zi Ling: The brain is not responding.

She was an outsider, a natural being who had left the group halfway through her journey. Moreover, such formalities didn't apply in the Bitter Realm. There were no travel documents or extradition slips. Everyone wore the same outfit until the end, and you could identify someone just by their appearance. There were also entrance poems, which were essentially a process of introducing oneself. You could tell who someone was at a glance, and if they were an enemy, you would fight them on the spot. The role of an ID card was practically negligible.

Forget about showing a travel permit to enter the city. If a Xiantian person is in a hurry, it's good enough if they remember to use the gate. If they run into a hot-tempered person, they might just storm up to someone's door. Travel permit? The time spent checking travel permits is enough to kill several waves of evil Taoists. Who has time to check travel permits?

In other words, the current Taoist priest Lingling has neither a travel permit nor a travel document, making him a true unregistered person.

You asked how everyone entered the city together before? I already said that innate beings don't need to go through the gate; they fly in from outside the city walls.

"Road permits and ferry tickets..."

Ling Ziling visibly began to feel guilty, her earlier excitement vanished, and she looked up at the sky and down at the ground, avoiding the soldiers in front of her, and slowly backed away.

"Well, I just remembered I have some things to take care of. Upholding justice is my duty, and I don't need any rewards. It's all what I should do. I need to continue slaying demons and monsters, so I won't bother you gentlemen any longer. Goodbye!"

The girl in front of them took a large step back, and then a gust of wind swept across the ground, and her pink figure disappeared without a trace, leaving only the five burly men who were tightly bound and had bruised and swollen faces.

"...Did we encounter a ghost?"

"boom!"

"Why are you saying such unlucky things in broad daylight? Take these guys back and report."

Very good. Now Ling Ziling's image in the eyes of the officers and soldiers is even more suspicious. Not only can a young girl fight five big men by herself, but she can also disappear into thin air, just like a ghost.

Ling Ziling really hadn't expected the road pass and ferry to be used this time. She hadn't considered these things before, but she needed them to collect the bounty. However, she really didn't have them, so she naturally couldn't collect the bounty.

"A miscalculation, a miscalculation indeed."

Ling sighed. She changed her route and went to the village outside the city, planning to take the old way when it got dark, which meant bypassing the city gate inspection process and flying directly in.

"Ah Zhen probably doesn't have those things either, so it's a tie, not a loss."

To be precise, even innate humans don't have these things. If moral standards are flexible, travel permits can be forged, but they also have the identity of a Taoist practitioner. They can't get a Taoist's transfer certificate. Everyone is an unregistered person, so no one should laugh at anyone else.

Ling Ziling strolled leisurely in the fields by the village. There were no bandits here, and the sky was gradually darkening. Everyone was going home, and there were few people on the path.

Just to be on the safe side, she planned to wait until it was completely dark before entering the city, or even later, just in the early hours of the morning, since they wouldn't be able to catch her if they checked the curfew.

As Ling walked, she felt herself stepping on something. Looking down, she saw some broken bones and some messy footprints around her. They weren't human footprints, but animal claw marks.

The bone fragments were scattered intermittently, extending in one direction, as were the footprints on the ground, indicating that the person was walking and stopping, possibly picking up bones from the ground.

Beneath the animal's paw prints, there was a series of human footprints. Judging from the overlapping footprints, the animal was following the human, who then threw some bones behind to delay them.

Ling Ziling lowered her head and followed the footprints forward, finally arriving at a place where firewood was piled up. The footprints turned a corner and headed towards a tall stack of firewood in the distance, where two wolves were watching menacingly.

Underneath the haystack, a burly man with a knife was confronting two wolves. Upon closer inspection, the knife appeared to be used for slaughtering livestock, suggesting that the man was likely a butcher.

Currently, neither side has spotted Ling Ziling, who is standing relatively far away. The haystack, the butcher, the two wolves—this scene is truly classic, so classic that some distant memories are beginning to surface in Ling Ziling's mind.

How did it start? A butcher returned home late at night, his basket empty of meat, with only bones remaining...