Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

There are many monsters living nearby. Apart from the fox family related to Huang Jiulang, you can find several intelligent spirits in and around the city, in the mountains and forests, in the mass graves, and even in the moat, as long as you look carefully.

Most of the monsters are not very powerful. Apart from a few particularly vicious ones, the rest are like the cousins, Jūjūrō and Gōrō, who are either humanoid or have only recently attained human form and only know some minor tricks.

None of them were particularly strong fighters, and many Taoist priests weren't even interested in capturing them. Their destructive power was negligible, let alone harming people. Even a brawl between the village dogs would be more serious than these little monsters fighting. Therefore, when Huang Jiulang saw a strange girl accompanying his two cousins, he was puzzled but didn't think much of it.

He had long since given up living here, but he returned this time because He Zixiao happened to be here and possessed a body. Ling Ziling didn't look like a monster, but upon closer inspection, she didn't seem very human either. Huang Jiulang guessed that she belonged to some other special group, such as ghost immortals or mountain spirits.

Because Ling Ziling's attire is quite different from current fashion trends, it's as if she lives elsewhere and is out of touch with contemporary society.

Huang Jiulang was in a hurry to ask his cousin about her return journey. Ling Ziling seemed to be a friend of Wulang and Shiyilang. These two little foxes were not only the youngest of their generation in the family, but also known for being naive and innocent. So he didn't pay much attention to these somewhat special friends.

So what did He Zixiao say? That girl had come by, accompanied by a fox that could speak human language and claimed to be her cousin. That was probably Shiyilang; among his brothers, only Shiyilang lacked human form. The other party had suddenly arrived, left after bombarding him with a bunch of strange questions, and then immediately departed.

The question of "spirit is spirit" was very impactful to He Zixiao. He remembered it very clearly and repeated it to Huang Jiulang. He Zixiao was concerned with the content of the question, while Huang Jiulang heard another layer of meaning.

The girl objected to her matchmaking for her cousin and He Zixiao, trying to disrupt their thinking. If He Zixiao really cares about the true bloodline of their future child, this marriage will likely fall through in the end.

"How did she know all this? Could it be Goro or Ichiro... Right, Goro confronted me in front of my aunt when he got home, that kid definitely knows something."

Huang Jiulang had a premonition that the girl in pink was suspicious and would cause trouble tomorrow.

But it doesn't matter. He told all the elders about He Zixiao's good qualities. His cousin, Third Sister, is a smart woman and knows how to make a choice. She is not afraid of an outsider interfering.

"Don't worry about that for now. Just do what I just said tomorrow. My cousin is smart and beautiful. You'll definitely like her."

"what are you doing?"

"Of course, it's drawing talismans."

Not far from He Zixiao's residence, Ling Ziling found a place to make talismans for tomorrow. With Huang Jiulang's perception, the distance between them should have been detected long ago. It's unknown what method Ling Ziling used to be able to coexist peacefully here.

"We've used up most of the talismans we had before. We need to help you protect Third Sister tomorrow, so of course we need to prepare in advance."

There were enough talismans, but before entering the city, Ling Ziling performed a ritual for one of the villages outside the city, distributing the talismans to the villagers to put their minds at ease.

Li Hualong was a deserter and could not stay in his hometown for long. If he was found out, he would likely be implicated. Although the person involved said that the entire army was terrified by the demons summoned by the White Lotus Sect, and many people ran away on the spot, even the general in charge at the time was afraid, Ling Ziling was still worried.

The reason Li Hualong ran back to his hometown was that he felt he was going to die soon and wanted to go home to see his family. Now he has come to his senses and understands that he, as a deserter, cannot stay here. Whether to surrender to the army or find a living elsewhere is not something he should consider.

After distributing the talismans to the villagers, Ling Ziling herself didn't have enough. She did have some lightning-summoning talismans left, but it wouldn't be appropriate to strike anyone in the scene tomorrow. Besides, this was in the city, and making too much noise with the lightning talismans would attract attention. The Wu family's midnight lightning strike had kept all the neighbors within a ten-mile radius awake.

Moreover, this matter is quite complicated, involving an ordinary person who has been resurrected, several fox demons, and Ling Ziling, who is innate, so some other things need to be prepared.

Ling Ziling pulled out a table and materials and started making the food on the spot, while chatting with the other two.

"Luckily, I'm all grown up now and can make talismans myself without messing things up. If it were before, I would have had to go back to Ah Zhen."

Where did you get all these things from?

Shiyilang leaned over the table, watching Ling Ziling draw talismans. He felt that these talismans were very familiar, and should be commonly used by Taoists, but upon closer inspection, there were quite a few differences.

Thinking back to the wine he had bought for himself earlier, Shiyilang guessed that the other party had some kind of magic called "hidden universe in a sleeve," but it contained too much stuff, all sorts of things.

"Trade secret. By the way, Huang Jiulang's surname is Huang. What are your surnames? Hu?"

When Goro and Shichiro introduced themselves, they only mentioned their first names and not their surnames. Many monsters choose their surnames based on the first character of their race, so you can tell their origins just by hearing it. Of course, there are also monsters who don't choose their surnames this way. For example, when Ling Ziling first heard the name Huang Jiulang, she thought it was a weasel.

"My surname is indeed Hu."

Goro wasn't surprised that his surname was guessed. The surname Hu was extremely common among fox demons. If you called out with this surname, eight out of ten fox demons would turn around.

“I took my mother’s surname, Xin.”

Since they are cousins, Goro and Shichiro's fathers naturally share the surname Hu, but Shichiro's side seems to be a bit special, as he took his mother's surname.

“My cousin’s family only has five children, but my mother had eleven. I was the youngest and much younger than my older brothers and sisters, so we decided to let me take my mother’s surname.”

"So he was spoiled. His aunt didn't care about his cultivation at all. She didn't care if he lost his human form and just let him drink and act crazy all day long."

"So, you're all the youngest in your families? Since you have surnames, why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

Ling Ziling looked up. No wonder these two guys were so naive. She, a Taoist, was not only not wary of them, but they also agreed to let her join them after just a few words. Within half a day, a three-person team was formed, and Ling Ziling still held the main command.

This intelligence reminded Xiao Cui of her former apprentice, Xiao Hu. However, the two of them were a bit better than Xiao Hu. They were also simple-minded foxes, but at least they wouldn't do things that would backfire on them, such as covering their own teeth with poison in order to scheme against others, only to end up getting poisoned themselves first.

"Among our peers, we are the two youngest... and in terms of cultivation level, we can't leave the house. Huang Jiulang has gone far away. People just call him Jiulang, but we just walk around the neighborhood. Everyone knows us. Those who are close to us can tell who we are just by our names, and those who are distant don't care."

Those with insufficient cultivation levels are prone to danger when venturing out, and if they stray too far, they risk offending someone, leaving their families unable to rescue them in time. Those with high cultivation levels are left unattended and can roam freely. For example, Wu Lang's sister can accompany her elders on trips, and Huang Jiulang can go directly to the capital to interact with scholars.

"Alright, let's go."

After finishing the last drawing, Ling Ziling packed up her tools and made as if to leave. Shiyilang, who was lying on the table, almost fell flat on his back.

"...Where are you going?"

"Go and put up a poster on He Zixiao's door."

"?"

Why are you putting this on the front door? Third Aunt won't be back until tomorrow.

"They've done something wrong, why don't we just fight them head-on and run away? Let's trap them all together first..."

……

The next day, Huang Jiulang took the initiative to go outside the city to pick up San Niang, saying that he hadn't been home for a long time and had come to see his cousin. The two families were on good terms, so San Niang wasn't surprised and rode on a donkey, letting him lead the way.

As Huang Jiulang had said yesterday, he led the donkey to He Zixiao's door. He Zixiao also appeared at the right time. Seeing the girl on the donkey with her beautiful eyebrows and eyes, like a fairy, he made up his mind.

The two entered the house under the pretext of having tea. Huang Jiulang said that the other party was his sworn brother and invited San Niang to come along. He also tied the donkey outside the door and closed the courtyard gate.

As the door was being closed, a yellow talisman appeared outside, emitting flames and spontaneously combusting. The talisman appeared suddenly, as there had been nothing on the door beforehand, yet it seemed as if it had been pasted there long ago.

Unfortunately, the door was already closed, and the people inside could not see the strange occurrence outside. The yellow talisman quickly burned out, and golden characters appeared on the door, extending to the left and right, and spreading to the adjacent courtyard walls.

Although there were two fox demons inside, no one noticed what was happening outside. Third Sister didn't recognize He Zixiao; he looked like an ordinary mortal. She was wondering why her cousin had suddenly said he wanted to come in for tea.

They weren't human, so walking such a short distance wouldn't make them thirsty. Besides, He Zixiao's eyes were very strange, and San Niang always felt that there was something wrong with this person.

When pouring tea, He Zixiao turned to Jiulang.

"Jiulang, what you said last time was not enough. I will die without regrets today."

If He Zixiao had known earlier that his cousin was so beautiful, he would have agreed long ago, and there would have been no need for Huang Jiulang to try so hard to bring them together.

The man was willing, but the woman was not. He Zixiao's words sounded wrong. Just like Huang Jiulang had said before, San Niang was a smart woman. She realized that her cousin was going to trick her today, and her expression changed as she was about to leave.

"The donkey ran away!"

Seeing that Third Sister was about to leave, He Zixiao quickly shouted out the pre-arranged code. Upon hearing this, Huang Jiulang immediately went out to chase after the donkey, but whether he was chasing the donkey or blocking the door, only he knew.

"Ninth Brother!"

Huang Jiulang left so decisively, it's clear these two are in cahoots. He Zixiao rushed up and hugged San Niang again. The other party was just a mortal, and if San Niang rashly attacked, she might kill him. She wanted to follow the fox spirit to cultivate, but if she carried karmic burdens, it would be of no benefit to her cultivation.

In the chaos, Huang Jiulang's scream suddenly came from outside. He wanted to open the door and block the entrance, but as soon as his hand touched the door, it was like hitting a scorching hot iron plate, so hot that he had to back away.

This was not part of the plan. Hearing the scream, He Zixiao quickly released San Niang and ran out, only to see Huang Jiulang lying on the ground, with his own front door emitting golden light.

Not only the gate, but also the surrounding courtyard walls faintly shimmered with light, enclosing them here.

"...A demon-slaying formation?"

Third Sister also came out. Looking at the flowing light around her, she recognized it as a kind of demon-slaying formation, but she couldn't tell which school it was. Looking at Huang Jiulang, who had been burned, she knew that he had been taught a lesson by the formation. Now, let alone chasing the donkey, Huang Jiulang couldn't even touch the door or the wall.

Judging from the expressions of the two people, Third Sister knew that this was not their plan. She had been enlightened by a wandering fox spirit, and her aura was pure. In terms of demonic energy, Huang Jiulang had much more than her. If they clashed head-on, Huang Jiulang would definitely suffer more injuries.

"Three sisters!"

"Third cousin!"

A human and a fox scaled the wall and landed beside Third Sister. Despite being demons themselves, they were unharmed and moved freely within the formation.

"Fifth brother, Eleventh Brother?"

What did you two do?

Huang Jiulang had anticipated that his two cousins ​​would cause trouble today, and he had been on guard since early on, but they hadn't shown up. Seeing that he was about to succeed, he forgot about it.

The current situation is that Huang Jiulang, who is a demon, was burned by the formation. He Zixiao is unaware of the situation. San Niang is also a fox demon and dares not touch the formation, so she is unable to leave even without being restrained. However, Wu Lang and Shiyi Lang are able to climb over the wall and enter as if nothing is wrong.

"I took a quick look."

A young girl's voice floated over the crowd, and on the other side of the courtyard wall, a girl in pink appeared out of nowhere, flipping through a book in her hands.

"According to the laws of the current dynasty, what you did, Young Master He, is punishable by hanging. Even if you fail, you will be caned and exiled. Oh, by the way, Huang Jiulang is a monster. He probably doesn't know that."

But Huang Jiulang didn't know, so how could He Zixiao, a renowned scholar in the capital, not know? To put it bluntly, it was because of Huang Jiulang's guarantee that he became increasingly unscrupulous.

If you hang out with monsters for too long, do you think you can become like a monster yourself?

"It really is a Taoist priest... Wulang, are you trying to harm your own family with the help of a Taoist priest?"

"You who want to harm your own cousin, what right do you have to shout here?"

Ling put away the book, jumped down from the wall, and stood in front of the golden gate, like a gatekeeper.

"This formation can trap you here forever. If we don't get to the bottom of this today, neither of you will be leaving. Don't worry, donkey, it's tied up securely outside."

The last sentence was said to Third Sister, which proves that He Zixiao's earlier statement that "the donkey is lost" was a lie, just an excuse for Huang Jiulang to block the door.

Seeing her like this, it was clear who had set up the formation. Wu Lang took out a paper package folded from yellow paper and handed it to San Niang. He and Shi Yi Lang also had this; it was given to them by Ling Zi Ling so that they could move freely within the formation.

After all, she had set up a demon-slaying formation. Although it had weakened many of its functions and was mainly used to trap those inside, as demons, they would still feel uncomfortable if they did nothing inside. So Ling Ziling made something like a "pass" for them.

"Come on, let's lay everything out in the open. And this young master He, have you thought it through whether you want to use this body to get married and start a family? The original owner's enemies are high-ranking officials. Besides, the underworld is currently undergoing reforms. Do you think your possession of another body will be investigated?"

Ling Ziling took out the peach wood sword. At that moment, the oppressive aura emanating from her finally made Wulang and Shiyilang realize that this young girl who had been playing around with them was a powerful being with high cultivation.

"By the way, you originally lived in the capital, so you should know Imperial Censor Wang, right? Or perhaps the two white-robed sword immortals who appeared some time ago?"

The only advantages Huang Jiulang offered He Zixiao were her former fame in the capital and her current high-ranking official status. However, in terms of connections and status, Ling Ziling had nothing to fear.