Chapter 52

Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of the commotion.

It was Zhang Shilang, accompanied by two guards and a personal attendant, coming out of the city god temple and walking towards them.

Zhang Shilang did not put on airs, and all along the way, he thanked the night watchmen for their hard work.

For the night watchmen of Luocheng Town's Demon Suppression Bureau, Zhang Shilang was probably the highest-ranking official they had ever seen in their lives.

Even though he had retired and returned to his hometown, in their eyes, he was still a high-ranking official, unreachable and unapproachable.

Now, this unapproachable Zhang Shilang was thanking them for their hard work, which made the night watchmen very excited and somewhat proud: Even a Shilang is thanking me, I can brag about this for the rest of my life!

Thus, the night watchmen who were sitting on the ground quickly stood up, and those who were already standing straightened their chests and tightened their stomachs, all wanting to show their best side to Zhang Shilang.

What if Zhang Shilang noticed them and said a few good words to the head of the hundred households? Wouldn't that mean they would soar to success?

On this side, Qin Shaoyou saw Zhang Shilang approaching and quickly asked his subordinate, "Where is Zhang Shilang's grandson?"

"I'm holding him," Liao Lishi replied, and lifted the dog in his arms so Qin Shaoyou could see it.

"Is this the dog?" Qin Shaoyou asked softly, afraid of making a mistake.

"It's him, I've been holding him all along, there's no mistake," Liao Lishi assured, almost thumping his chest.

Qin Shaoyou was relieved and said, "Very good."

Su Tingyu was muttering to herself, "Why is this Zhang Shilang only coming now to look for his grandson? Isn't he worried at all?"

Zhu Xiuzai spoke up for Zhang Shilang, "This is Zhang Shilang's direct grandson, how could he not be worried? But at this moment, he can only put public affairs before personal matters, deal with the Black Lotus Sect first, and then handle personal matters."

Ma Heshang added, "Besides, with us protecting his grandson, what else could he be worried about?"

Qin Shaoyou interrupted their discussion, "Don't talk anymore, Zhang Shilang is about to come over."

Zhu Xiuzai and Ma Heshang quickly shut up, and Su Tingyu also stopped talking.

Zhang Shilang soon approached, and upon seeing the dog in Liao Lishi's arms, he clearly trembled, wanting to recognize it but afraid of making a mistake.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Zhang Shilang bowed to Qin Shaoyou, "Captain Qin... no, I should call you Commander Qin. I've already heard from Captain Xue that you deserve the most credit for solving this case."

Qin Shaoyou knew that his brother-in-law was deliberately praising him in front of Zhang Shilang.

What a good brother-in-law!

He gave Xue Qingshan a mental thumbs up, deciding to speak well of his brother-in-law to his third sister when he returned, to see if he could help his brother-in-law get more pocket money.

He also replied, "Captain Xue is too kind, I dare not take the credit. The success of this case is due to the collective efforts of everyone in the Luocheng Town Demon Suppression Bureau, and also to the proper cooperation of Zhang Shilang."

Zhang Shilang waved his hand.

After being an official for so many years, what kind of flattery had he not heard? Qin Shaoyou's commercial flattery was not fresh in his eyes.

He had no mood for further pleasantries and pointed to the dog in Liao Lishi's arms, his voice trembling, "Commander Qin, is my grandson... is this dog?"

"Indeed." Qin Shaoyou stepped aside, letting Liao Lishi hand the dog to Zhang Shilang.

Holding the dog, Zhang Shilang felt both excited and sad.

Excited because he finally found his beloved grandson, sad because his beloved grandson had been turned into a dog.

The dog, which had been sleeping, suddenly woke up when Zhang Shilang held it. Seeing that the person holding it was Zhang Shilang, it became very excited, wanting to speak but only able to bark.

"My poor grandson..."

Tears streamed down Zhang Shilang's face as he held the dog and wept.

At this moment, he was no longer a retired Shilang or a local gentry, but just a grandfather who was heartbroken for his grandson.

The dog was also sobbing and shedding tears.

Zhang Shilang had strong self-control and, after a few sobs, he held back, stroking the dog's head to comfort it while asking Su Jianqing and Su Tingyu, "May I ask the two Daoists, can these poor children, who have been turned into dogs by the demons, be turned back?"

Su Jianqing replied, "Our cultivation is not enough to turn them back. We can only take them back to the Jade Emperor Temple and ask our teachers to help, perhaps they can break the evil spell on them."

Hearing this, Zhang Shilang handed the dog to his attendant and bowed deeply to Su Jianqing and Su Tingyu.

"Thank you, Daoists of the Jade Emperor Temple. On behalf of the people of Mianyuan County, I thank you in advance."

He then instructed his attendant, "Wenliang, you follow the two Daoists to the Jade Emperor Temple. Besides taking care of the young master, you must follow any instructions from the two Daoists."

"Yes." Zhang Wenliang, holding the dog, bowed in acknowledgment.

Zhang Shilang also thanked Qin Shaoyou, Zhu Xiuzai, and the others.

Thanking them for saving his direct grandson and the children of Mianyuan County.

He then said goodbye, "County Magistrate Sun, who colluded with the bandits, has been arrested, and several other officials involved in the county government have also been arrested. Now, the county government and the entire Mianyuan County are in a state of panic, so I need to go to the county government to temporarily take charge of calming the people... I entrust my grandson and these poor children of Mianyuan County to your care!"

With that, he bowed deeply again.

Everyone quickly returned the bow.

Zhang Shilang hugged his grandson, who had been turned into a dog, patted his head, and with a reluctant heart, left the city god temple under the protection of two guards, riding a horse to the county government.

Watching Zhang Shilang leave, Zhu Xiuzai and Ma Heshang were secretly excited, and the night watchmen nearby looked at them with envy.

Although Zhang Shilang never said how he would repay them, everyone knew that Qin Shaoyou and the others had been remembered by Zhang Shilang.

This favor of saving lives, Zhang Shilang would definitely repay!

Zhu Xiuzai and Ma Heshang were thinking about their future promotions and wealth, while Qin Shaoyou was pondering whether, with this connection to Zhang Shilang, the so-called nobleman who valued him would be more cautious in trying to harm him.

But after much thought, he still felt that the nobleman would probably not be affected.

After all, he was just a small figure, with low strength and status. Even if Zhang Shilang owed him a favor, it was not enough to make the nobleman cautious.

"Still, I need to improve my strength!" Qin Shaoyou thought to himself, "Only with sufficient strength can I survive in this messed-up world, and be able to calmly deal with both demon attacks and nobleman plots..."

Thinking of this, Qin Shaoyou suddenly turned his head and looked at Ma Heshang and the Su sisters, his eyes bright and intense.

"Sir, you... what do you want to do?" Ma Heshang was very nervous.

The Su sisters were also a bit scared.

Su Jianqing immediately stood in front of her sister, making a hand seal, ready to curse Qin Shaoyou if he dared to act rashly.

However, Qin Shaoyou did not act rashly but firmly grabbed Ma Heshang's hand.

The onlookers, including Zhu Xiuzai, were all stunned.

Not grabbing the Su sisters' smooth hands but Ma Heshang's rough hands... what strange preferences does this sir have?

Before they could speculate, Qin Shaoyou spoke, "Monk, I saw the Buddhist magic you used earlier, the one where you made a hand seal and chanted a spell, and your whole body glowed and became hard. Can you teach me that?"

Although this request was a bit impolite, Qin Shaoyou was willing to lose face to learn a life-saving skill.

Ma Heshang, caught by the hand, was a bit dazed but still replied, "The magic you're talking about is the Vajra Armor Seal. If you want to learn it, I can teach you, but I can't teach you right now..."

"Why?"

"Because we need to find a temple with a statue of Vajrapani Bodhisattva, and study it there. Whether you can learn it ultimately depends on your own destiny."

"Vajrapani Bodhisattva's statue?"

Qin Shaoyou frowned slightly.

In Mianyuan County, there doesn't seem to be a temple that enshrines Vajrapani Bodhisattva.

"Then we'll wait until we return to Luocheng. I remember there is a temple in Luocheng that enshrines Vajrapani Bodhisattva."

"No problem." Ma Heshang clasped his hands together, "Sir, you have a connection with the Buddha and great wisdom, so you should be able to learn the Vajra Armor Seal."

"Thank you." Qin Shaoyou thanked him repeatedly.

In his heart, he thought: As long as I can learn that magic, I'll accept the connection with the Buddha, as long as I don't have to become a monk...

After making this agreement with Ma Heshang, Qin Shaoyou turned to the Su sisters, "Daoists, can you teach me some talisman and Daoist magic?"

Su Jianqing was a bit dazed, "You're staring at us so intently, just to learn talisman and Daoist magic?"

"Yes." Qin Shaoyou nodded, "Of course, if you're willing to teach me more, I'm very willing to learn."

Su Tingyu shook her head, "Just focus on your martial arts training. Haven't you heard the saying 'too much is as bad as too little'?"

Qin Shaoyou explained, "I want to learn more skills to protect myself, so that I won't be helpless when I encounter demonic arts like the Black Lotus Holy Fire. If you hadn't acted in time today, we would all have been burned to death by the evil fire."

Su Jianqing retorted, "You can't resist because you're too weak!"

Qin Shaoyou: ?? Am I the clown here? !

Fortunately, Su Jianqing not only stabbed him but also gave a reason, "Once you reach the Sixth Rank of Martial Artist and cultivate Inner Qi, you will be able to resist evil arts. Captain Xue of your Demon Suppression Bureau is a Sixth Rank Martial Artist, so the Black Lotus Sect's evil fire couldn't get close to him."

Su Tingyu was much gentler, "You can learn some magic from the monk, as his magic is in the same lineage as martial arts and won't have negative effects. But if you want to learn Daoist magic or other Buddhist magic, it will be difficult and might even hinder your own cultivation..."

After listening to the two sisters, Qin Shaoyou could only temporarily give up the idea of learning Daoist magic to avoid hindering his martial arts cultivation, which would be counterproductive.

At the same time, he set a new goal for himself: to quickly reach the Sixth Rank of Martial Artist, cultivate Inner Qi, and add another layer of protection for his survival in this world.

While they were talking, the night watchmen had gathered all the stray dogs in Mianyuan County, put them in cages, and placed them on carts.

Xue Qingshan, who had been busy with the capture, appeared at this moment and immediately instructed the Su sisters to take the dogs back to the Jade Emperor Temple as soon as possible to help them return to human form, to avoid any changes if it took too long.

Xue Qingshan also arranged for a team of night watchmen to escort them along the way.

Qin Shaoyou and the others were also part of the escort team.

"Shaoyou, I can only help you this much. What happens next depends on your own abilities..."