Chapter 32

Xun Yi solemnly placed the city god seal on the jade platform.

The golden seal activated the city god's divine power, and a layer of radiance spread from the jade platform. It surged throughout the city from the city god's residence, adding strength to the boundary Xun Yi had just established.

"Is this enough?"

"Yes, it's done." Wen Pan nodded, seeing that the jade platform had already activated the restriction, and his expression eased: "With this demon-sealing seal, that guy's power will be suppressed by the demon-sealing force while he's in the city. We can bring back the demon-subduing general to investigate; he's an expert in this field and has various demon-subduing tools."

Xun Yi felt reassured and scanned the area.

This was the jade platform cluster behind the city god's residence. On the square depicting the Taiji pattern stood several dozen jade pillars. Each pillar was inscribed with different powers.

Cao Hou had engraved these pillars, and the city god's seal only needed to be lightly stamped to activate the power within the jade pillars, influencing the entire Qinglong City through the Taiji square.

The jade pillars were adorned with countless divine inscriptions that Xun Yi couldn't understand, drawing on the divine power Cao Hou had left behind.

Suddenly, Xun Yi saw a yellow earth platform far from the Taiji square. The position of the yellow earth platform was far from the rear hall of the city god's residence, surrounded by empty yellow earth, with only four large trees standing ten zhang away.

"What is that!" Xun Yi pointed to the dilapidated yellow earth platform. Various talismans were pasted on the platform, seemingly sealing some terrifying entity.

Wen Pan was deeply wary, saying, "That is the forbidden area of the city god's residence. Even we, the lord, does not allow us to go there. As the acting city god, you must not approach it."

"Oh." Xun Yi was curious, but Wen Pan didn't give him time to focus, pulling him back to the front hall.

The city god's residence was vast, originally a former imperial palace that had been renovated. It took the two of them a long time to return to the front hall.

Xun Tan used the "Clear Lotus Dew" technique from the "Twelve Flower Laws," and droplets of dew fell like silver balls onto Hu Xiaoman's wound.

In June, rain falls and lotus flowers bloom. Clear Lotus Dew is a technique from the Twelve Flower Laws symbolizing the June blooming period, responsible for healing and purification.

The jade dew seeped into Hu Xiaoman's bruised skin, and even her broken leg gradually healed.

On the other side, Bai Fu used his magic to combine Hu Daling's head with the headless ghost. A red light flew out from the head, enveloping the neck that was spattered with blood. Then, the head was placed on the neck, fitting perfectly, leaving only a shallow scar.

Hu Daling's soul was restored, and he bowed to Xun Yi and the others: "Thank you, Lord City God, and all the divine beings for saving me. I can finally see my daughter again."

At this moment, Xun Tan woke Hu Xiaoman, and Hu Daling personally explained the situation.

Hu Xiaoman and her father were left to each other after Hu Xiaoman's mother passed away. Hu Daling went to do business in another place at the beginning of the year, encouraged by a friend. He made a small profit, but later, on Guangyao Mountain, he was stopped by a strange man who insisted on gambling with him. Hu Daling, being a straightforward person, couldn't refuse and followed him to gamble.

As a result, after drinking a bit, he lost all the money he had earned and even gambled his life away, ending up with his head cut off, becoming a headless ghost.

Gambling ruins people! Xun Yi shook his head and said nothing.

"Perhaps the demon bird somehow obtained Hu Daling's head, and Hu Daling, by chance, entered the city god's territory as a headless ghost." Wen Pan speculated: "Guangyao Mountain is not in our Longchuan territory, so this matter needs to be thoroughly investigated. I will talk to my colleagues in the neighboring counties later."

"By the way, the reason I could return to Qinglong City was because of a painter's help."

"Painter?"

Hu Daling was somewhat uncertain: "That painter seemed to be from Qinglong, but his mind was a bit unclear, often acting crazy. After I met him by chance, he used his brush to send me to Qinglong City."

Xun Yi thought hard about the names of the painters in the city, but Bai Fu said, "There are many talented people in the world. It's possible that someone felt pity for you and helped you. Young Master, don't forget what your classmate told you?"

Yes, how did Yang Xuan see the ghost-headed vulture?

"There are many capable people in the world. The divine beings choose their own disciples in the mortal world and establish their own cultivation sects. A beggar on the street might be a reincarnation of a divine being, and a vegetable vendor might be a cultivator in training." Wen Pan smiled: "Young Master, there's no need to worry. Given your personality, you probably won't offend them."

Wu Pan looked deeply at Xun Yi: "That's right. Young Master is kind and helpful, and you might have unknowingly helped some divine beings, who in turn secretly protect you. Therefore, it's reasonable that you have deep blessings in this life."

Xun Yi listened and suddenly thought of his heart ailment, sighing: "I hope so. But if someone really cares for me, directly curing my heart ailment would be the greatest help."

Bai Fu and the others exchanged glances, avoiding his gaze, not daring to respond.

Hu Xiaoman and her father met, and after Hu Daling explained the situation, Hu Xiaoman suddenly knelt before Xun Yi: "Thank you, Young Master Xun, for saving us."

Xun Yi quickly helped her up: "We're classmates, no need for this." He pulled Hu Xiaoman up and asked about the strange bird.

Hu Xiaoman pondered: "I originally thought my father was under too much pressure and had changed his personality due to the killings." After hesitating, she revealed the identities of the people under the bed.

"A few days ago, I came home late. Two ruffians tried to assault me. Fortunately, my father, no, this demon, arrived in time and killed them. Later, they were hidden under the bed, and no one noticed."

Because Hu Xiaoman mistakenly thought her "father" was killing for her, she helped cover it up. As the killings continued, she only thought it was a change in personality and didn't report it, worried about her father.

Now, thinking about it, the demon was probably just eating human heads.

Hu Xiaoman listed the identities of the subsequent victims, but the first two ruffians' identities were unknown.

Xun Yi said, "If they were ruffians, the authorities probably don't even have records. Wen Pan, have any souls come in the past two days?"

"No, they should be restrained... wait a moment—" Wen Pan remembered something, carefully examining the bodies he had brought back, and said solemnly: "These dismembered bodies have no soul fragments. It seems all the souls were taken by the ghost-headed vulture."

Xun Yi frowned and asked Hu Xiaoman, "Ruffians? Do you know their names?"

Hu Xiaoman tried to recall and shook her head: "I'm not sure. It was dark, and I couldn't see their faces. After they were killed, I didn't touch them. But from their conversation, they seemed to be called 'Yang San' and 'Zhang Biaozi.' These are just nicknames."

Xun Yi knew the boss of the Qiu Lan gambling house and had dealt with the underworld. He silently noted the names and planned to find someone to investigate later.

"Then, what do you know about the evil god pens sold by the ghost-headed vulture?"

"Only a Mr. Ma."

"Who bought the genuine blessing pens from the Wen Qu Star Temple?"

"This..." Hu Xiaoman shook her head, clearly not knowing.

After all, she was just a victim. The divine beings looked at each other, seeing that they couldn't get more information, and asked Xun Yi, "Young Master, what do you think should be done with this girl?"

Now is the era of divine separation, and deities cannot easily interact with the mortal world. Hu Xiaoman, seeing so many divine beings, should have her memory erased.

But what about the memories of the past few days with the ghost-headed vulture?

"Should we directly erase her memory?" Wu Pan was uncertain: "According to the rules, memories involving divine matters should be sealed after the event."

"But if we violently seal this period of memory, creating a memory gap, she might not even remember her father's death." Bai Fu disagreed: "Moreover, we damaged her home during the fight. If the neighbors report it to the authorities, and they see the Hu family's situation and ask her questions, how will she answer? Besides, a young girl with no support, how will she live in the future?"

"Remember, one lie requires another to cover it." Bai Fu glanced at Xun Yi. When Xun Yi's situation was handled, someone suggested only hiding the events of winter.

But with such a significant change at home, it would be impossible to hide it with just a little thought.

So, to prevent Xun Yi from finding clues, most of his memories before the age of eight were erased.

After staring at Hu Xiaoman for a while, Bai Fu had an idea: "Why not let Hu Xiaoman become a priestess at the city god temple?"

"Priestess?" Xun Yi and Hu Xiaoman said simultaneously.

"Priestesses communicate with deities, but the city god temple already has qualified priestesses. She can just help with cleaning. She can say she lost her memory and was found at the city god temple's entrance, then was taken in."

Xun Yi looked at Hu Xiaoman, who was tightly holding Hu Daling's hand, tears rolling down her face.

Hu Daling patted her head: "Your father is dead, and no one will take care of you in the future. Going to the city god temple is at least a way out. Unfortunately, I won't see you get married and have children." He looked at Xun Yi with hopeful eyes.

Xun Yi had a marriage arrangement and wouldn't easily make promises, only vaguely agreeing to help her find a partner in the future. Whether it works out or not is not his concern.

Next, the mortal world's aftermath was left to Xun Yi to handle.

Xun Yi and Xun Tan returned home. Xun Yi first went to the Qiu Lan gambling house to ask the boss to help investigate the two ruffians, then went to the governor's residence to meet with Governor Li.

Governor Li, Li Junde's father, had been troubled by several missing people in the city. Xun Yi's arrival immediately solved his problem.

However, regarding the murderer, Xun Yi vaguely said it was a wandering bandit. Governor Li trusted Xun Yi and called Hu Xiaoman for questioning.

Hu Xiaoman and Xun Yi pretended that Hu Daling was also a victim, so the Hu family wasn't suspected.

In the end, with no leads on the murderer, it was temporarily classified as a "robbery and murder." The dismembered bodies were returned to their families. Of course, the bodies of Yang San and Zhang Biaozi, whose identities couldn't be verified, were temporarily left in the mortuary.

After two busy days, fortunately, the city god's residence had no further incidents, and Xun Yi only needed to go there to stamp the seal and didn't have to run around randomly.

However, in these two days, Xun Yi successfully completed his ten good deeds, even with some to spare.

The first level of the merit tree was finally activated. A branch with a dozen leaves held a blue flower bud. That was the divine power Xun Yi had gained through his merits.

Xun Tan, Aunt Xue, and Bai Fu gathered around Xun Yi: "The 'Great Merit Scripture' has forty-eight innate divine powers. According to Young Master's current merits, he can activate the first divine power, but we don't know what it is."

Xun Tan: "The best would be resurrection, which could directly cure his heart ailment."

Aunt Xue smiled and shook her head: "Resurrection requires a lot of merits, and it needs to go through the stages of 'regenerating flesh and bones' and 'limb regeneration' before the final great divine power can be achieved. This is the growth of the merit flower, and when the final great divine power is complete, it will turn into a fruit."

The three stared intently at Xun Yi's head. In their eyes, a golden cloud rose above Xun Yi's head. The branches in the golden cloud swayed, and the dozen green leaves of good deeds glowed, recording Xun Yi's merits over the past few days.

The blue flower bud on the branch suddenly scattered a layer of golden light of merit.

"Huh? How did Young Master gain more merit?" Aunt Xue calculated, and the merit value was in the hundreds, adding up to the eight hundred given by Long Ge and the bits and pieces accumulated over the past few days, totaling 1,500 merits.

"It's because the matter of the evil god pens has concluded, and the Heavenly Court has begun to award merits." Bai Fu realized: "Merits align with the timing of heaven. Five hundred merits awaken the first divine power, and accumulating one thousand merits adds another. We just don't know what Young Master's divine power is."

The second flower was light green, hidden among the leaves, and if not for the three's keen eyes, it would have gone unnoticed.

The two flower buds slowly formed, revealing two small characters.

Xun Tan was stunned: "Why these two?"

"The second divine power is reasonable, given the family's expertise, but where did the first one come from?" Aunt Xue was puzzled: "Logically, shouldn't Young Master need a life-related divine power? Could it be..."

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