Chapter 75: Wang Ping, You're Not Dead?

Longxing County City.

"Kekeke!"

The shrieks of countless demons echoed through the city. The seventeen wealthy households had summoned all their martial artist guards, bracing for the worst as they barely maintained a fragile perimeter of safety.

The ordinary commoners, however, suffered a miserable fate. One by one, the demons gnawed away their lifespans. Youths in their prime inexplicably shot up several inches in an instant, while powerfully built young men suddenly found half their hair turned white. Frail elders collapsed on the spot, their lives hanging by a thread. Such tragic scenes spread everywhere.

Wherever the demons passed, endless wails filled the air.

"My hair!"

"Father! Father, wake up!"

People screamed in terror through the streets and alleys. The demons were formless, colorless, and odorless; mortal eyes simply could not see them unless the creatures deliberately revealed themselves.

Even martial artists had to use Divine Intent to detect their presence.

For the good citizens of the city, this disaster struck suddenly and without reason. With nowhere to hide, the sheer unknown only fueled their panic.

At the same time, one place in Longxing County City remained bizarrely peaceful even as the chaos intensified. From start to finish, not a single demon approached it, nor did anyone notice its unnatural silence. Though they existed in the same city, it was as if they were separated into two entirely different worlds.

Youren Temple.

In front of the Daoist temple, atop nine hundred and ninety-nine cloud steps, the paper-doll Xu Bingzheng sat cross-legged. He held a roster in his hands, gazing down at the sprawling county city.

"Eat. Eat to your hearts' content!"

Xu Bingzheng's expression was utterly tranquil. He cared nothing for the chaos below. Longxing County had three thousand households and over ten thousand citizens; they had been cultivated specifically for this moment.

Right then, his gaze abruptly shifted.

A moment later, he spotted two figures sprinting through the city streets, heading straight for Youren Temple. It was Shenhou and Xugou.

"Imperial Tribute Hall... Hmph."

Xu Bingzheng sneered coldly, paying them no mind. The National Academy had anticipated this, since it involved the previous dynasty's providence buried in Longxing County.

On this matter, the National Academy and the current Emperor did not see eye to eye.

The Emperor wanted to completely destroy the former dynasty's providence, but the National Academy wanted to preserve it—to harness it, transform it, and turn it into the Academy's own foundation.

Yet there was one thing many high-ranking court officials didn't know: the Emperor's intentions actually differed from those of the Imperial Tribute Hall.

Rather than a relationship between superior and subordinate, the two sides were more like partners.

"The root cause must be that she became the First Seat of the Tribute Hall... From then on, the core mission of the Imperial Tribute Hall was no longer loyalty to the Emperor."

"It changed to dealing with extraordinary persons."

"It is the same now. The Imperial Tribute Hall's rush to Longxing County for the Emperor's secret decree is only secondary. Their primary goal is likely to stop the extraordinary persons behind this affair."

That gave the National Academy an opening to exploit.

"In the end, the Tribute Hall is just a bunch of martial artists. They cannot shake the political landscape. As long as we can please His Majesty afterward, any fallout can be suppressed."

To that end, the National Academy had already made arrangements.

As long as the Longevity Rivaling Heaven Gourd was successfully forged, the National Academy would, first, make a name for itself among the extraordinary persons, and second, reap a batch of Longevity-Extending Golden Pills.

The great scholars of the National Academy had always been willing to endure hardships to alleviate the sovereign's worries. Thus, they had all agreed: although they had put in tremendous effort this time, they would only take seventy percent of the Longevity-Extending Golden Pills. The remaining thirty percent would be surrendered entirely to the imperial court, reserved for the Emperor to prolong his life.

In this way, the Emperor would inevitably be grateful.

As for Longxing County and the previous dynasty's providence, bluntly speaking, it was no big deal. It was just a mere county or two, while the Emperor held the vast Nine Provinces in his heart.

Without the Emperor's support, the Imperial Tribute Hall would lose its righteous standing. What threat could they possibly pose to the National Academy then?

They were mere buffoons.

Thinking of this, Xu Bingzheng stared intently at Shenhou and Xugou.

He made up his mind: he would teach the Imperial Tribute Hall a lesson this time. If those two truly didn't know the meaning of death, he would ensure they stayed here forever!

However, right at that moment.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Xu Bingzheng's eyes narrowed as if he sensed something. He stopped looking at Shenhou and Xugou, instead turning to face the county city's main gate.

Over there.

A young man was proudly marching into the city with a large banner in his hand. Behind him, a massive, swarming crowd followed with thunderous footfalls.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

When the footfalls were parsed down to each individual, they actually weren't loud at all. Given their days of starvation, the steps even sounded weak and unsteady.

But when they gathered together.

This wave of sound seemed to carry a strange magic, compelling people to listen and irresistibly drawing their eyes toward the source.

What entered their vision was a dense throng of black-headed commoners, escorted on the periphery by the soldiers of the Xuanjia Camp. As they marched into the city, the nearby citizens immediately cried out in alarm, for everyone could see the demons coiled above and around the group.

"M-monsters!"

The citizens fled in all directions, not daring to look any longer. Yet compared to the panicking city dwellers, the black-headed commoners all wore calm, peaceful expressions.

The vicious and terrifying demons did not instill the slightest fear in them.

Because they already understood that these demons were their deceased family members. They were standing beside them now, and had even protected them from the enemy's hands.

There was nothing to fear.

A second later, at the very front of the procession, Wang Ping scanned his surroundings. Finally, he hoisted the banner high, his booming voice overpowering all the noise in the city: "Go to the granaries! Take back what belongs to you!"

Rumble!

The moment his words fell, the demons subordinate to Wang Ping—those born of the black-headed commoners—instantly shrieked as they surged forward. They clashed with the demons in the city, carving out a bloody path.

Almost at the same time, in front of Youren Temple.

"Fucking unruly peasants!"

With a furious roar, Xu Bingzheng shot to his feet. He clenched his fists, enraged to the extreme. "A mob of black-headed commoners dares to loot the official grain?"

"Where is the Tabai Camp?"

"What the hell is Yan Weichuan doing? Where the fuck did he die off to?"

Xu Bingzheng looked toward the outside of the city. Unfortunately, he was currently in a paper-doll body, relying on mystic arts; although he had some spiritual perception, he could not see too far.

However, he quickly formed a guess. 'Those two Imperial Tributes came from outside the city. Could they have teamed up with the Xuanjia Camp to defeat the Tabai Camp? That shouldn't be. Yan Weichuan received a mystic treasure from the Perfected Wandering Spirit, granting him the power to command heaven and earth. How could he possibly lose?'

Xu Bingzheng couldn't figure it out.

Right after, his gaze fell on the heroic young man at the very front of the black-headed commoners. For some reason, the other's face struck him as very familiar.

'Familiar... That's not right.'

Having rolled through officialdom for many years, Xu Bingzheng was highly confident in his memory. If he remembered someone, he remembered them. How could he find someone familiar yet be unable to recall who they were?

'To this day, I only have one blurry gap in my memory.'

The memories right before his death.

How he died and who killed him had been almost entirely lost due to the flaws in the paper-doll resurrection technique. It was the sole missing piece in his mind.

Thinking from this angle: 'Is this person connected to my death? Who is he?'

At that thought, Xu Bingzheng only felt a headache coming on. But soon, his attention was dragged away by the black-headed commoners steadily approaching the granaries.

"Bastards! What the hell are the constables doing?"

"Stinking grunts, stop them!"

Despite Xu Bingzheng's furious curses, the constables of Longxing County had long since lost all morale. Seeking only to protect themselves, absolutely no one was willing to step forward and stop the black-headed commoners.

"The granaries... cannot be lost. These are my political achievements, and more importantly, my life-saving amulet. With Longxing County going through such massive turmoil, as the magistrate, I will inevitably be held accountable by both law and reason. If the granaries remain intact, Master Cheng and the others will still have grounds to protect me. But if they're lost, I'll be punished for multiple crimes!"

Realizing this, Xu Bingzheng could finally sit still no longer.

Here at Youren Temple, although acting as a Dharma protector for the Perfected Wandering Spirit was also important, over at the granary... Mother of God, this could ruin his official career!

When it came to major moral questions of sacrificing oneself for others versus pure selfishness, Xu Bingzheng had always been able to tell the difference clearly. He immediately decided to rush over to the granaries.

As for Youren Temple...

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll recall the demons from the city first. The lifespans... haven't been fully gathered yet. Fine, I'll just have to butcher the seventeen wealthy households in the city first."

Xu Bingzheng gritted his teeth.

Prior to this, the demons' targets for stealing lifespans had mainly been focused on the ordinary commoners, leaving the seventeen wealthy households alone.

After all, those powerful families had offered him plenty of bribes. There was still some lingering goodwill from their everyday interactions.

But now, Xu Bingzheng couldn't care about that anymore.

With a single thought, he sent the demons slaughtering into the wealthy estates to quickly gather the required lifespans. Listening to the wails rising from those manors, Xu Bingzheng wept silently.

"Alas, the common people suffer."

"It is my incompetence. I failed to stop these villains from tormenting the county city. Afterward, I must beg forgiveness from Master Cheng and dock myself three years of salary, to warn myself day and night to remember this day."

Having said that, Xu Bingzheng hurriedly urged the demons to speed up their work.

Soon, the necessary lifespans were gathered. Only then did Xu Bingzheng wave his hand, recalling the demons back to Youren Temple before turning his sights toward the granaries.

"I'll let the demons protect the temple for me."

"I will go stop that mob of unruly peasants!"

Xu Bingzheng burned with anxiety. After all, he was watching pristine white rice about to be handed out to the black-headed commoners. How could he tolerate such a sinful atrocity?

A bright moon hung in the sky, and gentle breezes blew.

Since Xu Bingzheng was now in a paper-doll body, he utilized a bit of mystic art to drift down upon the wind, arriving at one of the granaries in the city. Then, he pulled out a paper talisman.

Sweeping his gaze around, he saw the black-headed commoners were already close at hand.

"I'll block them first... Hm?"

Mid-thought, Xu Bingzheng suddenly froze. He raised the gaze he had just withdrawn, looking toward the distant black-headed commoners, but he didn't see the figure that should have been there.

"Where is that young man?"

Where did that mysterious youth go—the one walking at the very front of the black-headed commoners, holding a great banner, the one who looked so familiar and was suspected to be tied to his death?

At that moment, Xu Bingzheng was both shocked and furious. Because he was now a paper doll and no longer a living person, he had fallen off the Armament Manual. His martial arts had also regressed from a Titled Martial Master, and his Divine Intent no longer existed. In the past, he would have definitely sensed the danger, but now he felt nothing at all, forcing him to simply heighten his vigilance.

Something wasn't right.

Out of caution, Xu Bingzheng decisively abandoned the thought of attacking immediately. Instead, he formed hand seals and chanted an incantation, planning to ride the wind up into the air and observe the situation before making a move.

And then, he froze.

Because he didn't fly.

Or rather, in the very second before he could lift off, a palm silently pressed down on his shoulder, pinning him right back down!

In an instant, Xu Bingzheng felt his scalp go numb.

Who was it? When? How did they do it?

Countless thoughts churned together, yet none translated into action. His intuition screamed that at this distance, if he moved even an inch, he would probably die!

"This truly is... an unexpected delight."

The voice echoed faintly. Like a key, it instantly unlocked the chains on Xu Bingzheng's memory. Parting the fog, it made him remember exactly who this was.

At the same time, it brought back the soul-deep terror from the moments right before his death.

"Wang Ping... You, you're not dead?"