Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

Chapter 182: Chapter 116: Luring a Demon to Disaster

The sun sank west, the fading light like blood.

Liu Family Village was built into the mountainside, nestled against the rolling foothills of the Great Black Mountain range.

Normally at this hour, smoke would be curling from every chimney and children’s laughter would fill the air. But today, the village was unnervingly still. The only sound was the occasional, unidentifiable birdsong echoing through the empty alleyways, adding to the desolate air.

Behind the village, a narrow, winding path snaked toward a dilapidated Mountain God Temple at the foot of the mountain.

The temple had been abandoned for years, its red walls peeling and roof tiles broken. One half of the main door sagged from its hinges.

The weeds in front of the temple were waist-high, partially hiding a freshly trodden path.

A figure in green, as silent as a stalking cat, wove through the overgrown grass and came to a stop on the limb of an old locust tree.

Chu Bai held his breath, his gaze fixed on the dilapidated temple, peering through the sparse leaves.

The *Guardian Scripture* began to circulate on its own. The wisp of Divine Thought he had only just condensed extended like an invisible tentacle, slowly probing the temple’s interior.

Divine Thought was formless and intangible. It was nearly impossible to detect, unless one encountered a master whose Divine Soul Cultivation was vastly superior.

The scene within the temple instantly formed a clear picture in his mind.

There was no Fox Demon radiating malevolent Demon Qi, as he had expected, nor were there any treacherous traps.

Only two men in plainclothes, with the air of hooligans about them, sat sprawled on the offering table before the idol.

On the table lay a greasy roasted chicken and two jugs of cheap, old wine.

The two were tearing at chicken legs and cursing up a storm, sending spittle flying.

"Bah! That Wang Bapi gets more tight-fisted by the day!"

One of the men, a burly brute, chugged a large mouthful of wine and furiously threw a chicken bone to the ground. "He sends us out here to put on this act, promising us plenty of ’hazard pay.’ And what do we get? Two damned taels of broken silver! Is he trying to shoo away a beggar?"

"Alright, that’s enough."

The other man, leaner and with a gloomy look in his eyes, sighed as he toyed with a dagger. "What can you do? He’s the Deputy Captain. We’re just scraping by in Team Three. If we don’t listen to him, who are we supposed to listen to?

Besides, the pay for this gig sucks, but at least he requisitioned this chicken from the village. It’s free food, so we might as well enjoy it."

Chu Bai’s eyebrow arched as his Divine Thought continued to probe the area.

In a corner of the temple sat a battered bamboo cage.

Inside the cage was a common, dusty-gray fox. It was painfully thin, a red string tied around one of its legs. The creature was curled into a trembling ball, its eyes clouded with terror.

’A Demon Fox? This thing?’

’It’s obviously just a common kit, barely weaned, the kind you’d find anywhere in the wilderness!’

’Forget Demon Qi, this thing doesn’t even have a shred of wildness left in it. It’s clearly been tamed, just a prop for this charade.’

And behind the mud-caked statue of the Mountain God, its features long since eroded, a coil of incense as thick as a finger smoldered, sending up a thin trail of smoke.

The smoke wasn’t the usual bluish-white. It was a bizarre, pale pink, and it gave off a cloyingly sweet, sickening odor.

’Demon-Attracting Incense...’

From his perch in the tree, Chu Bai sneered inwardly.

’The truth was plain to see.’

’This whole "Demon Fox disturbance" is nothing more than a farce, directed and staged by Wang Sanshui himself.’

’The common fox is a prop, and the Demon-Attracting Incense is just a special effect to create the illusion of ’lingering Demon Qi.’’

’They use this same old trick time and again to fool the villagers, to fool the Evil Suppression Department, and to line their own pockets with public funds.’

’What a clever scheme.’

A cold glint flashed in Chu Bai’s eyes.

But then his gaze fell on the still-smoldering coil of Demon-Attracting Incense, and his brow furrowed.

Though the Demon-Attracting Incense was low-grade—probably some folk concoction used by Hunters to lure Low Tier beasts—its scent was fatally alluring to Demon Beasts with their sensitive noses.

This wasn’t the County town; this was the edge of the wilderness, right at the foot of Great Black Mountain.

There was no telling how long the incense had been burning. Its cloying scent had already drifted far and wide on the mountain breeze.

’These idiots are playing with fire.’

’If this really lures in some passing mountain spirit or wild monster, these two grunts who do nothing but drink and curse—plus that actor Wang Sanshui—are going to find their little play has turned all too real. They’ll end up getting themselves killed.’

But he didn’t intervene.

’Since the stage is already set, I don’t mind being part of the audience. I’ll just wait for the star of the show, Wang Sanshui, to make his entrance. Then, I’ll give him a little ’gift’ of my own.’

...

As night fell, a chill crept into the mountain wind.

In the distance, a clamor of voices and the flickering light of torches appeared on the mountain path.

"Alright, you lot, look alive!"

A shrill voice, laced with a smug sense of authority, cut through the night. "The tip we got is solid! That crafty Fox Demon is holed up in the ruined temple on the back of the mountain! Team Three is taking it down tonight and ridding the people of this pest!"

"Right! Go, Deputy Cap!"

"Get the demon! Get the demon!"

A few scattered, listless voices echoed in response, their cheers reeking of insincerity.

Concealed in the rafters, Chu Bai looked down upon the scene.

A fiery dragon of torches snaked its way toward the temple.

At its head was a man in ill-fitting, standard-issue leather armor from the Evil Suppression Department. He carried a Long Saber and swaggered as he walked. It was none other than Wang Sanshui, Deputy Captain of Team Three.

The seven or eight squad members trailing him were a real motley crew. Some held torches, others yawned, and one was even picking his teeth as he walked.

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