Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

On the first day of arriving in Suzhou and Hangzhou, Fang Zheng slept in comfortably. However, when he opened the door the next morning after waking up, the first thing he saw was the face of a fair-skinned scholar.

"Who are you?"

Fang Zheng’s face dropped immediately; other inns have pretty female attendants, what’s the meaning of giving me a pretty boy? I’m not into this.

"Hello."

Seeing Fang Zheng, the other party quickly raised his hand in greeting.

"I am Shen Wenbin from the Shen Family in Suzhou and Hangzhou, here to meet you specially, young master."

"Do we know each other?"

Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow, staring at the man in front of him. Building connections like this isn’t the way; who are you to come meet me? Every minute I’m aware of tens of thousands of gold changing hands, you know?

"It’s like this, Young Master, I heard you want to invite the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe to perform in Chang’an?"

"Yes, I do have that intention."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng mostly guessed the other’s identity. Indeed, he soon saw the young master bowing to him again.

"Truth be told, this Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe was specially invited by me to celebrate my father’s eightieth birthday. If you’re interested in the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe, why not come to the birthday banquet? You should know that to celebrate, the troupe has prepared a brand new musical performance, worthy of one’s time to watch."

"Oh?"

Watching the other respectfully hand over an invitation, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes. He certainly understood why Shen Wenbin would want to build connections with him. Although Fang Zheng was traveling in disguise, he booked the hotel through the imperial internal affairs, and it was a presidential suite. Such information isn’t confidential; anyone who finds out can guess that Fang Zheng is certainly an important figure in the palace.

This Shen Family in Suzhou and Hangzhou, Fang Zheng has never heard of. Probably, they’re local influencers of a sort and naturally wouldn’t dare oppose the palace. They likely feared Fang Zheng seeking trouble, so they promptly made their move, sending an invitation as an expression of respect and perhaps also wanting to build connections with those in the palace.

"In that case, Fang Zheng will trouble you."

Fang Zheng reached out, took the invitation, flipped through it, and then slipped it into his coat, seeing this, Shen Wenbin’s face broke into a slight smile.

"Then, when the time comes, we’ll come to welcome the master."

After saying this, Shen Wenbin sensibly and appropriately withdrew, evidently knowing how to conduct himself.

Hmm... as expected, it’s common sense. Whichever family sends someone to show off like a boss in front of the presidential suite, you’re not coming to crash the place.

After this, Fang Zheng also called the shopkeeper during his meal to inquire about the Shen Family, thereby learning that they started with shipping, and now they’re considered big players in Suzhou and Hangzhou’s transportation industry. The elder, who’s turning eighty this year, was a famed righteous person in Suzhou and Hangzhou in his youth, helping others and having a good reputation among the people. For his eightieth birthday, they also hosted a grand banquet with neighbors for a celebration, making it a lively event in Hangzhou City.

After eating, Fang Zheng had no intention of touring Hangzhou City. Instead, he sat in the "bar" on the second floor, listening to patrons chat about all sorts of topics, occasionally overhearing the follow-up to the MP4 video he watched the night before — apparently, the woman reported to the police and had her husband arrested, while her husband reported a robbery happening at home...

Tut tut tut, truly one more ruthless than the other.

And so Fang Zheng wandered until noon, then sat in the Shen Family’s carriage, swaying all the way to offer birthday wishes, naturally accompanied by Shen Wenbin. Fang Zheng introduced himself, revealing his name, Fang Zheng, but clearly, Shen Wenbin didn’t connect this name with the current Emperor.

This is to be expected; after all, Fang Zheng is known to the outside world by his imperial title, akin to a stage name. Mentioning Lu Xun is widely recognized, but saying Zhou Shuren, then nobody would know who that is. So even when Fang Zheng gave his real name, the young man showed no signs of recognition.

Upon arriving at the Shen Family, Fang Zheng met the rumored Old Master Shen celebrating his eightieth birthday — indeed, a very hearty fellow with a touch of heroic spirit found in Jianghu travellers. Seeing Fang Zheng come empty-handed to extend birthday wishes didn’t garner any particular thought from him; he cheerfully welcomed him in.

But for Fang Zheng, things weren’t so simple.

Because once he entered the banquet hall, he saw several people he detested — bald heads.

"Young Master Shen, who are those people?"

Feigning curiosity, Fang Zheng asked after taking his seat. Shen Wenbin clearly wasn’t hearing such queries for the first time and quickly gave a practiced response.

"Reply to Young Master Fang, those are monks from the Western Region..."

"Are they also here to celebrate your father’s birthday?"

"It’s not that; it’s because my mother listened to their preaching and found it very enlightening, so she invited them to our house as guests. It just so happened that my father’s eightieth birthday was coming up, so they joined the table."

"Oh, I see."

Fang Zheng nodded and said no more, just smilingly watching the bald heads at the table. In fact, he had already started considering when and where to kill these damn cultists.

For Fang Zheng, there’s no need for a reason to kill cultists; on the contrary, letting them live requires a justification, right?

However, I really didn’t expect these cultists would infiltrate here.

Looking at the monks at the table reciting scriptures with their eyes closed, Fang Zheng’s gaze turned slightly cold. These days he had been busy climbing the tech tree and had forgotten about the disgusting religious victory option in the civilization. Because Fang Zheng strictly prohibited public cabinet members from joining any religion or engaging in commerce, he had indeed forgotten about this...

But so what about the religious victory option, eat my nuclear bomb and clear the ground!

Afterwards, more people took their seats, and others clearly became aware of the monks at the table. Occasionally, someone would inquire about their origins, but those bald donkeys sat in silence, pretending to be demure like green tea bitches, thinking about hooking men, while outwardly showing innocence, harmlessness, and kindness, signaling others not to bully them.

The truth was, it stank inside.

The birthday celebration went smoothly; Old Master Shen, a jianghu person, didn’t like those overly formal customs, and was already quite happy just listening to guests wishing him well. So, not long after, at dusk, the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe appeared in front of everyone.

Seeing this diverse troupe, everyone widened their eyes with curiosity, and Fang Zheng sat nearby, holding his wine glass and observing the song and dance troupe with a silent smile. The reason he accepted Shen Wenbin’s invitation was mainly to further investigate this troupe and discern the source of that previous hint of demon aura.

Soon, under everyone’s gaze, the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe began their performance again. Perhaps because the birthday star this time was from the jianghu, their performance was not the previous romantic drama but a scenario similar to a hero battling an evil dragon.

Of course, there was no evil dragon or slime here; mainly, it told the story of a hero from the Southern Barbarian Tribe confronting a creature from local mythology.

Initially, the song and dance were quite normal, but Fang Zheng quickly noticed that the previously concealed demon aura was gradually spreading and diffusing.

What’s going on? Could it be the troupe was just disguising themselves at the restaurant, now revealing their true nature?

No, it’s not that; the reason for the leak in demon aura... it’s precisely those bald donkeys.

Fang Zheng turned his head, glanced at the bald donkeys, and saw them still sitting there, heads bowed and hands clasped together, muttering quietly. Others might not know what they’re doing, but Fang Zheng could clearly feel that these monks were chanting scriptures specifically targeting yokai...

"Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!"

The Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe, too, seemed to sense something was amiss; their drumbeats became more urgent, and their dance more intense. They attempted to use this method to counter the monks’ scriptures, but unfortunately, the monks’ scriptures seemed to restrain the yokai’s sorcery. Soon, Fang Zheng saw some members of the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe showing signs of being unable to hold on.

"Humph."

Seeing this, Fang Zheng’s gaze turned icy, then he extended his hand and lightly flicked the wine glass.

"Ding—"

This slight sound was nearly inaudible in the banquet hall, yet it was like a heavy hammer smashing straight into the monks’ hearts, instantly disrupting their chanting!

At that moment, the monks’ bodies trembled slightly, their faces turned pale simultaneously, but they were somewhat skilled; after their complexions paled, they instantly regained composure. Yet, even so, they dared not continue chanting, lowering their heads in silence, pretending to be dead as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe, freed from the annoyance of the bald donkeys, immediately resumed their normal performance. Soon, Fang Zheng felt the scattered demon aura vanish again, taking little time to hide without a trace.

Following this, amidst lively applause from everyone, the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe flawlessly completed their performance and quickly retired. Of course, they wouldn’t perform just this show; according to the Shen family’s arrangements, the Old Master’s eightieth birthday was to be shared with the public. Therefore, the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe would perform throughout Hangzhou City later... naturally, all funded by the Shen family.

However, just as the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe were about to leave, those monks suddenly moved as if trying to stand up—but they hadn’t had time to act before an invisible pressure descended from the sky, pressing them back onto their seats.

The Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe seemed to sense danger too. Fang Zheng saw their leader glance somewhat uneasily at the monks, then promptly led the others to turn away from the banquet hall. The monks, however, kept staring at the departing direction of the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe, looking regretful.

Could it be that this troupe was related to those bald donkeys or something?

Seeing this, Fang Zheng’s mouth curved slightly.

It seems things are getting interesting.

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