Divine Level Witch Doctor

'Huh, isn't that Widow Ma? She's actually shacked up with this quack.'

Zhao Yuan recognized the beautiful young woman cradled in Mage Zhang's arms, and something suddenly came to mind.

'Last year, Widow Ma's husband suddenly died from a strange illness. Could it be that these two had already hooked up and murdered him? If that's true, then these two are practically a modern-day Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian!'

He'd find out if that was the truth soon enough by asking. But before the interrogation, there was one more thing he had to do.

Zhao Yuan didn't want his conversation with Mage Zhang to be overheard. He needed to find a way to keep Widow Ma deep in sleep so she wouldn't wake up and hear something she shouldn't.

The Secret Techniques of the Witch Priests were perfect for this sort of thing.

Zhao Yuan opened his Information Leaf and searched through the books he had copied from the Ying Family Library. The results didn't disappoint. He quickly found a hypnotic Curse Technique.

Following the Curse Technique's instructions, Zhao Yuan took out a handful of Mugwort from his Storage Ring Space, lit it, and softly chanted a Spell.

Then, something strange happened.

The bluish smoke from the burning Mugwort didn't disperse. Instead, it condensed into a single stream, twisting and writhing like a live snake before burrowing into Widow Ma's nostrils.

Widow Ma's breathing and heart rate instantly slowed, a sign that the Curse Technique had hypnotized her into a deep, unconscious state.

Zhao Yuan nodded in satisfaction before flipping the switch on the wall. The bedroom lights instantly flared to life.

"What the hell? Who's turning on the lights in the middle of the night?"

Mage Zhang, deep in sleep, felt the piercing light and mumbled a complaint, but he didn't open his eyes. He just rolled over, ready to go back to sleep.

Zhao Yuan dragged the chair over from the vanity, sat down, and said in a cold voice, "Mage Zhang. Don't sleep. Get up. Let's have a little chat."

"Hm!?"

A shiver ran down Mage Zhang's spine, and all sleepiness vanished in an instant. He shot upright in bed and snapped his eyes open.

His eyes, suddenly opened, couldn't adjust to the light. Mage Zhang could only make out the shape of a person in the room, not their face. Thinking the police from the town station had tracked him down, he cried out, "How did you know I was here? Hey, um, I didn't mean to escape! Someone begged me to come save their life, that's the only reason I left..."

The fool was clearly panicking, just spouting whatever excuse came to mind.

Zhao Yuan snorted and said mockingly, "Saving a life? By cuddling a woman in bed? Sounds more like you were trying to *make* a life, not save one."

Mage Zhang's eyebrow twitched. The voice sounded familiar, and far too young for a cop. He blinked hard, and when he opened his eyes again, he could finally see who had appeared in his bedroom.

But what he saw shocked him even more.

"How can it be you?" Mage Zhang cried out in shock. "How are you still alive? This is impossible!" He suddenly looked down, grabbing a cloth pouch that hung from his neck. He pulled out a mottled Bronze Ring and a stack of talisman paper covered in bizarre Spells.

The Bronze Ring was fine, but the moment the talisman paper was out of the pouch, it burst into flames, turning to black ash in an instant.

Mage Zhang's face turned ashen. "How can this be?" he stammered.

'The Bronze Ring must be the Magical Artifact for commanding the Xiaoyang,' Zhao Yuan guessed. 'And that stack of talisman paper was for controlling the Paper Mache Man. Because I already destroyed the Paper Mache Man, the talismans lost their efficacy and spontaneously combusted.'

'Judging from his reactions, he had no idea the Xiaoyang and the Paper Mache Man had failed. It seems he didn't create the Bronze Ring and the talisman paper himself. Otherwise, he would've gotten feedback the instant the mission went south!'

'Also, the Xiaoyang fled after it was defeated, but it didn't come back to him. His control over it must be weak.'

Having figured all this out, Zhao Yuan said with a cold smile, "You still don't get it? That Paper Mache Man and the Xiaoyang you sent? I destroyed them both!"

"What?!" Mage Zhang's face fell. Ever since he'd gotten his hands on the Xiaoyang and the Paper Mache Man, he had been invincible. He'd never failed before. How could he have met his match today?

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. "You... you're a Cultivator?" he stammered.

"That's right," Zhao Yuan admitted readily. He had ways to ensure Mage Zhang wouldn't—and couldn't—breathe a word of this to anyone.

Hearing this, Mage Zhang looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. He was completely dumbfounded.

He'd thought Zhao Yuan was just some ordinary student. He figured sending out the Xiaoyang and the Paper Mache Man would be more than enough to take him out easily.

Once Zhao Yuan died, the story would spread through all the nearby towns in a matter of days. Paired with his earlier claim that Zhao Yuan had offended a Divine Spirit, people would have certainly believed it was divine retribution. In turn, they would have feared and trusted him all the more.

But Mage Zhang had never, ever imagined that Zhao Yuan would turn out to be a Cultivator.

This was like trying to show off your basketball skills on the court, only to run into Kobe... It was beyond pathetic!

The thought that he had actually tried to assassinate a Cultivator sent waves of fear through Mage Zhang. If he'd actually managed to kill him, that would be one thing. But his target was completely fine, which meant his own situation was now incredibly dangerous!

Mage Zhang began to tremble uncontrollably.

He was also a thick-skinned and shameless bastard. He immediately threw off the covers, leaped out of bed stark naked, and fell to his knees before Zhao Yuan. Tears streamed down his face as he begged, "I was wrong, Grand Immortal! I truly know I was wrong! Please, I'm begging you, spare me! From this day forward, I'll be your loyal dog, your workhorse—I'll do anything!"

Zhao Yuan paid him no mind, saying only, "I have a few questions I want cleared up."

Thinking he saw a chance to save his own skin, Mage Zhang scrambled to say, "Please, ask away! I'll tell you everything I know, I'll hold nothing back!"

Zhao Yuan raised a hand and pointed at the Bronze Ring. "Where did you get this and that stack of talisman paper?"

Mage Zhang replied, "Well, it was like this. A few years ago, an old man was passing through my village. I saw he was looking frail and sick, so I was kind enough to get him something to eat. He insisted on repaying my kindness and gave me these two items..."

Seeing his shifty eyes, Zhao Yuan knew the bastard was lying. He snorted. "The truth! Or don't blame me for what I do next."

Terrified, Mage Zhang shuddered and stopped lying, confessing the truth. "It... It was me. I saw the old man was carrying a lot of money and was weak and sick, so I got greedy... and I killed him. Afterward, I found these two items and a book on his body. The book explained how to use them and also contained some other Talismans and Magic, but when I tried them, I found that apart from these two things, none of the other Talismans or Magic worked."

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