"...The assessment begins at 7 PM and ends at dawn, 5 AM."
"Everyone will carry a Tier 2 Soul Guiding Lantern and conduct patrols, covering the lake area, the bay area, and the thirty-two docks."
"The assessment content is to pacify drowned spirits and other solitary souls."
"Those who pacify ten souls without using 'Summoning a God' will be graded A."
"Those who pacify five souls without using 'Summoning a God' will be graded B."
"Those who pacify three souls without using 'Summoning a God' will be graded C."
"If you cannot pacify even one soul, you must 'Summon a God' as soon as possible. Do not jeopardize the peace of the villagers for the sake of a grade."
"If you Summon a God, the assessment ends early. Did everyone understand?"
"Understood."
"There's still plenty of time to prepare. Go find your spots."
"Yes, Lord Meng."
As Meng Yun, the Temple Steward, finished speaking, these clerks dispersed to prepare for the upcoming assessment.
Zhao Xing activated his Bright Eyes and saw a bundle on Meng Yun's back.
Inside the bundle was a two-foot-tall figure.
Its face was rosy, and it held a miniature Crescent Blade , exuding an air of solemn righteousness.
It had been closing its eyes, but suddenly opened them, even smiling at Zhao Xing.
Bright Eyes see ghosts and gods at night!
He hadn't seen a ghost yet, but he first saw the Yin God enshrined in the temple.
Zhao Xing cupped his hands, then quickly withdrew his Spell. When he looked again with his naked eyes, there was only an ordinary sandalwood statue on his back.
"Hmm? Why is True Lord awake?" Meng Yun, sensing something, turned his head to look.
Zhao Xing had already shifted his gaze.
"Good heavens, he even brought out the Divided Soul of the East Lake Earl. If there are really souls coming ashore, with him here, a cartload wouldn't be enough for him to chop."
At this stage, souls generally pose little threat. At most, they can disturb ordinary people's sleep, making them feel lethargic and listless for a few days.
Unless someone deliberately nurtures a soul, but that is a serious crime, and if discovered, they would be labeled as an otherworldly demon.
Moreover, with the Temple Steward bringing out the Divided Soul of the East Lake Earl, even if Zhao Xing were to dance among a pile of souls, they wouldn't dare to harm a single hair on his head.
After all, he was the man the East Lake Earl had tried to keep!
"Young Master, what are you looking at?" Old Eight Xu looked at Zhao Xing in confusion. Why had he suddenly stopped walking?
"Oh, nothing. I thought I saw someone familiar. I must have been mistaken," Zhao Xing casually brushed him off.
"So, are we going to continue strolling, or go to our designated spot to work?" Old Eight Xu couldn't help but urge him a little.
They had been walking for over half an hour, and this Young Master showed no signs of stopping.
Old Eight Xu felt uneasy about getting money too easily.
Two taels and five qian was no small sum.
"No hurry, no hurry. Let's eat something first." Zhao Xing walked into a stall and casually ordered a few skewers of grilled meat. "Eat as much as you like; it's all on me. No alcohol, though, to avoid any mishaps."
"Alright, thank you, Young Master." Old Eight Xu didn't stand on ceremony, ordering dozens of skewers in one go. Seeing no reaction from Zhao Xing, he immediately felt that this Young Master was truly generous. He resolved in his heart that he would not let him return empty-handed tonight.
Dozens of skewers of grilled meat, a few bowls of vermicelli soup, plus four grilled fish, all together only cost one qian of silver. The taste was authentic, and the portions were generous, making it quite a good deal.
Old Eight Xu ate until he was seven-tenths full and stopped, because he would have to go into the water later.
Zhao Xing was only half-full, so he continued to order more.
Old Eight Xu watched, secretly marveling: "This Young Master looks tall and thin, but I didn't expect his appetite to be so big. I'm already seven-tenths full, and he's eaten about the same as me, yet he can still eat? Could he be a Martial Artist?"
Although Zhao Xing was not a Martial Artist, his third-tier Gathering Yuan cultivation meant his physical fitness far surpassed Old Eight Xu's, and his appetite was naturally much larger.
Just as he was eating a grilled fish, suddenly...
"Whoosh whoosh~"
A gust of wind blew through the stall.
"Hmm?" Zhao Xing stopped what he was doing. He was very sensitive to wind, and this inexplicable gust was clearly not a normal wind.
"It's a Yin wind? And it's a bit damp... Is this a water ghost coming ashore?"
One advanced direction for the Wind Spell is 【Yin Wind Assaulting Soul】, which usually only military quartermasters are qualified to learn.
Zhao Xing distinguished it, realizing it wasn't an artificial Yin wind, and feeling the dampness in the wind, he immediately understood that a water ghost had come ashore.
He saw a soaking wet ghostly figure moving through the street. It was dressed in silk, corpulent, and aimlessly wandering.
He checked the almanac, which showed no warnings, and calculated the time, which was already close to the Dingmao hour.
"Wait for me here; don't move. I'll come back for you later." Zhao Xing then paid the bill and followed it.
"Eh? Young Master... where did he go?" Old Eight Xu was a bit bewildered. Zhao Xing didn't seem to walk fast, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the crowd. "How strange."
Zhao Xing moved with the wind under his feet, quickly catching up to the plump wandering soul and walking alongside it.
Bright Eyes with Nine Revolutions could see ghosts and gods, and naturally could communicate. Zhao Xing observed for a while and asked, "Uncle, what are you looking for?"
The plump wandering soul dressed in silk turned its head, its hair wet and plastered to its forehead, its lips pale: "I'm looking for the way home."
Zhao Xing cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask where your home is, Uncle?"
The plump ghost mumbled, "I am from the west of the commandery, my home is the Jia Manor in the south of Dangyou County."
West of the commandery? Dangyou County? Zhao Xing was still pondering where this place was when he heard the plump ghost say blankly, "But I can't find it at all. I can't find it..."
At this moment, Zhao Xing came back to his senses. Dangyou County was a lower county, merged with another lower county, 'Pingshan,' twelve years ago and renamed 'Youshan County.'
It would be strange if you could find it; your corpse has drifted from the west of the commandery to the south of the commandery!
This means this person has been dead for at least twelve years?!
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and continued, "Uncle, you want to go home, but do you have something to convey?"
The plump wandering soul nodded: "Yes, I need to tell my wife that I am dead, to have them retrieve my body, and also to tell her that I have a sum of silver packed in a box, buried in..."
"Buried where?"
The plump wandering soul suddenly turned its head, its eye sockets filled with eerie ghost fire: "Why should I tell you? You are not my family."
"..."
No problem, very reasonable.
After speaking, the plump wandering soul continued to wander aimlessly, muttering: "I am from the west of the commandery, my home is the Jia Manor in the south of Dangyou County. I want to go home, but where is home? I can't find it..."
Zhao Xing was about to communicate again when he suddenly heard a clear shout from ahead: "Soul, return!"
Then he saw a golden light shining on the plump wandering soul, which then stopped muttering and involuntarily walked towards the source of the golden light.
Others could not perceive the sound and the golden light anomaly, but Zhao Xing heard and saw it. He saw a figure ahead holding a Soul Guiding Lantern, who was one of the clerks from the temple assessment.
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