Chapter 80

Ke Xingzhou was watching intently as the local Taoist priests from Jiangcheng performed their unique exorcism ritual.

They criticized Ke Xingzhou's methods for being too crude and simple, fearing that he would harm the weak and pitiful ordinary people. They refused to let him stay by Ban Wen’s bedside any longer and forcibly pushed him away.

They then began their gentle persuasion of Ban Wen.

Ke Xingzhou listened for a while and realized that they were attempting to awaken Ban Wen’s conscience, hoping he would voluntarily reveal the location of the邪道 (evil path) and how to contact it.

Unfortunately, ever since Ban Wen woke up, he seemed to have suffered a great shock. He was in a daze, completely unresponsive, ignoring them entirely.

No matter how much the old Taoists talked, he remained silent, determined to resist.

Even though the local Taoists were usually very patient, they couldn’t help but feel frustrated seeing him in this state.

The邪道 (evil path) was something he had invited upon himself, and using evil methods to harm others was his own choice. In the end, everything that was happening now was his own fault. The two people he had harmed hadn’t even had a chance to complain, yet he was acting like the victim!

If it weren’t for Captain Xiang Ting from the Special Incident Management Bureau asking them to help, the Taoists wouldn’t have cared at all about such a self-destructive person.

However, they had just criticized Ke Xingzhou for being too harsh with Ban Wen, and now the people from the Xiaoyao Sect were still watching. If they gave up halfway, it would be too embarrassing.

Just as both sides were at a standstill, Ke Xingzhou suddenly sensed something and looked toward the window.

At the same time, Ban Wen on the bed suddenly rolled his eyes back, his body arched backward, and he lay there stiffly, convulsing.

Zhu Chu had been quietly complaining to his master about the old Taoists, saying how something that could be solved with just two slaps had been made so complicated, causing him to bear the frustration. It was really unkind to his breast.

Turning around, he was met with such a strange scene, and immediately exclaimed in shock, “What the hell, what the hell! How did he suddenly become possessed?”

The local Taoists from Jiangcheng were also startled.

How dare the邪道 (evil path) harm someone right under their noses?!

Every Taoist present was from a well-known Taoist temple in Jiangcheng. They were willing to let the unknown internet-famous Taoist temple take the fall, but since this was their own territory, in a busy hospital with police guarding outside, they hadn’t been overly cautious.

Who would have thought that because of this moment of carelessness, they nearly compromised their reputation?

The Taoists quickly took out their magical tools, some trying to save Ban Wen, while others nervously looked around.

The room was empty, and there was nothing strange to be seen.

The old Taoist with the goat beard immediately looked at the Taoist who had been responsible for checking the room earlier. “Didn’t you say there was nothing unusual when you checked this room? What’s going on now?”

The Taoist who had checked the room was also confused. “It’s impossible! I used my magical tools to check thoroughly. There’s nothing in this room, not even a single good ghost!”The other Taoists immediately agreed, stating that they hadn’t noticed anything unusual when they entered.

The Taoist responsible for checking the hospital room was quite well-known locally. By seniority, he was on par with the old Taoist with the goat beard, and logically, such a large oversight shouldn’t have happened.

Yet, the situation with Ban Wen clearly told them that the邪道 (evil path) had performed its dark arts right under their noses.

The邪道 (evil path) used this time was noticeably different from the previous one, with a much more violent and sudden effect. Ban Wen started with simple convulsions, but now his face was turning purple, as if he couldn’t breathe. His eyes bulged out, and he was clutching his neck, painfully pulling at his hair while thrashing.

The Taoists placed numerous talismans on him, but they had no effect. They immediately set up a magic circle on the spot, with four Taoists anchoring the formation, all chanting scriptures in unison.

Strangely, when Ban Wen heard the chanting, his condition didn’t improve. Instead, he seemed to become even more tortured, crying out in pain while pulling his hair and banging his head against the wall.

Peng Jingshan and Director Zheng had been paralyzed with fear ever since Ban Wen started convulsing. Hearing Ban Wen’s painful cries now, they were almost too scared to move.

Director Zheng, still lying on the bed, rolled off and scrambled to the corner of the room, staring in terror at the scene. “What the hell, what the hell! Can they really cast spells from a distance?!”

Up until now, Zhu Chu had mostly learned theoretical knowledge and was seeing such a bizarre situation for the first time. Watching Ban Wen thrash around surrounded by the Taoists, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the scene looked strangely familiar.

He shifted his position, moved closer to his junior, and whispered, “Junior, don’t you think this looks like Tang Seng chanting the Tightening Spell at Sun Wukong?”

Nie Chen: “…”

The Taoists: “…”

There’s actually a senior disciple!

The expressions of the local Taoists grew even more complicated, but they didn’t have time to focus on that now.

The old Taoist with the goat beard quickly opened his eyes, scanning the room. He didn’t detect any邪道 (evil path) items.

If there were no邪物 (evil objects) arranged in the room beforehand, then the problem must lie with their group.

The Taoists exchanged glances. They were all renowned Taoists from famous local temples, who had seen each other often during ceremonies, so they were very familiar with each other. The only unfamiliar ones were the people from the Xiaoyao Sect, who had come from Beijing.

Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted to the people from the Xiaoyao Sect, suddenly making the internet-famous Taoist temple seem very suspicious.

With such a serious issue at hand, most of the Taoists sent were the most experienced from their temples. Although the Xiaoyao Sect from Beijing had been invited by the person involved, they had sent such young Taoists. Wasn’t that strange?

The key point was that these young Taoists had shown abilities that far exceeded what should be expected from someone their age.

The more the Taoists thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, and their expressions grew less polite.

Which of them wasn’t sharp? Nie Chen and the others immediately realized what they were suspecting, and their expressions darkened.

Assistant Liu’s mind was immediately on high alert. He quickly stepped forward to intervene.

Inwardly, he couldn’t help but complain about the older Taoists. They hadn’t been much help along the way, and now they were turning around and doubting their own people.

If Master Ke Xingzhou were really from the邪道 (evil path), Ban Wen and Director Zheng would have been dead countless times by now.

They really dared to make baseless accusations!

Just as the two sides were at a standoff, with the tension about to escalate, the old Taoist with the white beard suddenly scanned the room and realized something was wrong. “...Where’s Ke Xingzhou?”

Everyone froze for a moment, and sure enough, they noticed that the figure behind the Xiaoyao Sect people was missing.His heart tightened, and in a panic, he looked around. He saw that Ke Xingzhou, at some point, had bypassed their defense line and appeared next to Ban Wen's bed.

The old Taoist with the goat beard's face trembled, and he shouted angrily, "What do you think you're doing?! Stop immediately! Life and death are at stake here; you can't act recklessly like this..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Ke Xingzhou reach out, grab Ban Wen's collar, and lift him up completely.

Several Taoists around him tried to intervene but couldn’t stop him. They could only watch as he punched Ban Wen in the stomach, causing Ban Wen to immediately stop convulsing. His body curled up like a shrimp, and he instinctively gagged.

"Bold!" The Taoists were both shocked and furious, and they aimed their talismans at Ke Xingzhou.

Just as they were about to subdue this madman who dared to commit violence in front of them, Ban Wen suddenly vomited something out of his mouth—a complete paper man.

On the back of the paper man, something was written in black blood. It was covered in sticky fluid, and the characters seemed to have been dissolved by the fluid, blurred together. But it was still vaguely recognizable—it appeared to be a string of birthdates.

After Ban Wen spat this out, he immediately collapsed, his face turning ashen as he went limp on the bed.

At the same time, the paper man suddenly came to life. It looked around, frightened by the surrounding Taoists, and started to run away.

But with so many Taoists present, how could it possibly escape?

The old Taoist with the goat beard reacted quickly, thrusting his peach wood sword forward, accurately piercing the paper man.

He wanted to clearly see the birthdates written on the back of the paper man, but unexpectedly, the paper man, frightened and panicked, shook rapidly, flinging its foul, sticky liquid all over his old face.

The old Taoist with the goat beard: "…"

He was immediately filled with rage. All the frustration that had built up throughout the day surged to the peak at this moment. Just as he was about to curse and destroy this paper man conjured by evil magic, a string of talismans floated lightly toward him.

Ke Xingzhou's calm voice followed: "...Hurry, according to the law."

As soon as the words were spoken, the talismans, along with the paper man, spontaneously ignited without fire. With a "whoosh" sound, the paper man was instantly burned by a perfectly orthodox golden Daoist fire.

The old Taoist with the goat beard: "…………"

He was filled with anger that couldn't find an outlet and had forgotten why he was even angry.

This power...

The old Taoist with the goat beard finally witnessed Ke Xingzhou casting his magic. It was far beyond what he had imagined, and instead of feeling relieved, he just stared at the flickering golden Daoist fire in front of him. After a moment, he finally reacted—

"Ah!! My talisman!!!"

This time, Ke Xingzhou openly demonstrated his magical abilities in front of everyone. The Taoists, who had been wary of him, had their eyes wide open, watching clearly. There was no longer any way to deceive themselves into doubting him.

With this kind of power, it was probably stronger than all of them combined...

The Taoists felt a deep sense of loss. Initially, they had looked down on the Xianyao Sect, thinking it was just a small sect specializing in scamming money. But now that they had confirmed Ke Xingzhou’s strength and realized he wasn’t a fraud, their attitude was much more sincere and cautious.

Some of the Taoists even took the initiative to ask for his contact information!

Ke Xingzhou, who never cared about sect diplomacy, always left such matters to Zhu Chu to handle.Although the Taoists felt somewhat uneasy, considering Ke Xingzhou's extraordinary strength, they thought these two disciples might also be exceptional talents. Therefore, they didn't show any signs of discomfort and honestly began to form connections.

While Zhu Chu was exchanging contact information with the local Taoists of Jiangcheng, he was filled with mixed emotions.

Indeed, small sects are often looked down upon in the beginning—how many times had this been misunderstood?

Fortunately, the Master’s strength was convincing enough. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to handle the situation just now... Seeing this, the plan to expand the sect’s influence had to be put on the agenda. After all, they couldn't keep bothering the Master to step in every time!

Since joining the sect, Zhu Chu, who had often been clueless, finally started to feel like a part of the sect and realized the weight on his shoulders. His plans, which might scare these old Taoists, were slowly taking shape in his mind.

"..." Nie Chen suddenly glanced at him, furrowing his brows, as if he had something to say.

However, all thoughts were thrown aside when Ke Xingzhou walked toward him. Nie Chen extended his hand to create a small space for him, watching as Ke Xingzhou calmly sat down, taking the wet tissue from Assistant Liu to carefully wipe his hands.

"Are you tired?" It was already late at night, and they had hardly slept all day. Nie Chen looked at the bloodshot eyes beneath Ke Xingzhou's gaze with concern.

Ke Xingzhou, still not used to being affectionate with him in front of others, glanced at the others with flushed ears.

Fortunately, no one paid attention to them, and the few old Taoists' gazes were blocked by Nie Chen and Assistant Liu.

Perhaps because he had been involved in such underground activities recently, he actually felt relieved, shaking his head. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

After saying that, he didn't pull his hand back from Nie Chen's, letting him carefully wipe every finger with the wet tissue.

Occasionally, he would playfully move his fingertip on the palm of Nie Chen's hand, causing Nie Chen to receive a warning glare to not overdo it.

Nie Chen pretended not to notice, cleaning his hand thoroughly before reaching for the other.

Ke Xingzhou quickly looked up, but fortunately, Assistant Liu seemed to be distracted by the conversation between the Taoists and Zhu Chu, facing away from them and not noticing.

Just as he was about to relax, he turned and met the gaze of the old Taoist with the goat beard.

Ke Xingzhou: "……!!!"