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Chapter 311: I'll Take on the Task Too

The two behind them were silent for a moment, then Ling Ao spoke up, "Tired from walking."

What?

If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing. This street is so short that the old man selling sugar paintings could push his cart from one end to the other and back again in no time, Chu Liang thought to himself.

Without further discussion, an officer from the City Supervisory Division quickly came out from the office, greeting them with a smile, "Are you young heroes from the Mount Shu Sect? I am Chen He, the officer of the City Supervisory Division in Shaonan Town."

"Greetings, Officer Chen," Jiang Yuebai said with a slight bow.

Since she was the head disciple, she was still the representative and leader when all four of them were outside.

"Please come in, I will explain the strange case in detail," Chen He said as he gestured politely.

On the way, he roughly explained the situation of the station here in Shaonan Town.

Despite hiring heroes from the nine provinces, the Imperial Supervisory Bureau still faced a manpower shortage. In general, major cities had a City Supervisory Division led by a city supervisor, with surrounding smaller towns having offices managed by deputy officers dispatched from this division.

Chu Liang and the others were familiar with Du Ce, the city supervisor from Misty Waters City, and Chen He, the deputy officer under his jurisdiction. So, when something happened, they sought help from Mount Shu again.

Usually, villages and towns like this wouldn't have a station.

However, Shaonan Town, located next to the Osmanthus River, was busier and wealthier than most small towns because it was a major hub for water transportation. And so, a station was set up here.

Chen He and his brother Chen Luo were the only staff at this station, and both of them were merely at the third realm of cultivation.

After leading them inside and taking their seats, Chen He sighed with relief and said, "Now that you're here, I can finally relax. The past two days have been incredibly stressful."

"Officer Chen, don't worry. Tell us about the strange case first," Jiang Yuebai reassured him.

Chen He didn’t waste any time and got right to the point, “Recently, it was the Flower Hairpin Festival in Shaonan Town...”

This beloved festival, a longstanding tradition in Shaonan Town, was celebrated every year in mid-September.

The Osmanthus River was named for the moon osmanthus flowers that adorned its banks, renowned for being more beautiful and fragrant than any other types of osmanthus.

Every year, as the moon osmanthus flowers by the river burst into full bloom, the city's residents would gather by the riverside on clear nights, reveling in the enchanting beauty and sweet fragrance of the flowers.

During this time, people would partake in the ritual of exchanging flowers. Elders would pin flowers on juniors to symbolize hope and blessings, while juniors would pin flowers on elders to show respect and admiration. Businesses also participated in this tradition by pinning flowers on customers, expressing welcome and gratitude.

The most anticipated event was the flower exchange between young men and women. If a young man fancied a young woman, he would ask to pin a flower on her. If she wasn't interested, she would politely refuse and avoid him.

Of course, some brave young women would take the initiative to pin flowers on young men.

However, this flower exchange didn't imply anything serious. It was just a way for people to show mutual affection and spend some time together, getting to know each other—a charming tradition for meeting someone special.

"Even accepting the flower doesn't mean anything," Chen He emphasized. "Shaonan Town is not a place with loose morals."

Every year, some outsiders would mistake this as an opportunity for romantic encounters, trying to take advantage of the flower-hairpinned girls, only to face severe consequences.

But on the opening day of the Flower Hairpin Festival, something unusual happened.

There were three eerie incidents where pairs of young men and women encountered a mesmerizing beauty dressed in white during the flower exchange. Captivated by her, the young men decided to pin flowers on her hair instead. Soon after, they met a tragic and gruesome death.

Two of them met unnatural deaths and only one survived because he did not approach the white-clad beauty.

"Hold on..." Chu Liang picked up on the crucial detail. "Was the third man spared because he didn't abandon the person he chose in the beginning?"

"Not exactly," Chen He clarified. "Last night, just as he was about to approach the ghost, my brother intervened. We were patrolling by the river when my brother spotted the ghost and engaged her in a brief fight, ultimately saving the third victim."

Jiang Yuebai looked around and asked, "By the way, where is your brother now?"

"He's bedridden now," Chen He said.

Oh.

No wonder they asked for help.

...

The news of the haunting over the past two days couldn't be kept secret, and the number of people visiting the river had drastically decreased. No matter how ceremonious the Flower Hairpin Festival was, it couldn't compare to the importance of life.

There were still a few people wandering around, perhaps those who hadn't heard the news, but upon seeing the empty streets, they quickly went home.

Xu Ziyang sat upright on a rooftop by the river, carefully scanning the surroundings.

Across the river, hidden in the darkness of a dense treetop, Ling Ao, dressed in black, kept watch.

The female ghost would only appear when a man was about to pin a flower on a woman, suggesting she might have a lingering grudge about such situations. If she were an ordinary evil entity, her ability to defeat a third-realm cultivator would indicate considerable power, and she wouldn't behave in such a repetitive and predictable manner.

But based on the description, the female ghost should be a vengeful spirit, which meant that things were different.

Vengeful spirits, no matter how powerful, were driven by their lingering grudges. Whenever they witnessed a scene that reminded them of their grievances from life, they would appear.

But at that moment, with so few people on the streets, the female ghost couldn’t possibly appear.

As evening fell, they devised a plan: two of them would disguise themselves as a young couple, romantically pinning flowers, in a bold attempt to lure out the vengeful spirit.

There was no debate about who would play the girl; there was only one female member on the team.

Fairy Jiang was the perfect choice.

As for the boy, there were three candidates. Chu Liang laughed and said, "Why not let the head disciple choose one of us to be her partner?"

Jiang Yuebai pouted and said, "Choose what? The boy luring the vengeful spirit will be in the most danger. Naturally, it should be you, the clever one who's always scheming."

Junior Officer Chen He, who had been standing quietly in the hall, finally spoke up, albeit sounding hesitant, "If that's how it is, as the junior officer of Shaonan Town, I can't just stand by. If it's truly dangerous, I'll take on the task..."

"That won't be necessary," Chu Liang said, standing up abruptly. "We disciples of Mount Shu have always taken it upon ourselves to eliminate demons and defend the way. How can we back down at such a moment? Officer Chen, just wait for our good news with peace of mind!"

Xu Ziyang and Ling Ao had no intention of competing with Chu Liang. Xu Ziyang was wholly dedicated to restoring the glory of Mount Shu, while Ling Ao was fixated on surpassing the three geniuses stronger than him one day...

Thus, they each found their posts and waited.

A gust of night wind blew past.

A small boat sailed on the river, with a handsome young man in brocade standing at the bow. It was Chu Liang. He gazed quietly ahead, where Jiang Yuebai was waiting for him on the shore.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner according to the plan.

But before the boat could reach the shore, Xu Ziyang’s gaze suddenly shifted to the distance, and his eyes shone with a sharp intensity!

There's demonic qi!

Although their goal was to catch the female ghost, they couldn’t ignore the presence of demons. The second he sensed the demonic qi in the wind, Xu Ziyang flew up several zhang into the sky against the flow of the wind.

The Force Slayer was instantly drawn!

As the Eldest Senior Brother of Jade Sword Peak, he had the most experience in the martial world among the four of them and knew this was different from fighting in an arena on Mount Shu.

In battles with evil entities, every moment could be a life-and-death struggle. There was no room for hesitation!

Swoosh—

The sword light surged forth, piercing towards the source of the demonic qi.

But the demonic entity fled swiftly, disappearing into the nearby osmanthus trees and seemingly blending in. Following the residual stream of qi, Xu Ziyang's sharp eyes locked onto it, and he pursued relentlessly.

"Evil thing, don’t you dare leave!"