Patriarch of Wanjiao

The morning light is dewy and the north wind is light.

The sunshine on the walls of the capital already has a hint of early spring.

On the long official road, more and more people are gradually coming and going, coming south and north, with their own purposes, arriving at the feet of the emperor. There are scholars who have been living in poverty for ten years, merchants selling goods, and people seeking medical advice...

All kinds of people, no one paid attention to the carriage that was driving away. Inside it was the former leader of Xuantian Pavilion. After this time of farewell, he put down everything he had and stayed in the capital.

"Did he just go away?"

"Prince Zhennan is the first offender. He is lucky to end up like this."

On top of the high wall, two figures stood boldly, watching Li Mo's journey.

One was wearing a large cloak and a mink fur hat, and his face could not be seen clearly. The other was clearly Xia Chanming, a master from Guixu [Demon Market].

"One day, he will come back."

Xia Chanming looked at the direction in which Li Mo was going, and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't know when she started to be manipulated by this person, and the pride of the Nine Treasure Lingchan lineage was almost gone.

Now, this evil star is finally gone.

"Oh? Are you so sure?"

The man wearing a large cloak whispered.

"That's not really true, it's just an intuition." Xia Chanming's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and a different look appeared on Qingmei's face.

"After all, this is a master who doesn't suffer any loss."

In her eyes, Li Mo's departure from Beijing was somewhat helpless. The most important thing was that two of his friends were convicted of serious crimes and were no longer free. It was said that his boss, who was like an elder brother, also lost his life.

After suffering such a big loss, if he didn't get it back, he wouldn't be the Li Mo she knew.

"It seems that you are looking forward to his return." The man in the cloak whispered.

"Hu... what are you talking about?" Xia Chanming argued subconsciously: "I hope he never comes back in this life."

At this point, Xia Chanming's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she said meaningfully: "If he really comes back, this capital will no longer be peaceful."

"It's not impossible to realize your expectations." The man in the cloak said calmly.

"Why?" Xia Chanming asked.

"You probably forgot where he was going."

"Liangzhou, Qingchan City..."

The summer cicada chirped thoughtfully, a flash of understanding rising in her beautiful eyes.

"That's the far north of Liangzhou, the most remote place..." The man in a big cloak whispered softly.

There are several rows of names in Qingqiu, and there are many barren hills in Beimang.

"Beimang Huangqiu... That is the territory that relies on [Beisha Xuanzhang]... His journey ahead will be dangerous."

"The eight greatest demons in the world!?" Xia Chanming murmured softly.

Beisha Xuanzhang lived secludedly in Mang Mountain, where there were hundreds of thousands of tombs, and he said that strangers should not come near him.

"That being said, it's really dangerous."

When Li Mo took part in the Xuantian Pavilion assessment, Jiang Chen from Martial Arts Mountain was regarded as the best descendant of the five major sects in the past 30 years. He had received guidance from [Beishi Xuanzhang], but in the end he was still defeated... ...No...he died in Li Mo's hands.

"But that's fine...the worse his situation is, the better it is for us..." The man in the big cloak turned around and said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Xia Chanming frowned.

"You can try to absorb him."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think he will be absorbed?" Xia Chanming shook her head.

She knew very well what Li Mo was like. Even if he was demoted now, his situation was not desperate. How could he be absorbed?

"You have to do this even if you don't do it." The man in the big cloak's voice became deeper.

"What the hell...How could Black Sword know that 300 years later, he actually has a descendant..."

"Damn it...it's not because of him...who would be willing to absorb that evil star, you idiot."

The man in the big cloak cursed and gradually walked towards the city wall, leaving Xia Cicada alone. Looking at the carriage that gradually disappeared from sight, a complicated expression appeared on his beautiful face.

……

The road ahead is long, with high mountains and long rivers.

Since leaving the capital, this period of time can be said to be the most leisurely time in Li Mo's life. He felt very uncomfortable with the few goods around him and looking at the scenery along the road.

Chen Wangdu takes care of all the trivial matters, and when you are hungry, there is soup cooked by Uncle Ma.

Uncle Ma was indeed Uncle Ma, and he did not disappoint Li Mo. He brought his old soup that had been passed down orally for decades. The utensils for serving the soup were all coated with pulp, and they looked like valuable old objects.

"Uncle Ma, are you talking about a small cauldron? Why don't you use a jar to hold it?" Li Mo couldn't help but ask as he looked at Uncle Ma's soup container.

"I heard about that earthen pot shop on Jingcheng South Street..."

"You are no longer in the capital..."

Uncle Ma said casually and put away his small cauldron containing the old soup.

"It's good in the temple. The soup made with it smells like incense...doesn't it taste better?" Uncle Ma grinned, showing his yellow teeth.

"you……"

Li Mo's eyes widened, silently thinking about his sins in his heart, and drank the soup in the bowl with big mouthfuls.

"Old Chen, why does this official position given to me in the museum feel so weird? What is its rank?"

After walking for several days, Li Mo finally took out his appointment letter.

It sounds like there's something wrong with that, no matter how you listen to it.

"Sir...this low-ranking official has no rank." Chen Wangdu said with some embarrassment.

"The Xuantian Pavilion has branches in every city in every state. Generally, those who commit crimes are exiled from the capital, and only those who have done meritorious service will be awarded such an official position."

Chen Wangdu explained: "Strictly speaking, Caobiao Langguan has no rank, so he does not have any benefits. However, in terms of power, it should be equivalent to the deputy city palace and inferior to the city palace."

"Chengguan!?"

"That is, the head of Xuantian Pavilion's city-level branch." Chen Wangdu explained.

"Grandpa Langguan... why is it called this name?" Li Mo asked.

"This..." Chen Wangdu smiled awkwardly: "Your Excellency also knows that you are a guilty person after all, and it is not easy to save your life..."

"Anyone who is awarded this official position... is regarded as a traitor."

"Huh!? What do you mean?" Li Mo's face darkened.

"That's why Caobiao Langguan is also called Wandering Soul Officer, which means wandering souls. If they are not protected, they will be held accountable one day, and their lives will not be saved..."

Chen Wangdu said awkwardly: "So this kind of officials are regarded as dissolute wandering souls."

"Although they have been relegated to the outside world, they need to be assessed every year. Those who pass the assessment, depending on the situation, may be pardoned for their crimes and may even return to Beijing."

"But if you fail the test, you will be punished by one degree. Most of them will be..."

"Insert the bid and sell the first one!?" Li Mo blurted out subconsciously.

"Master is wise."

"..."

"Why didn't anyone tell me there was still an assessment?"

Li Mo never dreamed that when he was on Luofu Mountain, nine academies were competing with each other. Each demon hunter had indicators on his back, but he didn't have to worry about the assessment.

Who would have thought that now that he had been demoted, he would still need to be examined! ?
"Maybe it's because the passing rate is so low that it doesn't make much difference whether you tell the adults or not?"

"How low is it?"

"Last year, there were 760 officials who were relegated to various states, prefectures and cities... Let me see how many of them passed the examination."

Chen Wangdu is worthy of being the old man of Xuantian Pavilion. He is experienced and impeccable in his work. He even carries such documents with him.

He searched for a while and finally found the answer.

"Two people.""……"

"That's okay... When the time comes and I really can't do it, ask Lao Feng to tell me everything..."

Li Mo's words stopped abruptly.

"Let's go."

Li Mo waved his hand and said nothing. Everyone looked at each other, fell silent, and followed him one after another.

From that day on, Li Mo seemed to have lost any interest and directly switched to Kui Gang to pull the cart. In just seven days, he had reached the border of Liangzhou.

"This Liangzhou is more remote than I thought."

Li Mo couldn't help but sigh, compared to where Luofu Mountain is, there are poor mountains and rivers everywhere. In terms of prosperity and wealth, let alone the capital, even Longyuan Mansion is quite different.

"The terrain of Liangzhou is undulating, with many mountains and rivers blocking roads, so it is not considered a place where things are abundant and the people are prosperous." Chen Wangdu explained.

If it wasn't a bitter cold place, why would Li Mo be sent to such a place.

"Master, the further north you go, the more deserted it becomes."

At this moment, Wang Jiu spoke.

"how do you know?"

"Master forgot, I stayed in Liangzhou for a while."

At the beginning, not long after Wang Jiu had just awakened to the [Longevity Wuji Kung Fu], he left Luofu Mountain and traveled around the world, looking for ways to live longer and increase his life.

He once traveled to Liangzhou and stayed here for a long time.

When they met again in the capital, Li Mo also heard him talk about the strange experiences he had along the way.

Back then, when Wang Jiu was in Liangzhou, he met a special little demon who liked to chase the sun and absorb the light. Unfortunately, his method was too rough and his cultivation was too weak.

At that time, Wang Jiu thought that this little demon was so special. Although he had a different cultivation method, he had a firm mind and had swallowed up so much sunlight. Perhaps the essence was deep inside his body, and eating it must be a great tonic.

However, this little demon is alert by nature and will hide whenever there is any disturbance.

"I found it in a swamp. It was very difficult to catch due to the terrain, but later I discovered that it has a characteristic..."

This little monster likes to listen to the sound of bells. As long as the bell rings, he will definitely appear if he is nearby.

Wang Jiu tried several times and almost caught it, but unfortunately the little demon was too lucky and finally let him run away.

"When you said that, I remembered it." Li Mo patted his forehead and finally had some impression.

"By the way... speaking of monsters, I seem to have forgotten something."

Li Mo turned around, looked at the group of people behind him, and subconsciously nodded... Little Fox, Zhu Ganghui, Kui Gang, Little Black Cat, Wang Jiu, Ji Tianwei, Red Lotus Boy...

"Not one less."

Li Mo nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hehe, now I'm back. If I meet that little demon again next time, I must catch him." Wang Jiu grinned lightly.

Compared with what he was back then, he was completely different.

If he really met the little demon again, there would be countless bells lurking, and he would be able to get them with his fingers.

……

Li Mo and others headed north.

Five days later, we finally arrived at Qingchan City.

The outside of the city was in tatters and looked in disrepair. The city walls had obvious signs of being eroded by wind and sand, but the inside of the city was much livelier. Although it could not be compared with Longyuan Mansion, it was much more prosperous than Li Mo had imagined.

"The more remote and chaotic the place... the more people come and go..."

As soon as Li Mo entered the city, he found that there were many merchants coming and going here.

Originally, he thought it would be quite deserted here.

"Sir, north of Qingchan City is the Hundred Thousand Barren Tombs... This is a big deal. Every year, countless people come and bury their bones in the barren tombs, and some people make fortunes from it."

Chen Wangdu always appeared in time when Li Moansheng had doubts.

"One Hundred Thousand Barren Hills..."

Li Mo was thoughtful.

"Sir, please find a restaurant to rest first."

"Okay, you make arrangements." Li Mo nodded.

After a while, Chen Wangdu found a place.

Yun Feilai Inn is one of the larger inns in Qingchan City.

Prices here are much lower than those in the capital and even Longyuan Prefecture. A plate of pork head meat only costs [-] taels. If it were in Longyuan Prefecture, a better restaurant would cost at least [-] taels of silver...

If it were placed in the capital, this plate of pork head meat would probably cost one tael of silver.

"Wine and food are really cheap. You can go to any restaurant anywhere." Li Mo grinned. A bottle of old wine only cost fifty grand.

Cheap, too cheap.

"Huh? What kind of abalone and loach stew is this? Why does it cost five taels of silver?"

Li Mo looked at the menu with doubts.

This abalone and loach stew can be said to be the most expensive dish here. It is much more expensive than all other dishes combined, which makes it seem a bit out of place.

"Man, what kind of dish is this abalone stewed with loach? Why is it so expensive?" Li Mo couldn't help but ask when he called the waiter.

"Hey, sir, if you want to eat this dish, you have to go to the private room upstairs." The waiter showed a meaningful smile.

"Poor sir, the conscience of heaven and earth, we are open for serious business."

At this moment, a rush of sound came from upstairs.

Immediately afterwards, a charming landlady walked down with a government official, followed by a fat man with a bruised nose and a swollen face.

"Serious business? What's going on with him?" The Yamen sneered and looked at the man with a bruised nose and swollen face, full of grievances.

"Lord, this bastard ordered a dish of abalone and loach stewed. As you know, this signature dish in our store requires the most work. It only cost five taels of silver, but it is all genuine..."

"Before this stew that kills a thousand people, I applied medicine to the loach and stewed it for our aunt... The cook took two hours and the abalone was stewed... Is it too much for me to charge him five taels more?"

As she spoke, the landlady took the clerk's hand and secretly stuffed her with a piece of silver.

"You too, isn't this immoral?"

The officer turned around and glared at the man with a bruised nose and swollen face.

"Bring back."

As soon as he finished speaking, two men who had been waiting nearby for a long time came up and locked up the man with a bruised nose and face.

"Are they from Xuantian Pavilion?"

Li Mo was stunned. Looking at the clothes, there was no doubt that they belonged to Xuantian Pavilion.

"Do you even care about this kind of thing?"

"Sir, in a remote place, the division of power and responsibilities is not very clear... I heard that in some places, the Xuantian Pavilion's servants are also responsible for picking up excrement." Chen Wangdu lowered his voice and said.

"It's really outrageous." Li Mo was speechless.

He was a dignified official in the state religion, but he didn't expect that when he left the capital and arrived in such a remote place, his treatment would be so different.

"Boss Boss, you should be more restrained recently. A new adult will be here in a few days, so don't leave a bad impression on him."

The official did not forget to warn him.

"The new master? What's your background?"

"Hey, you're not much of a grown-up. You're just a bad official. He was sent to us after he committed a crime. I guess he won't be here for long..."

The officer grinned and wiped his neck.

As soon as he finished speaking, at the table next to him, Zhu Gangxi, Kui Gang, Wang Jiu, Little Black Cat, Ji Tianxiu, etc. all raised their heads and looked at the official with unkind expressions.