Chương 93: Let the Fury Burn

Hahaha, Demon Sword, it's time for us to deliver justice! BANG! The window shattered. SWOOSH! The demon sword transformed into a black dragon, carrying Fang Cheng into the sky. Qin Hao was left stunned, while Li Shuyan remained calm and composed.

"Uh... Brother Fang seems a bit off..." Qin Hao said. Li Shuyan reassured him, "Don't worry about Brother Fang. Even a Heavenly Demon couldn't beat him. A tiny Land God Self-Help Association is nothing."

"That's not what I meant. I'm saying... the black stuff coming off him... it looked like... demonic energy?" Qin Hao hesitated, but asked anyway.

"Really? I didn't see anything." Li Shuyan smiled.

"Ah Hao, you must be mistaken."

"Yeah, you're right. Why would a great cultivator like Brother Fang fall to demonhood?" Qin Hao muttered to himself, then slapped his head.

"I've been hiking through the Everlasting Mountains these past two days without proper rest. No wonder I'm seeing things. Must be fatigue."

"Exactly. You're exhausted. Go get some sleep." Li Shuyan agreed.

"Alright. Call me if anything comes up." With that, Qin Hao yawned and left the private room. Li Shuyan leaned back in his chair, gazing out the broken window at the sky, a thoughtful look on his face.... The geography textbook says: for every hundred meters of elevation gain, the temperature drops by 0. 6 degrees Celsius. At such high altitude, the cold air gradually extinguished the raging fire in Fang Cheng's heart.

Or maybe it was his recent mind cultivation paying off, letting him suppress the violent demonic energy within and regain some clarity. He landed on an unfamiliar mountain peak, took a deep breath of fresh air, and began to weigh whether he should head to Zhujia Village in Jishui City to investigate the Land God Self-Help Association. Better to let it out than hold it in. If his heart itched and he kept suppressing it, that wouldn't help his cultivation. So...

"I have to go to Zhujia Village!" Fang Cheng clenched his fist, pumping himself up. Then he took out paper and a brush from his storage ring and started writing a letter to his superior, Pei Tang. As a good employee, he needed to submit a travel request. He started the letter by telling Pei Tang that White Flower City's population had reached a hundred thousand, showing that he'd been working hard in the city.

Then he explained that the Land God Self-Help Association was using the Demonic Spirit Gathering Array to harm people, and as a righteous cultivator, he needed to stand up, wipe them out, and rid the people of this evil. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He also mentioned that these people had slandered him before, spreading rumors about his good deeds. They already had a score to settle.

So for both public and personal reasons, he had to go to Xijiang Prefecture and get some answers. Otherwise, he'd feel uneasy, and his cultivation wouldn't go smoothly. He finished the letter and sent it off with a flying sword. Now all he had to do was wait for Pei Tang's reply. Waiting...... Getting bored, Fang Cheng wrote another letter to Han Bingxuan, saying he was heading to Xijiang to investigate the Land God Self-Help Association. If Han had any leads, he'd appreciate hearing them.

Actually, in the month since returning from Shuili City, he'd sent Han Bingxuan many letters without getting a single reply. Later, Steward Tang told him the Han family had some issues, and Han Bingxuan had temporarily stepped down from his Underworld Officer duties to handle family matters. But even if he was busy, surely he had time to write a letter? Fang Cheng felt things weren't as simple as Steward Tang made them out to be. But Steward Tang assured him Han Bingxuan was safe, so he stopped worrying about it.

After finishing the letter, he used his sword talisman to send it off. A moment later, a flying sword returned from the sky. Fang Cheng caught it and opened it. It was Pei Tang's reply, with just four words:"Don't kill indiscriminately." By "indiscriminately," Pei Tang meant innocent lives.

"Of course. As a good person, I've never killed an innocent soul." Fang Cheng laughed and put the letter away. Pei Tang hadn't said no, which meant yes. He was free to go. Hahahaha... Fang Cheng laughed wildly, rose into the air, and flew toward Xijiang Prefecture at breakneck speed. He raced across the sky, covering a thousand li a day. Before he knew it, he'd reached the edge of Xijiang Prefecture. According to his mental map, Jishui City was in the northwest of Xijiang Prefecture, bordering Shangyuan Prefecture.

Further west from Jishui City, across the mountains, lay the Great Li Dynasty. But Fang Cheng didn't know exactly where Zhujia Village was.

"Looks like I'll have to go to Jishui City first and ask around." With that plan, he flew toward Jishui City... A few days later, he reached his destination. He remembered Hu Tong saying there were many Self-Help Association cultivators in Jishui City. To avoid being spotted, he landed early, altered his appearance, and changed into coarse linen clothes like a village peasant. Only then did he walk toward Jishui City. From a distance, he saw the city gate had no guards at all.

The two gates stood wide open, with hardly any pedestrians going in or out. It was eerily quiet. Fang Cheng found this strange. Jishui City was supposed to be the second most prosperous city in Xijiang Prefecture, a necessary stop for travelers between Great Li and Great Sheng. Many caravans would rest here. So by all logic, the city gate should be bustling with people and traffic. Why was it so empty? With this question in mind, he hurried to the gate.

Just as he was about to enter, he noticed a portrait on the gate. It looked familiar. He got closer and took a good look. Holy crap, that was him! And it was a wanted poster! Both gates, left and right, each had one posted. Every passerby could see them clearly. Damn it, damn it! Fang Cheng's fury was about to explode. The Great Sheng court had long since withdrawn his wanted status, yet these idiots in Jishui City still dared to put a bounty on him?!

"I have to find this Jishui City magistrate and teach him a lesson!" The angrier he got, the more determined he became. He stormed into the city, grabbed a random passerby, and demanded the location of the Yamen. Whether the man recognized him or not, the man was terrified. His hands trembling, he pointed the way, then ran off as if his life depended on it. Fang Cheng snorted and strode toward the Yamen. He walked through a few streets, passed a few courtyard gates, and good lord, what did he see?

Almost every household had his wanted poster plastered on their doors. Some doors were covered so thick with them it looked like a vegetable market wall covered in ads. Some had them all over the courtyard walls too. At first glance, it looked like they were decorating for a festival. One wealthy household had even covered the two stone lions at their gate with the posters, turning them into paper lions.

"Something's wrong. This doesn't add up..." Fang Cheng frowned, puzzled. This wasn't a manhunt. It looked like people were using his portrait to paper their doors and walls! But the craftsmanship was terrible. It was messy and ugly, with no sense of aesthetics whatsoever.

"What the hell is going on in Jishui City?" With this question, Fang Cheng quickened his pace and arrived at the Yamen, ready to ask the magistrate himself. The Yamen gate had his portraits too, one on each side. But these weren't wanted posters. They were just regular portraits. However, they were drawn so fierce and ugly that he almost didn't recognize himself.

"Posting my picture is one thing, but drawing it this ugly is a serious violation of my likeness rights! Hmph! I won't let this slide!"