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A series of familiar experiences, smooth as a well-traveled road.
Gu An bid farewell to Old Man Hong.
He entered the mountain forest heading toward the official road.
"The method she mentioned is feasible... Given my current situation, what do I need to do to accomplish what that woman's grandfather described?"
Gu An pondered these questions throughout the entire process.
Lost in thought, after entering the mountain forest, this time he didn't stand in place for a while to determine whether Abang had caught up. Instead, he walked briskly toward the official road.
Judging the four people's pace, Gu An walked in the direction away from Anshan Town.
Before long, he saw four familiar figures on the official road.
The moment Lang Qing saw Gu An, he immediately called out:
"Good sir..."
Gu An didn't respond. Gripping the sickle blade, he swung it toward Zhang Liuxue.
Off you go!
In an instant, under the dazed gazes of the remaining three, Zhang Liuxue was severed at the waist.
The old peddler and woodcutter screamed in terror: "Demon, demon..."
Without a word, the two turned and ran as fast as they could, using every ounce of strength.
Lang Qing's expression changed again and again.
Gu An looked at him calmly: "She and I had a grudge, so I killed her. As for you, I'm not interested. Get lost."
Hearing this, Lang Qing was stunned.
After brief deliberation, he disappeared at the end of the official road without looking back.
Gu An walked to Zhang Liuxue's corpse, crouched down, and began searching through her clothes and skirt.
It wasn't that he intended to take advantage while the body was warm, nor that he'd never been with a woman and wanted to satisfy his hands. Rather, he wanted to see what things this person had on her.
After a simple inspection, he discovered Zhang Liuxue carried one hundred taels of silver and a banknote worth fifty taels.
Besides these, there was one jade pendant, one porcelain bottle, two pieces of dried rations, and a talisman paper he couldn't understand.
Gu An opened the porcelain bottle.
Inside was a strange smell.
The scent was indescribable—somewhat like grass, yet also with a floral fragrance.
"Eye medicine that lets people see demons?"
After simple judgment, Gu An tilted his head back and dripped the eye medicine into his eyes.
After slight stinging, there was no other sensation. Looking around, he couldn't see any trace of demons.
Having done this, Gu An hurried along the official road without stopping.
He took a very difficult shortcut, his face and arms covered with vicious wounds from being scratched.
Through this route, he caught up with Lang Qing.
"You..."
Seeing Gu An appear in front of him, Lang Qing's heart sank. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.
The other had clearly taken a shortcut to chase him, getting himself injured in the process. This fierce attitude made his heart tremble with fear.
"Take off your clothes. Leave everything where you are."
Gu An spoke calmly.
"This is too much." Lang Qing's face turned iron-blue.
Making him completely bare—this was humiliation.
He would rather die than submit!
Seeing his unwillingness, Gu An raised the sickle blade.
"I'll strip, I'll strip!"
Lang Qing fumbled to remove his clothes and pants.
Gu An looked at Lang Qing's things. What he carried was similar to Zhang Liuxue—money, dried rations, porcelain bottle—only missing a talisman he couldn't understand and jade.
"What is this thing?" Gu An took out the talisman paper.
Lang Qing covered his private parts and looked up: "You don't know?!"
"Do you want to die?"
"That's a Scapegoat Talisman."
"What's it used for? How do you use it?"
"If you've provoked a demon, you can use it to temporarily divert the demon's attention."
"Write your name on the front and drip blood. The person dying in your place writes their name on the back and drips blood. Note: using this talisman requires the scapegoat to be willing—forcing them makes the talisman ineffective."
Gu An stared at the Scapegoat Talisman, his eyes brightening.
He'd been thinking about how to provoke another demon.
Now the method had come.
Next, theory in hand, he could begin practical application.
Gu An looked at Lang Qing: "Which of you provoked a demon? How did you provoke it? What demon is targeting you, and how much do you know about this demon?"
A string of questions.
Lang Qing wanted to refuse to answer, but seeing the intimidating life-stealing sickle blade:
"Zhang Liuxue provoked the Yellow Shadow demon. That's a demon that will inquire and ask for conferment. Once you respond, it will target you."
"Zhang Liuxue heard a voice behind her on the road, turned and responded—that's how she provoked it."
"The Conferment-Seeking Demon's supernatural power is strange. It asks people whether it resembles a human today, and people who encounter it absolutely cannot answer 'resembles.'"
"If you answer 'resembles,' it claims your life on the spot."
"If you don't answer, the Conferment-Seeking Demon will chase you asking."
"After asking three times, it will also claim your life."
Answer and die.
Don't answer, and after three times you also die?
Gu An was surprised.
This Conferment-Seeking Demon and Abang were both demons, yet their supernatural powers were vastly different.
It harmed people in roundabout ways, while Abang was simple and direct. However, compared to Abang, it caused more suffering. Meeting Abang meant quick death, but meeting it was more torturous—unable to know when the three inquiries would come, a sword hanging overhead, the rope's breaking point unknown, living in constant fear.
Gu An asked more questions.
About their backgrounds, ages, whether they were married, how to use the eye medicine, and so on.
"Have you done anything shameful?"
This time Lang Qing didn't answer.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" He looked at Gu An angrily: "Zhang Liuxue provoked you. I have no grudge with you—why humiliate me like this!"
"Who says you have no grudge with me?"
"Hm?"
"Because of you, I died once."
"Hm?"
Lang Qing was dazed, not understanding what this meant.
Gu An didn't explain. He looked into the distance... Abang should be arriving soon.
Looking at Lang Qing in the middle of the official road, he raised the sickle blade.
"I'm already like this... and you still want to kill me?!"
Lang Qing's eyes widened in fury.