Arriving at the back hall, this place is usually off-limits to idle persons; it is exclusively for officials to conduct their business.
At the entrance of a side room, Xun Sheng knocked on the door and said, "Sir, yesterday there was a ghostly disturbance in Baihe Village, causing harm to many local villagers. Fortunately, with the help of a young hero, the matter was settled."
"Come in, the door isn't latched."
Xun Sheng pushed the door open and entered the room, where he saw that the interior was quite simple—a wooden table for guests, a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf, showing considerable frugality.
Sitting at the desk was a Great Han in a red robe, who was browsing through several books.
When Qin Yuesheng and his companion came in, the man slowly raised his head to reveal his face to Qin Yuesheng.
Hmm... quite ordinary.
Xun Sheng took the initiative to introduce, "This is Lord Bai Hao from the Seven Stars Monitor."
"Seven Stars Monitor?" Qin Yuesheng wondered.
"Take a seat." Bai Hao pointed to the two chairs in front of the table, "Let's talk slowly."
"You've seen such ghostly disturbances, so you should realize that this world isn't as normal as it appears on the surface,
In fact, similar incidents happen all over the country; it's just that the news has never been released,
The Seven Star Monitor, where Lord Bai resides, was specially created by the founding father of this dynasty at the beginning of the nation, specifically to handle such ghostly disturbances, and it has accumulated hundreds of years of experience since its establishment."
Xun Sheng explained.
Qin Yuesheng was greatly surprised, "I never knew such a department existed in the Great Tang; it's truly an eye-opener."
Bai Hao laughed, "Ghostly disturbances occur frequently. Without professionals handling them in secret, this world would have long since fallen into chaos."
Qin Yuesheng asked curiously, "Lord Bai, how do these ghostly disturbances come about? The water ghost I encountered last night was not only incredibly strong but also fearless against punches, indifferent to death. If I hadn't slashed the meatball inside its body, defeating it wouldn't have been easy."
"Regarding the origin of ghostly disturbances, we still haven't identified the cause. We only know that they appear suddenly, and before their appearance, there are often strange incidents or mysterious figures in the area." Bai Hao shook his head and said:
"The one you encountered last night should be a Corpse Ghost. Our Seven Stars Monitor categorizes common ghostly disturbances into Corpse Ghosts and Vengeful Ghosts. Corpse Ghosts are corpses that have undergone abnormal changes, possessing strength and speed that ordinary people can't match, and they have a fatal flaw inside that external martial artists cannot handle.
Vengeful Ghosts are more difficult to explain; their means of harming people are usually harder to guard against, and they are considerably more dangerous than Corpse Ghosts.
Moreover, there are also mountain beasts and plant spirits that become monsters, which are quite dangerous as well."
Bai Hao's explanation suddenly enlightened Qin Yuesheng, giving him some understanding of ghostly disturbances.
Seeing Qin Yuesheng's expression of sudden realization, Bai Hao continued, "Recently, several mad citizens in Cyan Yang City attacked people in the streets. After being controlled, they all forgot the preceding events,
We suspect this matter is not simple, so I specially came here to investigate, and this time I'm also tasked with recruiting brave and capable individuals to join the Seven Stars Monitor,
contributing to maintaining this peaceful world. Are you interested?"
The unexpected recruitment took Qin Yuesheng by surprise. Frankly, while he was interested in ghostly disturbances, he wasn't particularly keen on the Seven Stars Monitor.
"Lord Bai, I'm still young. Joining the Seven Stars Monitor might not be convenient."
"Aspiration is not limited by age, whether young or old. Since you managed to single-handedly kill a Corpse Ghost, I certainly won't underestimate your age." Bai Hao patted the book he'd been reading:
"Though the Seven Stars Monitor possesses the ability to dispel evil spirits, the Great Tang's territory is vast, with many prefectures and towns. We lack the resources to provide full protection. Since you're a resident of Cyan Yang City, joining the Seven Stars Monitor and learning the method to dispel evil spirits could allow you to protect your hometown from ghostly disturbances. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Qin Yuesheng glanced at Xun Sheng, who stood silently beside him, "The population in Cyan Yang City is large; if the methods to dispel evil spirits exist, wouldn't it be better to teach them to everyone so that all could have the power to protect themselves, eliminating the need for external protection?"
Xun Sheng said, "The Seven Stars Monitor's responsibility is to prevent widespread panic among the populace due to ghostly disturbances. This mustn't be publicized and made widely known."
Bai Hao nodded, "Indeed, which is why we only recruit individuals who have the ability to independently handle ghostly disturbances, allowing them to maintain the balance of the world."
Qin Yuesheng fell into silence, lost in thought.
"Can I choose not to join?"
"No need to rush into declining; take your time to consider. I'll be staying in Cyan Yang City for a while longer, investigating the cause of this incident." Bai Hao handed the book to Qin Yuesheng, "This is a little gift for our meeting. Reading it might make you interested in joining the Seven Stars Monitor."
Leaving the yamen, Qin Yuesheng looked at the sky, then at the book titled "Seven-Star Treasure Manual Vol. 1" in his hand, feeling a bit sentimental.
Indeed, one mustn't be too flashy; if careless, you might catch someone's attention.
Gao Peng followed behind Qin Yuesheng, as he'd completed his reports, Xun Sheng naturally wouldn't keep him. Once Qin Yuesheng left, he had to leave as well.
"Young Master Qin, you don't look well."
"I'm alright," Qin Yuesheng replied casually.
"Then, Young Master Qin, I'll return to Baihe Village first. I still have many matters waiting for me to handle at home."
"Hmm, go ahead."
Once Qin Yuesheng stepped out of the office, seven or eight Hospital Guards from the Qin family surrounded him, enveloping him within their group.
"Young Master."
"Young Master."
Qin Yuesheng nodded: "Where's the carriage? I need to return to the mansion."
Once Qin Yuesheng got into the carriage, the group quickly headed back towards the Qin Mansion.
...
The Cyan Yang City could be said to be large, yet small. The carriages of big families would always hang unique flags embroidered with their family's surname.
The carriage Qin Yuesheng was in passed a street, and suddenly a carriage with a flag bearing the character 'Lu' came towards them.
"Young Master Qin?" Lu Juncheng's head suddenly popped out from the window of that carriage, shouting towards Qin Yuesheng.
Qin Yuesheng always rode with the curtains open, so when he turned, he saw Lu Juncheng's smiling face.
"Did something good happen? You look so happy," Qin Yuesheng asked.
Both drivers simultaneously and tacitly stopped the carriages, making it convenient for the two young masters to converse from their carriages.
"What else could it be? Something happened again in Fuan Alley, I'm rushing over to check out the commotion."
"Something happened again?" Qin Yuesheng was surprised.
"Yeah, I heard it was the head of a fallen family. Well, it was that family's old father who died, and the son took over. Last night, while drinking, he recklessly ran into Fuan Alley, and something happened directly."
Qin Yuesheng said, "Then I'll also go take a look."
"Great, let's go together, Young Master Qin."
"Mm."
...
Fuan Alley is located in the northern part of Cyan Yang City, and usually, very few people pass by.
When Qin Yuesheng arrived there, it was already crowded with people who were unafraid of trouble and wanted to watch the excitement.
At the entrance of Fuan Alley stood a group of Daoists and monks, along with constables from the yamen, discussing something but it's unclear what.
Lu Juncheng stuck his head out from the window and grabbed a passerby by the car to ask: "What's the situation over there now?"
The passerby scratched his head: "Just like that."
Lu Juncheng took out five silver ingots and held them before the person: "Speak to me properly."
"The owner of the Colorful Phoenix Cloth Shop is gone. According to his driver, the man ran into Fuan Alley last night, and shortly after, a scream was heard. When the driver rushed over, there was nothing left."
"Is that driver sick? Knowing it's Fuan Alley, couldn't he have stopped it a bit?"
The passerby laughed and reached to take the silver ingot: "That's where it's interesting. The driver told the constable that he clearly wasn't in the northern district but in the western district. Yet after his employer had an accident, he found himself outside Fuan Alley. Young master, isn't that mysterious?"
"It's quite mysterious." Lu Juncheng returned the silver ingot to his pocket, gazed at the sky, sighed, and then pulled his head back inside the carriage.
Dropped the curtain, all in one go.
The passerby maintained his hand-up pose: "???"
Amidst the noise outside, Qin Yuesheng sat in the carriage, flipping through the book called "Seven-Star Treasure Manual the First" given to him by Bai Hao.
This is a collection of supernatural events, ghostly forms, types, and ways to deal with them, which Qin Yuesheng describes as a guidebook.
It also mentioned the type of water ghost Qin Yuesheng encountered earlier in Baihe Village.
Such water ghosts have appeared throughout the world; some people have eliminated them, while others have been eliminated by them, with varying results.
It mentioned that within the water ghost's body grows a Heart Pouch, the most lethal part of the body. If hit, it's enough for a one-hit kill.
"Ghosts fear the pure and positive energy, demons disdain the shock from heavenly thunder. Learning some special martial arts can achieve the former effect, but the latter is a rarity," Qin Yuesheng nodded secretly.
This guide indeed brought him a lot of new information.
Flipping to the end, he found the last few pages of Seven-Star Treasure Manual the First recorded a type of martial art.
It is called the "Soul-Shattering Roar".
This martial art isn't complete; it has a total of eight forms, but only three are recorded in this book. However, even those three are quite extraordinary. If learned, they could cause significant harm to ghosts and demons.
"How could the Seven-Star Guard have martial arts specifically targeting ghosts and demons?" Qin Yuesheng was surprised.
"No wonder Lord Bai urged me to take this book back and consider it. If I can join the Seven-Star Guard and learn their special martial arts, ghosts and demons wouldn't pose as much of a threat to me. That's indeed quite a temptation."