Chapter 61: The Game
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Game
"I’m a Mid-First Realm Martial Artist now."
Zhu Ge’s face was all smiles. "You’re all just ordinary mortals, but for old times’ sake, how about you follow me to Yuan Yang City to make a life for yourselves? The Raincoat Fisherman won’t treat us poorly."
"How could you say something like that!" Ji Fuhui’s eyes went red. He wanted to step forward and hit Zhu Ge, but Yu the Scholar held him back.
"You’ve changed for the worse, Zhu Ge. You’ve changed for the worse," Duan Lei said, his face also full of anger.
"Just go. You’re not welcome here," Yu the Scholar said, his face cold and indifferent.
Only Sui Niang remained motionless, just staring at Zhu Ge.
"I said, I have a stake in this place." Zhu Ge’s expression turned cold as well. "My family has farmed this land for generations. What right do you have to drive me out? Hmph, I’m going home!"
With that, Zhu Ge turned and walked away, heading toward his home. From a distance, his voice rang out:
"My staying here is an honor for this place! In a month, when I’ve made it big, you won’t even be worthy of licking my boots!"
...
Zhu Ge returned home, looking around with a nostalgic and emotional expression.
At the same time, a ripple suddenly spread through his mind.
But he acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He looked over the various tools his parents had left behind before heading down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain were the graves of the entire village, all of whom had died because of the Fungus God.
If Zhu Ge wanted to pay respects to his parents, he had to do it here.
Right now, besides a single tombstone, there was also a small burial mound at the foot of the mountain inscribed with the words "Grave of Xianxian."
"Tsk, tsk." Zhu Ge sighed and shook his head. "What can I say? You were just a kid."
Then, he walked up to the unmarked tombstone for the entire village, his expression slightly agitated.
"Father, Mother, your son has finally made something of himself!" Zhu Ge’s voice trembled, as if with excitement.
"Your son is following a great man now, a great man who can help me soar! Your son can finally eat his fill! I can finally make a name for myself!"
Zhu Ge knelt and kowtowed.
High above, unbeknownst to Zhu Ge, the Raincoat Fisherman stood expressionlessly on his small boat, watching the clouds on the horizon.
After Zhu Ge had kowtowed three times, a smile touched the corners of the Raincoat Fisherman’s lips, and he murmured softly:
’Not bad. He has the ambition to climb. Add to that the fact he doesn’t even know he’s a natural prodigy for the Martial Dao... If I train him properly, on the surface he can be my Quanya, and in the shadows, my dirty blade.’
’It wasn’t a waste of my effort... It’s a shame every last Cultivator in Yuan Yang City already has a master and a sect. Otherwise, why would I need to take in this country bumpkin to be my Quanya?’
’The other villages in this region aren’t suitable for recruitment, either. But Zhu Ge has just suffered a great tragedy. His mind is fragile right now, making him easy to exploit. Plus, he hasn’t cultivated the Confucian Dao, so he doesn’t have that stubborn, stinking personality that’s so hard to persuade.’
’Besides, a country bumpkin like him can be won over with a simple mix of carrot and stick. It seems he’s just about ready to be completely at my disposal.’
’But I still need to observe him. This Zhu Ge is a clever one. I must be careful...’
...
Down below, a voice emerged from the "囍" character in Zhu Ge’s mind.
"Brother, what happened to me earlier...?"
Hua Xiaomei’s voice was tinged with confusion. "Why are you kowtowing here?"
’Hua Liusha is back?’
On the surface, Zhu Ge finished kowtowing excitedly, but in his mind, he was telling Hua Xiaomei everything that had happened recently.
This made Hua Xiaomei grow quieter and quieter as she listened, and the "囍" character in Zhu Ge’s mind turned an ever-deeper shade of crimson, like fresh blood.
After he finished kowtowing, everything returned to normal. Zhu Ge walked back home with a haughty expression, then began practicing the "Furious-Eyed Vajra Palm" outside his house, move by move.
In his mind, however, he was still conversing with Hua Xiaomei.
’...The Divine Sense of a Person of the Three Realms is impossible to defend against. That’s why I can’t let my guard down for even a second. I *must not* let my guard down, or I’ll die without a proper burial!’
Zhu Ge replied to Hua Xiaomei.
"Brother is right." Hua Xiaomei’s voice was also a little downcast. "Brother, you have to take care of yourself too..."
’Let’s not talk about that. It’s enough that you understand the general situation.’
As Zhu Ge practiced the martial technique he had just acquired, he asked:
’By the way, Xiaomei, what are your current abilities? Be as specific and clear as you can. I have to kill the Raincoat Fisherman in a single blow, so the more I know, the better!’
Hua Xiaomei answered immediately. "The first is enthrallment. I am a Xigui. My powers are only weakened when I’m facing people who are in the middle of a joyous celebration."
Zhu Ge nodded slightly.
’This enthrallment ability is similar to soul-snatching. It’s a natural talent for Ghosts.’
’Back then, some of the villagers were enthralled, and others had their souls snatched. It was like Hua Xiaomei was fighting the Fungus God for control.’
"The second is what you saw before, Brother. I can condense Yin Qi into a gaseous form of Yin Qi to attack a living creature’s soul," Hua Xiaomei said.
"But neither of these methods has much effect on the Literary Energy of a Confucian like Yu the Scholar, or on the Raincoat Fisherman’s song that severely injured me before. We Ghosts... are too weak!"
It was true. It seemed that under certain circumstances, neither Ghosts nor Gods could compare to Cultivators like Immortals or Confucians.
However, when it came to their lethality against ordinary people, Ghost Gods were very powerful.
Besides, the likes of Ghost Gods only lost in a direct confrontation with Immortals and Confucians. If they resorted to underhanded methods, the outcome was not so certain.
’A gaseous form of Yin Qi? Like that night when you came looking for me?’
Zhu Ge recalled a certain night when Hua Xiaomei’s gaseous Yin Qi had come to the forest to find him, trying to pass on a message by singing a nursery rhyme.
He had accidentally dispersed her gaseous Yin Qi back then and had thought it was just a hallucination.
"Yes, just like that," Hua Xiaomei replied.
"Can you leave behind some of that gaseous Yin Qi that you can control remotely?" Zhu Ge asked.
Hua Xiaomei answered, "I can!"
"Will it be detected?" Zhu Ge was a little nervous. "For example, will the Raincoat Fisherman discover it? I suspect he’s monitoring me right now."
There was no other way. You can never be too careful.
He even suspected that this one-month period might be a probation period.
The Raincoat Fisherman didn’t seem like a fool.
To ensure he made no mistakes, Zhu Ge had to outwardly display absolute loyalty and sycophancy.
For example, it was highly likely that the Raincoat Fisherman would be watching him with his Divine Sense from the shadows throughout this month.
The type to claim he was returning to report on his duties, but in reality, he’d finish in a day or two and come back to spy in secret.
Of course, it was also possible that Zhu Ge was just shadowboxing.
It was also possible the Raincoat Fisherman would stay for a day or two and then really leave.
Or perhaps the Raincoat Fisherman would return a day or two early to observe him.
In short, there were too many possibilities!
So Zhu Ge didn’t dare to gamble!
He could only use the safest, most foolproof methods to fight back and lay his spider’s web.
That meant assuming the Raincoat Fisherman was watching him from the sky at all times, without a moment’s rest.
"The Raincoat Fisherman? Unless he’s a Ghost or a God, he won’t be able to sense my gaseous Yin Qi," Hua Xiaomei answered Zhu Ge.
"I used my gaseous Yin Qi to enthrall Yu the Scholar before, and he couldn’t detect it either. It’s a special characteristic of mine."
’Very good...’ A flicker of emotion passed through Zhu Ge’s eyes before he suppressed it. ’In that case, I have some things for you to do.’
The spider’s web... was being woven!
From the outside, however, it seemed Zhu Ge had completely become a tyrant.
After returning to the village, he immediately began practicing his Cultivation Technique and would even show off to Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei from time to time.
He even took on a deeply condescending attitude, mocking Ji Fuhui and Duan Lei for being unable to learn the martial technique he possessed.
Duan Lei was alright. He was a bit dense and thought Zhu Ge truly looked down on him, so he desperately focused on tempering his body.
Ji Fuhui, however, felt that this was reverse psychology. So, he went directly to Zhu Ge’s house to find him.
"Zhu Ge! If you go to Xianxian’s grave and kowtow three times right now, I’ll let bygones be bygones!"