TRYMBPIETM 100: Revival of All Things (21)

Chi Qingzhou’s smile remained unchanged.

Shen Wenxu’s appearance was an unexpected event for him, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Especially given Shen Wenxu’s reaction, it seemed he had already recovered part of his memory?

Chi Qingzhou slightly lifted his eyelids and nodded at him.

Shen Wenxu showed a smile, scratched the back of his head, and awkwardly told the detectives, “My master foresaw something odd here, so he specifically sent me over to see if I could help with anything.”

The team leader paused for a moment: “Foresee?”

A young detective quietly said, “Captain, he’s a cultivator, and his master is likely one too. That foresight should be something like…”

As he spoke, he mimicked the motion of tossing coins.

The captain fell silent for two seconds, then, with some headache, said, “Shen, uh, cultivator Shen, we have regulations about proselytizing in non-designated places.”

Shen Wenxu sweated profusely and couldn’t help but lower his head. “It’s not proselytizing, not proselytizing! We always follow the rules. It’s just that my master has special eyes. He saw… oh, not saw—he used to handle this matter and knew some people who establish temples have unusual ways of thinking. He was worried something might happen here, so when he heard about the report of an ‘underground temple,’ he sent me over.”

His expression was incredibly awkward, and the detectives didn’t press the matter about proselytizing. Instead, they asked more specifically about the cult.

Shen Wenxu quickly answered the’ questions.

Chi Qingzhou watched from the side, his eyebrows lightly raised.

Special eyes, able to see some omens…

Shen Wenxu was practically telling him directly that Qing Zhi was the one who had taught him about the ritual method when he was ten, and he was also the one who had appeared in the Jingming Mountain’s Great Tomb some time ago.

It seemed Shen Wenxu truly had recovered his memory.

But was it really okay to so blatantly share information with him?

Chi Qingzhou turned his head and whispered, in a voice only Xing Shuangzhan could hear, 【Is he being a little too careless?】

Xing Shuangzhan thought for a moment and replied, 【He must have some reason for choosing this timing. His master is called Qing Zhi? That person probably has no energy to care about these small matters right now.】

Chi Qingzhou responded with a slight “Hmm” and, lowering his eyes, asked, 【Brother Su, do you know something?】 He pressed his lips together and added, 【If you keep being mysterious, you can go stay somewhere else tonight.】

【Are you angry?】 Xing Shuangzhan’s tone was filled with amusement, 【I’m not trying to hide anything from you, but there are some things I really don’t know. However, I can make an educated guess about this.】

Chi Qingzhou’s attention sharpened, and he gave Xing Shuangzhan a “go on” look.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t keep him in suspense. He directly told Chi Qingzhou that, in the past, someone had specifically helped Qing Zhiconceal the abnormality in his eyes.

Since Chi Qingzhou was ten years old, Xing Shuangzhan and he had been searching for the master who had guided him for the ritual, checking with organizations like the Xuanxu Sect and the Paranormal Control Bureau numerous times.

Chi Qingzhou’s memory was hazy, but Xing Shuangzhan still remembered that they had once come into contact with Qing Zhi, but hadn’t noticed anything unusual about him.

At Xing Shuangzhan’s reminder, Chi Qingzhou recalled a few things.

【I remember Shen Wenxu’s master… his strength was acceptable?】

But that was about it. Everything else could be said to be very ordinary.

Xing Shuangzhan succinctly evaluated, 【He’s a rather pretentious old fossil.】

He loved power, cared about face, enjoyed inflating his own achievements, and always exaggerated his contributions. He looked down on female cultivators, had deep prejudices against people from humble backgrounds, and while he pretended to encourage young people from non-faction backgrounds, he wouldn’t actually promote them.

He had a strong desire for performance, wasn’t exactly kind to his disciples privately, but in front of others, he always gave them a lot of face.

Qing Zhi had many flaws, but because there were so many, he appeared ordinary and real.

The key point was that this Qing Zhi never appeared guilty.

For example, when Shen Wenxu’s memory hadn’t recovered, he had reported to the higher-ups of the Xuanxu Sect about Xing Shuangzhan’s awakening.

At that time, Qing Zhi had voluntarily called an internal meeting and contacted the Paranormal Control Bureau, arguing and cooperating. He had appeared to be just a normal high-ranking member of the Xuanxu Sect.

Xing Shuangzhan spoke plainly, 【He has been showing this face for over a decade; it’s likely that this is his true nature.】

He wasn’t feeling guilty, which most likely meant he was confident.

He trusted that the people who instructed him would help him conceal all traces.

Chi Qingzhou blinked. 【Brother Su, are you suggesting that when Qing Zhi taught me the ritual method, someone instructed him to do so?】

He couldn’t help but recall when Qing Zhi had taken Bei Shen from his hands, using a ghost deity statue.

【At the time, I placed a curse on them.】 He muttered, 【But up until now, none of the curses I placed have been triggered.】

Xing Shuangzhan replied, 【My ghostly energy hasn’t been triggered either.】

With their abilities, only a righteous god-level figure could suppress both the curse and the ghostly energy.

That ghost deity’s power was indeed comparable to that of a righteous god.

While they were talking, it seemed Shen Wenxu had finished answering the police’s questions.

Chi Qingzhou glanced at him, noticing that he pointed toward the Wan Ying Temple. After a brief exchange with the detectives, two of them came out and took him inside the temple.

The priests from the Dao Association followed.

As everyone moved toward the Wan Ying Temple, Chi Qingzhou took a few steps forward.

As he walked, he said, 【That ghost deity had always helped Qing Zhu cover up his abnormalities. Shen Wenxu shouldn’t be able to notice anything. Now that Qing Zhi has exposed himself in front of Shen Wenxu… has that ghost deity’s power weakened?】

Xing Shuangzhan was silent for a while.

When they arrived outside the Wan Ying Temple and looked inside, it was already past eleven at night. The temple’s electric lights weren’t on, and only white candles flickered.

The large number of candles lit up the hall brightly, but the light took on an old yellow hue, making it quite uncomfortable.

Shen Wenxu scratched his head, looking troubled, and at first glance, he seemed quite confused.

“It’s empty here. Uh, I mean, there aren’t any spirits being worshiped in this temple… Oh, I’m not promoting superstition, what I mean is, the rituals arrangements these people did have already failed…”

In the detectives’ exasperated glances, Shen Wenxu tried his best to describe what he saw in a more scientific way.

The Dao Association members also helped by adding some details, trying to provide clues to the police.

Chi Qingzhou listened for a while, realizing that the Dao Association members were not aligned with the Xuanxu Sect.

They might not know much about Qing Zhi, but they definitely didn’t intend to help him monitor Shen Wenxu.

Shen Wenxu had chosen a good time.

Chi Qingzhou withdrew his gaze and gently tapped his toe on the shadow. 【Su-Ge?】

Xing Shuangzhan paused for a moment before responding. 【Qingzhou, have you ever considered that all your previous arrangements could weaken this ghost deity’s power?】

Chi Qingzhou thought for a moment and seriously said, 【No. Did I actually make such arrangements?】

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled.

Chi Qingzhou’s expression became even more innocent.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t delve deeper but simply said, 【Chi Shuhong is also worshiping this him, and it’s not surprising that you suspect him. He’s very good at hiding, and it would probably be difficult to find his whereabouts without using some means.】

Chi Qingzhou read aloud, 【Wow, so that’s what I was thinking.】

【What, Qingzhou doesn’t believe my theory?】 Xing Shuangzhan said with a mysterious smile. 【Then, guess what? Do you think you’ll have the chance to see something special later?】

Chi Qingzhou blinked but didn’t answer.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t speak either.

The two fell into silence, and the voices inside the Wan Ying temple became significantly louder.

It seemed that Shen Wenxu was troubled about how to explain things to the police, glancing frequently at the middle-aged man from the Dao Association, while gesturing frantically with his hands.

The police were also puzzled, nearly following him around the hall in a circle before they finally managed to understand the meaning behind the various small arrangements and decorations in the temple.

In simple terms, the people who set up the temple believed they could gain some kind of power through these methods to change their fate.

The police were speechless.

But they handled many cases and knew that some people did indeed believe in such things.

A few of the police officers thanked Shen Wenxu and asked if he would be available tomorrow to come to the station for a more detailed statement.

Shen Wenxu quickly said, “No problem, no problem. I’ll be in Hengming City these few days and can cooperate with you anytime.”

Seeing the officers nodding and smiling at him, he felt a bit embarrassed and stepped back, scratching his nose.

Unaware of what he had stepped on, Shen Wenxu slipped and fell backward.

With a loud cry, he flailed his arms in panic, grabbing at the air, barely managing to grasp the edge of a table to steady himself.

The police and priests were startled and rushed to help him, not noticing that his hand had unknowingly pressed down on a yellow talisman on the table.

In an instant, a white light, invisible to ordinary people, rose from the talisman.

Chi Qingzhou’s attention was drawn.

Inside his shadow, the system, which had been quietly observing, suddenly felt several of its modules begin to operate wildly. The illusion-building function, which had only been used once by Chi Qingzhou, was unexpectedly activated.

System: 【…!!!】

System: 【Host! Something’s wrong! Ah, why is this illusion module suddenly running! Host, I didn’t do anything, I didn’t target you!!】

System: 【Wuwuwu, Host, believe me! Don’t dismantle me!】

The system screamed in fear, recalling the painful experience of being disassembled by Chi Qingzhou.

Xing Shuangzhan slammed his hand down on the system. 【Quiet.】

The system trembled and immediately fell silent, still filled with fear.

Xing Shuangzhan coldly said, 【This is Qingzhou’s arrangement. He won’t misunderstand you.】

The system froze for a moment, and then its voice filled with expectation. 【Really?】

Xing Shuangzhan: 【Mm.】

He raised his gaze from the shadow to look at his contractor.

Chi Qingzhou’s expression was calm, seemingly listening seriously to the conversation between Shen Wenxu and the police.

But if one observed closely, they would notice his gaze was somewhat vacant, clearly lost in thought.

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled.

A little rascal who doesn’t like admitting mistakes.

…

The incense used for prayer was lit, and the smoke rose gently.

A young man with a delicate appearance pulled his girlfriend along and knelt before a cushion, sincerely making wishes to the countless gods and Buddhas in the air.

“Great god, your powers are limitless. Please bless the benefactor who helped me with divination half a year ago to have all their wishes fulfilled.”

“Oh, no, ‘all wishes fulfilled’ isn’t quite enough, let’s say, bless them with everything going even better, okay?”

“I know you’re amazing, great god. You’re so amazing, you must be able to bless my benefactor, right?”

The young man babbled on, his words revealing the simple faith of the Dragon Country people—

If you fulfill my wish, you are a worthy and revered god; if you don’t, then you should be dragged out and smashed.

His girlfriend knelt on another cushion, trying to hold back her laughter, afraid to speak out loud for fear of bursting into giggles.

Chi Qingzhou stood behind them, as the illusion that had already occurred slowly lifted.

Before him, a giant golden statue of a deity sat on a throne, its eyes kind and its appearance dignified.

But its form was clearly different from any of the known righteous gods.

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze landed on the deity’s hand.

Its right hand didn’t hold a sword or treasure vase like other deities but instead twirled a willow branch adorned with a small wind chime.

Its left hand extended forward, fingers spread wide, as if holding something formless.

As for the deity’s eyes…

Intricate star and constellation patterns filled the eyeballs, the lines so delicate that they would go unnoticed unless observed closely.

Chi Qingzhou smiled.

Without a doubt, he had seen this deity before.

Whether it was the statue worshiped by Chi Shuhong or the small deity statue used by Qing Zhi, they were simplified versions of this one.

They all pointed to the same ghost deity.

Perhaps Su-Ge was right.

From the very beginning, all the arrangements he made had been aimed at this god.