The tea master said, “Who knows? They say many people have seen it—a whole face wrapped in bandages, fierce eyes, unable to speak, only making growling sounds like a wolf. It’s all hearsay.”

Fuyun said, “A face wrapped in bandages doesn’t necessarily mean ugly. It could be because they’re too beautiful and don’t want people to see them.”

The tea master was speechless for a moment, then said, “Who knows? I haven’t seen it anyway.”

At that moment, a girl’s voice came from the street, “Don’t… don’t listen to him, don’t go, it’s very dangerous in Junshan Mountain…”

Hidden in the corner of the street was Xiaoying, the girl who had come to Nanyang Temple to pray the previous night.

As soon as Xie Lian saw her, he felt a slight pain in his face and unconsciously touched it.

The young man didn’t look kindly upon her and shoved her. “Men are talking, what’s a little girl butting in?”

Xiaoying flinched from his push, but mustered her courage and whispered, “Don’t listen to him. Whether it’s the fake wedding procession or searching the mountain, it’s so dangerous, it’s like sending yourselves to your deaths!”

The young man said, “That’s easy for you to say. We’re risking our lives to rid the people of this evil, but you? You’re selfish, unwilling to pretend to be the bride and get on the palanquin. You don’t have the courage for the sake of the people here, and now you’re obstructing us. What are you up to?”

With each sentence, he pushed the girl, causing the people in the shop to frown. Xie Lian lowered his head to unwrap the bandages on his wrist, while hearing the tea master say, “This little Pengtou, he wanted to coax this girl into pretending to be the bride, sweet-talking her, but she refused, and now he’s showing his true colors.”

On the street, a group of men shouted, “Get out of the way!” Xiaoying’s face flushed red, tears welling up in her eyes. “Why… why do you have to speak like that?”

The young man said, “Am I not right? I asked you to pretend to be the bride, and you refused to death, didn’t you?”

Xiaoying said, “I was scared, but… you didn’t have to rip… rip my skirt…”

As soon as she mentioned this, the young man jumped up as if struck, pointing at her nose. “You ugly monster, don’t you dare slander me! I ripped your skirt? Are you blind! Who knows if you did it yourself to show it off? Who knows if nobody would look at your ugly face even if your skirt was ripped? Don’t try to blame me!”

Nanfeng couldn’t take it anymore. His teacup shattered in his hand. Just as he was about to get up, a white shadow flickered beside him. The little Pengtou, who had been jumping around, let out a scream, covered his face, and fell to the ground, blood dripping from between his fingers.

Before anyone could see what happened, he was already on the ground. They thought it was Xiaoying, but when they looked again, she was gone. A Taoist priest in white stood in front of her.

Xie Lian, his hands hidden in his sleeves, didn’t turn around. He smiled at Xiaoying, bent slightly, looked at her levelly, and asked, “Miss, may I invite you in for a cup of tea?”

The little Pengtou on the ground was in excruciating pain, his face as if it had been beaten with a steel whip, but the Taoist priest clearly had no weapon, and no one saw how he attacked or what he used. He staggered to his feet, raising his knife and shouting, “This person is using sorcery!”

Hearing “sorcery,” the men behind him raised their knives. But behind them, Nanfeng suddenly struck out with a palm, and with a “crack,” a pillar broke.

Seeing this power, the men’s faces changed. Little Pengtou was scared, but still stubborn, running and shouting, “I’m done for today, which path are you from, heroes? Leave your names, and we’ll settle this later…”

Nanfeng didn’t bother to answer, but Fuyun said beside him, “Certainly, this is the great…”

Nanfeng struck out with another palm, and the two silently fought. Xie Lian wanted to invite the girl in for tea and some snacks, but she ran off in tears. He sighed, then entered the tea shop. The tea master said, “Remember to pay for the pillar.”

So, when Xie Lian sat down, he said to Nanfeng, “Remember to pay for the pillar.”

Nanfeng: “…”

Xie Lian said, “Before that, let’s get down to business. Can someone lend me some spiritual power? I need to enter the spirit communication array to verify some information.”

Nanfeng raised his hand, and the two clapped hands in a simple agreement. Thus, Xie Lian could finally enter the spirit communication array again.

As soon as he entered, he heard Lingwen say, “Your Highness finally borrowed spiritual power? Did the journey in the north go smoothly? How are those two junior officers who volunteered to help?”

Xie Lian looked up at the pillar broken by Nanfeng’s palm, and at Fuyun, who was calmly closing his eyes, and said, “The two junior officers are both talented and promising.”

Lingwen laughed, “Congratulations to General Nanyang and General Xuanzhen. According to Your Highness, these two junior officers will have a bright future, and ascension is imminent.”

After a while, Muqing’s cold voice floated out, “He didn’t inform me of this trip. Let him be, I know nothing about it.”

Xie Lian thought, “You really stay in the spirit communication array all day long…”

Lingwen said, “Your Highness, where are you currently stationed? General Pei is in charge of the north, and the incense is very strong. If Your Highness needs anything, you can stay at his Mingguang Palace.”

Xie Lian said, “No need to trouble yourselves. We haven’t found Mingguang Palace nearby, so we’ve settled in a Nanyang Palace. By the way, Lingwen, do you have more information about this ghost groom?”

Lingwen said, “Yes. Our temple has just finished its assessment. He’s rated (Xiong).”

“fierce”!

For the demons and ghosts that wreak havoc on the world, Lingwen Temple classifies them into four levels based on their abilities: (E), (Li), (Xiong), and (Jue).

“harmful” kills one person, “fierce” can destroy a family, “violent” can massacre a city. The most terrifying brings chaos and disaster to the world upon its appearance.

The ghost groom hiding in Junshan Mountain is actually a fierce，” second only to supreme. Therefore, those who have seen him are unlikely to escape unscathed.

After exiting the spirit communication array and informing the other two, Nanfeng said, “Those ugly monster bandage men are probably rumors. Or they saw something else.”

Xie Lian said, “There’s another possibility. For example, under certain circumstances, the ghost groom may not, or cannot, hurt people.”

Fuyun complained, “Lingwen Temple is so inefficient, it took so long to give a rating. What’s the use?”

Xie Lian said, “At least we know the enemy’s strength. But since he’s the ghost groom’s spiritual power must be very strong, and a fake person can’t fool him. If we want to lure him out, the wedding procession cannot use illusions or puppets, nor can they carry weapons. Most importantly, the bride must be a real person.”

Fuyun said, “Just find a woman on the street to be the bait.”

Nanfeng rejected this, “No.”

Fuyun said, “Why? Unwilling? Give her some money, she’ll be willing.”

Xie Lian said, “Fuyun, even if a woman is willing, it’s best not to use this method. The ghost groom if we fail, we might be okay, but if the bride is taken, a weak woman can’t escape or fight back, she’ll only have one way out—death.”

Fuyun said, “If we can’t use a woman, we can only use a man.”