The Unruly Immortals

It wasn't long before the inn's waiter gently knocked on Li Huowang's guest room door. As he entered, he saw the guest with a Copper Coin mask sitting at the round table, sipping tea at the head seat.

"Master, did you summon me?" He hunched over, approaching the round table with caution as he asked.

"Sit," Li Huowang, holding the teapot with one hand, poured a cup for the man across.

"No, no, you are too kind. I can stand," the waiter replied quickly. "Master, did you have orders for me? Was there any oversight in our service?"

After dealing with these out-of-towners for so long, the waiter wasn't as frightened anymore.

"Here." A small Gold Ingot the size of a pinky finger was placed in front of the waiter. Li Huowang said, "I have some questions for you. If you can answer them, this gold is yours."

Before the waiter could even comprehend what was happening, Li Huowang got straight to the point, "Why are people from the county so afraid of testicular and penile retraction? What is causing these conditions?"

At these words, the waiter's barely held smile instantly disappeared, replaced by a look of sheer terror. He spun around, about to run outside.

But the moment he turned, his head collided with the stone slab on Gao Zhijian's chest, and stars flashed before his eyes as he slumped backward.

When he came to his senses, he found himself bound tightly with cowhide, unable to move his limbs, while a tall and robust man stood by, watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey.

"Clang," accompanied by the sound of metal clashing, Li Huowang's Torture Tool Bag was slowly spread out in front of the waiter.

Seeing the sinister red bloodstains on the sharp implements made the waiter shiver instinctively.

"I apologize, but I'm not good with words. When I need information, I have to use more direct methods," Li Huowang said indifferently, sending a chill down the waiter's spine. "In this world, I might not have learned much, but I have mastered various methods of torture."

"This device is for plucking out eyeballs. Let me tell you something—actually, the eyeballs can't feel pain. If you don't believe me, you can pull your eyelids open and touch them. Whatever pain you feel is just the flesh around your eyes."

As the spherical iron tool scraped past the edge of the waiter's face, his whole body broke out in goosebumps.

The waiter looked terrified by Li Huowang's words, but his pale, bloodless face was pursed tightly, showing no sign of answering Li Huowang's questions.

Seeing no progress, Li Huowang put down the iron clamp in his hand and picked up a Spindle, demonstrating it in front of the waiter.

"Do you know what this is? It's not for winding thread. This is for winding intestines."

"It's quite simple to use. Just make a small cut around your navel, pull out a bit of intestine, and hook it to this Spindle. Then you just keep pulling and pulling..."

"Do you know what that feels like? Close your eyes and think about it."

"You don't have to imagine if you don't want to. In a moment, you will experience it firsthand. Let me spoil it for you—it's terribly uncomfortable, like your body is empty inside."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of tearing fabric was heard. Li Huowang had ripped open the waiter's garment, exposing his shriveled abdomen. As Li Huowang's fingers touched his belly button, the waiter finally broke down.

"I'll speak! I'll speak!!" An unsavory smell of urine began to seep out from beneath him.

Gao Zhijian scratched his head, feeling that Li, his senior brother, had quite a way with words—to scare a man to such a state just through talking.

Li Huowang's hand slowly withdrew from the man's stomach. "Speak up! For what reason are the people of Pi County suffering from testicular and penile retraction?"

"Ghosts! There are ghosts!" The inn's second boy cried out in utter misery, looking just as disheveled and with snot and tears streaming all over his face.

"Some lonely spirits and wild ghosts, wanting to be reincarnated as men, come to the human world to fetch... So they try to snatch ours away!"

The words of the inn's second boy seemed utterly absurd to Li Huowang, "What is this nonsensical talk?"

It was not quite what he had imagined; he had thought that the genital retraction in this area was caused by some Evil Spirit.

"Could they be mistaking some Evil Spirits for ghosts? An extraordinary and special Evil Spirit that had attacked them? Under such circumstances, shouldn't the Astrological Bureau send someone?"

After pondering a while with a furrowed brow, Li Huowang looked at the inn's second boy and asked again, "Have you seen these so-called ghosts? What do they look like? Are they the kind you can touch with your hand, or the kind you cannot?"

It was best to get a clear understanding now, so he would be prepared for their next encounter.

Upon hearing this, the inn's second boy's head began to shake like a rattle-drum. "No! People can't see ghosts at all! In the end, they'll shrink someone to death!"

Seeing that the other party was now able to converse properly, Li Huowang untied him and then helped the frightened man to a seat on the stool.

Compared to before, Li Huowang's tone had become much gentler.

"Come on, I'm just asking you a few simple questions. Is there a need to be so secretive? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Whether or not you believe it, we are truly here to help you."

When the inn's second boy heard Li Huowang speak, he suddenly covered his face and burst into enormous tears, looking extremely afraid and his voice carrying a hint of despair.

"I can't say it! If we speak of it, both you and I will be haunted by the ghost!"

Li Huowang immediately felt a chill spread through his body upon hearing this, his hand grasping the hilt of his sword as he quickly scanned his surroundings with heightened vigilance.

The window, the wooden door, under the bed—Li Huowang checked everything inside the house, but he found nothing; everything seemed so normal.

Recalling all the kinds of Evil Spirits he had encountered before, Li Huowang heard for the first time about something so sinister that it could spread just by word of mouth!

Although the inn's second boy's story was full of holes, the current Li Huowang preferred to err on the side of caution.

Li Huowang looked up immediately and said to Gao Zhijian, who was guarding the entrance, "Remember not to talk about this with anyone else when we go out!"

Gao Zhijian nodded vigorously, he too had no desire to pass the danger on to his companions.

Li Huowang, undeterred by the danger, forcefully pulled apart the inn's second boy's hands, his expression grave as he stared intently at his despairing face.

"Who told you these things? Who said that if you tell others, you'll be haunted by ghosts? Did they say if there was any way to deal with this kind of Evil Spirit?"

Even though he had two swords on his back capable of Exorcising Evil, the thing he had encountered this time seemed exceptionally odd.

"I... I don't know! That's what everyone says!" Having said this, the inn's second boy, not caring that Li Huowang was right beside him, reached down to undo his belt, looking inside with a frightened heart.

The next moment, he stiffened on the spot as if struck by lightning....