The Unruly Immortals

Li Huowang hadn't been out of the inn long before he once again came to the residence of the supreme ruler of Pi County, where the entrance boasted two stone lions and a large drum at the government office gate.

This time, Li Huowang didn't intend to sneak in; instead, he walked up to the entrance and had someone inside report his presence to the County Magistrate.

Perhaps if someone else had done this, they might have been blasted out as a nuisance and a scoundrel.

Yet when Li Huowang, clad in a red Taoist robe, his face obscured by a Copper Coin mask, and with two longswords slung across his back, stated outright that he could solve the entire county's troubles of diminishing yin and yang, he was immediately and respectfully invited inside.

Yang Hongzhi, the County Magistrate of Pi County, picked up a green porcelain teacup, pushed the lid to nudge the floating tea leaves, and carefully took a sip.

While taking advantage of his tea-break, he scrutinized the oddity before him; this person's strange attire made it difficult to guess where he came from.

A message from the arrest officer Luo revealed that this individual arrived in Pi County with a troupe that performed powder plays, and by the looks of it, he must have come from Qingqiu.

The most crucial thing was, he had claimed he could resolve the menacing shrinkage of yin and yang that had plagued him for so long.

His own son was still suffering; he had to try it, even if there was but a sliver of possibility.

As Yang Hongzhi observed Li Huowang, Li Huowang also took note of his every expression and demeanor.

After carefully deducing the meanings behind the expressions on the man's face, Li Huowang had a plan in mind and knew what to do next.

"County Magistrate Yang, let's get to it. What exactly is going on here? The Astrological Bureau is still busy, and I don't have time to waste," Li Huowang took the initiative to break the awkward silence between them.

To quickly understand the details of the evil spirit causing the shrinkage and to gain the full support of the Pi County government office, all other talk seemed pointless and unlikely to help, so Li Huowang decided to impersonate someone from the Astrological Bureau.

In such circumstances, as the 'parent official' of the county facing such a major problem, he wouldn't have failed to notify the Astrological Bureau.

Since the problem persisted, either the Astrological Bureau hadn't arrived, or their representative failed to resolve the issue. This was an opportunity for Li Huowang to step into the gap and achieve his goal.

Upon hearing Li Huowang mention the Astrological Bureau, the County Magistrate Yang was so startled that he scalded himself with the tea in his hands; he hurriedly and clumsily placed the cup back onto the table and clasped his hands together in excitement as he bowed to Li Huowang.

"Dear heavens! The Ministry of Rites finally dispatched you folks. Oh dear, I've been waiting to death! I've sent at least a hundred Pigeon Messages! They always tell me to steady the people's hearts and wait for good news, but I can't even steady my own heart, let alone the people's!"

Seeing that Yang Hongzhi kept complaining to him, Li Huowang's anxiety eased somewhat. Seeing that the other party believed him, he discarded the alternative explanations he'd prepared in his mind.

"Alright, County Magistrate Yang, I don't have time for chit-chat. Tell me everything about this issue from beginning to end—where exactly did this diminishing yang come from, and when did it start?"

Compared to the inn's waiter, this County Magistrate surely knew more. To confront the unseen and intangible ghost that had set its sights on him, he had to understand more.

"Ah! It all started on this year's Ghost Festival, at Dead Man's Slope five miles east of the county. One of the night watchmen, he—" Yang Hongzhi abruptly stopped as he seemed to remember something, his mouth agape and his face filled with fear.

"Go on, what happened?" Li Huowang leaned slightly forward, pressing for an answer.

Instead of continuing, the County Magistrate began to change the subject, his face contorted in conflict as he bowed to Li Huowang once again.

"Noble one, you must save the people of Pi County! This is about everyone's life!"

Just as Li Huowang was about to ask another question, he suddenly stopped; he understood exactly what the other person was worried about—it was the same concern the previously deceased inn waiter had.

"Are you afraid that if you speak up, the ghost will trouble you? Don't worry, just speak boldly. Now that I have arrived, I can certainly take care of it for you."

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, County Magistrate Yang didn't show any sign of relief on his face; on the contrary, he jumped three feet high as if dodging the plague and hurriedly ran away from Li Huowang's side.

After a short while, he returned with several constables dressed in green, each carrying a small copper gong, with a red cloth bundle hanging behind each gong.

They surrounded Li Huowang, constantly striking them. He was also muttering a chant, "If there's a demon, don't blame the demon; don't blame the official work! If there's a demon, don't blame the demon; don't blame the official work!!"

Li Huowang watched their ridiculous actions with an extremely bizarre expression. "What are you doing? Could this method solve the problem of the unseen ghost?"

Upon hearing Li Huowang's words, County Magistrate Yang kept nodding his head.

Only then did Li Huowang notice that each person was holding a large iron clamp, firmly clamped around their own middle finger, unwilling to release even as the finger turned dark and purple.

One of the constables, sweating profusely from striking the gong, turned around, and said urgently to Li Huowang, "Hurry up! That thing has its eyes on you! If you don't want to die of shriveled virility, quickly do as we do! We're all in this together, would I harm you?"

This made Li Huowang's body tense up instantly, and he reached out to take a copper gong and also began to turn in circles while striking the gong.

For some reason, this series of events in Pi County gave him an inexplicably familiar feeling, a familiarity mingled with revulsion.

While he was pondering, the others surrounding him began a new set of actions.

They hung the red cords from their gongs around their necks, hanging them on their backs like turtles and, following that, they got down on all fours and started to crawl around the round table.

This scene was both bizarre and absurd, and what was more, the others were casting urgent glances at him, prompting him to follow suit.

"Is this really effective? How do they know that this works against the life-stealing ghost?"

While Li Huowang was hanging the copper gong around his neck, the others suddenly spread their legs apart as if a dog about to urinate.

They weren't urinating, but instead they pulled down their trousers, grabbed a handful of red chili powder from behind the gong, and sprinkled it over their virility.

Even though they were grimacing from the burn, they didn't dare to slack off and continued to crawl on the ground with their gongs on their backs, spreading the powder as they went.

"Real man, come quick! Hurry and learn from me! If you don't learn, you'll be dead in no time!!"

Watching such an absurd and ridiculous scene unfold before him, Li Huowang, with furrowed brows, walked over and slowly squatted down to grasp a handful of chili powder.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly opened his hand, watching the bright red chili powder drift from his hand to the ground.

"Why do I feel this is a bit too fake? Even if the world has gone mad, isn't this a bit too outrageous? It's just like they're fooling around!!"