Wait a minute, where is my master?

Fan Youzeng swore that he would never litter again.

...

Inside the room.

Jin Xu held a copy of "Anonymity Hero Legend" in his hand, curiously looking at the person before him.

"So, you mistook us for demons?"

"Yes... yes... I'm sorry, Taoist. I really was impulsive. Please... please forgive me."

Fan Youzeng's tone was extremely humble, his body still covered with ice chips, and he spoke with a shivering voice.

Just now, he had witnessed a huge Wolf Demon transform into the gray-haired young girl now standing in the room.

As one might know, demons capable of transforming into human form at the very least are of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Although this Taoist appeared to be a mere human, having such a high-level demon pet, he might well be a Direct Disciple of some major sect with exceptionally powerful connections.

In Fan Youzeng's limited cultivation career, he knew that high-level cultivators had unpredictable temperaments. So what if he acted a bit humble? If it wasn't for the young Taoist insisting he stand up, Fan Youzeng would rather be kneeling and talking.

"Do you recognize the demonic aura on this?"

Jin Xu pointed to a broken animal trap on the ground and asked.

He had thought there were demons harming people, which was why he had come to check. Instead of finding a demon, he stumbled upon a "hero" secretly protecting the town,

the kind that starts with chopping people up.

"Re... re... responding to the Taoist, I cannot detect any demonic aura on it."

The trembling teacher replied.

"emmmm..."

Seeing the man freeze like this, Jin Xu kindly activated the "Fire Condensing Skill" in his right hand, intending to warm him up.

He was now finely skilled in control, confident that he could warm a person from five meters away without causing harm.

However...

As soon as the flame appeared, Fan Youzeng dropped to his knees.

"Tao... Tao... Taoist, I was wrong. I shouldn't have mistaken you for a demon. Empiricism kills, I will definitely change! You don't need to burn me!"

Under the intimidation of the spiritual power fluctuation, the poor teacher trembled even more fiercely.

"...you should get up first."

The young Taoist withdrew the small flame in his palm.

The two then exchanged further.

Fan Youzeng explained everything about the recent unrest, his decade-long secret protection of Kao Mountain Town, and the matter of the journal from many past village chiefs to the young Taoist.

It was then that Jin Xu understood that the yellow talisman papers strung up with red string he saw upon entering the town were not a unique decorative feature of this mountain town.

"A deity said that two hundred years later, in the eighth, ninth, or tenth month, it will be particularly dangerous?"

The young Taoist absentmindedly stroked the page of the book in his hand, mumbling to himself.

What kind of prophecy was this, spanning three months and leaving no solution?

After thinking for a while, still not quite understanding the meaning of the journal, Jin Xu once again extended his Spiritual Sense.

Before coming to this town, he had already scanned the nearby mountains and forests with his Spiritual Sense and detected no demonic aura.

Now that the only cultivator in the town hadn't provided any useful clues, Jin Xu decided to check more thoroughly.

After all, he had only looked at the ground earlier, and he hadn't looked below yet.

...

Outside the town, by a small river.

Three cultivators, dressed in Confucian robes, stood on a huge inkstone-shaped magical treasure, slowly flying over from the horizon.

The three men were of different ages. The middle-aged cultivator with a beard seemed to possess the cultivation of the Golden Core Realm from the fluctuations of his spiritual power, while the other two younger ones only showed signs of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

On the flying magical treasure, one of the younger cultivators, with a dejected expression, complained.

"Senior Brother Feng, when can we return to the academy?"

"What? Can't handle a few days outside? When Mr. Song arranged for people to go on patrol, weren't you the one dragging Dongqing along and eagerly signing up?"

Upon hearing his junior brother's complaints, the bearded cultivator stood with his hands behind his back, jesting in reply.

"Senior Brother Feng, I just didn't expect patrolling to be this boring. Had I known, I would have stayed at the academy to cultivate and waited to try entering the Secret Realm in September. Don't you agree, Dongqing?"

The younger cultivator said this while tugging at his companion beside him, seeking agreement.

His time in cultivation was still short, and on normal days, he would stay within the academy. Just a few days ago, he finally got a chance to go out and eagerly signed up with his friend. Only after these few days did he discover that patrolling was quite a laborious task, nothing like the leisurely outing he had imagined.

"Hmm."

The cultivator named Dongqing responded nonchalantly, his gaze fixed on the scroll in his hands, not looking away.

"Ha, Dongqing hasn't complained about wanting to go back eight times in five days like you have. Besides, this patrol duty rotates once a month. We cannot return without permission until the time is up. If you try to slack off, be careful, or upon returning, Mr. Mei might pull you aside for a lecture."

The bearded cultivator turned and teased his junior, invoking Mr. Mei's punishment to scare the young Confucian scholar.

The mention of being lectured by Mr. Mei sent a chill down the younger cultivator's spine. He had never been punished by Mei Shouyi before, but he had heard from his seniors in the academy that it was better to receive physical punishment from Mr. Song than a lecture from Mr. Mei.

Legend had it that a disobedient Confucian scholar was once lectured continuously for three days by Mei Shouyi, nearly causing his resolve to collapse. It was only when the Dean of Qingyun intervened that the scholar was saved from losing his mind to obsession.

Following that incident, the dean ordered that lectures by Mr. Mei as punishment be reduced to just one day.

Seeing the young Confucian scholar shiver, the bearded cultivator chuckled inwardly.

While it was true that Mr. Mei was tediously nagging, the veracity of those legends was still up for debate.

"Ziliang, do you know why the masters specifically arranged for us to patrol the lands of Qing State this March?"

The younger cultivator was named Liu Ziliang.

"I know. First, to keep us from foolishly cultivating to the point of having realms but no combat ability as Confucian practitioners. Second, to broaden our horizons and in passing, cleanse Qing State of demons and ghosts to protect the common folk. After all, we cultivators were ordinary people before becoming cultivators, so the lives of common folk should not be excessively slaughtered."

Seeing Senior Brother Feng challenging him, Liu Ziliang confidently replied.

"What else?"

The Feng-surnamed cultivator stroked his short beard and pressed on.

"What else? There's... what else?"

Liu Ziliang ran out of answers.

"Hehe, all these tasks you've talked about, our Qingmu Academy routinely arranges them during our demon-eradicating missions, not to mention during the small tests every three years and the major exams every ten years. This patrol mission, however, was suddenly added this year."

While speaking, Dongqing, who had been reading, also put down his scroll, suddenly asking.

"Is it related to the opening of the Qingmu Secret Realm?"

There were no patrol tasks in this month in previous years at Qingmu Academy, and there had been no news of the Demon Sect's activities in Qing State, nor were events of the Great Xia Dynasty affecting them in Qing State.

Thus, it was likely related to the opening of the Qingmu Secret Realm.

"Indeed, it is somewhat related to the opening of the Secret Realm."

Senior Brother Feng nodded, his tone carrying a note of affirmation.

Liu Ziliang and Liu Dongqing, seeing their senior brother affirm this guess, both eagerly awaited for him to continue speaking.