Chapter 256: Sooner or Later, It’s the Same

Last night was a grueling one for Feng Wei and Guo Teng in East Corner Village.

While the cart-pulling man was distributing gold and silver, they took the opportunity to break the arms and legs of villagers who were attempting, planning, or in the middle of looting.

They made a rough estimate—by midnight, they had broken dozens of limbs. In the latter half of the night, fearing discovery by the Sorrowful Ghost,¹ they only managed to cripple a dozen more.

At this rate, even if the villagers of East Corner Village survived this calamity, many would be left permanently disabled…

After discussing their respective areas and updating each other, the group exchanged reminders to “be careful” before heading inside to rest.

Splash—

Pouring himself a cup of tea, Gu Ning’an gazed at the three calligraphy pieces before him, deep in thought.

The first piece: [Self-Salvation]
The second piece: [Salvation by Others]
The third piece: [Salvation by Me]

The first phrase corresponded to Yu Ling, the courtesan of West Corner Village, Grandpa Donkey of South Corner Village, and the village guardian of North Corner Village—these individuals embodied “Self-Salvation.”

Even without the External Agents or the Universal Temple, there would still be those who stood up to save themselves and protect their homeland.

The second phrase represented the External Agents, Temple Keeper Huang, and Qiao Min—Gu Ning’an, too, was included here when he acted as an External Agent.

As for the third phrase, it referred to when Gu Ning’an set aside his title as an External Agent and personally intervened to save Four Corners Town.

Of course, he would only do so when the so-called Black King descended.

In the mortal world—under the Heavenly Dao—all events unfold as a prelude, laying the groundwork for future developments.

Gu Ning’an never saw himself as a savior. In fact, he believed the only true saviors in this world were all living beings themselves. Each and every creature was its own redeemer.

When everyone was capable of self-salvation, the need for “salvation by others” or “salvation by me” would disappear. Or perhaps, from the very beginning, these three were always one and the same.

Placing his fingers at the Dragon position on his divination board, Gu Ning’an closed his eyes and began his calculations.

A vision surfaced—the Yellow Weasel was in the skies above Four Corners Town, setting up a Concealment Array.

Mist swirled, spiritual energy surged—the formation was about one-third complete. If everything went as expected, it would be finished by midnight on the third day.

Looking at the corruptive energy surrounding Four Corners Town, last night’s chaos had slowed the “corruption-spreading” formation that should have outpaced the Yellow Weasel’s work. Instead, it had fallen behind by half.

If the four chang ghosts didn’t step up tonight, their master might not even have a chance to descend before the Yellow Weasel shut them out completely—like trapping dogs behind closed doors…

During the day, Four Corners Town looked lifeless, like an old man on his deathbed.

A drizzle fell from the sky, washing away some of the lingering scent of blood in the air.

By Shengxian River, fishing boats were haphazardly docked along the shore. It should have been time to cast nets for fresh river fish, but not a single fisherman ventured out.

Raindrops hit the river’s surface, creating ripples that spread outward.

In the middle of the river, inside a large fishing boat, the sound of metal clanging rang out from time to time.

Under the blackened boat canopy, four chang ghosts sat in each corner, their faces dark with frustration.

“Damn it!”

The butcher slammed his two wide-backed slaughter knives together with a loud clang and cursed,

“That little girl—so damn stubborn! I fought her all night, and she never even got tired!”

The actor, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, whimpered,

“The village guardian—where did he even come from? He smiles, and I can’t move a muscle…”

“But… he doesn’t seem to realize that he’s burning through his lifespan to expel my corruptive energy.”

The cart-puller added,

“My area had two External Agents, but they were sneaky—like two little rats running around breaking people’s limbs, stopping the chaos before it could spread!”

After speaking, the three turned to the plump woman.

Usually, as their leader, she would be the first to speak.

But today, for some reason, she remained completely silent.

“…Lustful Ghost?” The butcher, the most impatient among them, called out.

Hearing this, the plump woman slowly lifted her head and said solemnly,

“We may have to abandon our cultivation.”

At her words, the other three chang ghosts froze, exchanging puzzled glances.

“Why?”

“Wu wu wu~ It’s not that bad yet, is it? Wu wu wu!”

“Did someone troublesome appear in West Corner Village?”

They spoke one after another, unable to understand why the plump woman was suggesting such a drastic measure.

“In West Corner Village, I encountered a man in white—an External Agent.”

“But at the time, none of us realized… that this seemingly powerless man could crush us in an instant.”

A flicker of fear flashed through her eyes as she continued,

“He said he didn’t care about us expelling corruptive energy, but we must not use spells or cultivation to directly take the lives of ordinary villagers.”

The Lustful Ghost was not one to exaggerate. If she claimed that an External Agent capable of instantly killing them existed, then there must be undeniable proof.

“Impossible…”

The cart-puller furrowed his brows, his chubby cheeks trembling slightly. He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smacked his forehead and exclaimed,

“I remember now!”

The next second, he slammed a small clay jar onto the boat’s deck and lifted its lid.

Wisps of black smoke seeped out, gradually merging into the form of a wooden-faced man.

The plump woman narrowed her eyes.

“Is this the soul you captured that night?”

Looking embarrassed, the cart-puller hesitated before replying,

“Actually… this isn’t the same person as the first one I took…”

The plump woman’s voice turned cold. “Explain.”

“So, uh… that night, I followed the residual aura in the jar to track down the guy… But when I finally took his soul, I realized it wasn’t the same person as the night before…”

As he spoke, he could feel the air around him growing noticeably colder, but he forced an awkward smile and continued,

“I was in a rush to expel corruptive energy, and I figured—a soul’s a soul, right? So I didn’t overthink it and just brought him back…”

“Then I got busy with the ritual and forgot about it…”

“Now that I think about it, for someone to silently take a soul from my jar and even mislead me into taking the wrong one—that’s definitely not something an ordinary person could do…”

After hearing his explanation, the plump woman’s face turned icy cold.

She gritted her teeth and spat out each word,

“Greedy Ghost, why didn’t you say this earlier?!”

The cart-puller pouted. “Would it have made a difference? The power gap is right in front of us—if I had told you earlier, would we have stopped expelling corruptive energy?”