"Alright." Su Ziyu nodded with a smile, then turned around and left.

All good things must come to an end.

After experiencing so many worlds, Su Ziyu has gradually adapted to saying farewell to friends, because as long as fate allows, they will meet again.

Junhe Kingdom.

After bidding farewell to Mu Lingji, Su Ziyu arrived at a small town in Junhe Kingdom. Because of that dream from the Baku, he suddenly felt somewhat unwilling to go to Mount Fuji.

Perhaps he was somewhat afraid of encountering Qing Ji again.

Because he didn't know if he could bring himself to act when he encountered Qing Ji again, and Qing Ji didn't seem like she would come out to harm others voluntarily.

"Hey!"

"Have you heard?"

"The evil mountain sprite from Shijue Mountain was taken down by a mage from the Eastern Land!" A deliberately lowered voice rose in the inn.

Soon, his words attracted the attention of many people.

"Really?"

"Did they really take down that harmful mountain sprite?" A middle-aged man dressed as a merchant said happily.

A person next to him chimed in: "I think I heard about it too!"

"It was a wandering mage from the Eastern Land who acted, and they say that people saw a sudden thunderbolt from afar that day!"

"Surely it was using lightning to strike the demon dead."

The first person to speak said: "Of course it's true. Nobles from Sanhe Province even sent people to find that mage, reportedly wanting to offer a reward for exterminating the demon."

"They found the remains of the mountain sprite from Shijue Mountain, all burned to ashes."

The expression of the middle-aged merchant showed some surprise as he said: "That mage didn't go to collect the reward? I heard it was a considerable sum!"

"That's a person of high status! Maybe they don't care about the reward," the person next to him said. "I heard someone tried to impersonate him and claim the reward, but they were found out by the lord and had their head chopped off by samurai."

"And that mage also eliminated the harmful Jorogumo of Yuanjiang Province."

Speaking of this, he lowered his voice and said: "You know about Jorogumo, right? It lures men secretly and eats their heads after three days!"

"That demon was also taken care of by the mage."

"Reportedly, nearby lords are looking for him, probably hoping to seek the mage's protection."

"After all, there have been quite a few demons cropping up recently."

Su Ziyu, who was drinking tea nearby, listened in surprise. He was very sure that when he eliminated the mountain sprite and Jorogumo, there were no people around.

But who spread the word about him exterminating demons?

It seemed like someone was trying to make him famous!

The stories these people told were not far from the truth, as if someone had secretly witnessed the events.

Who could it be?

Su Ziyu couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly, and soon an image of a bald old man surfaced in his mind.

Slippery Ghost!

The only one who could approach him silently and remain undetected was the Slippery Ghost. The Baku barely counted as one, though it could only approach when Su Ziyu was asleep; if he were awake, it would surely end up in the pot for stew.

"What does that mage look like? If there's a chance to meet him, I definitely want to ask for a protective Peace Talisman," the middle-aged merchant asked.

"I don't know about that," the first speaker replied. "They say he's a handsome man like Lord Seimei!"

Hmm.

These people do have a discerning eye.

Su Ziyu silently drank his tea, deciding that next time he would seek out the Slippery Ghost to settle the score. This whole thing was probably ninety percent his doing, and he didn't know why he would do it.

The merchants chatted idly while eating, before soon switching topics.

"Have you heard?"

"Someone encountered Isohime near Edo in Kanto! It used to be just a rumor, but this time someone really got harmed!"

The oldest merchant said: "They say the demon's body is as long as a ship!"

Isohime?

Su Ziyu was quite unfamiliar with this name, so he took out the Hundred Tales to flip through it for a while, quickly finding the record about Isohime.

Turns out Isohime is a humanoid fish-tailed demon, called Merfolk in the East and known as Mermaids or Siren Sea Demons in the West. Legends of Fusang describe Isohime as an extremely ferocious demon, with a body as long as twenty to thirty meters—such a long body resembling a Siren Sea Demon. Isohime attacks humans near the coasts, a highly troublesome Sea Siren according to folklore.

"What's wrong with the world!" the middle-aged man beside him said. "I met a friend from Kyushu the other day."

"He said sometimes you can see a Demon Sword burning with ghostly flames flying through the streets at night near Sakura Island!"

"Sigh." Another person sighed: "That's nothing."

"The real threat is Jiutun Tongzi near Kyoto! Supposedly, nobody dares to go out at night in Danbo Province! And yet no one is taking care of it!"

"The nobles in Kyoto only care about pleasure and don't care about the lives of the common people."

At this point, the older merchant said: "They probably can't manage it anyway."

"You might not know yet?"

"Ghosts have started haunting around Kyoto at night! Nobody dares to pass by Vermilion Bird Dao! They say it's because Lord Seimei set up barriers to seal it!"

"Those demons haven't been resolved yet."

"Business is getting harder and harder."

"Once I finish this deal, I'll go back to my hometown and retire."

Su Ziyu silently listened to the merchants' complaints, then got up and left the inn. He decided not to continue traveling and to return to Kyoto tomorrow because Fusang still had the most demons around Kyoto.

At worst, he could disguise his identity to avoid the Netherworld and head directly to Danbo Mountain to hunt some ghostly creatures.

He might as well go check out the situation in Ghost Capital!

This time, Su Ziyu didn't plan to act openly but rather to operate in secret—grabbing some Source Power if there's an opportunity. After all, the prominent figure of the era is Abe no Seimei, so let him deal with those demons and monsters. Su Ziyu is just a passerby wandering in the wild.

If a wanderer wants to become a legend, naturally needed is some steady development.

Meanwhile.

Just around Odawara in Kanto, a beautiful lady with a white paper umbrella appeared on the street. Her appearance was incredibly beautiful and enchanting, with a graceful and refined demeanor like that of a traditional Eastern lady. Her long hair was pulled up into high clouds, adorned with jade ornaments. She wore a white dress embroidered with strange cloud patterns. In her delicate hand was a paper fan, looking like an ethereal fairy descended into the mundane world.

With her appearance, it seemed like the entire street quieted down. People found themselves irresistibly drawn to her beautiful figure, a trace of dazed fascination upon their faces.

No difference between men, women, old, or young; all were captivated by the unintentional charm she exuded.

The extremely beautiful lady seemed to be searching for something. Her gaze swept across many people, then a trace of disappointment appeared on her face.

She strolls onward.

Like a fairy walking through the mortal realm, people around her instinctively made way, some men displaying enamored expressions—but as soon as they approached, they were swept away by her gaze, standing there with trembling bodies as if frozen, cold sweat dripping like rain.

The white-robed woman left in disappointment, before departing, she opened the folding fan in her hand, her eyes dreamily fixed on a line of Chinese poetry written on it.

—"How in this world can one gain both? To neither betray Buddha nor forsake you."

Her expression seemed to carry a hint of pain as she murmured, "Where are you? I will definitely find you!"

Some greedy eyes followed her moving form.

After leaving the town, the white-robed woman stopped by a secluded forest, then turned her gaze not far away, saying softly: "Come on out. You've been following me for a long time."

Heh heh.

With a strange laugh, five or six scruffily dressed men emerged, the leading brute wearing a lecherous smile, said sleazily: "Beauty? Where are you heading alone?"

"Knowing I'm going alone, yet still daring to follow?" The white-robed woman's beautiful face broke into a graceful but cold smile.

Wisps of ghostly blue flame rose in her palm.

"Mamma mia! A demon! Help!"

"Don't kill me!..."

"I was wrong!...I won't dare again!..."

As the exquisitely beautiful white-robed woman turned away, all that remained on the ground were ashes burned to cinders, slowly dissipating in the breeze.

.........

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