Chapter 226: Divine Eye Young Master

Having finished speaking with Lin Jiyi and the others, Fang Cun entered the main hall. He saw Young Sect Master Xu, Elders Green Pine and Cold Stone sitting and drinking tea with He Zhenzhang, Meng Qing’er, and the others. As they weren’t very familiar, the situation was quite awkward.

After all, Young Sect Master Xu and the two Elders were essentially their elders, while He Zhenzhang and Meng Qing’er were juniors. He Zhenzhang had been intimidated into sitting obediently in a lower seat, listening with admiration as the two Elders bragged: “Young man, let me tell you, without us two old folk holding it up, could Shoushan Sect have lasted this long?”

“If we two hadn’t shown up back then, stirred up the people’s spirit, could that Demon Hound have been slain?”

“If we two hadn’t gone to Qingjiang Prefecture the other day, our Sect Leader would have been bullied to tears by those Chief Wardens…”

“Ahem…”

Sitting beside them, Young Sect Master Xu felt thoroughly embarrassed but couldn’t expose the lie. Facing Meng Qing’er’s curious and strange look, he could only smile awkwardly. The dignified Sect Leader truly had no face left within these halls.

“Elder Fang…”

Fortunately, Fang Cun emerged from the side hall and rescued him. Everyone in the hall hurriedly stood up, faces full of concern.

Nearly two months had passed since Fang Cun left Shoushan Sect and the Sect Leader and Elders each went their separate ways. During these two months, many momentous events had unfolded. Fang Cun had visited Leshui Sect, Yun Huan Sect, and Lingwu Sect, leaving his name everywhere. He had gained immense fame in a very short time. The two Elders, remaining at Shoushan Sect, had managed sect affairs quite orderly…

Well… considering Shoushan Sect’s current foundation, even if they didn’t manage it, it would probably still be orderly!

As for Young Sect Master Xu, however, things had been truly unlucky. Following the clues down the Crow Mountain line, he had intended to severely punish the merchant houses secretly trading with them. Instead, he uncovered hints of the Seven Clans trading with the Great Demon Sovereign in the south. He ran around busily, exhausting himself and wearing smiles, only to be met with the endless roundabout excuses (‘pushing the tai chi’) of various government offices, endless cold words and sneering mockery…

Later, with some secret help from arrangements Fang Cun had made, he finally succeeded in forcing the Prefecture to investigate these matters. But suddenly, because the Ghost Official struck three times in a row, the entire favorable situation was completely destroyed, plunging everything into utter chaos.

And Young Sect Master Xu’s heart was even more troubled than the chaotic situation.

“So what actually happened with the Ghost Official?”

As Fang Cun walked over, the two Elders instinctively gave up their seats for this “Elder Above Elders.”

“Who could know…”

Understanding full well who paid their monthly stipends, the two Elders were infinitely more deferential to Fang Cun than to their own Sect Leader. They eagerly explained: “That guy is probably the biggest villain in all of Qingjiang Prefecture. His first crime… was it four, or five years ago? Back then, he killed a fierce bandit and grand thief who was wandering the lands. Probably black eating black. Later, for a time, he acted very boldly, killing corrupt officials, officials, and some demons hidden in Qingjiang. Many commoners even worshipped him back then…”

“That nickname ‘Ghost Official’ started circulating then. People said he was a judge emerging from the underworld, appearing in the world of the living because the human world lacked justice, to slay evil and punish the wicked on behalf of the court. Though not an official, he was more righteous than officials. Only… soon that reputation became a joke. The Ghost Official gradually revealed his true colours, killing countless, acting recklessly, even committing the atrocity of slaughtering entire families, not even sparing three-year-olds. The common people realized he wasn’t what they imagined and gradually grew terrified…”

“Old Master Fan once thought about capturing this Ghost Official. He even gathered together the Chief Wardens and the Five Sects… ahem… back then our Shoushan Sect wasn’t even counted… saying they would search the whole of Qingjiang to catch this Ghost Official. But it was all thunder and no rain! They made a big fuss for a while, but it eventually fizzled out. The Ghost Official, however, also gradually went silent!”

Fang Cun listened to this introduction. After a while, he smiled and said, “Among all these things the Ghost Official did, how many were actually done by the real one?”

“Huh?”

Everyone who heard Fang Cun’s words was a bit surprised and looked at him curiously.

Fang Cun, however, looked like he thought it was perfectly obvious.

This matter was practically glaringly apparent. How could the deeds of one Ghost Official cause such a huge commotion?

Not to mention others, even Fang Cun himself had already used the Ghost Official’s name before.

Earlier in Great Qingjiang City, the Seven Clans members posed as the Ghost Official to raid the prison, Qingjiang Prison, and burn the dossiers. This wasn’t out of Fang Cun’s expectations; in fact, it was part of his calculations. He had long instructed Lin Jiyi and his men to keep an eye on them. Xiao Qingliu going to Qingjiang City was less about helping Young Sect Master Xu capture witnesses and more about guarding against the Seven Clans resorting to such extreme desperation.

The Seven Clans members impersonated the Ghost Official to kill those who might cause them trouble and stole dossiers and physical evidence detrimental to the Seven Clans. Then Lin Jiyi and his men, like the mantis stalking the cicada only to have the oriole behind it, waited behind them to take advantage, killing those impersonators and snatching the dossiers and evidence back. Of course, once done, and going all the way, they also conveniently framed the real Ghost Official for it…

…

The Ghost Official was good… a ready-made scapegoat…

Directly raiding the county mansion’s prison, Qingjiang Prison, and burning dossiers would be considered a major crime in anyone’s eyes. If actually held accountable, it would be serious. But pinning it on the Ghost Official made it simple. Go find him if you can! That’s what the Seven Clans originally thought. Fang Cun thought the same: since the Seven Clans had already made the Ghost Official carry one black pot, why not let him carry this one too…

Of course, what they didn’t expect was that this Ghost Official was pushed to the limit by all this framing…

And in this main hall, apart from the people in the side chamber like Lin Jiyi, no one else – neither the two Elders, nor Young Sect Master Xu, nor He Zhenzhang or Meng Qing’er – knew about these intricacies. Many didn’t even know that among the three recent “Ghost Official” attacks, only one was probably real. And because it seemed real, that Ghost Official might have returned out of revenge…

“Now you come back for revenge?”

Fang Cun actually felt a bit helpless inside. “So many impersonated you before, why didn’t you seek revenge then?”

Of course, grumbling aside, he also understood that these last two impersonations had created far too big a stir.

They’d practically cleaned out Qingjiang Prison and burned countless dossiers. This was the kind of big affair that could shake the Divine Palace.

If Fang Cun were the Ghost Official, he might be crying his heart out by now.

The black pot was simply too big…

…

“Regardless of how much of the Ghost Official’s legend was truly his doing, his indiscriminate killing of innocents is a solid fact. The blood debt, the karma… it should all rest on him. Especially now that this matter has grown so huge; it’s probably impossible to suppress anymore, whether we want to or not…”

Young Sect Master Xu, who seemed to grasp the meaning behind Fang Cun’s words, frowned slightly and turned to him: “It’s just a pity… I ran around Qingjiang Prefecture for almost two months, exhausting my mind and heart on my plans and actions… only for it all to turn into wasted effort. It’s easy to imagine figures from the Qingjiang Seven Clans and Five Sects, all manner of people, likely converging on the Lingwu Sect. Elder Fang, what should our Shoushan Sect be doing at this time…”

“Sect Master, no need for disappointment. Our abilities are limited; we do what good we can!”

Fang Cun noticed Young Sect Master Xu’s underlying sense of loss and offered a comforting smile. “Since the matter has already blown up so fiercely, why not just observe how the other sects react? Our Shoushan Sect is, after all, just a small, secluded sect. What more could we possibly do?”

Young Sect Master Xu heard this and felt somewhat embarrassed, muttering quietly: “But if we don’t deal with it, who else will?”

…

“He’s here, he’s here… Divine Eye Young Master is here!”

“Oh heavens… brothers, sisters, juniors and seniors, come out quickly, look! Divine Eye Young Master!”

Just as the Shoushan Sect group was still deliberating in the guest hall, an excited clamor erupted outside, filled with joyful cheers.

Everyone was startled. They rushed out of the hall and looked toward the mountain gate. Above the skies near the Lingwu Sect, masses of auspicious clouds had gathered, swirling with divine energy. Amongst these clouds, faintly seen was an immortal flag fluttering – the banner of the Nine Immortals Sect, the premier major sect of Qingjiang.

The most eye-catching figure was the young man clad in pale red robes leading the Nine Immortals Sect procession.

He seemed like an immortal banished to earth, his aura extraordinary. Even the Elders of the Nine Immortals Sect stood respectfully behind him.

“Nine Immortals Sect…”

Everyone who saw them was a bit astonished. “We knew the Ghost Official reappearing would draw out the combined forces of the Six Sects and Seven Clans. We just didn’t expect Nine Immortals Sect to arrive so fast, and even more, we didn’t imagine they would directly bring out this ‘precious treasure’! This Divine Eye Young Master – Lu Xiao – he’s the priceless gem the Nine Immortals Sect poured enormous resources into cultivating, usually kept strictly hidden away, rarely ever seen in public…”

Fang Cun observed from a distance, curious: “How precious is he?”

The people around him immediately started chattering, eager to fill Fang Cun in.

Lu Xiao, known by his title ‘Divine Eye Young Master’, was born into the Lu family, one of the Seven Clans.

Rumors said he was born with extraordinary signs that alerted a Great Qi Refiner from Nine Immortals Sect. Upon examining his talent, they pronounced he might be a peerless genius found only once every ten thousand – his Innate Qi was close to three parts three-tenths and three-hundredths! They immediately treated him as a priceless treasure, taking him as a True Disciple into the Nine Immortals Sect while he was still in swaddling clothes. For many years afterward, the sect tirelessly invested resources, meticulously nurturing his foundations…

Strictly speaking, this Divine Eye Young Master had only appeared in public twice before.

The first time was six years ago at the Grand Immortal Assembly in Qingjiang. He stunned everyone while still only in the Breath Refining Realm, displaying his immortal talent.

From that moment on, people whispered privately that this young Lu’s natural gifts might even surpass that of the famed Immortal Master Fang Chi from back in the day!

The second time was three years later at another Grand Immortal Assembly. Reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he defeated disciples from all Six Sects and was hailed as Qingjiang’s number one Immortal Seedling.

By then, many felt no doubt he would become a second Immortal Master!

Today’s appearance was actually his third public revelation.

…

“It’s said this Divine Eye Young Master possesses a photographic memory, having read all the Daoist texts?”

Watching this figure who, merely by revealing his title, drew the entire Lingwu Sect out in welcoming reverence, effortlessly stealing the limelight.

Fang Cun’s mood actually improved. His final piece of the puzzle regarding the twelve meridians had arrived… “Opportunity!”