Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 173, Part 2: Taking the Initiative

Let Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun handle the captured demons, because Qingyangzi knows the White Lotus Sect's various operational procedures at the time, where their strongholds are, and where the demons were captured. He may not know everything, but he knows at least 90% of the details.

Even back then, he and Shou Wanjie didn't stay in the base camp all the time. To transport a large number of living creatures in a short period of time, they could only rely on special means, namely the teleportation arrays built by illegal transmigrators.

However, Yi Yang only had a few people, and their skills in building teleportation arrays all over the country were clearly insufficient. Shou Wanjie and Qingyangzi could transform into light and travel thousands of miles a day without any problem. In addition, in order to gain some trust, Qingyangzi and Shou Wanjie had come out a few times.

Anyway, for them, using Huaguang (a type of magic) for a day is no big deal.

However, magic arrays are not something that can be set up with a simple swipe. Every time Shou Wanjie and Qingyangzi went out, they brought people with them. While others did the work, the two of them kept things under control.

The members of the White Lotus Sect all wore white, while these two were predominantly red. They were very conspicuous no matter where they stood, and they were always the first to be noticed when they came into contact with others.

Shou Wanjie's image had already spread far and wide, and people could roughly tell from his appearance that he was the legendary "Asura King." But Qingyangzi had not yet, or rather, had not yet had time to build up the fame that Shou Wanjie had, before Yi Yang and his group were captured.

His description might at most be "a Taoist in red," and once the White Lotus Sect collapsed, no one would care anymore.

Unexpectedly, there were people in Chang'an who had seen him before. But Qingyangzi remembered that he had never been to this area of ​​Chang'an. According to the other party, he was with Shou Wanjie.

"Qingyangzi, what do you think of this person..."

"Not impressed."

The woman opposite was also dressed in a very distinctive way, with many patterns and colors on her clothes, especially around her waist and shoulders, where there were colorful strips of cloth. She also had several masks hanging from her belt, making her look like a shaman.

Her attire was just as conspicuous as Qingyangzi's and the others'; if he had actually seen this woman before, he would definitely remember her.

"Master, this guy in red is in league with the White Lotus Sect, don't be fooled!"

Despite their panic, they remained respectful to the monk. It seemed that this barefoot monk was highly respected in the area, even though he was only wearing a tattered patchwork robe and didn't even have a begging bowl. Overall, he looked only slightly more respectable than a beggar.

There's a saying, "Returning to simplicity," and this seemingly ordinary barefoot monk may be walking that path.

"Madam, please calm down. Qingyangzi is not a bad person."

Seeing the woman start taking out her ritual implements, Jingtao first took a look and noticed that her hairstyle was that of an older woman, and then began to comfort her.

“I did spend some time with the White Lotus Sect and travel with the Asura King, but that was for other purposes. I also dislike the White Lotus Sect’s actions.”

As Qingyangzi watched the woman pull out a magical artifact that looked like a copper bell, the monk beside her stood there silently, seemingly shocked by Qingyangzi's relationship with the White Lotus Sect, or perhaps wanting to test the woman by letting her act as she pleased.

Neither Jingtao nor Qingyangzi are afraid of the other side. They just feel that they can't be called villains by others. Their undercover mission is over, and they are currently cleaning up the enemy's mess. They are not interested in being villains.

"Furthermore, Qingyang does not recall ever meeting the lady."

"Of course you don't remember."

The woman held up a copper bell, striking a pose as if she were about to exorcise a demon.

"At that time, Asura King was surrounded by a crowd, and you were standing right next to him. As that devil's subordinate, of course you wouldn't look at the crowd below."

It seems that during some kind of promotion, the other party happened to be in the crowd, which made it impossible to see the people below. Just as Qingyangzi was about to speak, Jingtaojun suddenly stepped forward.

"Longnao Qingyangzi is the Dao Master of our Daoist sect, the Holy Dragon Mouth, and a representative of the righteous sects. He has never been that guy's subordinate. Entering the White Lotus Sect was necessary at the time, and it was precisely because Qingyangzi infiltrated the sect that we were able to send all the captured demons back."

At most, Shou Wanjie and Qingyangzi are of the same generation. In fact, according to his adopted son Chen Taixunming, Shou Wanjie is of the same generation as Xi Yueying and Huo Qingyun. Jingtaojun is even a generation higher than Shou Wanjie. It is too much to say that Qingyangzi is that guy's subordinate.

"The White Lotus Sect was previously exploited by villains, but it has now collapsed and is no longer a threat. As I just said, if you are curious about the details of this matter, please ask the local City God."

At this point, Jingtao glanced at the monk who had been keeping silent and pretending to be mute. When the other side mentioned that Qingyangzi and Asura King were in cahoots, this guy had been trying to make his presence felt, clearly intending to use the woman to test the waters.

I already know that there are many extraordinary people in Chang'an, and this woman is obviously one of them. She probably has some grudges with the White Lotus Sect.

Judging from her attire, she seemed to be a shaman, someone who frequented the streets and alleys. It was indeed easy for her to clash with some cults, so her agitated expression was not surprising.

“If Madam cannot calmly get along with others, Mr. Jingtao does not mind using some extreme measures.”

But if you direct your anger at Qingyangzi, sorry, Jingtao-jun will give you a few good whacks.

"Jingtao and I are only here to send the weak monster home; we have no intention of clashing with you all."

For these uninformed natives, the White Lotus Sect issue would be very complicated to explain. Qingyangzi didn't want to waste his breath. If things were really too troublesome inside Chang'an City, they could simply not go. In any case, given his and Jingtao Jun's appearances, they wouldn't have much peace inside anyway.

"Dragon brain? You, Taoist priest, are of dragon descent?"

The titles Jingtao Jun mentioned were all unfamiliar to the woman. She had never heard of any Daoist master named Shenglongkou. She just felt that Qingyangzi's titles were all related to dragons, and dragons were creatures of extraordinary significance that should not be used lightly.

Nowadays, titles related to dragons are either associated with secular emperors or with dragon kings and dragon offspring, neither of which are things that a folk sorcerer like her can handle.

Based on this, the woman's attitude softened somewhat. There was also the City God that Jingtao Jun had mentioned, and the City God was even more dangerous to offend. She looked at the barefoot monk beside her and asked with her eyes. After receiving a nod from the monk, she hesitated slightly before putting away the copper bell.

"One red and one blue, just as they said..."

"Fellow Daoists, good news!"

Before the tense atmosphere had completely dissipated, a cloud of white mist suddenly burst out between the two sides, and a young man jumped out of the mist. It was none other than Zhen Sheng, whom we had mentioned before.

His entrance was undeniably sudden; the white mist that erupted was reminiscent of the way some foxes and weasels sacrificed themselves. The only difference was that Zhen Sheng's appearance was without any explosion, and he appeared right between the woman and Qingyangzi, startling both the woman and the barefoot monk.

Besides, wasn't this person going to see a friend he hadn't seen for over a year because of a conflict? His situation sounded very complicated, how come it was resolved so quickly?

Perhaps the white fog obstructed part of the vision, because the person involved was completely unaware of the awkward atmosphere and started talking incessantly as soon as they jumped out.

"I was being narrow-minded. Brother Jia is not a greedy person. The gems have been retrieved. Fellow Daoists, would you like to come with me for a drink... uh..."

The white mist completely dissipated, and Zhen Sheng, standing in the middle, finally realized that there were other outsiders here. Fortunately, he hadn't mentioned the Midas touch earlier.

Because of his joy, Zhen Sheng didn't pay close attention to his surroundings before coming over. Now he belatedly realizes that he seems to have arrived at the wrong time.

Zhen Sheng's sudden appearance made both the monk and the woman tense. His appearance was too sudden. Qing Yangzi and Jing Tao Jun didn't have any impression of him. In fact, Jing Tao Jun even remembered taking the opportunity to tease him.

"I think you're incapable of giving up this wine, fellow Daoist."

You're offering drinks the moment you step in. Fellow Daoist, do you remember not long ago when you said you would give up drinking?

……

“Everything has been arranged. Brother Zhao previously held a clerical position in the sect and was exposed to many affairs. He can exchange the intelligence you’ve gathered these past few days for it and thus be able to shed his bandit identity.”

Ding Ziming's top priority was to help Xiao Er's family shed their identity as members of the White Lotus Sect and return to their former lives. The fact that Zhao Wang's family had joined the White Lotus Sect was well-known in their hometown, and the label of bandits was hard to remove. To regain their "innocence," they would have to do something extra to cover up their crimes.

With Xiao Er's abilities, she herself doesn't need to worry at all; she can simply ride a kite to a faraway place and start a new life. However, her family doesn't have that kind of power, so Ding Zimo mainly helps them.

Fortunately, they had all done quite well within the sect. Although they couldn't directly raid the sect like Qingyangzi did with Wanjie, they had been exposed to many of the sect's secret movements. With this intelligence, and Ding Ziming helping to find some connections, the Zhao family could make up for their mistakes.

"However, just to be safe, don't mention that you've learned magic, or that you've taken Wan Jie and Longnao Qingyangzi."

Mo Xunzong overheard Ding Ziming's words as he passed by and made a special stop to give her some instructions.

"Why?"

Zhao Changchun was puzzled. His younger sister had learned a lot of powerful magic. Wasn't that a good thing?

“Master Mo is right. Brother Zhao, you know the saying ‘possessing a treasure invites trouble.’ The White Lotus Sect is a thorn in the side of the imperial court. If it gets out that you have learned magic, you will likely be targeted.”

There's also the matter of taking Wan Jie and Yi Yang. These things are all very mysterious, involving a bunch of monsters, gods, city gods, and people who are neither human nor non-human. It's fine if not many people believe it when it's told, but the problem is that some people do believe it and then follow the clues to the Zhao family.

Moreover, the current emperor happens to believe in those supernatural and bizarre things. Although they may be true, they are not things that can be casually discussed in public.

"The White Lotus Sect teaches unorthodox and heretical practices. If they find someone using witchcraft to harm others, they will either send troops to arrest them or beat them to death on the spot. Brother Zhao, you must not get involved in this mess."

"Moreover, the White Lotus Sect members caused a ruckus in the capital and made some contact with the Yan family there. If you value your life, then say less."

Speaking of the capital, because of the previous dream incident, the emperor is more sensitive to supernatural and bizarre things. In addition, with the subsequent events, the White Lotus Sect is now a high-risk topic in the capital. If anyone gets involved, they will suffer.

If Liu Qingyuan could intervene in the problems in the capital again, he might be able to resolve them quickly. However, after understanding how enthusiastic the emperor was about gods and monsters, he felt it was better not to let the real emperor appear in front of him, lest it cause another chain reaction.

However, this only official connection, Imperial Censor Wang, was an official in the capital. The main location of the White Lotus Rebellion's mess was in the south. No matter how extensive Imperial Censor Wang's connections were, they couldn't reach out and help.

In other words, if Imperial Censor Wang really had such a strong network of connections, he wouldn't have been impeached and dismissed from office, and would have had to resort to currying favor with others to find a way out.

Ding Ziming's family connections could only protect a few members of the Zhao family. To properly handle the aftermath of the White Lotus Sect, they would need to find local officials. As for whether it was a dream or something else, that was mainly left to the City God, not someone like Wang Liulang, but a higher-ranking City God with a larger jurisdiction.

"Cults are just so annoying everywhere."

After giving his instructions to the Zhao family, Mo Xunzong left. When others heard him muttering like this, they could more or less guess that Mo Xunzong had some grudges with a large cult in the past, since they often heard this young Taoist priest say such things.

But they could only hear these sporadic complaints. When someone asked out of curiosity, this boy, who loved to show off, suddenly became mute and refused to say anything.

When asked about his master, the master played with a silver fan in his hand, smiled faintly and said nothing, only that he would not embarrass his disciple. From this, one could barely guess that Mo Xunzong must have suffered a great loss in the past, but could not deduce anything more.

If that's the case, then it's understandable that he has a bad attitude towards the White Lotus Sect, which is also a large-scale folk cult. Normal people wouldn't give such a thing a friendly look, except for someone like Zhao Wang who doesn't know what's wrong with him.

To this day, neither Ding Ziming nor Zhao Changchun could find out why Zhao Wang was so convinced that following Yi Yang would bring his family great wealth and prosperity. They did become rich in the short term, but it wasn't long before they were about to lose their heads.

"My dad is probably... bewitched."

The waiter said that, logically speaking, Zhao Wang was a devout Buddhist. Even if he wasn't a real monk, his understanding of Buddhist scriptures was deeper than that of the average person. The White Lotus Sect's doctrines, which had become a mess due to various historical issues and factional disputes, should not have attracted Zhao Wang.

Xiao Er couldn't find any other explanation besides a sudden infatuation.

"Won't something happen if you don't come home?"

Ding Ziming has been away from home for some time. The Shang brothers, who had informed their families, have all returned home. Ding Ziming, who ran away on his own, not only doesn't go home, but also writes letters to pull strings. At this time, his father's blood pressure must be quite high.

Moreover, he was a well-known young scholar in the area, and his long absence would inevitably arouse suspicion.

"It seems like it's been a while, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'll never be able to put my mind at ease until you leave the White Lotus Sect."

Although these few rampant White Lotus sects had collapsed and the ringleaders were gone, he was still worried and had to see Xiao Er leave the White Lotus sect with his own eyes.

“But if you don’t go back for a long time, Uncle Ding might get angry.”

"Being angry won't help. Mr. Shulong has left, and I can't go back by myself..."

Before Ding Ziming could finish speaking, she saw Xiao Er smiling as he pulled out two normal-sized paper kites from behind his back. It was impossible to tell where he had taken them from; they were too big to hide.

"Let's go back now and talk about the future."

"What later?"

"About the marriage proposal, do you really expect to wait for my father to agree on his own?"

Forgive her for speaking frankly, but with her father's outrageous standards for finding a son-in-law, it would be a miracle if she could become a couple with Ding Ziming. She had already rejected him once before, which caused the marriage to fall through. This time, she was going to take the initiative!