Heaven's Formula

He has a distinct hostility towards living beings, and actively attacks the residents of the county, which is not in line with the characteristics of monsters and monsters.

Then the result is obvious.

The killer is either a ghost or a ghost.

It is also the most formidable opponent of the evil.

As for the specific type, it will not be determined until the inquiry team has collected the information on the parties involved.

I don't know where Li is now... While waiting, Xia Fan couldn't help but look to the west.The speed of the carriage is definitely not as fast as the two-rider transfer, and it will take half a day at the fastest. I hope she will not have any accidents along the way.

At this moment, there was a sound of arguing from across the street.

Xia Fan walked out of the yard curiously and looked at each other across the street—several local residents clashed with the yamen servants, and two of them knelt down on the ground, begging for something.

Is that the victim's family...

But the words that came into his ears quickly overturned his guess.

——They were actually praying to the government not to allow the Privy Council to intervene in the evil incident again.

"This is the sixth time in three years that we really can't afford the money!"

"I beg you to let everyone meet Mr. Hu!"

"Every time the Privy Council comes, it will collect a tax from the neighbors to eliminate evil. This person was not killed by evil spirits, but he will be forced to death by money! Lord, I beg you to be merciful!"

"Don't howl here, don't you see those adults are handling the case!" The yamen servant impatiently drove them away with a stick, "Don't call the Privy Council, you go kill the demon? If you want to die, just hang it on the beam. Don't implicate others. Others can afford the money, why can't you afford it?"

"My husband was ill before and spent a lot of savings...can't the money be delayed?"

"Grass, grass people too! Something happened at home—"

"That's your own business. If you don't have money, won't you sell all the land? It's not like the county magistrate didn't give you a way! For every acre of land sold, you can reduce or exempt [-]% of the tax. Who is to blame if you don't let it go!"

"But there are too many evil spirits here!" The old man's voice had grown into tears, "Twice a year, even selling the fields won't last long!"

"Yeah, sir, if the fields are gone, don't we have a dead end?"

"How come, you can go to work in the magistrate's field." The yamen servant sneered, "You are cheap and lazy, and you deserve to die? Let me make it clear to you that it is a rule set by the sage to notify the Privy Council. Your lord's main expenses are also borne by the county government. For the few taels of silver you pay in taxes, do you really think that you can invite the sixth-grade gods from the Privy Council? It's just to make up for the losses of the county and relieve the victims. As for the evil spirits Too much, it’s your fault, is it Master Hu’s fault!? Get the hell out of here now, or I’ll make you look good!”

After speaking, he broke them up with sticks.

Xia Fan didn't know what to do for a while.

He wanted to rush over to stop it, but his feet seemed to be filled with lead.Report this matter to Zhang Shenjue, or stab the Ministry of Command to do it?No... there's no point in doing that.After experiencing the incident with Mrs. Zhang, he has learned to consider issues more carefully-the Privy Council and Qiguo's administrative systems are two sets of teams, and they do not interfere with each other. The Privy Council will never interfere with Gaoshan County's taxation because of this matter. .

What's more... can this really be changed?

The Exorcism Tax can be renamed, or even changed to donations or apportionments... As long as the county magistrate has his heart, the money will definitely not go away.

There was nothing he could do about it.

"Brother Xia, what's wrong with you?" Wei Wushuang's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I didn't even respond to calling you a few times just now."

"It's okay..." Xia Fan hesitated, "How much did you bring with you this time?"

"Let me see," the fellow villager took out his money bag, "they are all copper plates and broken silver, about two or three taels in total?"

Sure enough, most people don't carry a lot of cash with them, one or two thousand is considered too much.

"Oh, by the way... I also brought two gold leaves for emergency." Wei Wushuang added.

Xia Fan couldn't help but feel refreshed. A piece of gold leaf is almost equivalent to five taels of silver, and two pieces are equal to ten taels. In addition to the bag of copper coins he brought, it should be able to support those people for a while.

"Can you lend me the gold leaf? I will return it to you when my salary is paid next month."

"Brother Xia, why be polite, just take it if necessary." Wei Wushuang didn't ask why, and directly took out the rolled gold leaf from his cuff and handed it to him.

Thank you, good fellow bourgeoisie.

Xia Fan took the money and chased in the direction the county residents left.

He knew it was a temporary solution, not the root cause, but it was better than doing nothing.

At least...it can make me feel at ease temporarily.

Chapter 55 Abyss Ghost

In the evening, the county magistrate vacated an entire inn for their group to rest.

Looking at the delicious food on the table in the hall, Xia Fan couldn't arouse his appetite.

"Come here and exchange your information, let's see what you have discovered." Zhang Shenpan clapped his hands and greeted, "Time waits for no one, it's okay to talk while eating."

"Then, let me go first." Yue Feng recounted the survivor's dictation concisely, "In short, this person didn't see Xie Chong's appearance clearly when he was in a panic, but he confirmed that it can be transferred from a container instantly. into another container no bigger than a three-year-old..."

After some exchanges, the six basically reached an agreement.

Evil spirits are not afraid of light, have obvious hostility to living beings, and are not too big in size. Their chaotic characteristics are manifested as actions in the air, and their attack method is to pull living creatures into narrow containers and squeeze them to death—from the perspective of harmfulness Judging from the degree of abnormality, it should be a ghost.

A similar record can be found in the book "Zhu Xie Lu" of the Privy Council.

"Abyss ghost".

It moves indefinitely and looks like a ghost; the place where it hides is like an abyss.

"Let's say you are qualified for this judgment." Zhang Shenpan nodded, "But if ten points are perfect, I can only give you five points at most."

"Why is that so?" Wang Renzhi asked unexpectedly, "Could it be that there is something missing in the survey?"

"It's very simple. Yuan Gui is not affected by sunlight. How do you know it won't still be lurking at the scene of the crime?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone shuddered.

Xia Fan suddenly remembered that Zhang Shenpan stopped moving as soon as he entered the courtyard, and had no intention of going inside to take a look at it.

"I think you should have been close to the cabinet or something that can hold things more than once? If it is still there, how many of you can come back alive?" He showed a stern smile, pointed at Luo You'er, "And you, That's the first one out."

Luo You'er's face turned pale.

It was I who asked her to search... Xia Fan only felt a little astringent in his mouth.

He didn't consider this possibility at all at the time.

No wonder the master said that if you are not fully prepared, you should never get involved in the evil incident lightly.

"Then what is the correct way?" Wang Renzhi couldn't help asking.

"Of course it is to ask others to advance." Zhang Shenpan picked up a jujube and threw it into his mouth. "Gaoshan County has yamen servants, arresters, and so many residents. You can call anyone. There is really no one to deceive the county magistrate." It's good to go in."

"Are you... serious?"

"Remember! This is the safest way to do it before you have the ability to protect yourself!" He suddenly raised his voice, "The alchemist only considers completing the mission of the Privy Council as the first consideration. If other people can't solve the evil, then you You must protect yourself and let those mortals who can't feel angry create opportunities for yourself!"

"What if everyone is an alchemist?" Shangguan Cai asked expressionlessly.

"You already know the answer, don't you?" Zhang Shenpan spread his hands, "In the battle against evil spirits, it is quite normal to suffer casualties."

This is really a practice close to the real situation... Xia Fan said silently in his heart, no, it should be said that this is actual combat, at least Zhang Shenjuan who took the lead demonstrated in person what it means to protect himself.

Seeing that everyone's expressions were not very good-looking, Shen Juan lowered his hand, "Don't show such a dignified expression, I just want to deepen your memory, if the ghost is really hidden in it, I will naturally not sit idly by. Since now Now that we have a goal, let’s discuss tomorrow’s ghost killing plan.”

"Tomorrow? What about tonight?"

"It doesn't matter, hasn't this innocent little girl confirmed the approximate range of activities of the ghost based on the wind-seeking technique? Although it can move quickly between containers, it is impossible to determine the exact location, but the area where the smell spreads will never Liar. I have asked Mr. Hu to sprinkle spiritual fire powder in the vicinity, and at the same time evacuate the residents inside, so it should be safe for one night."

The source of spiritual fire can not only serve as an introduction to some alchemy techniques, but also weaken the aura of the living and interfere with the judgment of evil spirits. This is also the knowledge Xia Fan learned after joining the Privy Council.

It turned out that when they were investigating, the other party was not idle.

"According to the records of "Zhu Xie Lu", the whereabouts of Yuan Gui are unpredictable, and the container in which it is located must be smashed to expose its true body before it can be killed." Zhang Shenpan grabbed a handful of red dates and put the The bowls and dishes were brushed away, and then using a dozen dates, they quickly laid out the layout of the streets and houses of the crime scene. "So instead of going for it, let it come to us."

In one afternoon, I memorized the map of a small half of the county in my mind, and sure enough, none of the alchemists who could be promoted were ordinary people.

Xia Fan couldn't help giving him a high look.

God Judgment finally stretched out his finger, and pressed hard on the center of the area—it also happened to be a mansion in Gaoshan County. "Tomorrow night, we will set up an ambush here to lure it into the circle!"

Everyone rolled their throats in unison.

"Don't be so nervous." Seeing that no one responded, he shook his head and laughed, "If you think you have no intentions, evil spirits are just prey. You will know later that the days when there are evil spirits are good days!"

"How do you say that?" Wei Wushuang asked in surprise.

"Boy, you are not smart enough at first glance. Civilian promotion depends on political achievements, what do we rely on? Isn't it the credit of these monsters and monsters? The greater the threat of evil spirits, the greater the reward. If the evil spirits in a place are swept away So empty, wouldn't the alchemist just sit in the mansion and waste time?"

"Master Zhang said that we still need to go to the battlefield..."

"It was during wartime. You are nervous about dealing with evil spirits, let alone alchemists? It's not a fight at the level of a scholar, but a game of life and death." Zhang Shenpan closed his eyes at this point, as if caught in a trap Thinking about it normally, he took a deep breath after a while, opened his eyes and looked around at all the alchemists present, "Listen, evil spirits are not terrible, they have weaknesses, and they have no sense at all. Even the most difficult ghosts, only the most difficult ones The basic instinct of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, but people are different—"

"Man, it's a hundred times more terrifying than them."

After he finished speaking, he laughed to himself.

After laughing, without waiting for everyone's reaction, he put the remaining dates into his arms, said "I like this", and waved his hands and walked upstairs.

"Everyone, go and have a good rest! By the end of tomorrow, you have taken a solid step on the road to promotion."

……

Not long after returning to his room, Xia Fan heard a tapping sound from outside the window.

Pushing open the window, I saw a figure flashing into the room flexibly.

His hanging heart can be regarded as letting go.

"I was still thinking, what would you do if you got lost."

Li took off his bamboo hat and gave him a blank look, "A mere alchemist who has just started, wants to get rid of my stalking? Don't forget that my master is—"

"It's the Green Sword, I know." Xia Fan asked curiously, "How did you find this place? Could it be based on the smell?"

"You think I'm a dog?" Li showed a look of disgust, "It doesn't take much effort to find you, just grab someone on the street, give them two or three copper coins, and ask the Jinxia City alchemist's whereabouts."

This... is indeed a simple and effective tracking method, Xia Fan admired.

Chapter 56 The Training of the Fox Demon II

He opened the food brought up from the bread box below and spread it out on the table one by one.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Hmm, if you still remember such a thing."

Li pulled out his tail from behind, turned over and jumped onto the table, sat down cross-legged, grabbed a meat bun, and gnawed it with both hands.

She is less polite now than when we first met.

"You obviously don't need to come here." Xia Fan moved a chair and sat in front of her, "The perpetrator was an abyss ghost, and it should be resolved tomorrow."

It's not that he has confidence in the team's strength, but that the Privy Council's process of eliminating evil spirits is very reliable-first conduct an investigation to determine what type of evil spirits it is, and then formulate a strangling plan based on its weaknesses, which is completely in line with what the cheap master often talks about. The principle of "preparing everything before doing it".

"Who knows—Gulu." Li swallowed the third meat bun in the blink of an eye, "According to what I know, the first three tasks of new alchemists are the most prone to problems, and the loss rate is also the highest. Otherwise, do you think I want to come over?"

Xia Fan pondered for a while, "Wait, are you worried about me?"

"Ah cough——" Li's fourth bun suddenly got stuck in his mouth, and he patted his chest several times before he could catch his breath, "Why should I worry about a human being? Listen, you saved my life, I promised to cooperate with you, there is nothing else besides this! Naturally, I came here to prevent the initial investment from being in vain, otherwise you are gone, who should I ask to inquire about the whereabouts of Master?"

"...that makes sense."

"Hmph, human beings like to be self-righteous."

After Li finished speaking, he turned his attention to a grilled lamb chop, and quickly put it into action.

Xia Fan leaned on the back of the chair, admiring her eating.

She chews very intently, and even closes her eyes slightly when she bites into the fat and fat part, as if she is enjoying the feeling of the meaty fragrance blooming in her mouth.

The whole sitting posture has no etiquette at all, and even retains a trace of wildness, but it looks extraordinarily pleasing to the eye.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing is the big fluffy tail that shakes from time to time—it can be stuffed into the clothes without leaving a trace when it is closed, but it seems to be able to surround Li when it is fully opened, which really makes Xia Fan very curious. , to what extent is it soft.

"Hey, can you stop staring at one place all the time?" Li sighed, and moved his tail back, "I know it looks weird, but it's hard to keep it in your clothes."

"No, I didn't mean that." Xia Fan waved his hand, "Actually, I wanted to tell you the last time you used illusion on me."

"tell what?"

"Under the illusion, I still see you with long ears and a tail."

Li was stunned.

"What I said before was not to comfort you, but I think so." Xia Fan cleared his throat, and said in a serious tone as much as possible, "I have been curious since the first time I met you, 'Really 'What is the touch of a fox tail. So...can you let me touch it?"

It was the first time Li heard such a request, and he was a little silly for a while.

what's going on?Is there really a human being who thinks fur, ears and scales are beautiful, but this person himself is not normal, so it seems to make sense.