Chapter 1 Standing in Court

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Hu Ma looked around, feeling as if he were standing in a grand courtyard.

All around him were solemn, unfeeling gazes fixed upon him. Two rows of golden-armored warriors stood on either side, each holding a sword or axe, their eyes tightly closed.

This mysterious mansion was opened by the nine-section copper staff (jiu jie tong jian) from the box. Once opened, it appeared around him, centered on the staff, and behind Zhang Agu's altar.

He could vaguely see the mansion's appearance and realized that it was the same grand hall he had summoned when using the methods from the *Zhen Sui Shu* (Book of Suppressing Evil) to set up the altar before. However, this mansion was now more real, more imposing.

Standing within the mansion, he could see the high roof ridge, the giant black pillars, and the large drum in the courtyard covered with something.

Looking further inside, he could even see the magnificent court, pillars carved with the fierce beast bi'an, and a long table at the front with official seals (lingjian) and a thick stack of dusty scrolls.

On the far left was a row of dark, fearsome guillotines, lined up in a row, sending shivers down his spine.

Everything here carried an ancient and mysterious aura, along with a desolate solemnity. He could even smell the strong, bloody scent, but it was not eerie; instead, it inspired a natural sense of awe.

Hu Ma subconsciously wanted to see everything clearly, but he couldn't move. Even a slight movement caused an indescribable, overwhelming baleful aura to surge toward him.

This baleful aura was a hundred, a thousand times stronger than that of the Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui), but despite being baleful, it was also upright. It felt as though the evil ghost possessed the aura of a villain, while the aura in this hall was the aura of justice and execution. The two were incomparable.

Only the nine-section copper staff (jiu jie tong jian) beside him could withstand this weight.

Without the protection of this staff, he would likely be crushed directly.

In fact, even just standing here, he could feel the overwhelming, heavy baleful aura constantly passing through his body, threatening to engulf him.

It was like facing the most piercing cold wind in the dead of winter. He had a hundred reasons to shrink away, but he gritted his teeth, stood firm, and slowly raised his head against the heavy baleful aura of the mansion.

Standing firm was like undergoing a baptism. The cold wind blowing out of the mansion swept through his body, almost scattering his soul, but precisely because he stood firm, his soul became even more solid.

Then, he looked from the mansion to the outside, seeing Zhang Agu's altar and the Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui) within.

"General Who Suppresses Evil, spare me! I know I was wrong..."

"..."

"Ah?"

When Zhang Agu saw the scene before her, she thought she was mistaken.

She had listened to Hu Ma's words, set up the altar, and summoned the evil ghost, feeling that she was unable to do it and was about to fail. She had even suffered a backlash from the magic on the altar. But suddenly, she felt a sense of something and looked up.

At this glance, she felt a surge of baleful aura pressing down upon her. The brazier and oil lamps burning beside her blazed wildly, casting distorted shadows all around, as if demons were dancing in a frenzy.

Within the altar, gusts of dark wind howled, gradually shrinking into a ball, transforming into a fierce-looking evil ghost with five heads. All five faces showed fear, and five mouths were pleading for mercy.

Was this the Five Fiends God (Wu Sha Shen)?

For a moment, she couldn't even connect this pitifully begging ghost with the evil god that had once loomed over her fate.

"Good heavens..."

Even Seventh Aunt (Qi Gu Nainai) beside her was so frightened that she jumped up from her sedan chair, took off her shoe sole, held it in her hand, and was eager to try it out. "You evil ghost, aren't you fierce anymore?"

It was her shout that startled Zhang Agu. She finally realized that this was real, but she also understood that she had not summoned this evil ghost herself. Or rather, someone more powerful had borrowed her altar to summon it.

She hurriedly turned around, facing the illusory shadow behind her, and prepared to kneel.

"Don't kneel!"

But before her knees touched the ground, she heard a voice. This voice had been amplified by layers of magic, sounding extremely heavy. Zhang Agu's body stiffened, and she didn't actually kneel down.

But she was still panicked in her heart, looking up at the vague hall, the dignified and mysterious gaze. Then she heard the voice faintly instructing, "Judge it!"

"I..."

Zhang Agu was somewhat dazed. Hearing the instruction, she subconsciously turned around, still looking at the altar, at the evil ghost that was still kowtowing and begging for mercy, without the slightest hint of power.

This had always been her nightmare, but this time, she really felt that someone was backing her up, and she wasn't afraid of it anymore.

So, she mustered her courage and shouted at the evil ghost, "You... do you know your crime?"

The evil ghost in the altar seemed to recognize the voice. It opened its mouth slightly, only to stir up rolling baleful aura, causing the flames in front of Zhang Agu to flicker wildly, but it didn't answer.

Zhang Agu's voice still trembled slightly, but she could feel the solemn *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil) behind her, and the gaze emanating from the mysterious mansion. Therefore, her voice gradually became firm, with confidence and sharpness:

"Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui), I am asking you, you have wreaked havoc in a state, creating evil and harming people. So many families have sincerely made offerings, but you have brought ruin upon them all. You..."

"...Do you know your crime?"

"..."

Facing Zhang Agu's questioning, the evil ghost in the altar finally reacted and suddenly said anxiously, "I know my crime, I shouldn't have been ignorant of my place, disobeying and offending superiors. I shouldn't have indulged myself and greedily consumed blood offerings..."

"I was originally a Dharma Protector under your command, I only wish to return to the mansion to serve you, acting as a runner, to atone for my sins..."

"..."

His voice was vague, hurried, and fast. This kind of existence in the hall carried a heavy power even when speaking, and ordinary people couldn't bear it at all.

Zhang Agu was a *Da Zou Gui* (Great Ghost Walker), but even she felt a headache when listening to it and could only hear part of the information. Now that she heard its chaotic answer, she felt dizzy and didn't know what to say.

But Hu Ma in the *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil) behind her could clearly hear all his words. Looking down from the mansion, he could even glimpse some of the thoughts in its heart.

Was it as Shan Jun said, was it truly determined to change its allegiance, taking this test as a stepping stone to knock on other doors?

Or did it want to see if the descendants of the Hu family were promising, taking advantage of this opportunity to return and gamble on a good future?

As he thought, Zhang Agu was already swaying slightly. She had set up the altar, but with an evil ghost in front and the *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil) behind, she obviously couldn't hold on. In addition, the evil ghost's plea for mercy made her heart tremble slightly.

This evil ghost was originally a Dharma Protector in the *Zou Gui* (Ghost Walker) sect. Now that it had the intention of begging for mercy, could it be that the *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil)...

"The *Zou Gui* (Ghost Walker) sect does not harbor evil beings!"

But at this moment, a stern voice rang out from the *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil): "You disobey and deceive your master, creating evil and harming people. Your crime is already difficult to pardon, and what's more..."

Zhang Agu felt that the voice behind her suddenly became stern: "You falsely use the name of Dharma Protector to deceive my Ghost Walker disciples and break the rules of my hall. If I were to spare you this time, wouldn't everyone think that my *Zou Gui* (Ghost Walker) sect was being bullied, but no one was standing up for us?"

The voice rang out, and Zhang Agu's body trembled involuntarily, her ears ringing like thunder.

But at this moment, she suddenly heard a stern shout: "Why haven't you killed it yet?"

These words frightened Zhang Agu so much that her body trembled, and she hurriedly threw out the token she had just caught in her hand as if it were burning her, and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

As the token landed, a chorus of accusations rang out, as if the heavens and the earth were turning upside down, pressing from all directions. Rolling baleful aura surged in, and in an instant, rushed into the small altar that Zhang Agu had set up.

Immediately afterward, two golden-armored warriors walked out of the gate of the *Zhen Sui Fu* (Mansion for Suppressing Evil), sternly stepped into Zhang Agu's altar, and walked straight toward the Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui).

The Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui) was shocked and jumped up, wanting to rush out of the altar directly.

But the two golden-armored warriors suddenly reached out, pressed him on the spot, and escorted him, one on the left and one on the right, directly to the guillotine, under the tiger-headed guillotine in the second position on the right.

Without allowing him to distinguish himself, the guillotine rose high and fell heavily.

"Chih!"

The Five Fiends Evil Ghost (Wu Sha E Gui) cried out miserably, its voice stopped abruptly, and five heads rolled to the ground, staring blankly and blinking their eyes.

……

……

"Kill!"

At the same time, Hu Ma's setting up the altar to capture the ghost and casting a curse to kill the god were only matters within the altar.

But with his stern shout, the entire Ming Prefecture, and even parts of Gun Prefecture, were suddenly startled, as if they felt thunder rumbling in the darkness.

The countless people who saw the evil ghost being dragged over and sent into the mansion all shuddered and reacted, realizing that everything before them was just an illusion, as if they had just had a dream.

But everyone looked at each other and saw the fear on each other's faces. Naturally, they understood that they were not the only ones who had this dream.

Beside Green Stone Town, Yang Gong had already led his men to drive back the bandits, but he could also feel that as the battle continued and more people died, the remaining bandits became even more frantic, their eyes turning red, like demons.

Even he felt that it was becoming more and more difficult to kill them when he suddenly vaguely heard a solemn and stern shout.

Immediately afterward, with a "thump,"

An unexpected scene appeared. A huge clay statue suddenly fell from the sky, accurately smashing the last of the bandits with baleful aura to death.

Everyone was scared and scattered, and after a long time, they mustered up the courage to come closer and take a look. They saw that it was a statue of a god whose head had been chopped off. No one knew where it came from, let alone why it fell from the sky.

(End of Chapter)