Inside the grand Dragon Palace hall, bathed in dreamlike radiance.
Yan Shi, dressed in plain clothes, knelt on the ground, desperately pleading for justice.
Xiao Qing squatted beside Yan Shi, comforting her.
Hua Yun sat on a chair, her small, snow-white hand supporting her chin, her gaze flitting between Yan Shi and Xia Gu.
Xia Gu's face twitched slightly, she lowered her head, her lips curving downwards, showing a hint of displeasure.
Ao Qing stood at the edge of the group.
Hua Yun's scrutinizing gaze and Xia Gu's subtly veiled anger, all fell into his eyes.
Ao Qing understood why this situation had occurred.
The story began with the Five-Pass Spirits.
There were two stories about the Five-Pass Spirits in the "Records of Strange Phenomena" (Zhi Yi).
One of them involved the woman in front of him, Yan Shi.
The first part of the story was similar to Yan Shi's own account, but the difference lay in the latter part.
Yan Shi's husband had a cousin named Wan Sheng, a man known for his bravery.
When he visited his cousin's home, he saw the fourth of the Five-Pass Spirits, the one who had been harassing Yan Shi, entering her room in the middle of the night.
Wan Sheng did not recognize the figure, assuming his sister-in-law was being unfaithful and had a lover.
This man was incredibly bold. He grabbed his sword and charged in, striking the fourth spirit with a fatal blow.
The spirit revealed its true form, a donkey-sized horse.
After killing the fourth spirit, Wan Sheng learned the truth from his sister-in-law. He set an ambush at the Zhao family's residence.
The remaining four spirits, searching for their companion, were met by Wan Sheng. He shot one with an arrow, and then killed another with his sword. The last two fled in terror.
Wan Sheng had solved the problem for his cousin and his wife. Soon after, a timber merchant approached him, desperately begging for his help.
The merchant's daughter, a beautiful young woman of sixteen or seventeen, had also been targeted by the Five-Pass Spirits.
Wan Sheng, hearing this, immediately went to the merchant's house to help.
The Five-Pass Spirits, just escaping one predator, had fallen into the clutches of another. They happily came to claim their bride, only to be met by Wan Sheng's sword, which severed a claw and sent them fleeing in defeat.
When Yan Shi first mentioned the Five-Pass Spirits.
Ao Qing recalled this story.
If asked about his opinion on Yan Shi's ordeal.
Ao Qing would say he had no opinion.
If Yan Shi had set up an altar to him at home, offered incense as a sacrifice, and prayed to him about this matter, or had personally come to the West Lake Dragon King Temple, lit incense, and appealed for help.
Then Ao Qing, with a flick of his wrist, would have slain these troublesome demons.
But Yan Shi, humiliated, had chosen to drown herself.
Ao Qing had only learned about this matter recently, and at most, he would just go and kill these demons later.
As for Yan Shi.
Ao Qing had even less interest in her.
There were countless women in the world. He already had three beautiful women by his side, so he wouldn't have any thoughts about Yan Shi.
It was the same old story: women were abundant, there was no need to pick up someone else's used goods.
After he finished dealing with these Five-Pass Spirits, he would send Yan Shi to the afterlife.
However, with Xia Gu present, Ao Qing had to wait for her decision on when to strike against the Five-Pass Spirits.
This was the other story related to the Five-Pass Spirits.
In that story.
The Five-Pass Spirits were transformed from servants of the Golden Dragon King.
Ao Qing had remembered this story when he saw Xia Gu and heard her introduce herself.
Now, hearing Yan Shi's tearful description.
Looking at Xia Gu's changing expression.
It was clear that the Five-Pass Spirits were indeed her former servants, and she was unaware of why Yan Shi had drowned herself.
Ao Qing laughed inwardly, finding the situation immensely amusing.
He then looked at Hua Yun's face, and it was clear that she knew the identity of the Five-Pass Spirits, but for some reason, she didn't speak directly.
Xiao Qing, on the other hand, soothed the weeping Yan Shi, her lips pursed. She rose and walked towards the outside of the Dragon Palace.
Ao Qing knew her intention and immediately called out to Xiao Qing, smiling and saying:
"No need to rush, let's first find out where Yan Shi's family lives and where those Five-Pass Spirits frequent. Then we'll set off."
Xiao Qing thought about it. She had planned to inquire about it in Wu, so she crossed her arms and stood to the side.
Hua Yun, seated on the chair, chuckled and spoke.
"Sister Xia Gu, you probably know quite a lot about where those Five-Pass Spirits hide, don't you?"
Xia Gu's expression flickered, and in the end, she sighed, helplessly glancing at Hua Yun.
In her haste, she had shot herself in the foot.
At the time, she had forgotten to ask thoroughly, focusing only on taking Yan Shi under her care and finding a place to bury her later. She hadn't expected it to be connected to her own family.
"Alright, this is a shameful matter of my family, I'll handle it for Yan Shi."
Xia Gu secretly glanced at Ao Qing.
As she looked at Ao Qing, he turned his gaze towards her.
Seeing her troubled expression, Ao Qing blinked, sending a comforting look her way. He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
Seeing everyone looking at him.
Ao Qing spoke.
There were two difficulties in dealing with the Five-Pass Spirits.
The first was the Golden Dragon King behind them.
According to the evolution of mythology, this king should have been the transformed form of Xie Xu, a wise man from the Southern Song Dynasty, tasked with protecting the 漕运 (Cáo Yùn, the transportation of grain by waterways) of the Yellow River and Grand Canal.
But in this world, the Golden Dragon King had existed much earlier.
He was a wise man from an even earlier time, who used his life to protect the people of his area. After his death, he was honored and transformed into a deity by the court.
To kill the Five-Pass Spirits, one would need to inform their master, the Golden Dragon King, first.
However, with Xia Gu present, this step could be skipped, and they could directly kill the demons.
The second difficulty was the hiding place of these five little demons.
The Golden Dragon King protected the 漕运 (Cáo Yùn), and his subordinates numbered in the tens of thousands, so no one cared where five little demons lived on a daily basis.
Even Xia Gu didn't know the whereabouts of these five demons.
So, the best course of action now.
Was to go to the Zhao family's house and wait for the Five-Pass Spirits to come. Then, they could kill them all in one fell swoop.
Xiao Qing blinked her eyes.
She had no idea that the Five-Pass Spirits had such a background.
If she had rashly killed them all earlier, it would have caused her sister a lot of trouble, wouldn't it?
Xiao Qing's expression gradually dimmed, realizing that she had nearly made a mistake by trying to be helpful.
Hua Yun's beautiful eyes were fixed on Ao Qing, filled with endless wonder.
This matter wasn't actually difficult to handle, but she simply loved Ao Qing's gentle voice.
Her eyes flickered as she looked at Xia Gu beside her.
On Xia Gu's beautiful, cold and elegant face, there was a similar expression to Hua Yun's.
Her bright, sparkling eyes were fixed on Ao Qing, never leaving him for a moment.
【第2更，求鲜花和评价票啊大佬们】