Above the Great Dao

"Daring to move against the gentry of the Emperor's homeland is truly audacious!"

Zhuge Jian placed his resignation letter on the desk and was about to leave, but then paused and turned back.

"He who acts as Heaven's agent is no criminal."

He lit a firestick and burned the document that recorded the deeds of the Chen grandfather and grandchild to ashes, murmuring to himself, "Whether the two of them are related to the disappearance case or not, Chen Shi indeed acted as Heaven's agent."

He turned around and left.

"If this place won't keep me, there will surely be another that will! Whether it be the archivist position or this county office, I'm equally content to leave!"

The complexion of Water Buffalo County's County Magistrate, Li Kefa, turned gloomy. He shredded Zhuge Jian's resignation letter and said coldly, "Zhuge Jian is nothing but a dog raised by my Li Family, so full of himself. If you won't do it, there are plenty who will!"

Immediately he gave an order to recruit another archivist. Applicants from Water Buffalo County gathered in abundance, and even scholars from over a dozen nearby counties came to take the examination, hoping to secure a position in government service.

Li Kefa selected a new archivist from the many candidates, a man surnamed Qu named Qu Ji.

Qu Ji immediately led the government officials of Water Buffalo County in their investigations, and it wasn't long before they found that on the day Li Xiaoding was killed, the Talisman Master from Huangpo Village, Chen Yindou, was selling talismans in Yandang Village.

A government official reported, "Great Qu, Master Zhuge said that the talisman user who killed Young Master Li was short, around five feet tall, but this Chen Yindou is extremely tall and clearly not the murderer."

Qu Ji sneered, "Is Zhuge Jian the archivist, or am I the archivist? There were no other talisman users in Yandang Village at the time—he was the only talisman user. If it wasn't him who did it, then who?"

He immediately reported to Li Kefa, and Li Kefa gathered the government officials along with the Li Family's experts—about fifty people in total—and set off directly for Huangpo Village.

Yet, Water Buffalo County was over a hundred miles from Huangpo Village, and their journey required them to go around the base of the mountains. They hurried along, but it was nearly dark by the time they were close to reaching the village.

"My lord, the countryside is not the same as the county town; many evil beings emerge at night. It is not suitable to travel at this time," an old official hastened to advise.

Qu Ji laughed, "Words of the ignorant. In our group, there are thirty-four scholars and seventeen scholars who have ascended to the Divine Embryo Realm. There are even experts at the Divinity Transformation Stage. Moreover, with Lord Li personally in command, not to mention mere evil beings, even if demons arrived, they would melt away like snow before our Divine Light before getting close!"

Li Kefa, driven by a fierce desire for revenge, commanded, "Continue the journey!"

The throng of government officials and the Li Family's experts continued onward, the moonlight enchanting, as a thick white mist began to rise amongst the woods.

At this moment, the sound of a crying infant came from within the forest, not far off.

Li Kefa frowned slightly.

Qu Ji instructed, "Li Ying, go and see."

One official acknowledged the order, activated his Divine Shrine Divine Embryo technique, with a glow behind his head like a lantern, casting light on the path ahead.

The official Li Ying, readying his spells and cautiously on guard, followed the sound of crying into the forest.

After a while, Li Ying's voice called back, "My lord, there are many abandoned infants in this forest!"

Li Kefa and the others were taken aback.

"Roughly a dozen infants!" Li Ying called out loudly.

"A dozen infants?" The crowd jumped in shock.

It was not uncommon to find abandoned infants in the countryside; some were babies of unwed girls who discarded them to avoid shame, some were girls abandoned in the wilderness due to preference for male children, and others were too poor to raise their offspring, resulting in either sending them away or abandoning them.

But to abandon over a dozen babies all at once, such a heartless act, was something they had never heard of!

Qu Ji immediately selected a dozen people and said, "Heaven embraces the virtue of preserving life. It's fortunate that we have come upon them. You go and help Li Ying, and bring back those dozen infants."

"My lord, could there be something fishy?"

"If I tell you to go, then go!"

The dozen or so men followed the sound of crying.

Qu Ji complimented, "Sir, by saving more than a dozen infants, you've shown the heart of a Bodhisattva. Once word of this gets out, people everywhere will sing your praises."

Li Kefa cracked a rare smile; it was the first time he had semblance of one since his son Li Xiaoding had died.

Saving one infant wouldn't make any waves in West Bull New Continent, but saving over a dozen infants in the countryside at night was truly legendary. It was enough to become a sensation across the land, ensuring that everyone would know of Li Kefa's good deed!

"The Li Family will surely hear of my actions and place their trust in me again. I'm still young; I can marry a few more wives and have a few more sons," he thought to himself.

Just then, Li Ying's voice reached him, "Sir, we're short-handed; we need more people over here."

The voices of the government officials who had gone to respond to him also reached him in succession, "Sir, there are even more children here!"

The crying of the infants in the woods grew louder; there had been the cries of only about a dozen infants before, but now it sounded as if there were thirty or forty infants crying all at once.

Li Kefa felt a surge of apprehension, sensing that something was amiss.

Yet the moonlight that night was enchanting, and in the city's glitz and glamour, how could one witness such delightful moonlight?

His expression turned somewhat vacant.

Qu Ji also frowned and said, "Sir, something seems to be off..."

Li Kefa shook his head to clear the moonlight's distraction and commanded in a low voice, "Prepare the magic, use Meridian Evil Slayer Sword! Await my signal!"

Meridian Evil Slayer Sword was a spell from Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Technique. It concentrated True Qi and divine light into an invisible Sword Qi. Comprising six forms, it was an essential spell for scholars to master.

Everyone prepared their spells, and the air before them vibrated slightly, yet no shape of a sword was visible.

Qu Ji shouted, "Li Ying, you guys carry the children back first, and then we'll come to assist!"

Li Ying acknowledged this, and then sounds of movement came from the woods, along with the sound of infants' cries drawing nearer. In the moonlight, one could barely make out figures moving in the forest. After a moment, more than a dozen figures emerged, it was Li Ying and the other government officials, each holding an infant.

After taking a couple of steps out of the woods, Li Ying and the others stopped and did not come any closer, but instead said, "Sir, there are even more children inside, please lend your assistance!"

Indeed, more crying from infants came from within the woods.

Seeing this, Li Kefa, Qu Ji, and the others were all skeptical.

Qu Ji shouted, "First bring the children over to us!"

Yet Li Ying and the others didn't move; they simply urged them to rescue the infants in the woods.

Just as Qu Ji was about to speak again, Li Kefa instructed, "Elder Qu, go forward and take a look. I have a feeling that something's not right with them."

Qu Ji, with no other choice, steeled himself and approached. A few government officials beckoned him with one hand while clutching an infant in the other, their actions stiff as they implored, "Elder Qu, quickly come save the children!"

As Qu Ji drew nearer, his heart pounded chaotically. The more he observed the government officials, the stranger they seemed. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and shouted, "Li Ying, bring over the children—"

Before the word "over" left his mouth, a sudden thunderous noise rose from the woods. A four-hoofed creature slowly stood up within the trees, with necks as numerous and long as flowing hair, slender like serpents, each topped with an infant-like head, emitting the cries of infants.

Among them, many infants were clasped in the arms of Li Ying and the other government officials. Now, infants in their embrace also rose with thin, elongated necks.

The four-hoofed creature let out a coarse and thunderous cry:

"Quick, save the children!"

A hundred or so infants cried out in unison, flailing their hands and feet in the air, frantically reaching towards Qu Ji.

Without the infants in their arms, Li Ying and the others suddenly deflated, shriveling up.

Only then did Qu Ji and the others realize that Li Ying and the dozen or so government officials had, in the span of moments, turned into mere skins!

The creature had eaten their flesh, bones, and all, then blown up their skins to walk and talk like them!