Chapter 49. Going out of the city to subdue the demon
Xu Qing's family is reunited.

As an outsider, Old Zhang did not come over.

After Xu Qing had chatted with the whole family, he turned to look at Old Zhang and bowed in a serious manner:
"Brother!"

Old Zhang was a disciple of Yuanfu Temple who had been admitted through a grand ordination ceremony. Unfortunately, when he was trying to break through the Qi Refining stage, he failed at the stage of lust.

This caused the body's energy and blood, which had been nurtured to its peak, to fall to the bottom, and one had to start all over again.

Later, my mother became seriously ill. Even though my second younger brother was taking care of her, as a son, I should show my filial piety to him while he was still alive.

So Old Zhang bid farewell to Yuanfu Temple, went down the mountain and returned home to serve his mother.

After his mother died, he was burdened by his family and could not return to the mountain, so he opened a butcher shop by himself, and relied on the precious fish and mountain spirits purchased from nearby to assist in his practice.

At this moment, when Uncle Zhang heard the word "Senior Brother" from Xu Qing's mouth and looked at his vigorous energy and blood, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"How many orifices have you opened?"

"Six orifices." Xu Qing said.

"Six Apertures?" Old Zhang was surprised. "That's incredible speed. It's only been less than half a year since you entered the mountain sect last year."

"You wrote to me saying that you became the master's disciple. I still don't quite believe it. After all, the master hasn't thought of accepting disciples for a hundred years, and Senior Brother Jingxin didn't catch the master's eye back then."

"But now that I see it, I guess what you said is true."

Xu Qing smiled but said nothing when he heard this.

After exchanging pleasantries with his family and Uncle Zhang, he introduced Fatty Li to everyone: "This is a fellow disciple who entered Yuanfu Temple at the same time as me."

"This time, we will come together to pick up our parents and our elder and second brothers to go to Huai'an County."

"Uncle, aunt, big brother, and second brother, hello." Fatty Li said respectfully, "My name is Li Ping'an, and I'm Xu Qing's best fellow disciple in the temple."

Xu's mother and the eldest and second sons all had smiles on their faces and responded enthusiastically.

Only when Mr. Xu heard what Xu Qing said, his face looked a little dull, and then there was a hint of hesitation and uneasiness. He opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

Xu Qing had a sharp gaze and could tell what Xu's father was thinking at a glance.

A farmer who has made a living by farming for half his life suddenly has to abandon his ancestral land and move to the city. Naturally, he would be reluctant, timid, and have many concerns.

There's no way to persuade this kind of person.

The first half of his life had solidified the conservatism and timidity in Xu's father's character, and he could only push it forward by force.

Otherwise, Xu's father would definitely let the eldest son, the second son and even Xu's mother follow him to Huai'an County, while he himself would stay here.

Guarding these dozen acres of land is also guarding his first few decades of life.

Therefore, Xu Qing did not talk too much about this topic, and asked instead: "Uncle Zhang, what is the situation of the tiger disaster around Ningyang Town?"

"A tiger demon led a dozen tiger beasts down the mountain to prey on humans." Old Zhang said in a deep voice: "Five or six villages have been attacked, and dozens of people have died."

"In fact, the government should have anticipated this evil disaster."

"Tigers are solitary beasts, they don't appear in groups. The only thing that can make a beast go against its nature is a stronger force."

"The tiger is the most ferocious of all beasts. The only creature stronger than the tiger is a monster that has transformed from an animal into a demon."

"Are you sure there is only one tiger monster?" Xu Qing asked.

"According to the authorities, there should be only one."

"Can the government solve this problem?"

"Ningyang Town is not a big city." Old Uncle Zhang shook his head. "There is only one eighth-rank martial artist captain and two ninth-rank detectives. The rest are all second-rate martial artists."

"The chief constable must stay in the city to prevent the monsters from attacking the city, and the two ninth-rank constables died in the last expedition to the mountains to suppress the tiger monster."

"Although the government's intelligence was wrong, the tiger demon was able to kill two ninth-rank warriors and detectives. Its strength should be comparable to that of an eighth-rank beast."

"So there is no one available in the government now?" Xu Qing frowned slightly, "Where is the county magistrate?"

Xu Qing remembered that all the civil servants in the Great Sheng Dynasty were Confucian practitioners. Even ordinary people, as long as they won the first place in the imperial examination, could receive the baptism of national destiny and embark on the path of cultivation.

And as long as he is in power for one day, he can use the country's fortune to hone his cultivation. In this way, Confucianism can firmly surpass the three schools of martial arts, Buddhism and Taoism.

"The county magistrate of Ningyang Town is not good at fighting. In terms of martial arts, he is only slightly stronger than a ninth-rank warrior. Moreover, he was seriously injured before, so it is impossible for him to eliminate the monster."

"The government is now asking the court for help, but it will take some time for the help to arrive."

"That's it"

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment. It seemed that this tiger disaster was indeed beyond the ability of the Ningyang Town government to handle on its own.

Think about this.

Xu Qing planned to resolve the tiger disaster in Ningyang Town before leaving.

A tiger demon with a strength of about the eighth level and a dozen ordinary tiger beasts are not difficult problems for him now.

"Leave the tiger disaster to me."

After hearing these words, Old Zhang and Xu Qing's family were all stunned.

Xu's mother Liu Fang hurriedly said, "San'er, don't be impulsive. Those big insects are not easy to deal with. Your small body can't withstand a bite from them."

The others had similar expressions.

Old Zhang also advised: "San'er, although you have opened your six orifices now and your strength is comparable to that of an eighth-rank warrior, the true strength of the tiger monster is unknown. It may be more powerful than we imagined."

"Besides, realm is realm, and combat power is combat power. I have also seen a third-realm cultivator unable to defeat a second-realm monster."

"Mom, don't worry. I know what I'm doing and I won't do anything rash." Xu Qing said confidently, "Uncle Zhang, my fighting ability is actually not weak either."

"And the master also gave me a life-saving talisman. Even if the tiger monster's strength is beyond our expectations and we can't kill it, we can still escape."

Fatty Li echoed, "Yes! Xu Qing's fighting ability is more than good, it's super strong!"

Seeing this, Old Zhang stopped trying to persuade them and just suggested, "Then let's go tomorrow morning. The tiger demon is stronger at night than during the day. It's better to be cautious."

"Yes, yes, yes. Let's go tomorrow morning! It's not safe at night!"

Xu's mother Liu Fang actually didn't want her third son to go, but when she saw how confident he was and thought about the panic in the surrounding villages, she had to agree.

But the less danger, the better.

"I'll listen to Uncle Zhang." Xu Qing nodded. "By the way, Uncle Zhang, please go to the government office tomorrow and inform them of this matter."

"No trouble." Old Zhang waved his hand. "I am from Ningyang Town. If you are willing to help me get rid of this evil, it will be a great deed."

Xu Qing recalled what happened before and said, "Oh, and I have to trouble you, Uncle Zhang, for one more thing. Please help me find a clerk at the government level who has practiced martial arts."

"More than five months ago, he went to Xujia Village to collect autumn taxes."

When the second brother Xu Huai heard this, he slapped his thigh and said excitedly: "San'er, are you looking for revenge?!"

"Now that you have returned home in glory, you have to pay back all the humiliation you suffered in the past." Xu Qing smiled slightly.

"That's right, that's right, that's how it should be!" The second brother Xu Huai laughed out loud.

The eldest brother Xu Huo also had a smile on his face. He had a very clear memory of the autumn tax.

"Shut up!"

Father Xu angrily scolded the second son. Xu Huai shrank his neck, not daring to argue with his father, and could only wink at Xu Qing.

Father Xu considered his words carefully. After all, San'er had become successful now, and he could no longer say "you have to listen to me" as before.

"San'er, the people should not fight against the officials. You have made progress now, so let the previous things go. It's unnecessary."

Xu Qing shook his head: "Dad, don't worry, I'm just going to teach him a lesson."

Father Xu wanted to say something, but looking at his third son's appearance, he sighed and stopped trying to persuade him.

Afterwards, Xu Qing's family changed the topic and talked about Xu Qing's experience in the mountains. With Fatty Li making jokes on the side, the whole house was filled with laughter.

The next day.

It's rare to see the sun after continuous rain.

Xu Qing and Fatty Li went out early in the morning after eating the pancakes made by Xu's mother.

When he was almost at the city gate, Xu Qing discovered that some government officials were actually building a porridge stall. The hot steam from the pots of porridge that were cooking was spreading like mist on the street.

"Although the Ningyang town government is not very effective in exorcising demons, they still know how to distribute porridge, which is not bad," said Fatty Li.

Xu Qing did not comment.

Just as his nose was buzzing, he smelled a very faint fishy smell from the pots of white porridge.

Could it be that the government put meat in the white porridge?
However, the fishy smell he smelled was very faint, probably because the amount was very small. He couldn't even taste the meat, but having meat is always better than having no meat.

(End of this chapter)