Chapter 80: Reverse Lifespan Talisman

"Open the door for him!" Zheng Shouhe clutched his dagger tightly, pressing it against Wen Xiangyu's back.

Wen Xiangyu had no choice but to open the door.

When the door opened, a clean-cut face was revealed—it was Lu Yang.

Wen Xiangyu desperately winked at Lu Yang, signaling him to run. Lu Yang, however, seemed oblivious, a professional smile on his face as he said, "Here are your skewers."

Zheng Shouhe also put on a professional smile. The man clearly looked like an honest person; it would be easy to trick him inside. "Young man, please come in and have a seat. I'll get your money."

Lu Yang believed him and stepped inside. Seeing the room was pitch black, he chuckled, "Not even a light on? Sleeping so early?"

Seeing Lu Yang foolishly walk in, Wen Xiangyu grew anxious. She steeled herself, intending to push Lu Yang back out.

How could Zheng Shouhe not notice Wen Xiangyu's strange behavior? It was too late. He sneered, threw Wen Xiangyu behind him, and thrust his dagger at Lu Yang in the darkness.

Zheng Shouhe had been in the dark for a long time, and his eyes had adapted. The other person, having just come in from the street, would surely need time to adjust to the darkness. This was his chance!

It seemed tonight was destined to be a night of bloodshed!

Lu Yang kicked Zheng Shouhe four or five meters away.

What good is science when dealing with an immortal cultivator?

Zheng Shouhe hadn't expected Lu Yang's kick. The kick was incredibly heavy and powerful, like a giant boulder hitting his chest. He saw stars, several ribs snapped, and he vomited blood profusely!

He realized he had encountered someone formidable. To survive, he had to use the hostage!

Zheng Shouhe forcefully suppressed the pain in his chest with sheer willpower. He rolled over to grab Wen Xiangyu's wrist.

"If you move again, I'll kill her!" Zheng Shouhe threatened fiercely.

The person in Zheng Shouhe's arms sneered, "Who are you going to kill?"

Zheng Shouhe looked down and was horrified to discover he had grabbed not Wen Xiangyu, but Lu Yang!

Lu Yang held Zheng Shouhe's chin with one hand. With the other, he snatched the dagger, then effortlessly dislocated Zheng Shouhe's limbs.

"What luck, encountering so much trouble just delivering food."

Lu Yang exhaled, lit a candle, and a dim light filled the room.

Wen Xiangyu hadn't expected everything to change so quickly. The BBQ shop assistant seemed like a divine being, and the fierce villain was subdued in an instant.

"Are you alright?" Lu Yang helped Wen Xiangyu, who was still sitting dumbfounded on the floor, to her feet.

"N-no, I'm fine."

"That's good. Now, about the skewer money," Lu Yang said politely.

"Huh? Oh... oh." Only then did Wen Xiangyu remember that Lu Yang was there to deliver food, and happened to save her.

After Wen Xiangyu paid Lu Yang, she felt a profound sense of lingering fear. Wanting to say something to alleviate her terror, she stammered, "You... are you a cultivator?"

"Yes."

"Cultivators also run shops?"

"Gotta make a living, right?"

Lying on the ground, groaning, Zheng Shouhe was filled with regret. What rotten luck to run into a cultivator right out the door? Had cultivators really fallen so low as to deliver food for a living now?

Lu Yang saw Wen Xiangyu's look of someone who had narrowly escaped death, and shook his head with a small laugh. "I'll go with you to report this."

"Thank you." Wen Xiangyu then remembered the thief upstairs. "Oh, right, there's someone else upstairs too. He's probably his accomplice."

As soon as Wen Xiangyu woke up, she saw Zheng Shouhe and Lu Zhi. She assumed they were working together, but had fallen into conflict over her beauty.

Lu Yang went upstairs and saw Lu Zhi tied up securely. He also assumed he was Zheng Shouhe's accomplice. "Still a gang operation," he muttered.

Lu Zhi cried out in protest, "Don't talk nonsense! I'm not with that guy. He's a kidnapper, I'm a thief. Our sentencing thresholds are completely different!"

Lu Yang was amused. "You know a lot about criminal law."

"Before we commit a crime, we always check the laws to see how many years we might get," Lu Zhi said. It was clear he was very knowledgeable in his trade.

"Well then, let's go to the yamen and see how many years you'll get."

Hearing "yamen," Lu Zhi was terrified and quickly begged for mercy. "No, no, no, brother, let's talk this over. We're all out here trying to make a living, why be so cruel? Look, I'll give you something good. How about you let me go?"

Lu Yang scrutinized Lu Zhi, seeing he was just a mortal. "What good thing?"

"A yellow paper that can make people sleep. With this paper, whoever you want to sleep will sleep, and you can do whatever you want to them!"

Lu Yang recalled the recent strange occurrences, frowned, and realized the situation was not simple. He asked chillingly, "Where is this thing?"

Lu Zhi wasn't stupid; he wouldn't just answer because he was asked. "Promise to let me go first!"

Lu Yang solemnly swore, "I, Chi Xulong, swear to heaven: if I don't release you, may Chi Xulong be struck by five bolts of lightning!"

Lu Zhi was overjoyed. "The yellow paper is in the corner of the outer wall on the first floor."

Clearly, Lu Zhi wasn't very bright.

Lu Yang jumped from the second floor, circled the first floor, and indeed found a yellow paper.

The yellow paper had symbols drawn on it that Lu Yang couldn't understand, appearing to be some kind of talisman.

He put the talisman away. Returning to the second floor, he asked, "Where did you get this thing?"

"Under the Great Stone Bridge. I was escaping by boat once and happened to look up and saw a yellow paper pasted underneath the bridge."

Lu Yang nodded, went downstairs to reattach Zheng Shouhe's legs, and forcibly escorted both men to the yamen, with Wen Xiangyu following closely behind.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not keeping your word!" Lu Zhi shouted.

Lu Yang sneered. "Chi Xulong is the one who'll get struck by lightning. What does that have to do with me, Lu Yang?"

Coincidentally, Officer Wei was on duty that night. When he saw Lu Yang escorting two criminals to the yamen, he had a "not you again" feeling.

Officer Wei listened to the details of the two criminals, put aside his playful demeanor, and became serious. This Zheng Shouhe had a murder on his record and was a serious offender. Lu Yang had performed a great service.

"This is the yellow paper Lu Zhi mentioned," Lu Yang said, handing the paper to Officer Wei. He had already memorized the symbols on it.

Officer Wei took the yellow paper and also realized the problem it presented.

He had heard that some people below had been feeling sleepy during the day, but he hadn't experienced it himself and thought it was nothing major. Now, it seemed someone was deliberately causing trouble!

Who knew how many such yellow papers were hidden throughout Yanjiang County now!

However, Officer Wei didn't know what the runes on the yellow paper meant. He would wait until the Chief Officer came to work in the morning and ask him.

"Thank you. We'll send you a commendation banner tomorrow," Officer Wei said, waving goodbye after taking Lu Yang and Wen Xiangyu's statements.

Before leaving, Lu Yang made a trip to the jail and found Chi Xulong. "I have a 'brother' named Zheng Shouhe who'll be coming in for a while. Could you please look after him?"

Chi Xulong sneered. "So, you need my help sometimes too? 'Look after' him? My 'Stone Spitting Divine Skill' has reached mastery. Let's see how I 'take care' of him!"

After Lu Yang escorted Wen Xiangyu back to her tofu shop, he firmly declined the tofu she offered him.

After all that commotion, the BBQ shop had already closed for the night. When Lu Yang returned, his two changgui were washing dishes.

Lu Yang drew the runes from the yellow paper for Lan Ting. "Take a look at this rune. Does it make people fall asleep?"

After examining it carefully, Lan Ting showed a surprised expression. "Where did you find this? This is a Life Reversal Talisman. It absorbs a person's lifespan. Those affected by it appear to have low energy and excessive sleepiness."

"This type of rune is only effective on mortals; it has no effect whatsoever on cultivators."