The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 237: Chapter 235: Jianye Haunted by Ghosts

After hearing Bai Hecheng’s straightforward introduction, the guest officials present showed a variety of reactions and began to talk fervently.

“We have heard of the matter of ghosts, but since the Family Head has summoned us, there must be some arrangements, I presume.” Xie Yuxin opened her eyes and was the first to speak out.

“That’s right. People in the city live in fear these days. The government officials and our major aristocratic families have been working together to gather city-wide strength—collecting capable individuals to fight against ghosts —and have issued a Ghost-catching Reward List as an incentive,” replied Bai Hecheng, nodding in agreement.

“May I dare to ask the Family Head, is this reward list exclusive for our Bai Family?” Xie Yuxin inquired again.

“Haha, Our family does not exclusively distribute this task list. The government officials have issued this uniformly. The yamen (government office), Lin Family, and Du Family also have this list. Therefore if anyone wants to take any task, they must act quickly, as these tasks might be done by someone else at any moment,” said Bai Hecheng with a chuckle.

At these words, the guest officials present seemed to become a bit anxious and seemed ready to spring into action.

...

“Everyone, please, be patient. Copy of the Ghost-catching Reward List issued by the government has been kept in our accounting department. There you’ll find rather detailed annotations regarding the task content, Immortal Jade rewards, and Spiritual Materials. You can check that later on your own. But before all this, there’s something I need to say as a reminder,” said Bai Hecheng, holding up both of his hands and pressing them down in the air to gesture for the attention of the crowd. His face turned serious.

Word of Bai Hecheng silenced everyone.

“The tasks listed on the Ghost-catching Reward List offer substantial rewards, but they are also extremely dangerous. Therefore, you must act according to your abilities. Furthermore, since all of you are guest officials of our Bai Family, if you complete any task, you must report back to the Bai Family’s accounting department. The Bai Family will then collectively submit the tasks to the government officials,” said Bai Hecheng.

None of the guest officials objected to the danger involved in these tasks. After all, risk and opportunity coexist; nobody would expect good fortune to fall into their laps without taking any risk. As for the instruction of returning to the Bai Family to submit the completed tasks, it seemed quite natural to them.

However, Shen Luo felt somewhat puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Bai Hecheng had specially emphasized that matter.

“Gentlemen, given the current circumstances of looming crisis, I hope everyone can stick together, pull through these adversities, and contribute to safeguarding the peace of Jianye City,” said Bai Hecheng with a smile on his face.

“Even without the Ghost-catching List, dealing with the menace of these demons is our inherent duty. We definitely will not tarnish the reputation of our Bai Family as the foremost demon exorcist family,” said Xie Yuxin and the others chimed in agreement.

“With the word of Elder Brother Xie, I can rest assured,” responded Bai Hecheng with a nod and a smile.

Following this, he directed everyone to the Main Hall of the accounting department, where all the tasks and their pertaining rules had already been posted.

Along with the crowd, Shen Luo also exited the Hall.

“Family Head, should we not tell them about the competition with the Lin and Du Families for the title of the First Demon-hunting Family?” asked Bai Jiangfeng, once everyone had left.

“No need. If word of this gets out, the guest officials might harbor other thoughts. I have already looked into it covertly. It appears the Lin and Du Families also have not disclosed this issue,” said Bai Hecheng, shaking his head.

“Fair enough,” said Bai Jiangfeng, raising his hand and waving a piece of white silk on which were densely written characters. It was an overview of each Ghost-catching task on the Reward List. Apart from minor discrepancies from what Bai Hecheng had previously mentioned, no Immortal Jade or Spiritual Material awards were recorded. Instead, there were just some numbers.

“The government officials really know how to cut it fine, propagating the title of First Demon-hunting Family, and calculating the results based on accumulated merit points from completing tasks listed on the Ghost-catching Reward List. To make matters worse, they are making us three major families fight like cats and dogs. However, the rewards promised for the First Demon-hunting Family are extremely generous indeed. Merely the management rights of the prosperous shops of the three families on Xuanwu Street and thirty percent transportation rights of the wharf outside the city, are reasons enough for us to compete,” remarked Bai Jiangfeng with a tut-tut.

“The government officials have no choice. With the recent outbreak of ghostly incidents, if it is not suppressed in a short amount of time, it will have a large impact on Jianye City,” said Bai Hecheng in a stern voice.

“Lately though, what’s really going on? We have seen a surge in incidents involving mischievous demons and ghosts everywhere. Could it be that, as rumors suggest, some kind of catastrophe is looming?” voiced Bai Jiangfeng with a frown.

“Let’s deal with the matter at hand first,” said Bai Hecheng noncommittally.

…

While Bai Hecheng and Bai Jiangfeng were conversing, all the guest officials of the Bai Family had already gathered at the Bai Family’s accounting department.

In the Main Hall of the accounting department, there was a ten-foot-tall wooden bulletin board with neatly-recorded details of each listed task. All of them were still uncompleted.

Standing towards the back of the crowd and straining to look, Shen Luo saw rows of densely-written characters detailing various exorcism tasks clearly recorded, complete with location and the cause behind each.

Besides Immortal Jade, there were also several other spiritual materials mentioned in the rewards section.

“Ghost at work near the South Gate Zhuangyuan Bridge is suspected to be a water ghost. It can hide under water and has super strength. Two pieces of Immortal Jade will be awarded for killing it.”

“A ghost is haunting Liu Family Village in East City and has already caused harm to five people and absconded with numerous livestock. The ghost’s identity is not known. The reward is one piece of Fire Goldwood.”

“In Willow Forest Town, on the southern part of the city, a female ghost can be heard crying every night, causing fear among villagers…”

Shen Luo’s eyes lit up; the item rewards were no doubt abundant! Immortal Jade reward could be two or three pieces or even more than five pieces. It was the equivalent of his stipend for several months to a year. Although Shen Luo did not recognize most of the spiritual materials listed, they all seemed remarkable.

“There are plenty of good things to earn!” said Bai Xiaoyun, his face reflecting surprise.

Seeing the details of the tasks, the other guest officials too expressed happiness.

As guest officials of the Bai Family, they were able to enjoy some cultivation resources every day, but they rarely got their hands on Immortal Jade. The only way to earn Immortal Jade was either through normal distribution or as an award for contributing to the family. As a result, everyday life was always a bit of a struggle. It was indeed rare to see high-reward tasks appear all at once like this.

After looking for a while, Shen Luo lightly shook his head, withdrew his gaze, turned around, and prepared to leave.

It was not that he didn’t want to perform these tasks. Rather, he had a sense of self-awareness.

With his current level of cultivation, he recognized not only the risk involved in doing such tasks but also the fact that even if he could overpower some ghosts, he would probably have to use up quite a few talismans. Considering this, the cost may not justify the rewards.

Currently, his cultivation was progressing smoothly through the Nameless Cultivation Technique, plus he was blessed with some extra financial resources. Therefore his interest in Immortal Jade and those materials was not high. He had only joined the crowd to gain some knowledge and experience.

“Shen Brother, are you not interested in these tasks?” asked Bai Xiao Yun.

“Too many people around, I will check again later.” said Shen Luo chuckling and answered casually.

“You think you can take the risk and go slay some ghosts, you fledgling kid? I bet you would end up becoming a ghost before you could slay one,” scoffed an eerily sarcastic voice from the sidelines.