But whether it’s easy or not, that depends.
The pollution of the Ancestor Dragon shakes the very foundation of Mingjiang Prefecture. The matter is too perilous, too entangled; it’s likely the state will send reinforcements.
As for which state can be persuaded, that depends on the painter’s skill.
"The pollution of the Ancestor Dragon is too vast for me to intervene, but I can help you track down Evil Gods and their masters."
Zhou Xuan said, "As for our approach to hunting them, I’ve already outlined it: dig three feet into the earth, find Mo Tingsheng, the kidnapper’s overseer. Once we’ve got Mo Tingsheng, we can locate Jing Deng, and from there, trace the Evil Gods behind it all."
"Mo Tingsheng. Over these next two days, we’ll have the Bone Elder, City God, and the Witch jointly pursuing him. He’ll be caught and accounted for by the Young Master."
The painter was already overwhelmed, far from his usual composure. The worse things became, the more he needed a lifeline. Zhou Xuan had become exactly that lifeline.
"I don’t need an explanation. I only need the Blood Well Human Brain. When you capture Mo Tingsheng, don’t forget to deliver the brain to my shop."
"Rest assured, two units of Blood Well Human Brain are already accounted for. One will be delivered today; for the other, I’ll negotiate with Yellow Field Prefecture and have it at your shop shortly."
"Alright, let’s wrap it up for today."
With that, Zhou Xuan parted ways with the Bone Elder and the City God’s men.
Determining the extent of the Ancestor Dragon’s pollution, its consequences, and whether the contamination can be eradicated—that wasn’t something he concerned himself with. That would require the painter to request a consultation with other "experts" from the state.
As for tracking down the Evil God Master, that would have to wait until Mo Tingsheng was caught.
For now, the only thing Zhou Xuan could do was return to his shop to rest.
"Using divine offspring to contaminate the Ancestor Dragon—the Evil God Master’s methods are truly cunning. And they’ve actually managed to achieve some measure of success."
In the car, Yun Ziliang sat cross-legged, speaking with a heavy face.
"Lao Yun, in your peak years, would you have been able to devise a method to pollute the Ancestor Dragon?"
Since driving was dull anyway, Zhou Xuan decided to lob a piercing question at Yun Ziliang, steering the conversation into lighter territory.
"Impossible." Yun Ziliang declared with certainty, "For one, I couldn’t produce divine offspring."
Divine offspring possess one innate talent—Physical Body Dream.
Physical Body Dream is a naturally occurring source of mental contamination,
and precisely because of their compatibility with pollution, they were employed by the Evil God Master to corrupt the Ancestor Dragon.
Without divine offspring, there’s no basis for contaminating the Ancestor Dragon.
"I suddenly had a thought."
Since they were discussing "divine offspring," Zhou Xuan considered—the Evil God Master likely had several Evil Gods under their control, though the exact number was unclear.
However, could "Hunger" be one of the abhorrent hybrid creations born from those Evil Gods?
Yun Ziliang drew a sharp breath and said, "Are you suggesting that those Evil Gods spent the past two hundred years continuously breeding offspring, which explains why ’Hunger’ has siblings?"
"These Evil Gods barely resemble Evil Gods anymore; they’re like ’divine offspring factories.’"
Divine offspring are conceived by Gods, Alien Ghosts, Evil Gods, or Great Buddha—these four categories.
"Mingjiang Prefecture’s culture is filthy. Having a surplus of Evil Gods is bad enough, but they’re all reproducing hybrids, killing people indiscriminately, and burrowing into the land like pests."
Zhou Xuan let out a sigh and then asked Yun Ziliang, "By the way, Lao Yun—how do you think these Evil Gods descended upon Mingjiang Prefecture?"
"I have no idea. But three hundred years ago, when I was hunting dragons, Mingjiang Prefecture was universally regarded as the least likely state for Evil Gods to descend."
Yun Ziliang’s meticulously reasoned response nearly made Zhou Xuan laugh aloud.
In just a few short days, three Evil Gods had consecutively surfaced in Mingjiang Prefecture, with no clarity on the masters behind them. And yet, this was supposed to be the least likely state for Evil Gods to appear?
"Really! Don’t forget—Mingjiang Prefecture used to have two Ancestor Trees, the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree and the Ginkgo Ancestor Tree. The dual trees protected the state; which Evil God would dare descend here?"
"Three hundred years ago, what exactly happened? The two Ancestor Trees of Mingjiang Prefecture vanished without a trace; Evil Gods began to arrive. Meanwhile, the Ancient Tattoo Clan launched their grand scheme, cultivated the Legend of the Hundred Spirits, and planned to nail down five Nuo Gods..."
Zhou Xuan couldn’t help but sink deep into thought.
By the time he returned to the shop, it was already 10 a.m. Zhao Wuya, Zhou Xuan, and Yun Ziliang gathered in Sister Cui’s shop, each eating a bowl of pork tripe noodle soup.
East Market Street’s scenery remained as tranquil as ever,
Sister Cui placed a basket of steamed buns in front of Zhou Xuan and said, "Brother Zhou, the last two days have been lively around East Market Street."
"What’s new and lively?"
Zhou Xuan picked up a bun, took a bite, and asked the beaming Sister Cui.
Sister Cui pointed westward and said, "You know that abandoned water pond over on West Street? The prefecture’s engineers have been surveying it all over, saying they want to turn the pond into a park. They’ve been talking all nice,
saying it’s about enhancing East Market Street’s spiritual development.
The garbage dump at the eastern end of the street has been cleared too. They’re planning to build a school there, saying it’ll make it easier for the children of East Market Street to attend and improve education quality.
The Shangde Charity Foundation has also arrived, claiming that because East Market Street has been dealing with the dead for so long, most of us suffer from occupational mental illnesses. They’ve pitched tents at the street’s entrance to hand out welfare subsidies,
distributing oil, rice, flour. Merchants from East Market Street can go and collect them. I woke up early today to grab two bags of rice and a carton of eggs.
Everyday something new is changing on this street; there’s too much to take in. Truly, it’s all thanks to you."
"That’s the work of Mingjiang Prefecture, not mine."
While Zhou Xuan dismissed the connection verbally, inwardly he understood: in Jing Country’s nine states, God’s authority reigns supreme. The prefecture governs ordinary citizens, but in Mingjiang, the real power lies with the Bone Elder Association.
The prefecture works under the Bone Elder Association. With Zhou Xuan so closely tied to the Bone Elder, the prefecture officials were undoubtedly eager to extend thanks through welfare projects.