Chapter 42: Chapter 39: Grand Banquet, Old Acquaintances, and the Old General of the Qin Family

Xu Lei, strikingly handsome with a warm smile, walked alongside the plain-looking and expressionless Hui Ming.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on Xu Lei, while no one paid Hui Ming any mind.

He had yet to find the Painted Skin Spirit, but unexpectedly, Xu Lei spotted two old acquaintances first.

It was Liang Fangying and Zhao Xiaocha!

To his surprise, they were also attending Elder General Qin’s banquet.

Xu Lei was taken aback for a moment, but then he realized it made sense. Both of their families did business in the Prefecture City.

And today was Elder General Qin’s grand birthday celebration, attended by all sorts of influential people from the Prefecture City. It was perfectly normal for their husbands to bring them along to socialize.

Xu Lei’s gaze shifted slightly, and sure enough, he saw both Zhao Xiaocha’s and Liang Fangying’s husbands at the banquet.

The men were busy talking with other guests, while Zhao Xiaocha and Liang Fangying were chatting with a group of other wives.

’Little Divine Monk!’

’Little Divine Monk!’

Naturally, the two women had also spotted Xu Lei, and both were momentarily stunned.

’Amitabha Buddha.’

Seeing them, Xu Lei couldn’t help but recite the Buddha’s name in his heart.

Xu Lei hadn’t told them he was coming to the Prefecture City.

So they had no idea and assumed he was still at Longyuan Temple.

Yet here he was, running into them today.

However, the two women only exchanged a brief glance with Xu Lei.

They didn’t immediately come over to speak with him.

After all, the place was crowded.

Their history with Xu Lei wasn’t exactly innocent.

So, naturally, they felt it would be inappropriate to approach him for a friendly chat in front of so many people.

Meanwhile, Wei Qingning and Zhang Xiaomai had also arrived at the banquet.

After all, the Wei Family had been established in the Prefecture City for several generations and had an extensive network of connections.

So naturally, Wei Qingning had to attend.

As far as the public was concerned, Zhang Xiaomai was the wife of Wei Qingning.

So she attended alongside her.

But they didn’t approach Xu Lei either.

This was because Xu Lei had walked directly over to the guest of honor—the white-haired Elder General Qin, seated in a wheelchair.

The Elder General was over sixty, which was considered quite a ripe old age in this world.

He had some trouble with his legs, hence the wheelchair.

But his voice was still hale and hearty.

A soldier through and through, he was used to speaking with a powerful, resonant voice.

"Hahaha! I never imagined, Divine Monk, that you would come to the Prefecture City, let alone grace my birthday celebration with your presence. You honor my humble home!"

Elder General Qin continued, "It feels like only yesterday that we met at Longyuan Temple a few years ago.

You enlightened me on so many matters back then. And I’m still using the very wheelchair you designed and gifted to me!

It’s just that my legs have made it difficult, so I haven’t been able to visit Longyuan Temple since.

I never thought you would come all this way yourself, Divine Monk.

This old man is truly humbled."

That’s right. In the dozen or so years since Xu Lei had introduced the potato to the world, he had earned the title of "Divine Monk" everywhere, especially after receiving the Former Saint’s personal endorsement.

During those years, various dignitaries and nobles from all regions had made the pilgrimage to Longyuan Temple to worship and meet Xu Lei.

Elder General Qin was one such person.

In his youth, he had defended the nation on the battlefield, where he sustained a lasting injury that severely impaired the use of his legs.

At the time, Xu Lei had even built a replica of a wheelchair from Earth and given it to him.

He did it out of respect for the Elder General’s patriotic spirit as a soldier.

In short, Xu Lei and the general shared a bit of history.

This was precisely why Hui Ming had sought Xu Lei’s help.

The Painted Skin Spirit was hiding in the General’s Mansion.

Hui Ming and his group did not want a direct confrontation with the military.

Previously, they couldn’t even manage to get an audience with the Elder General.

The reason was that one of the Elder General’s sons was likely in league with the Painted Skin Spirit.

But the Elder General had over twenty sons, and each son had numerous women.

As a result, Hui Ming’s group couldn’t figure out which person was the Painted Skin Spirit.

Because Painted Skin Spirits are spirit monsters that excel at disguise!

Nor could they determine which of the Elder General’s sons was protecting it.

After all, the military maintains tight control over its information.

Hui Ming and his group didn’t want to waste their Magical Power trying to uncover military secrets.

The expenditure of Magical Power would be far too great for what it was worth.

Furthermore, Hui Ming suspected that this son of the Elder General might already know that the Painted Skin Spirit was a Demon!

And was protecting it anyway!

This was what made the situation so troublesome for Hui Ming and his group.

And why they had turned to Xu Lei, the "fake" Divine Monk.

That was why they had come today, on the day of the birthday celebration.

On the day of the celebration, all of the Elder General’s old subordinates would be present.

Even if one of the Elder General’s sons harbored dissent!

He wouldn’t be able to undermine the Elder General’s authority today.

With influential figures from all over gathered, Elder General Qin’s prestige would be at its most potent.

On an occasion like this, if the Elder General gave a command...

...if his soldiers and subordinates were to disobey him and follow the orders of one of his sons instead? That would be utterly preposterous.

Had they approached the Elder General a couple of days earlier, the situation might have been more complicated even if he had wanted to take action.

After all, given the Elder General’s poor health, he was no longer managing day-to-day affairs.

It was possible his troops were already more loyal to one of his sons.

If the son blindly protecting the Painted Skin Spirit happened to be one who held a key position and had already won the loyalty of the junior officers...

...then things would become very difficult.

But on an occasion like today, that wasn’t a concern.

All they needed was to secure the Elder General’s support.

And Xu Lei’s reputation as the Divine Monk, along with his past history with the general, was the perfect leverage to win his trust.

"Elder General Qin, could we speak in private?"

So, after only a brief exchange, Xu Lei said directly, "This humble monk would like to have a few private words with you, Elder General."

"Of course."

The Elder General was surprised but agreed at once. "This way, Divine Monk."

「A few minutes later.」

Xu Lei and Elder General Qin were in a private room, where Xu Lei explained the situation.

He explained that the recent spate of heart-gouging cases in the Prefecture City was likely the work of a Spirit Monster.

Furthermore, the Spirit Monster was very likely hiding right here in the General’s Mansion!

What’s more, one of the Elder General’s sons might be knowingly harboring a Demon!

Could it be possible that the Elder General himself, due to his failing health, was colluding with the Spirit Monster to regain his vitality?

That would be a disastrous miscalculation.

However, this possibility had already been dismissed by Hui Ming during their previous discussion.

According to Hui Ming, this particular Painted Skin Spirit wasn’t especially brilliant or cunning.

It was most likely a Spirit Monster with little experience living in the Mortal World.

That would explain why it had committed so many heart-gougings in a row.

And caused such a commotion.

It didn’t even dispose of the bodies properly.

Allowing the officials to investigate the incidents as murders.

In the current End of the Era of Cultivation, Cultivators like Hui Ming, who dedicated themselves to monastic Cultivation, cherished their Magical Power. They rarely revealed their powers publicly.

While many Spirit Monsters also lived among humans in the Mortal World, they were usually very good at hiding.

After all, in this day and age, the world was ultimately ruled by armies of ordinary humans.

Even someone like Hui Ming, if he were to face a large army...

His Magical Power could unleash incredible might for a short while.

But once his Magical Power was exhausted by the sheer number of opponents, he too would perish.

That’s why Cultivators generally kept a low profile instead of vying for supremacy or attempting to rule the world.

If they had an inexhaustible supply of Magical Power and could stand against armies, the high monks of the Buddhist Sect wouldn’t be so keen on laying low all the time either.

They might also want to come out and rule the world themselves!

The same went for Spirit Monsters.

Thus, a skilled Spirit Monster, even one that killed people to eat their hearts...

...would do so flawlessly, making the deaths appear perfectly natural.

They wouldn’t arouse suspicion that a Spirit Monster was on the loose.

They lived in fear of being hunted down by human armies or discovered by Human Cultivators, who would capture and "refine" them.

But this particular Painted Skin Spirit was sloppy, leaving a messy trail.

Therefore, it was likely a reckless greenhorn of a Spirit Monster.

So it was unlikely to be in league with the Elder General.

If someone of the Elder General’s stature were in league with it...

...they would have been able to cover their tracks far more effectively.

It wouldn’t have led to the current city-wide panic.

That was why Xu Lei had spoken so frankly with the Elder General today in private.

"My Qin Family has served in the military for generations, and our family motto has four principles: Be diligent people! Be pillars of the state! Defend our homes and country! Protect the common folk!"

Hearing this, the Elder General’s expression darkened. "If there truly is a Spirit Monster killing people, eating their hearts, and committing such evil...

...and if one of my own sons is actually colluding with this Spirit Monster, harming innocent lives!

I will execute them without mercy!

I don’t care if it’s my own son!

Or some Spirit Monster—none will be spared!

Please, Divine Monk, tell me plainly. How can I assist you?"