Night of Despair

Chapter 316 - 316 314 Repute 2

?Chapter 316: 314 Repute 2 Chapter 316: 314 Repute 2 Taizhou, Qingchen Temple.

Yu Mo, Yu Hen, and other senior Taoists were sitting upright in the great hall, watching the Dao Seed Disciples entering and taking their seats one by one.

Zheng Ming, Zheng Hong, and Zheng Xia were all among them.

There was also the newly added Zheng Rou, who was Yu Hong. And with them, a tall and cold woman, Zheng Ying, whose demeanor was sharp.

Zheng Ming seemed to have lost his former sharpness, his expression was somber, his head hanging slightly, one hand wrapped in bandages, clearly injured in the past few days of action.

Zheng Hong had a calm expression on his face; he was not injured, but it was said that he had repeatedly fled in fear during operations, and the magicians on the official side had reported him to the temple, now well known among many.

Zheng Xia’s expression was solemn, she was looking down at a hospital report, lost in thought.

The last one, Zheng Rou, Yu Hong, sitting on a meditation cushion, appeared calm and collected, seemingly the most normal one.

“Zheng Rou, did you really repel the Illusion Soldier Guo Chengfei head-on?” Temple Master Yu Hen had already asked once, but now he asked again.

“It wasn’t a repulsion, but a defeat!” Yu Mo hurriedly corrected loudly.

The people in the hall looked at each other in silence, just turning their gaze to Yu Hong.

Illusion Soldier Guo Chengfei was different from the Seven Primordial Embryo sons.

He was a rare specialist magician skilled in modern warfare. His personal strength was formidable, having defeated small-scale armed forces encirclements multiple times, even killing quite a few people.

He was one of the noted fierce figures with outstanding combat achievements.

However, unexpectedly, he had been beaten by Yu Hong.

“It was like this, everyone knows I’m good at close combat, I was just lucky, being close to her, then I quickly approached her, took advantage of her not having enough time to use many techniques, and incapacitated her in one fell swoop,” Yu Hong answered earnestly, “In fact, it was also my luck that the Illusion Soldier had her techniques depleted a lot by my partner before. So, I had the opportunity to take advantage.”

“I see…” Yu Hen revealed a look of understanding.

The other Yu Generation members also nodded one after another.

“It makes sense now; Zheng Rou took up the arts under a mentor and is adept at close combat, understandable.”

“It’s also because of Zheng Rou’s own exceptional talent, being able to seize the best opportunity.”

“That’s true, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to seize it even if the opportunity was right in front of them; it would slip by in an instant.”

Yu Shi, Yu Zhong, and Yu Fang all agreed in quick succession, adding their comments, effectively filling in all the details for Yu Hong’s account.

The recently returned Zheng Ying had never seen such a display before, feeling that she had only gone on a mission, and when she returned, everything in the Taoist Temple had changed. She felt as if she had become an outsider…

Not only did they lose three mentors and uncles, but the atmosphere inside the temple also revolved entirely around the new member Zheng Rou.

And all these changes originated from this robust Zheng Rou.

For a moment, she became more curious about this new junior brother.

“Alright, let’s not talk about that now, next, the Mud Doll Sect will seek revenge after having so many strongholds uprooted. We can’t know for sure which site they will target for retaliation. The only thing we can do is to reduce the dispersion of our forces, gather everyone together, to avoid being defeated one by one,” Yu Hen said.

“That’s reasonable; we don’t need to be so dispersed from now on; all the small strongholds have fallen, leaving only the large ones,” Yu Mo nodded.

Both were now the chief commanders of Qingchen Temple. Scanning around, all the capable fighters in the temple were present.

Those who could match up with the officials, after field tests, there were the five of them, the old guards, plus Zheng Ying, Zheng Ming, and the newly demonstrated Zheng Rou, just eight people in total.

Their power, when facing the Mud Doll Sect… was still a bit…

Both furrowed their brows slightly, uncertain.

Having operated in Taizhou for years, how could they not know what the Mud Doll Sect was like? They had coexisted peacefully over the years because both sides stepped back a bit, each wary of the other.

Now that they were truly fighting, they realized how much of a gap there was between Qingchen Temple and the Mud Doll Sect.

“Don’t worry, considering the situation in Taizhou, I have already submitted a request for reinforcements to the Taoist Sect. Reinforcements will arrive shortly, this time it’s from our old friends, the experts from Zihe Palace. Everyone, please welcome them warmly when they arrive,” Yu Hen mentioned, checking his phone.

“Mm… they should arrive by plane tomorrow morning. Zheng Xia, would you take people to pick them up? Is that okay?”

Zheng Xia was like a brick; moving wherever needed.

Zheng Xia glanced at Yu Hong.

“Temple Master, may I ask if the newcomer is male or female?”

“This time it’s a female, just call her Sister. She is one of the Dragon Mountain Four Swords of Zihe Palace, Feixia Sword Meng Chengshuang,” Yu Hen responded, stroking his beard with a nostalgic expression. “Now that I think about it, being able to invite her over is also because I grew up with her father from childhood, our relationship is very close. I even helped take care of the kid when she was little, changing her diapers, and in the blink of an eye, that little girl has grown so much… time really is…”

“Temple Master, are you talking about that little girl who came to the temple more than twenty years ago?” Yu Zhong by his side also showed a nostalgic expression, “Is it the one who used to love pulling our beards?”

“….Exactly.” Yu Hen nodded, slapping his thigh.

Thus, a group of old fellows began to reminisce about the past.

Yu Hong and the others were listening below, almost dozing off, but no matter what, with an elder in the family, the complex web of relationships forged over time, it was unclear when they could pull out some unexpected move.

Just like the previous Taoist Ku Chan, the prospective Palace Master of Zihe Palace was easily invited over, although it was just on his way, it still reveals the deep roots behind the old Taoists.

Having spent over half an hour recalling, Yu Hen adjusted Yu Hong’s seat.

According to their combat abilities, the position was arranged just behind Zheng Ming and Zheng Ying.

From then on, Yu Hong’s status soared, and his reputation in actual combat was quickly spread through the change in seating order.

Aside from Qingchen Temple, Taizhou also has some circles of scattered magicians.

The number of magicians in these circles far exceeds the number of people in Qingchen Temple; in essence, the only ones called magicians in Qingchen Temple are actually just those few from the Dao Seed Class.

The Golden Jade Class is basically just small fry gilded with gold, and others who rely on talismans to get by even less so.

Scattered magicians, however, are different; they have easier entry, lower difficulty in cultivation, and lower thresholds.

And because they have fewer techniques to learn—many even only learn one—they can enter some areas faster than the Taoist Sect, with lower requirements for aptitude.

Shortly after Yu Hong’s position was adjusted, the news quickly spread from within the temple. As the saying goes, word spreads from one to ten and ten to a hundred.

Taizhou, being a port, has a lot of merchant ships coming in and out, all employing wild mages for protection on their voyages.

After all, as time goes by, the frequency of mysterious incidents occurring everywhere is getting higher, and everyone’s awareness of safety is growing.

This growing market has also inversely led to the proliferation of wild mages.

Compared with the expensive Dao Seed Disciples, wild mages are much cheaper.

So now, Taizhou has a considerable number of magicians.

At this moment, in a small bar on the entertainment street of the Taizhou suburbs,
Cheng Shu, who had just come from the hospital, was sitting in her usual spot, gazing through the window at the variety of passersby, with a distant look in her eyes.

The skin wound she received a few days ago had almost healed by now.

She was wearing a black lace dress, revealing a large expanse of pristine skin on her chest, not a scar in sight.

To an outsider, she looked like a voluptuous young woman blessed with a generous figure.

But no one knew that she hadn’t even been married and was still a virgin.

The lighting in the bar was dim, with the soft music barely audible, giving a sense of tranquility and peace.

The good soundproofing meant that neither the outside noise nor the sound of the sea could penetrate.

Cheng Shu picked up her drink and took a sip. The sharpness of the spirits combined with the refreshing sweetness of strawberry juice revitalized her somewhat groggy mind.

“Cheng Shu? You’re here early?” Two stylishly dressed young people approached and pulled up chairs to sit down.

The two weren’t old, quite a bit younger than Cheng Shu; one was a pretty girl who looked like a high school student, wearing a milk-colored dress and carrying a small leather handbag.

The other was a yellow-haired young man in black and white striped bell-bottom pants and a black shirt. He looked to be in his early twenties and immediately gestured to call the waiter to order food as soon as he sat down.

“How’s it going? Are there many jobs here? Is it easy to work? Sister, why don’t you introduce us, I’m tight on cash again recently,” the yellow-haired man said with a grin and in a low voice as he sat down.

“When did you siblings arrive here?” Cheng Shu was surprised to see the two who were not expected to be here.

These two siblings, the brother He Yuchong, and the sister He Yuling, come from a small family known for their feng shui services. Both had some aptitude since childhood, able to see various resentful marks and techniques. To protect themselves, they dropped out of school early and painstakingly studied their family’s secret arts.

Five years ago, the two of them began to mix in the circles, and now they have some reputation.

In the circles, they are known as the Wind Bell twins, meaning they have sharp wits and high alertness—any small movement and they would ring like wind bells.

“We’ve been here for some time. Originally we were on vacation but… you know how it is, we always get a bunch of freeloaders’ tasks from the Association,” Cheng Shu replied.

“You’re still in that official association?” He Yuchong asked in surprise. “That association doesn’t give out any benefits, what’s the point of staying there?”

“You’ve both left?” Cheng Shu inquired.

The Association they referred to is an official association exclusively for wild mages – the Yasong Folklore Research Association.

Originally, the Association was an attempt by the government to gather folk magicians, but after realizing that their power was much less than that of the orthodox Taoist Sect and Buddhist Sect, the government let them develop freely. Now, all of their benefits have been cut, turning it into a semi-idle organization.

“We left a long time ago. Now we’ve all set up our own associations, big or small. Nobody wants to be subordinate to others, right?” He Yuchong said with a smile.

“Alright, that’s good too. You’re both young; maybe in the future, you’ll be able to make a name for yourselves on your own,” Cheng Shu nodded and didn’t ask further.

“Cheng Shu, since you arrived in this place first, tell us about the local situation?” He Yuling sweetly flashed a pleasing smile.

Both of them weren’t good at combative techniques and were more supportive, so in the face of chaotic situations, their reliance on intelligence was even greater.

“Here, the main thing is that the Mud Doll Sect, a subordinate force of the Seven Evil Alliance, is clashing hard with the Qingchen Temple, a subordinate force of the Taoist Sect, with the officials backing the Taoist Sect. It’s fierce right now, don’t get involved,” Cheng Shu said succinctly.

“Are there any famous experts? Give us some warnings and names so we won’t accidentally offend someone important,” He Yuling skillfully took out a red envelope and discreetly stuffed it into Cheng Shu’s hand.