"Hm, not far from Anxi City," I said, not even knowing where Anxi City was. "Then I'll head over right away. Thank you for your trouble, and recover well from your injuries."
"Alright."
After hanging up, I led the villagers, who were ghosts, towards the City God Temple. Since I communicated with them using Qi Sensing, and it was midday, they weren't manifesting. To Lin Xi and the others, it looked like I was talking to myself, but Diana seemed to be able to "see" the ghosts, occasionally looking at a spot in the air. The ghosts were unfazed by this "little purple one," as after all, over a hundred years ago, this land was once covered with purple ones and thriving little Japanese dwarves.
Upon arriving at the City God Temple, the yellow dog appeared again and barked at us a couple of times. Just as it was about to run off, I signaled the eagle demon to go up and grab it.
The yellow dog, thinking the eagle demon was going to eat it, yelped in terror.
"Stop barking. I'll ask you, dog, are you Cui Panguan's dog?" I squatted down and asked. It couldn't be such a coincidence; this was the fourth or fifth time I'd seen this dog here, and every time it peed in front of me. Was it an insult? KuAiδugg
However, the yellow dog seemed not to understand me. It just struggled and yelped in the eagle demon's embrace.
It was probably just a coincidence. I waved my hand, and the eagle demon released it. After running about three to five meters, the yellow dog gave me a peculiar smile, then lifted a hind leg and peed on a brick. Before I could pick up a corn cob to throw at it, it disappeared into the fallen corn stalks.
"You little brat!" I cursed. I'm using Qi Sensing, where do you think you're running!
With a precise corn missile thrown, the yellow dog cried out in pain and emerged from the corn stalks, running back towards me like a madman. As it ran, its body began to grow, eventually becoming as large as a calf, and it lunged at me to bite!
With so many experts around, and all of them thinking I was a pushover, I didn't need to move at all. I don't know if it was Lin Xi or Diana who made a move, but they kicked the yellow dog dozens of meters away. Zhang Xiaomiao instantly drifted over, transformed into human form, and grabbed the dog by the neck. She didn't know martial arts, and the dog was quite large, so Zhang Xiaomiao soon fell into a disadvantage, pinned down by the dog. The eagle demon swiftly approached, transforming into an eagle in mid-air. With its sharp talons, it seized the yellow dog, took it to an altitude of a hundred meters, and then dropped it.
A few seconds later, the yellow dog fell into a nearby field. It rolled over but wasn't killed. This time, it didn't dare to cause trouble and scurried away sheepishly.
"What was that thing?" Lin Xi asked me. "It didn't seem like a demon."
"It wasn't," I shook my head. Judging by its aura, it was just an ordinary dog, but for some reason, it could enlarge its body like a demon.
"Could it be something from the underworld?" Chen Ke guessed.
"I'm not sure. We'll see. Let's go," I said, leading everyone forward.
The traces of the battle between Long Yue and the three Yin Messengers were still evident, with corn stalks scattered everywhere. No one had cleaned it up. Fortunately, the City God Temple was not destroyed, and Cui Panguan was still there. Seeing me arrive, Old Cui eagerly came to greet me. He had done something commendable: during my absence over the past two days, Cui Panguan had gone to the City God Temple himself and registered the names of all the ghost villagers, allowing them to enter the underworld in an orderly fashion, ensuring that everyone was accounted for.
"You should come to the mortal realm and help with the conscription," I said with a smile.
Cui Panguan probably didn't know what "conscription" entailed. After all, he hadn't received a single ghost who died in such a manner for so many years. He looked confused and thanked me for the praise.
With his prior registration, the villagers entered the hidden door in no time.
I decided to show off a bit. I lit a cigarette and, turning to Lin Xi and the others, said nonchalantly, "You all wait here. Don't move. I'll take them into the underworld, escort them across the Naihe Bridge, and then buy some oranges from Meng Po. I'll be back soon."