"Come, everyone, eat my pears! Big, yellow, crispy pears!"
Seeing that everyone was fooled by his glamour, the Taoist gleefully began distributing the pears.
"My pears have many wonders. For men, they replenish essence and qi; for women, they nourish yin and vitality; for the elderly, they extend life. Even a toothless babe will find only benefit and no harm in eating them."
The crowd was enticed. Seeing such miraculous magic, they truly believed they had met a living immortal and swarmed forward, scrambling to get a pear.
The Taoist was not flustered at all. Relying on the fact that no one could see through his glamour, he openly took pears from the pear seller's cart and handed them out.
"Don't fight! There's enough for everyone who's here. Everyone gets a taste."
Those who received a big yellow pear were overjoyed. They took a bite, and seeing the succulent, snowy-white flesh of the crispy pear, they immediately began calling him a living immortal.
"It really is a pear! Such a crisp and sweet crispy pear!"
"This pear is so crisp and juicy; it's delicious!"
"He truly is a living immortal descended to earth. These pears must be immortal pears from heaven!"
Surrounded by flattery, the Taoist happily stroked his dragon whisker beard, looking quite satisfied. However, his large, bulging eyes never stopped scanning the crowd.
This one's a bit thin.
This one's a bit fat.
This one's too old; probably won't sell.
This one's sturdy and strong; should be worth some silver.
Wait?
The Taoist's gaze suddenly landed on a spot, and he unconsciously leaned forward.
Standing in the crowd watching the commotion were a woman and two men.
The woman looked peculiar—her face was dark, she was tall, and her build was thick and sturdy. If she hadn't been wearing women's clothing and styled like a young lady, most would have mistaken her for a dark-faced gentleman.
Standing behind her were two men, one old and one young, presumably her attendants. Dressed in coarse cloth, they stood there silently.
Furthermore, the woman never let go of an oil-paper umbrella. Its surface was shrouded in a dense, dark aura, a ghostly energy unrecognizable to ordinary mortals.
The green-robed Taoist immediately recognized her as one of the guests who had been resting at the foot-shop earlier.
But hadn't this woman headed north? Why was she appearing here in Shouzhou?
The green-robed Taoist thought for a moment and realized that the little hedgehog demon must have lied. He felt a surge of annoyance, already planning how to punish it once he returned.
Before he could think further, he saw the dark, sturdy woman bow to him from a distance, offering a friendly smile.
The green-robed Taoist was surprised, but then it clicked.
Right, this city was the territory of the Demon Suppression Division.
Although this person had seen through his glamour, she hadn't called him out. Most likely, she didn't want to make an enemy of a fellow cultivator and draw the attention of the Demon Suppression Division.
After all, she was carrying the soul of a beautiful lady. If she provoked the Demon Suppression Division, that would be real trouble.
Thinking this, the green-robed Taoist returned the bow.
This was a rule among rogue cultivators in the martial world—if they crossed paths, they would tacitly agree to stay out of each other's business.
To his surprise, when the dark-faced girl saw his reaction, she first paused, then nodded in understanding as if agreeing. But before the green-robed Taoist could even react, she suddenly took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Huh? Where did the pear seller's cart full of big yellow pears go? Why do the pears on this tree look exactly like the ones from his cart?"
Her performance was incredibly vivid, and every word was crystal clear.
You son of a bitch! You absolute bastard!
You fucking traitor to the code!
The green-robed Taoist wanted to curse her out right then and there, but he immediately prepared to grease his heels and make a run for it.
Glamour wasn't like an illusion; once someone called it out, it could no longer deceive anyone.
Sure enough, as the glamour was broken, the crowd realized what was happening one after another. They pointed at the cart and cried out in shock:
"What a fraud! There's no immortal tree or immortal pears! It's just a rickety wooden cart!"
"Aiyaya, it was all a lie! These pears are just ordinary big yellow pears! Ptooey!"
"You traveling swindler, you petty-hearted demon! Just because I wouldn't give you one crispy pear, you used sorcery to steal my whole cart?"
The pear seller finally understood. He stepped forward and landed a heavy punch right on the green-robed Taoist's head, making him see stars.
"You swindler! You dared to cheat your own grandfather? Today, I'll make sure you get a taste of these fists!"
The Taoist couldn't react in time and took the punch full on. A sinister look immediately clouded his face, and his hand, hidden beneath his robe, began forming a seal to strike back—
"Quick, report this to the authorities! Get the people from the Demon Suppression Division! Tell them there's an evil Taoist causing trouble here!"
A woman's voice rang out from the crowd, sounding somewhat familiar.
That old nun Miaoyun might not be in Shouzhou, but the people of the Demon Suppression Division weren't dead yet!
If he really disturbed the Demon Suppression Division, his meat sheep business would be ruined forever!
The green-robed Taoist almost wanted to scream and ask the woman if they had some kind of blood feud.
He forcefully pulled back his reaching hand and scurried through the crowd with his head covered, like a rat crossing the street with everyone chasing it.
The crowd, feeling cheated, cornered the Taoist. The pear seller was aggressive and gave the green-robed Taoist a thorough beating, only letting him go after he paid up.
The Taoist drove his flock of sheep to the riverbank. Catching his reflection, he finally saw what he looked like.
His clothes were torn to shreds, his eyes were bruised, and the right side of his dragon whisker beard had been ripped off by someone, leaving only half. He was truly a pathetic sight.
"Baaa, baaa."
"Baaa."
"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
The sheep and the large blue donkeys all cried out at once. No matter how one heard it, those sounds were filled with blatant mockery.
"Dammit! That black-hearted bastard has no sense of honor.
That little wench ran off fast. She better hope I don't run into her again, or I'll turn her into a meat sheep, skin her alive, and sell her at the Ghost Market as rations!"
The Taoist cursed while looking at his reflection in the river. Hearing the animals' cries, he lashed out and kicked them viciously.
"What are you blaring for? Once we get to Kaifeng, I'll sell you all off for a Foundation Establishment Pill! By then, I don't care if it's the Demon Suppression Division or the Ghost Suppression Division—even they'll have to bow and scrape when they see me!"
"Baaa."
One sheep, having been kicked hard, lay on the ground, licking its wound. Large, bean-sized tears unconsciously fell from its round eyes.
The Taoist gave a couple of sinister chuckles and patted the sheep's back.
"Don't blame me for being heartless. This world is man-eat-man. The rich eat the poor, the powerful eat the weak, and those with high cultivation eat those with low cultivation.
In this world, aside from the immortals, who doesn't die?
You're helping me get my pills, and I'll remember your kindness. Once my cultivation is successful, I'll chant scriptures for you so you can have a better reincarnation in your next life. Hehehe."
After he spoke, the remaining sheep and donkeys all began to cry out. The Taoist simply ignored them. He pulled a handful of herbs from his sleeve, chewed them into a pulp, and smeared the green juice on his face.
He was already dressed in green, and now with that sticky, green mess on his face, he looked like a giant grasshopper spirit.
Ignoring everything else, the Taoist sat cross-legged to rest.
He waited until the sky grew dark. A sleek, oily hedgehog scurried over from the base of the eastern wall, squeaking at the Taoist. Only then did the Taoist open his eyes.
"You beast, was all that food I gave you for nothing? You're so slow just to find a few people."
The large hedgehog looked dejected, as if it had done something wrong, and rubbed its front paws together.
"Squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!"
"Fine, fine. As long as you know where they're staying. To think that person is also taking a boat to Dongjingfu. This saves me a lot of trouble."
The green-robed Taoist managed a satisfied expression.
"Once I collect the few meat sheep I scouted today, I'll go find them and settle the score.
I want to see where that little wench can run to when she's isolated and without help on the river."
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