Just as he dug twice into the soil, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Turning slightly, he saw the Zhou Brothers, who had left earlier, returning. One was holding paper money, and the other was holding a candle.

The faces of the Zhou Brothers looked extremely displeased, their eyes, once red from crying, now flushed with anger.

Lin Shuyou: "I'm sorry, please let me explain."

Zhou Cheng: "Alright, I'm listening..."

Zhou Feng threw down the candle in his hand, rushed forward with quick steps, and aimed a flying kick at Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou sidestepped to avoid it, then instinctively raised a leg to jab Zhou Feng in the waist.

This was a reflex move of a martial artist, but yesterday during the stage performance, carrying a lion on his back greatly restricted him.

It was because of this jab that Zhou Feng's direction changed, his legs plunging deeply into the soft soil pit where the lion's head had just been buried.

Seeing this, Zhou Cheng raised his fist and charged forward as well.

The three of them immediately started fighting fervently.

...

In the dormitory, Li Zhiyuan set up an array for divination.

He sat in the middle of the array patterns, lit three candles, and began chanting spells while calculating, attempting to read his own fortune.

Halfway through, he stopped immediately.

It's taboo to calculate one's own fortune, he couldn't afford to make this mistake again, he just wanted to see if anyone else was divining him.

He couldn't sense anything.

This means the other party might have a more sophisticated method, or a more complete setup; considering the background of that hand, it's not surprising at all.

After erasing the array, Li Zhiyuan turned the copper mirror, activating the isolation array in the dormitory.

Then he crouched next to the bed, pulling out a large bundle from underneath, and walked back to the desk to unwrap it.

This "evil book," which he burned last time, showed no sign of restoration when he opened it this time.

Li Zhiyuan laid it open, skimming over the charred pages, until he found one that was only slightly yellowed and curled.

Adjusting the color palette, he picked up a brush and began painting on this piece of paper, not rushing to paint the figure holding the candle, but instead painting the burning lion from his dream last night.

Once the lion was halfway done, the "evil book" itself completed the remaining half.

Subsequently, the entire painting gradually faded, and a line of words emerged:

"The lion spirit conveys a dream, warning with fire."

The warning from the lion spirit had no issue, but its manner of manifestation was concerning.

Li Zhiyuan first painted it not to seek answers, but to test whether the "evil book" still worked.

It turned out, this book, though damaged, remained resolute.

Li Zhiyuan picked up the brush again, and this time he painted the figure holding the candle.

The young man suspected this "evil book" recognized this guy.

Since that hand wanted to set him up, it certainly couldn't employ anything related to its own forces, but rather objectively sought a "third-party evil presence."

By doing so, it could better align with the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, this guy had to ensure sufficient power advantage to defeat him, even if not killing him, but at least to severely injure him, forcing him to admit defeat twice.

Therefore, this guy is likely not an unknown entity.

To him, the "evil book" was a dynamic encyclopedia, it might really know who this guy was.

Also, in light of his current situation, it's possible the one who set up Uncle Qin was not the same as the one currently setting him up, but their plotting skills were likely similar.

After all, daring to play dirty tricks on the Dragon King family wasn't something ordinary people would do.

Moreover, in terms of absolute power, the hand that drew Uncle Qin into the trap is probably stronger than the one dealing with him this time, since Uncle Qin had prepared himself before engaging in River Walker activities after adulthood.

Uncle Qin once described those who plotted against him as "they", suggesting perhaps there was more than one hand in his case?

Even in such a tough situation, Uncle Qin failed in Zou Jiang, but managed to return alive and admit defeat, and can still stand and continue his journey, demonstrating his strength.

This also served as a reminder to him that the opponent might simply see him as an ordinary River Walker of the Qin and Liu Families; they would exert full strength like a lion hunting a rabbit, but likely wouldn't bring out their trump card.

And this, is his opportunity.

Apart from the old lady's support, facing that hand himself, he surely lacked the power balance.

But fortunately, he was a River Walker.

Professor Zhu had just pointed out a new perspective for observing river currents yesterday, and he didn't expect to use it this quickly.

There was a unity and a struggle between him and the currents, and now, it was time for the unity to take effect.

"I don't know what your true motive for me is, but at least up until now, despite how I feel inside, I genuinely wish to exorcise demons, upholding the standards of the Righteous Path in my actions.

No matter how we outsmart and battle each other, it's between us, an internal conflict between us two, what does it have to do with that third-party hand?

You see, that hand is imitating you, desecrating you, what does it take itself to be?

If you can tolerate it, I cannot.

I guess you had no choice in the past, could only impose a subtle karmic punishment.

No problem,

this time I'll help you connect the dots, together we'll play a grand game."

Li Zhiyuan didn't know if saying these words was useful, but as his hands were busy painting, he thought he might as well speak.

When painting the feet, he couldn't move the brush anymore.

The tip of the brush touched the page, and nothing more appeared on the book.

It seemed the book learned from the lesson of being burned before, and this time refused to let him continue painting.

Moreover, next to the nearly completed painting, lines of words began to emerge faintly.

Appearing and disappearing, even those with great eyesight couldn't clearly see what was written.

The "evil book's" intention was to let him know it recognized who this guy was, but it was just not going to tell him.

It was leveraging him.

Li Zhiyuan lifted the brush, writing beside it:

"Tell me the answer, and once it's done, I promise you a request that does not violate the standards of the Righteous Path."

The words Li Zhiyuan wrote disappeared, replaced by a short line of words:

[You're trying to deceive the book]

Evidently, after several rounds of interaction, both the book and the person understood each other well.

The "evil book" knew Li Zhiyuan wouldn't make any deals with it.

Li Zhiyuan showed no embarrassment at being exposed, instead, he dipped his brush in ink again and wrote several lines on this page, each time getting an immediate response from the "evil book":

"Yin Yang Separation Fire Evil Extermination Formation"

[Could you spare me some ink or book pages as charity?]

"Evil-breaking Dragon-slaying Formation"

[Please, have some pity, toss me a trinket or two]

"Eight Desolate Thunder Pool Demon Suppressing Formation"

[You really have a heart of stone, have you no compassion?]

"Azure Dragon Red Blood Heavenly Punishment Array"

[My life is so bitter, truly bitter]

Li Zhiyuan dabbed the brush in red paint and pressed it onto the page.

A red spot immediately appeared on the page.

The young man's eyes were cold, and once the brush tip left the page, if he succeeded, he would proceed to destroy this book.

He believed the "evil book" could sense his truest emotions through the brush tip.

The best threat was the most genuine statement.

He didn't wait long on purpose; Li Zhiyuan lifted the brush.

The red dot began to spin, forming letters at the fastest speed:

[It's a Dream Ghost!]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.