Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 183 Yao Huang and Wei Zi

Returning to the Taoist priest who inexplicably appeared at the Chang family's door, this man claimed to be surnamed Yao. Upon meeting them, he immediately pointed out that the two largest peonies in the Chang family's courtyard were the children of a flower demon. This unexpected incident made the two brothers forget their argument, and they were now more interested in knowing who this Taoist priest was.

Although the two brothers had disagreements about the past, they both kept their mouths shut and did not reveal any information to outsiders. Because of this, the Chang family employed very few servants, for fear of being discovered.

Under such tight security, the people in Luoyang only knew that the Chang family had suddenly struck it rich, unaware that the source of this fortune was a flower demon. The last person to reveal the inside story of the Chang family was Asura King, who came to cause trouble with the White Lotus Sect.

The young Taoist priest who came to their door today was someone Chang Dayong and Chang Daqi didn't recognize. His sudden appearance and mention of a flower demon in the courtyard made it hard not to suspect his purpose.

"You two need not be nervous. I am here to help solve the problem."

Taoist Yao glanced at the two wary men in front of him and simply chuckled.

"If I'm not mistaken, the peonies you sell all come from the little flower fairies in the courtyard. The branches cultivated from this flower are easier to survive, but recently, the flowers have started to wither."

"……Correct."

"The root of the problem lies with the little flower fairy in your courtyard. To resolve this, you must..."

Halfway through his speech, Yao the Taoist suddenly stopped, looked towards the horizon, and his expression became serious.

"It seems today is not a good time to visit. A friend of mine has run into trouble. I will come another day."

Before they could finish speaking, the two of them saw a blur before their eyes, and the Taoist priest Yao vanished as if he had never been there at all.

"This Taoist priest..."

The other party's rambling left the Chang brothers completely baffled. This Taoist priest had suddenly appeared and then suddenly disappeared, only saying half of what he wanted. They had no idea what he was there for.

"The reason lies with the flower demon..."

Although he didn't finish his sentence, someone still heard the first part. Chang Dayong couldn't help but look towards the backyard. A buyer had come to him earlier saying that the flowers had suddenly withered. His first thought was that the White Lotus Sect had done something, because this happened right after the White Lotus Sect threatened the Chang family.

Judging from what the Taoist priest just said, the root cause is not the White Lotus Sect, but the flower itself?

"The peony flower fairy is really different from the ones in our area."

Upon seeing the flower demon reveal her true form, Xing Tianshi uttered this remark: apart from her purple dress that corresponded to the purple petals she used, there were no other traces that could indicate a demon. With her black hair and dignified and outstanding appearance, she would only be mistaken for a noble lady from a wealthy family if she walked down the street.

As for the monsters in the Bitter Realm... it's hard to say what their style is, since everyone has their own unique and varied appearances. In any case, regardless of whether they are beautiful or ugly, the monsters in the Bitter Realm all look quite monstrous, unlike the fairies here, who try their best to resemble "humans" in every way.

"What is your purpose in impersonating someone else and associating with a cult?"

Yan Chixia pointed his sword at the woman who was still standing on the ground. Although she was beautiful, he knew very well that she was a monster and he could not be careless.

From the brief exchange just now, it's clear that this flower fairy is skilled in using illusions and almost escaped once; she should not be underestimated.

"Purpose? Ha."

The woman sneered, pointed at the two swords, and instead of standing up, she sat down on the ground, scanning the group of experts who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm standing up for my nephew, does the Taoist priest even have to interfere in this matter?"

As she spoke, she faced Xing Tianshi, the one who had used the yellow talisman to prevent her from escaping using an illusion. This man looked righteous and had a resemblance to the celestial master Zhong Kui in appearance and temperament, so he must be the leader of this group.

However, the composition of the group was somewhat different from what I had initially heard. There were clearly two swordsmen, and they were not ordinary martial arts heroes, but sword cultivators with considerable cultivation who could slay demons and monsters.

"Your nephew?"

Yan Chixia frowned; this answer was truly unexpected.

"Yes, Chang Dayong's wife's surname is Wei, and so am I. What do you think our relationship is, young master?"

Because Yan Chixia was still dressed as a scholar, the woman also addressed him as a scholar. She had seen many people who hid themselves by posing as scholars, all for the sake of making it easier to move around in daily life.

Yan Chixia wasn't sure what the Chang family's daughter-in-law's surname was, but before he came here, Xing Tianshi had already told him about the Chang brothers marrying flower fairies. The two most flourishing varieties of peonies in the Chang family, Gejin Purple and Jade White, might be their original forms.

Now, the original form of this flower fairy on the ground is most likely a purple peony, which suggests that they are indeed blood relatives.

"Is it really a family matter?"

Yan Chixia didn't know about the surname, but Xing Tianshi and the others did. Ge Jin's surname was indeed Wei, and the purple and white flower fairies were cousins. It would make sense to have another sister who was also purple.

If it's truly a family matter, then this will be difficult to handle.

Because of the flower fairy's startling words, everyone present was thinking about her relationship with the Chang family and relaxed for a moment. Just then, a strong wind blew up and a yellow whirlwind swept towards them, accompanied by a strong "whoosh" sound.

The whirlwind arrived at an extremely fast speed, almost instantly reaching everyone. At first, they thought it was some kind of demonic wind used for attack and assumed a defensive posture. However, when it got closer, they discovered that the yellow in the whirlwind was actually a large number of countless yellow petals.

Again, it was flower petals, enveloping people and completely obscuring their vision. This time, they were combined with a strong wind, causing the petals to split extremely quickly. Xing Tianshi immediately cast a spell, and Yan Chixia simply threw out his sword. A golden light struck down, and the whirlwind formed by the flower petals instantly disintegrated.

In terms of pure martial prowess, Yan Chixia might not be able to defeat Xing Tianshi and Tian Ji, but when it comes to dealing with the illusions of local monsters, he is definitely the only one with experience present.

"...They ran away."

The petal whirlwind disappeared, and the purple-clad woman who had been sitting on the ground vanished as well. The grand illusion they had just created was to cover for her; she had accomplices in the city, and they were also flower fairies.

"This city is really lively. Ugh, no, it's too smoky."

Xing Tianshi fanned himself with the red scarf around his neck. Although the fragrance of the peony was strong, it was not pungent. However, these two flower demons seemed to have specially activated their olfactory attack power. When they cast their spells, not only were the petals covering the sky, but the fragrance was so strong that it was almost choking. Even Dad couldn't stand it and started sneezing.

With petals obscuring vision, fragrance interfering with the sense of smell, and its own transformation abilities, this flower demon used nothing but underhanded tricks and dirty tricks; none of them could be fought head-on.

"Is this a yellow peony?"

At this moment, petals were still falling from the sky. Yan Chixia raised his hand and caught some. Most of these petals were golden yellow, and a small part was pale yellow. They were very beautiful.

Because of his previous fight with the woman, there were still many purple petals left on the ground. Looking at these petals, Yan Chixia suddenly remembered a word.

"Yao Huang Wei Zi..."

While Yan Chixia wasn't as knowledgeable about the refined art of flowers as scholars, he still knew some of the more famous varieties, such as the Yao Huang and Wei Zi.

If I remember correctly, both of these flowers are famous local varieties in Luoyang. The colors of these petals also match those of the two peonies. In fact, the woman just now said that her surname was Wei. Isn't that perfect?

"Is she Wei Zi who has become a spirit? Lady Cao is a Gejinzi peony, and the Chang family has two peonies, Gejinzi and Yubanbai, respectively. How did she become her nephew?"

Suspicion arose again. And if they really were sisters' children, why didn't she go to their home and explain directly, instead of using such a troublesome method to put pressure on the Chang family?

Nowadays, the only purpose of the title "Asura King" is to instill fear in ordinary people and lure them into joining the White Lotus Sect. Using this title to demand one's "nephew" is essentially pointless and may even bring trouble upon oneself.

The White Lotus Sect has many enemies, and many people are curious about the Asura King. What exactly is she planning to do?

"How is this going?"

In just a few breaths, the yellow whirlwind of petals swept into a dense forest. When the petals dispersed, a man and a woman were revealed. The woman, dressed in elegant purple, was the flower spirit who had just claimed to be the Ge Jin sisters. The other man wore light yellow clothes and had handsome features. If the Chang brothers were to see him, they would recognize him as the Taoist priest surnamed Yao who had suddenly disappeared.

He left the Chang family in a hurry to rescue the woman in purple. The two flower fairies might not be strong enough, but they were quite skilled in illusion and could escape quickly.

"I don't know, they came out of nowhere."

The woman remained seated on the ground. The talisman from the Executioner had injured her, and escaping also depleted her physical and magical strength. She was exhausted.

"How is the Chang family's situation?"

She looked at the Taoist priest Yao beside her and asked in return.

"I was just about to persuade them to transplant the flowers elsewhere when something unexpected happened here, so I had to come back first. Who were those people? People with such high cultivation levels are rare; what are they doing here?"

"...They seem to know something about the Asura King."

Recalling the previous exchanges, the first swordsman dressed in black immediately pointed out that she was a fake Asura King, and the one who came after her also asked about her impersonation right away, which made it seem like he knew the guy from the rumors.

"I told you long ago, there's no benefit in impersonating that damned Asura King!"

Taoist Yao sighed, clearly disapproving of the woman's previous actions.

"As soon as they hear the name Asura King, the White Lotus Sect members turn into mad dogs. Luckily, there aren't many demons in the city, otherwise, if you did this, other demons would definitely attack."

Their entire plan was actually this: the woman would impersonate the legendary Asura King to control the remnants of the White Lotus Sect near Luoyang, and have them pressure and extort the Chang family. After the Chang family was in distress, the man would disguise himself as a wandering Taoist priest and come to their door, pretending to be a wise man who would guide them and persuade them to transplant the peonies in their courtyard.

Then they could tamper with the transplanting process and take the two peonies away. The Chang family's business now depends entirely on these two peonies and the surrounding flowerbeds; they are the lifeblood of the Chang family's wealth, and taking them away is not an easy task.

However, in the "pressure" aspect, Asura King and the White Lotus Sect are not necessary conditions. She can completely transform into someone else to exert pressure, or take advantage of the fact that the Chang family's peonies are always suddenly withering.

Everything was going smoothly until today when Taoist Yao came to "give guidance." Just when the plan was about to be completed, three unexpected obstacles appeared. Those remnants of the White Lotus Cult had no real skills and were probably already handed over to the authorities.

Today's commotion has rendered Asura King's identity invalid. Although she didn't intend to use this identity for anything else, having her plans suddenly disrupted is upsetting for everyone.

“Those people are not simple, and the one that the Taoist priest brought with him is not a monkey at all.”

What a monkey performing acrobatics? That's clearly a very rare and divine beast. The informants she hired are all mortals who can't see through its tricks.

“They will definitely go to the Chang family. We need to find another way. We must bring the two children out.”

"But sister, your injury..."

"Don't worry about it. The most important thing is the Chang family. If you try to save them, you might expose yourself. Be careful in the city."

The two opponents are not ordinary people. Their spells utilize petals of the same species as their true forms, making it easy for observant people to see through their true identities.

Yan Chixia was right; they were both peony flower fairies, a pair of Yao Huang and Wei Zi. As for the sisterly relationship mentioned earlier, it was actually a lie. Ge Jin and Yu Ban came from Caozhou, and they were famous local products in Luoyang. They were not actually related by blood, and the two from the Chang family were not her nephews either.

Unable to establish a connection, she naturally couldn't go openly and honestly. Moreover, because of the Chang family's actions, she had a very bad impression of the two brothers and was unwilling to communicate with them politely.

Not using the White Lotus Sect to curse the Chang family was already the best attitude she could have shown them. The two flower fairies were quite dedicated to their cultivation and didn't want to get involved in sins.

"Why don't we ask Master?"

Taoist Yao was still worried. He was able to rescue his companion by surprise. In terms of real strength, he was no match for Xing Tianshi and his group. Spirit beasts, demon-slaying weapons, and immortal cultivators were all troublesome on their own. As a result, the other side had assembled a whole team.

"Master travels far and wide, how will you ask him?"

"I heard he recently returned to Henan. Why don't we give it a try? He's a legitimate fox spirit, the Chang family will definitely be willing to help him..."

"We can't wait any longer."

The woman interrupted Yao the Taoist priest.

"Even if the peonies sold by the Chang family wither, the spiritual energy within the flowers will flow back, and those two children will reappear before long."

She stood up from the ground, pressed down on the person's shoulder, and looked directly into their eyes.

"We need to hurry and rescue those two poor children. That beast is selling his own children for money and then trying to give them to powerful people. It's good that they can turn back into human form at the Chang family's house, but what if they're on the way or at someone else's house?"

"..."

The Taoist priest Yao did not reply. The two peonies turned into two children. Anyone who saw them would know they were monsters. Upon seeing this, they would naturally contact others to exorcise the demons. If that happened, they would truly be beyond saving.

"So we have to hurry, even faster..."

The woman murmured as if bewitched, and even after she withdrew her hand, she continued to talk, as if she had entered her own world.

"Since they're all unwanted flowers, why not give them to me? Give them to me, I'll take care of them..."