Chapter 654: The Cat Spirit of Green Mountain

Ultimately, the so-called Investiture of Immortals Assembly was just a contest of magical prowess.

And whenever magic was involved, every manner of demon and monster came crawling out of the woodwork.

Swindlers were everywhere, masquerading as Priests and cultivators.

But they had to be screened.

Otherwise, they would only make fools of themselves in front of the commoners and officials.

"A fraud! Drag him away and give him fifteen strikes of the board!"

"No, my lord, my lord! I won't do it again! I'd never dare!"

Fifteen strikes of the board were no joke. The attending runners had no intention of holding back; just a few strikes were enough to split skin and tear flesh. It was a punishment that could easily take a life.

"Ah!"

Soon after, agonizing screams rang out nearby.

The cries were exceptionally piercing, sending shivers down the spines of the people waiting in line.

Beaten within an inch of his life and bleeding from the corner of his mouth, the man was dragged back out and tossed casually to the side like a dead dog.

Only then did the people at the back of the line realize this was no joke.

This display of authority alone caused the crowd to thin considerably. Still, a few bold ones stayed behind, hoping to bluff their way through. After all, merely making the initial cut for the Investiture of Immortals Assembly would earn them half a silver tael.

"Next!"

The inspecting official swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes exceptionally cold.

Then, a woman stepped forward.

The official froze. The woman before him was remarkably enchanting, her waist as slender as a willow branch. He could not help but swallow hard.

Long Rong smiled warmly. "Has my lord seen enough?"

The official snapped back to his senses. He coughed lightly and asked, "What abilities do you possess? And what is your title?"

The woman opened her mouth, but the onlookers heard absolutely nothing.

"Listen closely, my lord..."

Long Rong spoke only those four words.

The official's eyes immediately glazed over. As if possessed, he picked up his brush, wrote 'Dragon Immortal Long Rong' in the registry, and circled the name.

Then, he presented a Waist Token to her with both hands.

Long Rong gave a charming smile and reached out to take it. "Thank you, my lord."

She then turned and departed.

When the official regained his senses, his eyes were blank, completely oblivious to what had just happened.

He looked down and saw a new name on the paper.

The memory suddenly hit him. He shuddered, a wave of delayed fear washing over him.

'Dragon Immortal, Dragon Immortal...'

Suddenly, the official regretted taking on this assignment.

If he misspoke and offended some mighty Immortal, wouldn't his head roll?

Looking back at the remaining crowd, all his previous arrogance vanished, replaced by a touch of reverence.

"Where did you study, Immortal Master? Where do you cultivate?"

His beaming, polite demeanor made people wonder if this was really the same man who had just ordered someone beaten half to death.

Time slowly trickled by.

Throughout the entire morning, not many Waist Tokens were handed out.

Only ten, in fact.

Six of those were given out because people had slipped him silver taels.

What official wasn't corrupt? It was all about seeking wealth amidst danger, and he had long mastered the art of knowing exactly how far he could push it.

As for the other four tokens...

Aside from the Dragon Immortal earlier, one went to a Priest from Qingshan City. He came with an official certificate that could not be forged, so the official handed over a token without even testing him.

The remaining two were given to a pair of women who arrived together. They were sisters, and with a simple raise of their hands, they summoned a flurry of snowflakes in the dead of winter. The older sister was named Xue Ling, and the younger was Xue Dong. Both possessed genuine skills.

The line behind them grew much shorter.

Mostly because too many people had been tossed out.

For the inspecting official, he still had to put on a show of strictness. Otherwise, if he let in every stray dog and piece of riffraff, he would be the one getting beaten with the board.

"And that's only a handful..."

The official muttered this aloud, but his heart was already churning like a stormy sea.

His worldview, built over many years, had been completely overturned this day.

Immortals and Spirits truly existed...

But how could that be possible?

The official could not wrap his head around it. He would rather believe these people were all jianghu charlatans.

"My lord."

At the soft call, the official raised his head. He looked over to see a woman standing before him, cradling a Tabby Cat in her arms.

Gathering his wits, the official asked, "Where does the Immortal Master cultivate, and do you have a title?"

Ruyi shook her head and said, "I am not an Immortal Master. It is my Mao'er who wishes to enter."

"Hm?"

Ruyi said, "My Mao'er is named Lihua. It is the Cat Spirit of Green Mountain."

At first, the official found this absurd, but on second thought, he could not help but take it seriously.

"What abilities does the Cat Spirit possess?"

Lihua glanced at the official and said, "Catching mice."

The official froze. The colleagues beside him also froze.

"It... it spoke!"

"A demon!"

Shocked by the panic, the official hurriedly slammed a hand on his desk. "Silence! Quiet down!"

In an instant, the surrounding clamor ceased.

Still reeling from fear, the official looked at the Mao'er with extreme caution.

Whether it was a demon or not, his legs were already trembling beneath the desk. He was terrified the Tabby Cat might kill him if it got upset.

The nearby runners stumbled backward, not daring to get any closer.

"You..."

The official was about to speak, but fear got the better of him, and he instead mumbled, "Never mind."

He quickly wrote down 'Cat Spirit of Green Mountain' and handed over the Waist Token.

Ruyi took it and asked, "Where do we collect the silver taels?"

"It's, it's..."

"Is it inside?"

"No, no need. I'll get it for you. I have some right here."

Snapping to attention, the official hurriedly fished half a silver tael from his robes and respectfully handed it over.

"Thank you."

Ruyi gave her thanks, then left with Lihua in her arms.

Only after the girl and the cat had gone did the people present finally breathe a sigh of relief.

A talking cat was far more terrifying than the two sisters who could summon snow.

The official let out a long breath and muttered, "What in the world..."

He definitely was not coming back to do this job tomorrow. No matter how much illicit wealth he could skim, he refused to return.

Ruyi carried Lihua back toward the Jingzhaoyin Office.

Lihua asked, "Ruyi, Ruyi, Lihua doesn't want to go."

Ruyi chuckled. "I'm not really making you go. The way I see it, there's no way that emperor has the qualifications to confer an Investiture Scroll upon Lihua."

"Oh..."

Lihua understood. "So Ruyi just wanted the silver taels."

"Exactly."

Ruyi smiled. "Why turn down free money? I can buy you a couple more fish with it."

"What about Ruyi? What will you buy?"

Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided how to spend it yet."

Ever since arriving in Shangjing, she hadn't actually lacked money, as Ping'an had given her plenty of spending cash. But she had lived a hard life for so long along her journey; every penny counted, and she never wanted to let an opportunity slip by.

Lihua blinked at her, falling into deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Ruyi asked.

Lihua snapped out of its daze and replied, "I'm thinking about what Ruyi wants to eat."

"Huh?"

"Because Ruyi was thinking about what Lihua wanted to eat."

"I don't quite understand."

Lihua pondered for a moment, opened its mouth, but then said, "Lihua doesn't know how to explain it either."

Ruyi chuckled when she heard this. She patted the cat's head and said, "Then don't think too much about it."

"Mhm."