Chapter 1164: Heavenly Devil
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three days later, Fang Ning was preaching in an even more prosperous town.
It was then that the Heavenly Book suddenly alerted him, “Master, the Old Master w.a.n.g that you just took under your wing, he’s actually forcing women to go with him under the name of taking in orphans. What do you think we should do?”
“Very well,” Fang Ning said through gritted teeth, “I have really underestimated their stupidity and overestimated their intelligence; even when I’ve given them so many perks they still refuse to give up their previous rights to do evil. d.a.m.n them to h.e.l.l!”
“Yeah, this guy probably thinks that just because he’s doing some good on the surface, he can go about and continue to be scoundrels with men as thieves and women as prost.i.tutes.”
The Heavenly Book too, reacted angrily with indignation.
“The stupid fool. He doesn’t understand the consequences of signing the Soul Contract. Then we’ll destroy his soul and replace it with the soul of a good guy instead.” Fang Ning had said without sympathy.
“Mmhmm, I understand, Master.” Heavenly Book baby replied immediately.
Then, the System Incarnation suddenly piped up, “What if the soul of the good guy, too, became corrupted under the Old Master w.a.n.g’s living environment?”
“Then we’ll get rid of it too,” the Heavenly Book baby answered matter of factly, “How are you this dumb? My Master and I are not bound by the Rules of Chivalry. Since the name is registered on my page, that means that they have signed the relevant Soul Contract, and once violated, they will be punished accordingly.”
“No, he’s just playing dumb, Fang Ning sneered, “Baby, don’t let it fool you.”
“Oh, it really is System Daddy’s son, it’s just as cunning as he is.” Heavenly Book baby exclaimed.
“I am not. I did not; I just think that what you guys are doing seems to be a bit underhanded.” The System Incarnation replied feebly.
“What honest and dishonest, underhanded or crooked ways, the only way that’s right is the one that helps our Master save worry.” The Heavenly Book said matter of factly.
“Well said, my Baby is the most considerate.” praised Fang Ning.
“…” The System Incarnation admitted defeat.
……
Meanwhile, in w.a.n.g Village.
Old Master w.a.n.g sat high and mighty on the armchair as he looked down at the pair of women kneeling on the ground.
“I took both of you in because I pitied you, and you two don’t even seem to appreciate that. Now, even the Immortal has come and enlightened me; and I, the Old Master, will soon become immortal. To follow me is your blessing!”
The two orphan girls trembled in fear as they were too scared to lift their heads.
After finis.h.i.+ng his words, his face paled, and his body suddenly leaned backward.
“Old Master, Old Master.” Butler w.a.n.g immediately rushed forward.
After a long while, Old Master w.a.n.g opened his eyes.
“Oh, I have done wrong. I should not have disappointed the Immortal and his guidance. Quick, send these two home, and give them a hundred pounds of flour every month.” He said to Butler w.a.n.g with a face full of kindness.
Butler w.a.n.g was shocked. The Old Master’s before-and-after behavior was almost as if they were two different people. If it were not for the fact that the Immortal had come over, he would have thought that his Old Master had been possessed by a ghost.
“Yes, yes, Old Master. I will do that immediately.” Butler w.a.n.g immediately replied.
After the three people had left, Old Master w.a.n.g’s gaze slowly recovered.
He muttered to himself, “It’s amazing. Good things do happen to good people. I really have been reincarnated into a home of the wealthy. I mustn’t violate the rules of the world.”
It turned out that this soul was from a deceased person from the Alliance of Justice and Order on the former Earth, and its spirit had been gathered by the Heavenly Book.
It was essentially a transmigrator right now.
As for the changes that a transmigrator could bring into the world, no one was sure.
Although things could not be worse.
……
Fang Ning carried on just like that with the Black Dog by his side and the golden book in his arms, spreading the word throughout the entire Chaotic World.
After the first lesson, he tried his best to select powerful locals with a clean slate, no history of evil, and a sense of humanity to join the Alliance of Justice and Order platform.
After all, if they eliminated too many of the souls here, it would inevitably bring about unexpected consequences. This world was unlike the old world where magic was everywhere. A little bit of Spiritual Ascension magic meant the frequent descending of the celestial beings to Earth, similar to some versions of the world of Liaozhai 1; occasionally a fox spirit, a ghost or a monster of the like may appear, but they would never occupy the mainstay society.
In this way, he could proceed much more efficiently. Moreover, he had also invented a Book of Contracts that allowed the signatories to promote it as well as find suitable allies.
As such, the speed of its dissemination had been accelerated even further. One turned to ten, and tens into hundreds; within the span of a few months, villages and towns from thousands of miles away had come to know of the existence of the Old Master Fang who enlightened the good people, and practiced the path of love and benevolence.
This was in line with the instinctive imaginations of the poor from the lower cla.s.s, after all, who would not wish for the Old Masters who reigned above them to be more charitable.
Even the so-called new-age employees in the era of the Earth would have held the same thoughts, with many wis.h.i.+ng for nothing more than a two-days break every week, hoping that their lords would loosen their grips and to not rush them with tight deadlines.
At a time, Fang Ning’s name soared, and his reputation in the Chaotic World rose dramatically.
Every day, thousands of pages of the Book of Contracts would be sent out. Although, to Heavenly Book Baby, this was just a simple task of photocopying a few pages.
Thousands of pages meant thousands of good gentlemen from villages and towns, which signified that the Alliance of Justice and Order platform had been firmly planted into the gra.s.sroots of the Chaotic World.
Three years later.
Under the guidance of these good gentlemen, one corner of the Chaotic World soon began to move towards an amicable place of ‘kindness, love and change’.
At least, everyone had to do so on the surface; ugly things in the past were to be ceased.
The survival of the little people had also been guaranteed. At the very least, unlike before, they would not be easily oppressed and had their lands stolen away, their shops seized and their wives were taken away from them.
The gentry could also affect the local government. As such, the government was no longer able to oppress the kindhearted and good, and the entire Chaotic World flourished and prospered.
However, this day, Fang Ning still encountered some trouble.
On the streets of a town, two Taoist priests blocked Fang Ning’s path.
“Hmph, foreign Heavenly Devil, how audacious of you. You dare to sway the world, and interfere with matters of the soul. What should be your punishment?” A Taoist priest condemned in a righteous tone.
“Oh, I cast my gaze toward the moon, yet the moon s.h.i.+nes on the gutter.” Fang Ning let out a sigh and said.
At this time, the people around them could not stand to watch any longer, and one by one, they began to voice out.
“Hey, you’re all Taoist priests, but how could you guys be so different? You guys only know how to gang up with those bad guys and bully the people; This Immortal, however, worked hard for the sake of us little people and let the good lords make their presence known. This is a good thing!”
“Exactly, how dare you to accuse the Taoist priest, the things that you do every day are the devilish deeds!”
As mentioned before, this world was a low-magic world. Even a Taoist priest would not be able to summon the winds and invoke rain; the most they could do were to play little tricks and martial arts moves. One that was filled with cheats such as Fang Ning was practically nonexistent.
Therefore these commoners did not fear the Taoist priests; what they feared were the gentry lords.
“A bunch of ignorant fools, I can’t be bothered to waste words with you.” The two Taoist priests were fuming as they never realized the power of the people, much less gave a d.a.m.n about them.
They had only received a message from the unseen world that told them to stop Fang Ning’s preachings; they did not expect to cause public anger.
What Fang Ning had brought to them was order. A moderate, lenient order; at least that was the case in the eyes of these gentlemen.
“Kill those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”
“Don’t let them hurt the Immortal!”
Some of the people who were indebted to the good gentlemen began to take action. They could not afford to let these gentlemen lose the Immortal’s guidance and surrender to the bad, or worse, turn into one of them.
Blocks of bricks were thrown one after another, sending the two Taoist priests running with their tails between their legs.
“How despicable, had we still have the legendary magic and spells, how could we have possibly been chased away by those little people?” One of the Taoist priests said spitefully.
“It can’t be helped. The Heavenly Oracle has yet to appear, and yet to bestow us, cultivators of the path, with much power. We must be patient.”
“Curses, are we supposed to just that foreign Heavenly Devil wreck havoc in our world? The people’s hearts are no longer with us, and all of them just yearn for a land of kindness and benevolence, what sort of liveliness is there left?”
“Let’s go ask the Masters if it is necessary to pray to the Heavenly Axiom to exterminate this Heavenly Devil.”
“I suppose that’s the only thing we can do. We’re no match for them. Based on the situation, it doesn’t look like the officials would capture him either.”
Footnotes:
Ch 1164 Footnote 1
referring to the book, Strange Tales of Liao Zhai, which is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales written by Pu Songling in Cla.s.sical Chinese during the early Qing Dynasty.