Chapter 63: Establishment of the Express News Bureau

Huang Hotu felt as though he had drifted through a terribly long dream, living an entire lifetime within it. He had endured boundless suffering, believing he would sink forever into despair, only to suddenly awaken and return to reality.

Clutching tightly to Meimei—whom he had almost slain with his own hands—he wept uncontrollably.

Huang Meimei felt a searing pain throughout her entire body. From the moment she had boarded the plane from Taiwan to Japan with Tsai Ching-fang, she had been possessed by Hsu Ching-sheng, leaving her with no memory of what had transpired.

Li Xuan stood quietly, watching the father and daughter savoring the joy of surviving a catastrophe.

He lifted his gaze to the rustling canopy above. Scattered rays of sunlight pierced through the branches and leaves, falling upon him in mottled patches of brightness, resembling a spark of hope born amidst the dark.

When is a cultivator truly at their happiest?

Is it achieving the Dao, becoming an immortal, and attaining eternal life?

Or is it the unfettered, carefree feeling of watching the sunrise over Mount Cangwu at the Hour of Chen, and listening to the rain on the peak of Mount Ba at the Hour of You?

Yet, what comes before attaining all of this?

It is simply becoming a virtuous person of the Dao—saving lives, restoring order to chaos, and sitting back to relish the profound satisfaction brought by the genuine, intense joy of others.

Desires are nearly impossible to avoid; as long as the mind is active, desires will arise. How can one ever truly sever them?

Wealth, jewels, worldly domains, and beautiful women are mortal desires; becoming an immortal patriarch or transcending time and space remains a mortal desire. Since desires are bound to arise, why not choose those that bring happiness to oneself and joy to others?

Li Xuan felt as though he had attained a sudden realization.

***

After Huang Hotu and Huang Meimei had cried their fill, Li Xuan led them away from Mount Luofu and stopped by the police station to report the disappearance of a woman named Tsai Ching-fang.

Since waking up, Huang Meimei retained no concrete memories concerning Tsai Ching-fang, leaving them with no other way to search for her.

Fortunately, Tsai Ching-fang was a native of Taiwan. As long as she had purchased a ticket through formal channels, tracing her clues would be easy. Sure enough, less than three hours later, the local police department relayed word that a woman of the same name and age was sitting motionless in the waiting room of the Guangdong Long-Distance Bus Station, and she was indeed called Tsai Ching-fang.

The three of them hurried over, and the person there was indeed Tsai Ching-fang.

Her gaze was dull and vacant.

A pang of heartache struck Huang Hotu as he looked at her. He rushed forward, grasped her hands, and said softly, "Ching-fang, are you alright?"

***

Tsai Ching-fang slowly raised her head, cast a lifeless glance at him, and murmured, "I'm waiting for my daughter to return. Don't bother me. I'm waiting for my daughter to return, don't bother..."

She repeated these two sentences over and over to herself.

With trembling hands, Huang Hotu pulled Huang Meimei in front of her and urged, "Quick, call Mom!"

Though only six years old, Huang Meimei understood a few things. In a crisp, clear voice, she cried out, "Mom! Mom!"

Tsai Ching-fang lowered her head to look at her, her eyes hazy. She shook her head and muttered, "No, you're not my daughter. My daughter has two eyes, and inside one of those eyes, there are two more eyes..."

Terrified, Huang Meimei burst into tears and cried out in a panic, "Mom, it's me, Meimei!"

Huang Hotu joined in, calling out her name in hopes of awakening Tsai Ching-fang's memories.

To their shock, Tsai Ching-fang suddenly shoved Huang Meimei away roughly, covered her ears with both hands, and shrieked, "No, no! I don't know you people at all..."

She scrambled to her feet, desperate to flee, but was instantly overwhelmed by dizziness. With a retch, she vomited a large pool of dark, foul water.

Having heard Li Xuan describe the symptoms of the True Immortal Temple's followers, Huang Hotu felt a chill run through his entire body. In a panic, he grabbed Li Xuan by the shoulders and pleaded, "Brother Li, is my wife going to be alright? She'll be fine, won't she?"

Li Xuan replied, "As you can see, she has been infected with entomopathogenic fungi, and the infection has reached her bone marrow! Now that Hsieh Ya-li and Hsu Ching-sheng are both dead, the fungi are left without a master; they have stopped multiplying and are beginning to enter a stage of self-extinction. I can suppress these fungi for a short time and force them into dormancy, but I cannot forcibly eradicate them completely, or else she will die even faster..."

Huang Hotu dropped heavily to his knees and begged, "Brother, I beg you, save her."

Stepping aside to avoid the kowtow, Li Xuan said, "The Dao of Immortality values life, and so do cultivators. I will do my best and try to crack the True Immortal Temple's fungus-control method before it's too late."

Human lives hung in the balance.

Since Huang Hotu, Huang Meimei, and Tsai Ching-fang were not mainland residents and found it inconvenient to handle matters here, they purchased the earliest flight tickets back to Taiwan.

Li Xuan delayed his trip to Taiwan until the following day because certain unique plants on Mount Luofu were related to the cultivation of the entomopathogenic fungi, and he needed to gather a sufficient quantity for his research.

Taipei...

In an open space on the outskirts of the city, a dozen people were constructing a temple.

Li Xuan stood to the side, inspecting the progress, when a delivery truck arrived. Two workers jointly lifted down a plaque. Because it was wrapped thickly in bubble wrap, only the three characters [Department of Swift Retribution] could be vaguely seen inscribed upon it.

The driver opened the door and stepped out. It was Huang Hotu. Looking utterly haggard, he forced a smile and said, "All the paperwork is sorted out. This temple, named the Department of Swift Retribution, has been officially registered."

***

Because of Tsai Ching-fang's condition, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, his cheekbones protruded with little flesh left, and his entire frame had withered away by a circle.

True to his promise, Li Xuan had been researching and analyzing the True Immortal Temple's techniques for controlling the entomopathogenic fungi. Having achieved initial success, he had formulated a corresponding herbal remedy to slowly draw the fungi out of Tsai Ching-fang's body.

However, the tissue and blood vessels damaged by the fungi were difficult to restore overnight, so Tsai Ching-fang had to remain hospitalized, receiving IV drips to promptly replenish various nutritional fluids.

Over the next month or so.

Li Xuan poured himself into studying the fungus-control arts, swearing that the last time he had studied this diligently was back when he was graduating from high school.

As a novice-rank first-tier judge of Fengdu, he had not yet attained the qualifications of a high-rank upper-tier (third-rank sixth-class) judge to uphold the *Black Code*, but he needed to gradually adapt in advance anyway.

Thus, he cracked the arts, but chose not to practice them...

Another month passed. Li Xuan successfully broke the technique, manually rolled a pill, and had Tsai Ching-fang ingest it, finally purging all the entomopathogenic fungi from her system.

Gradually, she became able to recognize Huang Hotu and Huang Meimei once more.

Overwhelmed with emotion, the family wept in each other's arms once again...

Three days later, the construction of the [Department of Swift Retribution] was nearly complete. Drawing from the descriptions and records of the Seventy-Two Departments in the *Eastern Peak Daoist Scriptures*, Li Xuan commissioned several small divine statues for the hall, including civil and martial judges, minor attendants, and officials.

In the seat of the principal deity of the Department of Swift Retribution stood the statue of a formidable man clad in official robes, with a dark face and a crescent moon mark between his brows—Bao Zheng.

The duty of the Department of Swift Retribution was to accelerate the speed of karmic rewards and retributions for good and evil in the mortal realm, ensuring that acts of kindness or malice would swiftly receive their deserved response.

Because Bao Zheng was renowned as the impartial and incorruptible Justice Bao, he concurrently took up the position of the principal deity of the Department of Swift Retribution.

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Department of Swift Retribution was completed. As the red cloth draped over the plaque was pulled away, Huang Hotu ignited a string of firecrackers, and the loud, crackling pops echoed continuously...

The Department of Swift Retribution had finally taken root in Taiwan!

Huang Hotu resigned from his job as a police officer and became the custodian of the Department of Swift Retribution.

During the consecration ceremony, Li Xuan held the token of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, dipped a finger into clear water, and gently flicked droplets onto each of the divine statues. In a resounding voice, he proclaimed, "The mortal Department of Swift Retribution is established, presiding over the swift retribution of good and evil! Let all the deities take their rightful places!"