I Can Use Myriad Divine Abilities-Chapter 211: Qiu Manor

Riding his horse swiftly along the country path amidst the gentle spring breeze, Zhang Yuan advanced.

This was the Outer Ruins, with the Ruins City being three to four dozen miles away, surrounded entirely by farmland and rural estates.

It was the season of spring plowing, and farmers laboring diligently were a common sight in the fields.

It was these inconspicuous and humble individuals, through their hardworking toil, who cultivated the crops that prevented tens of thousands living in and outside Ruins City from starving.

The spring breeze caressed the fields, rice seedlings swayed, and the air carried the scent of soil and fresh grass.

The Cyan Horse under Zhang Yuan slowed its pace, careful not to trample the newly sprouting rice paddies.

Woof woof!

A White Fine Dog overtook it with barks, leading the way for Zhang Yuan ahead.

Meanwhile, the Hawk perched on Zhang Yuan’s shoulder tilted its head disdainfully, its sharp eyes fixed forward.

One man, one horse, one dog, one hawk naturally became the focus of the farmers’ attention in the fields.

When they saw the Dao Banner attached to the saddle, all of them showed expressions of awe.

Zhang Yuan wasn’t here in the Outer Ruins for a leisurely stroll today.

After the monthly Protector meeting at Spring Breeze Pavilion last night, the Outer Hall Steward Daoist Xuan Yong assigned him a task from Celestial King Hall.

A suspected supernatural disturbance was reported seventy miles southeast of Xia Ruins in Qiu Manor.

Zhang Yuan’s task was to investigate the situation and eliminate the disturbance if possible!

This was likely his novice assignment as the Outer Guardian.

Furthermore, the Celestial King Hall was quite generous, providing Zhang Yuan with a mount, a hound, and a hawk.

Of course, these—Cyan Horse, White Fine Dog, and messenger Hawk—were merely borrowed for temporary use.

The ownership remained with Celestial King Hall.

Suddenly, a wild rabbit dashed out of the roadside grass, escaping in panic.

The White Fine Dog, ahead, instantly brightened its eyes, speeding up for a fierce pursuit, and in the blink of an eye, it pinned the unlucky rabbit down.

With a bite, it broke its neck!

Holding the rabbit’s corpse, the hound returned triumphantly to Zhang Yuan, proudly showing off.

Good dog!

Zhang Yuan laughed heartily.

This highly spiritual Fine Dog resembled almost exactly the celestial dog from his memory.

Its head was sharp and slender, body streamlined, and the distinct lines of muscle under its short fur offered a pleasing sight.

Its running speed was extremely fast, plus it was both smart and spirited.

Moreover, this White Fine Dog’s greatest advantage lay in its ability to detect the presence of supernatural entities!

Unfortunately, these were meticulously trained hunting dogs from Celestial King Hall.

If Zhang Yuan wished to have one, he needed to trade for it using Daoist Merit.

He leaned over and swung the long whip in his hand, wrapping up the rabbit caught by the Fine Dog, to tuck it into the saddle bag.

To serve later as food for the Hawk and Fine Dog.

This incident, however, did not affect Zhang Yuan’s journey.

Guided by the map issued by Celestial King Hall, Zhang Yuan successfully reached Qiu Manor.

This village, situated at the boundary region of the Outer Ruins, consisted of hundreds of households, making it a relatively large fortified settlement.

Upon reaching the entrance, discovering villagers hurriedly returning to report his presence.

Witnessing this scene, Zhang Yuan chose not to charge straight in.

He patiently waited at the entrance.

In no time, escorted by two to three dozen villagers, they emerged with pomp and circumstance.

Among them was an elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane, who approached to politely salute and said, "Are you a messenger from the Divine Hall?"

Zhang Yuan dismounted and nodded in response: "Outer Hall Guardian Zhao Yun, ordered to investigate supernatural occurrences."

As he spoke, he displayed his Guardian Copper Token.

"So it’s Protector Zhao!"

The white-haired elder hurriedly said, "I am Qiu Sande, the village head of Qiu Manor, thank you for your hard work, sir Guardian!"

The other villagers followed suit in saluting: "Thank you for your hard work, sir Guardian!"

The villagers’ attitudes were reverent, showing their immense respect and admiration for Celestial King Hall.

Zhang Yuan waved his hand: "There’s no need for formalities, let’s discuss inside."

Then, surrounded by the village head and numerous villagers, he entered the central ancestral hall.

Most villagers stayed outside, leaving Zhang Yuan, Qiu Sande and two esteemed elders within the hall.

Without wasting time, Zhang Yuan inquired directly about the situation.

Qiu Sande naturally spared no details in his explanation.

Two days prior, Qiu Manor’s ancestral hall unexpectedly experienced abnormalities, candles extinguished without wind, and half of the ancestral tablets toppled.

On that night, many villagers faintly heard supernatural whispers, which frightened everyone into a sleepless night.

The next day, over a dozen dogs in the village turned up dead.

All were drained of blood!

Under such circumstances, Qiu Sande hurriedly dispatched someone to Ruins City to report to Celestial King Hall and ask for aid.

Although nothing happened last night, fear had already spread throughout the village...

Zhang Yuan listened to Qiu Sande’s recounting, pondering silently.

The Outer Ruins covered an area and population far exceeding Ruins City.

As the population grew, it expanded each year.

Although factions and family powers existed, the farther from Ruins City, the less secure it became.

Take Qiu Manor for instance, located at the outer edge of Outer Ruins.

There were no factions here; the clan managed on its own.

Though lacking one layer of exploitation.

In case of insurmountable danger, they could only request assistance from Celestial King Hall.

Celestial King Hall responded to their requests because the villagers had offered incense faithfully to the Divine Hall over the years!

However, the Outer Ruins were vast, and the villages scattered like stars, with Celestial King Hall’s personnel very limited.

Hence the existence of Outer Hall Guardians!

In short, Zhang Yuan was handling an outsourced task now.

Rewards depended on the results of the task completion.

"Village chief, something’s wrong!"

No sooner had Qiu Sande finished explaining the situation, before Zhang Yuan could speak, a villager rushed inside from outside the hall, pale-faced, shouting: "There’s trouble at Qiu the Fifth’s house!"

"What?"

Qiu Sande and the elders stood up simultaneously, each visibly altered in expression.

Zhang Yuan said solemnly: "Let’s go have a look!"

Qiu Sande and his companions instantly found their center, urgently leading Zhang Yuan to the affected villager’s home.

Zhang Yuan left the Cyan Horse and Hawk at the entrance of the ancestral hall, taking only the White Fine Dog.

The troubled Qiu the Fifth’s home was at the eastern end of the village; when Zhang Yuan and Qiu Sande arrived, they saw the door wide open and villagers nearby peeking and watching.

Curious, yet none dared to approach.

All could hear faint chewing sounds coming from within Qiu the Fifth’s house.

Crunch crunch, sending shivers down their spines!

Qiu Sande couldn’t help but swallow, and stammered, "Protector Zhao..."

"All of you disperse, don’t come in regardless of what happens."

Zhang Yuan sternly warned: "Or bear the consequences!"

He noticed the Fine Dog beside him already lowering its stance, eyes fixed on Qiu the Fifth’s house.

Its throat emitted a low growl. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

As if telling Zhang Yuan...

Something eerie lay ahead!