Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 421 - 412: Arrival, Disgusting Heart Demon
"County town?"
Qin An furrowed his brow slightly.
In front, there was a dense forest and a seemingly endless mountain range.
"You say there’s a county town in there, how is that possible?"
He knew about the heart demon’s forces, but only from the miscellaneous books in the Confidential Library, and he was not as informed as Liu Yi about the specifics.
The two of them had hurried here through wind and rain, without much communication, planning to discuss in detail once they reached the heart demon’s realm.
Now it might be time to get straight to the point.
Seeing that Qin An did not respond, Liu Yi also knew that Qin An was waiting for her next explanation.
After a brief pause, Liu Yi slowly spoke.
"This county town is called Quanxin County, an ordinary city that’s easily forgotten. But ever since the heart demon’s forces arrived, all the inhabitants of the county town moved overnight, relocating into the lush forest."
"As for why they moved in, it was because of the heart demon’s influence."
Saying this, Liu Yi paced back and forth for a moment before continuing.
"The heart demon I mentioned earlier is born from the obsession deep within human hearts, and this obsession can be good or bad."
"It can be broad or narrow."
"It could even be something as trivial as satisfying one’s hunger, or as grand as becoming invincible in the world."
"But as long as there is obsession, there exists the heart demon."
"The inhabitants of that county town were all affected by the heart demon and moved into this forest."
Qin An showed a look of realization: "I see."
"If that’s the case, we definitely have to go to Quanxin County."
"Perhaps in the process of eradicating the heart demon, our primary obstacle might actually be those inhabitants."
Upon this, Liu Yi nodded with certainty.
"You’re right, those inhabitants will certainly hinder the Evil Extermination Bureau in every possible way."
Qin An raised an eyebrow, saying, "I’ve encountered this situation before."
He had previously dealt with inhabitants obsessed with Pseudo-Gods, which wasn’t difficult for him.
Intoxicated by the Pseudo-God, they could all just be subdued.
Who knew that just after saying this, Liu Yi shook her head slightly.
"If it were that simple, the Evil Extermination Bureau would have solved Quanxin County already."
Qin An, hearing this, said with interest, "Is there a deeper story then?"
Liu Yi nodded: "The heart demon is born from obsession, and all the inhabitants of the county town are trapped in a frenzy of obsession. If they were to die, their obsession would deepen, and the heart demon would grow stronger."
"Even if they’re not killed but are confined, their obsession deepens due to resentment, possibly elevating the heart demon to a terrifying level."
Qin An raised an eyebrow, "If that’s the case, why doesn’t the heart demon just kill the inhabitants outright or confine them somehow?"
He detected something unusual in what Liu Yi had said earlier.
Logically, if it were really that simple to increase the heart demon’s power, the heart demon could easily kill those inhabitants to deepen their obsession.
Or else, by confining these inhabitants, the obsession would intensify.
Currently, the heart demon’s power in Xunyang Prefecture is merely an upstream force.
Liu Yi shook her head slightly, "There are limitations. If it personally kills the inhabitants or confines them, it has no effect. If it plots to have others kill or confine the inhabitants, it still yields no effect. This is a very strange restriction, and we don’t quite understand why."
"But as I said, no one who is in their right mind would go out of their way just to have these inhabitants confined or killed, since neither humans nor demonic creatures or Pseudo-Gods wish for the heart demon to become stronger and even break out of Xunyang Prefecture’s control."
Qin An pondered, "In that case... it’s quite difficult."
Liu Yi raised her right hand, and the previously seen talisman paper appeared at her fingertips: "Precisely because it’s difficult, this talisman paper becomes our trump card. As long as we find a way to isolate the inhabitants from the heart demon, then the inhabitants would pose no threat to us."
"Even if these inhabitants have obsessions in their hearts, the obsession still couldn’t pass through the barrier to strengthen the heart demon. By that time, the heart demon would just be a resource-less Pseudo-God."
Qin An nodded, "In that case, let’s shield everything now."
Liu Yi’s expression stiffened slightly, her hand holding the talisman paper trembled slightly, and a trace of unspeakable difficulty appeared on her face.
Qin An rubbed his chin, "Seems like even with sufficient preparation, using this talisman paper requires certain conditions."
"And judging by your situation, those conditions don’t appear simple."
Any observant person could see it.
Liu Yi’s plan with this piece of paper is not as simple as imagined.
Liu Yi sighed, "To use this talisman paper to isolate everything around, we must infiltrate the county town and find the deepest spot of obsession to ignite it. The problem now is, it’s tough for us to enter; we must disguise our appearances and even change our clothes."
At this, Liu Yi took out two sets of commoners’ clothes from the pack on her back, handing one to Qin An while putting on the other herself.
She did not take off the Evil Extermination Bureau’s dark clothing, but the clothes were wide enough to cover the dark attire completely.
Then, Liu Yi took out the essential Human Skin Mask of the Evil Extermination Bureau and placed it on her face.
In a flash, Liu Yi’s appearance became utterly ordinary, and her quirky aura transformed into that of an average person.
Qin An took the clothes and put them on as well.
He also took out a Human Skin Mask, with a hint of nostalgia.
"Haven’t used this in a while."
With a swipe of the mask on his face, Qin An transformed into an average young man.
"What’s the next step?" Qin An asked, observing the dense forest ahead.
"Pretend to be followers of the Pseudo-God, telling these inhabitants that you want to awaken obsession in the county town, seizing the opportunity to burn the talisman paper," Liu Yi said.
Qin An stroked his chin and asked, "Aren’t you afraid of being discovered by the heart demon? If discovered, it doesn’t feel like it would be easy to deal with."
"The heart demon cannot be detected," Liu Yi shook her head. "This blueprint can even block the heart demon’s senses. We just need to be careful and not let slip any clues. As long as we’re not discovered by those citizens, we’ll be fine."
Qin An nodded, "Since that’s the case, let’s set off. By the way, what about this knife I’m carrying?"
Liu Yi explained, "In the county, aside from the common folk who are stirred by their obsessions and worship the heart demon, there are also Jianghu people like us. Carrying a knife is perfectly normal. Let’s get inside first."
The destination was right in front of them, and Liu Yi was eager to be promoted to the Mountain Patrol Golden General, so she didn’t want to continue talking.
Qin An said no more, and then he and Liu Yi stepped into the dense forest ahead.
They bypassed the dense forest and entered the deep mountains.
However, the deeper they went, the more they could feel an unusual aura.
It was a heavy feeling borne from the heart, as if a mountain was pressing down on them.
The barren land ahead suddenly extended into a man-made path.
Following the path, the outline of a county town gradually appeared before them.
Both Qin An and Liu Yi thought nothing of it and moved closer to the town.
As they got closer, they heard the sound of wind in their ears.
Soon after, a few ordinary-looking citizens appeared ahead.
The citizens were holding weapons and stood on both sides of the road.
Each citizen had a scarcely noticeable trace of madness on their faces.
This place had already become a stronghold of the heart demon, and both the Evil Extermination Bureau and the county office had already withdrawn early on.
After all, if they stayed, they might end up being assimilated by the heart demon.
After they left, all matters here were self-organized by the locals.
A citizen with a crazed look approached Qin An and Liu Yi, standing barely five paces in front of them, and pointed a long knife at Qin An.
"Who are you, and what business do you have here? If you don’t explain quickly, the great heart demon will severely punish you!"
Even though the citizen was just an ordinary person, and Qin An and Liu Yi were dressed like Jianghu people, the citizen showed not a hint of fear toward them.
He seemed rather excited.
Qin An pondered for a moment, "We have come out of admiration for the heart demon and wish to learn here how to harness our deepest obsessions."
Liu Yi chimed in, "That’s right, the outside world is too harsh, and our obsessions run too deep. We need a place to release them; otherwise, we’ll end up like camels crushed by the final straw."
With their performance, the citizen with the long knife initially showed vigilance, which was quickly concealed.
After conversing with the other citizens for a while, he returned to Qin An.
"Since you admire the heart demon, follow us into the county town. Remember, once inside, harbor no ulterior motives, or the heart demon will severely punish you."
Qin An nodded, "Of course not."
The citizens wasted no time and led Qin An and Liu Yi toward the county town.
The closer they got to the town, the more Qin An felt a sense of oppression.
When Qin An saw the situation at the city gate, his pupils contracted slightly.
On the city walls, various small characters were written in black ink.
Each set of characters represented an obsession.
Some were obsessions with money, others with matters of the heart, some with life, and others with all kinds of sordid affairs.
But these obsessions were blatantly written on the city walls, with twisted characters giving Qin An an extremely bizarre illusion, as if the walls were about to come alive and extend nauseating claws toward him.
Fortunately, Qin An’s willpower was strong, and he quickly regained his composure.
He turned to look at Liu Yi, who discreetly signaled him to stay put for now.
At the city gate, two rows of citizens stood guard, their weapons equally varied.
There were knives, guns, swords, and even a few bows.
Qin An and Liu Yi reached the gate, underwent inspection, and then entered the town.
Inside the county town, it was filthy. At first, only the walls were covered in writing, but once they were inside, Qin An noticed that the ground was also covered in ink marks.
Those foul obsessions were written carelessly, and just a glance made people frown instinctively.
At that moment, the guiding citizen glanced back at Qin An and pointed to a few rows of empty rooms not far away.
"Anyone who comes to our town for the master’s baptism stays there. There’re plenty of empty rooms for you to choose from."
"Remember, don’t cause trouble, and someone will personally instruct you tomorrow."
Qin An asked, "What do you mean by ’instruct’?"
The citizen waved, annoyed, "It means explaining the various greatness and wonders of the heart demon. If you want to release your obsession, you must first worship the heart demon. It’s an essential step."
Qin An said nothing, indicating he understood.
The citizen wasted no more words, turned, and led the other citizens crazily toward the end of the street.
Qin An and Liu Yi exchanged a look, found a vacant room, and shut the door behind them.
Liu Yi lit an oil lamp and put away the fire starter.
In the lamp’s dim glow, Qin An saw that the walls were also covered with those disgusting little words.
Qin An looked for a moment, then averted his gaze and asked, "So, what do you plan to do next? Should we investigate openly or secretly?"
Since they had entered this county town, Qin An naturally wanted to be clear on the plan. Otherwise, it would be challenging to coordinate with nothing in sight.
Liu Yi was about to speak.
But at that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Qin An instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his knife, his eyes suddenly sharp.
