If it were just an ordinary six-year-old child encountering such a situation as the Lu family's, even if they weren't in a state of panic, they would likely feel somewhat at a loss.

But Lu Guijiu gave Zhang Jingmo another surprise.

Aside from the initial bewilderment upon entering the residence and seeing the miserable state of his family, Lu Guijiu actually calmed down very quickly. Not only did he calm down, he even started thinking about how to find the Stone Demon that was wreaking havoc in his home.

According to the records in "Strange Tales of Lingnan", the Stone Demon is a strange beast. Its appearance is like stone, it lives by stone, it can transform into hundreds of forms, and it becomes stiff upon touch.

Lu Guijiu had an excellent memory. After seeing the situation in the courtyard, the first thing that came to his mind was the strange beast he had read about in books.

Ever since learning that Lu Guijiu was reading history books, Zhang Jingmo had added travelogues from various places to Lu Guijiu's study materials. Most of these travelogues were written by predecessors and described a large number of rare and strange beasts. Reading them over the past two years had truly opened Lu Guijiu's eyes.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to so easily identify the cause of the tragic state of the Lu Manor.

At night, Zhang Jingmo was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed in meditation. Lu Guijiu, who should have been guarding by his side, was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Jingmo didn't go to manage Lu Guijiu. In any case, with the strength of that third-rate Daoist priest, he probably couldn't even break through the snake-python armor on Lu Guijiu's body, so it seemed unlikely that anything major would happen.

At the third watch of the night, Zhang Jingmo suddenly opened his eyes. He didn't light a lamp, but gently swept his hand over the bed, and then a strange expression appeared on his face.

This kid Lu Guijiu... had indeed thought of a way.

Six-year-old Lu Guijiu had only practiced the "Water Extension Scripture", a technique that could only cultivate the body but had no offensive means. It seemed to be of no help to Lu Guijiu in finding the Stone Demon.

However, this was only how it appeared.

Lu Guijiu had thought of a method - he spread his water spiritual energy throughout the entire Lu Manor and then began to circulate his energy.

Water spiritual energy is a very affinity-based spiritual energy. Not only can it help people heal wounds, but it can also help cultivators strengthen their bodies. It is a real delicacy in the cultivation world.

Every person who cultivates water spiritual energy is tightly controlled by the major sects.

Unfortunately, there is something called talent in the world. Only one in ten thousand people can learn water spiritual energy. And Lu Guijiu was one of them. His Ten Absolute Spiritual Roots were extremely picky about the techniques he practiced, but he could cultivate water spiritual energy without obstruction. At this moment, this kind of spiritual energy had become a sharp weapon in Lu Guijiu's hands.

If it encountered living things, the water spiritual energy would penetrate into them and nourish their bodies. Lu Guijiu spread the spiritual energy throughout the Lu Manor, and by circulating the "Water Extension Scripture", he could quickly find out what living things were in the Lu Manor.

Flowers, trees, rocks, natural and unnatural objects - half an hour later, Lu Guijiu, who was sitting in the courtyard, had not found any objects disguised as living things.

The flowers had died, the trees had all withered. Bricks, tiles, even the water in the jars, Lu Guijiu had checked them one by one.

And what remained, what he hadn't checked, were only the three people resting in the side rooms. One was his father, one was his brother, and one... was Uncle Chen who had taken care of him for four years.

Lu Guijiu opened his eyes, and those black pupils revealed a cold light, a gaze that was so incompatible with his immature face. He turned his head to glance at the guest room where Zhang Jingmo was meditating, then stood up from the ground and walked into the side room in front of him.

Zhang Jingmo saw Lu Guijiu. He saw Lu Guijiu look in his direction, then get up from the ground and walk into the side room where his father was resting.

Zhang Jingmo's gaze followed Lu Guijiu into the room.

After entering the room, Lu Guijiu took out a piece of wood as thick as a forearm from his bosom. One end of the wood was carved into a sharp point, looking like an awl. Lu Guijiu looked at the wood for a while with his head down, then walked towards the person lying on the bed with the wood in hand.

His father was lying on the bed, his eyes closed at this time, seeming to have already fallen asleep.

Lu Guijiu was a bit short, so he painstakingly moved a stool from the side to the bedside and stood on it.

These small noises woke up his father. Father Lu opened his eyes, still with a hint of sleepy haziness.

Lu Guijiu softly called out "Dad".

Father Lu seemed a bit puzzled as to why Lu Guijiu had come to find him so late at night, but he could neither move nor speak, and could only open his eyes and watch his son look at him expressionlessly.

As he watched, he raised the wooden stick in his hand.

...

Zhang Jingmo closed his eyes. He pursed his lips, then let out an imperceptible sigh. He found that he was actually a bit unable to see through Lu Guijiu's temperament...

The awl-like wooden stick did not pierce into the body of Father Lu on the bed, because at the very moment Lu Guijiu made his move, the person on the bed who was originally at death's door suddenly changed, turning into a black rock.

This rock only had a mouth and no limbs. Screaming shrilly, it rolled towards Lu Guijiu's body - naturally, it couldn't roll onto Lu Guijiu's body.

A slender, fair index finger firmly nailed the rock in place.

Zhang Jingmo appeared in front of Lu Guijiu. He pressed down on this Stone Demon with one finger, then called out, "Guijiu."

Lu Guijiu said, "Master."

Zhang Jingmo said, "How did you know that your father was the Stone Demon?"

Lu Guijiu was silent for a while, then looked at the wooden stick in his hand and gave an answer that Zhang Jingmo had already guessed. He said, "I didn't know."

Didn't know, didn't know - Lu Guijiu had no idea that the father lying on the bed was the Stone Demon. He was just gambling, just guessing, and then his unparalleled luck easily gave him the correct answer.

Zhang Jingmo said, "What if he was your father?"

Lu Guijiu said, "Even if he was my father, it wouldn't matter. The place I stabbed wouldn't be fatal. After finding the Stone Demon, I would ask Master for a medicinal pill to heal him." He knew that wood restrained earth, and the Stone Demon feared wood the most. An injury that wasn't fatal to humans was enough to kill this strange beast.

Zhang Jingmo thought to himself, if it were him doing this, nine times out of ten he would have stabbed two innocent people before finally finding the Stone Demon.

Lu Guijiu said again, "Master, I found the Stone Demon."

The implication was that he was asking Zhang Jingmo to save his father.

Zhang Jingmo glanced at the already motionless the Stone Demon, and with a slight exertion of force, the Stone Demon turned into a puddle of powder and quickly dissipated completely.

And with the dissipation of the Stone Demon, the bed that the Stone Demon was lying on in front of Lu Guijiu actually transformed into the shape of a person.

Lu Guijiu took a closer look, and wasn't this his father! He called out to his father and then rushed to the man who seemed to have no signs of life.

Zhang Jingmo stood beside Lu Guijiu, and seeing this, he tossed out a medicinal pill and said, "Give it to your father to eat."

Lu Guijiu took the pill and hurriedly fed it. Fortunately, Lu Guijiu's father could still swallow. After painfully swallowing the pill, he let out a long breath, and his haggard complexion began to improve.

Seeing Lu Guijiu's tearful appearance, Zhang Jingmo said indifferently, "Come with me."

Lu Guijiu looked down at his father, then at Zhang Jingmo who was turning to leave, and finally followed.

After Zhang Jingmo went out the door, he picked up Lu Guijiu and rode the wind away. Lu Guijiu originally thought that Zhang Jingmo was going to take him back to Lingxu Sect, but unexpectedly, after a few moments, Zhang Jingmo stopped beside a desolate cemetery.

He put Lu Guijiu down and said in a cold tone, "Daoist friend, come out."

There was no response. Lu Guijiu looked around and soon noticed something unusual - inside this graveyard, there was not even the sound of insects.

Zhang Jingmo looked a little impatient. He didn't speak anymore, but slightly raised his foot and then stomped down, not too heavy or too light.

The moment his foot landed, countless dead hands emerged from the graveyard. Some of these hands were already white bones, while others had just begun to rot, not only looking horrifying but also emitting a nauseating smell.

Zhang Jingmo's last bit of patience was exhausted. He had no interest in spending time watching this kind of third-rate trick. He just coldly changed his expression, took out a flying sword from his Sumeru ring, and then casually threw it.

The flying sword seemed to have grown eyes and flew towards a mound of earth. That mound of earth seemed to be frightened by the flying sword and actually began to flee in all directions. The flying sword suddenly accelerated and fiercely stabbed into the mound of earth!

After a heart-wrenching scream, a disheveled Daoist emerged from the mound of earth. That Daoist was in tattered clothes, with Zhang Jingmo's flying sword stuck in his shoulder. He knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy, "Immortal, spare my life, Immortal, spare my life. It was this lowly one who was blind and disturbed the Immortal. I beg the Immortal to spare this lowly one's life..."

Zhang Jingmo looked at Lu Guijiu standing beside him and said, "Guijiu, you say, should I spare him or not?"

Lu Guijiu stared at the Daoist for a long time, then said to the Daoist, "Raise your head."

That Daoist raised his head tremblingly, his face full of servility and pleading.

Then, Lu Guijiu shook his head.

Zhang Jingmo asked curiously, "Oh? Why not spare him?"

Lu Guijiu said, "He hates me, just as I hate him."

Zhang Jingmo reached out and patted Lu Guijiu's head, praising, "Good disciple, this is the way of heaven. If you are kindhearted, one day people will bully you."

Lu Guijiu clenched his fists and let out a low "hmm".

Zhang Jingmo's voice became even gentler. He said, "Since you've decided, then alright." As he spoke, he handed the dagger he had taken out at some point to Lu Guijiu and said, "Go, go and bring his head before your master."

Lu Guijiu's eyes suddenly widened, and his gaze at Zhang Jingmo was full of disbelief.

Zhang Jingmo said, "You see, in this world, no one can protect anyone forever. I am here today and can protect you. What if I am killed by someone tomorrow? At that time, do you want to avenge me, or just offer a handful of yellow dirt in front of my grave to express your feelings?"

Lu Guijiu's hands trembled even more violently, but under Zhang Jingmo's gentle and expectant gaze, he still reached out and grasped the sharp dagger. He said, "Master, with me here, no one can hurt you."

Zhang Jingmo's eyes narrowed slightly.