Chapter 160: The Beast of Falsehood

"To think it is actually a rabbit demon."

Seeing the true form revealed by the Master, Shang Lu was somewhat surprised.

A rabbit demon actually capable of cultivating a full body of sharp mouths, deceiving an entire town, distorting their worldview, and altering their perceptions—this was truly formidable.

However, Shang Lu quickly noticed that this rabbit-like Master was rather different from ordinary rabbits.

Its size was far larger than that of a common rabbit, almost approaching that of a hunting dog. Its ears were also much bigger and longer, resembling two large cattail leaves that draped over and covered its entire body.

In addition, its fur was longer and smoother than that of ordinary rabbits.

This gave it an appearance of extreme cuteness.

It was almost difficult to connect it with a malevolent spirit that deceived others, distorted people's worldviews, caused fathers and sons to kill each other, and made husbands and wives consume one another.

Furthermore, its eyes were not the ordinary red eyes of a common rabbit, but instead possessed a distant blue hue, as brilliant as sapphires. They were not only beautiful but also carried a soul-captivating charm.

Having revealed its true form, the Master's mouth was still firmly sealed by the water-pattern barrier.

It could only use those eyes to gaze pathetically at Shang Lu and Wu Official Jiang.

Those eyes were not only gorgeous but also exceptionally expressive, as if they could speak.

Looking into its eyes, a thought subconsciously arose in Shang Lu's mind: rabbits are so cute, it cannot possibly be a wicked and evil spirit, one must not harm it, it should be set free.

The moment this thought surfaced, a blaze of intense fire surged up in his mind and burned it to ashes.

Shang Lu instantly broke free from the bewitchment.

He glanced at the divine statues in the Temple of the Five Viscera, only to see that their expressions had actually changed into looks of furious glares.

It seemed even the divine statues disliked green tea?

Shang Lu snorted and planted his foot squarely on the seemingly cute yet actually sinister and treacherous rabbit.

Lowering his head, he stared directly into the rabbit demon's blue eyes and rebuked coldly, "You still haven't given up at this stage, and you still want to bewitch us?"

The rabbit demon could not speak, but the pity and allure in its eyes vanished completely at this moment, replaced by hatred.

It harbored a deep-seated hatred for Shang Lu and no longer even bothered to put on an act.

Wu Official Jiang had been forming shamanic hand seals, originally intending to use shamancraft to help Shang Lu clear his mind after he was bewitched.

He had not expected that Shang Lu would rely on his own strength to break free from the rabbit demon's bewitchment.

Wu Official Jiang glanced at Shang Lu curiously before correcting him, "That is no mere rabbit demon—it is an E-shou!"

"An E-shou?"

Shang Lu was slightly startled.

He had seen records concerning the E-shou in the books and official archives of the county government.

This was a creature resembling a rabbit in appearance, exceptionally adept at imitating human speech and extremely fond of deceit!

Many schools of the School of Names—the sophistry factions that used a single tongue to reverse black and white and disrupt the world's worldview—shared many commonalities with the E-shou in various aspects.

Cultivating this path yielded twice the results with half the effort for the E-shou, and its ability to bewitch human hearts was far greater than that of ordinary people!

Among a county lieutenant's duties, a top priority was discovering and eradicating cults.

Demonic creatures like the E-shou were also honored guests in quite a few cults.

Cults worshipped them, using their mouths to deceive believers, acquire wealth through harmful means, and even incite riots and rebellions.

Therefore, the county lieutenant's "work guide" specifically mentioned that upon discovering an E-shou, one must immediately report it to the Shaman Academy and actively cooperate with the shaman officials to execute it, under no circumstances falling for its deceit and bewitchment.

"So it's an E-shou. No wonder its deceptive rhetoric comes one after another," Shang Lu realized, and at Wu Official Jiang's signal, he withdrew the foot he had resting on the E-shou.

Wu Official Jiang changed the shamanic hand seal he was holding.

With a flick of his fingers, the torrential rain beneath his feet and the violent winds wrapping around his body immediately flew toward the E-shou.

The fierce wind transformed into a cage, revolving around the E-shou and enclosing it within.

The torrential rain condensed into numerous ice spikes that drove straight into the E-shou's limbs, locking it tightly in place and making it impossible for it to move or escape.

Having done this, Wu Official Jiang finally spoke to the E-shou: "I have questions for you. Whatever I ask, you will answer. You are not to speak of irrelevant matters, understand?"

The E-shou nodded repeatedly, the hatred in its eyes hidden away and replaced by an obedient and pitiful expression.

Unfortunately, the two people and one ghost in the main hall were all iron-hearted.

The E-shou's display of obedience and misery was entirely a waste of effort.

Wu Official Jiang even sneered before waving his hand to lift the water-pattern seal blocking the E-shou's mouth.

The unmuted E-shou, without waiting for Wu Official Jiang to ask, cried out piteously in grievance:

"My lords, I beg you to spare my life. As long as you let me live, I will do whatever you ask! I am empathetic, eloquent, and skilled in the arts of transformation. Whatever kind you like, whatever kind you want, I can transform into it—don't you really want to try?"

The E-shou's voice possessed an extreme allure, causing anyone who heard it to involuntarily wonder how wonderful it would be to keep the E-shou by their side.

To have such an empathetic, eloquent, and transformation-skilled spirit accompanying one... truly, every day would bring the experience of a different identity and the enactment of different scenarios.

Regrettably, the E-shou's tactics were completely useless against Shang Lu and Wu Official Jiang.

Shang Lu possessed the Temple of the Five Viscera and his own mind, and with Sanniang right beside him, the more flamboyant the E-shou's words, the less likely he was to agree—he even held them in utter contempt.

Wu Official Jiang was well aware of the E-shou's formidable nature, possessed sufficient cultivation, and held an unyielding willpower.

As for Sanniang, she had not listened to the E-shou's words at all; she was merely wandering around the shaman temple, looking here and there in search of something.

Shang Lu was extremely curious, but constrained by Wu Official Jiang's presence, he found it inconvenient to ask.

Wu Official Jiang cast a sidelong glance at Shang Lu and, seeing that he remained unaffected, could not help but feel secretly amazed.

He then shifted his gaze back to the E-shou and sneered, "I said earlier not to speak of irrelevant matters. Did you treat my words as wind passing the ear?"

The moment his voice fell, the E-shou let out a wail.

The cage of violent wind transformed into countless blades of wind that slashed randomly at the E-shou, instantly riddling its body with injuries and sending flesh flying.

Wu Official Jiang's mastery over the wind blades was exceptionally precise; every strike inflicted immense pain upon the E-shou while carefully avoiding any fatal vitals.

Simultaneously, the ice spikes locking the E-shou's limbs began to secrete streams of liquid that stimulated its viscera, acting as a cardiac stimulant to ensure it would not die from the pain.

These were all techniques for interrogating prisoners, part of the standard repertoire of the disciplinary division's shaman officials. Using them on an E-shou was merely trying out a small trick.

At first, the E-shou still attempted to cry out in grievance and argue for itself.

It shrieked: "Deceiving people is the nature of us E-shous; we make our living by deceiving, just as you humans eat birds and beasts. Why is it not a crime or fault for you to eat those animals, but it is a crime for me to deceive people?"

Wu Official Jiang completely ignored whatever the E-shou said and simply continued the punishment. He knew very well that once one engaged in conversation, one fell into the E-shou's trap.

This demonic creature could use all sorts of sophistry to lead people into its rhythm, making their minds follow its lead and unconsciously distorting their worldviews, altering their perspectives, and bewitching them through agitation.

Wu Official Jiang even passed on his experience to Shang Lu:

"Whether dealing with an E-shou, or people skilled in verbal arts like the School of Names and the School of Diplomacy, or those who wish to reason with you, you must never let them lead you by the nose. You must maintain control of the rhythm!

If you cannot maintain control, then stop playing with words and get straight to action!

Matters that cannot be made clear through reasoning can often be properly handled with fists!"

The E-shou finally could no longer endure it, ceased its sophistry and curses, and wailed in surrender:

"I won't dare speak of irrelevant matters anymore. Ask away, I will answer whatever you ask..."