After the start of summer, thunderstorms became frequent. Often, mornings would be sunny and stifling, while afternoons brought dark clouds and rolling thunder. During this period of frequent thunder, spirits both inside and outside the city kept a low profile. Following her custom, Snake Lord Liu Taizhen would leave the city to stay at Dongxuan Temple for half a month every year at this time. She would pray for her deceased mother and also take the opportunity to recuperate, as her human identity was that of a frail and sickly lady.

Liu Taizhen spent more time in the spirit market than Wu Zhen and handled more affairs. While Wu Zhen often indulged her lazy nature, Liu Taizhen was comparatively more diligent. Therefore, during this half-month period when Liu Taizhen stayed at the temple to rest, the entire spirit market’s affairs in Chang’an were left to Wu Zhen to manage.

“If anything comes up, send Ling Xiao or Zhu Ying to call me. Of course, if it’s not urgent, don’t bother me. Handle it yourself,” Liu Taizhen instructed as usual the night before her departure. Wu Zhen waved her hand dismissively, “Alright, I know. Your two deputies are capable enough. Even in your absence, I guarantee Chang’an will be fine for these two weeks.”

Indeed, spirits feared thunder, and with the recent frequent thunderstorms, they mostly kept to themselves. There was hardly any spirit causing trouble, making this the most peaceful time of the year for them.

After Liu Taizhen left the city, Wu Zhen didn’t linger long in the spirit market. She had been staying at Mei Zhuyu’s residence recently, keeping him company when he wasn’t at work. Sometimes, when she found it boring outside, she would transform into a tabby cat and visit the Ministry of Justice to check on her husband, while also roaming around to see if anyone was speaking ill of him behind his back.

After a few days of peaceful life, one night, Wu Zhen suddenly woke up startled. She opened her eyes abruptly, pressing a hand to her chest, feeling somewhat suffocated. Mei Zhuyu, sleeping beside her, was awakened by her movement. He got up to light a lamp, leaned over to touch her forehead, and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Wu Zhen sat up, took a deep breath, and shook her head while holding her forehead, “It’s nothing, probably just a bad dream.”

Outside, the wind howled fiercely, and lightning struck. For an instant, it illuminated everything, even shining through the window lattice, casting the room in a stark white light. As darkness returned to the room, a thunderous boom shook the window frames. Wu Zhen turned to look outside, feeling an inexplicable heaviness in her chest and a sense of unease.

Mei Zhuyu poured her a cup of tea and placed his hand on her forehead, muttering something softly. Wu Zhen, lost in her thoughts and feeling a headache coming, suddenly felt her mind clear as Mei Zhuyu touched her forehead. She took a sip of tea and smiled, “It’s fine now, let’s go back to sleep.”

“Mm.” Mei Zhuyu didn’t blow out the lamp. He let her lie back down and wrapped his arm around her, covering her ears. “Sleep.”

Outside, the thunder was deafening, but being held by Mei Zhuyu and seeing his calm gaze, Wu Zhen instinctively felt a sense of security. She closed her eyes, calmed her mind, and gradually fell asleep in his embrace.

At that moment, on a wasteland three mountain ranges away from Chang’an, a young man with a Taoist topknot, dressed in a white Taoist robe and carrying a wooden sword on his back, was moving swiftly. His speed was inhuman, his gray cloth shoes covered in dust and mud, and the hem of his white robe splattered with dirt, giving him a rather disheveled appearance. However, the man’s expression was grave, and he kept glancing back as he rushed forward.

Behind him was a dark, gloomy night sky that seemed perfectly normal. Yet the Taoist appeared to see some imminent, massive danger, his face extremely troubled. In his hand, he held a Taoist disk with the yin-yang fish symbol, its silver needle trembling and pointing towards Chang’an.

“How could there be such a calamity!” The young, handsome Taoist gritted his teeth, increasing his speed even further.

As dawn broke, Wu Zhen woke up. Usually, she would sleep until very late, especially on days when Mei Zhuyu didn’t need to go to work. On those days, she wouldn’t get up until Mei Zhuyu came to wake her. But on this day, her sleep had been restless, and she woke up early.

“It looks like it might rain again today. The sky has been overcast all morning,” Mei Zhuyu commented. He too sensed something amiss but didn’t show it.

Wu Zhen looked at the sky outside. Even by noon, it remained gloomy, with occasional muffled thunder, but no rain. After eating lunch prepared by the elderly servant of the house, Wu Zhen told Mei Zhuyu she was going out. She acted as usual, and Mei Zhuyu didn’t notice anything unusual as he saw her off.

Wu Zhen rode her horse swiftly through the main streets. A gust of wind made her robes billow. She looked up at the roiling dark clouds on the horizon, her brows furrowed, and quickened her pace towards the East Market, entering the spirit market. The spirit market was quiet during the day, and even more so on this thundery day. Wu Zhen headed straight for Yan Tower, where she unexpectedly encountered the Fortune Teller.

Although the Fortune Teller was also one of her deputies, he rarely stayed in Yan Tower. Usually, one had to search every nook and cranny to find him. Today, he was unusually present in Yan Tower, and his expression was out of the ordinary.

Wu Zhen paused, then quickly walked over to sit down in front of the Fortune Teller. “Have you sensed something?”

The Fortune Teller hesitated, then took out his blank book, flipped through it for a while, and finally said to Wu Zhen, “It’s not good.”

Wu Zhen: “What’s not good? Just tell me straight.”

The Fortune Teller spoke directly: “I can’t see it clearly, but something bad is coming towards Chang’an.”

Wu Zhen frowned. “Something bad…”

The Fortune Teller looked at her and sighed, “It’s something you haven’t encountered before.” Although Wu Zhen was formidable, she was still very young. The Fortune Teller’s gaze now was like that of an elder looking at a younger relative about to face a dangerous adventure, full of worry.

Seeing him look at her this way, Wu Zhen calmed down. She smiled, showing a steadiness, unlike her usual carefree demeanor. “It’s alright. Go call Hu Zhu to help me set up the grand formation of Yan Tower, then find Zhu Ying and Ling Xiao. Tell them to close their shops and stay here on guard. I want to see what kind of bad thing is coming.”

Just as the curfew drum was about to sound, a white-robed Taoist entered the city gate of Chang’an, attracting curious glances from those around. There were many Taoist and Buddhist temples both inside and outside the city, and monks and Taoists were common sights, but such a young and handsome Taoist was rare.

However, the white-robed Taoist ignored all the gazes, focused solely on his journey, and hurried to the East Market, travel-worn and dusty.

The sudden intrusion of a Taoist into the spirit market caused a small commotion. Wu Zhen, sensing the aura of the newcomer, quickly appeared to quell the disturbance.

She looked at the white-robed Taoist and spoke with familiarity, “Taoist Shuangjiang, it’s been a year. Why are you rushing into our spirit market so hastily? Here to catch spirits again?”

The white-robed Taoist addressed Shuangjiang took a deep breath and said gravely, “Something has happened. I came specifically to bring you news.”

Wu Zhen’s smile faded. “What is it?”

Shuangjiang quickly said, “A ‘Plague God’ is heading towards Chang’an, and it’s not small.”

Upon hearing this, even the usually bold Wu Zhen showed a serious expression. She confirmed, “‘Plague God’? Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

Shuangjiang nodded, “No mistake. It will arrive soon. I’m just ahead of it.”

Wu Zhen wasted no more words and shouted, “Ling Xiao!”

A man with a gentle demeanor appeared at her side. Wu Zhen said, “Go outside the city to find your Snake Lord. Tell her a ‘Plague God’ is about to pass through, and she needs to return quickly.”

“Understood. Cat Lord, please hold on,” Ling Xiao said before disappearing.

Wu Zhen: “Fortune Teller, you stay at Yan Tower and watch over the grand formation. Hu Zhu, come with me to the city gate.”

Seeing her hurriedly leaving with Hu Zhu towards the city gate, Taoist Shuangjiang silently followed.

Wu Zhen’s state of high alert was due to the formidable nature of the ‘Plague God’. The so-called ‘Plague God’ was not a god, but a type of unclean entity that brought epidemics and diseases to people. It was neither a spirit nor a supernatural being, but something born from the corpses of humans and animals that had died in large numbers, absorbing various impure energies from heaven and earth to grow and take form. It appeared like clouds or mist, invisible to ordinary people.

The reason it was called a ‘Plague God’ was just a folk term, similar to how people referred to the cause of locust plagues as ‘Locust God’. Because these entities could bring terrifying consequences, people feared and revered them, honorifically calling them gods in an attempt to appease them through sacrifices. However, Wu Zhen scoffed at such practices. If sacrifices were truly effective, there wouldn’t be so many deaths each time. The only solution was to deal with them as one would deal with troublesome spirits.

As Wu Zhen rushed towards the city gate, she asked Taoist Shuangjiang who was following behind, “Chang’an is the capital of the country. How could such a filthy thing come to Chang’an?” Logically, Chang’an, being the seat of national fortune and dragon veins, should be enveloped in auspicious energy and unlikely to attract major disasters. Yet this Plague God had come nonetheless.

Taoist Shuangjiang’s face was cold as he replied, “I’m not sure, but I feel the Plague God’s arrival is suspicious.” He felt as if it had been deliberately driven here, but he didn’t voice this uncertain thought.

Wu Zhen and her two companions concealed their forms and stood atop the high city gate, gazing toward the distant horizon. Ordinary people would only see overcast skies, but Wu Zhen could see a line of blackness rapidly surging toward them on the horizon.

“It is a Plague God and not a small one at that.” If it were to reach Chang’an, with its population of a million in such a vast city, who knows how many would die? Wu Zhen’s gaze darkened, and a huge shadow rose behind her. The shadow started in the shape of a cat but gradually elongated, losing its feline form and becoming more like some enormous, ferocious monster standing at the city gate, roaring in the distance.

“Hu Zhu, get ready.”

Hu Zhu, abandoning her usual alluring demeanor, also took on a grave expression as she revealed her true form, ready for battle.

Wu Zhen glanced at Shuangjiang with his wooden sword and said, “Taoist Shuangjiang, it might be dangerous for you here. Perhaps you should go into the city first. The grand formation of Yan Tower should keep you safe there.”

Taoist Shuangjiang was a disciple of the Taoist Changxi Observatory, appearing only about 21 or 22 years old, yet already capable of dealing with spirits with centuries of cultivation. For his age, such ability was remarkable, but it was still insufficient to face a Plague God of this scale. Wu Zhen didn’t want to endanger him.

Three years ago, Shuangjiang had come to Chang’an chasing an evil spirit. In his attempt to kill that spirit, he had some conflicts with Wu Zhen, but they later became acquainted through that encounter. Among the Taoists Wu Zhen knew, he was the youngest with the highest status.

Although Taoist Shuangjiang was cold and proud by nature, he was also very kind-hearted. A year ago, he had been recalled to his sect, but on his journey, he discovered the Plague God heading towards Chang’an and rushed ahead to bring the news. Wu Zhen was grateful for his thoughtfulness and was even more unwilling to let him die here in vain.

Taoist Shuangjiang had always been a proud person who wouldn’t show fear even when facing something beyond his abilities. But today, he clearly understood the gravity of the situation and hesitated for a moment.

Seeing the Plague God drawing nearer, he seemed to make a decision and said through gritted teeth, “My junior grand-uncle from the observatory has also come to Chang’an. He’s a prodigy, a hundred times more powerful than me. If he were here, he could surely help the Cat Lord resolve this calamity. I’ll go and request his assistance!”

Wu Zhen didn’t know who this junior grand-uncle was, but for someone to be so highly praised by the proud Taoist Shuangjiang, he must be a formidable figure. She was happy to have more help, so she didn’t refuse and nodded, saying, “Thank you then. If we can get through this, I’ll have to properly thank you and your junior grand-uncle afterward.”