Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Undisclosed]
Chapter Title: Investigation at Qianyang Mountain
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Qianyang Mountain, Li family camp.
Li Kefa’s face was dark and brooding as he gazed at the camp. The constables from Water Buffalo County were bustling about, while the coroner examined the bones on the ground.
He was Li Xiaoding’s father, the assistant magistrate of Water Buffalo County. The Li family wielded great power, so everything in the county was under his control, top to bottom. The county magistrate was nothing more than a figurehead.
He had three daughters but only this one son—and now his son was dead!
He had received word from the Ding family and rushed here, only to find that his son had been devoured by an Evil, leaving nothing but bones behind!
Including the seven Embroidered Uniform Guards who had accompanied Li Xiaoding—they had all perished in the jaws of the Evil!
“Sir, this subordinate has questioned the people from the Ding family. They shouldn’t have any involvement.”
A man in his thirties strode up quickly. He had sharp sword-like brows and starry eyes, a tall and sturdy build with broad shoulders. He wore red official robes and a hat, with a strange weapon slung across his back. It resembled a long spear but wasn’t quite one: a spearhead at one end, and three tubes welded together at the other like a hammer.
The weapon was called a three-barreled fire lance, incredibly powerful—more devastating than ordinary spells. The black iron tubes were packed with gunpowder, saltpeter, and thunderbolt pellets. Once ignited, they unleashed thunderous force, with the pellets shooting out like arrows to strike foes from a hundred paces away!
Thunderbolt pellets were round lead balls weighing about half an ounce for ten of them. Hollow inside and filled with gunpowder, they exploded on impact with tremendous destructive power.
This man was Zhuge Jian, the bailiff of Water Buffalo County’s yamen. He was highly capable, but his family background held him back, leaving him stuck as just a bailiff.
Zhuge Jian bowed and said, “Yesterday afternoon, the Ding family’s fourth miss sent a maid named Purple Petal to foster ties between our families and build some rapport. But as evening fell, Purple Petal hadn’t returned. Worried something had happened to her, they sent more people, which was how they discovered the trouble at the camp. By then, night had fallen, so they retreated to the Ding family camp. That’s why the young master’s remains were desecrated by the Evil and wild beasts.”
Li Kefa said coldly, “Are you saying my son wasn’t killed by the Evil?”
“The young master was murdered by a person.”
Zhuge Jian replied, “This subordinate examined the scene carefully. The attacker didn’t use spells or talismans. Instead, with just a small knife and bare fists, he killed nine people in the span of a single breath. In that instant, he struck a total of thirteen times. The one who took the most damage suffered no more than two hits.”
His observations were meticulous. Though Li Xiaoding and the others were reduced to bones, Zhuge Jian had pieced together the number of attacks from the traces on the bones and the footprints on the ground.
Li Kefa’s expression remained impassive as he asked, “And?”
“In those thirteen strikes, while he killed all nine, no one on site had a chance to cast a spell. They hadn’t even prepared one before he cut them down.”
Zhuge Jian continued, “The killer isn’t tall—around five or six feet at most—but his body is extraordinarily robust and powerful. Within ten feet, his fists and feet can reach you in an instant and take your life! His punches can shatter bones outright!”
Li Kefa frowned. Few cultivators focused on body refinement.
“One could achieve such a formidable physique with a Forceful Warrior Talisman.”
Zhuge Jian said, “Activating it grants the divine strength of a Yellow Scarf Warrior instantly, allowing a thunderous assault in a single moment! But this person didn’t use one.”
He shifted tack. “I checked the ashes from the burned talismans. Everyone in the camp left behind only two sets of talisman ashes: both Protective Golden Bell Talismans. And the users were likely the young master himself. So the killer must be a short, body-refining cultivator! Or perhaps a Golden Core expert concealing their spellcasting prowess, resorting to fists and a knife on purpose.”
Li Kefa frowned. “After killing my son, this person fled immediately. With the vast sea of people, how do we track down the culprit?”
Zhuge Jian said gravely, “He left a clue: he brought a dog.”
Li Kefa froze. He hadn’t seen any dog pawprints on the ground.
None of the dozens of constables from Water Buffalo County yamen had noticed any either.
“There are bones gnawed by a dog on the ground.”
Zhuge Jian held a bone fragment in his palm and said, “These bite marks are from canine teeth. And on the table, there’s some cinnabar dust. The visitor’s identity becomes obvious: a talisman master with a black dog. The young master invited him to draw talismans! Drawing them requires black dog blood, which has the purest yang energy and makes excellent material for grinding cinnabar. So the dog must be black! A short talisman master with a black dog—finding him won’t be difficult.”
Hearing this, Li Kefa let out a breath of relief. There were far too few people who fit that description.
“There’s another avenue: summon my son’s soul and get the truth from him.”
Li Kefa said, “Prepare some soul-summoning talismans. I want to summon him. I want to see my son...” His eyes reddened as he spoke.
Zhuge Jian hesitated before saying, “Sir, this subordinate took the liberty earlier and already tried summoning once. We couldn’t call the young master’s soul...”
Li Kefa stared at him in confusion.
Zhuge Jian said cautiously, “Not only the young master’s soul—we couldn’t summon anyone else’s ghost either. Everyone killed by this talisman master has had their souls vanish.”
Li Kefa stood there stunned, his demeanor filled with sorrow. “My son’s soul is gone? Did this person devour it while killing him?”
Zhuge Jian thought for a moment. “This subordinate has a theory: the killer must harbor an Evil or Spirit. Only an Evil or Spirit can consume ghosts. This talisman master might be raising one or possessed by it.”
Such incidents had happened before: Evils or Spirits possessing people, lurking in towns and villages to devour the populace, wiping out an entire town in mere days!
Li Kefa exhaled heavily. “Bailiff Zhuge, capturing this short talisman master with the black dog is your task. Don’t kill him. I want to interrogate him myself, rip open his chest, and tear out his heart to appease my son’s spirit in the heavens!”
Zhuge Jian bowed in acknowledgment and issued orders for the constables to search the roads, post stations, and villages for any talisman master with a black dog.
The grandfather and grandson returned to Huangpo Village. As usual, Grandpa brewed the medicine while Chen Shi took it and soaked in a medicinal bath. In the dead of night, as he slept, Chen Shi suddenly felt his heart seize up. A stabbing pain jolted him awake!
His chronic heart condition had flared up again!
Ever since cultivating the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, he hadn’t suffered an attack in these past days. He never imagined it would strike so fiercely this time!
The cyan ghost hand on his chest clamped its five fingers tightly around his heart, constricting his chest muscles until it felt like his heart would burst!
Chen Shi’s body trembled and convulsed, going rigid as veins bulged. The pain left him unable to breathe, his face quickly turning red!
The red deepened to purple.
He couldn’t open his mouth or make a sound, couldn’t call for Grandpa to save him!
After a long while, drenched in sweat that soaked the bedding through, Chen Shi finally gasped his first breath.
Clinging to that breath like a lifeline, he hurriedly circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, fighting with all his might against the cyan ghost hand gripping his heart!
By the latter half of the night, he had finally suppressed the cyan ghost hand.
Its five fingers were embedded in his chest, now slowly relaxing as the pain ebbed.
Chen Shi was still shaken. This time, the cyan ghost hand had gripped his heart harder and longer than ever before. Without that first gasp of air, he might have died in agony right there on the bed!
“Could it be that killing Li Xiaoding today overexerted me, leaving my body too weak to suppress the ghost hand mark, so the condition flared up?”
Chen Shi pondered carefully. When he killed Li Xiaoding and the others, he had indeed felt an intense hunger—likely from excessive consumption.
“Grandpa’s medicine can suppress the cyan ghost hand, but it’s losing effectiveness. Only the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art still works. I must hurry back to the Tomb of the True King and obtain the full version!”
The Three Lights Righteous Qi Art was the only technique he had found so far that could suppress the cyan ghost hand—his sole lifeline.
“But getting it will disturb the Ghost God Domain.” Chen Shi frowned.
Last time, he had gone so far thanks to the spiritual power from Second Miss Zhao’s spirit jerky. Without it now, he’d have to rely on his own strength. At his current level, he probably couldn’t reach the stele before the Ghost God Domain activated in the Tomb of the True King.
“I need to train at the ruined temple in the wild mountains first, strengthen my body further, then challenge the tomb again!” With his resolve set, he finally fell asleep.
Chen Shi’s routine returned to normal: rising early for breakfast, dueling the village dogs, stealing watermelons, paying respects to Godmother, listening to Scholar Zhu’s explanations, then heading to the ruined temple in the wild mountains to cultivate the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art, and returning home at night for medicine and baths.
That day, Chen Shi had just paid respects to Godmother outside the village and was listening to Scholar Zhu expound doctrine when the rapid thud of hoofbeats rang out. Over a dozen constables galloped past on the post road, kicking up clouds of dust like rolling mist, heading toward the yellow earth slope.
“It’s the Six Gates again!”
Chen Shi peered curiously and wondered aloud, “Weren’t the Six Gates from New Township County wiped out by Godmother in Fangdian Village? Their bodies were even taken by the ghost bride.”
It was strange—the ghost bride hadn’t been heard from since that night. No one inquired about the new ruined temple in the barren hills, and even with over thirty Six Gates men dead, no word had spread. Most peculiar.
Chen Shi had been uneasy about killing Li Xiaoding, fearing it would lead back to him. But that case seemed to have sunk without a trace, no news at all.
Scholar Zhu sneered. “What’s so strange about that? The so-called Six Gates are like toilet paper for wiping in the outhouse—mere consumables. These penniless scholars pop up by the millions every year in Xibuxinzhou. Losing a few dozen means nothing. Soon as the county lord posts a notice, any number of them will scramble to join, heads sharpened for the chance.”
Chen Shi knew he was right. After passing the scholar exam, if a cultivator failed the juren, they had to scrape by somehow. Yamen constable was at least an official Ming post, so scholars flocked to any opening.
“Whoa—”
The dozen or so constables suddenly reined in their horses. The leader dismounted and strode up the slope, smiling. “Little brother, I’m Bailiff Zhuge Jian from Water Buffalo County. What’s your name?”
“Honest.”
“Little Brother Honest, let me ask: is there a talisman master named Chen Yindu in Huangpo Village?”
Chen Shi blinked. “There is a Chen Yindu. What business do you have with him?”
Zhuge Jian smiled broadly. “How tall is this Chen Yindu?”
“About your height.”
Zhuge Jian frowned slightly. Several constables behind him chimed in. “Boss, looks like Chen Yindu isn’t our guy. What now?” “We’ve scoured the nearby villages these past days, and the county towns have people posted too. Can that killer talisman master have flown away?”
Zhuge Jian had a headache too. He’d investigated far and wide, but no suspicious figures in the county seats or towns. He’d thought the countryside might yield something, but after combing every village big and small, no short talisman master with a black dog.
“Could my lead be wrong?”
He was about to turn back when a large black dog came trotting up the slope, heading straight for the little boy under the tree, tail wagging happily.
The black dog had a kindly, benevolent face, almost like it was smiling.
The boy under the tree looked up with a grin. “Bailiff Sir, Grandpa’s calling me home for dinner.”
Zhuge Jian nodded, watching the boy and black dog depart. Suddenly, a thunderclap rang in his mind.
“What if the killer isn’t a short adult, but a child? A child talisman master with a mighty fleshly body!”