Chapter 287
Chapter 287
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unnumbered]
Chapter Title: Aftermath at Morning Glow Palace
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Above the courtyard of Morning Glow Palace, one sheet after another of silence talismans burned completely away, finally drifting down as ashes.
The function of the silence talismans wasn't just to keep outside sounds from coming in—it also kept inside sounds from getting out. Meanwhile, inside the palace, the members of the music troupe acted as if they hadn't seen a thing below them and filed out of Morning Glow Palace one after another.
They only remembered performing the "Heroes Subduing Demons Melody" here. As for anything else, they had seen nothing.—Blackie Pot had tampered with their memories. Inside Morning Glow Palace, Jade Spirit Child stood up and looked around in a daze. The mad scene from moments ago had left him somewhat lost in thought.
His ears still rang with peals of thunder and the melody of the subduing demons tune, refusing to fade for a long time. Apart from Li Tiangan, Gu Yan'er, and Ma Xueqing, who still clung to life, everyone else had already met their end beneath Yellow Springs.
Only Chen Shi still stood amid the pool of blood, his violent vital energy surging wildly, with crackling thunder still rumbling around his body, forming a unique force field.
These thunderclaps were a phenomenon brought by the Thunderclap Jade Pivot Great Method, powered by burning his own vital blood at great cost to his fleshly body and nascent soul. It couldn't be sustained for long, or it would amount to self-harm.
Chen Shi dispersed the Thunderclap Jade Pivot Great Method, and his thirty-foot Thunder Ancestor Physique slowly returned to normal. The air was thick with the stench of scorched blood.
His aura rapidly declined, his vital energy and blood both depleted, leaving him feeble. "Jade Spirit Child, head back to Taihua Qing Palace right away."
Chen Shi's voice reached his ears, snapping him awake. "The disaster here is my doing—I wasn't calm enough. It has nothing to do with you. After you leave, I'll have Blackie Pot wipe everyone's memories here. Even if they sniff out something fishy, I'll take full responsibility alone. It'll have nothing to do with you."
Suddenly, Jade Spirit Child opened his mouth and spat out a short sword no longer than an inch. With a swipe of his hand, it transformed into a streak of sword light that stabbed lightning-fast into Li Tiangan's brow. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the short sword danced at his command, piercing through the temples of Ma Xueqing and Gu Yan'er.
Chen Shi froze, looking at him in confusion.
"Since we're in the same boat, I need a pledge of loyalty for Little Uncle Master to trust me."
Jade Spirit Child withdrew the sword. A rustling flurry of talismans flew from his sleeve, assembling into a Fengdu Soul-Stirring Formation that trapped the trio's nascent souls. He then tossed Jiang Fangshu and the others' corpses into the formation as well.
He stomped down hard, and the Fengdu Soul-Stirring Formation plunged abruptly, sinking into the underworld.
The spot where it fell was a gathering place for ghost gods, who all looked up toward the sky.
Jade Spirit Child activated the Fengdu Soul-Stirring Formation, encompassing those ghost gods as well. The array sprang to life, battering them until their skin split and flesh tore open. Jade Spirit Child hurled a few balls of thunderfire into the midst of it, which boomed and exploded.
The ghost gods were thrown into disarray and flew into a rage, shattering the Fengdu Soul-Stirring Formation. They tore the corpses inside—and the three nascent souls—to shreds. Jade Spirit Child let out a breath of relief. "Little Uncle Master can rest easy now."
He was still uneasy deep down. Chen Shi had committed these major crimes and would surely silence witnesses. But now he had committed major crimes too, tying him to Chen Shi's boat. This Little Uncle Master probably wouldn't silence him now, right?
Chen Shi hesitated. Jade Spirit Child's methods for destroying corpses and erasing traces had been so deft—clearly not his first time. This little Daoist wasn't honest at all!
Chen Shi hesitated. "What about Fan Kongliu..."
Jade Spirit Child rushed out. Chen Shi took a step, only to feel his feet heavy as lead. Looking down, he saw crisscrossing thunder marks around him, forming the script of the Thunder Ancestor—likely traces left when he dispersed the technique earlier as thunder crashed down.
"Lady Shiji was right. The Thunderclap Jade Pivot Great Method consumes too much. I shouldn't use it lightly!"
Chen Shi paused, thinking to himself, "With the civil exam so close, using this method was indeed reckless. The Heavenly Peng Subduing Demons Great Method would have sufficed to deal with them." He circulated his nascent soul to regulate his vital blood, and the heaviness eased somewhat.
Chen Shi walked out of Morning Glow Palace, with Blackie Pot following and tampering with the memories of the servants in the courtyard.
Just as he reached outside the palace, Chen Shi saw Jade Spirit Child by the well, where he had bound the monk Fan Kongliu's hands and feet. Grabbing the monk by the legs, head down and feet up, he tossed him into the Dragon-Locking Well.
Fan Kongliu had already been beaten unconscious by him. He woke just as he was dangled over the well and struggled fiercely. Jade Spirit Child let go, dropping the monk in.
After a long moment, a plop echoed from the well bottom. Jade Spirit Child rummaged through his sleeve, his face troubled. "What are you looking for?" Chen Shi asked. "Thunder talismans or the like."
Jade Spirit Child explained, "This well locks a dragon king, with iron chains linked to its five viscera. If thunder strikes those chains, the lightning will blast the dragon king's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Once the dragon king gets zapped and flies into a rage, it'll surely kill Fan Kongliu when it sees him. Unfortunately, I used up all the talismans in my sleeve destroying the corpses and traces earlier."
Chen Shi handed him several Five Thunders Talismans and Nine Yang Thunderfire Talismans, asking curiously, "Jade Spirit Child, where did you learn all this?"
"My master."
Jade Spirit Child activated the Five Thunders Talismans and Nine Yang Thunderfire Talismans, tossing them into the well. "When I was little, my master took me wandering the jianghu. Whenever we encountered injustice and he couldn't hold back his anger, he'd kill the evil officials and nobles. Afterward, he'd always regret it and use all sorts of methods to destroy the corpses and traces. I picked up some by watching him."
Electric light flashed in the well, followed by the clanking of chains shaking violently, as if some colossal thing in the well had been enraged by the thunder and was yanking hard at the chains. The ground trembled too! The two peered into the well. It was pitch black inside, nothing visible, but a fishy stench surged upward!
Chen Shi took out a fire talisman and dropped it in. The fire talisman fell along the well wall, illuminating the surroundings. But it sank deeper and deeper, reaching a hundred zhang into the well with no bottom in sight.
"How deep is this well?" The two were somewhat horrified.
When the fire talisman finally burned out, it reached the bottom—a pool of clear water, pristine and pure, with no sign of any dragon king. As the fire talisman began to extinguish, suddenly a massive, rough eyelid slid open ahead of the water, parting it to the side. As the eyelid slid away, a gigantic pupil pressed against the well bottom, staring right at the two of them.
Chen Shi and Jade Spirit Child jerked their heads back, hearts pounding wildly.
"Jade Spirit Child, this place is already a hotbed of trouble. It won't be long before someone investigates here and discovers these young masters and ladies missing." Chen Shi stood and headed outward. "Let's go quick! Blackie Pot, the cleanup is yours."
Blackie Pot trailed behind, tampering with the memories of everyone they encountered.
The two left Qixia Monastery and bolted straight for outside the city. Jade Spirit Child's heart was still uneasy, fluttering with anxiety. He felt like he hadn't made everything airtight enough.
Chen Shi took out a Heavenly Court command plaque and pressed it into his hand. "Jade Spirit Child, from now on, we're our own people. You can't stay in Xijing—go lie low in Gaoshan County. Once there, find Yu Tiancheng at the Red Mountain Hall branch. He'll explain the plaque's origins to you."
Jade Spirit Child was also worried about giving himself away if he stayed in Xijing. He bid farewell at once and headed for Gaoshan County, thinking, "Little Uncle Master really sees me as one of his own." Upon reaching Gaoshan County, he entered the Red Mountain Hall branch and met Yu Tiancheng.
Yu Tiancheng examined the plaque and laughed. "The True King told you about Heavenly Court's tenets, right? We're a tight-knit organization under the loose cultivators, and we're here to rebel. Take the plaque, and it's rebel or die."
Jade Spirit Child perked up. "I really am on board now!"
Seeing him not only unafraid but eager, Yu Tiancheng knew he was one of them. "Everyone in Heavenly Court has a code name. Mine is Jade Rabbit; Zhuge Jian's is Clerk. What'll yours be?"
Jade Spirit Child thought for a moment. "I'll use Daoist as my code name."
Meanwhile, Chen Shi arrived at the Guangji Arsenal, feeling some lingering fear. He held out until afternoon before heading back with Blackie Pot and the wooden cart.
At the Xijing city gate, he warily eyed the garrison soldiers and spotted many Divine Machine Battalion elites wielding bowl-mouthed hand cannons, scrutinizing passersby.
Chen Shi's eye twitched. As he approached the gate, the Divine Machine Battalion soldiers recognized him. "No need to check Little Chen Excellency—let him through. Little Chen Excellency doesn't look so good. Out carousing at Apricot Flower Tower last night? Excellency, I've got some Mighty Kidney-Tonifying Pills here, made by Red Mountain Hall's pharmacist. Want some?"
The Divine Machine Battalion's firearms were all under Guangji Arsenal, so they all knew better than to offend this Little Chen Excellency. "Mighty Kidney-Tonifying Pills? Huang Fengnian's work? He's quick on his feet. When did he join Red Mountain Hall?"
Chen Shi suppressed his inner doubts and asked, "What are you checking for?"
"Young Master Xiao night-raided the Divine Machine Battalion and abducted our commander. We suspect he'll enter the city, so we're searching travelers." The squad leader grumbled. "Your commander is..."
"Martial Officer Jin Hongying."
Chen Shi was surprised to hear it. Hadn't Jin Hongying always chased Young Master Xiao all over before? How had Young Master Xiao grown so bold as to storm the Divine Machine Battalion and abduct Jin Hongying?
"A hen crowing at dawn—there must be something amiss!" he thought. Since the Divine Machine Battalion wasn't after him, he entered the city with peace of mind.
He had just entered the city when someone patted his shoulder. A voice rang in his ear: "You killed heirs of the Thirteen Great Families and still strut in so boldly—what nerve!"
Chen Shi shuddered. The small temple was piled high with iron caltrops over a man's height, ready to hurl them out—but the voice sounded familiar.
Chen Shi turned. A familiar face came into view. Creation Little Five bore some resemblance to Chen Tang, dressed in a scholar's Daoist robe, a bit taller and more robust than him, grinning at him. "Creation... Uncle Chen Wu!" Chen Shi exclaimed, thrilled and astonished.
Creation Little Five snorted. "Don't get so chummy. I'm Creation Little Five, not Chen Wu. Don't call me uncle—even if you called me dad, I wouldn't acknowledge it. I was just teasing you. Don't think I have any family feelings for you."
He paused, then added, "Your grandpa killed me several times. I still haven't settled that score with you Chens..." Chen Shi cut him off. "Little Five Uncle, I've been thinking of you ever since you left that day."
Creation Little Five fell silent, then burst into laughter. Moments later, his face darkened abruptly, and he said coldly, "If you ever try binding me with family ties again, I'll snap your neck! Got it? Follow me."
Chen Shi obediently followed him into the city, Blackie Pot now utterly meek.
Creation Little Five said, "You did well at Qixia Monastery—right up my alley. But your work was too sloppy, leaving all sorts of clues. You didn't even kill everyone who saw you. You think that mutt tampering with memories can't be undone? You underestimate the Thirteen Great Families."
Chen Shi's heart jolted. "The Thirteen Great Families can trace it back to me?" "They can."
Creation Little Five continued, "But not anymore. I've silenced everyone at Qixia Monastery who saw you. I even erased the thunder technique traces you left. Not for your sake, though."
He added, "I want to watch you—to beat Chen Tang!"
His face lit with excitement as he grinned. "Chen Tang's my little brother. Haven't seen him in years, and he's always had that punchable look. He was super jealous as a kid, always trying to shine in front of Dad, but I always outdid him. He'd seethe with envy! He'd even try doing bad things to frame me, only for me to expose him, and Dad would hang him up and beat him."
Recalling the past made him even more thrilled. "Those were my happiest times. Once he grew up, he got too scheming, and I had fewer chances to rile him. But I can teach you how to beat him."
Chen Shi said, "Little Five Uncle, my vital energy is damaged. I'm afraid I can't train well..."
Creation Little Five laughed. "A bit of vital energy loss is easy to recover."
He led Chen Shi to Tingyu Tower at the third intersection of Chang'an Street. A potbellied middle-aged man came forward. "Chen Wu, time to pay rent." "Can you give me a few days' grace?"
Creation Little Five pleaded, "Things are tight lately."
The middle-aged man stuck out his gut, displeased. "Grace today, grace tomorrow—how many times can I let you slide? Pay up to stay; no silver, pack up and go back to the countryside!"
Creation Little Five's face fell, and he licked his lips. Chen Shi said, "How much?" "Three taels of silver this month." The middle-aged man replied.
Chen Shi pulled out three taels in loose silver and paid. The man took it, then called to another: "Min Ting, you bastard—pay up! No money? No money, go sell your ass!"
Creation Little Five led Chen Shi upstairs with a cold huff. "If I didn't actually owe him rent, I'd have made him die ugly!" Chen Shi said, "Is this landlord a Great Vehicle Realm senior?"
Creation Little Five shook his head. "Tribulation Transcendence Realm then?"
Creation Little Five shook his head again. "Just an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator. No point fussing with him." Chen Shi thought, "Soul Transformation is just ordinary?"
They reached the upper floor and entered Creation Little Five's rented room. It was small, just one room. The wardrobe held a few changes of clean clothes and several pairs of spotless shoes. Besides that, only the four treasures of the study—nothing else.
"Little Five Uncle, move in with me."
Chen Shi suggested, "We can free up a room at Chen Tang's place." "No way. I won't live with him."
Creation Little Five pulled out a stool. "Besides, I have money—tons of it. Just can't liquidate it." He hesitated, then asked, "Do you know how to fence stolen goods?"
Chen Shi was puzzled.
Creation Little Five explained, "After coming to Xijing, I killed a few people and looted some valuables, but with no fence, I've had to put up with this dump."
He could handle most problems in the world, even mighty clan ancestors, but the one thing he couldn't manage was human relationships. A thick corpse cloud hung over Xijing—the bodies of Xijing's elites, laden with treasures—but Creation Little Five had no channels to offload them.
Chen Shi hesitated. "I do have a fence. Heavenly Court has an accountant who's got business in Xijing. If you need cash quick, I can take you to him."
Creation Little Five's eyes lit up, and he grinned. "No rush. First, let's replenish your vital energy. Oh, tell the mutt we're not sleeping at Chen Tang's tonight. I'll take you somewhere good!"
Chen Shi asked, "What good place?"
"I used the Void Great Realms of the Li family's two ancestors to refine a small Lesser Heavens!"