As Meng Qi fell into reminiscence and contemplation, Li Chong dutifully introduced the local power brokers of Yangxia: “That is Master Qiu Fei from the Qiu family. That is Master Jiang Yulin, the third elder of the Jiang family. That is Wu Shengli, the leader of Kuanglang Gang, known as ‘One Hand Covers the Waves.’ He, together with ‘Scarface’ Yan Xiao and ‘Red Delicate Hands’ Xiao Yue, each controls one-third of Yangxia’s underworld. Behind them supposedly stands Hengyuan Zheng.”
“Look, the delicate-looking lady beside Zheng Zhishi is ‘Red Delicate Hands’ Xiao Yue. Who would imagine she could be as ruthless as ‘Scarface’ and ‘One Hand Covers the Waves?’ There was a man who soiled his pants out of fear in front of her. Rumor has it she has some connection with the Zhenwu Sect.”
The five individuals he introduced represented the five most powerful factions in Yangxia. Qiu family’s eldest son possessed the greatest strength, probably in his early forties. Although Meng Qi couldn’t determine his exact cultivation level from his steps, movements, and the flow of true energy, the unique integration between his movements and the surrounding environment marked him as a newly emerged Half-Step Exteriors cultivator, having recently opened the Celestial Gate but not yet fully adapted or stabilized.
The other four did not deliberately conceal their strength. Meng Qi easily discerned that they had all opened their nine orifices, with protective aura surrounding their bodies to shield against true energy detection. However, the flow of their protective aura showed varying strengths and weaknesses, containing flaws, falling slightly short of ‘Scarface’ Yan Xiao’s level.
Relatively speaking, the only one with just eight orifices was Zheng Jushan, the constable. Yet he represented the will of the Zhao family from the capital, embodying the authority of the imperial court. Holding righteousness in his hands, others would usually grant him face unless absolutely necessary.
“Why are those two young Taoists being personally welcomed by Zheng Zhishi and the five of them?” Li Chong muttered to himself, feeling he had failed his reputation as a well-informed person.
Meng Qi watched Yao Xiaogui and others disappear into the main hall of “Zuiyangxia,” casually replying, “They should be direct disciples of Zhenwu Sect, and hold significant status.”
“Hmm, that’s possible.” Li Chong thought for a moment, finding Xiao Su Constable’s reasoning convincing. Dressed as Taoists and holding high status, only the direct disciples of Zhenwu Sect in the nearby four provinces fit this description. “Constable Xiao Su, since all the key people are here, we should quickly report to Zheng Zhishi and gather people to investigate Lao Zhongtou.”
Get this dangerous task off my hands as soon as possible!
The heads of the Qiu and Jiang families were already old, and currently, the Qiu family’s affairs were mainly handled by Master Qiu and Jiang’s third young master.
“I’m new here. It’s not appropriate for me to disturb them suddenly. Why don’t you go report alone?” Meng Qi evaded.
He wasn’t sure whether Yao Xingliu would recognize him. Normally, he wouldn’t fear being recognized. This would be a good opportunity to find a pretext to spar with him and Yang He, fulfilling the intent of honing his skills. However, seeing them always reminded him of Elder Brother Zhang, whose passing left him with unbearable sorrow. If Yao Xiaogui mentioned this topic, how should he respond?
Better not to meet!
Li Chong couldn’t understand Constable Xiao Su’s true intentions and said curiously, “This is a good opportunity to get acquainted.”
Meng Qi evaded a few more times, and seeing his firm stance, Li Chong had no choice but to suppress his doubts and prepare to leave.
“Old Li, don’t mention that Constable Cai came out from Qiu family’s boat for now, especially with Qiu’s eldest son present. We don’t want to alert them prematurely,” Meng Qi suddenly remembered this point and reminded him.
“Scarface” had completely lost his mind and wouldn’t recover for at least ten or fifteen days. No one could extract any information from him anymore.
Li Chong laughed heartily: “Constable Xiao Su, don’t underestimate old Li. I know how to handle this. I’ll just say Lao Zhongtou ordered ‘Scarface’ to kill the sailor, and the sailor only vaguely saw Constable Cai coming from the dock, without knowing exactly what he was doing.”
“Steadfast in old age!” Meng Qi smiled and gave a thumbs-up.
In a courtyard behind “Zuiyangxia,” the Yangxia power brokers were hosting a welcoming banquet for Yang He and Yao Xingliu of the Zhenwu Sect, who were traveling through the area.
Qiu Fei, the eldest son of the Qiu family, was already over forty. However, due to his profound martial arts cultivation and having broken through the life-and-death mysterious pass, he appeared no older than thirty at first glance. Sensing his subordinates gathering, he excused himself from the banquet and stepped out to await their report.
“Master, ‘Scarface’ Yan Xiao has suddenly fallen ill and cannot come!” Qiu Fei’s subordinate reported with slight shock.
Qiu Fei was astonished: “Suddenly fallen ill?”
Although ‘Scarface’ Yan Xiao had indulged in reckless living for many years, causing physical depletion and mental fatigue, his martial arts skills had not declined so quickly. He was still stronger than ordinary nine-orifice cultivators. How could he suddenly fall ill?
“Truly! Master, you should see ‘Scarface’s’ current state. It’s unbelievable. Once a ruthless left-path expert who dominated Yangxia’s nine-orifice cultivators, now he’s crying like a fragile child, soiling himself, curling up, with tears and snot all over his face, even more chilling than that bandit who strangled himself years ago.” Qiu Fei’s subordinate kept talking about the information he had gathered.
After all, ‘Scarface’ Yan Xiao had once been his secret idol, while the bandit had come from elsewhere, and no one knew what his normal state was.
Qiu Fei took a deep breath: “When did he fall ill?”
“Just two quarters of an hour ago, when Li Jiugui took the newly appointed assistant constable to visit him. Before they could even speak, ‘Scarface’ got angry over the matter of Constable Cai and then fell ill…” As he detailed the event, Qiu Fei’s subordinate felt increasingly eerie, his whole body chilled.
Qiu Fei frowned in thought: “Did the new assistant constable do anything? Ask any questions?”
“According to ‘Scarface’s’ maid, Li Jiugui just explained something, the assistant constable didn’t do anything, and as he was about to speak, ‘Scarface’ suddenly started convulsing and fell ill. At first, he was foaming at the mouth, which was very frightening. Now, although he’s like a child, his condition has stabilized, and there’s no longer a life-threatening danger.” Qiu Fei’s subordinate proactively revealed the source of his information.
Qiu Fei clasped his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth, his expression gradually darkening. He looked at his subordinate like a hawk: “Could ‘Scarface’ be pretending to be ill?”
A nine-orifice expert suddenly falling ill, facing merely a small assistant constable, and making such a mess—how could one not suspect otherwise?
Qiu Fei’s subordinate suddenly realized: “Possibly! His ‘illness’ timing is indeed perfect!”
“Keep a close watch on ‘Scarface.'” Qiu Fei instructed. As he was about to return to the banquet, he saw Li Chong, the drunkard, entering timidly.
“Master Qiu, good day!” Li Chong greeted him upon seeing him.
Qiu Fei nodded slightly: “Li Jiugui, I heard you made ‘Scarface’ ill?”
“Unjustly accused! Master Qiu, I’m so wronged! Not even a sip of wine, not a complete sentence spoken, and Elder Yan started crying and shouting, soiling himself.” Li Chong’s heart stirred; Qiu Fei knew so quickly.
Qiu Fei didn’t ask further: “You’re here to see Zheng Zhishi, right? With such a major incident, you only came to report now, where have you been drinking?”
“Just to calm my nerves, to calm my nerves.” Li Chong knew his drunken flush was obvious, impossible to hide from others.
Qiu Fei remained noncommittal, entering to call out Zheng Zhishi.
After listening to Li Chong’s account, Zheng Jushan’s face darkened, revealing neither joy nor anger: “Lao Zhongtou… it was actually Lao Zhongtou…”
He pondered for a moment: “I’ll immediately gather all the heroes of Yangxia. You and Xiao Su should go wait by the city gate first.”
“Zheng, Zheng Zhishi, are we going too?” Li Chong stammered.
“You uncovered the clue, so you must go. If Lao Zhongtou is willing to cooperate, you’ll be the ones to question him.” Zheng Jushan decisively issued orders, turning to enter the banquet hall to inform the various heroes.
Hearing this, Yao Xiaogui was eager to go, but as newcomers and honored guests, they couldn’t be allowed to take risks and were persuaded to stay.
After Zheng Jushan and others left, Yao Xingliu puffed his cheeks while eating: “So boring.”
“Senior apprentice brother Yao, our mission is to investigate Senior Brother Zhang’s death. Don’t create unnecessary trouble.” Yang He calmly said.
Yao Xingliu pouted, muttering to himself, hoping they would go far away and not foolishly linger nearby.
…
A group of people acted swiftly, quickly meeting Meng Qi and Li Chong at the city gate.
“Cui Xiansheng has come too…” Li Chong looked at the white-haired old man beside Zheng Jushan, his expression both surprised and relieved.
Meng Qi deliberately slowed his pace, walking behind the group with Li Chong, asking upon hearing this: “Cui Xiansheng?”
“Constable Xiao Su, this person is indeed the top expert in our Yangxia.” After relaxing, Li Chong spoke more freely. “In his youth, due to his Cui surname and extraordinary talent, he was favored by the Cui family of Pingjin, becoming an honored guest and heavily cultivated. After growing old, with the Cui family’s permission, he returned home to settle down, seemingly aiming to become a local aristocratic family. He is a top expert who has reached the second level of Exteriors! With him here, Lao Zhongtou can’t stir up any waves!”
Zheng Jushan not only invited Cui Xiansheng but also summoned several retired martial arts legends living in Yangxia. Qiu Fei and Jiang Yulin each took their family treasures, preferring to be cautious beforehand rather than regretful after the incident!
As dusk approached, the group saw the mortuary, which was fairly well-kept and not dilapidated. Yet even with sunlight scattering, gilding its roof with golden hues, bright and clear, it couldn’t mask the sinister and cold atmosphere.
Near the mortuary, there was another similarly sinister-looking courtyard, which was Lao Zhongtou’s residence.
As Zheng Zhishi was about to call out, Cui Xiansheng gestured for him to wait.
Suddenly, the golden sunlight sank, flowing like water, slowly sweeping over Lao Zhongtou’s courtyard.
“No one, no living person.” Cui Xiansheng’s expression tightened.
Everyone, including Meng Qi, felt a chill, cautiously following Cui Xiansheng toward the courtyard.
The courtyard gate was slightly ajar, opening with a push. Except for a well, there was only an old locust tree in the courtyard, exuding a chilling aura.
With a creak, Cui Xiansheng flicked his sleeve from afar, opening the house door. Without windows, the interior was dark and lightless.
“Ahh!” “Red Delicate Hands” Xiao Yue covered her mouth, letting out a low cry.
It was just a habitual reaction; there was no panic in her eyes.
Xiao Yue’s exclamation drew Meng Qi and others’ attention. Following her gaze, they saw rows of hanging corpses on the beams, like a forest of corpses!
After stepping through the door, Cui Xiansheng directly examined one corpse, his frown quickly deepening, muttering softly: “Strange, what martial arts is this…”
Meng Qi mingled among them, approaching a corpse, extending his spirit, and probing with true energy. The corpse’s vague details appeared in his mind: “No bones at all? The flesh, blood vessels, and meridians remain, yet there are no bones…”
“This corpse has only skin and bones; the flesh and internal organs are gone!”
“This corpse has no meridians. Strange, how can the meridians and internal energy be absent, yet the flesh, blood, and bones remain intact…”
“Hey, the corpse in front of me is intact, with no injuries on the body, and looks young. How did he die?”
Meng Qi heard the murmurs of discussion in his ears, suddenly recalling a martial arts technique, his expression instantly turning grave:
“The Heaven-Demon Four Corrosions?”
“A myth or an immortal’s trace?”
“Or a normal reincarnator?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage