“Senior Xu?”

When the Sacred Child saw the orange cat slip into the room, he was stunned at first, then his face lit up with joy. He said in a low voice, “Senior, why have you come? Didn’t you say we wouldn’t meet for the next few days?”

The orange cat spoke in human language, “I said you shouldn’t come to see me. I never said I wouldn’t see you.” After a pause, he asked curiously, “How did you recognize me?”

Li Lingsu smiled, “Senior, didn’t you mention before that you used a heart insect to control a cat and infiltrate the Chai mansion, where you encountered Chai Xian?”

Then, the Sacred Child noticed the orange cat freeze in place, lost in thought.

Did I say something wrong? Li Lingsu’s face showed bewilderment…

Damn, have I unconsciously picked up Daoist Jin Lian’s habits?! No, I haven’t. It’s mainly because cats can easily move across rooftops and come and go as they please. Dogs simply couldn’t infiltrate the Chai mansion… Even if they did sneak in, they might end up being slaughtered by monks and made into dog meat hotpot… Xu Qi’an mused with complex emotions.

Li Lingsu had many questions he wanted to ask, but seeing the profound and unfathomable senior suddenly start contemplating life, he didn’t dare to interrupt. He could only wait awkwardly.

After a while, Xu Qi’an came to his senses and said, “Pour me some tea. I’m a bit thirsty.”

It wasn’t him who was thirsty, but the cat. However, the sensation of thirst is synchronized to Xu Qi’an, who possesses the cat’s body.

Li Lingsu immediately turned over an upside-down teacup and filled it with warm water.

The orange cat took the opportunity to come in, leaping onto the table. It didn’t immediately start lapping up the tea but instead glanced at the messy bed.

A cat’s sense of smell is tens of times more acute than a human’s, so he easily detects the sweet scent.

Xu Qi’an, who had been enduring the side effects of the love insect, let out a “heh” and said, “Living a carefree and happy life, aren’t you?”

Hearing this, Li Lingsu’s face fell, and he said with a worried expression:

“Senior, when will you remove the love insect from me? Now, every time I see Xing’er, I can’t control my impulses. My mind is filled with thoughts of her. If she just crooks her finger, I lose control and pounce on her.”

As he spoke, he hugged his waist.

What a humble brag… Xu Qi’an thought with a blank expression. He said coldly:

“Once the matter is resolved, I’ll remove the subordinate insect for you. Removing it now would alert Chai Xing’er and startle the snake in the grass.”

I suppose that’s the only way! Li Lingsu sighed, thinking he should refine some pills another day to replenish his kidney energy. Then he remembered the matter of the underground cellar and said:

“Just now, someone informed Xing’er that the underground cellar had been broken into and Chai Jianyuan’s corpse had been dissected.”

Lowering his voice, he asked, “Senior, was it you who did it?”

Xu Qi’an nodded.

So it was him… Having received the correct answer, Li Lingsu quickly followed up with another question: “Did you find out anything?”

“Chai Xian is likely Chai Jianyuan’s illegitimate son,” Xu Qi’an said.

He then saw Li Lingsu’s face undergo a dramatic change, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

After a moment, Li Lingsu lowered his voice and asked, “Are you certain?”

“Chai Xian has six toes, and so does Chai Jianyuan. It could be hereditary; otherwise, it’s too much of a coincidence.”

Li Lingsu remained silent for a while before saying, “No wonder Chai Jianyuan insisted on marrying Chai Lan to the Huangfu family. He would never have agreed to a marriage between Chai Xian and Chai Lan.”

He suddenly realized something. “Chai Xian doesn’t know his true identity!”

This was easy to deduce. If he knew he was an illegitimate son, he wouldn’t have fallen in love with Chai Lan.

“No, it’s also possible that he knew, and in a fit of rage, killed Chai Jianyuan to bury the secret of his illegitimate status, then claimed Chai Lan for himself,” Li Lingsu’s imagination ran wild.

Punches should follow a pattern, and reasoning should follow logic… Xu Qi’an inwardly criticized, then sneered:

“How can you be sure Chai Xian knows his identity, and how can you be certain that only Chai Jianyuan in the Chai family knew about his illegitimate status? Six toes might be a secret, but close family members and elders would likely know about it.”

Li Lingsu’s expression froze. “That’s true.”

The orange cat lapped up some tea and continued, “Moreover, Chai Jianyuan showed signs of poisoning before his death, which is why he was killed in the study. The poisoner is likely someone close to him.”

“Senior, you suspect…”

Xu Qi’an met Li Lingsu’s questioning gaze and nodded his cat head:

“That’s right, I suspect it’s Chai Xing’er. That kind of poison isn’t something an ordinary person could concoct. Unless it was made by a poison insect master personally. Didn’t Chai Xing’er go to the Southern Borderlands? She even obtained a live insect.”

Li Lingsu’s face turned ugly.

He prided himself on being quite discerning when it came to women. Any romantic interest of his had to have a unique temperament and personality and must be outstanding in appearance and figure.

Secondly, in terms of character, they must not be great villains or evildoers. Otherwise, the clash in values would make it impossible to engage in romance.

Even the East sisters weren’t bloodthirsty individuals. Although they had many conflicts with Xu Qian in Leizhou, that was due to differences in stance, and fighting was unavoidable.

In his understanding, Chai Xing’er was cunning, ambitious, and skilled. Her demeanor was like a sorrowful lilac flower, delicate and pitiable. At her core, she wasn’t a simple woman.

But Chai Xing’er was not morally bankrupt.

However, as the investigation into the case deepened over this period, he gradually began to doubt this.

“I didn’t come here to chat idly with you,” said the orange cat An, tapping the table with its paw, and interrupting Li Lingsu’s wandering thoughts.

“Please speak, Senior,” Li Lingsu said in a low voice.

“Have you ever wondered why Chai Jianyuan would conceal Chai Xian’s identity?”

Li Lingsu was taken aback. It took him a few seconds to understand Xu Qian’s meaning. For the head of a powerful family, having an illegitimate son wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

So why had Chai Xian been raised in the Chai mansion as an adopted son for so many years?

Li Lingsu pondered, “If it’s not because of Chai Jianyuan, then the problem must lie with Chai Xian. Is there a secret in his background?”

The orange cat An chuckled softly: “Before the answer is revealed, any hypothesis is possible, but remember to seek verification. I recall that in ancient times, the Yin spirits of the Dao sect served as City Gods, specializing in capturing human souls.”

Li Lingsu nodded: “In ancient times, there were two sets of rules: one for the mortal world’s laws, and another for karmic retribution in the underworld. The Dao sect controlled the underworld laws. However, later these underworld laws gradually weakened until they were abolished.”

“Indeed, I’ve read about this history in the ancient texts at the Celestial Sect, but I’ve never fully understood it. Senior, do you know more?”

An old monster like Xu Qian surely knows many secrets that others don’t.

The orange cat An pondered for a moment, combining the secrets he had obtained from the ancient corpse, and said:

“In ancient times, there were only two methods of cultivation. One was the martial way, and the other was the ‘Dao’ – the way of the Dao sect. The Dao techniques system was more complete than the martial system and appeared earlier.”

“In other words, in ancient times, it was the world of Dao techniques. This was the environment in which underworld laws existed and flourished.”

“But gradually, the martial way began to thrive, the humans of the Southern Borderlands figured out insect techniques, Buddha attained enlightenment, and the Shamanic Gods emerged… Dao techniques could no longer dominate the world, and naturally, the underworld laws also disappeared.”

As for Confucianism and the术士 (Shushi, practitioners of esoteric arts), they appeared in more recent times. The Confucian Sage lived over two thousand years ago, while the Shushi have only existed for six hundred years, as long as the current dynasty.

In ancient times, there were only martial arts and Dao techniques… This explains the emergence of underworld laws. Later, when various other systems appeared, the Dao sect no longer had the final say… Xu Qian is truly an old monster, knowing so many secrets.

Li Lingsu sighed, “Our Dao sect was once incredibly prosperous, but now it has weakened to just three main sects.”

As he spoke, he looked towards Xu Qian, hoping to probe for more secrets.

Xu Qi’an ignored him and said plainly, “Back to the point, could the Dao sect’s dream-entering technique be used for interrogation in dreams, like the dream shamans?”

Li Lingsu frowned in contemplation:

“We can’t dominate dreams like dream shamans. When Yin spirits enter dreams to capture souls, they can only target ordinary people or those much weaker than themselves. For interrogation, it could work if the target is a mortal.

“Senior, if you want me to interrogate Xing’er, not only is my cultivation still sealed, but even at my peak, I’m afraid I couldn’t do it. Xing’er is at the fifth rank Energy Condensation stage. It would take a fourth-rank dream shaman to handle her.”

The orange cat An shook its head:

“Not her. It’s Chai Jianyuan’s son. Pick the weakest one to interrogate. Ask him about Chai Xian. Chai Xian was brought to the Chai mansion as a youth and grew up with Chai Jianyuan’s children. No one knows Chai Xian better than they do.”

Li Lingsu nodded, indicating it wasn’t a problem. Then, as if remembering something, he said:

“Oh right, Senior. Last night, I noticed Xing’er leaving late at night for quite a while, about half an hour before returning. I used my Yin spirit to follow her and found that she went towards the depths of the south courtyard.

“Warriors’ intuition is too keen, so I didn’t dare follow too closely. Thus, I don’t know exactly where she went in the south courtyard.”

The orange cat An’s feline face showed a grave expression: “What time was it?”

Li Lingsu replied, “Around midnight.”

Ah, you kidney-deficient scoundrel, staying up so late again. If you’re not kidney deficient, who is… Xu Qi’an slowly nodded his cat head:

“I understand.”

Based on his experience of late-night heart-to-heart talks with courtesans from the Imperial Brothel, after each conversation, the courtesans would be drenched in sweat, extremely exhausted, and fall asleep immediately.

For Chai Xing’er to leave her room in the dead of night instead of sleeping was not normal.

Tonight, I’ll gather the snakes, insects, rats, and ants of the Chai mansion to investigate thoroughly… Xu Qi’an thought to himself.

He was growing increasingly fond of the Seven Enigmas Insect. It was versatile, powerful, unpredictable, and very useful, not to mention impressive!

Unlike warriors who would charge recklessly when faced with a problem, easily alerting the enemy.

…

At night.

Sanshui Town was a large town located 26 li north of Xiangzhou City, with a population of 8,000. The town was backed by steep mountains rich in medicinal herbs, so most of the townspeople made their living by gathering and cultivating herbs.

The largest herbal merchant in town was an organization called the “Medicine Guild.” The guild master was an expert at the Spirit Refinement realm, barely qualified to be considered noteworthy.

During the Demon Slaying Assembly, the Medicine Guild participated, actively responding to the call of the government and major powers. They sent thirty guild members to join the militia forces for nightly patrols.

Besides the government-organized militia and the Medicine Guild members, there was also a Buddhist monk in the patrol team.

It was none other than the warrior monk Jing Yuan, who had shone brilliantly at the Demon Slaying Assembly.

The patrol team consisted of sixty people in total, divided into groups of ten. They carried torches and patrolled various parts of the town at night.

Chen Er was a minor supervisor in the Medicine Guild, overseeing about ten people. In the guild, supervisors were mid-level managers and the busiest leaders, dealing with various trivial matters.

When encountering issues they couldn’t resolve or decide on, they would report to the higher-ups in the guild.

“Master, we’re all much more at ease with you joining us. The brothers’ courage has doubled for night patrols,” said Chen Er, holding a torch and turning his head to look at the warrior monk beside him.

The Western Regions warrior monk, with his chiseled features and deep-set eyes, replied indifferently, “It’s just more convenient to retreat from here.”

Chen Er didn’t understand, and when he asked again, the young warrior monk fell silent, ignoring him.

More convenient to retreat from here? What does that mean? These Western Region monks sure have strange temperaments… Chen Er grumbled inwardly, then laughed dryly:

“I see, I see.”

Jing Yuan put his palms together, walking steadily at the front.

There was a small river on the north side of the town, running through half of it, with rows of houses along the riverbank. The cold wind blew against their faces. After patrolling for half an hour, the team crossed a stone bridge and arrived at a tavern by the river.

This was a property of the Medicine Guild, with hot pots simmering and cloudy wine warming, specially prepared for the patrol teams to rest.

The team consisted of martial artists, but except for Supervisor Chen Er who was in the Body Refining realm, the others had no official rank. Therefore, they needed a tavern like this to rest and drink wine to warm their bodies, otherwise, they could easily catch a cold.

“This damned weather, it’s already so cold in early winter,” Chen Er cursed as he entered the tavern, gulping down a few mouthfuls of medicinal wine. He turned back and called out, “Brothers, come in and have some wine. We’ll continue patrolling after half an incense stick’s time.”

The team members took their seats, eating pork offal and drinking the unique medicinal wine of Sanshui Town, complaining about the wretched weather.

Chen Er didn’t forget to flatter, “Master, this is our Sanshui Town’s secret recipe for medicinal wine. Please warm your stomach.”

Jing Yuan nodded, silently drinking wine and eating meat. As a warrior monk, how could a meal be complete without meat?

After drinking a few sips of wine, he closed his eyes, concentrating on sensing his surroundings, but found nothing unusual.

Jing Yuan had been patrolling Sanshui Town for two nights. He chose this place because it was backed by the vast mountain range, with a river outside the town.

It was very suitable for retreat and escape.

Of course, it wasn’t for Jing Yuan to escape, but for that evildoer to flee.

“This person has been refining corpses for days and must have reached a bottleneck. He certainly won’t pass up your Vajra-like physique. Stay put, and that person will come on their own.”

This was what Jing Xin had said.

Jing Yuan agreed with his senior brother Jing Xin’s decision, believing it was the quickest way to draw out the person behind the scenes.

“Walking corpses have no breath or heartbeat, nor do they possess killing intent or malice. But when ‘they’ move in large numbers, there will be sounds, like footsteps…”

Jing Yuan didn’t sense anything unusual and opened his eyes.

“This winter is going to be tough. I wonder how many people will freeze to death,” sighed a man as he took a swig of wine.

“Oh, Zhang Niuzi, you’re quite the patriot, caring for the country and the people. Why don’t you donate all your savings to the government for disaster relief?” someone teased.

“Donate to the government? I might as well scatter silver on the streets. At least the villagers could grab a few coins. If we donate to the government, the villagers won’t see a penny, but the officials will add another concubine to their households.”

Everyone joined in the banter.

“That’s right, Zhang Niuzi, why don’t you donate to me instead? I haven’t even found a wife yet,” said a small, rat-faced man.

Zhang Niuzi cursed in the crude local dialect, then said:

“Li Er, you can’t afford a wife, but you’re sleeping with your sister-in-law, aren’t you? Tsk tsk, you’ve saved the money for a wife. A sister-in-law is better than a wife anyway. As the old saying goes, ‘Nothing tastes better than dumplings, and nothing is more fun than…’ What’s the rest?”

“Nothing is more fun than a sister-in-law!” someone chimed in.

Everyone burst into laughter, and the tavern suddenly became lively.

Li Er’s older brother, like most townspeople, made a living gathering and cultivating herbs. During one herb-gathering trip in the mountains, he fell off a cliff. He survived the ordeal but lost the use of both legs, confining him to bed all day.

With no able-bodied man to work, the family’s quality of life plummeted. Li Er’s sister-in-law was a woman of some beauty.

Within half a year, she and Li Er had started an affair.

Chen Er listened to his subordinates joking and cursing each other when from the corner of his eye, he noticed Jing Yuan put down his wine cup and turn to look at him.

The warrior monk’s voice followed: “Is Xiangzhou’s winter always this cold?”

Chen Er hurriedly straightened up to show respect and answered politely:

“How could it be? If every winter were like this, how would the people of Xiangzhou survive? This year is especially cold. We’ve just entered winter, and the night wind already cuts to the bone. In another five days, icicles will be forming under the eaves.”

As he spoke, Chen Er raised his cup and drained it in one go. “Who knows how many people will freeze to death this winter? But then again, don’t people die every winter? The world is what it is. Having food to eat is already not bad.”

“Sigh, that damned Chai Xian, making us patrol in this cold. I bet he’s already fled and wouldn’t dare stay in Xiangzhou anymore.”

Chen Er rambled on. The half-incense stick’s time quickly passed, and he grabbed his short sword, calling out:

“Stop drinking, stop drinking! Get up quickly, all of you go patrol the streets for me.”

“Ah, has it been half an incense stick already? I feel like we just sat down.”

“Let’s drink for another half incense stick. In this cold weather, that bastard Chai Xian is probably enjoying himself in some woman’s bed. He definitely won’t come out to cause trouble.”

The patrol members complained in a cacophony of voices.

At this moment, Jing Yuan’s ears twitched, picking up a faint, unusual sound of flowing water.

“Silence!” Jing Yuan shouted.

The noisy hall fell quiet instantly. No one dared to speak, all looking at him in bewilderment.

Jing Yuan ignored them, closing his eyes and amplifying his hearing to the extreme.

The “gurgling” sound of water entered his ears, different from the normal sound of flowing water. It was more like an undercurrent, tens or hundreds of undercurrents…

No, not undercurrents. It was something swimming towards them along the small river outside the tavern.