A master and servant pair, one human and one ghost, parted the grass as they searched. In the knee-high weeds, they discovered a corpse.
The body wore a black tight-fitting outfit and was missing its head. In its hand was a chipped steel blade. The bowl-sized wound on the neck had dried and blackened, indicating the person had been dead for at least two hours, if not longer.
“This must be the result of a martial world vendetta. The resentful energy is quite strong. Let’s bury him to prevent his exposure in the wilderness. After seven days, he might turn into a vengeful spirit,” Su Su suggested. As a “Charmer”, she could smell the intense resentment.
This level of resentment could potentially turn the deceased into a vengeful spirit after seven days. Of course, such spirits couldn’t exist for long – a few hours at minimum, a few days at most before dissipating.
However, this mountain path wasn’t entirely deserted. If travelers passed by before the spirit dissipated, they could be attacked. At best, they’d fall seriously ill; at worst, they could die.
Su Su believed they should prevent such occurrences.
“With such deep resentment, he must have had some great unfinished business in life to be so unwilling to let go. I’ll try to summon his soul and see what the matter is,” Li Miaozhen pondered.
“No way, no way, Master, do you think you’re a female knight-errant?” Su Su bounced on the spot and said, “You’re the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect! You’re meant to achieve supreme detachment in the future. The mortal world’s cycle of birth, aging, sickness, death, grudges, and passions should all be like passing clouds to you. Forget emotions to achieve impartiality, unmoved by sentiments, undisturbed by feelings.
“The female knight-errant is just a role we created to disguise your identity. Use the utmost selfishness of Heaven for the utmost public good. When you can coldly observe the loves and hatreds of the world without being moved, neither stopping nor interfering, then you’ll achieve enlightenment.
“We should just bury him and be done with it. Why invite more trouble?”
“Shut up!” Li Miaozhen said impatiently. “Do I need you to teach me the core tenets of the Celestial Sect? Supreme detachment is correct, but if one doesn’t know what ’emotion’ is, how can one forget it? Can it be forgotten just by saying so?”
Moreover, she didn’t see anything wrong with acting righteously. Why did some people always harp on about the coldness of the world? It was because there were too few people who cared about others’ business.
If everyone had a heart for righteousness and minding others’ business, the world wouldn’t be so cold.
Li Miaozhen moved the corpse to the roadside and instructed Su Su to take out three bamboo tubes. They contained black sludge, black blood, and herbs that emitted a chilling aura.
The black sludge’s main component was corpse mud dug from mass graves, mixed with various yin materials.
The black blood’s main ingredient was menstrual blood from a virgin born during the yin hours, mixed with various yin materials.
The chilling herbs were those that grew in extremely yin locations.
As the corpse had been dead for too long, the soul couldn’t be summoned directly. Moreover, being exposed in the wilderness, forcibly summoning the soul would cause it to dissipate in the sun’s power immediately.
Su Su skillfully mixed the three materials into “ink” and took out a brush with a finger bone for its body. She dipped it in ink and handed it to Li Miaozhen.
Li Miaozhen began drawing strange incantations on the corpse, some wild and twisted, others subtle and restrained while murmuring incantations. As the formation took shape, gusts of yin wind stirred around them, and the sun seemed to lose its heat.
As the final stroke fell, the yin wind gathered fragments of the soul from the roadside, the grass, and the air… coalescing above the corpse into a not-quite-real shadow.
It was a lean man, his gaze vacant, floating listlessly above the corpse.
Li Miaozhen frowned slightly. Daoist sects were experts in dealing with ghosts. One glance told her this ghost was severely damaged, having been specifically attacked in the soul before death.
But the attacker must have been a martial artist with limited abilities, unable to annihilate the soul.
“Who are you?” Li Miaozhen asked.
At the same time, she sent a wisp of yin energy to nourish the soul.
Receiving the yin energy supplement, the ghost’s blank expression changed slightly. He mumbled, “Blood massacre for three thousand li… Blood massacre for three thousand li… Please send troops to suppress…”
Li Miaozhen questioned him several times, but the ghost could only repeat this one phrase. He couldn’t say anything more.
“Blood massacre for three thousand li…” Li Miaozhen muttered with a serious expression.
“How should we deal with him?” Su Su realized the gravity of the situation.
“His soul is incomplete. To make him reveal more, we’d need to nourish his soul, but that’s a lengthy process. We can’t expect results in the short term.” Li Miaozhen’s gaze fell on the corpse, and an idea struck her:
“If we could identify this person, we might be able to uncover more details and understand what he’s trying to say.”
“Master’s idea makes sense,” Su Su nodded obediently, then asked, “How do we investigate?”
How should I know… Li Miaozhen pondered silently, constantly thinking. She involuntarily recalled her experience of assisting Xu Qi’an in solving the Yun Province case.
She tried her best to remember, attempting to borrow Xu Qi’an’s approach to solve the mystery of this corpse, but she failed.
Amid the silence, Su Su said softly, “If that guy were still alive, he’d have a way.”
Are you thinking of him too? Li Miaozhen nodded imperceptibly and said, “He’s the most capable person I’ve seen at solving cases. Well, let’s take the corpse back to the capital and hand it over to the authorities.
“This person was killed in the wilderness not far from the capital, most likely ambushed.”
With that, Li Miaozhen took out a fragment of the Earth Book, aimed it at the corpse, and with a flash of light, the corpse disappeared. She then opened the sachet at her waist and placed the remnant soul inside.
Due to this incident, the master and servant no longer leisurely strolled. Li Miaozhen put Su Su into the sachet, summoned her flying sword, and gracefully leaped onto its back.
The sword “whooshed” as it took off.
A quarter of an hour later, she saw the majestic outline of the capital and the villages and towns scattered around it.
Li Miaozhen descended her sword and landed outside the city. The sentient sword automatically sheathed itself.
“Swoosh!”
She shook a small jade mirror, and a lifelike paper figure floated out from its surface, with bamboo twigs for bones and painted features.
She tapped her sachet, and Su Su emerged as blue smoke, gracefully entering the paper figure.
The paper figure instantly came to life, its eyes becoming animated, its paper body transforming into flesh and blood, with flowing robes.
Master and servant exchanged smiles and entered the capital.
“Master, this is my first time in the capital. They say it’s the most virtuous city in Great Feng, the most prosperous city on land,” Su Su said excitedly, looking around eagerly after passing through the city gate.
“Be more composed. Your life and afterlife combined are nearly forty years,” Li Miaozhen said as she walked towards the notice board by the city wall.
Whenever she arrived in a new city, she habitually checked the notice board, which displayed official announcements, including imperial decrees and wanted notices.
“Master, your old habit is acting up again. The capital is full of experts. Even if there are wanted notices, it’s not your turn to dispense justice,” Su Su said, holding a red umbrella to block the sun.
At that moment, she saw Li Miaozhen’s body suddenly stiffen. Her eyes slowly widened, fixed on a certain notice on the wall, revealing an expression of disbelief.
She rarely lost composure like this. What did she see? Out of curiosity, Su Su walked over and stood beside Li Miaozhen, looking at the notice.
The next moment, her almond eyes widened, and her rosy lips parted slightly as if she had seen a ghost… This comparison wasn’t appropriate – as if she had seen a Daoist priest dispensing heavenly justice.
Whether from shock or excitement, the hand holding the red umbrella trembled slightly.
…
The afternoon sun was slightly scorching as Xu Qi’an led his subordinate constables on patrol. Recently, Wei Yuan adopted his suggestion and, building on his idea, organized a temporary force composed of martial world figures.
They were tasked with maintaining order in the capital, and the court would provide them with considerable benefits and remuneration.
This policy was brilliant as it addressed the root cause of the chaotic public security. Why were theft and robbery so common?
Because most martial world figures were small-time ruffians without steady jobs, and with the high cost of living in the capital, how could they survive without stealing or robbing?
Giving them a legitimate way to make money and letting them maintain public order was like using their spear against their shield. Of course, every security team organized by jianghu members would be monitored by the imperial court’s personnel to prevent them from becoming the very criminals they were meant to catch.
After the initial few days of strict enforcement, the jianghu members who had flooded into the city became more well-behaved.
Therefore, Xu Qi An decided to visit a brothel to listen to some music.
“When one’s basic needs are met, thoughts turn to carnal desires. But once those are satisfied, humans seek higher levels of enjoyment, which is a spiritual pleasure. In this world without computers, we can’t play games or watch movies. The only way to maintain a decent life is to go to brothels to watch plays and listen to music…”
Xu Qi An led the local constables into the brothel, requesting a private room. They drank tea, ate fruits, and enjoyed the opera performance in the main hall.
Suddenly, a familiar heart-pounding sensation came over him.
Xu Qi An turned his back to the constables, blocking their view as he took out the Earth Book fragment. To his shock, he saw:
[Two: Xu Qi An isn’t dead?!]
[Two: Why didn’t anyone tell me Xu Qi An isn’t dead? Why didn’t you all tell me Xu Qi An isn’t dead!!!]
After these two messages, there was silence.
[Four: Hm? Li Miaozhen didn’t know Xu Qi An was still alive?]
Chu Yuanzhen sent a message expressing his confusion.
[One: After the Yun Province incident, she’s been constantly on the move, so, normally, she doesn’t know about Xu Qi An’s resurrection. However, as news of the battle spread, it was only a matter of time before she found out. Heh, she and Xu Qi An formed a deep bond in Yun Province, so her intense reaction isn’t surprising.]
Why do I feel like Number One is gloating? Xu Qi An’s heart sank.
[Six: Why has Number Two gone quiet?]
Heng Yuan also joined the discussion.
Xu Qi An thought for a moment, then carefully composed a message: [Three: Number Two, I have something I want to say to you…]
Before he could send this message, everyone in the Earth Book chat group saw a message from Daoist Jin Lian: [Li Miaozhen has already arrived in the capital.]
After that, no one received any more messages.
On the street, a trembling Li Miaozhen held the Earth Book fragment, her fingers shaking as she typed: [Xu Qi An, you bastard! How long were you planning to deceive us?]
After sending the message, there was no response for a long time.
Li Miaozhen grew increasingly angry and sent another message: [Could it be that you all knew he was Number Three? Did you all conspire to deceive me?]
This was the only way to explain why no one mentioned that Xu Qi An wasn’t dead, and why everyone was now silent.
[Nine: Miaozhen, they don’t know Xu Qi An’s identity. As for why he was resurrected, it’s a long story. I’ll give you an address, come find me there.]
At this moment, Li Miaozhen received a message from Daoist Jin Lian.
Li Miaozhen stared at Daoist Jin Lian’s message, her emotions complex, unable to distinguish between anger, joy, or shame.
“Master, is that guy not dead?” Su Su asked eagerly as soon as the message ended. Her exquisitely beautiful face showed tension and secret joy as if that man’s life or death was very important to her.
Li Miaozhen suppressed her anger and grunted in the affirmative.
Remembering how she had often lamented to her “Charm” about heaven’s jealousy of talent and how regrettable Xu Qi An’s death was, she felt a sense of shame that made her want to cover her face and find a hole to crawl into.
Su Su shared this psychological reaction, so the master and servant exchanged a glance and tacitly looked away.
…
[Nine: Li Miaozhen has entered the city. Do you want to meet her? Although I’ve blocked her from saying too much, what needs to come will come.]
In the brothel, Xu Qi An received Daoist Jin Lian’s message.
Well done, Daoist! Xu Qi An’s eyebrows lifted in pleasure as he replied: [I can meet her.]
[Nine: Come to my residence then.]
Xu Qi An put away the Earth Book fragment, tossed a few pieces of silver, and said, “This official has urgent matters to attend to. Finish your drinks and continue patrolling the streets.”
“Yes, boss,” they replied.
…
At the door of a small courtyard planted with willow trees in the outer city.
Li Miaozhen, dressed in Daoist robes, gently knocked on the courtyard gate. After a few moments, the gate opened on its own, and Daoist Jin Lian’s gentle voice came through: “Please enter.”
Li Miaozhen entered with her ghost servant Su Su, crossed the small courtyard, stepped over the threshold, and saw Daoist Jin Lian sitting cross-legged in the room.
His hair was graying, hanging down in strands, his appearance as unkempt and casual as ever.
“Very good, as expected of one of the most talented disciples of the Celestial Sect. You’ve already entered the Nascent Soul realm,” Daoist Jin Lian praised.
Fourth-rank in the Daoist system, Nascent Soul!
“Chu Yuanzhen’s swordsmanship is exquisite. If I hadn’t entered the fourth rank, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to defeat him,” Li Miaozhen said.
“I remember your senior brother has long been a fourth-rank Nascent Soul cultivator. Is there still no news of him?” Daoist Jin Lian asked.
“Who knows? Maybe he died from some woman’s revenge, or perhaps he’s being held captive by an old lover as a plaything. I can’t be bothered with his affairs,” Li Miaozhen said indifferently.
Daoist Jin Lian pondered, “To be honest, I don’t want to see you and Chu Yuanzhen fight to the death, or even cross swords at all.”
Li Miaozhen said calmly, “This is the destiny of the Daoist sects. The Celestial and Human sects have been fighting for countless years without a clear victor. Now that the Sect Leader has reached the first rank, we can finally settle this dispute over Daoist orthodoxy.”
Daoist Jin Lian smiled and didn’t continue the topic.
Li Miaozhen took a deep breath and asked through gritted teeth, “What’s the deal with Xu Qi An?”
“He didn’t die. That day, he took the Rebirth Pill from the Bureau of Astronomy and Astrology, merely feigning death…” Daoist Jin Lian briefly explained the circumstances.
“Why did you keep hiding this from us?” Su Su asked angrily.
“That’s a question you should ask him yourself,” Daoist Jin Lian said with a smile, looking towards the courtyard.
The sound of horse hooves approached. Xu Qi An rode up on a horse, stopping outside the courtyard.
He tied up his mare, entered the courtyard, stepped into the room, and gave Li Miaozhen an awkward but polite smile:
“Long time no see, General Li. Why the change in attire?”
Then, looking at Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao’s paper doll goddess, he teased, “Miss Su Su, have you decided yet? Do you want to be my concubine?”
“Hmph!”
Su Su glared at him and turned away, looking very disdainful.
“I am a disciple of the Celestial Sect. In the conflict between the Celestial and Human sects, this is how we dress,” Li Miaozhen said expressionlessly, then snorted, “I’m going to reveal to all Earth Book fragment holders that you’re Number Three.”