The Girl Knows the Hand Blade

The next day, Zhou Dafu came to the Virtuous Cloud Temple again.

This surprised Li Chu.

He glanced at Zhou Dafu's lower body, wondering if he was impotent, which was why he wanted to donate the money he earned from escorting women to burn incense, hoping to get his principal back.

Zhou Dafu's distressed expression further confirmed his guess.

If there was a case in town, Constable Zhou wouldn't be worried; he would only fret over personal matters.

But Li Chu was wrong this time.

There was indeed a case in town, and Zhou Dafu was also worried about personal matters.

"Little Daoist Priest Li, why am I so unlucky?" Zhou Dafu's ugly face was almost as wrinkled as a steamed bun.

"The New County Magistrate just took office, and I spent several days preparing to impress him. Who knew that just two days after the Xue Family Tragedy, another major murder case occurred. From the looks of it, it seems to be the work of a Vengeful Spirit."

"Although fewer people died than a few days ago, this is a case of an entire family being wiped out! The entire He Luo Dynasty doesn't have many such cases in a year. This will definitely attract the attention of Zhao Ge City."

"The County Magistrate won't ask Yuhang Town why there are so many ghosts; he will only ask me, the constable, why I can't solve the case!"

"Tell me, why are there so many ghosts in Yuhang Town?" Zhou Dafu was on the verge of tears as he spoke.

Li Chu was also a bit puzzled.

Vengeful Spirits weren't like cabbage in the field, appearing one after another.

As the saying goes, troubled times breed evil spirits. Conversely, with the world at peace and tranquility reigning, evil things should not be prevalent.

Why were Vengeful Spirits appearing one after another recently?

On a larger scale, across the He Luo Dynasty, people died with resentment every day. It took about ten thousand such deaths to produce one Vengeful Spirit.

For Yuhang Town, a small place, to have two in three days was truly strange.

After chatting for a while, they agreed that Li Chu would go to the County Government Office to find Zhou Dafu after dinner, and they would go to the scene together.

This was Li Chu learning from his previous experience. Ghosts wouldn't appear during the day anyway, so it was better to go when it was getting dark, which wouldn't delay things.

Going too early was useless, waiting there was boring, and it was easy to be pestered by women at the scene...

Although this was a case of an entire family being wiped out, there wouldn't be any plotlines involving widows this time, but... it was good to form a habit.

He had a premonition that Yuhang Town might not be peaceful for a while.

The evening sky was beautiful, with brilliant clouds on the horizon.

Zhou Dafu had long since finished his case visits, investigations, and reporting. He was anxiously waiting in the Prefectural Government Office, hoping Li Chu would arrive soon and that tonight would proceed smoothly.

If Li Chu's exorcism didn't go well, his own future might also be bumpy.

But what he received first wasn't Li Chu, but a plaque.

A heavy plaque, seven inches long and five inches wide, made of cast iron. The front was carved with a towering pagoda, and the back bore three neatly written characters: Facing Heaven Pavilion.

The plaque fell from the sky, clattering onto Zhou Dafu's desk.

The one who threw the plaque was a young-looking girl in a purple, belted brocade robe.

She wore a red ribbon to tie her high ponytail. Her skin was fair, her eyebrows delicate, her eyes almond-shaped, her nose upturned, and her lips red. Her beauty was as bright as a dew-kissed peach blossom.

Moreover, she had a slender waist and long legs, with a graceful figure.

As she walked, her long legs swung, her delicate waist swayed, her ponytail bounced behind her head, and even the constables in the entire Yamen trembled.

But while the young constables trembled at her legs, Zhou Dafu trembled at the plaque.

A young man wanted to go up and chat, putting on his usual smarmy face. He started with, "Miss, you look a bit familiar. Are you here looking for..."

"I think your mother looks familiar too!"

Zhou Dafu rushed over and kicked the disappointing subordinate away.

The young man tumbled outside the Yamen Jail, dazed from the fall. He still remembered to straighten his hat and quickly flashed Zhou Dafu a fawning smile.

"Boss, I'm sorry. I didn't know you liked her first, hehe."

He chuckled foolishly, thinking it was like usual at the Spring Full Pavilion, and that Zhou Dafu was angry because someone was trying to steal his girl.

Zhou Dafu's pupils contracted. He quickly roared, "I liked your mother first! Get lost!"

The young man was struck as if by lightning. After a moment of stunned silence, he hesitantly said, "Then... my father might be a bit difficult. How about... you let me think of a way?"

You truly are a filial son! Zhou Dafu wished he could rush over and give him a quick end.

But the girl in front of him was smiling at him, and he didn't dare move.

A rookie could only see her beautiful smile, but an old hand could feel the sharpness of her gaze!

Immediately, Zhou Dafu wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said with a smile, "I am Zhou Dafu, the head constable of Yuhang Town. Greetings, superior officer."

Superior officer?

There was an uproar in the Yamen Jail. The constables, who had been lounging around carelessly, immediately stood at attention, creating a mess of noise.

"Constable Zhou doesn't need to be so polite."

The young lady spoke with her mouth, and her long legs carried her to Constable Zhou's seat in a few steps. She sat down boldly, retracting the heavy token.

"I am Li Xinyi, from the Purple-Clad Guard, stationed in Hangzhou Prefecture under Facing Heaven Pavilion," the young lady introduced herself. "We have no subordinate relationship, and I am not your superior."

In theory, this was indeed the case.

But in theory, Facing Heaven Pavilion was still just a martial sect.

Many things depended on the actual situation.

Facing Heaven Pavilion was ordered to exclusively manage matters of ghosts and spirits, and had the authority to execute first and report later for cases involving evil entities.

Even the most junior members of the Purple-Clad Guard in Facing Heaven Pavilion were cultivators with profound cultivation. Ordinary officials would respectfully treat them with deference.

This pressure was one of the reasons Constable Zhou disliked inviting Facing Heaven Pavilion to handle cases.

"Up... Miss Li, what brings you here?" Constable Zhou asked cautiously.

"Hmm?" Li Xinyi's willow-leaf-like brows furrowed beautifully. "Don't you know why I'm here?"

"Uh, is it about the massacre in Xia Liu Village?"

"Yes, but not only that." Li Xinyi smiled slightly. "I've also been ordered to ask you why there are frequent occurrences of evil entities in the town you govern, Yuhang Town? In the past year, you've reported six cases of evil entities, and this time, two cases of vengeful spirits in three days."

She stood up again. Her tall stature was no match for Constable Zhou, but her aura completely overshadowed him.

"I'm very curious, what secrets does the small Yuhang Town hide that lead to a constant stream of evil things? Or is it that there are no ghosts in the cases, and Constable Zhou, you have a guilty conscience, and are using evil entities to cover up your inability to solve cases?"

The situation she described was not uncommon.

There were too many unsolved cold cases and major cases under the Heavens, but spread out among every constable in the He Luo Dynasty, it was only a few cases each.

Sometimes, to give an explanation to those above, using cases of evil entities as an excuse was perfectly normal.

After all, cases involving evil entities were often without head or tail. Some ghosts and monsters, even after being eliminated, left no evidence, making it easy to engage in shady dealings.

However, this kind of thing couldn't happen too often. For Constable Zhou to have six cases in a year was a frequency that raised serious suspicion.

As for two cases of vengeful spirits in three days, that was even more excessive.

If it were true, Facing Heaven Pavilion would have to investigate. If it were false, it would be an insult to people's intelligence, and Facing Heaven Pavilion would have to punish him.

"Heaven and Earth as my witness!" Constable Zhou said with a distressed face. "Miss Li, I'm also baffled as to why there are so many evil entities under my jurisdiction! I'm not an idiot. Even if I were to make up a story, I wouldn't fabricate two cases of vengeful spirits in three days. But my investigation results are indeed like this, I can't lie, can I?"

Li Xinyi's smile was neither cold nor warm. "If you have nothing to hide, why have you never sought out people from our Facing Heaven Pavilion? Instead, you always hire cultivators from outside with the court's bounty to eliminate evil entities. I also want to know, is there really a cultivator with such profound cultivation in such a small place as Yuhang Town, who can help you solve these bizarre cases consecutively!"

Constable Zhou said, "In my years as a constable, I wouldn't say I've always been diligent, but I would never dare to deceive my superiors. I didn't ask for help from the superiors of Facing Heaven Pavilion because there is indeed a Daoist Temple locally, with cultivators residing there. It was convenient to invite them, so I didn't think of troubling the superiors."

"Oh?"

Li Xinyi's gaze swept over his ugly face: "I'll be staying here for a while to thoroughly investigate the source of the evil spirits in Yuhang Town. As for Constable Zhou, the one you invited... there's a suspicion of him raising ghosts to boost his own reputation. Don't let him come here during this time."

"That's natural," Zhou Dafu nodded repeatedly.

Since someone from Facing Heaven Pavilion had arrived, Li Chu was naturally no longer needed.

No matter how much Zhou Dafu valued Li Chu, he didn't believe that a disciple from a rogue sect would be as powerful as an orthodox Cultivator from Facing Heaven Pavilion.

As for raising ghosts to boost one's reputation, that was something that had happened in past cases. Some local Cultivators would specifically raise evil spirits to commit crimes, then offer their services to exorcise them, earning substantial rewards.

Places like Yuhang Town, which weren't too far from the prefectural city but were still somewhat prosperous, were the top choices for people who did such things.

This was something Facing Heaven Pavilion detested the most.

Zhou Dafu wanted to defend Li Chu, to explain that the Little Daoist Priest wasn't that kind of person, but the words caught in his throat, and he stopped.

Li Xinyi's impression of him wasn't good yet, so speaking up for someone else would be completely unnecessary.

As they were talking, a clear voice sounded from outside the main gate.

"Is Constable Zhou here? I've arrived."

"That's the Daoist priest I invited. I'll send him back now," Zhou Dafu said, turning to greet him.

Li Xinyi also walked out with him, wanting to see what this suspicious Daoist priest looked like.

And so she saw...

A Little Daoist Priest with clear eyes and a gentle gaze, dressed in a clean and simple blue robe, standing outside the gate under a poplar tree, his hair swaying, his robes fluttering.

In an instant, it was as if all the rosy clouds in the sky had gathered on him.

He was like an immortal banished from heaven.

Zhou Dafu called out to Li Chu, "Little Daoist Priest Li, I'm sorry..."

Slap.

A swift and decisive chop to the back of his neck interrupted his words just in time.

Li Chu's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

As Zhou Dafu slumped to the ground, a radiant young woman appeared from behind him. She looked at him tenderly, her smile blooming like a flower.