Nighttime Investigation

Nightwear.

He also had to cover his face properly.

He tucked away a dagger, gripped the Soul Banner tight, and waited quietly for nightfall.

Spiritual power surged into the Soul Banner, and the ferocious ghost face on its black surface spat out wisps of black mist.

As the black mist curled around him, Li Qingfeng's tense nerves settled considerably.

He entered the dream once more to discuss matters with the Main Soul Fierce Ghost.

Li Qingfeng understood that although the Main Soul Fierce Ghost could not speak, it was not a ghostly being lacking intelligence.

Before setting out, he could not help but pour out his thoughts.

Within the dream, Tu Shan Jun provided Li Qingfeng with a detailed plan.

This plan would conceal Li Qingfeng himself well and keep him from being exposed before others.

With the Fierce Ghost's guidance, Li Qingfeng was full of confidence.

As the sun sank behind the western hills and darkness fell, Li Qingfeng, lying in bed, opened his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Li Qingfeng, clad in dark nightwear, left Li Manor.

Though he could not approach the Prefect directly, and did not know where the Prefect lived, he could first approach the Middle-aged Adviser who handled affairs for the Prefect.

This also confirmed what Li Qingfeng had told Yang Lingu: he would help ask that Adviser about Meng Zhen's whereabouts.

As the young master of the Li family, he knew rather well the important figures within Eight Directions City.

"I never expected the Prefectural Governor's Mansion to be guarded so tightly."

Li Qingfeng hid atop a roof beam, then lightly dropped to the ground, avoiding the patrolling guards.

The Black Armor Guards carried an air of grim slaughter and looked like no easy opponents.

These Black Armor Soldiers would be experts capable of holding off ten men apiece even outside the mansion. Armored and armed, they could rival recognized martial experts of the jianghu.

The Prefectural Governor's Mansion was neither large nor small, and Li Qingfeng had only visited it twice.

He had entered once when taking the childhood scholar examination, then visited again after passing as a xiucai. That second visit had been unusual, and the memory remained vivid.

He could still find the Adviser's office.

The side hall beside the main hall.

The Adviser instructed his subordinates to light the oil lamps.

Three ever-burning lamps and two nearby lamps illuminated the dim side hall.

The Prefect governed an entire prefecture, with no fewer than four counties under him.

Government affairs were busy, and documents piled up like mountains.

They generally passed through the Adviser's hands first. Important matters were reported to Zhang Wanlong, while the Adviser could decide the remaining minor matters himself.

The petty official watching over the oil lamps yawned in boredom, wishing he could close up early.

He had heard that Drunken Flower Lane in the East Ward had gained several more secret prostitutes. The thought made his heart itch unbearably; recalling those plump, beautiful legs nearly sent him to paradise.

But wishes were one thing. Sun Adviser still had to work for at least another hour, and he had to stand watch for that hour as well.

At that thought, the petty official suddenly felt weak all over, and his eyelids began to tremble involuntarily.

He toppled onto the desk.

Sun Adviser, who had been weighing and analyzing government affairs, suffered the same fate.

Spiritual power surged into the Soul Banner. With spiritual power available, Tu Shan Jun directly pulled Sun Adviser into a dream.

Li Qingfeng, lying atop the roof beam, naturally followed him in. As the banner's master, he did not need Tu Shan Jun to stir spiritual power in order to enter the dream.

Sun Adviser stared at everything before him in astonishment. It was as though he had merely blanked out for a moment, yet the surrounding scene had not changed much.

The side hall remained as it had been.

Half light, half darkness—somewhat eerie.

"Sun Adviser, I have long admired your name." Li Qingfeng appeared in the hall, dressed in nightwear with his face covered.

"Who are you, to dare barge into the Prefectural Governor's office?" Sun Adviser's expression remained calm, showing no fear, only a trace of anger.

"Guards!"

"Guards, come!"

His two consecutive shouts had no effect.

Outside the hall, all was silent. The dark night beyond the window chilled the heart.

"Sun Adviser, do not waste your effort. I have already dealt with those guards." Li Qingfeng revealed his dagger.

Truthfully, he did not dare make a move.

Though he had cultivated for over half a year, he was still a scholar. Where there was thought, there were misgivings.

Still, he could manage brandishing a knife to frighten someone.

By now, Sun Adviser was somewhat panicked. Anyone capable of dealing with the patrolling Black Armor Soldiers was certainly no ordinary man. "What do you want?"

"I only want to know the whereabouts of that group of people unqualified for immortal fate whom you recruited four months ago."

The moment those words fell, Sun Adviser's eyes widened, only to return to normal in an instant. Even his initial panic vanished without a trace.

As Zhang Wanlong's right-hand man, he had handled countless major and minor matters for Zhang Wanlong. His mental fortitude was not weak; a tiny dagger would not frighten him.

What was more, this Black-Cloaked Man was asking such a forbidden question.

Li Qingfeng carefully observed Sun Adviser. Not knowing how to torture a confession from someone, he could only flash the knife in his hand again.

Who would have thought that Sun Adviser instead calmed down?

"Young man, the waters here run deep. This is not something you can involve yourself in. From your accent, you should be a local. Are you acquainted with those four people?"

"I advise you to leave early. Otherwise, disaster will come knocking."

Sun Adviser seemed to have Li Qingfeng completely figured out.

Judging by his build, listening to his voice, and observing his bearing—

He was merely a highly skilled but green young lad fresh out of the gate.

Such people did not dare kill, and they feared the sight of blood.

He had dealt with many such people and understood their dispositions long ago.

Li Qingfeng frowned. Though he had nurtured baleful energy, and this was within a dream, the realistic scene before him still kept him from striking.

When dealing with ghosts and fiends, he had no choice but to act. Fear filled his mind then, leaving him concerned only with survival.

Now that a human life lay before him like fish on a chopping block, he instead did not know what to do.

Tu Shan Jun watched and shook his head.

Those who had never seen blood naturally feared slaughtering their own kind.

Li Qingfeng could not do it, but someone else could.

Footsteps sounded.

Sun Adviser looked over in surprise. He had thought the guards had arrived, and delight had just surfaced on his face when terror swallowed it whole.

A blue-faced, red-haired evil ghost, seven feet tall, emerged from the shadows.

Its scarlet ghost eyes brought terror.

The evil ghost carried a serrated ghost-head saber and walked before him.

Towering over him, its vicious aura completely drowned Sun Adviser.

Sun Adviser's legs went limp, and he could not rise at all.

His entire body trembled, his face deathly pale. He looked as though his courage had already been scared out of him.

Tu Shan Jun showed no mercy. He grabbed Sun Adviser by the collar and pinned him to the desk.

Then he spread his five fingers apart one by one.

Tu Shan Jun swung his saber with clean, decisive efficiency.

Squelch.

A finger fell at once.

The piercing pain made Sun Adviser howl in agony.

His miserable cries rang through the night.

Li Qingfeng could not bear it and wanted to stop him, but when he remembered that this was a dream, the pity in his eyes vanished.

"Where are those four?!" he demanded sharply.

The ghost-head saber rested against Sun Adviser's neck, its icy edge terrifying him.

Even the pain in his fingers seemed to lessen considerably.

The young man truly did not dare to kill ruthlessly, yet he had actually commanded an evil ghost to act.

Evil ghosts possessed no mercy or sympathy whatsoever.

They brought only terror and horror; they were the purest evil in the world.

"I will give you three breaths."

"I only want to know the whereabouts of those four. Are you going to tell me or not?"

As Li Qingfeng spoke, the serrated blade pressed harder. A sweet, bloody stench burrowed into Sun Adviser's nostrils and mouth, and the fresh rust-like taste made him nauseous.

The evil ghost pinning Sun Adviser down seemed not to hear him and raised the serrated saber again. But this time, it was no longer aimed at his fingers.

It was aimed at his neck.

"I... I'll tell you."

"I'll tell you everything." Sun Adviser had been frightened into pissing himself, weeping bitterly and sobbing miserably in utter disarray.

His earlier composure and confidence were long gone.

Snot and tears smeared his face.

He had lost control of his bladder, and half his trousers reeked of urine.

He kept kowtowing, hoping Li Qingfeng would relent and let the evil ghost spare his life.

"This lowly one did not know an Immortal Master stood before him. Whatever the Immortal Master wishes to know, this lowly one will tell him."

Li Qingfeng hardened his heart and endured his discomfort. "I want to know the whereabouts of those four. Are they dead or alive?"

"Three are dead. One is still alive."

"Is Meng Zhen dead or alive?"

Seeing the Adviser hesitate, Li Qingfeng immediately sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Speak!"

Sun Adviser jolted in fright, then dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Immortal Master, Young Master Meng died seven days ago."

Li Qingfeng's chestnut-colored pupils suddenly contracted, and he staggered back two steps.