Dismounted

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, surrounded by a bevy of beauties, clinked cups and feasted merrily.

Little did they know, Liu Qing had secretly drugged their wine.

This sleeping potion was potent enough to incapacitate several martial artists of the Bone Forging Realm for hours.

After the four ghosts had their fill.

Each of them took two attractive, voluptuous girls to their rooms.

"Hehe~ Baby, I'm coming..."

"My dear~ So fragrant..."

"Oh you~ Sir..."

Suddenly, lewd laughter could be faintly heard from the rooms.

It soon turned into a muffled hum.

"Four bastards!"

Xia Qi'an, who had been lurking outside the window for a long time, watched it all and cursed under his breath.

For some reason, Xia Qi'an was incredibly angry at this moment.

After a while, the lively rooms suddenly fell silent.

It seemed the sleeping potion Liu Qing had administered had taken effect.

Xia Qi'an, like a stealthy cat, cautiously pushed open the window and peeked through the gap, confirming that the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang in the room had fallen unconscious.

Then, he leaped in through the window, while Liu Qing, like a wisp of smoke, quietly entered another room.

Entering the room, he saw Ghost Four sprawled on two women like a dead dog, motionless.

He tiptoed forward and lifted Ghost Four's upper garments.

Just as rumored, there was a dark green tattoo on Ghost Four's back.

After dislocating Ghost Four's joints, Xia Qi'an bound him tightly with ropes.

"CRASH!"

At this moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the adjacent room.

Then, an angry voice cursed, "You slut! How dare you poison me... I'll kill you!"

Hearing this, Xia Qi'an quickly put down Ghost Four and went to help.

Exiting the room, he saw Ghost One, the leader of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, locked in combat with Liu Qing.

Ghost One's expression was disheveled, his clothes haphazardly worn.

Ghost One, the leader of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, was the most powerful among them.

Liu Qing's sleeping potion had not managed to knock him out completely.

However, that was all.

The effect of the sleeping potion had greatly reduced his strength.

Ghost One's steps were unsteady, his body swaying.

Like a candle in the wind, he constantly shook his head, trying to stay conscious.

Seeing this, Liu Qing naturally showed no mercy.

Her short knife darted out like a venomous snake, aiming straight for Ghost One's throat.

Ghost One, not wanting to be captured easily, forcefully activated his movement technique to dodge the blow.

The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was indeed an exquisite movement technique. When executed, it left multiple afterimages like phantoms, making it difficult to discern his direction.

His dodges and weaves were incredibly fast, almost like teleportation.

Liu Qing's knife strikes were dodged by Ghost One time and again, thanks to his uncanny movement technique.

If Ghost One were in his prime.

It would have been difficult for Xia Qi'an and Liu Qing to capture him.

Fortunately, the sleeping potion's effects were still lingering.

Ghost One found it increasingly difficult to mobilize the Blood Essence within him.

It was only a matter of time before Liu Qing captured him.

Ghost One was also well aware of his current predicament.

So, he gritted his teeth and abandoned his three brothers, breaking through the window to escape.

However, what he didn't expect was.

Just as Ghost One's body was about to burst out of the Wind Moon Pavilion.

A hand like a blacksmith's clamp, like an iron chain across a river, grabbed his ankle and pulled him back into the Wind Moon Pavilion.

Ghost One's strength was already depleted. This pull sent him crashing to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

Xia Qi'an immediately stepped forward and rained a flurry of punches onto Ghost One's face.

He was beaten until his nose was bruised and swollen, blood gushing from his face, leaving him on the verge of death.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang must have been carrying money when they came to Jinling for pleasure.

After Xia Qi'an searched the four of them, he found a total of twenty thousand taels in silver notes.

When the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang woke up again, they found themselves bound hand and foot and in an unknown dungeon.

Xia Qi'an was busy making rubbings of the tattoos on their backs.

The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track movement technique had four levels, each etched as a secret pattern onto the backs of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang.

"Kid... what's your name?"

Ghost One, now awake, asked Xia Qi'an with a hoarse voice.

"What? Want revenge?" Xia Qi'an asked back, busy with the rubbings of the cultivation method.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang had their powers temporarily dispersed by Liu Qing's Power Dissipation Powder, rendering them no longer a threat.

"Heh heh... You're quite arrogant! What do you want? Money?... Cultivation methods?" Ghost One said fearlessly.

"Where is the tax silver?" Xia Qi'an pressed.

"Heh heh... cough... Naturally, it was handed over to the person who hired us!"

"We brothers just take people's money and do their bidding!"

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang had been wandering the martial world for many years, and this wasn't their first time in prison.

So, this time, he didn't think there would be any danger to his life.

Xia Qi'an frowned and said coldly, "The one who ordered you... is it Chu Shiqing of Jinling's Wei Dao Si?"

Seeing that Xia Qi'an knew the name of the mastermind, Ghost One's brow twitched, and a bad premonition struck him. "You just want money! Take the silver we have!"

"The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track movement technique, doesn't it have a foundational incantation?" Xia Qi'an didn't answer directly but hinted at it.

After studying the tattoos on the backs of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, he felt that the cultivation method seemed incomplete with just the four patterns.

"Haha! No problem... As long as you let us four brothers go! We'll give you the foundational incantation as well!" Ghost One knew things were dire and decided to trade the cultivation method for his life.

Then, Ghost One recited the foundational incantation.

Liu Qing took it all down.

But then, seeing that Xia Qi'an had no intention of letting them go.

Ghost One's expression became flustered, and he shouted angrily, "What do you mean... We've given you the cultivation method and the silver!"

"Aren't you afraid of being blamed by Chu Shiqing? He's the Snake Guard Commander!"

Liu Qing chuckled, "Lord Chu has committed a grave offense this time!... Besides, he doesn't even know that you, the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, have fallen into our hands!"

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang inwardly cried, "It's over!"

Xia Qi'an and Liu Qing were now in the same boat.

After discussing it, they decided to split the twenty thousand taels of silver equally, taking ten thousand each.

Not only that, but the wealth accumulated by the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang over the years was certainly more than just twenty thousand taels of silver.

However, they were being pursued by the Wei Dao Si in the Xiaoxiang region, making it inconvenient to carry their belongings.

So, they hid their wealth and treasures in a secret chamber.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, under Xia Qi'an's interrogation, also clearly revealed the key and location of the secret chamber.

The reason the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang had helped Chu Shiqing intercept the tax silver was because Chu Shiqing had promised not to send the Snake Guard to hunt them.

This would allow the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang to settle in Jinling.

After each copying the cultivation method.

The two decided to spare the lives of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang for the time being.

After all, they were crucial witnesses who could bring down Chu Shiqing.

With this, the case of the missing tribute silver temporarily came to a close.

After parting ways with Xia Qi'an, Liu Qing immediately rushed to Si Nan Manor to report.

He decided to truthfully report the investigation results of the tax silver loss case to Si Nanyue.

She would then report it to the Wei Dao Si headquarters through official channels.

Furthermore, Liu Qing frankly stated that if Chu Shiqing were to fall, she might be promoted to the new Snake Guard Commander.

This was the most beneficial outcome for both of them.

Si Nan Manor.

"Stealing from one's own post... that's a major taboo in the Wei Dao Si! Chu Shiqing is far too audacious!"

Si Nanyue appeared extremely angered after reading the confessions of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang.

The Wei Dao Si enjoyed numerous privileges within the secular dynasties.

This was not solely due to their martial prowess, but also their duty to protect the world and the prestige they had built over many years.

If the leaders of the Wei Dao Si were to abuse their authority for personal gain, engaging in theft from their own posts, this would undoubtedly undermine the Wei Dao Si's credibility within the secular dynasties, striking at its very foundation.

Judging by Si Nanyue's reaction this time, Chu Shiqing was likely in for significant trouble.

Chu Shiqing was a notable figure in Jinling, but within the Wei Dao Si, he was hardly anyone of consequence.

As expected, three days after Si Nanyue submitted the investigation files and the prisoner's confessions, the Wei Dao Si headquarters dispatched eight individuals to Jinling specifically to investigate this case.

A Snake Guard Commander in a prefecture, colluding with notorious bandits to seize tax silver from the local government.

Such a scandal was something the Wei Dao Si's higher-ups would absolutely not permit to leak.

Among the eight martial artists sent by the Wei Dao Si headquarters this time, two were Tiger Guards, and the remaining six were all Snake Guard Commanders.

This demonstrated the severity of the incident's repercussions.

That very night, Chu Shiqing, still lost in dreams, was apprehended by the Snake Guard and thrown into the Wei Dao Si prison.

Meanwhile, Qiu Qianshi, the grand leader of the Ghost Market, was also imprisoned in the Wei Dao Si.

Furthermore, the Wei Dao Si had recovered five hundred thousand taels of silver and immediately returned it to the Jinling City authorities.