A quarter of an hour later.
Wei Qing returned to the inn and headed straight for the secret chamber.
Inside the secret chamber.
"Lord Wei."
Seeing Wei Qing arrive, Zhang Zhidong immediately rose and bowed.
"Brother Zhang, there's no need to be so courteous between us." Wei Qing raised a hand to stop him. "Tell me first what you've found."
"Yes."
After taking his seat, Zhang Zhidong did not relax as he had promised, instead maintaining a measure of respect in his bearing.
Seeing this, Wei Qing said nothing more.
"After a day and a night of investigation by the Night Owl Guard, we really did discover something unusual about Qingcheng. It's just..."
Seeing his hesitant expression, Wei Qing guessed at once. "Speak. Which family?"
"The Yan Family."
"One of the Night Owl Guard brothers said that two days before the Fang Family's affair was exposed, he happened to see a black-robed man enter the Yan Family. He didn't pay it any mind at the time."
"Only after I issued the order yesterday did he report it to me."
"Afterward, I sent the brother with the best movement skills in the Night Owl Guard to infiltrate the Yan Family."
"In the well in the Yan Family's rear courtyard, he discovered a large number of skeletons belonging to young men and women."
"Moreover, the Yan Family's movements have recently become increasingly secretive, gradually fading from the sight of everyone in Qingcheng."
The Yan Family was the foremost of Qingcheng's three great families.
The Yan Family's former patriarch had once been one of the Jizhou Prefecture Governor's tutors. Relying on that connection, the Yan Family's position as Qingcheng's foremost family had been unshakable.
No wonder Zhang Zhidong had been so hesitant.
If it had only been a prefectural governor, it would not have been enough to make the Night Owl Guard hesitate.
The key was that the Jizhou Prefecture Governor had an elder sister who was a noble imperial consort.
As one of Emperor Mingxing's favorite consorts, Consort Xia had brought the Xia Family the emperor's favor. Their influence had rapidly expanded, transforming them from a third-rate aristocratic family into a first-rate family in the Imperial City.
"So what if it's the Xia Family?"
"If they're colluding with demons, the first person who won't let the Xia Family off will be His Majesty."
The Previous Emperor of Great Zhou, Emperor Jinkang, had died in a great battle against demons.
Emperor Mingxing had accepted the throne in a moment of crisis and forcibly pulled Great Zhou back from the brink of fragmentation.
Reborn from the ashes, Great Zhou had not merely avoided decline. Under Emperor Mingxing's enlightened rule, it had risen to an even higher level.
The demons that had killed the Previous Emperor had become the objects of his frenzied campaign.
However, few people knew the true reason behind the Previous Emperor's death.
Wei Qing knew because his father, Wei Yuan, had been one of the participants in Emperor Mingxing's "war of revenge."
"What about the other families and factions? Have you found anything unusual?"
"Nothing so far."
Seeing that Wei Qing's words were not feigned, Zhang Zhidong's faint wariness of the Xia Family unconsciously diminished.
"Continue monitoring the Yan Family."
"Have you identified the black-robed man's identity?"
"Judging from the condition of the deceased, the method strongly resembles the Ghost Corpse Sect's Corpse Refining Technique."
When the name "Ghost Corpse Sect" was mentioned, a trace of fear flashed through Zhang Zhidong's eyes.
The Ghost Corpse Sect was an evil sect within Great Zhou. They specialized in stealing corpses from all over and cultivating powerful corpse puppets.
Later, they provoked public outrage and were jointly exterminated by the righteous sects, vanishing without a trace twenty years ago.
Yet the strength and terror of their corpse puppets had left many people with a shadow in their hearts.
"As expected."
Wei Qing's heart sank. The thread of suspicion in his heart had now been confirmed.
The eighteen corpses that Zhu Huan had said were missing had most likely been stolen by the Ghost Corpse Sect.
"?"
Zhang Zhidong frowned slightly, not understanding what he meant.
"Brother Zhang, you should have heard about the eighteen corpses that disappeared from the Mourning Hall. I suspect they were stolen by people from the Ghost Corpse Sect."
"I've heard of it..."
Something was wrong.
Zhang Zhidong seemed to have thought of something horrifying. He abruptly rose and hurriedly asked, "Lord Wei, did you examine the birth dates of the missing corpses?"
Wei Qing nodded. "Looks like you've thought of it too. That's right. They were all Pure Yang individuals born in a Yang year, Yang month, Yang day, and Yang hour."
"The Ghost Corpse Sect intends to refine a Yang Kui?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong drew in a sharp breath.
The Yang Kui was one of the most difficult corpse puppets to refine, and one of the strongest, among the Ghost Corpse Sect's corpse puppets.
The corpse had to belong to a male born in a Yang year, Yang month, Yang day, and Yang hour. After being processed with special medicines, it would become a "quasi-Yang Kui."
Afterward, the quasi-Yang Kui would be left to slaughter and devour one another, until the strongest corpse puppet was selected.
A corpse puppet born from such slaughter would possess a starting strength of the Seventh Rank Realm.
"Judging from the intelligence we have, that's the case." Wei Qing nodded slightly, then changed tack. "Besides, don't you find it strange that so many Pure Yang individuals suitable for refining a Yang Kui appeared in one place all at once?"
"From the Nineteenth Year of Kaiyuan to the Third Year of Jinkang, eighteen Pure Yang individuals were born in the span of four years."
"When this many coincidences come together, it stops being a coincidence."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong's pupils abruptly contracted. He cried out, "The Ghost Corpse Sect has turned Qingcheng into a corpse-farming ground."
"They gathered so many Pure Yang individuals, then killed them all after they reached adulthood, refining them into corpse puppets."
"The Spirit Stream Demonic Cat feeds on mental power, and the mental power of Pure Yang individuals is purer than that of ordinary people."
"By cooperating with it, the Corpse Refining Sect could not only obtain benefits, but also conceal their own traces perfectly, directing the clues about the 'culprit' toward the demons."
"If that's the case, then Fang Xiang was one of their pawns as well."
"Mm." Wei Qing nodded slightly. "Fang Xiang was the bait floating on the surface of this corpse-farming scheme."
Zhang Zhidong said gravely, "In that case, Qingcheng's forces may find it difficult to withstand the counterattack of the Yan Family, the Ghost Corpse Sect, and the demons."
From the moment the Spirit Stream Demonic Cat died.
The curtain had already risen on this deadly scheme!
"Transmit the intelligence to the Heavenly Realm Division in the Imperial City at the fastest possible speed, and request reinforcements from the Jizhou Heavenly Realm Division as well."
"Hopefully, there's still time."
"Yes."
Zhang Zhidong also realized how serious the matter was. He did not dare delay in the slightest and hurriedly turned to make arrangements.
At the same time, inside the Yan Family's secret chamber.
The Yan Family patriarch, Yan Qingshan, knelt reverently before a mysterious figure clad in black robes. "Master, the final batch of blood food you requested has arrived."
"Very good." A slightly hoarse voice came from within the black robes. "At midnight tonight, simply take them to the old place west of the city."
"Yes."
Yan Qingshan answered respectfully.
"Next, your Yan Family must immediately arrange to move to Jizhou City. This place will likely be exposed before long."
"The noses of those mad dogs from the Heavenly Realm Division are exceedingly sharp."
"Yes. Today, I will arrange for my son to lead some of the clan members to Jizhou City."
"As for Qingcheng, after tonight, there will no longer be any members of the Yan Family here."
The mysterious figure continued asking, "Has there been any new word from that Spirit Rhinoceros Demonic Cat in Yandang Mountain?"
The contact between the two sides had suddenly broken off two days ago, giving him an uneasy feeling.
He had even personally gone to Yandang Mountain, but had found no trace of the other party.
This had only deepened the suspicion in his heart.