Fufeng City, Document Archive.
After presenting the warrant, Zhong Shenxiu unceremoniously had all the records on Rogue Cultivators above the Divine Ability realm in the Fufeng Protectorate brought over.
"White Bone Scholar, real name Xie Heze, birthplace unknown. Rose to prominence in the seventh year of Shenwu, massacred a village in the eighth year of Shenwu, and refined the Hundred Bone Human Demon... Later advanced to the Divine Ability realm and became wanted by the Imperial Court, fleeing to Fufeng... His whereabouts are uncertain, and he is cunning and vicious. He has committed one major crime after another. Anyone who can provide information on his whereabouts will, after verification, receive a reward of one thousand White Emperor Coins. A reward will be given for killing him..."
"Flying Luan, real name unknown, native to the Fufeng Protectorate. She was once a famous courtesan, then entered the Daoist sects. Together with Hua Ye, she was known as the Flying Flower Sisters. She occupies Scattered Flower Mountain and cultivates there. Her faction is neutral, and she has committed no notable crimes..."
There was even one about him.
"Young Master Shenxiu, claims to be Zhong Shenxiu. Birthplace unknown, age unknown. Initially pretended to be a Xiantian martial artist and infiltrated the Black Mountain Gathering, where he killed Venerable Yellow Sand. He is a Divine Ability expert... It is speculated that he has refined two Divine Abilities: one controlling souls, and the other involving the void. He later appeared again and conspired briefly with White Bone Scholar and Flying Luan. Further investigation is required!"
The ink on the final sentence had not even dried, clearly having been added only recently.
Zhong Shenxiu felt a chill in his heart as he read it, then looked through the records of Venerable Poison Dragon and the others as well.
At last, he came across True Lord Dragon Tiger.
"True Lord Dragon Tiger, real name Zhang Taiyi, traitor of the Supreme Dragon Tiger Sect. Reason for his betrayal unknown. His whereabouts are uncertain, and his Divine Ability is astonishing. Anyone who provides clues and confirms his identity will be awarded one great merit!"
"That reward is truly generous. A great merit of the Second Yanhan Empire can directly absolve a criminal of all charges, while an official will be promoted three ranks. Compared to his reward, White Bone Scholar's is nothing at all. Perhaps he is hiding some secret?"
Zhong Shenxiu pondered inwardly, becoming even more convinced that he must not wade into this muddy water.
From the dossiers alone, he could tell that this True Lord Dragon Tiger was on an entirely different level from White Bone Scholar.
In truth, because of differences in inheritances, foundations, Daoist Arts, magical artifacts, and so on, the disparity in combat strength between Divine Ability cultivators was astonishing.
That was also why White Bone Scholar did not dare seek out True Lord Dragon Tiger himself, and instead had to keep looking for helpers.
One White Bone Scholar could casually butcher ten Feng Xi'ers!
And True Lord Dragon Tiger could probably butcher ten White Bone Scholars!
This is damn well a trap!
Zhong Shenxiu walked out the gate and secretly decided that, from now on, at most he would contact that group of dead men. There was no need to meet them in person.
The most important thing in life was knowing one's own limits.
Even if he brought out every trump card, he might not be able to do anything to a Divine Ability cultivator like White Bone Scholar, let alone someone of True Lord Dragon Tiger's level.
Once he left the government office, he found himself on the liveliest street in Fufeng City.
The street teemed with pedestrians, lined on both sides with all kinds of stalls and hawkers crying out their wares.
"Candied hawthorn! Candied hawthorn..."
The rhythmic cry reached him, bringing Zhong Shenxiu to a halt. He suddenly remembered that this body's younger female cousin, Su Wei, loved eating them. If he brought some back, she would surely be delighted. He immediately followed the sound, reaching into his robes for a Black Emperor Coin as he walked.
After walking a short distance, he saw a large crowd gathered in a circle. The candied-hawthorn hawker was grinning from ear to ear and had stopped there to watch.
"Something happened?!"
Looking at the crowd, Zhong Shenxiu sighed inwardly. The people of his great Yanhan truly had a tradition of watching the spectacle that stretched back through the ages. He no longer hurried to buy candied hawthorn, instead craning his neck to peer inside.
It seemed to be a circle where someone was performing for money, but a corpse was now lying starkly on the ground. Its head had been separated from its body, yet not a drop of blood had flowed.
An old man with hair as white as snow, apparently the corpse's grandfather, was kneeling on the ground and pleading bitterly with a richly dressed nobleman opposite him to spare his grandson.
The nobleman was a young master in his twenties. He wore a fine jade thumb ring and rubbed it slowly as he laughed. "I already paid a reward to watch a magic trick. What good is begging me? Go perform the trick yourself. Turn your grandson back into one piece."
"Ah, this grandfather and grandson are truly pitiful."
Someone nearby sighed and recounted the events to a friend. Without Zhong Shenxiu needing to investigate, he already understood ninety percent of what had happened.
It turned out that the grandfather and grandson were surnamed Qian and came from Yan Prefecture, making a living by performing here.
The Qian family had inherited a spell from their ancestors called the Flying Head Technique, which could separate a person's head from their body without harming them. Every performance was astonishing, and they received countless tips.
They had prospered inland through this skill, but had forgotten that although the Fufeng Protectorate was remote, all sorts of strange arts flourished there instead. The Flying Head Technique was merely a minor trick, with many methods of countering it. For example, one could never eat donkey meat for life, could not cast the spell on certain days, and the flying head could easily be struck by lightning. It was also extremely easy to break.
Today, while performing, they had finally met their match.
The noble young master had done nothing more than tip them a single coin.
Only, it had been a Red Emperor Coin!
Zhong Shenxiu immediately understood what had happened.
Even some Yin Sha Spells were countered by black dog blood, peachwood cores, female red dragons, and the like. This Red Emperor Coin had originally flowed out of the imperial palace and naturally carried a measure of noble aura. Its effect was similar to black dog blood, like a consecrated magical artifact, and it excelled at breaking spells.
Moreover, that young master appeared to be either rich or noble. With the two factors combined, ordinary Yin Sha Spells would be suppressed.
Not to mention that the old man's grandson did not even appear to have reached the Gang Sha Realm!
The Flying Head Technique had naturally been broken with ease, triggering a tremendous backlash.
If his head could not be reattached within a short while, the grandson would truly die.
Old Man Qian had smashed his forehead against the ground until it was covered in blood. He repeatedly pinched out spells, but still could not return his grandson's head to his body and was already close to despair.
His magical power was too shallow, while the nobleman refused to withdraw the Red Emperor Coin and lift the suppression.
If this continued, there would be no saving him—but this was Old Man Qian's only grandson! He could not help but wail again and again, looking utterly miserable.
Seeing his tragic state, some people truly wanted to step forward and offer a word of mediation.
But their sharp-eyed companions immediately pulled them back. "Don't stick your neck out. Can't you see that even the constables don't dare interfere? That's a Red Emperor Coin he's using!"
Red Emperor Coins were only occasionally used as rewards by the imperial family, and represented the power of a noble person!
It could be said that throughout the entire Fufeng Protectorate, only the Grand Protector might possess a few. Even Feng Xi'er was not qualified to have one!
The young master's background was therefore deeply intimidating, and even the constables did not dare meddle.
After all, performing magic in the street was, strictly speaking, a crime, whether major or minor. If the matter were taken seriously, they could be branded demons. In that sense, they had brought this upon themselves.
"Alas... who would have thought that my Old Qian family would be cut off today?"
Old Man Qian was filled with regret. He finally understood why his ancestors, despite mastering such a strange art, had been content to muddle along in the marketplaces instead of trying to swindle some high official or nobleman.
It turned out that giving too large a reward could kill someone too.
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