Surging Undercurrents

Linhe Fang had been anything but peaceful lately. The walls meant to keep displaced people out of the district were only half-built when a major incident occurred outside the district!

Captain Zhao Zhonghe of the patrol office brought a group of yamen runners outside the district, where he saw the displaced people huddled in groups of three or five, scattered like a disorderly chessboard along both sides of the official road.

The light snow that had fallen a few days ago had failed to accumulate. By now, it had all turned into muddy swamps, and merely looking at it was enough to make people feel irritable.

Zhao Zhonghe strode through the muddy puddles, and the displaced people in coarse-cloth clothing hurriedly cleared a path.

"There are a total of one hundred and six victims. Without exception, every one of them died from their blood and vital energy being drained. The Silver Seal Demon Hunter Captain from the prefectural city has already made his judgment: these people should have died at the hands of evil spirits and Demonic Creatures."

County Lieutenant Dong, who was in charge of supervising the construction of the walls, sighed and said, "The Prefect has already spoken. If this case cannot be cracked and the monster chief apprehended within three days, these displaced people will be allowed into the district to take shelter."

As Zhao Zhonghe examined the corpses with their shriveled flesh, he asked, "What did the Demon Hunter Department say? Could it be that they also agree to let these displaced people of unknown origins enter the district?"

County Lieutenant Dong pondered. "The Demon Hunter Captain has to return to the capital to submit a report. They won't interfere much in local affairs. Before leaving, the captain only said that we should conduct a thorough examination. If there are no abnormalities, they will most likely still follow the Prefect's wishes."

Zhao Zhonghe stood up and looked toward Linhe Fang, where the fortifications were being built.

If nothing unexpected happened, once the walls were completed, Linhe Fang would be only one opportunity away from transforming into a county seat.

The Prefect could not possibly have failed to consider these matters.

"In my opinion, the Prefect probably had the idea of bringing these displaced people into Linhe long ago. After all, this is a good opportunity to expand the population."

"But which of the rebellions in those southwestern prefectures and provinces wasn't caused by displaced people? Those Tianxin Cult fiends are experts at deception. What if some of the refugees constantly streaming in are their people?"

Hearing this, County Lieutenant Dong looked at Zhao Zhonghe in surprise. He had always known that this captain was exceptionally brave and strong, but he had never expected him to possess such a meticulous mind as well.

"Captain Zhao, there's no need to worry too much. We only need to handle our own duties. As for everything else, we should trust the Prefect's judgment."

Zhao Zhonghe neither agreed nor objected. If he truly trusted the Prefect, he would not have come here again after the Demon Hunter Captain had already inspected the scene.

Ultimately, he was merely a low-ranking man whose words carried little weight. After all, who would care about a captain's judgment?

"Where are you going, Captain Zhao? Why not come over to my place for a cup of tea?"

"No need. My brothers and I got up early and didn't even have a bite to eat, all so we could come here and inspect the situation. Since the Prefect and the captain have already made their decision, we won't meddle any further!"

"Brothers, I'm buying today. I'll treat you all to mutton soup!"

The yamen runners following him were hungry, with mud splattered all over their legs. Seeing that they had not accomplished much, they naturally harbored some resentment. But when they heard the captain offer to treat them, all their dissatisfaction vanished in an instant.

Apart from the gambling dens and pleasure quarters, the liveliest place in Linhe Fang was East Market Miscellaneous Goods Street, where crowds gathered. Whether it was people selling Great Strength Pills, hawking Dog-skin plaster, or performing juggling tricks and street acts, you could see it all.

There were also more refined businesses selling antiques and calligraphy and paintings, as well as flowers, birds, fish, and insects. In short, the street was a riot of variety, bizarre and wondrous. There was nothing you could imagine that Miscellaneous Goods Street did not have.

Xu Qing had spent the entire morning wandering around and had shelled out more than two hundred taels of silver in total before collecting most of the materials needed to break through to an Ironclad Wandering Corpse.

The materials he genuinely needed had cost only a little over one hundred taels. The rest consisted of various odds and ends he had deliberately purchased to conceal his true purpose.

When he reached a stall selling animal hides, Xu Qing asked, "What kinds of hides do you have?"

The hunter, who was hammering nails into a pair of deerskin boots, merely raised his head for a glance before continuing to fiddle with the boots in his hands.

"I've got roe deer hide, deer hide, and wolf hide. Some of it's stored at home, though. If there's something you want, I can bring it over in a couple of days."

Xu Qing sized up the hunter before him. The man wore a bone thumb ring on his right hand, the kind used when drawing a hunting bow, and he was dressed in bearskin. From the thick, powerful bones of his fingers alone, Xu Qing knew that this hunter possessed genuine skill.

"The hide I want is somewhat unusual. I wonder if you have it here."

"What kind of hide? Let's hear it. Aside from human skin, there isn't a hide I can't procure."

"Do you have Mountain Ruffian Hide that's more than ten years old?"

Mountain Ruffian Hide was supremely yin and turbid. It was one of the raw materials for refining an Ironclad Wandering Corpse according to the Corpse Nurturing Scripture, and the older it was, the better its effects!

Hearing this, the hunter set down the boots in his hands and began to regard the young man before him seriously.

"Mountain Ruffian Hide is rough as hell and can't be made into materials. You want this stuff for some other purpose, I take it?"

Without waiting for Xu Qing's answer, the hunter continued, "That's none of my business, though. If you want Mountain Ruffian Hide, I really do have one stored away. Someone originally wanted it, and I finished processing it for him, but he never came to collect it. That was two or three years ago."

"I nearly lost my life for that hide back then. Even two of the good hunting dogs I raised died. But this hide is uncommon, and it's rare for anyone to want it. I won't beat around the bush with you. I'll sell it to you for half the price that man offered back then: fifty taels of silver."

"How much?" Xu Qing had thought this hunter was being quite reasonable, but he had not expected him to ask for fifty taels of silver right out of the gate. If that was the case, the person who had originally asked him for the hide must have offered at least one hundred taels!

"Don't think I'm trying to cheat you. I'm no businessman, and I'd never ask for more than it's worth. If that man hadn't offered such a high price back then, I wouldn't have risked my life to hunt that thing."

"I traded my life for this hide back then. See these scars on my face? That thing was injured, then played dead and slashed me with its claws. If I hadn't reacted quickly, it would've peeled the skin right off my skull!"

Seeing that Xu Qing remained silent, the hunter added, "How about this? Prepare fifty taels of silver, and I'll bring you that thing's hide the day after tomorrow. I'll even throw in a Green Wolf Hide. What do you say?"

Xu Qing did not haggle further. He had wandered around more than half of East Market Street, and this was the only stall with the item in stock.

If he missed this one, who knew how long he would have to delay? Besides, fifty taels of silver was nothing much to him.

After the two settled on a date, Xu Qing continued strolling along East Market. When he reached the mouth of the street, several yamen runners with boots caked in yellow mud happened to approach him head-on.

Xu Qing shifted aside, preparing to leave, but unexpectedly, the captain leading them blocked him with one hand.

"You look familiar to me. Do you have an Identification Plaque and Travel Permit?"

Xu Qing looked at Zhao Zhonghe, whom he had encountered twice before, and felt rather helpless.

For some reason, he always felt that he and this captain were incompatible.

As if their fates were at odds.

Zhao Zhonghe took the Identification Plaque and looked at the native place and name engraved on it. He could not help interrogating him. "Xiangyin County, Little Stone Village? What are you doing in Linhe?"

At his side, a yamen runner who had delivered corpses to the Corpse Driver's Shop recognized Xu Qing and spoke up to help him. "Captain, Shopkeeper Xu runs an Undertaker Business, transferring spirits and handling funerals for people. I've been to his place before. Shopkeeper Xu has a shop on Jingxia Street—that place filled entirely with funeral shops."

"Bah! Damn, that's bad luck!" Zhao Zhonghe had just returned from outside the district. The one hundred and six shriveled corpses had yet to fade from his mind, and now he had run into someone who made a living from the dead. Why did he keep running into these underworld affairs every single day?

At that moment, Zhao Zhonghe was not the only one who was unhappy. Xu Qing also felt awkward. His Dream Lover's Staff was still tucked into the other man's belt!

And so, the two men who had never seen eye to eye parted ways once more in mutual displeasure.

Regardless of why Zhao Zhonghe was always making things difficult for him, the days ahead still had to be lived one day at a time. It wasn't as if he was counting on that Zhao fellow.

Xu Qing was now thinking only of the Mountain Ruffian Hide due in two days. Once he had that hide, he could officially begin advancing to an Ironclad Wandering Corpse. As for that Dog Beating Staff, he would just take it as having been carried off by a dog!

After returning to the shop, it was not long before his neighbor, the know-it-all Wu Yaoxing, came over carrying a fish!

"Take a look. I specially went to the wharf and asked an acquaintance for this carp."

Wu Yaoxing said with a broad grin, "My boy is going to take the examination for licentiate this spring. This carp is an auspicious sign. What's that saying again? The carp leaping over the Dragon Gate!"

"So I brought one over for you too, so you can share in the good fortune!"

Looking at the fish, Xu Qing thought, The Corpse Nurturing Scripture never said that zombies couldn't eat fish. Should I cut off some sashimi and give it a try later?

As the two chatted, Wu Yaoxing casually brought up the major incident that had occurred outside Linhe Fang.

He said that more than one hundred people had all died at the hands of a Demonic Creature overnight. It was downright eerie!

"You often go out to deliver corpses and handle funeral processions for people, so you'd better be extra careful. Who knows what kind of evil spirit is causing trouble outside the district?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing was not worried about the evil spirit. The first thing he thought of was whether the yamen would send those one hundred-plus corpses to him.

Then he thought of the Tianxin Cult fiends coming to Linhe Fang.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qing gave Wu Yaoxing a reminder. "Old Wu, try to visit the wharf less often lately. I heard from a friend at the broker's that the place has recently been seized by the outsider Jinmen Gang. The two sides are currently fighting, and it's fierce. You could easily get caught in the crossfire!"

"Is that so? Then I definitely won't dare go again!"

Wu Yaoxing valued his life dearly. The moment he heard this, he swore he would never go wandering around the wharf again!