Shoe-Tossing Pathfinding

Xu Qing often passed by Shuimen Bridge, and indeed, there were a few unconventional gentlemen there selling fortunes and medicine. But could the fortune-telling really be that accurate?

If that were the case, he might have to start avoiding Shuimen Bridge in the future. After all, if someone happened to glance at him and calculate his fate, revealing he was destined to die, it would undoubtedly be troublesome.

In the morgue, the Duren Sutra continued to turn its pages. After receiving guidance from the fortune teller, the gambler rushed to Cuiyun Tower without delay.

Big Teapot greeted him with a laugh. The gambler followed him into a quiet pavilion. After they announced their arrival, a sharp, high-pitched voice emanated from within.

"If you want to buy our treasure, it's not impossible, but the price..."

"The price is negotiable. How about one hundred and twenty taels?"

Having been enlightened by the fortune-telling master, the gambler was determined to obtain the treasure that would help him win money. He immediately named a price.

This was all the money he had, scraped together by selling his belongings and even his wife. Apart from a few taels he'd set aside for a fresh start, he'd rounded up the rest and blurted it out.

Fearing that the esteemed person inside the pavilion might deem the sum insufficient, he added, "Once I win a few more bets, not only one hundred and twenty, but even twelve hundred taels, I'll gladly give to you!"

"You misunderstand. Not only will we not ask you for money, but we will also give you money."

As he spoke, a servant emerged from the pavilion, holding a tray. On it lay the Pixiu Jade Pendant.

"This jade pendant is Yin Spirit Jade, and inside it is a Gambling Beast that we have trained. With the little beast's secret assistance, you will win every bet."

Hearing the words "Yin Spirit Jade," Xu Qing's heart stirred.

Yin Spirit Jade, commonly known as Yin Ghost Jade, was one of the key materials for cultivating Silverclad Wandering Corpses according to the Corpse Nurturing Scripture.

He hadn't expected to find an item he'd searched for everywhere without success until now!

Outside the pavilion, the servant presented the Pixiu Jade Pendant and one hundred and twenty taels of silver to the gambler on the tray. Then, he took out a bundle of Spirit Incense and meticulously instructed him, "The Gambling Beast needs one stick of incense daily. There are seven sticks here, so you must offer it every day. Never let the jade pendant leave your person, or it will lose its efficacy."

Upon hearing this, the gambler eagerly asked, "When will this Gambling Beast help me win money?"

"Offer one stick of Spirit Incense daily, and it will naturally allow you to gamble to your heart's content."

With the jade pendant and the one hundred and twenty taels, the gambler happily left Cuiyun Tower.

It was quite foolish of him, really. The people in the pavilion were complete strangers, yet he didn't question why they were helping him, even giving him money.

Didn't he know that cheap things are rarely good, and that pies don't just fall from the sky?

Especially when something was being offered to him, who knew what treachery was hidden within!

Blinded by greed, the gambler only thought of winning money. He paid no attention to anything else!

Clutching the silver and the jade pendant, he scurried back to his room. Eagerly, he lit a stick of Spirit Incense, cupped the jade pendant in his hands, and prayed like a devout follower, muttering auspicious phrases for good luck and fortune.

As the Spirit Incense began to burn, Xu Qing once again smelled the familiar scent of incense that he associated with Cuiyun Tower.

When the aroma fully spread, the gambler in the room suddenly collapsed to the floor, emitting incoherent murmurs.

The room was now filled with smoke. The stick of Spirit Incense seemed to possess a peculiar magic, transforming the entire room into the image of a bustling casino.

Then, as if sleepwalking, the gambler stiffly rose, holding the jade pendant reverently, and began to circle the incense table.

In the gambler's eyes, he was moving through the casino, as if possessed by a god of gambling, winning every bet and playing every card with unwavering skill.

Seeing this, Xu Qing became thoughtful.

The dreamlike effect produced by the stick of incense was remarkably similar to his own Dream Weaving Technique.

However, the dream experienced by the gambler was not as realistic as those created by the Dream Weaving Technique.

Peering through the semi-transparent illusion, Xu Qing refocused his gaze on the room. He noticed that the Pixiu Jade Pendant had somehow floated about three inches above the gambler's head. From the point where the pendant connected to the gambler's spiritual crown, a continuous stream of spiritual light was being stripped away from his body.

For the next seven days, a different colored ball of spiritual light would be extracted from the gambler's body each day. By the final day, the gambler, utterly depleted in spirit and energy, could no longer enter the casino illusion.

With his last ounce of strength, he opened his eyes and looked at the floating Pixiu Jade Pendant. He saw a ghostly figure with a familiar face emerging from the pendant, demanding his final trace of spirituality.

The gambler's mouth gaped open in terror. The reason was simple: the ghost before him bore his own likeness, and he had never left his room!

In his dying moments, he finally realized that the "Gambling Beast" within the Pixiu Jade Pendant was none other than himself!

The money given to him was not a gift, but rather payment for his life!

After witnessing the gambler's demise, Xu Qing had a general idea of the identity of the Yinmen practitioner in Cuiyun Tower.

Besides being an evolutionary material for Silverclad Wandering Corpses, Yin Ghost Jade had another special function: nurturing ghosts.

While they, the Corpse Drivers, raised and refined corpses, the hidden Yinmen practitioner in Cuiyun Tower was clearly an expert in nurturing and refining ghosts.

'Yin Ghost Jade has already caused harm to two people, yet the eunuch in Cuiyun Tower, who is rumored to be procuring items from the palace, has not appeared,' Xu Qing frowned.

Could it be that the number of people consumed was not yet enough?

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, temporarily setting aside his thoughts. He didn't know who currently possessed the Yin Ghost Jade, but as long as more people fell victim, it would eventually find its way here, along with their bodies.

After all, not everyone was as greedy as Wei Fang, allowing the Yin spirit to exploit their weakness.

After transcending the gambler's corpse, the Duren Sutra gave the same evaluation as it did for Wei Fang: low-grade Human.

However, the rewards were vastly different. The gambler's transcendence reward clearly bore the mark of a gambler: a technique called the Shoe-Tossing Pathfinding Method.

As the name suggested, whenever one was lost or unsure of which direction to go, they simply had to take off their shoe and toss it. The direction the tip of the shoe pointed would be the direction the practitioner should take.

Xu Qing tilted his head and looked at his own shoes.

Seriously? Could this thing actually be accurate?

Before the corpse slab, after Xu Qing finished examining the two bodies, Wang Lingyuan asked with a smile, "How is it? Did you find anything?"

Xu Qing pondered slightly and replied, "The cause of death for these two bodies is basically the same. If there's a killer, it's highly likely to be one person."

"Also, the case file records that the person who discovered the first body at the gambling house inn was precisely Wei Fang."

"These two matters might be related, but the specific details of the case will have to wait for further verification."

Wang Lingyuan nodded and said, "This case is bizarre and difficult to crack. It will likely end up as an unsolved case. We'll have to see how the Government Office rules on it. If it's related to demonic forces, we might have to report it to the prefecture."

Xu Qing's heart stirred upon hearing this. "Report to the prefecture? Does that mean the prefecture has the ability to solve these kinds of strange cases?"

"Naturally. The prefecture has an office specifically in charge of demon-related affairs. Not long ago, a Demon Hunter Captain even came to investigate the whereabouts of Tianxin Cult demonic cultivators, but they didn't find any trace."

Xu Qing then asked many questions about the Demon Hunter Department. Wang Lingyuan knew very little, only that above the Demon Hunter Captains were the Divine Machine Battalion, and these people were all extraordinary individuals who were rarely seen.

Seeing that it was getting late, Wang Lingyuan urged Xu Qing to hurry back.

"Junior brother, the day after tomorrow is the examination for Tong Sheng. You should study more. Don't come to your senior brother's place these past two days, lest you get distracted."

Xu Qing repeatedly agreed. After leaving the Government Office and seeing that the Wu brothers were nowhere in sight, he had a sudden idea. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he took off a shoe and tossed it onto the ground.