Chapter 7

Seeing the group of Mingjing Division Guards in black official uniforms, swords at their waists, and looking ready for a fight, no one dared do business anymore. Everyone wished they could shut up shop and close for the day.

A Chan had only turned around for a moment, but the men moving the goods had already slipped into the crowd. She had no idea whether they had gone to watch the commotion or were using the chance to get away.

The West Market was already in a bit of a mess after the Mingjing Division Guards showed up. A Chan still clutched the hemp rope tied to the wooden stake. Since she couldn't leave anyway, she figured she might as well stay and watch.

Quite a few people shared her idea. Although everyone was wary of the Mingjing Division, they couldn't suppress their curiosity about the spectacle.

The group of Mingjing Division Guards headed toward the area near the spice stall where A Chan had just bought her spices. The few shopkeepers along that row might have been frightened; they all stood frozen in place.

Then the leader barked, "Arrest him!"

The Mingjing Division Guards surged forward, heading straight for the jade stall beside the spice stall.

After the fat jade-stall owner was pinned down, he turned his head from side to side several times, then let out a wail and began to cry.

As he cried, he shouted, "My lord, I've been wronged—!"

No one knew where the owner was from. He spoke with a strange accent, and his drawn-out cries of innocence wound around and around, making them rather amusing.

"Shut up." The leader snapped at him in an unfriendly tone.

Only then did A Chan notice that the man leading the group was Feng Yang.

Two men behind Feng Yang went to the stall. One picked up a Jade token and handed it to the other, who merely rubbed it between his hands before it crumbled into powder.

The two exchanged a glance. Just as they were about to pick up another fist-sized Raw stone with its outer layer removed, the owner, who had just quieted down, began wailing again.

"My lord, please, let's talk this out! These jades are everything I own. If they're all crushed, I might as well be dead!"

The two men inspecting the jade didn't care whether the owner lived or died. They snapped the Raw stone in two as well.

They handed the broken Raw stone to Feng Yang. He glanced at it, then tossed it back to the owner. "Look. This is everything you own? Only the outer shell is jade. The inside is worse than ordinary stone."

The owner held his Raw stone and stared at it for a long while, then sniffed. "Impossible. Every piece of jade on my stall was inspected. How could it have turned out like this?"

"Are you the only one watching this stall?"

"There's also a shop assistant."

"Name?"

"Jiang San. That's what everyone calls him."

"Where is he?"

The owner looked from side to side, puzzled. "He was just here."

Feng Yang frowned and looked around. To his surprise, he spotted A Chan watching from outside the crowd, but his gaze lingered only briefly.

After a moment's thought, he raised his voice. It rang out clearly, reaching every ear. "Whoever helps me find Jiang San from the jade stall will receive ten taels of silver."

As soon as the words left his mouth, someone nearby shouted, "There! He's trying to run!"

Everyone looked toward the voice. A tall, skinny boy was pointing toward the North Gate of the West Market.

Jiang San was fast. In the blink of an eye, he was nearly out the North Gate.

"Arrest him," Feng Yang ordered. Half the Mingjing Division Guards behind him immediately sprang into action and charged after Jiang San.

But before they could catch up, a group of people suddenly appeared at the North Gate. The man at their head kicked Jiang San, who was about to run out, back into the market.

Jiang San flew more than ten meters before hitting the ground. His body twitched once, then went still.

Feng Yang strode over to Jiang San. He crouched beside him and checked the pulse at his neck. It was gone. The man was dead.

He stood and glared at Xue Mingtang, who was approaching with several Ministry of Justice clerks.

Xue Mingtang seemed not to notice Feng Yang's hostility. He glanced at the badge hanging from Feng Yang's waist, then cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Xue Mingtang, Assistant Minister of Justice. I acted rashly just now and struck too hard. I hope you won't take offense, Thousand Household Commander."

"What are you doing here, Ministry of Justice?" Feng Yang asked coldly.

Xue Mingtang looked frank and composed. "I'm investigating a case involving an Evil Spirit killing people. We happened to find a lead pointing to the West Market, so we came to look into it."

Feng Yang asked nothing further. He had no evidence linking Xue Mingtang to this, but his arrival had been far too convenient.

"Take Jiang San's body back," Feng Yang ordered.

Four men stepped forward, producing from somewhere two ropes that looked as if they had been soaked in blood. They paired off and moved to bind the body, but its head suddenly lifted.

As everyone screamed, a streak of white light shot out of the corpse and darted toward the crowd.

A Chan had stayed outside the crowd, afraid of being knocked over, but that seemed to make her stand out even more. The white light was heading in her direction, but for some reason it abruptly changed course halfway, as if deliberately avoiding her. It passed through the crowd and vanished.

After changing bodies, A Chan's eyesight wasn't as good as before. She hadn't seen clearly what the streak of white light had been.

Still... She looked down at the willow stake by her feet, then at the corpse on the ground. She already had a guess.

Suddenly, she felt an intensely unpleasant gaze on her. She turned and saw Xue Mingtang looking at her.

Xue Mingtang had only learned yesterday that Ji Chan was still alive.

He didn't know what had happened that night to let someone who had clearly been shot through the chest survive. But if he wanted someone dead, there was no way that person should still be alive.

A Chan sensed Xue Mingtang's hostility toward her. She knew all too well that, having failed to kill her once, he wouldn't give up so easily.

She had no chance against Xue Mingtang, but she still didn't want to die.

A Chan looked away and finally settled her gaze on Feng Yang.

"Lord Feng." Her voice was quiet, but Feng Yang caught it keenly.

Feng Yang turned around and looked at A Chan in confusion.

A Chan smiled at him. "There's something I'd like to tell you, Lord Feng."

Feng Yang frowned, unsure what Ji Chan was up to. But seeing how open and forthright she looked, he still walked over.

The others wanted to listen in, but the Mingjing Division Guards who had caught up drove them all away.

"What is it? Just say it."

"I'm guessing you don't have much of a clue about that thing we just saw?"

"Do you?" Feng Yang had almost said, "What's it to you?" But seeing how she looked as though a gust of wind might topple her, he changed his wording before speaking.

A Chan gave a small nod. "I don't know what case you're investigating, my lord, but I do have some thoughts about that thing. Would you care to hear them?"

Feng Yang scrutinized A Chan closely. The order to release Ji Chan had come directly from the Pacification Commissioner, which meant Ji Chan was not a threat.

But the Pacification Commissioner hadn't told him why she had changed so much overnight.

After a brief hesitation, Feng Yang said, "Go ahead."

"It's said that after the Dragon Clan dies, a Black Snake living in the Extreme Yin Land will be drawn to it. These snakes are only an inch or so long, and they love the Dragon Clan's spinal marrow best. After eating it, they shed their black skin and turn into White Snakes, their nature changing from Extreme Yin to Extreme Yang. These snakes are Heavenly Anomalies. They carry no demonic aura and will only dwell in fine jade."

The more Feng Yang listened, the more serious his expression grew. Every detail matched the clues he had uncovered.

He was investigating the Forbidden Vault Theft Case from several months ago. All the officials involved had already been beheaded or exiled, including the entire family of Ji Chan's maternal grandfather. But they still hadn't discovered who—or what—had infiltrated the Forbidden Vault.

The Forbidden Vault had layer upon layer of defenses, as well as traps designed for demons and monsters. Yet the thing that had gone inside hadn't triggered a single trap. When they investigated afterward, they found only that several pieces of precious jade inside the Forbidden Vault had become abnormal.

They had spent nearly half a year following the trail of the jade before finally finding a lead. And just when they were about to catch the man, Xue Mingtang had kicked him to death, while the thing attached to him had escaped without a trace.

After all their investigations, they had learned less than they had from a few words from Ji Chan.

"How did you come to know all this, Miss Ji?" Feng Yang couldn't help asking.

A Chan's lips curled up. She looked at him and spoke in a mysterious tone. "That's a secret between me and your Pacification Commissioner. If you're really curious, you can ask him."

"...I will." Of course, he wouldn't take Ji Chan's word for it.

After hearing what Ji Chan had to say, Feng Yang was about to leave when she called after him.

"Lord Feng."

"Is there something else?" Feng Yang turned around, concealing the trace of discomfort on his face.

For some reason, whenever this woman called out to him, he felt ill at ease.

A Chan lowered her eyes, seeming a little shy. "Could Lord Feng send someone to help me carry this piece of wood home? You know I'm frail, and with all these things, I really can't walk any farther."

Feng Yang's expression turned complicated. Ji Chan's face and the words coming out of her mouth didn't match at all.

"This..."

Seeing him hesitate, A Chan added, "Why not take the chance to learn where I live? If I've deceived you, you can take people from the Mingjing Division to arrest me anytime."

Feng Yang was persuaded. If Ji Chan's lead was true, she had done them a great favor. Sending someone to help her carry a few things was easy enough.

He called over two subordinates and told them to help Ji Chan carry her purchases home. The two subordinates gave him distinctly odd looks.

There was nothing he could do to explain, so he left with a cold expression.

Feng Yang had gone, but he left two Mingjing Division Battalion Commanders beside Ji Chan. Seeing this, Xue Mingtang forced down the killing intent welling up inside him.

Until he was sure of Ji Chan's connection to the Mingjing Division, he couldn't act rashly.

A Chan stopped looking at Xue Mingtang. He probably wouldn't bother her for now. As for what came later... she would deal with it when the time came.

With two people to carry her things, A Chan went around the West Market again without a hint of embarrassment.

With Mingjing Division Guards by her side, she could get everything for half price. A Chan got so carried away that she even brought home a quilt.

The two Mingjing Division Guards diligently carried all her things back to her home. They didn't even drink a cup of water before hurrying away.