Chapter 7

Looking at the group of Mingjing Division Guards in their black official uniforms, swords at their waists and an imposing air about them, who would still dare to do business? Everyone wished they could shut their doors immediately.

A Chan had only turned around for a moment, and the man moving goods had already slipped into the crowd. She couldn't tell if he was going to watch the commotion or taking the chance to get away from here.

The West Market was already in some chaos because of the Mingjing Division Guards' appearance. A Chan was still holding the hemp rope tied to the wooden stake, thinking that since she couldn't leave anyway, she might as well stay and watch the excitement.

Quite a few people shared her thoughts. Though everyone was wary of the Mingjing Division, their urge to gawk couldn't be suppressed.

The direction the Mingjing Division Guards were heading was right near the spice stall where A Chan had just been shopping. The few shopkeepers in that row seemed frightened, frozen stiff and unmoving.

The leader shouted, "Arrest them."

The Mingjing Division Guards swarmed forward, heading straight for the jade stall next to the spice stand.

The fat jade seller was pinned down, his head twisting left and right several times before he let out a wail and started crying.

Between sobs, he yelled, "Your Honor, I'm innocent—"

This shopkeeper had a strange accent—no one could tell where he was from. His cries of injustice twisted and turned in a comical way.

"Shut up." The team leader barked in an unfriendly tone.

Only then did A Chan notice that the leader was Feng Yang.

Two people behind Feng Yang stepped up to the stall. One picked up a jade token and handed it to the other, who simply rubbed it between his fingers, and the token crumbled into powder.

They exchanged a glance and were about to pick up another fist-sized, peeled raw stone when the shopkeeper, who had just shut his mouth, started howling again.

"Your Honor, let's talk this out. These jades are my entire livelihood. If they're all crushed, I might as well die."

The two men testing the jades couldn't care less about the shopkeeper's life. They snapped that raw stone in half as well.

They handed the broken piece to Feng Yang. Feng Yang glanced at it and tossed it back to the shopkeeper: "Look, this is your entire livelihood. Only the outer shell is jade; the inside is worse than stone."

The shopkeeper stared at his raw stone for a long time, then sniffled: "Impossible. Every single jade on my stall was verified. How could it turn out like this?"

"Are you the only one watching this stall?"

"There's also an assistant."

"Name?"

"Jiang San. Everyone calls him that."

"Where is he?"

The shopkeeper looked around, confused: "He was just here."

Feng Yang frowned and swept his gaze across the area. Unexpectedly, he spotted A Chan watching the excitement from beyond the crowd, but his eyes didn't linger.

He thought for a moment, then raised his voice. The sound carried a penetrating force that reached everyone's ears: "Whoever can help This Official find Jiang San from the jade stall will be rewarded ten taels of silver."

No sooner had the words fallen than someone not far away shouted: "There! He's trying to run!"

Everyone turned to look. It was a tall, thin young man, his hand pointing toward the North Gate of the West Market.

Jiang San was fast; in the blink of an eye, he was almost out the North Gate.

"Arrest him." Feng Yang ordered. Half of the Mingjing Division Guards behind him moved like the wind, charging straight out.

But before they could catch up to Jiang San, a group of people suddenly appeared at the North Gate entrance. The man at the front kicked Jiang San, who was about to run out, sending him flying back.

Jiang San was thrown more than ten meters, his body twitched once, and then went still.

Feng Yang strode over to Jiang San, crouched down, and checked the pulse on the side of his neck. No pulse. The man was dead.

He stood up, his expression dark as he looked at Xue Mingtang, who was approaching with several clerks from the Ministry of Justice.

Xue Mingtang acted as if he didn't notice Feng Yang's hostility. His eyes swept over the waist token hanging at Feng Yang's belt, then he clasped his hands in greeting: "This Humble One is Xue Mingtang, Assistant Minister of Justice. I was a bit too hasty just now and struck too hard. I hope this Thousand Household Commander will not take offense."

"What is the Ministry of Justice doing here?" Feng Yang asked coldly.

Xue Mingtang's expression was open and honest: "Investigating a case of an Evil Spirit killing a person. A clue happened to point to the West Market, so I came to look into it."

Feng Yang didn't press further. He had no evidence to link this matter to Xue Mingtang, but his timing was far too convenient.

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

Four men stepped forward, producing two ropes that looked like they had been soaked in blood. Two of them moved to tie up the corpse, but suddenly the corpse's head lifted.

Just as everyone started screaming, a White Light shot out from the body and rushed toward the crowd.

A Chan was afraid of being knocked over, so she had stayed outside the crowd. But that only made her more conspicuous. The White Light was originally heading in her direction, but for some reason, it suddenly swerved mid-path, as if deliberately avoiding her, and vanished through the crowd.

After changing bodies, A Chan's eyesight wasn't as good as before, and she couldn't clearly see what that flying White Light was.

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

Suddenly, she felt an extremely uncomfortable gaze on her. She turned her head and found Xue Mingtang staring 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 been pierced through the chest by an arrow survive. But if he wanted someone dead, there was no reason for them to live.

A Chan sensed Xue Mingtang's malice toward her and understood clearly: since he had failed to kill her once, he wouldn't give up so easily.

Going up against Xue Mingtang, she had no chance of winning. But she didn't want to die yet.

A Chan shifted her gaze away and finally landed on Feng Yang.

"Lord Feng." Her voice was not loud, but Feng Yang caught it sharply.

Feng Yang turned around, looking somewhat puzzled at A Chan.

A Chan smiled at him. "There are some words I wish to speak with Lord Feng."

Feng Yang frowned, unsure what Ji Chan intended, but seeing her open and unguarded demeanor, he still stepped over.

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

"If you have something to say, say it directly."

"I suspect Your Lordship has no leads on that thing just now?"

"Do you?" Feng Yang had meant to say what business is it of yours, but seeing her frail form that a gust of wind could knock over, he changed his wording before the words left his mouth.

A Chan nodded slightly. "I do not know what case Your Lordship is investigating, but I do have some thoughts on that thing from earlier. Lord Feng, would you care to hear them?"

Feng Yang's gaze at A Chan was full of scrutiny. The order to release Ji Chan had come directly from the Pacification Commissioner himself, which meant Ji Chan was cleared of suspicion.

But why she had changed so drastically overnight, the Pacification Commissioner had not told him.

After a brief hesitation, Feng Yang said, "Speak."

"Legend has it that after a Dragon Clan member dies, it attracts a kind of black snake that lives in Extreme Yin lands. This snake is only a few inches long and favors dragon spinal cord above all. After feeding, it sheds its black skin to become a white snake, and its attribute shifts from Extreme Yin to Extreme Yang. This snake counts as a Heavenly Anomaly, carries no demonic aura, and will only dwell in fine jade."

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

He was investigating the Forbidden Vault Theft Case from a few months ago. The involved officials had been beheaded or exiled—Ji Chan's maternal grandfather's entire family among them—but the person or thing that had infiltrated the vault had never been found.

The Forbidden Vault had layered defenses and traps specifically for demons and monsters, yet the intruder had triggered none of them. When they finally investigated, they only discovered that several precious jades in the vault had become abnormal.

Nearly half a year had passed before they finally traced a clue through the jade, and before they could catch the culprit, Xue Mingtang had kicked it to death, and the thing attached to that person had vanished.

They had investigated for so long, yet Ji Chan's few words were more useful than all their efforts.

"How does Miss Ji know all this?" Feng Yang could not help asking.

A Chan's lips curled upward, her tone mysterious as she looked at him. "This is a secret between me and your Pacification Commissioner. If you are truly curious, you may ask him."

"...I will." He certainly would not take Ji Chan's word at face value.

Having heard Ji Chan out, Feng Yang was about to leave when she called him back.

"Lord Feng."

"Something else?" Feng Yang turned, masking the unnatural flicker on his face.

For some reason, every time she called him, he felt deeply uncomfortable.

A Chan lowered her eyes slightly, as if a little shy. "Could Lord Feng send someone to help me carry this piece of wood home? As you know, I am frail, and with all these things, I truly cannot walk any further."

Feng Yang was at a loss for words. Ji Chan's expression and the words coming out of her mouth were completely out of sync.

"This..."

Seeing his hesitation, A Chan added, "Your Lordship might as well take the chance to learn where my home is. If I have deceived you, you can bring men to arrest me and take me back to the Mingjing Division at any time."

Feng Yang was persuaded. He thought that if Ji Chan's lead proved true, it was a great help, and sending someone to help her carry things was the least he could do.

He called over two subordinates and ordered them to help Ji Chan take her purchases home. The two subordinates looked at him with extremely strange expressions.

He had no way to explain, so he simply put on a cold face and left with his men.

Feng Yang left, but he kept two Mingjing Division Battalion Commanders by Ji Chan's side. Seeing this, Xue Mingtang suppressed the killing intent surging in his heart.

Until he was certain of the relationship between Ji Chan and the Mingjing Division, he could not act rashly.

A Chan no longer looked at Xue Mingtang. For now, this person should not trouble her. As for later... that could wait.

With two people to carry her things, A Chan unceremoniously went shopping through the West Market again.

With Mingjing Division Guards in tow, even buying things came at half price. A Chan got so excited that she even hauled back a cotton quilt.

The two Mingjing Division Guards diligently carried everything back to her home, not even stopping for a sip of water before hurrying away.