"Wasn't your daughter already dead?"
"She isn't!" Wang Wu's face twisted with pain.
He lowered his voice and forced out the truth to Chen Jin. "My daughter... came down with some strange illness. Now... she's neither human nor ghost... Only the flesh and blood of the living can keep her stable.
But I'm just a lowly Squad Leader. How could I keep getting my hands on this 'legal' meat? I'm... I'm about to lose my mind."
Wang Wu knelt in the dust, his voice hoarse with shame. "That day... after I caught the criminal who'd 'stolen the tribute' and locked him in the dungeon, I... I gave in to temptation. I thought that since he could heal in an instant, cutting off a little flesh wouldn't do him much harm. Perhaps it could save Nuonuo..."
He suddenly slammed a fist into the ground. His knuckles scraped open and bled, but he seemed not to feel a thing.
"..."
"But I... I went up to him with a knife and cut flesh from his arm... The wound showed no sign of healing! Blood poured out, and he screamed in pain... At the time, I couldn't understand it at all."
Wang Wu raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Chen Jin.
"Not until today... not until I saw the wound on your hand! Then I understood everything! I caught the wrong man!
Fu... No, whoever you are... I, Wang Wu, swear to heaven that I'll never reveal your identity!
Whatever your purpose is, you're still Heifu!
I'm only asking you... Please, have mercy and spare me a little... just a tiny bit of your flesh and blood... Save my daughter! She can't hold on much longer!"
Chen Jin silently watched the broken man.
"Take me to see her," Chen Jin finally said.
As if he'd heard an imperial decree, Wang Wu scrambled to his feet and staggered off to lead the way.
His home was also near the city wall. It was a little larger than Heifu's, but even darker and more lifeless, and the air was thick with a strange stench of decay mingled with the smell of herbs.
With trembling hands, Wang Wu unlocked the door to the inner room.
The moment it opened, an even stronger stench of decay hit them.
The room was dim. A little girl who looked about seven or eight sat quietly in a corner of the bed, hugging her knees.
She wore a clean little dress, and her delicate features looked as if they'd been sculpted from porcelain. Her large eyes should have been clear, their whites distinct from their black, but now they were clouded over with a gray haze, their gaze unfocused.
Were it not for her unusually pale skin and the faint aura of death around her, she would have looked just like any other adorable little girl.
Hearing the noise, she slowly raised her head to look at Wang Wu. Her small lips parted slightly, revealing two little canines, much longer and sharper than an ordinary person's.
"Daddy..." Her voice was soft and sweet, yet hollow. "You're back... Nuonuo is so hungry... The meat at home has all gone bad. It doesn't taste good..."
The scene was so eerie that it sent chills down their spines.
Chen Jin's gaze swept quickly over the corners of the room.
Several crude burlap sacks lay there, their mouths left untied. Through the openings, he could just make out what was inside... the remains of the missing tooth broker and the obese merchant.
They'd clearly been gnawed on quite a bit. The sight was nauseating.
Now that he'd been found out, Chen Jin couldn't be bothered to keep up the act.
He stopped hiding his aura and asked:
"How did you drag these two bodies back here without anyone noticing? There are so many 'Law Eyes' in the sky. Are they all just for show?"
When Wang Wu saw that Chen Jin had called him out directly, he stiffened, then gave a faint smile.
He lowered his voice.
"You may not know this. It's true that His Majesty holds the highest authority over the Law Eyes, but with billions of people in Great Qin and countless daily affairs, how could His Majesty personally review everything? Most of the time, the Law Eyes merely 'record' rather than 'scrutinize.'"
He pointed to the Identity Tablet at his waist. "City patrol guards like us, especially Squad Leaders, are responsible for maintaining the Law Eyes in our districts and conducting preliminary screenings before reporting. Ordinary thefts and petty crimes, if no one reports them, often pile up in the recordings without anyone examining them closely."
"That day, after I finished dealing with the scene, I used 'cleaning up filth and preventing disease' as my excuse to activate my [Enforcement] authority and briefly shift the focus of the Law Eyes watching that area... Then I brought them back on a handcart..." His voice grew quieter and quieter.
Chen Jin understood at once.
That was right. When they'd captured the Shark Person Xi, Wang Wu had shifted the Law Eyes' focus to cover for them as they carried her away.
He just hadn't realized that, when no one reported anything, this kind of "Enforcement" authority could be used so flexibly.
It was almost like localized "information shielding."
When he'd used his [Enforcement] authority earlier, it must not have been high enough. That was why it had immediately triggered forced joint enforcement by nearby teammates.
The two authorities offered entirely different degrees of "freedom."
This trick of Wang Wu's was something only a seasoned clerk familiar with Qin Law could pull off. If he could help Chen Jin, then Chen Jin would be able to move around this Fruit with a degree of freedom.
It was a deal worth making.
In the time it took his thoughts to race through all this, Chen Jin had made up his mind.
He nodded slightly. "Fine. I'll help you."
At those words, Wang Wu nearly burst into tears of joy. He was so overcome that he tried to bow again, but Chen Jin raised a hand to stop him.
Chen Jin didn't act immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze once more to the unnervingly quiet little girl, Nuonuo, sitting on the bed.
The deep black ripples in his eyes silently spread outward.
Glance of the Startled Swan activated!
Name: Wang Nuonuo
Status: Corpse Transformation (neither dead nor alive)
Skills: Impermanence Step, Resurrection of the Remains, Wonderful Method of Life Extension
Remark: One of the failed experiments of the Fangxian Dao in its pursuit of "immortal flesh." A secret art had forcibly bound her soul to a decaying body. She needed to continuously devour the vital essence and flesh of the living to keep her body from rotting.
Fangxian Dao?
Chen Jin silently mulled over the term.
Ren Tu's information feed appeared on his retina at just the right moment, filling in the gaps in his knowledge:
[ Fangxian Dao ]
[Origin]: Originated in the lands of Yan and Qi during the Warring States period and flourished during the Qin and Han dynasties.
[Core Beliefs]: To pursue immortality and become an immortal through the flesh. Its followers believed that there were three divine mountains in the Eastern Sea—Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou—where immortals and the elixir of immortality could be found.
[Methods]: Alchemy, stove rites, prayers for immortality, breathing and guiding exercises, summoning spirits, divination by observing qi, fasting, and more. Its alchemy often involved metals, stones, lead, and mercury, and its methods were mysterious and unpredictable. It was often closely tied to imperial power.
[Current Status]: After Qin united the realm, large numbers of alchemists gathered in Xianyang and enjoyed the First Emperor's deep trust. Their status was exceptional; they often stood alongside the officials and even took part in affairs of state, wielding enormous influence.
Once he'd absorbed the information, the strange light in Chen Jin's eyes faded.
He turned to Wang Wu. "Squad Leader Wang, how did you come into contact with people from the Fangxian Dao?"
Wang Wu had been watching intently to see whether Chen Jin was about to use some "divine ability." The abrupt question caught him off guard, and a trace of confusion crossed his face. "Fangxian Dao?
"You mean... those alchemists?
"His Majesty seeks immortality, and the alchemists are now treated with great respect at court. They stand alongside the officials.
"I serve at the county office, so naturally I know a few masters of magical arts.
"Why do you ask?"
Chen Jin studied his expression and pressed on. "Do you spend much time with them?"
Wang Wu shook his head, his tone firm. "I'm busy with official duties and have no close ties with them. We're barely more than acquaintances..."
He broke off as if something had suddenly occurred to him. His expression changed, and he looked uncertain and alarmed. "...Wait! If we're talking about contact... quite a few alchemists came the day Nuonuo was buried! A few of them had been specially invited by the county magistrate, who said they were going to perform rites for her and pray that she'd find peace in her next life!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Wang Wu himself froze. A horrifying suspicion took shape in his mind against his will. His face turned deathly pale, his lips trembled, but he couldn't bring himself to ask another word.