Possession

Rustle...

The wind stirred the bamboo leaves into a soft rustling. The conversation in the alley had fallen completely silent.

Perhaps noon was a good time for a nap. The fluffy Coal Ball crouched quietly at the head of the bed, not having moved for a long while.

Lin Wanyi sat cross-legged on the tea-colored sheet. As the blood-coagulating poison gradually dissipated, a rosy glow returned to her cheeks.

"Whew..."

Exhaling softly, Lin Wanyi opened her eyes and looked around the room.

The room had only just been rented. Although it came furnished with a wardrobe, dressing table, and the like, nothing had been set out, leaving it looking rather empty. There was no bedding either, just bare bedboards. She had no idea how he slept at night...

Lin Wanyi stood up. Circulating her energy had left her drenched in sweat; even her panties were soaked and wedged between her buttocks, clinging uncomfortably to her skin.

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan had yet to return, she felt it would be improper to leave without a word. She went into the adjoining bathroom, drew water from the Cloud Pool, and poured it into the Bathing Tub, intending to wash up first.

Perhaps afraid that Xie Jinhuan might suddenly come back, she still carried the Zhenglun Sword for protection. Once she had barred the door, she removed her breastcloth and panties and settled naked into the Bathing Tub.

Splash...

Clear water spilled over her full breasts, white as mutton-fat jade-a boundless feast for the eyes. But Lin Wanyi clearly was not vain enough to admire herself. She only wanted to finish quickly so Xie Jinhuan would not catch her.

After washing briefly, however, her gaze fell on the Zhenglun Sword beside the Bathing Tub.

Purple Emblem Mountain was the largest sect near Danyang City. Its standard-issue Dharma Swords were common in Danyang, differing only in grade.

New apprentices at Purple Emblem Mountain were usually issued seventh-grade Dharma Swords, while inner disciples were rewarded with fourth-grade ones. Beyond that, it depended on their accomplishments. As a direct disciple, Linghu Qingmo carried Bamboo Shadow, a first-grade Dharma Sword.

Auxiliary Dharma Artifacts such as the Undergarment and Eight Trigrams Disc, meanwhile, could be used regardless of how advanced one's cultivation was. They were not divided into grades, only judged by their functions and cost.

Unsure what grade Xie Jinhuan's sword was, Lin Wanyi picked it up to examine it.

Shing...

She drew the blade three inches, revealing its inky blue-green surface and the words "Zhenglun."

Lin Wanyi studied it carefully. At first, she found nothing unusual, but as she looked, she suddenly noticed "her" eyes and brows reflected in the polished blade.

Lin Wanyi's almond-shaped eyes normally held an intelligent, inwardly alluring charm. Yet now she suddenly found that "her" eyes carried a touch more sinister allure, and her presence seemed stronger too.

"Hmm?"

Bewildered, Lin Wanyi blinked. The reflection did the same.

Thinking she was drowsy and her eyes were playing tricks on her, she leaned closer for a better look.

But those reflected eyes seemed to possess a magical power. The instant their gazes met, her eyelids began to droop, and drowsiness flooded her mind.

Clink...

The Zhenglun Sword touched the floor with a faint sound.

Lin Wanyi slumped against the Bathing Tub, her right hand gripping the sword hilt and resting on its rim, unconscious.

Yet barely an instant later, the stunning beauty in the Bathing Tub sat up again.

Her formerly gentle, dignified eyes now held a sinister allure, making her look like a mountaintop succubus enthroned above the nine heavens.

Splash...

The beauty rose from the Bathing Tub, her long, ink-black hair cascading down her back, revealing the entirety of her perfectly curved figure. One could even see the plump...

"What a wealthy household..."

The gorgeous woman lowered her head to inspect her calamity-inducing figure, then stepped out of the Bathing Tub, picked up her clothes, and wrapped them around herself. She walked to the window and gazed north toward Purple Emblem Mountain, a hint of bewilderment slowly surfacing in her eyes.

"It feels so familiar..."

"That Xie boy, too. He feels like a lover I spent years with, day and night. Could he have been with me these past three years...?"

"He was outside the grave, and I was inside. That shouldn't be possible..."

After pondering this for a long time, the gorgeous woman returned to the small couch, still deeply puzzled, and sat cross-legged. Holding her right palm upward, she activated the cultivation method within her.

Whoosh...

In an instant, a ball of eerie green flame drifted from her right palm. It hovered there, swaying silently without giving off the slightest heat, like a ghostly will-o'-the-wisp floating over her hand.

"A rather good inheritance..."

The gorgeous woman examined the Ghost Flame, which could scorch the spirit, then shifted and interlaced her fingers. The flame immediately dispersed into a blackish-green mist that curled around her fingers, clearly highly poisonous.

"The poison arts are quite sound too. I wonder how the curses are..."

After studying the cultivation method for a while, the gorgeous woman placed her hands one above the other. Mist surged between her palms, and fine, dark-blue lines appeared across her body, spreading along her meridians until they converged between her brows.

"Such heavy, chilling yin energy. Where does the problem lie...?"

Her murmurs echoed through the bathroom, then faded into the whispering autumn wind...

Three Harmony Tower stood in the western part of the city, far from Peach Immortal Ward, surrounded mostly by workshops and dyehouses.

Although most residents belonged to the city's lower classes, business at the Three Harmony Tower gambling house was booming. Even at noon, its clamor spilled out into the street.

"Big, big, big..."

"Damn it! Steward, advance me another half-string of cash..."

Holding an oil-paper umbrella, Xie Jinhuan stood at the mouth of an alley and surveyed the three-story building in the distance. Two hired thugs stood by the entrance, with more men posted in the alleys on either side. He asked:

"How are you planning to investigate?"

Linghu Qingmo, Yang Dabiao, and the others all stood inside the alley to avoid being spotted by the gambling house's lookouts and beating the grass to startle the snake.

Holding his oil-paper umbrella, Linghu Qingmo surveyed the gambling house's surroundings.

"Who runs Three Harmony Tower?"

Liu Qingzhi answered, "Li Zixian, the Li family's eldest young master. But Young Master Li has many businesses and isn't usually here. His kinsman Li Shizhong watches the place. He has some martial training."

Yang Dabiao folded his arms, looking slightly hesitant.

"I only heard from some street hoodlums that they sell Ascension Powder here. We still don't know the details. If we go straight in and search but find nothing, we'll probably have trouble answering for it afterward."

Linghu Qingmo was only a personal guard of the Prince's Manor. He had powerful backing but no actual authority. After some thought, he said:

"One of you should disguise yourself and buy some Ascension Powder from Three Harmony Tower. Once we confirm they have it, we'll go in and search. If the Li family causes trouble afterward, we'll have grounds to justify it."

"A disguise?"

Yang Dabiao and Liu Qingzhi glanced at each other's armor and constable's robes, feeling that disguising themselves would probably be rather conspicuous.

Their gazes then settled on Xie Jinhuan, the helpful member of the public.

Xie Jinhuan spread his hands slightly. "With these thick brows and big eyes, do I look like a drug-addled junkie?"

"They say Ascension Powder boosts virility. Quite a few rich young men buy it to spice things up."

"Do I need my virility boosted?!"

Liu Qingzhi sighed. "We both work for the authorities. Even in civilian clothes, the people at Three Harmony Tower might recognize us."

Yang Dabiao nodded too. "Everyone in Danyang knows Lord Linghu's name. Never mind dressing as a man, Three Harmony Tower would recognize him even if he turned to ashes... Ahem-"

Before he finished, Linghu Qingmo shot him an icy glance and took over.

"You're an unfamiliar face, and you look like a young man from a distinguished household. You're the best choice. The authorities will reimburse the expense. How much silver did you two bring?"

He turned to the two grown men.

Liu Qingzhi looked embarrassed. "You know my wife, Lord Linghu. She keeps a tight rein on me. I only have two taels, and that's money I secretly stashed away. I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Yang Dabiao was considerably more generous. He took several pieces of silver and a handful of copper coins from his waist and slapped them openly into Xie Jinhuan's hand.

"Here. Just say Young Master Han from Wencheng Street sent you. If they have any, they'll definitely sell it."

Xie Jinhuan weighed it briefly-three mace and two candareens, plus a dozen or so copper coins...

Linghu Qingmo had not expected these two grown men to be unable to scrape together even three taels. He could only take a little purse from inside his clothes and slap it into Xie Jinhuan's palm.

"Buy plenty. Ideally, make them send a thug to fetch it from the storeroom, so we don't have trouble finding it later."

Unable to turn down such earnest hospitality, Xie Jinhuan said no more and headed out onto the street.

Linghu Qingmo and the others remained hidden in the alley, watching covertly.

Three Harmony Tower was bustling, with an endless stream of noise.

"Four, five, six! Small loses, big wins!"

"Ah! How did I lose again...?"

When Xie Jinhuan reached Three Harmony Tower, the attendant greeting guests at the entrance hurried forward eagerly.

"Your first visit, young master? We have private rooms upstairs..."

Xie Jinhuan did not enter. Instead, wearing the air of someone buying porn discs, he crooked a finger for the attendant to bring his ear closer.

"Young Master Han from Wencheng Street sent me. I hear you sell Ascension Powder?"

The attendant paused, looked Xie Jinhuan over, then glanced to either side.

"Too many eyes and ears on the street. Please come inside to talk, young master."

Seeing his reaction, Xie Jinhuan knew the trip had not been wasted. He followed the attendant into the gambling house and reached a corner of the passage off the main hall. Along the way, the attendant continued asking questions.

"You look unfamiliar, young master. Haven't been here before?"

"I only arrived in Danyang yesterday for the Mid-Autumn Gathering. Young Master Han said you had Ascension Powder here, so I came to take a look."

"No wonder. Young Master Han often comes here to play. We're all well acquainted, so I'll give you a friendly price: five mace of silver. How many bottles would you like?"

As he spoke, the attendant pulled two little black bottles from his sleeve, identical to the bottle found on Fu Dongping.

Xie Jinhuan glanced at them and took the three-hundred-tael banknote donated by Fu Dongping out of his sleeve.

"A few bottles probably won't be enough. I'm hosting friends tonight. A dozen or so people, plus over thirty girls. How much do you have?"

Whoa, is he planning an orgy?!

The attendant could tell that Xie Jinhuan looked like a wealthy young man, but had not expected him to be this rich, carrying several hundred taels in banknotes. Realizing he had a major customer, he quickly put the bottles away.

"The authorities are strict about checking for this stuff, so the owner won't let us sell it by the crate. How about I get you a box? Forty bottles in a box, plenty for a dozen or so people to have their fun. I'll throw in a box of Golden Spear Pills too. They're really potent."

"All right. Go get it."

"Just a moment, young master."

With that, the attendant hurried toward the back.

Xie Jinhuan could hardly follow him straight to the storeroom. Only after the attendant lifted a curtain and left the hall did he pretend to wander around, approaching the passage at the back of the hall. He listened to the attendant's movements, trying to judge the storeroom's general location.

But after listening for a short while, he suddenly heard a barely perceptible sound from deep within the buildings behind the hall.

"Ah..."

The scream was extremely brief and so quiet that it did not even attract the attention of the thugs watching the place.

?

Xie Jinhuan frowned. Sensing something was wrong, he slipped quietly into the courtyard behind the building...

Meanwhile, out on the street.

The trio peered out from the alley entrance, waiting for Xie Jinhuan to return and report. But after following the attendant inside, he had vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, without a sound.

Linghu Qingmo waited a long time without seeing Xie Jinhuan reappear and could not help wondering:

"What's taking him so long? He hasn't really taken my silver to gamble, has he? That's my private stash."

Yang Dabiao craned his head out for a look. "Probably not. Maybe he followed them to the storeroom to collect the medicine."

Since coming down the mountain, Linghu Qingmo had kept everything he owned in that purse. He felt uneasy.

"Let's go take a look."

The new-book rankings bring in quite a lot of traffic, but books leave the rankings at two hundred thousand characters, so I don't dare keep releasing huge batches of chapters during the new-book period. Hope you all understand, or2.