Danyang Academy stood beside the Prince's Manor. Its entrance was an octagonal ceremonial archway tower, with sprawling clusters of buildings behind it and countless students moving among them. In one building on the perimeter, the quarterly examinations were still underway.
Li Jing, the academy's Director of Studies and a senior Confucian scholar accomplished in both letters and martial arts, had brought out a Grand Preceptor's Chair and was sitting outside the examination hall, drinking tea as he invigilated.
Behind his chair stood a delicate young lady who looked carved from jade, clutching the backrest and peering around curiously. Behind her was a voluptuous beauty with a blue gauze veil covering her face, who was saying:
"Zisu, behave. You're already late!"
"I'm just looking! Old Man Li, put in a word for me later."
"Mind your manners! Call him Senior Li!"
"Hehe, it's quite all right..."
The examination currently being held by the Wubei Institute required the students to forge equipment on-site.
Because the examination was quite difficult, flashes of fire, smoke, and booming noises periodically erupted in the sweltering examination hall, drawing countless curious students to watch.
Lin Wanyi had brought Zisu to school, but once Zisu discovered that the Wubei Institute was holding an examination, she refused to budge. She still hadn't reported to class, leaving Lin Wanyi feeling that life held nothing worth living for. She longed to spank the little troublemaker right there in public.
But with Senior Li Jing sitting there, she couldn't abandon her dignity as a guardian. All she could say was:
"Then go in by yourself later. If your teacher punishes you, don't come complaining to me afterward."
Clutching the Grand Preceptor's Chair's backrest, Lin Zisu answered without taking her eyes off the examination:
"It's fiiine. Old Man Li's here."
"Ah... don't forget about the pills!"
"I know. I'll go put in a word and get the authorization slip in a bit."
"Ah..."
There was nothing Lin Wanyi could do. She could only leave Zisu behind, board the carriage alone, and head back.
With peace and quiet finally restored, her thoughts inevitably returned to yesterday's bizarre experience.
Even now, she still hadn't figured out how she'd fallen asleep in the bathtub yesterday, or why she'd had those strange dreams that seemed both real and unreal.
In her dream, she had become a completely different person. Her words and gestures had been as wanton as those naughty older girls on Wencheng Street, and she'd felt as though she wanted to devour Xie Jinhuan...
Could I have been possessed by a ghost?
Or was my heart awakening to love...
Pah...
As her thoughts wandered, the carriage traveled an unknown distance. Before it reached the clinic, Jia Zheng's voice suddenly came from outside:
"Oh! Young Master Xie, heading to the clinic?"
"Yes. Is Physician Lin in the carriage?"
"She is."
Hearing Xie Jinhuan's voice, Lin Wanyi hastily gathered her wandering thoughts. Before she could lift the curtain to look out, she felt the carriage dip.
Creak~
Then a young gentleman in a brocade robe ducked inside, closely followed by the large Coal Ball, who even offered a greeting:
"Gooji~"
Lin Wanyi had intended to greet him, but Xie Jinhuan looked so handsome in today's attire that she froze for a moment.
"That outfit... are you off to a matchmaking meeting?"
A matchmaking meeting?
Xie Jinhuan sat down beside the window, somewhat amused.
"Why? Are you going to one too?"
To complement the matching undergarments she'd bought for thirty taels, Lin Wanyi certainly couldn't just throw on any old dress today.
She wore a water-green, waist-high ruqun, with jeweled hairpins tucked into her elaborate coiffure and gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, giving her an intellectual, dignified air. Yet her waist was slender enough to encircle with one hand, her bodice full and proudly raised, and her waist-to-hip ratio astonishing, filling her entire figure with allure for the opposite sex.
Faced with his teasing, Lin Wanyi couldn't very well keep critiquing his appearance.
"Are you here to ask about the pills? Zisu has already gone to get the authorization slip. We can start refining them this afternoon."
Xie Jinhuan shook his head. With the matter urgent, he dispensed with further pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"I came to ask about something. I saw a corpse at the yamen just now, riddled with holes. It was probably killed by a 'gu flower.' Do you know anything about those?"
Lin Wanyi was herself a core disciple of the Gu Poison Sect. Although she didn't dare plant gu in people, she knew the full range of gu-rearing methods. She could even administer the "Love Gu," which made a man remain faithful to her alone. Wasn't asking her about this asking about her very own trade?
Lin Wanyi first glanced outside. Only after making sure Jia Zheng wasn't eavesdropping did she lean closer.
"Are you certain it was a gu flower? What kind?"
Xie Jinhuan shook his head. "The corpse was dredged out of the river and was too badly decomposed. All I can confirm at present is that there were corpse flies. Dragon whisker grass was probably used, but I haven't determined which gu flower actually killed the victim."
Hearing this, Lin Wanyi considered it carefully.
"Naturally occurring gu flowers are virtually impossible to find. There are currently seventeen varieties of artificially cultivated gu flowers, all of them core gu arts of the major sects.
"Seven of those use living people as nourishment-in other words, they use 'corpse flies.' Two can involve dragon whisker grass, and both concern the soul: 'Mad corpse flower' and 'soul-calming grass.'"
Seeing how thoroughly Lin the Great Beauty knew the subject, Xie Jinhuan knew he'd come to the right place.
"Which do you think it was?"
Lin Wanyi rubbed Coal Ball, who was bobbing his head.
"Soul-calming grass only grows in places of extreme cold and extreme yin. It can't be cultivated in Dan Prefecture. If the Demon Bandits were rearing gu with local materials, they could only have used mad corpse flowers.
"Mad corpse flowers grow in places of great ill omen, where corpses must litter the surrounding land. Nourished by their blood essence, the flowers mature, and their fragrance can drive people mad. After growing for a hundred years, they can transform into flower demons.
"Spirit Dew Valley in the Southern Border once developed a cultivation method. Using a person as the seedbed and livestock carcasses to nurture it, the flower can bloom in just seven days..."
Xie Jinhuan listened quietly to the end, then nodded thoughtfully.
"If someone wanted to cultivate mad corpse flowers in Danyang, where would they choose?"
Lin Wanyi gave it some thought, but before she could answer, the ever-present red-clad A Piao had already appeared and sat down in front of her.
"With large quantities of livestock carcasses nearby, there's no way to conceal the smell. It couldn't be inside the city. After the flower is grown, the corpse can still serve as nourishment, so they wouldn't discard it of their own accord. The corpse appearing by the river means the location connects to a waterway. Search upstream along the Huai River's waterways. I'll advise you and help search places with heavier yin energy. Finding it won't be difficult."
Looking at the two breathtaking beauties sitting side by side in the carriage, Xie Jinhuan fell silent.
As Lin Wanyi pondered the matter, she noticed that Xie Jinhuan was looking in the wrong direction. She couldn't help turning to look at the empty space beside her, then asked in confusion:
"What are you looking at?"
"Oh... nothing. I spaced out."
Xie Jinhuan did his best not to compare which of the two beauties had fuller curves and a more voluptuous, enticing figure, turning his gaze elsewhere.
"I just thought of a lead. I need to make a trip outside the city. I'll take my leave."
Lin Wanyi was still counting on Xie Jinhuan to serve as the Two-Headed Dragon connecting her to the Martial Dao Divine Canon. Seeing him rashly preparing to go slay demons and vanquish evil, she reminded him:
"A shaman capable of cultivating gu flowers has cultivation of at least the third grade. You're only a martial artist. If you encounter one, you'll die. If you have a lead, you'd best report it to the yamen."
Xie Jinhuan understood the stakes, but he still had to find an opportunity to sacrifice a fellow Daoist!
Once I find where they're growing the flowers, I can devise a way to fabricate some evidence and pin the demonic aura on Purple Emblem Mountain on them. Then I'll have the yamen investigate, and won't Great Qian's iron fist come crashing down on the Demon Bandits' heads?
For that reason, he certainly couldn't bring anyone from the yamen along. After some thought, he answered:
"The yamen is busy with official duties, and I can't be certain yet. I'll investigate on my own first. Even if I encounter a powerful enemy, I'll have a chance to escape."
Lin Wanyi was somewhat worried that something might happen to the Two-Headed Dragon out there. Seeing this, she could only say:
"I'll go with you. You don't understand the Witch Cult's methods. It'll be safer with me there."
Xie Jinhuan really didn't know much about the Witch Cult's secret arts. Having an expert beside him would clearly make things easier. He considered it briefly.
"How strong is your cultivation, Miss Lin? You won't hold me back, will you?"
Lin Wanyi thrust out her ample assets, pride on her face.
"I merely find it inconvenient to fight, not that I don't know how. With that paltry cultivation of yours, you wouldn't last a single move against me in a real fight."
Sitting beside her, the red-clad A Piao perhaps felt that Lin Wanyi was showing off her assets, and thrust out her own chest for comparison.
As it turned out, the Nightly Great Succubus really was a tiny bit fuller. Whether she was cheating with an illusion was another question...
With his vision obscured by such weighty sights, Xie Jinhuan could no longer think clearly. Since his ghost wife had told him to bring her along as a backup, he said no more. He found an excuse to send Jia Zheng away, then headed out of the city...
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