Wasn't This Putting the Knife Right in His Hand?

When he left the bookshop, Miss Momo had already run far away with Coal Ball over her shoulder, seemingly afraid he would snatch the book back.

Xie Jinhuan did not immediately give chase. First, he patted the Zhenglun Sword at his waist.

"Beautiful Lady Ye, were you Qixia True Person's ex-girlfriend? She buried you-was it a crime of passion?"

No sooner had he spoken than the red-clad apparition emerged from behind him and strolled down the street with her red parasol over her shoulder.

"I like men like you. How could I possibly like women? You can't trust obscure unofficial histories.

"I think it's more likely that I charmed that young Daoist nun into doing my bidding, then accidentally took things too far and ended up getting buried by her."

Qixia True Person had been the previous head of the Cinnabar Cauldron Sect, and the head of each school was usually its strongest practitioner. Great Qian had countless Cinnabar Cauldron Sect branches, including some whose leaders ranked at Transcendent Grade, but there was only one head of the entire school.

And at present, all of Great Qian had only three patriarchs who headed their respective schools-Lu Wuzhen of the Daoist Cinnabar Cauldron Sect, Monk Wuxin of the Buddhist Meditation Sect, and Wei Wuyi of the Southern School of martial arts.

Xie Jinhuan found it hard to believe that a Daoist heavyweight of that caliber would be a lovesick lesbian, or that Ye Hongshang could have charmed Qixia True Person. After some thought, he said:

"Whoever wrote this book must have known something behind the scenes. But it was probably written by Ye Ci of the Twin Saints, and he's supposed to be dead. There's no way to investigate."

Ye Hongshang shrugged slightly. "The past is the past. A mortal life is short; in the blink of an eye, your hair turns white. Isn't it better to live in the moment? Why insist on getting to the bottom of all this?"

"If I don't find out where you came from, how would I dare dig you out?"

"What? After a few days together, you can't bear to bury your big sister again?"

It was not really that Xie Jinhuan could not bear to do it, but that burying her again would be far harder than digging up her grave. After all these days, he was still at the peak of Fourth Grade. Who knew when he would reach First Grade?

If he could establish the Nightly Great Succubus's identity and prove there would not be too much risk, he could dig her out and cling to her coattails. Wouldn't that get him out of his current predicament?

He could even get a beautiful wife for free...

After exchanging these few words, Xie Jinhuan put his books away and hurried to catch up at the street corner.

"Miss Momo?"

Linghu Qingmo strode along, secretly gritting his teeth. When he spotted Xie Jinhuan darting out, he quickly hid the book behind his waist.

"This book is nothing but slander and lies. There's no way I'm letting you read it. Don't bring it up again!"

With his wide eyes glaring and slender brows slightly knitted, he looked rather cute.

"Why would I bring it up? Relax. I'm not going to snatch it."

Xie Jinhuan waved a hand and surveyed the bustling street.

"Where are we going next?"

"Gooji!"

Coal Ball immediately perked up, clearly meaning food.

Linghu Qingmo had just eaten breakfast. How could he indulge Coal Ball? He thought for a moment.

"Let's go to the County Yamen. We brought back so many bodies yesterday. As long as we can roughly identify them, we should be able to find some threads to follow."

Xie Jinhuan actually wanted to slack off and go back to study The Tale of Golden Orchids, but yesterday he had still been a righteous young hero pursuing a murderer alone. If he stopped caring today, his persona would fall apart. He nodded.

"That works..."

Before long, the two returned to the County Yamen.

Linghu Qingmo had only just stepped onto the stairs when he spotted Yang Dabiao and two followers huddled together, whispering. None of them looked happy. Puzzled, he asked:

"Yang Dabiao, has something else happened out there?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it."

Seeing the two arrive, Yang Dabiao turned and approached them, his brows nearly furrowed into one.

"It's that damned Li Household again. Little Wang and the others were searching the Western Market for Demon Bandits this morning when they overheard some gamblers chatting. They said the Li Household was ruthless and had buried several gamblers alive for failing to repay their gambling debts..."

"Huh?"

Xie Jinhuan instantly perked up, his gaze sharpening slightly.

"Something like that happened?!"

Yang Dabiao planted one hand on his hip, his expression bitter.

"I didn't believe it at first either, so I had Little Wang and the others look into it. And sure enough, those gamblers were among the people reported missing over the last three months. Since they were all hardened gamblers, we hadn't bothered with them before. Lord Linghu, what do you think we should do about this...?"

He did not finish, but his meaning was clear.

When the incident at Three Harmony Tower happened the day before yesterday, the Li Household had intervened with its unseen hand, leaving practically everyone at the County Yamen awake all night.

Yesterday, the Yamen had discovered that someone else was behind the Demon Bandits. Unwilling to keep battling the Li Household over a single matter of Ascension Powder, they had effectively compromised and were preparing to make Li Shizhong take the blame and close the case.

Now, a major case of people being buried alive had suddenly surfaced. Even if the victims were gamblers, it was still a crime of the highest order under the Great Qian Code.

If the Yamen investigated, the Li Household, with its connections reaching the heavens, would never sit still and await its doom. It would inevitably try every means to interfere.

Even after investing enormous manpower and effort, the Yamen might still be unable to do anything to the Li Household.

Everyone was searching for Demon Bandits now. Who had the energy for this foul, stubbornly difficult task?

What Yang Dabiao meant was plainly:

"It's only a few rotten gamblers who died. Why not keep one eye open and the other shut?"

Linghu Qingmo knew the Demon Bandits posed the greater danger, and that matters had to be prioritized. He had intended to suggest setting this case aside until they caught the Great Demon of Purple Emblem Mountain.

But before he could speak, Young Master Xie, who hated evil like a mortal enemy, darkened beside him.

"This is utterly outrageous! I thought the Li Household only sold Ascension Powder. I never imagined they would bury innocent civilians alive right under the Prince's Manor's nose! I may not hold office, but I know a little fighting. Brother Yang, if you're short-handed, just say the word. I'm at your disposal!"

"..."

Yang Dabiao was not worried about being short-handed. He simply did not want to gnaw on this hard bone.

But with the conversation handed to him like this, saying he wanted to bend the law for private interests would hardly make him look like a good older brother.

So Yang Dabiao could only steel himself and pat Xie Jinhuan on the shoulder.

"Mm... I was just thinking about how to investigate this. Since you're here, we can stop by and take a look. Help your big brother come up with some ideas."

"Let's go."

Xie Jinhuan pressed a hand to his sword-breaker's hilt, turned, and headed straight outside.

Yang Dabiao opened his mouth, but ultimately just beckoned the bailiffs to follow.

Ever since yesterday, Linghu Qingmo had noticed that Xie Jinhuan seemed a little too unyielding in his hatred of evil and fearless before power. Compared with Xie Jinhuan, even he, a notorious workaholic, looked like a slippery old Yamen hand.

But he admired precisely this sort of man. Walking beside him, he offered his praise.

"If all the officials in the world were as fearless of power as you, there probably wouldn't be any demons or monsters left. Evil needs soil to grow in. With a blue sky and bright sun overhead, where would it find a place to hide?"

Being praised as "Blue Sky Xie" made Xie Jinhuan blush a little, but he had no choice.

The Demon Bandits in the city alone could not withstand Great Qian's iron fist. To ease the pressure on himself, he had to keep sacrificing fellow cultivators to take the thunderbolts, running everyone in the Yamen off their feet, top to bottom!

If the Yamen had time to spare, he certainly wouldn't!

He had not yet figured out how to dig up trouble for the Li Household, and now they had suddenly put the knife right into his hand. If he did not seize the chance to blow this up, how could he possibly repay their painstaking efforts to get him out of trouble?

"I'm not really much of a hero. I'm just helping out because I have nothing else to do. Ridding the world of evil will still depend on Miss Linghu and Brother Yang."

Yang Dabiao was embarrassed by the flattery too.

"Oh, you really know how to talk, lad. Just what you'd expect from a son raised by Lord Xie."

"Heh..."

Peach Immortal Ward, Spring Screen Tower.

A luxurious carriage stopped outside the building, and an adviser and household servants carefully approached to offer support.

"Careful, young master..."

Hundred-Household Commander Zhou He stood at the entrance with two Scarlet Qilin Guards. Once Li Ziwen stepped out of the carriage, he cupped his hands in greeting.

"Young Master Li."

Li Ziwen was the nephew of Yellow Gate Attendant Li Gongpu. Over thirty and fairly capable, he had not entered official service, but his assigned role within the lineage was to manage its internal affairs. He had already begun taking over the lineage's businesses and was highly regarded by his eldest uncle, who held a lofty position.

Having suffered corporal punishment at the Yamen the day before yesterday, Li Ziwen was still somewhat weak, but he remained refined and composed and did not let the servants support him.

"You're too courteous, Commander Zhou. I was struck by this undeserved calamity out of nowhere. Thank goodness you spared no effort running about on my behalf, Lord Zhou. Otherwise, who knows how much longer I would have been drinking coarse-leaf tea in the Yamen?"

Zhou He was affable. "I was merely ordered to attend the proceedings. The Three Harmony Tower case had nothing to do with you in the first place, young master. What effort was there to speak of? Back when I was in the Capital, Lord Li looked after me a great deal. I've yet to repay his kindness in recognizing my worth, and now you're treating me to a banquet as well. I'm truly ashamed."

"It's only a simple meal on our own turf. How is that treating you to a banquet? After you, Lord Zhou!"

Amid these pleasantries, the group entered Spring Screen Tower.

As one of the largest restaurants on Flower Tower Street, Spring Screen Tower could certainly be called resplendent in gold and jade. To entertain their distinguished guests, the Li Household had even invited the star courtesans from the entire street. More than a dozen chattering beauties waited in the hall, including several foreign dancing girls in low-cut outfits, their breasts bigger than their heads...

Cautious by nature and watertight in his conduct, Zhou He barely reacted to this lavish display. The two Scarlet Qilin Guards accompanying him, however, stared wide-eyed, delight showing on their faces as they nearly forgot how to walk.

Li Zixian was a shrewd man too. Seeing Zhou He's manner, he knew a meal alone would not settle this debt of gratitude. After they sat down in a private room, he had the adviser fetch a box.

"I hear your honored father is advanced in years and has trouble walking. As it happens, a friend gave me some dragon yang flowers. I have no use for them at present, and they'll lose their medicinal potency by next year..."

Dragon yang flowers were a top-tier ingredient for pills used in Body Tempering and stabilizing the meridians. Ordinary martial artists could not afford to hire an Alchemist even if they had them, but they were extremely easy to turn into cash.

As a martial artist, Zhou He clearly found it hard to resist something indispensable that he could never afford on his salary. A trace of a smile appeared on his face. He was about to offer a few polite refusals when a household servant came thudding upstairs, shouting along the way:

"Young master! Young master..."

Li Zixian frowned. "What are you making such a racket for?"

The servant repeatedly bowed in apology, came behind his chair, and whispered:

"Young master, people from the County Commandant's Office suddenly went to the farm just now..."

Li Zixian frowned and raised a hand to stop the servant, glancing at the Scarlet Qilin Guards nearby.

Zhou He was Capital City's Red-Robed Plague God. Half a sentence was enough for him to know the Li Household had stirred up trouble again, and they did not dare discuss it in front of him. He said gravely:

"Before I came, Lord Li sent someone to instruct me to handle matters neatly. His Majesty does not like those who obey in public and defy in private. If something has happened, young master, you had best explain it clearly here in private."

Li Zixian rubbed his fingers together. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned toward Zhou He's ear.

"It's nothing serious. A gambling house inevitably gets gamblers who refuse to repay their debts. They're all beasts who sell their wives and daughters. To make an example of them, I took them to the farm and buried them in the fields as fertilizer..."

Zhou He frowned, looking slightly displeased.

"You must give a detailed account of the case. They failed to repay their debts, so you sent the gamblers to work them off at the farm. They died from untreated illness and exhaustion, and you even provided land for their proper burial. That was a great act of charity. Bring me the IOUs, indentures, and so forth to examine."

"Huh?"

Li Zixian was stunned, but he quickly caught on and turned around.

"See? That's what makes a lord of the Scarlet Qilin Guard. Hurry up and find the IOUs and indentures!"

"Yes, I'll go work something out right away..."

A shout-out:

I recommend a book, "1855: From Europa Universalis to Hearts of Iron." Anyone interested can give it a look~

Anyone interested can give it a look