The desiccated corpse

"Given your current status, why don't you take the initiative to come and inquire?" Master Jinlian asked, puzzled.

"The Earl of Pingyuan is, after all, a hereditary noble family. Without evidence, I cannot resort to violence. Moreover, a normal investigation would be too restrictive. To get the answers, both overt and covert methods must be used in combination," Xu Qi'an explained casually.

"The Daoist School is undoubtedly the leader in the realm of the Primordial Spirit. Making him obediently 'cooperate' and reveal all the information he can should be achievable, right?"

"You are quite experienced, which doesn't match your previous life and experience," said Master Jinlian, nodding slightly in affirmation.

"Some cars look brand new, but their mileage is actually alarmingly high," Xu Qi'an said seriously.

"What do you mean by that?" Master Jinlian frowned.

"What I mean is, you only see the surface of me, and a person's life is always more fascinating than the words on the file." Xu Qi'an shrugged.

"That makes sense." Master Jinlian didn't continue the topic, and said, "Open your mind, and I will descend into your sea of consciousness."

"Are you Primordial Spirit projection again?" Xu Qi'an asked warily.

"Hehe, my body is injured, which greatly reduces my strength, but my Yin spirit is intact, which allows me to better exert my power."

"There's a curfew in the inner city, so I can't openly go out with you. I can hide it from the ordinary watchmen, but if the golden watchmen see us, it won't be good for either of us. Besides, the capital is full of hidden talents, and the threat doesn't necessarily come from just the Nightwatchers."

That's true, but you want to turn my Primordial Spirit into your own shape? That's going too far. Besides, we're not even that close yet. Xu Qi'an frowned, looking troubled.

Although she trusted Master Jinlian to some extent, she hadn't gone so far as to allow his Primordial Spirit to invade her sea of consciousness.

Moreover, he couldn't guarantee that the Golden Lotus Daoist priest wouldn't discover some of his secrets, such as memories of his past life, or the round, snow-white buttocks of the Flower Queen of Fuxiang.

Master Jinlian shook her head. "Then what should we do?"

Just then, a piercing meow came from the rooftop. Xu Qi'an immediately smiled and pointed to the sky above, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Daoist Master."

"."

After changing into the Nightwatchers's uniform, Xu Qi'an left the courtyard openly. Along the way, he encountered Imperial Saber Guard, upon seeing his uniform, didn't bother to ask him anything, but were simply curious as to why this Nightwatchers had a black cat perched on his shoulder.

The only time Xu Qi'an would be stopped was when he encountered his fellow Nightwatchers, but as long as he took out his gold token and said that he was investigating a case by imperial decree, he could solve all the problems.

Xu Qi'an did not deliberately rush, but at his current pace, he arrived near the Pingyuan Marquis's residence in just one hour.

Looking around to make sure no one was nearby, he found a secluded corner, tore off a page from the "magic book," which recorded the technique of "blinding the view with a leaf."

"Laugh"

The energy ignited the paper, and an invisible force enveloped Xu Qi'an and the black cat.

The Confucian School Law Follows Speech of "words become law" applies. The black cat's orange-yellow pupils stared at this scene, and Master Jinlian suddenly recalled many details.

No wonder Number Three tries to portray himself as a student of the Cloud Deer Academy. It's not just because his cousin is a student there; he himself seems to have a significant connection to the academy.

Otherwise, how could they possess books that record Law Technique?

Master Jinlian immediately ruled out the option of her cousin giving it to her, firstly because an ordinary student could not possibly receive such preferential treatment from a great Confucian scholar.

Secondly, how could a student easily give away such a priceless treasure? They probably wouldn't even be willing to use it.

The scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy have always looked down on martial artists, so why would they give him such a treasure? As Master Jinlian pondered this question, she saw Xu Qi'an pull a cloak from the fragments of the Earth Book and cover himself with it.

"Why are you so skilled?" The black cat shook its head.

"Before we set out, I remembered two trivial matters that I'd like to ask you about, Daoist Master," Xu Qi'an, whose face was shrouded in a cloak, suddenly spoke.

"Speak!" The black cat shook the air and spoke in human language.

Does the Spirit Dragon only associate with members of the royal family?

That's the theoretical idea.

"Theory?"

"The spirit dragon prefers to consume purple qi, not members of the royal family," the black cat explained.

Xu Qi'an nodded thoughtfully. "There's one more thing. Today I went to the capital to investigate a case and heard that the spirit dragon went berserk for no reason. Even with all the guards working together, they couldn't subdue it and it almost injured Princess Lin'an."

The black cat remained silent for a long time.

"Daoist Master?"

The black cat looked around warily, and then the solemn voice of Daoist Jinlian rang out. "The sealed artifact beneath Sangbo has entered the city."

How do you know?

"The spirit dragon is born with Qi-Watching Technique, and it's far superior to ordinary Qi Refinement techniques. It can sense things that ordinary people cannot."

No wonder Chu Caiwei's Qi-Watching Technique couldn't detect anything unusual; her skills are lacking. Is this why the Spirit Dragon fawned over me? It could see the High Antiquity. So, the Supervisor could see it too?

Xu Qi'an was alarmed by this conjecture.

The sealed artifact from Sangbo has entered the city. The spirit dragon sensed the threat and went berserk, determined to escape the imperial city. Tomorrow, I'll find a way to reveal this to Wei Yuan.

After ending the conversation, Xu Qi'an followed the walls of the courtyards until he reached the back wall of the Pingyuan Marquis's residence, where he leaped over the wall.

After landing, he cautiously looked around to make sure that the sound of clothes rustling through the air had not disturbed the experts in the mansion.

The Pingyuan Earl's Mansion was quite large, and according to residential customs, the owner usually lived in the largest courtyard on the east side.

Using the "Blinding the Eyes" Law Technique, Xu Qi'an evaded several patrolling guards and arrived at the largest courtyard on the east side.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, his ears twitched, and he heard loud, undisguised groans and heavy breathing from a man.

"This couldn't have come at the worst possible time," Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, quickening his pace.

He reached under the window, gathered his energy in his fingers, and pierced the highly flexible window paper, peering through the small hole.

The hole faced directly into the master bedroom, and the movements of the two people on the bed were clearly visible to Xu Qi'an. However, because of the thin bed curtains, he could only see the quilt rising and falling.

"Puff"

Just then, a slight sound came from above—the sound of a cat's claws piercing the window paper.

Xu Qi'an looked up and saw the black cat standing on its hind legs on its head, its two front paws against the window, its face pressed against the hole, watching intently.

"Daoist priest, you also have this kind of taste?" Xu Qi'an's lips twitched twice.

"He must be the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan. Let's just charge in," Xu Qi'an suggested.

"We'll go in after it's over. That's when men are most relaxed," Master Jinlian rejected Xu Qi'an's suggestion.

"No, Daoist Master, you'll regret this. You have no idea how terrifying martial artists are. After all, we are the strongest in the world, "Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Two incense sticks' worth of time passed.

Master Jinlian looked down at Xu Qi'an: "Alright, I admit you're right."

"Tsk tsk, that's all. Back when I first slept with Fuxiang, I stayed up until midnight." Xu Qi'an thought with considerable pleasure, just about to go around to the front door, sneak into the house, and subdue the other party with swift and decisive action.

But at that moment, Xu Qi'an suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, goosebumps rose on his skin, and it felt as if blood-red thorns were piercing his flesh from behind.

A nameless fear filled my mind.

"Something has come." Master Jinlian's voice was heavier than ever before.

He had barely finished speaking when Xu Qi'an heard a guard shouting from afar, "Who goes there, daring to trespass on the Pingyuan Marquis's residence?"

He was speaking when his voice broke into a scream.

Immediately afterwards, the shockwaves from the explosion spread, screams rose and fell, and then silence returned.

The eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan, who had already entered a state of enlightenment, heard the commotion. Without even having time to put on his clothes, he quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed the sword hanging on the wall, and rushed out of the room with a grim expression.

A person shrouded in a black robe appeared in the courtyard. His face was hidden under the hood, and the aura he exuded made Xu Qi'an's legs tremble, and he only wanted to run away.

The black cat arched its back, its long fur bristled, and its upright pupils contracted rapidly. Its abnormality reflected, to some extent, the emotions of Daoist Jinlian at that moment.

"Who are you?" the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan asked in a trembling voice.

His legs, his arms, and the muscles in his face trembled and spasmed uncontrollably.

"Debt collector." A hoarse voice came from inside the hood. The man in the black robe raised his head, revealing a pale face with rather handsome features.

He had a pair of dark eyes, the pupils of which seemed to fill the entire eye sockets, with no whites in them.

Xu Qi'an didn't recognize him, but he memorized the other person's appearance and guessed his identity.

"It's you! It's you!" the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan screamed, filled with utter terror. "You're dead! I saw you die with my own eyes!"

"I died, but I crawled out of hell again." The man in the black robe spoke in a hoarse voice. He raised his right hand, which seemed to come from the devil. It was blood red, with bulging veins. The moment Xu Qi'an saw those hands, the fear in his heart exploded.

With a whoosh, a vortex of air swirled in the blood-red palm, drawing the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan into its center.

"Help! Help! Someone help me!"

The eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan kicked his legs wildly, and suddenly, his flesh and blood shriveled up, turning into a dried-up corpse in an instant.

A person who was alive and well one moment can lose their life the next.

A mummified corpse?! It was as if lightning had struck Xu Qi'an's mind.

The man in black robes grinned maliciously, then channeled his energy in a fit of rage, causing the dried corpse to explode into dust.

After killing the man, the man in black robes turned his head, his cold gaze fixed on where Xu Qi'an was hiding.

He opened his palms towards the bottom of the window, and whoosh! A rolling vortex reappeared.

Damn it. Xu Qi'an's feet were firmly planted on the ground, his body leaning back, being slowly drawn closer to the other person, closer to the abyss-like palm that devoured lives.

Xu Qi'an reached into his robes, took out the powerful pills given to him by Chu Caiwei, crushed the porcelain bottle, and stuffed all the pills into his mouth.

Then, he gripped the hilt of the black and gold longsword, calming all his emotions.

Clang!

In the darkness, a flash of dark golden light appeared, and with a clang, a string of dazzling sparks flew from the crimson arm.

Xu Qi'an's right hand was split open at the base of his thumb, and the muscles in his right arm, which was gripping the knife, were spasming.

This is an enemy I cannot slay with a single strike. Faced with such an enemy, the sword intent given in the manual is not to strike again, but to flee.

"Run!"

The black cat vibrated the air, spoke in human language, and leaped up, pouncing on the man in black robes.

Amidst the turbulent energy, the black cat's body disintegrated in mid-air, and the Golden Lotus Daoist's Primordial Spirit manifested, crashing into the black-robed man.

"Daoist Master, take care." Xu Qi'an didn't look again. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he broke free from the pull of the vortex, leaped onto the roof in a few steps, and escaped by climbing over the wall.

P. S.: Requesting a monthly vote!