Chapter 553: The Devil is One Foot Taller

He felt as though he were about to grow moldy. Not wanting to stay in the cubicle for even a moment longer, he climbed off the bed and walked toward the door.

Outside the door came the chirping of birds. Dust danced in the sunlight streaming through the doorway, indicating that today was a bright, sunny day.

The moment Cheng Yu stepped out the door, the light streaming in was blocked by his own body.

Outside the door, it was pitch black.

This...? Oh no! He wanted to turn around and retreat back into the room, but behind him, it was empty and vast. Where had the little cubicle gone?

Only Bai Bai Ziqi remained, sitting in his original position, smiling at him—

With this smile, his mouth stretched all the way to his earlobes, revealing a row of sharp teeth, uneven in length, like those of a crocodile.

Only then did Cheng Yu realize, belatedly, that Bai Bai Ziqi had been sitting in the corner the entire time and had never approached the beam of light at the doorway!

That beam of light must have been the last shred of clarity in his own mind.

"You walked out of your heart's chamber and left the protection of Bai Bai Ziqi's candle flame." In his horrified gaze, Bai Bai Ziqi's face slowly transformed into the Hundred-Faced Nightmare. Both heads let out a shrill, cackling laugh in unison, "Come, it's time we settled our old scores!"

￥￥￥￥￥

Bai Bai Ziqi returned to the government office first to check on Cheng Yu.

If anyone else were to enter, all they would see was the spellcaster still in a coma, with Fan Sheng standing guard by his side like a wooden statue, not moving an inch, while a pale golden candle burned in each of the four corners of the room.

Other restrictions were hidden here; anyone who tried to snatch him openly or sneak in would have hell to pay.

"All quiet?" It should be all quiet. The biggest suspects, He Xiao and Fu Fu Shanyue, had had no opportunity to make a move in the past half hour.

Fan Sheng nodded: "All quiet, Commandant Bai, rest assured. How is Wu Kai?"

"Dead."

Fan Sheng was startled: "Then that only leaves Cen Boqing?"

"Indeed." Bai Bai Ziqi rubbed his forehead, "The last one standing."

"Lord Zhongsun Mou is dead, and Wu Kai is dead too. Cen Boqing must not be allowed to come to any harm. I will go and send more men to watch over him."

"Lord Zhongsun Mou was killed by Mai Xuewen; as for Wu Kai, I fear he was killed by the party responsible for refining the Elixir of Immortality. These two factions are at each other's throats, yet they have wiped out all our leads and witnesses." Bai Bai Ziqi sighed gloomily, "Both sides are pushing Cen Boqing onto me, hah."

Fan Sheng said dryly: "Commandant Bai has worked hard."

"Not hard at all. Compared to the cases I've handled in the past, this one is much simpler. The very first day I arrived at Baishajian, I caught Cen Boqing confessing. I only need to bring him back; could anything be smoother than this?"

Bai Bai Ziqi said no more, returning to the inn to wash up and change clothes, then going out for breakfast.

Baishajian, waking up in the morning light, was as bustling with traffic and as vibrant as ever.

Just like He He Lingchuan, Bai Bai Ziqi tasted the most famous local sesame beef flatbread, washed it down with sweet egg wine and two steamed buns, then went to climb the Chaohu Tower, and finally went to inspect the scene where Fan Sheng had lost to He He Lingchuan—

The Lotus Palace.

Of course, after the water spirit incident, only withered lotuses remained here.

But the route he walked was centered around the government office; if anything happened there, he could rush back without much effort.

On his way back, he passed the inn where he was staying and saw people peering and poking their heads in and out of the inn.

They were likely wealthy and powerful families living in Baishajian, wanting to pay a visit to the Cloud Commandant.

Bai Bai Ziqi had no desire to pay them any mind and turned a corner toward the government office.

County Magistrate Tian immediately came to report that the government runners had already moved all of Wu Kai's belongings from the Cen residence and were inspecting them one by one.

Wu Kai had been cautious while alive and might not have left any useful clues; but Bai Bai Ziqi was even more cautious than him, and he did not want to miss a single detail.

By the time he finished dealing with these, it was already afternoon. Originally, he and Fu Fu Shanyue were supposed to interrogate Wu Kai during this time, but now that the prisoner was dead, the procedure was canceled.

Fan Sheng was still staying in Cheng Yu's cubicle, with the eternal lamps still lit in the four corners of the room.

But Cheng Yu remained in a coma.

Bai Bai Ziqi walked in with his hands behind his back: "Any abnormalities?"

"Doesn't look like it." Fan Sheng pointed to the four candles, "The restrictions haven't been triggered at all, and the flames have been very steady. But this man surnamed Cheng still hasn't woken up."

The door was open, but the light from the four candles was quiet and never flickered.

Natural wind could not disturb them; yet, on the other hand, they were very sensitive.

His tone was heavy, clearly realizing that this was the biggest abnormality of all.

He had seen with his own eyes Commandant Bai feed Cheng Yu a pile of good medicine; that dosage and efficacy would have been enough to make five or six dying old men get up and continue to play music and dance.

How could it not work on Cheng Yu? Bai Bai Ziqi observed carefully for a few moments, then reached out to check Cheng Yu's pulse: "The injuries have improved greatly." Even his complexion was somewhat rosy.

The spiritual medicine produced by the Cloud Commandant was no joke. "The heart and lungs are also clear."

It made no sense for him not to wake up.

Where there is an abnormality, there must be a demon. Bai Bai Ziqi's expression darkened. After pondering for a moment, he took out a pale golden candle from his bosom.

After last night's chase, only a candle stub remained, but Bai Bai Ziqi lit it anyway.

This candle spirit had a special function, but since the candle was about to burn out, he could only use it one last time.

The flame ignited. Bai Bai Ziqi did not pinch it out as he had last night, but instead whispered a few prayers to the candle flame.

Soon, the flame turned a pale green.

That eerie, phosphorescent light made the cubicle, which had been bright with afternoon sun and oppressive heat, suddenly feel chilly. The two guards standing watch outside couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill seep from the bottom of their hearts.

Of course, neither of the two inside the cubicle was afraid.

"This light can illuminate the soul." Bai Bai Ziqi brought the green candle flame close to Cheng Yu, right in front of his nose and mouth.

The candle flame, of course, remained motionless. Fan Sheng felt as if the scene before him had double images and quickly rubbed his eyes, but Bai Bai Ziqi's expression changed.

Fan Sheng's heart tightened: "What is it?"

Bai Bai Ziqi did not answer, instead reaching back to summon a guard, bringing the candle flame close to his nose and mouth as well: "Look."

Under the illumination of this firelight, the guard, person and face alike, appeared somewhat blurred. Fan Sheng tried hard to focus, only to find his facial features blurred, with only a wisp of white light like a flame jumping incessantly behind his glabella, in the brain area.

"This is what a human soul looks like under the illumination of the Soul-Illuminating Candle." Bai Bai Ziqi's voice carried annoyance, "Look at Cheng Yu again!"

No matter how he illuminated him, Cheng Yu's mind was completely empty, like a house without an owner.

"He lost his soul long ago and can't wake up!"

"How could..." Fan Sheng gasped, "I have been guarding here the whole time, no evil spirit could have approached!"

The restrictions hadn't been broken, and there hadn't even been a warning.

Bai Bai Ziqi, of course, knew this too, his eyes shifting slightly: "When did Cheng Yu lose his soul?"

Fan Sheng could not answer this question, and Bai Bai Ziqi did not expect him to.

When Bai Bai Ziqi interrogated Cheng Yu alone last night, the fellow had been conscious for over a dozen breaths and answered two of his questions. At that time, Cheng Yu's soul was still there.

Afterward, Cheng Yu fell into a coma, so he had to switch to interrogating the guards, and then Fu Fu Shanyue arrived with He Xiao.

Once those two left, he returned to Cheng Yu's cubicle, set the restrictions, and asked Fan Sheng to sit guard.

In other words, Cheng Yu lost his soul while the three of them were interrogating the guards and Cen Boqing.

Fu Fu Shanyue and He Xiao themselves should be excluded from suspicion, because Bai Bai Ziqi himself was on the scene and was an eyewitness.

According to Cen Boqing's own confession, Cheng Yu was someone he had temporarily invited to deal with He Xiao and had no connection to his Elixir of Immortality business. Therefore, Cheng Yu's soul loss should not have been the work of the mastermind who killed Wu Kai.

Who wanted to kill him? Could it really be, as He Xiao said, an evil spirit whose golden body was burned away long ago, coming to take revenge on Cheng Yu?

Cheng Yu's previous locking of his soul in the Dream Bottle, as well as the guards' testimonies, all confirmed that he had things he feared. The other party had tried again and again, and finally succeeded.

Progress here in Baishajian seemed smooth, as if someone had prepared the "true culprit" for him, but every time Bai Bai Ziqi wanted to investigate further, he felt heavy resistance.

He let out a long, stifled breath.

How many factions were actually involved in this strange case?

He He Lingchuan sat on the roof playing the flute, accompanied by the breeze and the bamboo waves.

Skill cannot withstand tempering; his technique had improved greatly, and he could already play several tunes fluently.

The Soul-Absorbing Mirror felt that it was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel: "You have a lot of room for improvement!"

He He Lingchuan flicked the mirror surface with a finger: "Remove the words 'room for'! Or remove 'room for improvement' entirely!"

As a beginner, he lacked finger technique and seasoning, but the only thing he didn't lack was strength.

Whether playing the flute or the xun, there were requirements for lung capacity. Complex tunes were mostly based on long notes, supplemented by various techniques. Others would practice this until they were dizzy, chest-tight, and short of breath, but He He Lingchuan had cultivation, and he had long since developed the habit of breathing and exhaling, with long-lasting energy, giving him a natural advantage here.

But he knew his musical talent was limited; at most, he could pretend to be a literary youth, and no matter how much he practiced, he wouldn't reach a level of perfection.

However, the concentration and calmness during playing were very beneficial for him to nurture his state of mind.

This was also the reason why many practitioners liked to take up a musical instrument as a secondary study.

This case of killing demons for pearls, which started from Shuangyi Town, had come to an end because of Cen Boqing's confession. He He Lingchuan could finally have a few days of leisure to relax his body and mind.

During the investigation, even when he was huddled in the room hiding from the rain, he had to keep his nerves taut, guarding against the opponent's sneak attacks.

The Soul-Absorbing Mirror also sighed: "This case is too complicated."

"Complexity is not a bad thing." It allowed his understanding of Between Beijia to progress layer by layer.

How could a mere cursory tour have touched upon so many inside stories?

The mirror was still worried: "Are you really not afraid that Cheng Yu will sell you out?"

Is it really okay to just leave Cheng Yu in Bai Bai Ziqi's hands and ignore him?

Cen Boqing had already confessed, and Fu Fu Shanyue would no longer interfere with how Bai Bai Ziqi dealt with Cheng Yu. Just as he himself said, that was just an idle bystander.

He He Lingchuan smiled: "He won't."

"Why?"

He He Lingchuan smiled without answering.

As an artifact spirit, the mirror could speak to its master, and others couldn't hear it, but his every word and action might be under Bai Bai Ziqi's eyes. Who knew if the Cloud Commandant had some magical means to monitor him?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 554 =====