Chapter 610: The Art of Heart-Shadow Transmission

State Preceptor Frost Leaf and Nian Zanli must have had contact; after all, he had allocated yuan qi to Nian Zanli and sent Hong Chenglue to support him. Although the result of that great battle wasn't very good, no matter what Nian Zanli thought of State Preceptor Frost Leaf and Hong Chenglue, he must have visited State Preceptor Frost Leaf and mentioned the request for troops when he arrived in Ling Xu City this time.

When living under someone else's roof, one must be humble.

Now State Preceptor Frost Leaf was willing to help, but didn't directly deal with Nian Zanli, instead bypassing to Fu Shanyue/He Xiao here, clearly leaving them to do the favor.

The State Preceptor's way of doing things was also watertight.

Xi Yunhe nodded: "Entrusted by the monarch, one must be loyal to the monarch's affairs."

Meaning your request has been handled, it's your turn.

He Lingchuan sat upright: "I am all ears."

"The Elixir of Immortality case is related to Cen Boqing. The day after this document was sent to the Emperor, the Qingfu Temple caught fire, and all one hundred and twenty-one people in the temple were burned to death, from the abbot down to the night patrol, water keeper, and bell ringer; not a single one escaped. Bai Ziqi investigated to this point, and the clues were broken." Xi Yunhe narrated, "Therefore, State Preceptor Qingyang has been going out as usual recently, acting as if nothing happened, because she knows others can't find solid evidence."

"Where is the solid evidence?"

"Setting a fire is the best way to destroy evidence." Xi Yunhe said, "Actually, it's also the easiest to make mistakes. Because everyone was burned beyond recognition, unable to be identified."

He Lingchuan stroked his chin: "Was this how State Preceptor Frost Leaf helped you fake your death back then?"

Xi Yunhe ignored him.

"The number of dead wasn't right; didn't the Qinggong suspect it?"

"Only one hundred and three bodies were found afterward. In such a big fire, it's not strange for a few to be missing."

After the shocking fire, there would always be people missing. Besides, this fire at Qingfu Temple was a bit suspicious, and eyewitnesses at the scene said it even carried a bit of purple light; what was strange about burning a few people? Xi Yunhe continued, "There was a temple keeper at the temple named Kong Jiaxiang, who went to the Southern Li District to find his old lover that night, stayed outside, and didn't report to the temple. As a result, he woke up from a sleep and heard that Qingfu Temple had been burned clean. This person was also clever; he didn't go back to check at all, but immediately left the city and went south back to his hometown in Yangshui to wait."

"Is he still in Yangshui now?"

"Yes." Xi Yunhe laughed in a low voice, "We have special people watching him, but he doesn't know."

"Even State Preceptor Qingyang thinks Kong Jiaxiang is dead; how do you know he is alive in Yangshui?" He Lingchuan looked at him with dark vigilance. Could it be that the fire at Qingfu Temple was set by State Preceptor Frost Leaf's subordinates? Thinking that Xi Yunhe could even alias as Mai Xuewen and kill demons to take pearls under Wu Kai to leave clues, it seemed that State Preceptor Frost Leaf setting fire to Qingfu Temple was also very smooth?

"You think we set the fire?" Xi Yunhe shook his head. "That was the most important place and evidence for privately selling the Elixir of Immortality; how could we burn it all away? We originally thought this fire burned everything, until two days later, someone discovered that Kong Jiaxiang's old lover was acting as usual, even chatting with neighbors and laughing openly, without any tragic emotion."

He Lingchuan's gaze flickered: "Who found out Kong Jiaxiang had a lover?"

"Of course it was me." Xi Yunhe said lightly, "Three years ago, I was watching him."

"With this doubt, it's easy to investigate." He said word by word, "This time, it's State Preceptor Qingyang's bad luck; heaven wants to collect her!"

Otherwise, why wasn't the first person to discover Kong Jiaxiang was alive State Preceptor Qingyang, but State Preceptor Frost Leaf?

"In a temple with over a hundred people, could it be that everyone was helping to sell the Elixir of Immortality?"

"That's naturally impossible; there were only three or five people who knew." Xi Yunhe said, "Kong Jiaxiang was responsible for the handover and bookkeeping; as long as Bai Ziqi catches him, he can naturally trace back to the Qinggong."

He sneered: "Actually, Bai Ziqi knows very well that the Elixir of Immortality is privately made by the Qinggong. But to deal with such an opponent, solid evidence is required."

He said it lightly, but He Lingchuan knew this clue wasn't easy to come by, just like finding a way out in hundreds of dead ends, not knowing how much energy it took.

Xi Yunhe's personal professional ability was indeed outstanding; no wonder he investigated various cases to the point where State Preceptor Qingyang had no temper, and finally had to get rid of him.

He Lingchuan exhaled: "Then I want to ask, with the Metropolitan Envoy facing the fire at Qingfu Temple and being helpless, why would I, an outsider, discover Kong Jiaxiang is still alive?"

Bai Ziqi would inevitably ask him or Fu Shanyue to explain the source of the news; this question couldn't be bypassed.

"Because Kong Jiaxiang has another identity; he is not only Wu Kai's fellow villager, but also the brother of Wu Kai's daughter-in-law." Xi Yunhe said lightly, "You can say that when investigating Wu Kai's hometown background, you found such a living person, but you discovered he was on the death list of Qingfu Temple."

"Yangshui is in the Chi Yan territory; it is only natural for you to find out."

He Lingchuan thought for a while: "This method is good, but for safety's sake, I want to send an eye back to Yangshui."

Although Xi Yunhe's ability was obvious to all, the possibility of him lying on this case was very small, but the matter was of great importance, and He Lingchuan wouldn't feel at ease without sending his own scouts to see.

Xi Yunhe wasn't surprised: "As you wish, but act quickly, or things will change."

Kong Jiaxiang was the trump card they had worked hard to get; if he was taken out by the Qinggong again, the truth of the Elixir of Immortality case would be hard to see the light of day again.

He Lingchuan thought for a while and said: "By the way, Crown Prince Huan ran to the Pan Mountain residence to commit murder and arson last night, you know, right?"

"The whole city knows."

"Do you know who did it?"

Xi Yunhe said: "You have so many enemies, don't you have any idea in your heart?"

He Lingchuan smiled bitterly: "Can it be investigated?"

"I advise you not to act rashly." Xi Yunhe's puppet said with a straight face, "Just obediently execute the mission."

"The State Preceptor wants to protect me." He Lingchuan smiled, "What if these people take action again?"

"Didn't the Emperor bestow a mansion to the Chi Yan Crown Prince?" Xi Yunhe said lightly, "And allocated the Tongxin Guard to protect you."

"You know the relationship between the Tongxin Guard and me." He Lingchuan touched his nose, "Not finding trouble for me would be considered the Fan brothers' magnanimity. If a thief sneaks in and wants to take my life, they might just let it happen."

"If something happens to the Chi Yan people again, the Emperor's face won't look good either." Xi Yunhe laughed, "If we know someone is dealing with you, we will inform you in advance. By the way, I will teach you 'Heart-Shadow Transmission'."

Heart-Shadow Transmission is the supernatural power of turning a living person into a puppet and controlling their words and deeds for a short time.

During this period, the controlled person has no memory and won't even feel the passage of time.

But this kind of magic usually only works on idle people, demons, or the weak and unconscious; it has almost no effect on those with firm will. Otherwise, Xi Yunhe would have controlled He Lingchuan to find Bai Ziqi, why come to negotiate with him?

"What if the other party is old and weak, but has yuan qi protection?" He Lingchuan liked to split hairs.

Xi Yunhe looked at him strangely: "Yuan qi? I don't know how other countries allocate it, but as long as they aren't on the battlefield, most officials in Ling Xu City aren't equipped with yuan qi. Yuan qi is so precious that even Beijia won't give it to every official."

He Lingchuan realized: "So that's it."

"Also, people controlled by the Heart-Shadow Transmission technique cannot execute too complex tasks, such as fighting."

He Lingchuan laughed again: "Which State Preceptor taught you this secret technique?"

"Neither." Xi Yunhe said, "Obtained by chance from ancient books, self-taught."

There are all kinds of strange techniques in this world, many of which are passed down from ancient and medieval times, and it's hard for the world to know them all.

"Do they know you have this secret technique?"

Xi Yunhe said lightly: "That has nothing to do with you."

That means they don't know, He Lingchuan understood. It seems this guy has learned to be obedient, and no longer tells everything to State Preceptor Frost Leaf, this savior.

Xi Yunhe explained the technique and key points in a few words, and then said: "We are acting here; although State Preceptor Qingyang doesn't know, she won't sit still and wait for death. Be careful later."

He Lingchuan's gaze moved: "What other tricks does she have?"

"She often goes to see the Emperor recently." State Preceptor Qingyang's friendship with the two emperors was very deep. Sometimes, even if she didn't do anything else, playing the emotional card was the most useful. "In addition, she is also good at black-box operations. Don't think she has been beaten back step by step by State Preceptor Frost Leaf and has no power to fight back. Heh, she doesn't show any movement on the surface, but maybe the things that happened in Ling Xu City recently are all related to her."

"Recently?"

"Maybe, including what you encountered."

He Lingchuan was startled: "You mean, these attacks we encountered are related to her?"

Except for the explosion at the inn which he planned himself, someone poisoned him, someone instigated Crown Prince Huan to block the Chi Yan people, and burned the Pan Mountain residence.

Currently, no mastermind has been found for these cases.

Could it be related to the Qinggong? Yes, facing the step-by-step pressure from Bai Ziqi and the Chi Yan people, how could State Preceptor Qingyang be indifferent? "Perhaps." Xi Yunhe's puppet shrugged stiffly, "Just a personal speculation. Based on my understanding of her."

He didn't say anything more and instructed He Lingchuan to complete the mission as soon as possible before leaving.

After this person left, He Lingchuan didn't delay time and summoned the Goshawk into the room.

"There's a new job, help me fly to Yangshui in Chi Yan again, check on someone, and get some information."

With wings, one can travel a thousand miles a day, and a round trip to Yangshui is only a few days' work.

￥￥￥￥￥

At night, the first snow in Panlongcheng.

He Lingchuan walked on the street and suddenly felt a chill on his face; fine snowflakes arrived unexpectedly, drilling into people's collars.

Pedestrians on the street tightened their collars and quickened their pace.

In the cold weather, hurrying home to surround the stove is the right thing to do.

He Lingchuan walked into a pharmacy, ordered a few medicinal materials, and asked the shopkeeper to decoct White Tiger Soup instead.

"Is someone at home sobering up?"

He Lingchuan smiled: "Yes."

He originally thought he would enter Panlongcheng at night after leaving Mount Xu, but that night he first had a dream of the Questioning Tree, and the next day he encountered the Ling Xu Crown Prince coming to commit murder and arson.

Tonight, he finally entered the city.

A moment later, the White Tiger Soup was decocted. He wasn't afraid of the heat, picked up the clay pot, and walked back.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 611 =====