Chapter 48: Possession

"I know a little!"

Zhang Jian gave a slight nod; he could see some shaken expressions in the eyes of Qi Yi and Qi Yuan Si.

Obviously, this was beyond their expectations.

"So, Jian Bro, you might be able to catch that evil demon?"

Qi Yuan Si gave a solemn gaze.

After investigation, they had concluded that Lady Zhou likely died at the hands of the evil demon.

The Qi residence was already heavily guarded, not to mention the martial clan had many body‑tempering experts; if a killer acted, no matter how covert the method, they could never escape their eyes, let alone flee with wings.

Furthermore, after the Qi father and son investigated, they found that Lady Zhou's death was somewhat strange.

Qi Yi then said with a stern face: "Jian Bro, if you understand sorcery, it'd be best for you to act; I don't trust the Mr. Qingyu beside the governor, nor the other Daoists in the commandery."

A hint of grimness flickered in Qi Yi's eyes.

In his heart he gritted his teeth with hatred; if Lady Zhou lived, the Qi residence could advance or retreat, even remain aloof, but her death left the whole Qi family naked before a pack of hungry wolves.

This meant they could only go into battle bare‑armed, clashing bayonets with the surrounding hungry wolves and drawing blood.

How could Qi Yi not be angry?

For now, the only plan is to first find the killer and give the Stabilize Distant Marquis Manor an explanation; otherwise, not only would they face an unfavorable situation in Phoenix Yang Commandery, they would also incur the wrath of the Stabilize Distant Marquis Manor, which would be troublesome.

Zhang Jian nodded and agreed.

The Zhang family wanted to stand on equal footing with the three great clans of Phoenix Yang Commandery, so they naturally needed to show some strength.

To gain the corresponding benefits, they naturally needed corresponding strength.

At this moment, revealing part of his strength would naturally allow him to discard many troubles, avoid pointless provocations and disputes.

Of course, recklessly exposing his strength would certainly bring him greater risk.

But by now Zhang Jian had thought it through clearly.

He had actually already revealed himself by acting earlier; the Gu family's lack of loud proclamation showed they still hoped to marry into the Zhang family to monopolize the benefits, since random marriages were basically impossible, and the other side would surely not continue to deliberately conceal things for him; it would be better to exchange for other benefits.

The Zhang family's rise to prominence also made it convenient for him to milk benefits at the clan shrine.

This also counts as killing several birds with one stone.

……

Within the rear courtyard, Zhang Jian stepped forward into the rear courtyard; as soon as he entered, he immediately smelled a strong scent of blood.

He saw his maternal uncle standing grim‑faced before the bed, eyelids lowered, unknown what he was thinking, but he saw no sign of sorrow.

On the contrary, that Jade Immortal older sister was in tears, her heart broken.

Seeing Zhang Jian being led in by Qi Yuan Si, Qi Yuan Wu glanced over lightly; he exuded a vigorous yang aura, his face extraordinarily handsome, and after years of leading troops he was remarkably outstanding—no wonder Lady Zhou back then would do anything to marry this eldest son of the Qi family.

Zhang Jian's relationship with this maternal uncle was not close; they had met only a few times, so he merely nodded, then turned his gaze to the tooth bed.

At this moment, deep within the scarlet brocade cover on the tooth bed lay a layer of dried dark‑red bloodstain.

Even without uncovering the brocade, Zhang Jian knew this maternal aunt had had a layer of skin peeled off by a monster, her death gruesome.

Qi Yu Xian then lifted her head, her tear‑streaked face bearing a trace of intense hatred as she pleaded.

"Zhang Jian, brother, you must avenge my mother!"

Zhang Jian nodded.

"I will find that monster!"

Zhang Jian now slowly extended his spiritual sense; his extraordinarily keen spiritual sense could perceive that the area around the Qi residence was suffused with a strong dragon‑tiger aura, and even his spiritual sense was under a great suppression.

However, his spiritual sense was extraordinarily sharp, still able to perceive many minute details.

At this moment he could faintly sense that in the darkness there was a vague, malicious gaze fixed on him.

If that gaze were still concealed and hard to find, but the low‑voiced muttering, the dripping figure beside his ear, was extraordinarily conspicuous.

"Kill……new target……delicious!"

That sound was extremely strange; even within the 'channel' perceived by Zhang Jian's spiritual sense, it was easily captured by the Myriad Worlds Spirit Awareness Ball.

Following that gaze, Zhang Jian instantly locked onto the interior of the women's quarters; before the huge screen stood a nanmu square rack, its steps filled with candles.

Inside the bridal chamber there were also two crane‑beak palace lamps, gorgeous and splendid, and they had been filled with oil.

And in the light of these candles, the shadows of the four people in the room were stretched long, and the one Zhang Jian had locked onto was one of them.

That was Qi Yu Xian's shadow.

"Can this monster hide in a shadow?"

Zhang Jian quietly employed his spiritual sense to scan, but he found that his spiritual sense could not detect the monster inside the shadow, only faintly feeling a trace of unfathomable gloomy spiritual trace.

Only with a preconceived notion could he notice anything.

"What a strange monster!"

But almost simultaneously Zhang Jian chose to strike directly; a fierce crimson thunder‑fire burst from his palm and instantly blasted toward Qi Yu Xian.

Thunder rumbled, yet the weeping Qi Yu Xian froze, her clear eyes filled entirely with that terrifying crimson lightning; under the lightning her whole body seemed numb and unable to move.

"Zhang Jian, are you crazy?"

Qi Yuan Wu's hairs stood on end, his eyes blazing with anger; instinctively he wanted to draw his waist sword, but he saw the crimson heavenly thunder that charged straight at him bend in a special arc before Qi Yu Xian's face and slam into the shadow on the ground.

Beside him, Qi Yuan Si also widened his eyes; this was the first time he had seen Zhang Jian employ sorcery, and it was a bolt of lightning.

Could anyone truly control the splendid heavenly thunder between heaven and earth!

"Roar!"

As if it had struck a vital spot in an instant, a pain‑filled howl flowed from the depths of the shadow; accompanied by this terrifying howl, the astonished Qi Yuan Wu suddenly felt his whole body go numb, unable to move.

"Monster?"

Not only Qi Yuan Wu, but also Qi Yuan Si, Qi Yu Xian, and even Zhang Jian felt their souls trembling.

Precisely speaking, the shadow on the ground was swaying, as if being suppressed by some terrifying presence.

But soon the three broke free in an instant. Zhang Jian, possessing spiritual power, could free himself from the soul's suppression, while Qi Yuanwu and Qi Yuansi, holding official positions, were shielded by dragon-tiger qi; moreover, as martial generals from a military lineage, they were powerful warriors at the Viscera Refining stage.

Yang-gang blood energy burst forth, and he instantly opened his eyes, breaking free from the binding of that gloomy spiritual aura.

On the contrary, Qi Yuxian's whole body went rigid; in an instant his eyes turned completely dark, and a thick gloomy spiritual aura emanated from his whole body, like a phantom, and he rose to his feet in a flash.

Is he possessed?

Get out!

A gloom flickered in his eyes, but Zhang Jian was not slow; his Wind-Walking Technique flowed around him like a gust of wind, and in an instant he appeared at Qi Yuxian's feet, grabbing one of her jade feet with one hand, while several Purifying Soul talismans appeared in his other hand and he slapped them onto her back.

Since it can possess a body, it must be a yin-ghost type demon; for such demons, the Purifying Soul Spell is their bane.