Chapter 176

Bai Lang stood with folded arms, watching as those little ghosts incessantly struck the soul of Mao Dongshan. The woman's soul knelt in midair, kowtowing to Bai Lang begging for mercy, all she wanted was for Bai Lang to pull her up. Yet Bai Lang merely looked on coldly, 'What you sow, you reap. When you slaughtered those thousands of boys and girls to cultivate, you should have known this day would come.'

Each time one of those little ghosts vanished, it could only make Mao Dongshan's soul tremble a bit, but after a hundred ghosts struck, Mao Dongshan's soul had already begun to fade. After five hundred ghosts struck, even Mao Dongshan's soul could hardly gather into its original clear shape....

Bai Lang just watched as Mao Dongshan's soul was torn apart bit by bit, while the souls of those little ghosts likewise vanished; the final gust of yin wind swept up all the fragments and scattered them onto the ground, which confirmed a notion of his, 'Perhaps there really is an underworld after all.'

Searching a corpse after death is also a way to make money, especially for someone like Mao Dongshan who has done much evil; his estate is likely substantial. Bai Lang examined the corpse carefully, feeling around, and found a jade pendant hanging from the waist. This thing seemed to be for storage—because he had seen similar items with Murong Jiu Xiu and Qin Lian'er.

Bai Lang didn't know how to open the storage jade pendant, but that was fine—he could take it to the Guard Commandant's residence to solve the problem; besides that, the corpse had nothing else. Bai Lang picked up the head and headed straight back to Huaiyang City. As for which insider leaked the news of his pursuit of Mao Dongshan, Bai Lang said it was no longer his concern and he had no intention of investigating.

He was merely a silver-badge Guard Commandant, only a half-official position, but if he knew who betrayed him, Bai Lang wouldn't mind privately killing that person. On the way back, Bai Lang employed Lightness Skill; his endless Internal Force let him run faster than a horse— the key being that a horse needs rest while Bai Lang hardly does; after a half-hour break he can keep going, something a yellow-flanked horse cannot do.

Before the head rotted, Bai Lang had already rushed to Huaiyang City; the silver seal flashed and he passed unhindered to the Guard Commandant's residence. In front of Qiao Feng, Bai Lang tossed the head, 'Here, Mao Dongshan. You wouldn't have guessed she's actually a woman? By the way, does the Yin-Yang Grind have the ability of heavenly transformation, turning men into women?'

Qiao Feng stared wide-eyed at that head, even lifting it up to look from all sides, while answering Bai Lang's words with his mouth, 'No, the Yin-Yang Grind probably doesn't have that ability... Heavenly transformation? Perhaps... it's really hard to say, after all I've never seen it.' Then he lifted his head to look at Bai Lang, 'Mao Dongshan?!'

Bai Lang nodded, 'At the level of an Innate Expert, I don't think this would be a stand-in.' Bai Lang waited a moment, 'Since she's an Innate Expert, shouldn't the bounty be adjusted? Moreover, she knew I was coming to capture her and even knew I would go find Jiang Tiansheng; does your Guard Commandant's residence have an insider? And the rank probably isn't low—who could it be?'

Qiao Feng looked at Bai Lang and slowly shook his head, 'I don't know......' Bai Lang revealed a ferocious smile, 'Is that so, then fine.' He tapped the warrant, 'This price must be renegotiated. Oh, right, I also seized a storage jade pendant; help me find someone to teach me how to open it.'

Bai Lang turned a jade pendant in his hand; Qiao Feng's expression didn't change at all, 'No problem.'

An old man entered; he didn't touch the jade pendant but verbally instructed Bai Lang on how to break the seal on it, 'Just use Internal Force to cleanse it, wear away the Internal Force on it without damaging the inscriptions on the pendant and inside it, then it's done.' Afterwards the old man smiled, 'If it could be easily broken, then this thing would be meaningless.'

Bai Lang broke the seal of the jade pendant and then directly took out everything inside. 'Let's check it, don't say I pocketed something—if it's that kind of dangerous, dark stuff it's still troublesome.' Bai Lang casually tossed the jade pendant to Qiao Feng.

Among this pile there were many Gold Beads and soft items, also many things used by women, and of course some miraculous medicines and elixirs, but a few manuals drew everyone's gaze. Bai Lang couldn't be bothered to pick them up, 'Should we file them into your records and store them in the treasury, or destroy them right here?' Bai Lang looked at Qiao Feng and said, 'You decide.'

Those few manuals had no titles, but it's very likely the Yin-Yang Grind's manual is among them, and probably also contains Mao Dongshan's notes on cultivating this martial art—this is at least a manual capable of reaching the Innate level. Bai Lang felt no temptation, so he could seriously observe Qiao Feng before him and the old man to the side.

Qiao Feng gazed at those few manuals, pondering silently, then finally said, 'File them away. Ye Lao, you inspect them and have people come to file them together. Of course we need people, otherwise if something happens we can't explain it clearly.' Bai Lang laughed aloud, 'Very good, then the rest will be my spoils.'

When a group of people came in, they carefully opened those few manuals, including Qiao Feng; Bai Lang also went up and glanced at one, 'Seal them, send to the Guard Commandant's headquarters.' Qiao Feng said, this thing is extremely hot to handle; how to deal with it let Qiao Feng worry about it—he had secretly glanced at Bai Lang and didn't care, anyway if something happens just kill him.

'Can't manage it, it's too hard.' Bai Lang knew this stuff would be better destroyed, 'Those Gold Beads and treasures, plus these medicines, convert them all to money and give them to the families of those boys and girls... wait, never mind, just give them to the relief institute to support the elderly widows and orphans. As for those who sell sons and daughters, forget them.' After saying that, Bai Lang swept those things aside, sweeping them in front of Qiao Feng.

Afterwards that person picked up the empty jade pendant and just walked away, 'I still have to collect the reward and return to Jicheng; I'm heading back now, hahaha.'

He bought another white horse, Bai Lang then ran straight toward Jicheng. There were still many warrants, but Bai Lang felt that now that he had the storage jade pendant in hand, this bounty-hunting business could proceed slowly. 'Eh? First go gather some of that honey, then talk; now that I have the jade pendant, I'll take away a third.'

Having decided, he immediately went to buy many glass bottles and cork stoppers, turned the horse's head and went, also being able to retrieve the yellow-flanked horse along the way. The Hengduan Mountains were still swarming with poisonous insects; Bai Lang placed the golden beetle's shell into the jade pendant, and stored inside it a large amount of dry rations and purified water, of course also washing supplies and spare clothing—dirty clothes were simply thrown away, Bai Lang still acted generously in this regard.

According to the map in his hand, Bai Lang once again found that peculiar combination of beehive and bloodwood; before a true Innate Expert, these things containing bewildering toxin and fierce hornets were nothing—Bai Lang merely let out a roar and stunned those hornets, this time he could leisurely collect the honey.

After filling the bottles he took away less than a quarter of the honey—the lower half of that tree was almost completely filled with honey. Bai Lang licked his fingers and walked off cheerfully.