Chapter 124

He lifted his face, looking at Zhang Jun: "The sincerity of the Qin family, you two have seen it. Now, let's talk cooperation."

"The Qin family can provide all we know about the Medicine Sect and the bronze ding, including all research notes on this yang scroll. At the same time, the Qin family will use all its strength to keep you two safe during your stay in the capital, whether it's the Lin family," he paused, "or the Zhou family, or any other hidden trouble. We only need one promise: when we research, any discoveries are shared. If we finally figure out the ding, the Qin family hopes to make a … reasonable request."

That condition sounds quite tempting.

The protection and information the Qin family offers are exactly what Zhang Jun lacks right now. That yang scroll would be immensely useful for him to understand his own martial arts and the Medicine Sect's inheritance.

But the risk is clear. 'Sharing knowledge' means revealing your trump cards, and a 'reasonable request' has no limits. This is tantamount to binding yourself and Lin Xue completely to the Qin family's wagon.

Zhang Jun didn't respond immediately; he turned his head to glance at Lin Xue.

Lin Xue's face was hidden in her hair, indistinct, but one could feel her wariness toward the Qin family hadn't lessened, especially after hearing the two words 'backlash'.

Zhang Jun withdrew his gaze, tapping his fingers lightly on his knee. 'The Family Head's proposal carries weight,' he said, his voice even. 'Cooperation can be tried. But in the end, we decide how it goes.'

He met Qin Xiaotian's probing gaze and added, 'Before that, we also need to see more sincerity from the Qin family.'

Qin Xiaotian's brow twitched.

"For example," Zhang Jun said, his tone unchanged, "regarding the Zhou family and whoever might be behind them, we need detailed intel. About last night's incident, we want to know it more clearly."

The stone house fell silent again.

Qin Xiaotian looked at Zhang Jun; after a while, he slowly nodded.

"'Alright, Yueyao, take them over.'"

"'What the Qin family can find is all here.' Qin Yueyao lifted her chin, indicating the items on the table."

Zhang Jun walked over, said nothing, and tore open the wax seal.

Inside was a thick stack of paper, the sheets yellowed with age.

The characters were handwritten, the strokes looking messy yet revealing vigor, with some crooked drawings beside them.

Lin Xue sat beside him, motionless, not looking.

She lowered her head, her fingertips scraping intermittently on the cold chair surface.

The rustling of turning paper sounded especially clear in this stone house.

The first few pages were the Zhou family's genealogy in the capital, plus some openly listed businesses, looking no different from those middling clans.

Zhang Jun's finger stopped on a page.

It was a record concerning the branch of Zhou Qian.

"'A distant branch of a distant branch… it almost died out decades ago…' he murmured softly, reading the words on the paper."

The trouble started twenty years ago.

It was marked clearly on the paper.

Zhou Qian's grandfather was Zhou Wanshan. It was said he went to the southwest border to gather medicinal herbs, and after returning, he was completely changed.

The description was succinct, using just the phrases 'great change in temperament' and 'strange conduct'.

But what followed made Zhang Jun's neck prickle.

After returning, Zhou Wanshan shut himself away and tinkered with some obscure arts no one had heard of.

His dwelling constantly gave off a strange odor; those who occasionally stumbled upon it said the yin chill about him grew heavier each day.

Afterward, this Zhou branch mysteriously rose, growing at an uncanny pace.

Several of those who had previously suppressed them either died obscurely or suddenly saw their families ruined.

The method Zhou Wanshan used, the material notes in three characters: 'Blood Seal Curse'.

Beside it, he drew a twisted, nonsensical symbol, exuding wicked qi.

Zhang Jun stared at that symbol; it matched the half-pattern on the metal fragment he had previously picked up!

His hand turning the page paused.

The next page bore even more chilling words: 'Corpse Puppet Forging' and 'Spirit Command Technique'.

Beside it were several sketches showing how to dismember a person and how to sacrifice-refine; the drawings were crude, yet the gloomy, malicious intent hit you head-on.

The material specially marked in red: practicing this evil art can greatly boost one's power, but it severely affects the mind; later on, one becomes neither human nor ghost, especially prone to backlash, and the body gradually rots.

"'Fuck…' Zhang Jun couldn't help but mutter under his breath."

Instantly, the image of Old Man Liu Three appeared in his mind—neither human nor ghost, his whole body exuding yin chill.

That wasn't an illness at all!

It's most likely that he stumbled into some unclean place—like an ancient tomb—triggering the Zhou family's evil technique, or picked up the deathly qi leaking from their corpse puppet crafting or ghost-rearing.

As he thought that, the temperature beside him dropped several degrees with a 'whoosh'.

Lin Xue, who had shown no reaction, suddenly tensed, like a block of ice frozen for a thousand years.

The hand she rested on the chair clenched into a fist, her knuckles whitening.

A bone‑chilling cold emanated from her, silent yet making the air in the stone house feel sticky.

That wasn't mere cold; it was laced with deep disgust and… killing intent.

Zhang Jun turned his head to glance at her; all he saw was her jaw clenched tight.

The words 'corpse puppet' and 'spirit command' struck a chord in her.

What exactly had she endured before?

Zhang Jun suppressed his thoughts and continued reading.

In the material, the Qin family surmised that Zhou Wanshan back then was unlikely to have devised the evil art himself; there must be someone behind him, perhaps even a deeply hidden evil cultivator sect.

Over the years, the Zhou family's deeds have grown ever more furtive, sneaking about to gather all kinds of strange medicinal ingredients, and they sometimes seize people with special innate physiques, not knowing what for, but each time it reeks of evil.

The last few pages emphasized that the Zhou family pays special attention to anything related to the Medicine Sect.

Whether legend, antique object, or ruined site, if it has any connection to the Medicine Sect, the Zhou family goes mad for it, sparing no cost to obtain it.

"'An evil branch of the Medicine Sect? Or… do they want to use Medicine Sect things to suppress the backlash of evil arts?' Zhang Jun tapped his fingers on the table, his thoughts a jumble."

Kun's warning 'Watch out for the Lins and the Qins' popped up again.

The Lin family is in a frantic hurry, the Qin family hides deep, and the Zhou family simply practices evil… all of it is tied to "mind nature" and "foundation".

These three families, plus the Medicine Sect—what on earth is going on?

He raised his head and looked toward Qin Yueyao.

"The Zhou family practices this kind of thing—aren't they afraid of playing themselves to death?"

"Perhaps they think the Medicine Sect's cauldron can save them." Qin Yueyao's tone remained light, giving no indication of favoring anyone, "Or perhaps the people behind them have another way."