Chapter 161: Five Sons Ghost Sword

Xu Yuan also recounted their own ordeal. Shi Bading was furious, walked over, and kicked the corpses of the helmsman and Wu Jinghan twice: "A mere Pingtian Society dares to show its claws at our Quhui Bureau? I say they are tired of living!"

Xu Yuan nodded: "Once we return, we will send an official report to Captain Qin, requesting that the Pingtian Society be banned!"

The others gradually woke up one by one.

Mao Dabin and Jia Yi woke up at almost the same time. Seeing Xu Yuan sitting beside Shi Bading, they both guessed that Inspector Xu had saved everyone.

Mao Dabin clasped his fists and knelt on one knee: "My Lord Xu, you have saved us once again."

He was counting the incident at the Old Master's grave as well.

Xu Yuan raised a hand: "No need for such courtesy. Get up yourself; I truly have no strength left to help you up."

Mao Dabin quickly stood up, not daring to trouble Inspector Xu.

His heart was filled with gratitude once more: My Lord Xu had exhausted all his efforts to save everyone.

He did not show the slightest good will toward Shi Bading beside him.

I don't want to follow you—haven't I made that clear enough?

You insisted on leading us out, and the brothers were almost buried by you.

Jia Yi and the Captains under him wore complex expressions, their hearts even more complicated.

Originally, they had been the first to decide to pledge allegiance to My Lord Xu, yet they insisted on adding a condition.

Adding that condition wasn't for their own sake...

Later, they went with the flow, thinking that following Inspector Shi was not bad either; who would have thought their first mission would end in total annihilation!

In the end, it was still Inspector Xu who saved everyone.

This matter... made Jia Yi and the brothers under him feel deeply ashamed.

Jia Yi didn't even have the face to come forward and thank My Lord Xu.

Di Youzhi, Yu Yunhang, and the others also woke up. First, they chattered amongst themselves, repeatedly saying "What a close call," adding that if it weren't for the Captain's might, the brothers would have all perished this time.

Then everyone noticed two people still lying on the ground nearby and couldn't help but start snickering.

Everyone was also puzzled: Fu Jingyu and Song Lu were not of low cultivation; why had they not yet woken up?

Xu Yuan would never admit that he had tampered slightly with the medicine pills just now.

By the time almost everyone had woken up, three people were still lying on the ground: Fu Jingyu, Song Lu, and Qin Taichen.

Qin Taichen was being cared for by Qin Ze. Lang Xiao Ba wanted to go care for those two, but Yu Yunhang grabbed him: "Don't go causing trouble."

Lang Xiao Ba was baffled: How am I causing trouble?

After another quarter of an hour passed, Fu Jingyu stirred and woke up.

As soon as he moved, Song Lu also woke up.

The two opened their eyes one after another, both still somewhat dazed.

Then they suddenly realized something and quickly shrank backward.

Fu Jingyu said stiffly: "Junior Sister, are you unharmed?"

Song Lu's small face flushed red; she lowered her head and acted shy, while the crowd around them burst into laughter.

The two then realized that forty or fifty people were watching them from not far away!

Song Lu stamped her foot, wishing she could钻 into a crack in the ground.

Fu Jingyu's handsome face turned red; he was displeased, but only because he felt that these fellows mocking a girl like Junior Sister was wrong.

But Fu Jingyu did not know how to reprimand everyone in this situation.

Xu Yuan patted the stone in front of him and shouted: "Enough! What is there to laugh at? Check each other immediately; how severe is the infection on your bodies?"

With Inspector Xu's order, everyone let the two pitiful ones go and proceeded to check each other.

Fu Jingyu walked over and gave Xu Yuan a slight nod to express his gratitude.

Xu Yuan waved his hand casually, indicating that this was nothing!

Afterwards, Xu Yuan, Shi Bading, and Fu Jingyu gathered together and discussed in low voices:

"Inspector Xu, why is the Pingtian Society targeting us?"

"This Wu Jinghan previously built four well-ladders for Lin Zijin, and then wanted to use that as a condition to exchange for our support in establishing a temple mouth within Champa..."

All three thought of it simultaneously: "That temple!"

Fu Jingyu's expression was grim as he said: "I recall that the Pingtian Society has established temple mouths in three prefectural cities within Southern Jiaozhi Province!

If they are all like this temple, who knows how many people they have secretly eaten!"

The Great Ming has long had a complete household registration system; theoretically, if too many people go missing in one place, it must attract local attention.

However, the Great Ming already has many people concealed by prominent surnames.

And in newly conquered lands like Southern Jiaozhi, many local natives are not even on the household registers.

Xu Yuan also became solemn: "This matter is no small affair. Young Master Fu, go immediately to the Southern Office and report this matter personally to Captain Qin!"

Fu Jingyu nodded: "Very well."

Xu Yuan called out again: "Qin Ze."

Wu Xiu came running over eagerly: "My Lord!"

"Take your men and follow Fu Jingyu."

"Yes!" Qin Ze did not ask where to go; if My Lord Xu said to go, then he would go.

Xu Yuan called out to Song Lu again: "You go with them as well."

By this time, everyone had finished checking each other.

In fact, the Quhui Bureau, and even the entire Great Ming, has not yet found an accurate method to test the degree of infection.

Checking each other simply meant looking at one another to see if there were any obvious signs of strange transformation on the body.

For instance, certain black patterns appearing on the skin.

Fu Jingyu immediately mounted his horse with his men and galloped northward.

After they left, Shi Bading asked Xu Yuan: "Xu Police Inspector, where are you planning to go?"

Xu Yuan stated his original plan.

Shi Bading bowed and said: "We shall lend a hand to Xu Police Inspector."

He spoke with grand generosity, as if to repay Xu Police Inspector's life-saving grace.

But his eyes held a hint of pleading.

His benefactor He Youxing was still waiting in Huicheng for him to fire the first shot of his tenure— if Shi Bading returned now… the mystery of Shuangjiang Pass had indeed been solved, but his first shot would be a dud.

He must bring back some merit to account to his benefactor.

Xu Yuan nodded: "Qin Ze has followed Fu Jingyu away; I'm short on manpower. Shi Police Inspector, you've come at just the right time."

Shi Bading let out a long breath, his fondness for Xu Police Inspector greatly increasing.

Listen to how he phrases it— when returning to Huicheng to claim credit, it won't seem like he was forcibly tagging along to Huangya Village to steal glory.

It wouldn't humiliate him.

The slight resentment he'd harbored due to the衙門's jianxiao officers all wanting to follow Xu Yuan vanished.

"Di Youzhi," Xu Yuan called out: "Search the Pingtian Hui corpses, then burn them all."

"Yes, my lord!"

From the body of the fleet master and Wu Jinghan, they found several artisan objects, cultivation methods, and their tokens.

These were ironclad evidence.

Di Youzhi used his belly fire to burn both corpses to ash.

"Let's go— reach Huangya Village before nightfall."

The two groups merged, thirty or forty men marching in force toward Huangya Village.

Xu Yuan rode his horse, idly playing with Wu Jinghan's five delicate sword pellets while flipping through the two cultivation methods they'd seized.

The five sword pellets had been picked up by Di Youzhi and presented to Xu the Lord.

Wu Jinghan was a Seventh-Rank Dan Xiu.

The sword pellets bore a trace of spirit; Di Youzhi could not suppress them, so he picked them up and quickly offered them to the Police Inspector.

He nearly got stabbed by them.

Of these cultivation methods, the one Xu Yuan valued most was precisely Wu Jinghan's "Wild Fire," which contained "Five Sons Ghost Sword."

(End of Chapter)