Chapter 172: Same Kind (Happy New Year!)

Shi Bading, riding at the front, suddenly felt a sharp sting in his eyes and immediately began to weep.

"It's out!" Shi Bading roared, "It's finally out!"

Outside, the sunlight was bright.

One by one, the members of the Sin-Erasing Office galloped out of the darkness on horseback.

Then they let go of the reins with both hands, letting the horses run free, raising their arms high and cheering.

Xu Yuan let out a long sigh, sheathed the Yin-Yang Guillotine, and his steed ran a bit further before slowing to a halt, pawing the ground in place and snorting several puffs of hot air from its nostrils.

"Rest for a while," Xu Yuan said. Everyone dismounted, and most simply lay down on the grass.

Xu Yuan still felt some worry; the squad that had escorted the prisoners earlier... had they managed to avoid this Sky Leak?

Xu Yuan's horse was right beside him, gnawing at the grass roots on the ground. As it chewed, it moved closer to Xu Yuan, and sharp, fearsome fangs had somehow grown in its mouth.

It tilted its head and opened its jaws—about to bite off Xu Yuan's arm to eat!

Without hesitation, Xu Yuan slapped the horse's head. The Sword Pill hissed as it drilled inside, thoroughly smashing the brain within.

Then Xu Yuan spat a mouthful of fire, burning the corpse to ashes.

"Yin Qi contamination. It has undergone a sinister transformation."

If humans can be contaminated by evil spirits, livestock naturally can as well.

These fine horses had been in constant contact with evil spirits alongside the entire Sin-Erasing Office since yesterday.

Such a sinister transformation was hardly unexpected.

Di Youzhi and Yu Yunhang hurried over: "My lord, are you unharmed?"

Xu Yuan shook his head: "Remind everyone to be wary of their mounts undergoing a sinister transformation."

"Yes!"

After resting for about an hour, besides Xu Yuan's horse, five others had undergone a sinister transformation and were all slain on the spot.

Afterward, everyone set out again.

Yu Yunhang gave his horse to Xu Yuan, and he rode with Lang Xiao Ba.

"First, return to Qingyu Township."

The journey finally went without further incident, and by mid-afternoon they had returned to the township.

Xu Yuan asked the people in the township and learned that the squad escorting the prisoners had passed through here at noon and returned to Zhan City, which finally eased his mind.

That squad was not particularly strong; if they had encountered the "Sky Leak" as well, they would surely have been wiped out.

"Rest for one night, and tomorrow we go to the other four villages!"

Xu Yuan still had a lingering question in his heart: Where exactly did those four people go?

Did they really enter Little Yu Shan?

They impersonated the Sin-Erasing Office and stole property; I wonder if they managed to sell it off successfully.

But generally, such thieves, once they get money, think only of indulging in wine and women.

Even if they lay low for a while due to the tight security, they shouldn't hide in Little Yu Shan, should they?

It is so dangerous inside; if they died before spending the money, wouldn't that be a loss?

Could they still be in these villages of Qingyu Township?

"Tomorrow, sweep the four villages, and keep a close watch in secret."

Before dinner, Qin Taichen changed into old clothes and put on a felt hat that covered half his face.

His originally upright posture hunched over.

The local gentry of the township became an unremarkable old man on the street.

He came out the back door, twisting left and right through the alleyways.

After carefully confirming no one was following, he then increased his speed.

Before long, he arrived at the tofu shop.

The black donkey was greatly displeased: "How did those people from the Sin-Erasing Office return alive? Was the calculation wrong? Did the Sky not leak at Huangya Village?"

"It leaked." Qin Taichen then recounted the events of this trip: "That young patrol inspector is extraordinary! He fought his way through the Peace Heaven Society, Huangya Village, and the Sky Leak, overcoming each hurdle!"

The black donkey furrowed its brows in a very human manner: "Something is not quite right... When do they set out tomorrow? I'll find a chance to take a look at him."

"They leave at dawn." Qin Taichen couldn't help but want to scratch his face, but the black donkey shouted, "Don't move!"

"Wearing this thing on my face is truly uncomfortable!" Qin Taichen complained. "I've followed them for two days and endured it so hard. Let me have a moment of relief..."

Ignoring the black donkey's warning, he vigorously scratched his face.

The black donkey, annoyed, pawed the ground directly: "A bunch of useless things, incapable of great deeds! Can't you endure even this little hardship?"

The more Qin Taichen scratched, the itchier it became, until the "face" was nearly scratched off.

Countless fine, scarlet flesh tendrils were attached to the back, looking extremely terrifying.

Qin Taichen simply tore the face off in one go: "I'm going to wash my face; help me reattach it later."

"Hey!" The black donkey shouted to stop him, but it was already too late. It couldn't help but curse: "Fool! Do you think this face is easy to reattach..."

After the face was torn off, all the scarlet flesh tendrils snapped into two pieces.

They quickly withered and lost their vitality.

Qin Taichen—Old Four—first hung that skin on the horizontal bar in front of the black donkey, then rubbed his hand over his face, causing all the withered flesh tendrils to fall off.

On his own original face, dense red blood spots appeared.

Old Four fetched a bucket of well water and began washing directly in the bucket.

He scrubbed his face seven or eight times, then buried his entire head in the cold well water.

The black donkey was still angry, but the tofu seller advised: "No one else will see. He's endured for two days; just let him have his moment of relief."

He has to follow those black-skinned dogs again tomorrow—how many more days will he have to endure?

The black donkey sighed: "The longer you wear this face mask, the better the affinity. If you take it off and put it back on, and you run into a Fate Cultivator, you won't be able to hide."

The tofu seller chuckled: "What are the odds of running into a Fate Cultivator?"

The black donkey glared at him: "Aren't I one?"

"Big Brother, you're just being contrary," said the tofu seller. "We've been following Young Lady here for years in Southern Jiaozhi—we've never seen a single Fate Cultivator."

Even back in Zhengzhou, as long as we didn't provoke the great clans or powerful nobles, we never encountered another Fate Cultivator."

Lao Si suddenly jerked his face out of the water barrel.

Splash…

Well water sprayed in all directions.

"Finally, that's refreshing!"

…

Behind the tofu shop, in the alley, twelve men lay in ambush.

All were elite soldiers, moving without a sound.

Xu Yuan heard this and understood at once.

So they'd run into a Fate Cultivator!

This was the first "kindred spirit" Xu Yuan had encountered since joining.

Xu Yuan had never suspected Qin Taichen at first—he was Qin Ze's "second uncle."

But during the Heaven Leak, Qin Taichen pointed out a path.

It was the path he indicated that led them straight into the White Funeral Gang's hands.

But that had planted a tiny seed of suspicion—yet there was no other evidence.

The Heaven Leak was still ongoing; there was no way to return and check whether Qin Taichen had deliberately pointed them the wrong way.

Originally, Xu Yuan needed to observe further.

But Xu Yuan had Lang Xiao Ba beside him.

The fellow had no great skills, but his memory was astonishingly sharp.

Xu Yuan quietly asked Lang Xiao Ba—and Lang Xiao Ba clearly remembered the entire terrain around Huangya Village.

After recalling, Lang Xiao Ba confidently answered Inspector Xu: Qin Taichen's path was wrong!

After Qin Taichen returned home, Jia Yi's shadow soldier had been secretly watching him.

Xu Yuan, wearing the red wood and yellow copper ear shell, heard every word spoken in the courtyard.

Fine strands of blood had grown inside his ear canal.

The blood strands writhed everywhere, fusing the artifact ear shell to Xu Yuan's ears!

At the ear canal's entrance, a bright red blood blister was swelling rapidly!

Something inside was wriggling, about to burst through the membrane.

Today's prohibition: Eavesdropping.

But Xu Yuan, relying on his "Nothing Is Forbidden" destiny, endured this violation of the prohibition!

(End of Chapter)