Chapter 327: Brother-in-Law (Combined Three Parts)

The sparrow firmly believed that, of all Yu Shan, only Jiao the Great King was worthy of the Ghost Queen Consort.

Moreover: Jiao the Great King and the Ghost Queen Consort were a perfect match—handsome and beautiful, deeply in love, and secretly sworn to eternal devotion.

So after the Corpse Sparrow's entire family moved to Ghost Wushan, it had spent every day scouring the mountain for traces of Jiao the Great King.

It had even wandered into the territories of major evils several times, narrowly escaping being devoured whole, yet remained unwavering, determined to see its goal through.

Unfortunately, Guanghuo Street was far beyond the reach of creatures like it—until yesterday, when Jiao the Great King suddenly emerged from Guanghuo Street, and it finally saw him again.

It flew above Jiao the Great King's head, chirping frantically about the Ghost Queen Consort's tragic fate.

In the Corpse Sparrow's telling, it was a tale of "a remote village with a pair of golden boy and jade girl; the golden boy left for distant lands alone to build a better future, while the jade girl stayed behind, waiting anxiously. But a local bully coveted her beauty, used every means to pressure her, and she chose death to preserve her purity."

Now, the second half of this story was finally about to unfold—the climax!

The golden boy, returned in glory, would avenge his beloved and punish the great villain!

Jiao the Great King listened, utterly baffled: What does this have to do with me?

He ignored it.

The Corpse Sparrow chattered all the way, completely disregarding whether Jiao the Great King responded.

Then it flew excitedly ahead to Yu Shan, searching everywhere for the great villain.

And it actually found him—so it unilaterally declared the "story's ending."

Then it was shot down by Xu's slingshot.

Xu Yuan questioned it and realized the sparrow lived entirely in its own delusion.

It had invented two evil-love stories and was obsessed with them.

When asked what Jiao the Great King had returned for, it didn't know.

When asked where Jiao the Great King had gone, it didn't know either.

Xu Yuan was exasperated.

But Xu Yuan was not a forgiving sort by nature.

In a fit of anger, he bound the sparrow with beast-tendon rope and tossed it into the river—up and down, three times.

Like boiling hotpot.

He nearly drowned it into another death.

The Corpse Sparrow was pitiful—a barely ninth-tier minor evil, tightly bound by a fifth-tier beast-tendon rope.

This wasn't using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken—this was… a bronze-crafted cannon firing at a mosquito.

Xu Yuan finally felt better, then tossed the little thing away.

Then he thought for a moment, and headed into Yu Shan.

First, to Jiao's old dwelling—he had to find out why it had returned.

…

On the other side, Miao Yu felt something was off as soon as he reached the dock.

Northwest of the dock, a new military camp had been erected.

Miao Yu recognized it at once: these were the River Patrol soldiers of the River Camp!

The River Office held immense power—not only did it oversee Shanhe Bureau, but it also maintained its own troops!

In strength, the River Camp surpassed the Demon Extermination Army.

"Even the River Camp has been deployed—this matter must be serious," Miao Yu muttered, then went to meet the Chenghe Inspector.

He reported the smuggling of hundreds of spirits via cargo ships.

The Inspector acknowledged it and told Miao Yu to handle it himself.

The case was thus handed over to Shanhe Bureau.

Miao Yu was perfectly fine with that.

As he left the River Office, a voice called out from beside him: "Brother-in-law!"

Miao Yu turned and saw a youth of similar age to Xu Yuan, dressed in Shanhe Bureau's Inspector uniform, leading a squad of Captains, grinning as he approached.

"Zhu Zhanlei!" Miao Yu exclaimed: "What are you doing here?"

He was not surprised to see Zhu Zhanlei—he was stunned that Zhu Zhanlei had called him "brother-in-law."

The marriage between their families had not yet been finalized, but Miao Yu was very pleased with the bride.

Yet the bride herself reportedly had never given her consent, leaving Miao Yu restless as a cat in his chest.

He had sent her the waist-wrapping soft sword—only to have it returned.

Zhu Zhanlei's "brother-in-law" was proof that her family had approved.

Zhu Zhanlei stepped closer and whispered: "Everyone from home came, but they're all at Luo Cheng."

Here, Zhu Zhanlei's face twisted with resentment: "Big sister favors third sister—she insists I only cause trouble in Luo Cheng and sent me here to Zhan Cheng."

"Big sister always sees me through old eyes—I've trained for two years in Shanhe Bureau and earned my rank as Inspector on my own merit."

He switched to a cheerful smile: "So here I am, coming to seek refuge with my brother-in-law."

"Good," Miao Yu smiled back: "Perfect—come with me to handle a case first. A smuggling case involving hundreds of spirits—significant enough to count as a merit."

"Thank you, brother-in-law!" Zhu Zhanlei beamed.

Miao Yu's meaning was clear: he would share some of the merit with him; with a bit more accumulation, Zhu Zhanlei could be promoted to Patrol Inspector.

Together, they returned to the Zhan Cheng Shanhe Bureau.

Miao Yu handled the case files; after finishing, he thought for a moment and said to his brother-in-law: "Come with me to meet someone—this case is his primary merit."

Meaning: if Zhu Zhanlei wanted to claim credit, he needed that person's approval.

"Sure."

Miao Yu took Zhu Zhanlei to the Nancheng Patrol Station. Zhu Zhanlei's eyes widened: "Brother-in-law, why are we going to the Purification Office? We've always been at odds with them…"

Miao Yu quickly made a hand gesture, telling him not to speak recklessly.

Miao Yu politely asked the old Qin at the gate, "Is Brother Xu here?"

Old Qin looked listless.

First, the dark circles under his eyes had not yet faded; second, he didn't know how he had offended the Inspector recently, as he was always assigned this job of guarding the gate.

"My lord has not returned yet. Would My Lord Miao like to come in and wait a while?"

"Very well."

Miao Yu led his brother-in-law, who was full of questions, inside.

As soon as they reached the rear courtyard, they saw Da Fu.

Every day at noon, Da Fu would curl up in its nest by the bridge stone, sleeping a comfortable afternoon nap.

If someone went to look inside its nest, they would find it padded thickly and softly with weasel skins, rat skins, wild dog skins, and so on; lying on it was extremely comfortable.

These furs... all came from the evil spirits in the city.

No one knew where Da Fu had gotten them.

As a result, having drunk too much tea in the morning, Da Fu couldn't fall asleep at noon.

At this moment, it was dragging itself listlessly out of the nest, stumbling around the rear courtyard.

Zhu Zhanlei saw Da Fu and his eyes immediately lit up: "What a fat goose! Brother-in-law, let's have roast goose for dinner..."

"Quack!?" Da Fu was so scared that all its feathers stood on end.

It spread its wings, turned around, and ran.

I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much.

Since coming to Champa, I've become a bit lax.

It ran a few steps, flew low for a stretch, then dove straight into its nest, curling up in the corner and trembling, refusing to come out again.

Zhu Zhanlei was dumbfounded: "Can this goose understand what I'm saying?"

Miao Yu was at a loss for words: "You rascal, stop speaking recklessly. That goose is not someone to mess with; if it gets angry, it will peck you."

Zhu Zhanlei didn't listen at all.

I'm not some village child; can a big goose really chase me?

Miao Yu went to wait in Xu Yuan's room.

Zhu Zhanlei also sat down, shaking his head and muttering, "The decoration here is vulgar..."

Miao Yu sighed inwardly; he had pretty much figured out this future brother-in-law's temperament.

If you say he really rose to the rank of Inspector in the Shanhe Bureau in two years on his own merit, Miao Yu would not believe it even if beaten to death.

Yu Yunhang came in to accompany them, serving tea and pouring water.

Miao Yu mentioned, "I brought some good tea for Lord Xu this morning; brew that one."

If he hadn't mentioned it beforehand, his brother-in-law would surely have been picky.

Yu Yunhang smiled, "It's gone. Your good tea was snatched by Da Fu into its nest; I dare not go get it."

In the entire Nancheng patrol station, only Xu Yuan himself didn't know how difficult Da Fu was to deal with.

"Never mind." Miao Yu shook his head with a bitter smile.

Yu Yunhang also knew that his lord was very "stingy" in some aspects; there could absolutely not be tea leaves worth more than two taels of silver in this room.

"Please wait a moment, you two."

Yu Yunhang went out to Wang Shen's place to borrow some good tea.

Wang Shen had no money to buy it either; this was all tribute given by Master Fei and others over the past few days.

When Wang Shen was young and ventured out into the world, she had truly eaten and seen much.

Unfortunately, her current physical condition was poor, so she could only taste these good things in small amounts.

Yu Yunhang returned with the tea leaves and brewed some for the two of them.

Zhu Zhanlei took a sip, nodded, and said, "Not bad; it's the best 'Banpo Su' from Southern Jiaozhi. But it still falls short of the truly fine tea from Zhengzhou."

Yu Yunhang kept his head down and said nothing; with a brother-in-law like this, My Lord Miao would have his hands full in the future.

Miao Yu's toes, hidden inside his official boots, gripped the ground, while he forced a polite smile on his face.

Xu Yuan searched all over Little Yu Shan and then went to check the village, but found no dragon; he could only return to the city first.

Old Qin at the gate saw him from far away and immediately plastered a huge smile on his face: "My lord, you have returned."

"Mm."

"My Lord Miao is waiting for you inside."

Xu Yuan nodded and entered the gate; subordinates greeted him all along the way, and Xu Yuan responded. Just as he was about to reach the rear courtyard, he suddenly heard a cry of "Ouch!"

Then chaos erupted.

Someone shouted, "Ji Shuangqiu, you have caused a great disaster!"

Xu Yuan hurried inside and saw a group of Captains gathered in a circle. Ji Shuangqiu was obviously a head taller than the others, standing out like a crane among chickens, with her hands on her hips and a look of defiance on her face.

A person lay on the ground, receiving the same treatment as Lang Xiao Ba, having taken a punch to the eye socket.

Yu Yunhang was supporting him, apologizing repeatedly: "A rough girl from a humble family, she doesn't know the rules. Lord Zhu, please do not hold it against her..."

Miao Yu stood aside, awkwardly rubbing his hands, not knowing what to say.

Seeing Xu Yuan return, everyone immediately bowed: "My lord."

"What is going on?"

Yu Yunhang whispered a few words in Xu Yuan's ear.

Miao Yu's brother-in-law had no patience; after waiting a while, he couldn't sit still, got up, and wandered around the courtyard.

Miao Yu and Yu Yunhang rose almost simultaneously and hurried to follow him.

With such a troublemaking temper, if you don't keep an eye on him, you never know what kind of incident he might cause.

In the end, they still couldn't stop him; Zhu Zhanlei turned around twice and saw Ji Shuangqiu returning with two large water buckets.

Zhu Zhanlei, with his sharp tongue, remarked: "Her husband probably needs to stand on a stool just to reach his own backside..."

Ji Shuangqiu set down the buckets and punched him.

One had to admit, that punch landed squarely on Yu Yunhang's heart.

Yu Yunhang had wanted to do exactly that for a long time.

Ji Shuangqiu actually didn't understand what Zhu Zhanlei meant by those words.

But Ji Shuangqiu was still an unmarried maiden; Zhu Zhanlei insisted she had a husband. Since Ji Shuangqiu valued her reputation as much as my lord does, she could not tolerate it.

Xu Yuan also felt somewhat embarrassed; after all, Zhu Zhanlei was Miao Yu's future brother-in-law, and he had been struck by a Captain under Xu Yuan's command. Although his own man was in the right, he had still resorted to violence.

Xu Yuan stepped forward to help Zhu Zhanlei up, his face dark as he scolded Ji Shuangqiu: "Come here and apologize to Zhu Jianxiao!"

An apology would settle the matter; my lord naturally had no intention of truly punishing Ji Shuangqiu.

Ji Shuangqiu wore an expression of utter defiance: "On what grounds?"

You stupid girl! Xu Yuan cursed inwardly, but unexpectedly Zhu Zhanlei grabbed Xu Yuan's arm: "It's fine. It was my fault for having a sharp tongue; how could I hold it against a woman?"

Everyone was stunned. You actually know that?

Zhu Zhanlei pulled a medicinal pill from his robe and rolled it around his eyes—this was a Longzhu Waidan of the Rank Dan Xiu, obviously of extremely high quality—the bruising visibly faded away at a rapid pace.

Zhu Zhanlei waved his hand at everyone: "Scatter, scatter. What is there to look at?"

Then he slunk back into Xu Yuan's room.

The crowd dispersed in confusion; Yu Yunhang was torn between laughter and tears. This Zhu Jianxiao was a playboy with an extremely cheerful disposition; he was truly not a bad person.

Once inside the room, Miao Yu stated his purpose. Xu Yuan did not mind: "You arrange it as you see fit. Actually, it would be best if you didn't include me in the case file; just attribute the merit to you and Zhu Jianxiao, since I am a member of the Quwei Si.

If you include me and your superiors see that you are cooperating with the Quwei Si, it will inevitably be detrimental to you."

Before Miao Yu could speak, the big-mouthed Zhu Zhanlei jumped out again: "That is exactly how it should be. Brother-in-law, you are just too rigid.

Xu Yuan's involvement in this matter was originally because you provided a benefit; therefore, this cannot be counted as his case."

Miao Yu:...

That is the logic, but couldn't you phrase it in a more tactful way?

Xu Yuan looked at Miao Yu with sympathy.

He shared the same thought as Yu Yunhang: With a brother-in-law like this, Miao Yu, you have a long road of suffering ahead of you.

The topic returned to the case. Zhu Zhanlei spoke whatever came to mind: "We are in Champa; we don't need to spend much effort.

The incident happened over in Luo City. They stole the Ghost King's body and could go anywhere; what is the likelihood they would come all the way to Champa?"

Miao Yu asked helplessly: "Then according to you, what exactly is the nature of this case?"

"Isn't it obvious? Someone bribed an inside man and used some craft object or treasure to smuggle the Ghost King's body out secretly."

Miao Yu shook his head repeatedly: "You are overthinking it simply."

"I'll make a bet with you." Zhu Zhanlei, unconvinced, said: "I even dare to assert that the inside man is from the Demon-Subduing Army! If we think deeper, this was orchestrated entirely by the Demon-Subduing Army!

Have you heard of 'nurturing the enemy to strengthen oneself'? The Demon-Subduing Army is in Siam, and they are about to wipe out the rebels completely.

Once the war ends, the court will stop the silver payments. How can that be allowed? The Demon-Subduing Army hasn't earned enough yet.

So they found a Ghost King's body and secretly transported it to Siam.

Who would have thought my third sister would patrol the river seriously and detain them? In the end, it led to the current situation."

Miao Yu couldn't help but shake his head: "Too far-fetched."

Xu Yuan remained silent because, from the moment they met, he saw that above Zhu Zhanlei's head, a destiny pattern like an orange flagpole rose five zhang high!

Destiny Pattern: Green Willows Form Shade.

The more one strives, the less one gains.

The more one tries, the less one succeeds.

A life of a playboy, with no true opportunities.

Xu Yuan frowned inwardly; perhaps it was truly he and Miao Yu who were overcomplicating things.

Zhu Zhanlei, labeled "far-fetched," became somewhat displeased: "Brother-in-law, do you dare to bet?"

Miao Yu waved his hand and smiled: "Do you have an eye for some treasure of mine? Just name it, and I'll give it to you. As for a bet, you are certain to lose."

"I don't like hearing you say that." Zhu Zhanlei shouted: "I insist on betting with you! How about this: a Sixth-Rank Craft Object, what do you say?"

Miao Yu still tried to decline, but Zhu Zhanlei insisted on the bet, so Miao Yu had no choice but to accept.

Zhu Zhanlei laughed heartily: "Xu Yuan, you act as a witness to prevent my brother-in-law from reneging."

Miao Yu shook his head with a bitter smile.

With the bet settled, Zhu Zhanlei's mood improved. He grabbed Miao Yu with one hand and pulled Xu Yuan with the other: "Let's go. Tonight at Xie Liu Lane, this young master is treating!"

Miao Yu repeatedly said: "This official is upright and pure; I never go to such places..."

This is my future brother-in-law. If news of us visiting a brothel together reaches my sister's ears...

Zhu Zhanlei made a "Tch" sound: "Stop pretending. I've already investigated thoroughly; you are the biggest patron of the White Moon Pavilion."

"Ah... this..."

Xu Yuan would not go; mainly because it was uninteresting. Even with three of them bound together, they could not outplay that thousand-year-old fox.

In the end, Miao Yu was forcibly dragged there by his future brother-in-law.

Xu Yuan wrote a letter to Ma Tianshou, asking the old lord to secretly monitor the Demon-Subduing Army in Luo City.

It was too late today; it would be sent out first thing tomorrow morning.

The next morning, Xu Yuan got up and first checked the almanac.

Today is forbidden: star-gazing, shouting at the mountain, getting drunk, and forging.

The Captain on duty last night, eyes heavy with sleep, greeted Lord Xu listlessly.

After breakfast, the Captains all arrived, and those on duty left to go back and catch up on sleep.

Xu Yuan arranged for Yu Yunhang to deliver a letter to Luocheng.

With only seven or eight days left until the New Year, everyone was somewhat lax.

Xu Yuan overheard several Captains quietly discussing: slipping out in the afternoon to buy New Year's goods for their families.

Fu Jingyu, Jia Yi, and several other Inspectors, however, looked deeply worried.

Fu Jingyu came specifically to find Xu Yuan: "This year is nearly over, yet there is still no 'Day of Forbidden Gaze'."

Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "Does that mean one of these days leading up to the New Year will definitely be a 'Day of Forbidden Gaze'?"

Fu Jingyu nodded.

Every year, there is at least one 'Day of Forbidden Gaze'.

It is the day of the year when evil spirits are most rampant and living people are most in danger.

In most years, there is only one 'Day of Forbidden Gaze'.

But in a leap year, there will be two.

One cannot check the almanac in advance, so no one knows exactly which day it is.

Over a hundred years ago, the Purification Bureau in a certain city in Goryeo played a little trick, bribing the local 'Fuwen Zhai' that reprinted almanacs with a heavy sum of money to learn the date of that year's 'Day of Forbidden Gaze' in advance.

In the ten days following this, Fuwen Zhai suffered a string of misfortunes.

The entire family of the owner died tragically; more than half of the shop's clerks and managers were killed or injured.

Those who survived were plagued by consumption and endless misfortune for the rest of their lives.

On the day of the 'Day of Forbidden Gaze', the Purification Bureau, which had made full preparations, was wiped out completely!

From the incident at Fuwen Zhai to the arrival of the 'Day of Forbidden Gaze', there was a span of four and a half months.

In the city's Purification Bureau office, several dozen people had already found ways to transfer away.

Two of them even transferred directly back to Zhengzhou.

But on that day, no one managed to escape.

From the far north to the far south, not a single one was spared!

"Be careful and prepare!" Xu Yuan said in a deep voice: "If we get through this, I will give everyone twenty taels of silver so you can have a good New Year."

"Good."

At noon, Shi Bading arrived with someone.

"Someone sent by the Taigongsuo Sect is here to find you," Shi Bading said, pointing at the person: "He didn't know you were on patrol duty at Nancheng, so he went to the office first."

Xu Yuan guessed it was related to the Naga.

Sure enough, after the person bowed respectfully, he took a letter from his chest: "My lord, a letter from a friend in the mountains."

Xu Yuan took it, opened it, and read.

Bai Laoyan wrote in the letter that the Naga King has been somewhat "abnormal" recently.

In his recent visits to Guanghuo Street, the Naga King only made a brief appearance, and it seemed the Naga King's relationship with the great evil spirits on Guanghuo Street was becoming increasingly intimate.

The day before yesterday, when Bai Laoyan went to Guanghuo Street again, he did not see the Naga King; only Tian Jing came out to deal with him.

Bai Laoyan was worried something had happened, so he secretly wrote this letter to inform him.

Xu Yuan frowned: Did the Naga go to Ghost Wushan, get corroded by yin energy, and undergo some "change"?

The corrosion in Little Yu Shan is much weaker than in Ghost Wushan.

According to the Corpse Sparrow, the Naga King has returned, but Xu Yuan could not find him.

It obviously had no intention of contacting Xu Yuan either.

Xu Yuan asked the messenger: "Does the friend in the mountains have any other instructions?"

"No."

Xu Yuan nodded: "You stay here for now. When I have finished writing the reply, I will trouble you to take it back."

"Yes."

The messenger was a public servant of the bureau; Xu Yuan ordered Lang Xiao Ba to give him a tip of two taels of silver and arranged for him to stay in the Nancheng patrol house.

"Have Di Youzhi bring some men and accompany this lord out for a bit."

Di Youzhi, of course, brought Zhou Leizi.

Lord Xu's current level cannot be said to allow him to walk freely in Little Yu Shan, but as long as he does not encounter anyone at the level of a Wild Boar Tusk or the Ghost Wang Fei, his safety can be guaranteed.

Deep in the mountains for dozens of li, they still found no trace of the Naga.

Xu Yuan's heart filled with deep worry: Naga King, do not lose your integrity at the end!

In the mid-afternoon, Xu Yuan could only lead the team to withdraw.

If they did not leave now, it would be too late.

Just as they were about to exit the mountain, Xu Yuan suddenly noticed something flickering on a hillside not far away.

Lord Xu opened "Gaze at Fate" to take a look and could not help but smile.

A weasel was hiding in a patch of grass.

Beside it was hidden a large bag of gunpowder.

It was bigger than its own body.

It had passed by here and seen a large crowd in the ravine below.

The leader was still an old acquaintance.

The weasel made no move to greet him.

In the end, he couldn't escape; that person spotted him, and footsteps carried from the foot of the mountain right up to where he stood: "Meeting an old friend, why are you hiding?"

"Are you feeling guilty?"

"You must be up to no good!"

Xu Yuan coiled a beast-tendon rope and hoisted the poor weasel up by its tail.

Then Xu Yuan saw that large bundle of gunpowder: "What are you planning to do?"

Since returning to Huishan, the weasel's entire family had lost their source of income.

A while back, Xu Yuan had dealt with the Ghost Wang Fei, which actually gave the weasel family an idea: There's money in tombs!

Grave goods, jewels, gold, and jade—anything dug up could be sold for cash!

So the whole family scoured the mountain for graves.

This fellow had good luck; he actually found one, dug and dug for several days, only to be blocked by a stone wall.

No matter how he dug, he couldn't go around it.

The fellow made up his mind, went down the mountain, used a cunning technique to bind a person, and made him buy a bundle of gunpowder for him.

If he couldn't dig through, he'd blow it open!

"Squeak squeak!" the weasel protested: "Put me down! Or else this Great King will scratch your face!"

Xu Yuan forced a change of topic: "Speaking of Great Kings... have you seen that Dragon Great King?"

"I haven't seen the Dragon Great King, but I did see a Ghost Great King. I have already sworn allegiance to that Ghost Great King as my master. If you don't put me down, I'll shout, and the Ghost Great King will come charging straight from dozens of li away to gnaw off your head!"

"Ghost Great King? What Ghost Great King?" Xu Yuan's heart stirred.

(End of this chapter)