Chapter 383: Evil Official (Combined Three Parts)

Shiyang Village was a large village, with hundreds of men, women, and children.

If all of them had become “entry-level, unranked” Wu Xiu… Xu Yuan’s expression sharply changed upon hearing Wan Yun’s words.

These villagers posed no threat to those above the eighth rank.

But under normal circumstances, ordinary Captains would disperse to stay overnight in villagers’ homes.

If an entire family suddenly turned violent, two or three ordinary Captains might truly be no match!

Not to mention these villagers, influenced by the malevolent “object-binding,” might undergo further grotesque transformations at night.

Xu Yuan gestured to the Village Head.

The old man had been waiting cautiously at a distance.

The poor Village Head had truly done his best, and all his actions were appropriate.

He deserved credit.

But who could stand against the surging tide of greed in the hearts of countless people?

“My lord,” the Village Head hurried forward.

“Clean out the village ancestral hall—we’ll stay there tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

The old man hurried home.

At this point, no other villagers could be relied upon—only his own family could clean the ancestral hall.

He returned home, summoned his two sons and daughter-in-law, grabbed brooms and other tools, and headed for the ancestral hall.

On the way, his second daughter-in-law couldn’t help whispering: “Everyone else took something, but you won’t let us take even a bit—you’re still the Village Head…”

The Village Head glared: “Those are malevolent objects! Look, even the Cleansing Office has come—anyone who takes one must return it! Those who refuse to return it get beaten, and might even be thrown in jail!”

The daughter-in-law whispered quietly: “What do we return? Three pieces fell, we only gave back one; five pieces fell, we gave back two…”

“Some even took gold and fled the village.”

The Village Head glanced at her: “That’s other people’s business—I can’t control that. I can only control my own family.”

After dismissing the Village Head, Xu Yuan suddenly saw a group of people approaching down the path by the village entrance.

From a hundred zhang away, they could be seen wearing the official robes of the River Office.

The leader, in his early forties, was tall and thin with a slight hunch, and had prominent ears.

Xiang Qinghuai saw them and his heart sank—he sensed trouble.

Yu Yun hurried forward, smiling as he exchanged a few words, then led them over: “My lord, this is Zhao Xianze, River Office Patrol Commander.”

Xu Yuan gave a slight bow: “Commander Zhao…”

Zhao Xianze waved a hand: “Commander Xu, gather your men and return with me immediately.”

Xu Yuan frowned: “What do you mean, Commander Zhao?”

“It’s clear enough—Master An ordered you to remain on standby at the office, yet you abandoned your post without notice and came here.” Zhao Xianze scanned the area and sneered: “What case could possibly be more important than the Princess Consort’s?”

After Xu Yuan left, the Sergeant had embellished his report to An Chengyuan, listing all of Xu Yuan’s supposed faults.

An Chengyuan already held a negative view of Xu Yuan.

Of course, everyone in the River Office held grievances against the Cleansing Office.

But recently, An Chengyuan’s displeasure toward Xu Yuan had intensified.

The root of this displeasure was simple: yesterday’s interrogation revealed the Princess Consort had sent assassins after Xu Yuan twice.

This left An Chengyuan deeply embarrassed.

In such embarrassment, some would feel guilt and make small amends to Xu Yuan.

But others would grow to resent him.

An Chengyuan was one of those.

So although he knew his Sergeant was stirring up trouble, he immediately dispatched Zhao Xianze to order Xu Yuan’s immediate return.

The Sergeant had even wanted to request permission to lead a squad of soldiers with Zhao Xianze.

If Xu Yuan refused to comply, he’d personally drag him back!

Just to show off his authority in front of that brat.

He was slapped by An Chengyuan and thrown out.

He lost his post guarding the main gate of the office.

These soldiers were fools, but An Chengyuan was sharp.

Sending men to seize Xu Yuan would be excessive—and legally unjustifiable.

If the Cleansing Office protested, An Chengyuan would be left in a weak position.

…

Xiang Qinghuai quickly stepped in to defuse the situation: “Commander Zhao, nightfall is imminent—we can’t leave today. Stay in the village tonight.”

Zhao Xianze snorted: “Who are you?”

Xiang Qinghuai introduced himself; Zhao Xianze, recognizing Ma Tianshou’s name, granted him a fraction of respect: “Arrange lodging for me and my men.”

Xiang Qinghuai said: “We’ve already sent the Village Head to clean the ancestral hall—we’ll all squeeze in together…”

Zhao Xianze frowned: “Doesn’t the village have any wealthy households?”

Xiang Qinghuai quietly explained the village’s supernatural case, but Zhao Xianze still insisted: “The Village Head’s house will do.”

How big could this village’s ancestral hall be? The Cleansing Office had dozens of men, and he brought four more.

Crowding them all inside would be unbearable.

Zhao Xianze refused to endure such discomfort.

“This…” Xiang Qinghuai hesitated. Honestly, the Village Head’s house could accommodate them—but Xu Yuan and he had never considered it, because everyone knew the Village Head’s home might not be safe either.

If the villagers transformed at night, it was safest to gather everyone together for collective defense.

The Village Head’s house couldn’t hold so many Cleansing Office personnel; Xu Yuan and Xiang Qinghuai had never entertained the idea of splitting up.

Xiang Qinghuai wanted to gently explain to Zhao Xianze that separating was dangerous.

Just then, the Village Head returned with his sons and daughter-in-law.

“My lord, the ancestral hall is clean.”

Zhao Xianze’s eyes immediately fell on the Village Head’s second daughter-in-law.

Though dressed in simple hairpins and coarse cloth, her skin darkened by labor, she still possessed considerable beauty.

Zhao Xianze pointed at the Village Head without hesitation: “You—prepare your house. My men and I will stay there tonight.”

The Village Head recognized River Office uniforms—he dared not refuse.

“Yes, humble servant obeys.”

Xiang Qinghuai stopped urging.

Zhao Xianze and his men followed the Village Head home.

Before leaving, Zhao Xianze pointed at Xu Yuan again: “Tomorrow morning, return with me immediately. You know the consequences of defying my order!”

Xu Yuan snorted, watching Zhao Xianze’s retreating back, and muttered coldly: “Does he really think the River Office is our superior?”

Xiang Qinghuai fretted: “What do we do tomorrow? We can’t abandon this case, but An Chengyuan is demanding you return.”

He was from the Cleansing Office—when a supernatural case lay before him, he had to solve it; it was their instinct.

Xu Yuan sneered: “Let’s wait until after tonight. Tomorrow morning, this Commander Zhao may not be able to order us back.”

Xiang Qinghuai blurted: “You mean…”

Xu Yuan waved a hand: “We’ll see how tonight goes.”

The Cleansing Office personnel headed for the ancestral hall.

Shiyang Village was poor—the ancestral hall consisted of one large room and a side annex.

Dozens of people cramming in was indeed cramped.

But they were used to hardship under Commander Xu—it was only one night.

Without being told, the Captains first checked the door gods on the ancestral hall’s entrance.

This was experience.

Others meticulously inspected every corner of the hall, including behind the ancestral tablet altar.

“My lord, no issues found.”

Xu Yuan nodded: “Eat first, then assign night watches.”

They gathered firewood outside, boiled water, and ate their rations.

…

At the Village Head’s house, Zhao Xianze made many demands.

He wanted wine and meat, and polished rice.

He repeatedly ordered the second daughter-in-law to fetch this and do that, leaving her face flushed with shame.

Zhao Xianze then secretly grabbed her buttocks.

She fled in panic; Zhao Xianze laughed heartily.

In the Three Judicial Offices, when operating outside, staying in villagers’ or local elites’ homes, it was common to take a woman for the night.

Zhao Xianze brought four subordinates, all eighth-rank; he himself was seventh-rank.

He believed it was her fortune to catch his eye.

He was certain the old Village Head and his family would never dare resist.

As for the possibility of supernatural transformation tonight, Zhao Xianze didn’t care.

His status as a Seventh-Flow Divine Cultivator gave him this kind of confidence.

But if he had been more gentle in his demeanor and asked a few more questions, he would have learned from Xiang Qinghuai that the villagers had already demonstrated “unranked” Wu Xiu strength when they seized the four golden statues during the day.

He might have been more rational, staying close to Xu Yuan, who at least had a Fifth-Flow protector.

The old village head’s family lived only slightly above poverty.

They could only prepare a small sack of fine rice meant for salt exchange, and the last remaining piece of dried cured meat hanging from the kitchen rafters, to offer together.

As for wine, there was simply none—they had none at home, and it was already dark, too late to go out and buy any.

To buy any, they’d have to go to another village seventeen or eighteen li away.

Zhao Xianze and his five men ate their meal grumbling and cursing.

After eating, the old village head personally came to clear the dishes.

One of Zhao Xianze’s subordinates, observing the scene, suddenly slammed his sword against the table, clanging the bowls and plates, then sneered: “Call your second daughter-in-law to clean up!”

“Ah?!” The old village head pulled out a tael of silver from his bosom—his entire family’s savings, which he had quietly slipped into his coat before entering to tidy up.

“Your Excellencies, please have mercy, spare us…”

As he offered the silver, the subordinate kicked his hand—his wrist snapped instantly.

The silver flew away, lost somewhere unknown.

“To take an interest in your daughter-in-law is your family’s fortune! If you dare argue further, I’ll throw your whole family out tonight to feed the malevolent spirits!”

The old village head, drenched in cold sweat from pain, cradled his wrist and shuffled out like a corpse.

What else could he do?

If they were thrown out and devoured by malevolent spirits, who would ever prove what happened to these officers?

Even with witnesses and evidence, who in this world would dare risk offending these officers for the sake of one family?

Under brute power, common folk aren’t even worthy of struggling or resisting.

Zhao Xianze gave his subordinate a approving glance.

From the outer room came low, muffled sobs.

The second son screamed half a cry, then was silenced as the old village head clamped a hand over his mouth.

After a while, the second daughter-in-law entered, tear-streaked face lowered, silent as stone.

Zhao Xianze smiled.

…

Xu Yuan had been thinking about this case.

After dinner, Yu Yun had arranged for the Captains to stand night watch.

Xu Yuan summoned Wan Yun and questioned him in detail about the day’s events.

He soon realized that everything was merely the old village head’s one-sided account.

Especially regarding the old man who had turned into a golden statue—his two children, and the story he told the village head.

After Wan Yun arrived, he too suspected the villagers might covet the golden statues; after sending word to Xu the Magistrate, he devoted all his attention to guarding the statues.

He never sent anyone to find the two children and question them.

Later, during the seizure of the gold, no trace of the two children was found.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean the old village head was at fault.

But to Xu the Magistrate, this case had many suspicious points.

The villagers had mobbed the golden statues—and with strength far beyond normal.

It seemed the golden statues were not merely “gold,” but carried some other sinister art, capable of luring people into irrationality.

Xu Yuan rose and walked to the two sacks.

Lang Xiao Ba and two Captains guarded them.

Xu Yuan asked Xiao Ba: “Did either of you feel the urge to untie the sacks and steal a few pieces?”

The two Captains were startled, nearly falling to their knees: “Your Excellency, we would never dream of such a thing!”

But Lang Xiao Ba understood the Magistrate wasn’t accusing them.

“No such urge,” Lang Xiao Ba replied.

Xu Yuan nodded: “Open the sacks. Pour out the gold.”

The two Captains were confused, but obeyed.

Pieces of gold gleamed under the oil lamp’s glow.

Xu Yuan asked again: “Now? Do you feel the urge to steal and hide a few pieces?”

The two Captains now understood—they stopped protesting and instead carefully examined their inner feelings.

After a while, Lang Xiao Ba spoke first, nodding: “Yes, I feel it now.”

Only then did the two Captains dare speak: “We feel it too.”

Xu Yuan waved his hand: “Enough. Put it all back.”

The three of them repacked the gold.

Xu Yuan clearly saw that as they tied the sack shut, all three subtly exhaled in relief.

“Strong temptation,” Xu Yuan mused. “But it only activates upon sight.”

Then Xu Yuan recalled his own experience: “When I looked at those golden statues, no greed arose in me.”

“Lang Xiao Ba is already Seventh-Flow. So this sinister art doesn’t fail to affect high-level cultivators—it’s because my boundless indifference unconsciously nullifies its influence.”

Xu Yuan glanced outside. The villagers had hidden some gold still. Tonight… what strange transformation would it trigger?

…

Zhao Xianze suddenly let out a piercing scream!

His waist collapsed instantly.

A thick stream of blood gushed from between his legs!

The second daughter-in-law beneath him had turned into a golden statue.

And his own member was still inside her body.

It was crushed into pulp.

As if smashed flat by a hundred-jin iron hammer.

Zhao Xianze’s scream alerted his four subordinates.

They burst in, shouting: “Wretched wench, how dare you ambush our master…”

Seeing the scene on the bed, they froze.

They had assumed the village girl had merely bitten him in defiance—never imagining this…

Zhao Xianze clutched his groin, sweat pouring from his face in agony.

“Quickly—help me out…”

His subordinates rushed forward to lift him.

Zhao Xianze trembled: “Go—break through the wall! This family must be turning into something…!”

His Wu Xiu subordinates smashed a hole in the wall with an axe, and the five of them charged out through the breach.

The commotion startled the old village head’s family in the front room—they had no idea what had happened.

Yet none of them had transformed.

…

After Zhao Xianze and his men emerged, his Daoist healer quickly gave him several pills.

But the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

The Daoist healer worked frantically for a long while.

Zhao Xianze’s lower body was tightly bound.

Only then did he sigh in relief—the pills had taken effect, the pain lessened.

Zhao Xianze gritted his teeth, ready to curse—when he looked up and saw that along the village path, every household had opened its door, and one golden statue after another stepped out.

The golden statues moved heavily, their footsteps thudding like drums in the deathly silent night.

Cold sweat broke out again on the five men.

So many golden statues… could they fight them off?

Zhao Xianze’s earlier confidence vanished.

Yet the golden statues completely ignored them, walking past one by one toward the small river.

Suddenly, from the broken hole in the wall of the old village head’s house behind them, a flash of golden light emerged—and another golden statue stepped out.

It was the second daughter-in-law.

It too ignored the five men, walking past them without a glance.

And at this moment, Zhao Xianze and his men, for some reason, felt less fear toward this bizarre scene.

Perhaps not that they weren’t afraid—but that fear had been replaced by another emotion.

Greed!

These were all pure gold!

Hundreds of golden statues—how many ten thousand taels of gold!

All five men simultaneously thought the same thought: Where did all this gold come from? From the river, of course.

With each golden statue that passed them, their greed rose another notch.

The corruption of the malevolent spirits intensified again and again.

The clarity in the five pairs of eyes slowly vanished.

They rose to their feet, including Zhao Xian.

Mixing among the golden figures, they walked together toward the river.

Zhao Xian’s injuries seemed already healed—or perhaps he had lost all sensation.

At the riverbank, the golden figures plunged their hands into the water, and their arms automatically transformed into golden basins, diligently sifting through the river sand.

Zhao Xian and the other four also extended their hands into the water.

As if holding wooden basins, they began sifting as well.

They should have found nothing, yet a cluster of golden sand gradually gathered between their hands, growing denser, until the gold spread from their hands, staining their entire bodies.

…

A dull thudding sound echoed outside the ancestral hall; the night-watch captains immediately went on alert.

When they rushed to the window and looked out, their scalps prickled with fear!

One by one, the golden figures from the village emerged, converging along the narrow lanes before heading toward the river.

The commotion outside was loud; everyone in the Purification Office inside the hall had woken up.

They immediately went on guard.

Crouching low, hands on their blades, they sprinted in quick steps to the door.

Someone pressed against the wall, ears straining to listen to the sounds outside.

Lang XiaoBa and the two captains beside him also stretched their necks, peering out the window.

Beside them, the two sacks suddenly twitched.

Then golden water seeped out from within the sacks.

Like blood oozing from a sack containing corpses.

As the golden water flowed out, it rapidly coalesced into four broken bodies.

Then their missing hands extended forward, turning into golden blades, thrusting straight toward the backs of Lang XiaoBa’s three heads!

Suddenly, a curtain of black descended from above, engulfing all four broken golden figures.

Only then did Lang XiaoBa and the others react.

Even trapped within the pí dān, the golden spikes extending from the figures still lunged forward with desperate force, lifting the pí dān several inches—now mere inches from Lang XiaoBa’s three noses!

The three, still trembling: “Th-thank you, my lord.”

Xu Yuan waved his hand, pointing outside: “Look.”

From every household in the village, streams of golden water rapidly flowed toward the ancestral hall.

Some large as venomous snakes, others small as tadpoles.

Meanwhile, the old village head and his family huddled together, trembling, staring in stunned silence as a pool of golden water oozed from his second son’s wife’s room…

Only then did the second son remember: after the villagers ignored warnings, smashed the four golden figures, and looted them, his wife’s elder brother had visited her once.

The brother-in-law, pitying his sister, secretly gave her a piece—but he never imagined…

When the golden waters reached the outer edge of the ancestral hall, they were blocked by the divine light of the door gods.

Yet these golden waters were not complete malevolent entities.

They possessed no unified consciousness.

Thus, they merely followed instinct, repeatedly slamming against the golden light of the door gods.

Each time shattered and scattered by the light, only to reform and charge forward again, heads down.

Finally, they enraged the door gods.

The door god on the right door suddenly shot forth furious divine light from his eyes.

“Boom—”

Thunder surged, lightning flared everywhere.

Before the ancestral hall, it was instantly as bright as daylight, blinding all who looked.

Then, whooshing, whooshing…

Countless fragments of flesh and blood rained down.

The golden water was utterly purged of its malevolent essence.

It reverted to the blood and flesh of the four men.

Then the flesh slowly dried; a gust of wind blew, and it crumbled into dust on the ground.

Xu Yuan had already retrieved the pí dān, now a massive leather sack clutched in his hand.

As the external golden waters converged, the golden water inside the sack seemed to sense them, straining desperately to burst outward.

But it could not break through the pí dān.

When the external golden waters were destroyed by divine light, the contents within the sack shuddered violently, then writhed in agony.

After a while, the sack fell utterly still.

“Dead?” Xu Yuan frowned in confusion.

He opened the sack—and indeed, the golden water had turned into chunks of shattered corpses.

These were the pieces smashed by the villagers during the day.

Xu Yuan understood: these four had become malevolent entities, but they had still been salvageable.

Had the villagers not smashed them and dispersed the yin energy from their bodies, they might have returned to human form.

Xu Yuan spat a burst of fire into the sack, burning the corpse fragments to ash, then tucked away the pí dān and said to the others: “Open the door.”

“Huh?”

Xu Yuan strode toward the door: “XiaoBa, come with me.”

“My lord, no! It’s too dangerous!” Wan Yun urgently blocked him with his body.

Xu Yuan smiled, pointing outside: “The malevolent entities have all gone to the river—the village itself is now safe.”

Wan Yun suddenly realized something, turning to look outside: “You mean…?”

Xu Yuan: “Tonight, besides these golden figures, have you seen any other malevolent entities in the village?”

“No!”

Xiang Qinghuai sighed: “Open the door. I’ll go with Master Xu. If we can’t solve this mystery, none of us will leave this village.”

(End of Chapter)