Chapter 389: Overly Clever (Combined Three Parts)

The village had three wells; the two with water were at the northern and southern ends.

In Southern Jiaozhi, rivers were numerous, so wells were originally unnecessary.

But after the "River Ban," they began digging wells.

The villagers often forgot about the third, dry well.

Southern Jiaozhi was humid and hot, with frequent rain.

So "dry wells" were rare—most were merely abandoned, yet still held water inside.

Lang Xiao Ba led his men to this dry well and immediately sensed something was wrong with it.

The dry well was fifteen feet deep.

Its interior was overgrown with strange plants.

Extremely damp, yet not a drop of water.

The ground around the dry well was flat, yet no households existed within dozens of zhang.

When villagers built houses, they all unconsciously avoided this spot.

Lang Xiao Ba imitated Xu's lord's posture and ordered: "Rank Dan Xiu, send a Yin Soldier down."

One Rank Dan Xiu stepped forward, pinched one nostril, and blew—out popped a pitch-black Yin Soldier like a bubble, slowly swelling, then drifting down into the dry well.

Inside the well, countless poisonous insects startled and darted into stone crevices.

The Yin Soldier reached the bottom and was carefully inspecting when suddenly it felt a drop of water falling from above.

The drop should have passed straight through the Yin Soldier's body, but instead it struck its head like a heavy iron pellet.

The Yin Soldier felt "pain," and it transmitted directly to the Rank Dan Xiu.

The Rank Dan Xiu was startled.

The Yin Soldier below looked up and saw a second drop rolling off a fern growing sideways from the well wall.

That fern looked deeply sinister, like human ribs!

The drop was crimson—actually a drop of blood.

Plop!

The drop fell, smashing onto the Yin Soldier's forehead—excruciating pain made it stagger downward.

Then it saw more blood gushing from the base of that rib-like fern, alive, flowing down its stalk and leaves toward the Yin Soldier.

In an instant, it changed from drops to a stream!

Splash, splash…

Blood rapidly pooled inside the well!

The Rank Dan Xiu cried out in alarm and frantically tried to recall his Yin Soldier.

But the blood at the bottom coalesced into pairs of blood hands, each grabbing the Yin Soldier.

The Rank Dan Xiu frantically pushed his will—the Yin Soldier's body stretched over ten feet long, yet still could not be pulled back.

Then, more blood gushed noisily from the stone crevices of the well walls.

Soon, the Yin Soldier was completely submerged!

The Rank Dan Xiu groaned, spat out blood, and cried: "My Yin Soldier has melted!"

Lang Xiao Ba's expression turned icy. He ordered: "Prepare for battle!"

Everyone had seen—the blood in the dry well was rising fast, and it clearly meant to erupt outward.

The Rank Dan Xiu prepared their internal fire.

If the evil surged out, first blast it with fire—roast it dry!

The blood rose swiftly to the well's mouth, then abruptly stopped.

The blood level matched the well's rim exactly.

Not a single drop overflowed.

The Captains stood ready, tense as wire—time seemed to slow, the surroundings deathly silent.

Lang Xiao Ba stepped forward—and the blood sank lower.

The closer Lang Xiao Ba came, the more the blood receded.

By the time Lang Xiao Ba reached the well's edge, the blood had sunk fully ten feet below.

Lang Xiao Ba stamped his foot: "Dig! Dig it all open—I want to see what evil lies beneath!"

Lang Xiao Ba suddenly became as decisive as the real Xu Lord.

He even carried a fraction of the Master of Discipline's bearing!

When he saw the blood, Lang Xiao Ba felt a surge of joy inside: I've found the clue!

So he issued orders without hesitation.

If he could truly uncover the root evil of Ghost Gate Village, it would be a great achievement.

With his current Seventh-Tier strength, and this great achievement, wouldn't the Patrol Inspector post be within reach?

A flicker of burning ambition hid in Lang Xiao Ba's eyes.

Power was right before him!

The Captains surged forward.

The Wu Xiu led the charge, too impatient to find shovels or hoes—they began digging with their weapons.

Even the Rank Dan Xiu who had lost his Yin Soldier forgot his injury and rushed forward to help.

Soon the well's mouth was cleared.

Some Captains grew too impatient and began digging with their bare hands.

In every Captain's eyes burned intense desire.

All believed that once they dug out the evil spirit from the bottom of the well, it would be a great merit, allowing them to rise in rank due to their achievement!

Just like Lang Xiao Ba, their hearts had unknowingly been infected by some kind of "greed."

The villagers sought money; the Captains sought power.

Jia Luojing paced back and forth at the village entrance—my lord Xu had already withdrawn the Captains stationed there.

Suddenly, something darted through the village.

From the corner of his eye, Jia Luojing seemed to see the figures of Zhao Xianze and the other four flash by.

His eyes darted about, and for some reason, waves of turmoil rose again in his mind...

He now doubted whether this village had truly become the "Ghost Gate Village."

Everything Xu Yuan said was just that.

After we arrived, we actually did not verify it.

If we were to be intimidated by just one sentence from this person...

And Xu Yuan, following his own "case-solving logic," began searching for the young man's home, obviously his skill was inferior to my own.

If I could see through his trickery and then solve the ghostly case in the village, it would prove that I am far superior to Xu Yuan!

Greed for the so-called "victory" made him grit his teeth and decide to take the risk.

He walked over to Lu Renxing's side and whispered his own idea to him.

Lu Renxing was also somewhat suspicious: "Do you mean we should send someone in to confirm?"

Jia Luojing nodded and added, "my lord An sent us to escort Xu Yuan back. If we are fooled into waiting foolishly outside the village... how will we explain ourselves to my lord An in the future?"

Lu Renxing was also worried; at that time, it would not be a matter of "explaining," but rather being severely scolded by my lord An, and never being trusted with important tasks again.

"Indeed, we cannot do nothing." Lu Renxing nodded and asked, "Who shall we send?"

Jia Luojing turned back to look; he had brought a squad of Captains with him.

Lu Renxing had brought two hundred camp soldiers.

He wanted to send the camp soldiers, but upon turning back, he saw Lu Renxing looking at him with scrutiny, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "We each send six men to form a squad and enter. If it truly is the Ghost Gate Village, this squad can look out for each other."

"Even if Xu Yuan questions us, we can say we sent them to support them."

Lu Renxing nodded: "Good."

The two then went to select their men separately.

Their subordinates were stunned on the spot!

Isn't it better for us to wait outside?

You are worried about being scolded by my lord An, so you gamble with our lives?

Jia Luojing was still boasting shamelessly: "Everyone need not worry; this official has a seventy percent certainty that Xu Yuan is deceiving us."

His subordinates secretly cursed: If you really had such certainty, you should go in and verify it yourself.

You dare not go, yet you force us to enter; truly, you are cruel.

But no one dared to speak it aloud.

Lu Renxing's side went more smoothly; after all, they were an army, and disobeying orders could result in immediate beheading.

Jia Luojing's subordinates, however, pushed each other back and forth. Jia Luojing had no way to forcibly designate six men.

Finally, Jia Luojing said, "Let us draw lots."

Thus, six unlucky souls were quickly selected.

The two groups formed a squad of twelve, hesitantly standing and lingering at the village entrance.

Finally, after being sternly urged by the two lords, they could only steel their nerves and walk into the village.

After entering the village, they immediately wanted to withdraw.

It was just a verification, not asking them to actually help Xu Yuan.

But as these twelve walked out, they actually managed to come out again!

"Hahaha..."

Jia Luojing and Lu Renxing laughed heartily.

"Indeed, that boy was deceiving us!"

Lu Renxing praised Jia Luojing highly: "Fortunately, Captain Jia saw through his trickery!"

Jia Luojing was proud, shaking his head and swaying: "Hmph, hmph, trying such petty tricks before this official, Xu Yuan is still too young."

The two then waved their hands: "Enter the village!"

Jia Luojing took the lead, charging into the village with the people of Shanhe.

Lu Renxing led the soldiers of the River Course Camp, following closely behind.

Boom-boom-boom, the entire squad marched into the village.

A sound of hoofbeats rang out; Zhu Zhanmei had returned.

Seeing Jia Luojing and Lu Renxing leading people into the village, her face changed color as she asked, "Why have you..."

Jia Luojing interrupted her without hesitation, saying, "my lord Zhu, we have all been deceived by Xu Yuan. This village is absolutely not some Ghost Gate Village!

This official just sent someone to test it; they can enter and exit freely."

Zhu Zhanmei's mind turned, and she asked, "You were discussing at the village entrance, planning to send someone in to test whether this village has become the Ghost Gate Village?"

Jia Luojing frowned and asked, "What does my lord Zhu mean?"

Zhu Zhanmei sighed, thinking inwardly, how did you two manage to reach these official positions today?!

"Try again; see if you can still walk out."

Jia Luojing sneered: "What exactly is my lord Zhu questioning? What is your relationship with that Xu Yuan? The facts are right before our eyes, yet you still speak for Xu Yuan?"

Lu Renxing also shouted, "My Lord Zhu, mind your station! You are an inspector of the Shanhe Office, and you were ordered by my Lord An to accompany us in escorting Xu Yuan back to the Canal Dock!"

"Consider again carefully whether you will act with us, or if I, this General, will have men escort both you and Xu Yuan back!"

Zhu Zhanmei felt no fear of his threat and still said, "Try it. You will know the result after just a few steps."

Jia Luojing walked out angrily, saying, "Very well, I will make you give up hope completely..."

But before his words had finished, he felt something was wrong.

Suddenly, his vision blurred.

After walking a few steps, he found he had returned to the very spot!

He had not walked out of the village!

"Impossible!" Jia Luojing's eyes widened as he charged violently toward the village exit again, only to return to the spot inexplicably once more.

Everyone behind him fell silent in an instant.

Everyone saw that my Lord Jia Luojing was turning in circles at the same spot in a most eerie manner!

"It won't happen, it won't happen..."

Everyone panicked instantly, rushing toward the village exit in a frenzy, throwing the formation into chaos.

But soon the last shred of luck in everyone's heart was shattered; none of them managed to rush out.

They only felt their vision suddenly blur, returning them to the original place.

"This, this, this..." The people of the Shanhe Office turned pale, their speech incoherent.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the River Channel Camp, having no such scruples, cursed Jia Luojing loudly: "Jia Luojing, you bastard! Even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off!"

"You should have waited outside properly, but you insisted on leading us all into a death trap!"

Lu Renxing's heart panicked too; he glared at Jia Luojing and asked, "I was truly bewitched by a ghost to listen to your suggestion! What do we do now?"

Jia Luojing's brows furrowed tightly, his body trembled, and his composure was utterly lost.

Sending people in was actually a desperate gamble.

He thought he could win!

Originally, he truly believed he had won, which is why he led men to charge in.

But what to do after losing? He had not thought about it at all before gambling.

So now he had absolutely no idea what to do.

Zhu Zhanmei shook his head wordlessly and said, "You discussed and tested at the village entrance; naturally, the eeriness within the Ghost Gate Village would let your test succeed, tricking you all inside! You... what were you thinking..."

He was just short of saying directly, "Jia Luojing, you are so stupid."

Among the soldiers of the River Channel Camp, someone knelt on the ground with a thud: "My Lord Zhu, save us! We can only beg you now..."

Zhu Zhanmei waved his hand and said, "Get up quickly, no need for such great courtesy. I, this official, will certainly do my utmost. Now..."

Zhu Zhanmei thought for a moment and said, "You go find Xu Yuan first and ask him to protect you."

Lu Renxing quickly added, "Yes, quickly go find my Lord Xu with me, the General."

He, this main commander, had trusted a treacherous man, causing everyone to fall into a death trap. If he did not do something immediately to soothe his brothers, a mutiny would likely erupt at once.

Jia Luojing was very unwilling to beg Xu Yuan.

But the soldiers of the River Channel Camp rushed past him with a roar.

He dared not make the slightest obstruction.

At this moment, if he dared say anything, the entire River Channel Camp could tear him apart.

After the River Channel Camp passed, Jia Luojing looked again and saw his surroundings were completely empty; the twelve Captains of the Shanhe Office he had brought were also gone!

They had all mixed into the River Channel Camp and left together.

Zhu Zhanmei stood outside, looking at Jia Luojing with a cold sneer and asked, "What are you still waiting for? Is face more important than life? Do you still think you are stronger than Xu Yuan, and that relying on yourself alone you can break this Ghost Gate Village and walk out alive?"

Jia Luojing's face flushed red, yet he could no longer be stubborn.

Immediately, he lowered his head and quickly followed the formation.

Xu Yuan did not return to the ancestral hall but went directly to the withered well.

My Lord Xu guessed that arrangements must have been made over by the withered well, and his subordinates there would "make some discoveries."

From a distance, Xu Yuan saw everyone digging frantically.

The well mouth of the withered well had been dug open into a large pit.

Dozens of people were in the pit, digging desperately downward in a "fanatic" state.

Lang Xiao Ba was among them, constantly directing every single person.

Xu Yuan frowned secretly, still using "Dragon Spits Mirage" to conceal himself, and quietly approached to take a look.

As the Captains dug, a blood mist rose from the depths of the withered well—

"The evil spirit can't hold back!" Lang Xiao Ba shouted.

Several Rank Dan Xiu, who were prepared, all sprayed fire toward that blood mist together.

Streams of Fu Zhong Huo surrounded the blood mist, burning it fiercely.

A mournful scream came from the blood mist; the evil spirit seemed to have suffered heavy damage, tried several times to break out, and then sank back into the withered well.

The Captains cheered.

Lang Xiao Ba continued to direct: "Dig! Keep digging! Once we pull this evil spirit out and destroy it, we can break this Ghost Gate Village and establish a great merit!"

"Good!" The Captains responded in unison.

They dug even more vigorously.

Xu Yuan thought silently, "The state is not quite right..."

Xu Yuan opened "Gaze at Fate" to take a look.

On the "fates" of the subordinate Captains, a layer of Yin Qi had settled.

It was not like the villagers who had already turned into evil spirits; the Yin Qi had condensed into a single beam hidden within their fates.

The Yin Qi was like falling dust, adhering to the surface of their "fates."

It was as if their "fates" possessed a certain stickiness.

As they continued digging downward, the adhered Yin Qi grew increasingly heavy.

Xu Yuan's original plan was to go with the flow and see what arrangements that rope evil spirit had made within the dry well.

But now that was impossible; if they waited any longer, Lang Xiao Ba and the others would likely undergo a sinister transformation.

Xu Yuan was about to reveal himself when he suddenly heard Lang Xiao Ba say to everyone: "My lord has bestowed upon us grace as heavy as a mountain; now that we have discovered crucial clues, this is precisely a good opportunity for all of us to establish merit and repay my lord!"

The Captains nodded in unison: "Indeed so! My lord treats us like brothers and hands; I have often worried about having no way to repay him..."

In Xu Yuan's "Gazing at Fate" vision, as these words rang out, the Yin Qi that had fallen like muddy dust upon the surface of their "fates" suddenly scattered away!

It was as if the "stickiness" on the surface of their "fates" had suddenly vanished.

Their "fates" became clear as a bright mirror!

The corruption of the evil spirit receded.

Xu Yuan then continued to conceal his tracks, while feeling a strange sensation in his heart: why had this situation occurred?

The Captains remained full of vigor.

However, the eerie feeling deep within the dry well began to slowly dissipate.

The blood mist that occasionally surged forth, and the faint roars that faintly came through, all began to gradually disappear.

As they dug and dug, Lang Xiao Ba felt something was wrong; looking down again, he immediately flew into a rage: "That evil spirit has fled!"

Lang Xiao Ba suddenly slapped his forehead: "Damn, I just said that line 'My lord has bestowed upon us grace as heavy as a mountain,' inadvertently revealing that I am not actually my lord!"

Could it be that because of that sentence, the evil spirit saw through the deception and thus escaped?

Lang Xiao Ba was filled with regret, but also found it strange; at my level, when impersonating my lord, I should not have made such a stupid mistake.

Moreover... the other Captains nearby did not remind me; instead, they made the same mistake as I did.

Lang Xiao Ba recalled his state just now and realized that at that time, he had been left with only one strong thought: "establishing merit to receive rewards."

This thought suppressed all other ideas.

Causing him to somewhat... lose his reason!

The other Captains were probably the same.

"This is all the work of that damn evil spirit!" Lang Xiao Ba couldn't help but curse.

Xu Yuan also figured it out at this moment.

This hidden evil spirit could stir up various desires, deep and shallow, within people's hearts.

Desire makes people mad and fallen.

Just now, it must have triggered the desire for "merit" within the hearts of everyone in the Pollution-Exorcising Bureau.

But the evil spirit never could have imagined that the root of everyone's, including Lang Xiao Ba's, desire for "merit" was actually to repay my lord's kindness!

This prevented the evil spirit from continuing to execute its next two steps: "madness" and "falling."

They were establishing merit not for themselves.

The corruption instantly dissipated completely.

And the Captains also began to curse loudly.

The Captains were mostly rough men, so their cursing was very filthy, with their pointed accusations directed straight at that evil spirit.

Xu Yuan felt both amused and helpless.

Indeed, my lord did not need to reveal himself, but the plan to observe from the shadows and play the role of the oriole waiting to pounce had still failed.

Nevertheless, Lord Xu was still very gratified.

Sincerity exchanged for sincerity; he treated his subordinates with closeness, and his subordinates were loyal to him in return.

Although cases of sincerity being exchanged for a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs are indeed numerous in this world, at least there are none within his own yamen.

Just then, Yu Yunhang ran over, shouting anxiously: "My lord, you must hurry back and take a look; something major has happened!"

Yu Yunhang rushed straight toward Lang Xiao Ba: "Lu Renxing and Jia Luojing have brought everyone inside!"

Lang Xiao Ba was greatly startled: "Ah?! Those fools! But, but I am not my lord..."

Knowing that he was exposed anyway, Lang Xiao Ba wiped his hand across his face, restoring his original appearance.

"Where is my lord?"

Xu Yuan's voice rang out from the side; he then revealed himself and headed straight for the ancestral hall: "What are those fools doing!"

Yu Yunhang and the others hurriedly followed; Yu Yunhang even added a sentence specifically behind my lord: "Inspector Zhu did not follow us in."

Xu Yuan looked at him strangely; why did you specifically emphasize this to my lord?

Yu Yunhang chuckled.

But Xu Yuan, truly because of that one reminder, had another thought—he changed direction and headed toward the village entrance.

Going back to the ancestral hall to ask Lu Renxing and Jia Luojing was not as good as asking Zhu Zhanmei what exactly was going on.

Seeing Xu Yuan come out, Zhu Zhanmei sighed: "Those two fools have dragged you down."

Xu Yuan: "What exactly is going on?"

Zhu Zhanmei explained the details of the incident, then suddenly made a gesture to Xu Yuan; taking the opportunity to hide in the distance, he wrote a letter and shot it into Xu Yuan's position with a bow and arrow.

Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows, tore open the letter, and took a look.

Inside the letter were written some of Zhu Zhanmei's discoveries from just now, after he had circled the village once.

"Thank you, Inspector Zhu."

In the ancestral hall, Xiang Qinghuai stared speechlessly at Lu Renxing, Jia Luojing, and the others.

One is a Vice General, the other a Discipline Master; their ranks are not low.

How could my Great Ming have such stupid officials!

Lu Renxing kept glaring at Jia Luojing.

Lu Renxing did not feel he had committed any great fault; he always believed that this general had been dragged down by this fool!

The soldiers of the River Channel Camp were even more so.

If a look could injure, Jia Luojing would have been cut into a thousand pieces long ago.

Jia Luojing's heart... was extremely conflicted.

He very much hoped Xu Yuan truly had a way to break this Ghost Gate Village.

But in his heart, he still felt somewhat unwilling to submit to Xu Yuan.

If Xu Yuan could truly accomplish it, it would prove that he was truly inferior to Xu Yuan, so... he became conflicted.

Of course, his life was still more important, so Jia Luojing remained obedient and dared not utter any more arrogant words.

A sound came from outside; the Captains said, "My lord has returned."

Lu Renxing immediately rushed out: "My Lord Xu—"

Lu Renxing extended both hands, about to grasp Xu Yuan's hand, but My Lord Xu dodged away.

Jia Luojing also followed out, about to crowd close to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan raised a hand: "Stay far away from me, sir; I fear catching your stupidity!"

Jia Luojing's face turned bright red.

Yet he dared not argue with My Lord Xu.

And Lu Renxing also said without any courtesy: "Get lost!"

Jia Luojing turned and left without a sound.

Xu Yuan spoke in a low voice to Lu Renxing: "It was not my intention to humiliate him, but this official has matters to discuss with the General and does not wish for him to know—this person is stubborn and lacks self-awareness; I fear that if he knows, he will secretly do something to ruin the plan."

Lu Renxing nodded repeatedly, his attitude toward My Lord Xu completely different from before: "My Lord Xu speaks the truth! This general has finally seen it; that fellow just likes to play with petty cleverness."

Xu Yuan then spoke his plan in a low voice to Lu Renxing; Lu Renxing nodded and said to Xu Yuan: "Rest assured, this general will fully cooperate."

(End of this chapter)