Chapter 391: Done (Combined)

When Jia Luojing came out of the ancestral hall, his subordinates did not follow him.

From the moment he ordered people to draw lots and selected six unlucky souls to enter the village, he and his subordinates had already grown estranged.

Later, when everyone entered Shi Yang Village only to discover they had been deceived by that evil spirit, his subordinates were completely disillusioned with Jia Luojing's abilities.

But his subordinates could not abandon Jia Luojing.

To be precise, unless death was imminent, his subordinates would never do such a thing.

A superior may betray me, but I cannot betray my superior.

Whether it is the Shanhe Office, the Filth-Cleansing Office, the Demon-Extermination Army, or any other bureau of the Huangming Dynasty, it is all the same.

This is the lament of the subordinate.

But after entering the ancestral hall, Jia Luojing was utterly shamed, and the thought arose: if he could escape with his life, he would never see these twelve people again.

Why?

Jia Luojing felt ashamed.

After this mission, the soldiers of the River Channel Camp would likely never meet again in this life.

But these twelve people of the Shanhe Office would still serve in the bureau; as long as he saw them, Jia Luojing would be reminded of his own shameful deeds.

He had already decided that if he could return, he would immediately transfer this entire team away.

He could not dismiss them directly; that would be too obvious.

But from now on, these people would certainly have no future.

In other words, Jia Luojing had already decided to "abandon" these subordinates.

These twelve people also keenly perceived the attitude of Lord Jia.

Heartbroken?

There was a bit of that, but they could only accept such a fate.

They had already seen many similar things within the Shanhe Office bureau.

Jia Luojing escaped Shi Yang Village and did not want to take them along.

So he deliberately avoided them and slipped away quietly on his own.

They might not have failed to notice, but they still pretended not to see.

These twelve people also had their own ideas and did not want to accept their fate; since Jia Luojing had left first, Patrol Inspector Zhu Zhanmei would inevitably enter the village.

As fellow members of the Shanhe Office, in the end they would surely have to return with Patrol Inspector Zhu.

On the road, they would think of a way to ask Patrol Inspector Zhu to take pity on them; if they were granted shelter, there would still be some hope for the future.

Usually, if Patrol Inspector Zhu did not want to offend Jia Luojing, he would be unlikely to take them in, but this was a sliver of hope in their despair, and they could not help but strive for it.

Jia Luojing slipped out alone, left the village—and was discovered by the leather dragon in the river.

Xu Yuan took one look and decided this person must not be allowed to live!

Jia Luojing would absolutely not remember his "gratitude"; after returning to the Canal Wharf, he would only stir up trouble and frame Xu Yuan before An Chengyuan, seeking to put Xu Yuan to death.

Xu Yuan simply killed him.

Jia Luojing was the Lawkeeper of the Shanhe Office and possessed no evil arts like the Thread-Pulling Method.

Killing him would bring almost no repercussions.

As for how he would "go missing"? How would Lord Xu know?

His subordinates could testify that he had slipped away on his own.

Perhaps on the way back to the Canal Wharf, he encountered an evil spirit and was swallowed.

In the Huangming Empire, every year, the number of people who die this way is not ten thousand, but eighty thousand.

On the Filth-Cleansing Office side, after clearing the battlefield, they followed Lord Xu's orders and, together with the River Channel Camp, searched the entire village again; wherever there was anything suspicious, a group of Spirit Cultivators would first throw Yin Soldiers inside.

Once the investigation was clear, the Rank Dan Xiu together sprayed fire.

Xu Yuan did not need to personally supervise these trivial matters.

Xiang Qinghuai and Lu Renxing accompanied Xu Yuan back to the ancestral hall together.

They also sent someone to notify Zhu Zhanmei, and Patrol Inspector Zhu then entered the village to reunite with everyone.

"It is almost dark; we will not have time to return today. Let us settle the brothers under our command and stay in the village for the night first."

The villagers who had turned into evil spirits had been completely cleaned up, and their houses were habitable.

Afterwards, the four people with the highest ranks in the village—Xu Yuan, Lu Renxing, Zhu Zhanmei, and Xiang Qinghuai—together made a "conclusion" on this major ghost case.

In fact, it meant whatever Xu Yuan said was what it was.

The ghost originated from one of the five-colored threads used to stuff the ancient statue in the ruined temple outside the village.

Xu Yuan did not mention the other evil spirits at all.

The ghost's ability was to use "what the eyes see" to lure out various desires from people's hearts.

As long as one could not hold fast to one's original heart, one would be infected and eventually turn into an evil spirit.

Lawkeeper Xu Yuan of Zhancheng, with a mind as fine as hair, calm and composed, peeled back the layers to discover the true form of the evil spirit, and then, with the cooperation of the River Channel Camp, burned and annihilated the evil spirit.

The evil spirits in the village revolted, but ultimately, because the root evil spirit was dead, they gradually lost strength and were exterminated together by the River Channel Camp and the Filth-Cleansing Office.

Once the paperwork for this case was completed, it would be clear that all four had merit.

Xu Yuan, needless to say, received the primary merit.

Xiang Qinghuai also shared in the merit.

Lu Renxing's River Channel Camp received secondary merit.

Lu Renxing had trusted Jia Luojing too easily and led the River Channel Camp into the Ghost Gate Village; this was a major error, but since the merit was greater, he would not be punished and would even receive some reward.

Zhu Zhanmei discovered the ruined temple outside the village and provided Xu Yuan with the idea for solving the case.

Only Jia Luojing had committed an offense without merit, and a grave one at that.

After Zhu Zhanmei arrived, Lu Renxing kept praising Xu Yuan without ceasing.

He praised him as rare in the heavens and unique on earth!

He had not read much, so his words of praise were always the same few phrases, repeated over and over.

Xu Yuan felt embarrassed listening to it.

Lu Renxing had his own "wisdom"; at this moment, he had to do this to thoroughly sever ties with that scoundrel Jia Luojing.

Yet he never mentioned that before, he had been in cahoots with Jia Luojing, had looked down on Lord Xu, and had even intended to "escort" Lord Xu back.

Lu Renxing had thick skin; people make mistakes, after all. This general made a mistake, and now that he knows it, he corrects it!

If a banquet could be set up now, General Lu Renxing would immediately toast Lord Xu to apologize.

You say how many bowls to drink, and I will drink that many.

Then everyone seemed to suddenly remember: "Where is Jia Luojing?"

So they made a grand fuss searching the village again.

Actually, everyone guessed that Jia Luojing, not wanting to be awkward, had slipped away early.

By this time, he must have already left the village and run dozens of li away.

If he were here, everyone would feel uncomfortable seeing him; it is better that he left.

But they did not know he would never appear again.

Before nightfall, everyone was assigned their lodging separately.

The Purification Office remained in the ancestral hall, while the Shanhe Office and the River Channel Camp were scattered throughout the village.

Xu Yuan specifically reminded them to check the door gods.

The twelve men under Jia Luojing took this opportunity to follow behind Zhu Zhanmei, claiming they were also from the Shanhe Office.

Late at night, Xu Yuan quietly recalled the Leather Dragon.

The Leather Dragon opened its mouth and swallowed the rope as well.

The sacred objects placed within this statue totaled five, originally symbolizing the deity's: Great Wisdom, Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, Controlling Wind and Rain, Driving Away Evil and Avoiding Filth, and Embracing the Five Elements; but after the temple was destroyed and the statue fell to the ground, and after countless years passed, these objects within the statue corresponded precisely to the five poisons of the heart: Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt.

Among them, the "greed" of the rope's evil spirit was the strongest.

After Xu Yuan burned and refined them, they regained some of the divine power of the sacred objects within the statue!

The Leather Dragon swallowed these, and together with Fu Chongjiu's Dragon Pearl, it exactly compensated for the Leather Dragon's defect of having only a "skin."

The success rate of using the Leather Dragon to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Art increased greatly.

Joy arose in Xu Yuan's heart; upon returning this time, he would immediately begin cultivating the Dragon Transformation Art.

The next day, Xu Yuan flipped through the almanac.

Today is forbidden for: sacrifices, entering caves, traveling at night, and cutting wood.

So he memorized it, then came out to have breakfast with everyone.

Lu Renxing and Zhu Zhanmei came over shortly after: "Lord Xu, let us return today."

"Of course," Xu Yuan replied.

The old village head and his family saw Lord Xu and the others off out of the village.

The vast Shi Yang Village now had only them left!

The old village head thought of his second daughter-in-law again and nearly shed tears.

Xu Yuan sighed, stopped at the village entrance, and said: "Old sir, this village cannot be lived in; if you have other relatives, go seek refuge with them."

The old village head shook his head: "Lord, do not worry about us; this old man knows what to do."

Xu Yuan did not urge him further.

In his heart, he also understood; with such a large family, who could they seek refuge with?

Even if there were some poor relatives, they could not even feed themselves; how could they take care of others?

"Very well," Xu Yuan urged his horse forward: "Old sir, if you encounter any difficulties, go directly to the Purification Office in Zhan City for help."

"Thank you, Lord," the old village head led his family to kneel by the village edge, bidding farewell to Lord Xu.

He had not read books and could not speak various words of gratitude in fancy ways.

But he knew clearly that if another official had come, when Zhao Xian sought to kill his entire family, his whole family would have been wiped out.

Others would never offend Zhao Xian to save the worthless lives of a commoner's family like his.

After Xu Yuan had gone far, the old village head led his family to respectfully kowtow three loud times before rising and returning.

"Be careful these next few days; in seven or eight days, someone will arrive, and then we will be safe," the old village head instructed his family.

The people in the village were all dead, but the villagers had many relatives in nearby villages.

For example, Chen Baonian's two daughters, if they had no land of their own and instead rented land from others, upon hearing the news would certainly move their whole families over; Chen Baonian's fields would then be theirs.

Xu Yuan led the detachment on a special detour to that ruined temple.

After examining it carefully, he left with a furrowed brow.

Zhu Zhanmei urged his horse forward, walked beside him, and asked in a low voice: "You suspect something too?"

Xu Yuan nodded: "This temple was destroyed long ago, and the statue fell to the ground many years ago; why did it suddenly become an evil spirit?"

Yesterday afternoon, Xu Yuan had quietly asked the old village head; there had never been an evil spirit at the ruined temple outside the village before.

It was only a few years ago that two foxes had occupied the temple for a time.

But they never committed any great evil; some village children would go to play in that ruined temple, sometimes getting lost, but they always returned in the end.

Zhu Zhanmei asked again, "Have you discovered anything?"

Zhu Zhanmei naturally had the same doubts and had specifically checked, yet found nothing.

"It seems..." Xu Yuan said, "that other evil spirits came, triggering a strange transformation of the items stuffed inside the corpse."

Zhu Zhanmei could not see it because she did not possess the Yin-Yang Blade.

Xu Yuan used the vision of the Yin-Yang Blade to check, and a clear trace of yin qi remained in the ruined temple.

If it has not completely dissipated after so long, that evil spirit's level is likely no lower than Fourth Grade!

Zhu Zhanmei was surprised; there truly were some discoveries.

She had indeed underestimated Lord Xu.

Xu Yuan spoke in a low voice, "Let this matter remain between you and me. This place is not far from the Canal Wharf or Ghost Wushan, so it should have no relation to the death of the Princess Consort."

Zhu Zhanmei nodded.

If they reported it to An Chengyuan, it would likely become entangled with the Princess Consort's case again; if An Chengyuan ordered them to investigate this evil spirit, it would be troublesome.

Most likely, they would search back and forth with no leads, only to be scolded repeatedly by An Chengyuan.

After walking a bit further, Zhu Zhanmei spoke to Xu Yuan in a low voice again, "Do not wander around recklessly after we return. An Chengyuan is actually waiting, waiting for more people to be sent from the Xiang Wang Fu and the Canal Office."

The Seventeenth Uncle beside the Princess Consort was Fourth Grade.

He died alongside the Princess Consort in Ghost Wushan.

Without a powerful cultivator of Fourth Grade or above to preside, Lord An would not dare enter Ghost Wushan to investigate; what he is doing now is merely for show."

Xu Yuan nodded.

This was the gap between a prodigal like Zhu Zhanlei and a true disciple of a great clan like Zhu Zhanmei.

Zhu Zhanlei had not seen the subtlety within this.

Xu Yuan asked, "How much longer?"

Zhu Zhanmei said, "There is still no news from the Xiang Wang Fu side, but two Fourth Grade cultivators from the Canal Office are already on their way; it is estimated there are five days left."

Xu Yuan now had a clear idea.

At noon, the group returned to the Canal Wharf.

This time, Xu Yuan finally met this legendary Lord An.

An Chengyuan did not give Lord Xu a good face; he severely reprimanded him, then waved his hand to dismiss Xu Yuan: "Under no circumstances may you leave your post again!"

Xu Yuan did not refute; he cupped his hands and left.

An Chengyuan's anger stemmed from his lost face.

Xu Yuan had indeed gone to handle a case.

Moreover, the case was very grave, and Xu Yuan had resolved it beautifully.

The Lu Renxing and others he had sent had only returned alive thanks to Xu Yuan.

An Chengyuan could use the excuse that this fell within the jurisdiction of the Evil-Dispelling Office, so he could not commend Xu Yuan.

But he could not punish him further either.

With anger pent up inside him that he could not vent, after driving Xu Yuan away, An Chengyuan sent an order to the River Channel Camp, demoting that Battalion Commander to a common soldier!

This official will always find a scapegoat!

If it were not for you, a treacherous person, stirring up trouble, why would this Lord be so passive?

Xu Yuan returned to the courtyard previously arranged for him.

Seizing an opportunity, he released the Leather Dragon into the Canal River.

The Leather Dragon stretched its body in the river water and then began cultivating the Dragon-Transformation Art with peace of mind.

Xu Yuan estimated that five days would be enough for himself to achieve mastery in cultivation.

During this period, several problems arose in the cultivation, which Xu Yuan resolved one by one.

It took three days for the Leather Dragon to complete the Dragon-Transformation Art.

The repeated simulations and full preparations made beforehand were indeed useful.

Xu Yuan had foreseen most of the problems.

Once this technique was completed, the Leather Dragon, on the level of "Dharma Cultivation," was a genuine Sixth Grade standard.

There was still half a year; he would have to find a way to rise to Fifth Grade.

On this day, Xu Yuan went to the wharf to check his shop.

This shop had been in his hands for several months; unfortunately, Xu Yuan had no suitable person by his side, so it had remained empty all along.

Xu Yuan walked around and looked, deciding that after returning, he would have Miao Yan find a Shopkeeper, as it could not remain idle.

Zhu Zhanlei suddenly arrived on horseback and found Lord Xu: "Those two Fourth Grade cultivators have arrived; Lord An wants you to return immediately."

Xu Yuan returned to the Canal Office with Zhu Zhanlei and asked, "The Seventeenth Uncle was Fourth Grade and died inside Ghost Wushan; sending two more Fourth Grade cultivators, will it work?"

Zhu Zhanlei laughed: "If it doesn't work, what then? Send a Third Grade cultivator? That is Upper Third Grade; the status and position of any single one of them is more noble than the Princess Consort's!

The Canal Office will not send its own Third Grade cultivators; it depends on the Xiang Wang Fu side. I heard there is still a Third Grade cultivator in the Wang Fu, but he is too old..."

Zhu Zhanlei looked around, then leaned close to Xu Yuan's ear and whispered, "That one, every time he acts, will shorten his lifespan by five years! It depends on whether the Xiang Wang is willing to part with it."

(End of Chapter)