Chapter 59: Thread-Pulling Method

Old Yan's face grew grim as he swiftly moved to Xu Yuan's side: "How are you? Are you injured?"

"Just a minor wound, nothing to worry about."

After checking Xu Yuan from head to toe, Old Yan finally sighed in relief: "As long as you're safe."

Then Old Yan went to examine the two corpses, and his expression changed again: "Did you kill them?"

The one whose half-body was blown away was of what level; one couldn't tell at a glance, but the one covered in holes, completely "blood-exploded," was a Seventh-Rank Wu Xiu!

Xu Yuan quickly waved his hands: "Of course not me; I don't have that capability. A my lord from my family arrived and helped resolve it."

This explanation was even more "reasonable and plausible," and all three of Old Yan's group accepted it.

"Take the corpses; let's return to the county yamen first to prevent the villains from having further moves."

It was impossible to let Song Lu, a girl, carry a corpse, so Xu Yuan and Fu Jingyu each took one, disregarding the filth, hoisted them onto their shoulders, and followed Old Yan, walking quickly.

Xu Yuan did not notice that Old Yan's left hand had been silently performing divination calculations.

After a moment, Old Yan suddenly turned back and looked deeply at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan felt somewhat guilty: "What is wrong, my lord?"

Old Yan shook his head: "Nothing, let's hurry."

South Chang Street led directly to the county yamen; halfway there, the four of them ran head-on into a group of Yamen Runners and constables.

Led by Pang, the Chief Constable of the county yamen, they had received a report from the common people and rushed over in haste.

Old Yan briefly explained the situation, pointed behind him, and said: "You go first to seal off the scene; be careful!"

"Yes." Chief Constable Pang nodded and accepted the order, leading his subordinates away—their speed had obviously slowed down.

Previously, they thought it was just a common brawl among ruffians resulting in an accidental killing; now they knew it was a case handled by the Evil-Dispelling Bureau, with someone ambushing them halfway—daring to attack the Evil-Dispelling Bureau, a group of us small constables wouldn't count for anything in their eyes; if we bumped into them and the villains were still present, wouldn't we die in vain?

Old Yan ignored the constables' thoughts and returned to the county yamen at the fastest speed.

Ma Tianshou had come secretly this time, but he still brought some capable people with him.

Old Yan arranged for someone to examine the corpses, told the three young ones to go wash up, and immediately went to see Ma Tianshou himself.

Ma Tianshou had also received the news; when Old Yan saw him, he noticed his former superior's expression was clearly nervous and hurriedly said: "All three are fine, rest assured."

Two were Ma Tianshou's students, and one was a young man Ma Tianshou had taken a liking to.

Ma Tianshou nodded, and his body relaxed.

"Is it Chen Liangxuan's people?"

"There is no evidence; we must wait for the autopsy results to confirm the identity of the killers," Old Yan replied, "but besides him, there is no one else."

Ma Tianshou snorted coldly: "Even after retiring, he still won't be honest; he dares to attack our Evil-Dispelling Bureau personnel in the street. He doesn't want to enjoy his old age in peace!"

Old Yan hesitated for a moment, then said first: "That Xu Yuan..."

"What about him?"

Old Yan said: "The two dead killers, one's level is temporarily unknown, but the other is a Seventh-Rank Wu Xiu. Xu Yuan said a family member saved him and killed the two killers. But I calculated it right there on the spot; both were killed by him."

Ma Tianshou instinctively wanted to ask if you had calculated wrongly, but he forced himself to hold the words back.

Don't look at Old Yan as the famous good-natured man of the Southern Prefecture; but whoever dares to say his "calculation is inaccurate," this old fellow would risk vomiting blood just to calculate for you: when you will die.

"Go to the morgue." Ma Tianshou decided immediately.

The county yamen's morgue had long been requisitioned by the Evil-Dispelling Bureau; to be precise, the entire county yamen, except for the main hall and the small area in the rear courtyard where the magistrate lived, had already been occupied by the Evil-Dispelling Bureau.

After the Evil-Dispelling Bureau was established, the Huangming dynasty, in addition to the original Commandant, newly created a position named "County Assistant," nominally the Commandant's deputy, but actually the person in charge of the Evil-Dispelling Bureau in the locality.

However, as the anomalies grew deeper day by day, the County Assistant's power grew larger and larger, and they could handle anomaly events, gaining higher and higher prestige in the county; in many places, the County Assistant's actual status had long surpassed that of the Commandant.

Even in some places, the magistrate's orders were not as effective as a single word from the County Assistant.

The County Assistant of Shanhe County, leading people, stood guard outside the morgue door: This is a critical crime scene; irrelevant personnel of the county yamen are not allowed to approach!

The so-called "irrelevant personnel of the county yamen" naturally included... the magistrate, my lord.

The magistrate had vaguely sensed something was wrong these past two days; since yesterday, he had locked himself in a small courtyard, claiming illness and refusing to come out.

In his heart, he was somewhat relieved that fortunately, when he went to visit Old Master Chen last time, the man looked down on him as a small official and did not see him.

When Ma Tianshou and Old Yan arrived at the morgue, the County Assistant hurriedly followed behind the two superiors, wishing to stay within an inch of them, letting the two old lords carefully observe his loyalty and bravery.

Inside the morgue, the coroner brought from the Southern Prefecture had already removed the clothes from the two corpses; all items were placed aside; Ma Tianshou only glanced once and saw that something must be missing.

The coroner stepped forward, clasped his fist, and said: "My lord, both of them had 'Thread-Pulling Method' in their souls; the moment they died, they were pulled away by the threads."

The Evil-Dispelling Bureau's "autopsy" is not merely examining the body; it also involves "examining the soul."

However, with 'Thread-Pulling Method' ambushed within the soul, as soon as a person dies, the soul is pulled away.

Moreover, this type of 'Thread-Pulling Method', set up in advance within the soul to occupy the "first-mover" advantage, cannot be stopped even if the coroner is present.

Throughout the entire Huangming, the number of Spirit Cultivators capable of breaking the 'Thread-Pulling Method' is also few.

Ma Tianshou was not particularly surprised by this; he walked to the side of the two corpses, glanced over them a few times, and then looked at the items placed nearby.

"It is Xing Guolong under Old Master Chen, a Seventh-Rank Dan Xiu."

Ma Tianshou could see more classified documents and recognized Xing Guolong.

However, on the surface, no connection between Xing Guolong and Chen Liangxuan could be found.

These people had 'Thread-Pulling Method' planted in their souls; they were death soldiers.

There is an even more vicious 'Soul-Melting Method'; once the body dies, the soul will immediately and completely dissolve, leaving no trace in this world.

Old Master Chen would naturally prefer to use the 'Soul-Melting Method', but Xing Guolong and the others would not agree.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, the 'Thread-Pulling Method' is already sufficient.

Old Yan couldn't help but say: "Two Seventh-Ranks?!"

He now even suspected whether he had calculated wrongly.

Ma Tianshou said nothing more; he and Old Yan came out, and on the way, he asked: "Did you calculate it? What means did that boy use to kill two Seventh-Ranks?"

Old Yan's old face felt a bit hot; he whispered: "I calculated it, but I couldn't figure it out."

Ma Tianshou said nothing more; instead, Yan Lao brought up another matter: "Xu Yuan handed over some items belonging to Qiao Zi'ang. I discovered something unusual."

His hesitation just now was due to weighing two matters and deciding which to mention first.

Instinctively, he believed the fact that Xu Yuan killed Qiliu was the more important issue.

Ma Tianshou had originally intended to go see Xu Yuan, but now he must first examine these items.

The two turned into Ma Tianshou's temporary study, and Yan Lao brought out those items.

"That brush," Yan Lao reminded.

Ma Tianshou picked up the brush and examined it closely.

Both the inkstone and the brush are treasures of the Literary Cultivators; calligraphy written with them increases in power by twenty percent.

Ma Tianshou, being highly experienced, spotted the problem after a moment. He unscrewed the ivory brush tip; the brush handle was hollow, hiding a rolled-up item inside!

Yan Lao had also seen that something was hidden inside the brush, but deliberately refrained from retrieving it at Xu Yuan's home.

Ma Tianshou poured the contents of the brush handle out; it was a slender paper scroll. Unfurling it revealed a contract.

Requesting monthly tickets

Goodnight!

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(End of this chapter)