Chapter 146: Chain Reaction

A major case that shocked Jinmen occurred in Linhe last night.

The Jinmen Gang, which had dominated the Linhe water transport for many years, had been completely wiped out!

When Zhao Zhonghe arrived, he only saw a mess on the ground, traces of fighting everywhere, and splattered blood.

But strangely, let alone a corpse, not even a finger was seen.

The constables of the patrol office looked at each other in dismay until Zhao Yuan discovered several female servants in the damaged storied boat whose spirits were somewhat deranged, only then did they learn some details.

It turned out that a fierce person had come to the door and wiped out the Jinmen Gang at the pier.

"One person?"

Zhao Zhonghe pondered for a moment and shook his head, "These words are not credible. He might be able to kill so many people, but wanting to destroy the bodies so cleanly by himself is not that easy. It must be that others were there to assist."

Beside him, Zhao Yuan took up the conversation, "If so, then it was premeditated. One person was responsible for killing, and others were responsible for the aftermath. To be able to do it so cleanly and neatly, it looks like the work of a professional assassin."

The uncle and nephew were chatting back and forth. Before long, County Magistrate Dong, who had received the news, arrived at the scene with Secretary Tang, the mortician from the mortuary, and several inspection experts from the clerk's office.

Wang Lingyuan led the charge, with several morticians and backbone members of the clerk's office behind him, rubbing their hands.

But when everyone arrived at the pier, they were all dumbfounded.

No, such a big homicide case, where are the bodies?

Where did the bodies go?

County Magistrate Dong was equally baffled. He called Zhao Zhonghe over, and after clarifying the reason, he had a headache and said, "No bodies, then inspect the scene. As for the matter of recording the case file..."

Seeing County Magistrate Dong turn his gaze over, the clerks from the clerk's office had bitter expressions.

Without bodies, just recording the information of so many missing persons would take a lot of effort, plus deducing the scene and doing various records—such a huge workload, and the few of them didn't know when they would be busy until.

Seeing this, County Magistrate Dong raised an eyebrow and said, "The clerks and constables on duty tonight will each have their monthly salary increased by two taels. After the case is finished, we will discuss rewards based on merit."

Soldiers are not brave without being driven, and generals are not fierce without profit.

Hearing that there was a reward of two taels of silver in one night, the officials on the scene instantly had spirit!

Looking at the merchant ships and goods left by the Jinmen Gang, County Magistrate Dong's eyes flickered.

One doesn't observe colors at night, and the pier environment is also very complex. It is reasonable that some loss of goods in the Jinmen Gang's merchant ships would occur.

County Magistrate Dong hadn't been at the pier for long before the leader of the Jinmen Gang, Hong Baoya, known in street rumors as the "Life-Urging Judge," also arrived at the pier.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that someone in the government office had tipped off Leader Hong; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have come so quickly.

Hong Baoya was over fifty years old and loved to worship Buddha and chant scriptures. He also constantly played with a string of sarira in his hand, which was said to have been snatched from a temple.

People all say that those who chant Buddha have the most peaceful minds, but when he saw that not a single gang member could be seen at the pier he had painstakingly managed, Leader Hong was so angry that his hands trembled!

Arriving at the storied boat that had already sunk into the water, Hong Baoya rudely pushed aside the clerks inspecting the scene, then grabbed Lady Jin, who was in a trance, from her seat and asked which enemy had wiped out his old nest.

Was it the Huainan Salt Gang, or the Baijiang water bandits? It couldn't be those softies from the Linhe Guild...

At this time, Lady Jin's skirt and trousers were already soaked. Her body was limp, and her speech was chaotic, "I am not the wife of Leader Jin. My husband owed a lot of silver gambling, and he only let me accompany guests. I don't know anything. That person said he was a Guardian of the Heavenly Heart Sect, there were many fierce ghosts, my ears hurt so much..."

Hong Baoya felt his brain ache from listening. He simply asked:

"I ask you, what did that person look like?"

"Thick eyebrows and big eyes, like a farmer, wearing a theatrical costume, like a general on stage, but I don't think he is human, and Mr. Ling is not human either. He must be a ghost, they must all be ghosts!"

Lady Jin's spirit was completely deranged. She sat on the ground, covering her ears. The tinnitus in her mind was getting more and more severe, and paper figures seemed to be floating before her eyes.

She felt as if she had been targeted by ghosts...

Looking at Lady Jin, who was so scared she had become incontinent, Hong Baoya only felt annoyed in his heart.

If there really were ghosts, could you still be alive now?

Outside the storied boat, just as Hong Baoya was fuming, the sound of fast horses' hooves suddenly came from not far away.

He turned his head to look. The people coming were flying the flag of the Tai'an Escort Agency, and these people were all holding sharp weapons; one look and you could tell they were coming with ill intent.

Seeing this, County Magistrate Dong frowned. Just as he was about to step forward to question and drive them away, more vast crowds of people approached.

It was the people of the Linhe Guild, Fourth Master Li, Fifth Master Huang, and several other managers.

Seeing this posture, it was clearly an attempt to beat a dog that had fallen into the water.

"Lord Dong is here. What do you want to do?"

Two fists are no match for four hands, not to mention that these people had come out in full force. Hong Baoya even saw many acquaintances—they were martial masters from the Linhe Martial Arts Hall.

The person who spent a lot of money to hire these martial masters was Second Master Feng.

The pier was secondary to Second Master Feng; what was important was that he valued rules. Those who mixed in the capital's circles valued this the most.

County Magistrate Dong's scolding words reached his lips and were silently swallowed back.

With him as the leader, the Linhe officials and constables tacitly put away their weapons, intending to clear the space and come back to clean up after the matter was over.

Hong Baoya said in shock and anger, "County Magistrate Dong, I am a citizen of Linhe, and you are an official of the imperial court. These villains are blatantly bullying people before your eyes. How can you sit idly by?"

County Magistrate Dong glanced at Hong Baoya, thinking, how do you have the face to say such things?

When it comes to killing and arson, has your Jinmen Gang done any less?

Now that the knife is in someone else's hand and you have become the fish and meat, you've suddenly remembered to uphold justice.

Seeing County Magistrate Dong take his men to the distance and then, as if nothing had happened, stand there chatting with his subordinates, looking like he was watching the fun, Hong Baoya felt stifled.

"Brothers, let's sit down and talk about anything. There's no need to resort to weapons..."

Before Hong Baoya could finish speaking, Xie Yunyan, the young proprietor of the Tai'an Escort Agency, raised his long spear and led a group of bodyguards to charge over.

When the fighting at the pier was almost over, Zhao Zhonghe tsked and said, "There are bodies this time, so Brother Lingyuan didn't make the trip in vain."

Beside him, County Magistrate Dong worried, "I hope these people don't start fighting again because of the pier. Constable Zhao, go quickly and ask Martial Magistrate Wu to bring the garrison soldiers over to assist in pacifying..."

This night, the various forces and people in Linhe were busy, but in the Linhe ward, the culprit was strolling along the street as usual.

At the fifth watch, the golden rooster crowed three times.

At this time, there were still residual lamps in the ward, and with the help of the hazy dawn, one could vaguely see the outlines of the market buildings.

On the street of the Linhe vegetable market, early-rising shopkeepers and clerks opened their doors. Some splashed water to sweep, some moved tables, chairs, and shelves to the door, and the breakfast shops were diligently wiping tables and chairs with rags.

Xu Qing weighed some glutinous rice for Jin Luan, and on the way, he met a medicine seller from Xijingshan, so he bought two gourds of live scorpions and centipedes.

The quality of these poisonous insects was ordinary and not suitable for refining the "Thousand Insect Gu." If one wanted to cultivate a truly powerful Gu King, it was best to choose insects with domineering toxicity or special abilities.

Such as the Ice Crystal Silkworm and Heart-Sealing Insect of the Northern Territory, the Bone-Eroding Insect and Black-Blood Bat of the Southwest, and the Dream-Catching Spider and Corpse-Eating Beetle that had appeared in the ancient Yin River path.

Let alone ordinary people, even Xu Qing felt a chill in his heart just hearing about some of these insects.

After buying food for Jin Luan, Xu Qing bought a paper bag of fried small fish for Xuanyu and used a rope net to bag a dozen tea eggs for Huang Xiaoliu.

When those laborers returned home, they still had to buy some sesame cakes and snacks to coax their wives and children.

Now that he was the head of a household and the Great Master of the Cat Immortal Hall, returning home after working outside, he naturally had to follow the custom.

At the same time.

Outside Luojing City, at the Celestial Master Mansion on Mount Jingshi.

The dawn was breaking. At this time, the Qi of heaven and earth was subtle, most suitable for practitioners to concentrate and breathe.

Therefore, every time at this hour, the disciples and Daoists in the temple would rise early to welcome that wisp of clear Qi.

Today was the tenth day of fasting. When the bell in the temple rang, the contemporary Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Mansion went to the main hall to burn incense and fast according to custom.

However, when the Celestial Master arrived at the Tianshou Hall, he found the hall-guarding boy leaning against the desk, still snoring like thunder.

The Old Celestial Master frowned slightly and looked up at the offering table, only to see that one of the longevity lamps placed in the hall had gone out at some point.

Looking at the name engraved on the lamp tablet, it was exactly the thirty-second generation spirit child of the Celestial Master Mansion, Ling Yangzi.

The Old Celestial Master was shocked in his heart. He hurriedly reached out and patted the lamp-guarding boy awake, shouting, "As a person who has left the secular world, how can you be so sleepy? I ask you, when did Ling Yangzi's longevity lamp go out?"

The boy was instantly wide awake and stammered, "Disciple did not notice and does not know when Senior Brother Ling Yangzi's longevity lamp went out, but it was perfectly fine yesterday..."

The Old Celestial Master was so angry that he flicked his sleeves and left. Before walking out of the Tianshou Hall, the Celestial Master's words came, "Today your senior brother has died. From now on, you will chant scriptures for Ling Yangzi for three months to help him be reborn."

After leaving the side hall, the Old Celestial Master muttered to himself. When he arrived at the main hall, the Celestial Master reached out and summoned, and the precious mirror placed in the hand of the First Celestial Master's statue flew into his hand.

"Taiyin illuminates the secluded, Profound Yin captures the soul, gold and wood as bones, water and fire shape the form, eight-direction mighty spirits, decree to manifest—"

The Old Celestial Master formed seals and chanted. The precious mirror left by the First Celestial Master suddenly began to hum and tremble. The next moment, spider-web-like cracks appeared on the mirror.

In the cracks, green Qi and light flowed out continuously. In just a moment, the mirror, which had been flowing with precious light, completely became a dilapidated and useless object.

The Old Celestial Master's eyelids twitched, and he looked at the precious mirror in his hand with incomparable heartache.

The precious mirror, passed down for dozens of generations, had been so easily destroyed in his hands.

The Old Celestial Master put the broken mirror into his bosom with a gloomy face. Then he took out a cinnabar talisman pen, wrote Ling Yangzi's birth date on the talisman paper, and then drew a divination rune for tracking the murderer under the birth date.

After everything was done, the Old Celestial Master pointed at the talisman paper, and green flames immediately sprang up.

When the talisman paper burned out, a line of text appeared on the desk where the talisman paper was placed.

"Do not pry into heavenly secrets!"

The Old Celestial Master frowned slightly. Just as he was pondering this sentence, thick dark clouds suddenly gathered over the main hall of the Celestial Master Mansion.

"..."

The Old Celestial Master looked up abruptly. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky without warning, piercing through the main hall and striking directly at him!

The rumbling thunder echoed through Mount Jingshi and spread throughout the capital.

When the thunder subsided, in the main hall with a large hole, there was a scorched mark, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt paper money...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 147 =====