Chapter 196: Case Within a Case

"Bai Longmiao?!"

Seeing this temple, Company Commander Qin's face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver, and he gritted his teeth: "Kuxin, I was almost fooled by you bald donkey; do it, go in and take the person!"

Perhaps having sensed something, in broad daylight, the temple gate was already locked tight.

Bang!

Several soldiers stepped forward and kicked it hard.

Seeing they couldn't kick it open, they went to the courtyard walls on both sides, helped each other, and climbed up.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Crossbow arrows shot over, and several soldiers were hit and fell immediately.

"Dog thieves!"

This Company Commander Qin was also brave; after an angry curse, he rode out and charged straight toward the courtyard wall.

Just as he was about to crash into it, he suddenly pulled the reins.

Neigh!

The warhorse neighed instantly and stood upright.

And he, using this force, leaped up and flipped over the courtyard wall directly.

Just as he landed, crossbow arrows shot over.

But this Company Commander Qin was clearly also an expert; as he landed, he rolled to the side, his heavy armor seeming to be no obstacle to him at all.

He dodged the arrows and crossbow bolts, stared intently, and saw several people guarding the main hall entrance, including both monks and people dressed as ordinary commoners.

There were about seven or eight of them, some holding knives, some holding crossbows.

Crossbows were extremely laborious to string.

After killing several soldiers and failing to ambush the Company Commander, the crossbows were already empty, and several people were using their feet to string them.

"Die!"

The Company Commander shouted angrily, holding his broadsword and charging out straight away.

Seeing this, these thieves were not panicked at all; instead, fierce light appeared in everyone's eyes.

"Kill this imperial eagle dog!"

The leading monk shouted, also holding a knife and charging out. With two others cooperating on the side, three knives slashed at the Company Commander simultaneously.

Company Commander Qin was also fearless, blocking with his broadsword, while his body rose and fell, his footsteps like the wind, as if walking on a swaying large ship.

After deflecting the three knives, he turned and swept, instantly cutting off one person's lower leg, and then followed up with a horizontal strike, "Clang, clang," blocking the long knife attacking from behind.

A side kick landed squarely on another thief's chest.

That thief flew out, rolled three times on the ground, and spat out blood with a "pfft," already breathing more than he was inhaling.

"Water and Land Broadsword Technique? You are from the Cao Gang!"

Seeing this, the leading evil monk's face changed instantly.

This Water and Land Broadsword Technique was rumored to originate from the Taihu water bandits and later became widely spread because it was extremely practical.

One path was the water boat broadsword technique, and one path was the land broadsword technique; combined, they formed the Water and Land Broadsword Technique.

The saying "Righteousness first for rivers, lakes, and seas; broadsword as the courage for water and land travel" refers to this Water and Land Broadsword Technique.

It's hard to say about other places, but in the Yunyang Prefecture area, the people of the Cao Gang practiced it the most and were the most proficient.

Company Commander Qin didn't refute when he heard this, just gave a cold laugh, his blade momentum becoming even fiercer.

At the same time, other soldiers had also climbed over the wall and opened the temple gate from the inside, and a group of soldiers swarmed in instantly.

Swish! Swish, swish!

Some people directly drew bows and shot arrows.

Those shooting arrows were archers who practiced daily in the army; although they couldn't be called divine archers, at this distance, they hit whatever they aimed at.

Immediately, several bandits were hit in the legs and fell.

Seeing this, the leading monk gritted his teeth, reached out to block several arrows with his knife, and seeing the Company Commander's broadsword stabbing over, he didn't dodge at all and charged forward.

With a "squelch," the broadsword pierced directly into his abdomen.

"Die together!"

This monk didn't dodge or evade, but instead roared through gritted teeth, charged forward violently, letting the broadsword pierce through him, and hugged the Company Commander tightly.

Subsequently, he pressed down violently with the force.

He didn't know what mechanism was hidden in his chest, but Company Commander Qin only heard the sound of porcelain breaking, and his face changed drastically.

But it was too late to react; flames ignited on both of them, which was some kind of phosphorus fire mixed with grease.

The flames were raging, thick smoke rolling; Company Commander Qin screamed and kicked the thief away, rolling frantically on the ground.

Others also hurriedly came up to help extinguish the fire.

However, the fire was extremely fierce and could not be extinguished at all.

Before long, the Company Commander stopped moving and was gradually burned into charcoal.

And those bandits hit by arrows were also ruthless people; seeing they couldn't escape, they all raised their knives and slit their own throats.

The temple fell silent instantly, with only raging flames and corpses all over the ground.

The soldiers looked at each other, fear rising in everyone's eyes.

Shangjin City was a place where dragons and snakes mingled; they had dealt with many people from the martial world, but this was the first time they had seen such fierce people who didn't fear death.

At the same time, Li Yan and the others also received the news.

"Company Commander Qin is dead!"

County Commandant Guo's voice was sharp, his face pale, and he muttered: "It's over, it's over, the matter has blown up now."

Seeing Li Yan frown, he said with a bitter face: "That Bai Longmiao was built by the people of Shangjin, originally used to worship the Dragon King and calm floods. Later, it fell into disrepair."

"A few years ago, a monk named Kuxin came to stay, raised funds, and renovated the Bai Longmiao. We thought he was a high monk of the Dao, and even invited him to examine the corpse before..."

In fact, there was one thing he didn't say.

This monk Kuxin not only used the temple to collect wealth but also had close dealings with them; now, the black pot probably couldn't be thrown off.

Sure enough, bad news came one after another.

A secret passage was found at the back of the temple, and the abbot of the temple, Monk Kuxin, had already escaped through the secret passage and disappeared without a trace.

But the gold, silver, and treasures lost from Squire Hu's house were all found.

Sha Lifei naturally didn't care about the death of this Company Commander and asked somewhat puzzled: "Strange, these people are ruthless, know powerful evil arts, wiped out a whole family, and made such a big scene, just to rob a local tycoon?"

It's no wonder he found it strange; the matter was suspicious everywhere.

If they knew such sorcery, they wouldn't even need to show their faces; they could just directly bewitch the local tycoon and have him hand over the treasures; why kill?

"Robbing wealth is just to cover people's eyes!"

Li Yan was thoughtful, then said: "Everyone, follow me."

After saying that, he led everyone to the backyard.

This Squire Hu was the richest man in Shangjin County, so the house was naturally built in a grand style, and there was a small garden in the backyard, which not only had a pond but also a small rockery.

Li Yan walked around the rockery, pinched the Yang Seal again, took a deep breath, and then pointed to a place and said: "There is a secret room inside; dig it up and see; that group of people must have come for this object."

"Quick, do it!"

County Commandant Guo hurriedly called people to dig.

Constables and soldiers went into action together, and soil flew everywhere.

Soon, a secret room was dug out two meters underground; inside the secret room, there were only two boxes, and nothing else.

County Commandant Guo hurriedly stepped forward to open them.

Inside the boxes were oilcloth wrappings.

He used a knife to cut one open, and things fell out with a clatter.

Most of the things that fell on the ground were only the size of a coin, pitch-black and smooth on the surface, with edges and corners, all looking like trilobites.

Coal essence!

Li Yan's eyes lit up; he didn't expect it to be this thing.

"What is this?"

County Commandant Guo picked one up, full of confusion.

"Let me see!"

Li Yan didn't say a word, stepped forward, and grabbed several.

Sure enough, waves of good fortune were absorbed by the Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen.

He felt happy in his heart, but his face remained expressionless.

The origin of this thing was told to him by Zhao the Donkey.

Coal essence often gestates near coal mines, sometimes transforming and emerging from the ground, with its butt glowing, flying around like a firefly. If someone accidentally touches it and disturbs it, it will dissipate its good fortune and explode at the same time.

And this thing is also an important ingredient for new-style gunpowder!

Of course, it has another characteristic, which is that the good fortune dissipates very slowly; when Zhao the Donkey found it, he kept it on his body for a month or two, and he could still absorb it.

And this batch of coal essence had clearly just been obtained not long ago, and the good fortune was still quite abundant; Li Yan remained calm and rummaged through the boxes with both hands.

Soon, he had absorbed all the good fortune from the coal essence in the two boxes.

Although the good fortune contained in these things was small, only a faint wisp, with such a large quantity, it had completely repaired the Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen.

Back on Mount Huashan, he didn't know the details and had stubbornly resisted that White Emperor's good fortune; although he later gained considerable benefits, his Great Luo Dala Dala Fa Shen had also lost a soul fire and was shattered.

At this moment, it had been repaired.

Of course, the soul fire had not been fully replenished.

County Commandant Guo on the side asked with anticipation: "Did Mr. Li discover anything?"

!.

Coal essence was too important, so Li Yan naturally played dumb and shook his head: "No, it's just some strange coal; I thought there was some treasure hidden."

Hearing this, County Commandant Guo felt somewhat disappointed.

Of course, he also had an idea in his heart that the group of thieves practiced evil arts to harm people, and robbing treasures was just to cover their eyes; their goal must have been these coal stones.

Also, thinking about it carefully, this Squire Hu was also a bit wrong.

It was he who introduced Monk Kuxin to everyone in the first place.

Could it be a case of black eating black?

Or, was there a bigger conspiracy!

Thinking of this, County Commandant Guo's heart beat wildly for no reason.

"Brother Yan, what exactly happened?"

Back at the inn, Sha Lifei hurriedly asked.

Li Yan didn't talk nonsense and took out the Hook Order to shake it.

Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei immediately understood that this was a Living Yin Runner mission, only Lu San on the side was still full of confusion.

Since they were already companions, Li Yan didn't hide it anymore and told them about what he, as a Living Yin Runner, had to do, and the mission he had received.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

After hearing this, Lu San scratched his head curiously.

He naturally wouldn't object; since they were together, they had to huddle together for warmth; no matter who wanted to improve their strength, the others would find ways to help.

As for the money earned, part of it was used for daily expenses, and the other part was used as funds for their cultivation.

If anyone got tired of this dangerous life and wanted to quit, they could also take their corresponding share from the funds.

This was the rule Li Yan set for the team.

He knew his own nature; to say he would establish some large organization, painstakingly plan, and engage in power struggles with others, that was absolutely impossible, and he had no interest in it.

But finding like-minded partners and forming a team to help each other, he was confident he could treat them fairly.

After finishing talking to Lu San about this, Li Yan smiled slightly, took an oilcloth package from his bosom, and handed it to Sha Lifei.

"Take it, keep it well, don't let anyone discover it."

Sha Lifei was taken aback, "Why are you taking this thing?"

Li Yan's face became serious, "This thing is called coal essence, and it can be considered a kind of heavenly treasure; more importantly, it is very likely one of the ingredients for new-style gunpowder."

"What?!"

Hearing this, Sha Lifei became energetic, took a piece of coal essence from the oilcloth package to examine it carefully, full of interest, "This thing looks like coal no matter how you look at it; can it actually be used to make gunpowder?"

As he spoke, he even wanted to take out a small knife to cut off a piece.

"Don't mess around!"

Li Yan hurriedly stopped him and shook his head: "This thing can explode; if you mess around and cause some mistake, not only will we suffer, but we will also be discovered."

"Alright."

Sha Lifei reluctantly put away the oilcloth package, then frowned and shook his head: "This matter is probably not small; since it's related to your Living Yin Runner mission and involves new-style gunpowder, the water is very deep."

"Yeah."

Li Yan also rubbed his eyebrows, feeling somewhat worried.

He had originally wanted to use the imperial court's power to force that demon out; as long as they met, he would directly summon the Yin God to capture it.

He didn't expect it to lead to the big trouble of new-style gunpowder.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Just then, Lu San spoke up again, hesitating: "I just heard that the garrison soldiers caught a lot of foxes; I went to take a look, and they have been wailing, saying that their ancestor on the mountain was harmed by someone."

"If those foxes are released, I might be able to communicate with them and help find the person."

"Oh?"

Li Yan became interested, "Can these foxes be so obedient?"

He naturally had no doubts about Lu San's words; when they first met, he saw Lu San surrounded by foxes.

He was just curious; Lu San's meaning clearly was that he could have foxes act as secret agents in the mountains.

Lu San nodded: "Foxes are naturally full of spirituality; they are well-versed in the mountains, not only familiar with the forest but also able to communicate with some spiritual things, and even Yin ghosts."

"I was able to discover the struggle between the Mile Sect and the Commandant's Office because foxes reported it, and Gudu was also stolen back with their help."

"That's great!"

Li Yan smiled: "As long as these creatures don't violate taboos, it's not bad to have a good relationship with them."

"However, there's no need to rush this matter; the government officials have to rely on foxes to find that evil monk, so they will definitely take good care of them, and if I'm not mistaken, someone will come knocking on our door soon..."

Li Yan thought the Commandant's Office would be the first to come.

After all, this thing involved new-style gunpowder; County Commandant Guo might not know it, but once it was reported, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Commandant's Office.

But he didn't expect that the first one to come knocking would be someone else.

Knock, knock, knock!

Less than half an hour after returning to the inn, the door was knocked.

Li Yan frowned, why is it him?

Sha Lifei hurriedly stepped forward and pulled the door open, only to see a middle-aged man in a green shirt standing outside, with a thin face, yellowish skin, a straight figure, and two men following behind him.

It was exactly Han Kun, the leader of the Xianyang Cao Gang.

"Senior Han, how have you been?"

Although Li Yan was confused, he still stood up, smiled, and cupped his hands.

He had dealt with this Han Kun; back at Manchuan Pass, it was the other party who found someone to help, and then he found Lu San.

Han Kun also smiled, shook his head, and said: "Little Brother Li, you have really opened my eyes; I felt you were no ordinary person from the start, but I didn't expect you to have made such a great name for yourself in such a short time."

The name of Xiong Baodong of the Huoxiong Gang was resounding throughout Guanzhong; fighting against the Five Elements alone, even the Chang'an Cao Gang didn't want to provoke him too much, so one could imagine his fierceness.

But Li Yan had directly beheaded him.

Hearing this news, Han Kun couldn't believe it.

You have to know that half a year ago, this Li Yan was still fighting to the death with the younger generation of the Zhou family, but now he could behead a master of the Transformation Realm; it was likely he used sorcery...

Of course, he wouldn't say it explicitly.

After some pleasantries, Li Yan asked directly: "Senior Han, let's not beat around the bush; I don't know what brings you here..."

"I have resigned from the position of leader of the Xianyang Cao Gang." Han Kun smiled, "I am about to go to Yunyang Prefecture to serve as an elder in the gang."

"Congratulations, Senior." Li Yan hurriedly cupped his hands to offer congratulations.

Being a leader in a branch was like being a local emperor, but the status was average; now going to the main altar to be an elder, the power was raised by a notch.

"It's just something that couldn't be helped."

Han Kun shook his head and smiled, then his expression became solemn, "I just came to ask about something; does Brother Li know who did the Hu family case?"

Li Yan was taken aback: "Why is Senior Han interested in this?"

Han Kun looked around, smiled helplessly: "To tell you the truth, the deceased Company Commander Qin is my eldest disciple!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 197 =====