Chapter 655: Xu Fu

Xu Fu's lost bamboo slips!

Seeing this record, everyone's heart gave a jolt.

In the fake Underworld of the Qin Palace in Luoyang, Li Yan had obtained a set of Qin bamboo slips from an old zombie. After being identified by "Jin Jin Yanfeng" of the Ghost Market, they were confirmed to be written in the ancient "Golden Magpie Script," penned by Xu Fu before he set off overseas in search of immortality.

He had left behind three scrolls of bamboo slips, which respectively recorded the path to immortality, the secrets of the fake Underworld, and the restrictions of Luoyang.

They had already broken the "fake Underworld" and the "Luoyang restrictions," so those were of no further use.

Only this "path to immortality" was something Li Yan had been gathering information on.

As for the so-called "seeking immortality," they already knew what it was about, and the overseas immortal mountains were also a delusion.

But Xu Fu was very likely also a member of Zhao Changsheng's organization.

The "path to immortality" he left behind was clearly not that simple.

Now that there were clues, and with a tiger demon stealing, how could everyone not be on high alert?

"What is the background of this 'Baohua Bookstore'?"

Wang Daoxuan hurriedly asked the clerk beside him.

The clerk had already been taken care of by the Chen family and knew that these people before him had significant backgrounds, so he dared not be negligent. He cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the Daoist, Baohua Bookstore is right here in our Zhang Qiu Town, specializing in engraving and selling books..."

Listening to his explanation, everyone understood the reason.

Although Zhang Qiu Town was a hub for the Grand Canal with developed commerce, it was, after all, located in Luzhou and not far from the Kong Mansion, so naturally, the literary atmosphere was rich.

Not only was there a Confucian Temple and Anping Academy in the town, but there was also the Baohua Bookstore, which specialized in operating books.

This "Baohua Bookstore" had been around for quite some time; it was established when the Great Xuan Dynasty was founded and had already existed for a hundred years.

The proprietor behind the bookstore is also a local great scholar, and he has a close relationship with the Kong family.

They not only sold books, but the woodblock New Year prints they engraved were also sold along the canal to Beijing, Tianjin, and various places in the northern frontier.

High-ranking officials and literati passing through the canal also often stopped to participate in literary gatherings.

They could be considered local gentry and celebrities.

"Uncle Fu, could you help introduce us? We want to ask him about something."

Wang Daoxuan looked at the old steward, Chen Fu, beside him.

"This..."

Chen Fu's face showed hesitation. "Daoist, can we talk about this after we go back?"

Seeing his expression, Wang Daoxuan understood immediately. "That's fine."

…………

"The proprietor of Baohua Bookstore is named Meng Yicheng."

Back at the residence, the old steward Chen Fu immediately explained the reason.

"To tell you the truth, my Chen family and the Meng family have a history."

"The Master's father was once a long-term laborer for the Meng family. Later, when the Master succeeded in martial arts and established this family business, the people of the Meng family looked down on him in every way. When the younger generation discussed it, they even made sarcastic remarks, and the Master didn't want to bother with them."

"Although there was no conflict, they didn't associate with each other..."

"So that's how it is."

Wang Daoxuan frowned slightly after hearing this, but he wasn't surprised.

Just as there are poor people who get jealous when they see others succeed, there are rich people who are dissatisfied when they see poor people turn their lives around.

Since that was the case, it wouldn't be appropriate for the Chen residence to come forward.

Who should they find then...

Just as he was pondering, a member of the Boatmen Gang ran in from outside the door, panting, "Uncle Fu, something big has happened!"

"Baohua Bookstore is on fire, I heard quite a few people in the Meng family died!"

……

"Fire! Fire!"

The town watchman beat a broken gong and shouted hoarsely.

It was still daytime, but thick smoke was billowing, and the surroundings were in chaos.

Baohua Bookstore was on Danqing Street, surrounded by shops selling various calligraphy, paintings, and writing supplies. Because it was a canal hub, they all built warehouses to store goods.

The shopkeepers of the surrounding stores were sweating profusely with anxiety, but most were directing their assistants to isolate the fire to prevent it from spreading and burning down their entire livelihoods.

There were also commoners putting out the fire under the direction of yamen runners, but the streets were crowded and chaotic. Basin after basin of water was poured on, but the fire not only didn't go out, it was like adding oil to the flames, burning even more fiercely.

The carved wooden windows crackled in the raging flames.

The century-old pine beams were licked charred and curled by the tongues of fire.

"Let go of me!"

The elderly master engraver cried and shouted, wanting to rush into the fire, but was firmly held down by five younger men.

The thousands of book blocks his three generations had engraved were turning into charcoal in the fire...

When Wang Daoxuan and the others arrived, this was the scene they saw.

"Uncle Fu, what should we do?"

The Boatmen Gang member hurriedly asked.

The conflict between the Chen family and the Meng family was known to everyone in Zhang Qiu Town.

"They may have lost the benevolence of the Confucian school, but we cannot lose the righteousness of the martial world."

Uncle Fu gave the order without hesitation, "Put out the fire!"

At the command, signal flares shot into the sky, and numerous Boatmen Gang men rushed over from the wharf, bare-chested.

The Boatmen Gang had plenty of manpower, and their actions were far more organized than those of the commoners. Canal boats flying the "Righteousness" flag lay directly across the river, and dozens of water buckets were lined up along the riverbank like a long dragon.

Bucket after bucket of water was poured continuously onto the bookstore.

And the people from the yamen finally pushed over the water-pumping carts.

With both sides working together, the fire was finally brought under control.

But strangely, this fire was like a stubborn plaster; every time it was about to be extinguished, it would always reignite in the wind, and a nauseating charred stench would waft out.

"It's rock oil!"

After smelling it, Sha Lifei's expression changed immediately, and he shouted loudly, "Quick, use dirt to cover it!"

Chen San had given orders when he left, and the brothers of the Boatmen Gang were very obedient.

A large amount of dirt, stone, and mud was scattered into the fire.

After a while, the fire was finally extinguished.

The century-old glorious Baohua Bookstore was now nothing but scorched earth emitting blue smoke.

"Daoist, this fire isn't right, it was set by someone on purpose!"

Sha Lifei leaned close to Wang Daoxuan and whispered.

Wang Daoxuan nodded with a solemn expression and whispered a few words to Uncle Fu beside him.

Uncle Fu immediately communicated with the yamen runners and took the Baohua Bookstore assistants to the Meng residence.

The Chen family had put out the fire regardless of past grievances, so the Meng family naturally couldn't pretend to be blind.

Moreover, they couldn't afford to care about such things anymore.

Inside the Meng residence, it was also a mess.

The servants' faces were pale, the sound of the maids' crying could be heard faintly, and the ground was covered in blood.

"Speak, what exactly happened?"

The yamen runners in the town were interrogating them.

"I... I don't know either."

The servant trembled and replied, "The Master was hosting guests today. Scholars and talents from ten miles around all came to hold a poetry gathering in the courtyard."

"Suddenly, a strange wind came, and frost condensed on the ground. Scholar Zhou from Baigou Town immediately went crazy, directly grabbing the Master and demanding some bamboo slips. We went to catch him, but this person suddenly had infinite strength and even killed several people with a backhand..."

After hearing this, Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei didn't say a word and quickly entered the house.

"Hey, hey, you..."

Just as the yamen runner wanted to stop them, Uncle Fu hurriedly went up to explain.

After Sha Lifei took out his Daoist credentials, the yamen runners no longer blocked them.

After the battle at the Chengdu Prince's Mansion, there was another benefit.

The Daoist credentials of everyone in the Twelve Yuan Chen had all been changed to black.

This was a privilege only enjoyed by the orthodox Mystic Sects; if they encountered evil things harming people, they could handle it directly.

When needed, they could also request assistance from the surrounding yamen and garrisons.

The Meng family was a three-courtyard residence with a strong scholarly atmosphere.

Several people arrived at the main hall, "Jiefang Studio," but saw that it was a mess inside.

Red blood and black pine soot ink formed strange patterns on the blue brick floor.

Several scholar corpses lay on the ground, all in a reverse-bow posture.

Their heads were twisted backward, as if they had been forcibly twisted by someone, and their pale faces still wore ferocious smiles.

The most obvious thing was the roof beam.

It was covered in frost, and the huge tiger claw prints had not yet dissipated...

"This guy is crazy?"

Sha Lifei was a bit strange. "Before at Jingyang Ridge, he didn't harm human lives and tried his best to hide, so why is he so bold now, daring to commit murder in broad daylight after breaking into a town..."

They were not people who would shout to kill upon meeting demons; they even had some non-human friends.

Like the Zouyu of Shennongjia, even if they couldn't communicate through language, they could live together peacefully.

But if he did this, no matter the reason, it would be a fight to the death.

Even if they didn't take action, the Law Enforcement Hall wouldn't let it go.

Wang Daoxuan was thoughtful. "It seems that thing didn't succeed. As for why he committed murder, we can only interrogate him after catching him."

Sha Lifei whispered, "What should we do now?"

Wang Daoxuan looked at the corpse of Master Meng, who had died with his eyes wide open.

"Go back and get the things, set up the altar."

"While the three souls haven't dissipated yet, I will summon the souls to ask questions!"

………

There was no one in charge of the Meng family now, and the yamen runners were very cooperative.

Soon, the Dharma altar was set up.

Wang Daoxuan ordered people to carry over an elm wood Eight Immortals table, placed three victory coins at the table corners to signify the "Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Man," and chose indigo coarse hemp for the tablecloth to secretly match the image of "Blue Sky Suppressing Evil."

Summoning souls to ask questions was generally something those who played with the underworld were more proficient in, and it had to be at the Hour of the Rat (midnight).

Wang Daoxuan was better at warding off disasters and praying for blessings.

But he had a treasure in his hand.

On the altar, a brass incense burner was in the center, a Mysterious Turtle Shell Compass was on the right, and a strange lamp was placed on the left, made of rhinoceros horn, filled with blood-colored lamp oil.

This was the treasure "Rhinoceros Horn Lamp" obtained from Tongtian Tongtian San Niang of the Ghost Sect when they were in Ezhou.

This treasure was made of Tongtian rhinoceros horn and could see through the netherworld.

To avoid scaring people, everyone else, including the yamen runners, was driven out.

Fearing that the spirits would be scattered by the sunlight, the entire main hall was covered with black cloth.

"Wandering souls, where do you stay? Three souls return early, seven spirits arrive. Riverside roads, wild fields, temples, villages, palaces, prisons, tombs, forests, false frights, strange occurrences, lost true souls, now I invite the Kitchen God of the household..."

As Wang Daoxuan chanted the "Soul-Binding Curse," a gloomy wind rose in the hall.

He glanced lightly, flipped the peach wood sword, and pointed at the candle flame on the rhinoceros horn lamp.

In an instant, the entire main hall was filled with a miserable green light, as if they had arrived in the netherworld.

And in some corners, there appeared the phantom images of scholars covered in blood, standing with their hands hanging down.

These were the victims who had just died in the hall.

This was also the reason why Wang Daoxuan didn't dare to waste time.

If it dragged on for too long, these spirits would either enter the netherworld or dissipate.

By then, they would only be able to ask a professional underworld expert for help.

The spirit of Master Meng was also among them.

He stood beside his corpse, with his back to everyone, motionless.

In this situation, ordinary people would probably be scared to death.

But for everyone here, it was nothing.

Even Sha Lifei, who used to be an ordinary person, was a ruthless man who had crawled out of the Corpse Forest.

On the contrary, they didn't even dare to breathe, fearing that they would scare these spirits away.

And Wang Daoxuan continued to pace the steps, then picked up the cinnabar pen on the altar, chanting incantations while writing strange characters on yellow paper.

This was called "Tian" script, also known as Ghost Script.

Simply put, it was a language for communicating with spirits.

After writing a few lines and drawing talismans, Wang Daoxuan flicked his peach wood sword, ignited the Ghost Script on the candle flame, and pointed sharply at Master Meng's spirit.

Whoosh~

The rolling blue smoke instantly merged into the spirit's body.

And Master Meng, who had his back to them, slowly raised his arm and pointed to the left.

Wang Daoxuan gave a signal, and Sha Lifei and Wu Ba immediately set off.

Just as they passed through the small door on the left of the main hall, Master Meng's spirit appeared again in the dark corridor, still with his back to them, but his hand pointed to the right.

Sha Lifei and the other were not surprised and continued to follow.

Soon, they arrived at the study in the backyard.

Master Meng's spirit appeared again, pointing his arm upward.

"I'll do it!"

Wu Ba didn't say a word, exerted force with both legs, soared into the air, his hands like iron hooks, directly latching onto the roof beam, and then knocked left and right.

Bang, bang, bang!

Soon, he found the place where the sound was abnormal.

He raised his hand and struck, and with a crack, he directly split the roof beam.

At the same time, an iron box fell from the air.

It turned out that this roof beam had been hollowed out, the iron box placed inside, and then sealed by skilled craftsmen with wooden skin, making it impossible to see that something was hidden inside.

Sha Lifei hugged the iron box and quickly returned to the main hall.

Wang Daoxuan removed the altar and opened the iron box.

Inside, it was indeed a bamboo slip, with the same texture as the one they had obtained before.

"It really is here!"

Wang Daoxuan looked at Master Meng's corpse, stroked his beard, and shook his head. "The ancestors of this Meng family must have been reluctant to part with the treasure book and wanted to gain some fame, so they used a fake to replace it, but it left disaster for their descendants..."

"Is this the thing?"

Sha Lifei hurriedly asked.

When they left Luoyang, "Jin Jin Yanfeng" had already passed the Golden Magpie Script to Wang Daoxuan.

This thing could only be understood by a Daoist.

Wang Daoxuan looked at it for a few moments, and his expression became solemn.

"That's right, it is indeed the 'Chapter on Seeking Immortality' left by Xu Fu."

"That tiger demon was able to find the Meng family, so there must be someone in the city acting as an inside agent."

"Let's go back to the Chen residence and set up a trap to catch the demon!"

…………

In the darkness, Li Yan's eyelids moved slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He formed seals with both hands, and his chest heaved continuously.

Whoosh~

Just by exhaling a breath, a violent wind suddenly blew in the room.

After a long period of meditation, he had finally remodeled his visualization space.

So, while his cultivation might not have increased much, it was much more stable.

Don't underestimate this point; how far one can go in practicing the "Luo Feng Scripture" might depend on this change.

Thinking of this, Li Yan looked at the bronze vertical-eye Nuo mask beside him.

But just like before, it had become ordinary again, with no aura revealed.

Li Yan felt slightly disappointed and shook his head slightly.

He had a vague guess.

Wanting to peek into the Great Luo Dala Fajie was not that simple.

First, he needed the help of Erlang Zhenjun, and second, he had to visualize the Great Luo Dala Fajie, with both sides resonating through the power of the bronze mask to sense the situation over there with his mind.

This matter carried great risk; if discovered, it would be a violation of heavenly law.

He didn't know when the next time would be...

After putting away the bronze Nuo mask, Li Yan looked out the window.

Without realizing it, it was already pitch black outside.

However, Li Yan twitched his nose, frowned, and quickly pushed the door open to go out.

He saw Lu San holding the little white fox, having moved a stool to sit outside the door.

And Sha Lifei was squatting in the dark corner of the roof, holding his divine fire gun.

"What happened?" Li Yan asked.

"Xu Fu's bamboo slips have been found..."

Lu San briefly explained the situation and whispered, "The Daoist suspects that the tiger demon is backed by people from Jianmu, so he set a trap to catch it."

"Hmm, it's good that I woke up in time."

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, greeted everyone, and then lay in ambush in the room.

However, after the Hour of the Rat passed, the tiger demon still hadn't appeared.

Instead, Chen San, the Boatmen Gang helmsman who had gone out to investigate intelligence, returned in a hurry.

"That 'Master Landu' Kong Hui has been found!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 656 =====