Chapter 704: Imperial Capital in Full Search

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Fingertips tapped the purple sandalwood armrest, muffled echoes like heavy hammers striking a drum.

Luo Gongsheng felt his own heart thudding in sync.

“Disciple… disciple…”

He wanted to plead his case, but suddenly felt utterly drained.

He had left his master years ago, revering those above him as gods.

Over the years, he had gradually seized control of the Iron Anchor Society and climbed into the Yan Prince’s circle, commanding influence throughout the capital.

But now he realized that all power and wealth meant nothing before this master—fragile as porcelain.

Finally, Huo Yin spoke slowly, his voice cold as frozen iron.

“The Yan Prince is impulsive and lax in discipline; disaster will come sooner or later. Stay away from him from now on.”

“As for Wang She’s affair, you bear undeniable blame. Go to the Xuan Sacrificial Priest and accept your punishment.”

“Leave. Never come back again.”

His tone was calm, but to Luo Gongsheng it sounded like thunder.

He knew Wang She’s alliance with the demons was now fully buried—but so was his own place in the sect.

Without Huo Yin’s protective hide, trouble would come one after another.

He wanted to beg for mercy, but staring at Huo Yin’s cold face, he could not utter a word—only gritted his teeth, banged his head hard on the ground several times, and turned to leave.

A hundred paces from the gate, he turned back to glance at the small courtyard, a spark of anger rising in his chest, muttering:

“If you’re this heartless, then let me show you—I, Luo Gongsheng, can hold my own without you!”

With that, he strode off with his men.

Huo Yin inside heard every low word clearly, but ignored it, calmly reading his book.

Soon, Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers rode up, dismounted, and knocked on the gate, offering a token and silk scroll with both hands.

“Grand Commander Huo, His Majesty has ordered!”

Huo Yin took it, glanced briefly, and said, “Understood.”

He rose, pushed open the door, and returned inside.

When he emerged again, he wore a fitted short tunic and carried a large ox-horn bow on his back.

Swish!

The soldier’s vision blurred—the man was gone, leaving only a faint footprint on the blue brick ground.

The soldier looked up immediately, mouth agape.

There, high in the air, a tiny black dot had leapt onto the towering city wall…

………

Also in the southwest of the Imperial City, a three-hall mansion.

This residence blended northern architectural traits—spacious courtyards, century-old trees casting dense canopies—with Huizhou and Jiangnan water-town aesthetics: moon-gate gardens, scenery at every turn, ponds and pavilions over water.

It appeared modest, yet every detail radiated luxury.

Mansions in this southwestern quarter of the Imperial City housed nobles and royalty; due to rank and ritual, each was built with varying degrees of opulence—many were even grander than this one.

But what made this mansion unique was the abundance of overseas treasures displayed throughout.

Fine spices from the South Seas—frankincense, myrrh, camphor—ground to powder, mixed with gold leaf or colored lacquer, inlaid into massive screens depicting the “Maritime Trade Routes” or “Foreign Tributes,” placed in every main hall…

Sandalwood from Tianzhu and beyond carved into totemic pillars of exotic sea beasts, coated in lacquer for preservation, stood on either side of the courtyard…

Ivory and coral, mounted on gilded bases, formed a “Marine Immortal Mountain” landscape…

Any single item would be priceless on the open market.

The reason? This was the Fujian Merchants’ Guild—the gathering place of the Open-Sea Faction.

“This is the Folangji Academy’s navigational compass…”

A merchant in brocade robes carefully explained: “The Folangji have long dominated the seas; their seafarers are seasoned, their astrologers possess unique methods. Together with their scholars, they crafted this treasure—it not only reveals direction but also avoids storms and sea demons.”

Beside him, an elderly white-haired man walked with hands behind his back, his face gaunt, dressed in a black front-fastening shirt.

His face was speckled with age spots, appearing near death.

Yet all the wealthy merchants clustered around him with utmost caution, daring not to show the slightest disrespect.

This old man was Dong Changxing of the Beijing Bagua Sect.

One of the Ten Great Masters of Shenzhou.

Though aged, he remained a towering pillar in the martial world.

“Indeed, excellent.”

Dong Changxing's fingertip lightly traced the star chart, nodding in approval.

“Rest assured.”

The lead merchant promptly puffed out his chest: “Our trade routes are now mapped. Bagua Sect disciples aboard will sail smoothly!”

Other merchants smiled and echoed in agreement.

Storms and undercurrents were only one danger in overseas voyages; now, pirates posed the greater threat.

Ships of foreign nations were both merchant vessels and pirate craft.

Aside from firearms, what they needed most were martial experts.

The Beijing Bagua Sect had reached a bottleneck in recent years.

With Dong Changxing visibly aging, they could no longer rely on his protection—they needed new paths.

Joining the Open-Sea Faction was clearly one such path.

Thus, both sides struck a deal.

Even Dong Changxing, who had lived in seclusion for years, came out in person to oversee it.

Clearly, both parties took this collaboration seriously.

At that moment, a servant rushed over: “Report, Guild Master…”

Before he finished, a gold-uniformed soldier behind him shoved him aside.

“Master Dong, His Majesty has ordered!”

The merchants had been annoyed, but now fell silent at once.

Dong Changxing took the yellow silk scroll, glanced at it, and his cloudy pupils flashed with cold light.

“Demons ravage the capital. His Majesty commands us to act. Gentlemen, excuse me.”

“Matters of state come first—Master Dong, please attend to them.”

The merchants dared not obstruct them, quickly escorting the Bagua Sect members out of the mansion.

Not far from the gate, Dong’s eldest son frowned and asked: “Father, you haven’t entered the palace in years—why now…?”

Dong Changxing waved him off, shaking his head:

“The Dong family’s peace in the capital these years has relied on my face—and I’ve nearly used it all up.”

“A Grand Master stands above politics; if you cannot be as loyal as Huo Yin, His Majesty will always have a thorn in his heart.”

“After this mission, I will retire completely.”

“How you walk the path ahead—depends on you now…”

With that, he stepped into the Li Gong position, his figure flickering nine times in an instant, vanishing from the street…

…………

In the southern city, Wansheng Escort Agency.

In the training yard, bare-chested men wrestled stone weights, sweat steaming like smoke.

Here too stood a Grand Master: Wansheng Ying.

He was not only the founder of Wansheng Fist, but also the overall head of thirteen provinces’ escort agencies.

Both the Canal Guild and the Jinzhou Merchants’ Association enjoyed close ties with him.

Bandits and river pirates along the northern and southern waterways would avoid the “Wansheng Flag” at all costs.

In short, Wansheng Escort Agency was renowned throughout both the martial and underworld circles.

Likewise, Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers arrived with the imperial order and were led into the inner courtyard.

Soon, the overall head of Wansheng Escort Agency, Wan Sanshan, strode out, bellowing:

“Stop! Deploy ‘sign tokens’ and lock the Twenty-Four Locks!”

“Spread the word to all river bandits: if anyone lets Jianmu’s people pass—I’ll tear down their ancestral hall!”

Unlike the other two, Wansheng Escort Agency mobilized large forces at once.

Hunting demons was a chance to gain fame and glory—they would not miss it.

The three Grand Masters stationed in the capital represented different factions.

Huo Yin’s Divine Fist had always been the iron gate defending the Imperial Palace…

Dong Changxing’s Drunken Dragon Step moved like Bagua disciples, weaving among the powerful…

Wansheng Ying’s escort flags were planted across every wild corner of Shenzhou…

These three Grand Masters, once fierce in their youth, rarely interacted in daily life. Now, under imperial command, they emerged like three divine weapons drawn together…

…………

Near noon, sunlight gilded the palace’s glazed tiles with brilliant edges.

Yet through the capital’s alleys, a chilling, grim atmosphere clashed violently with the clear sky.

With the imperial order issued, the great net to hunt Jianmu’s demons tightened abruptly.

All city gates were temporarily closed, and checkpoints were set up at every intersection across the capital’s streets.

Inside the City God Temple, the incense’s heavy fragrance overwhelmed the scent of smoke and fire.

Several Daoists clad in Xuanmen ritual robes, with white hair and youthful faces, sat cross-legged atop the high altar, their demeanor calm and immovable as mountains.

They were the state advisors dispatched by the Tai Xuan Zhengjiao Sect to assist the capital.

Ordinarily, the position of state advisor was held by a revered elder of the Daoist sects.

Such as the Elder Chen Tuan, Qiu Chuji, or Master Sanfeng…

But often, these individuals had other urgent duties.

For instance, the Jade Toad of Mount Wudang had been summoned multiple times by the court, yet due to his busy affairs, he repeatedly declined.

Even so, these present “state advisors” were all outstanding masters of their respective Xuanmen schools.

Before them, on the ritual altar, lay castings resembling celestial orbits.

At the core, a massive “Tai Yi Shi Pan” hummed as it rotated.

Whenever the Daoists changed their incantations, the “suspended tallies” on the “Shi Pan” moved autonomously, without wind.

This was Tai Yi Shen Shu, said to have been created by Feng Hou under the orders of the Yellow Emperor to deploy troops against Chi You, modeled after the Nine Palaces method in the Yi Wei Gan Zhuodu. The Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of the Diviners from the Western Han already listed it as one of the seven divination arts.

By the Tang and Song dynasties, it had become a mandatory subject at the Imperial Academy, ranked equally with calendrical calculations and astronomy.

Yet only the Imperial Astronomical Bureau could construct such large-scale “Tai Yi Shi Pan” artifacts, and even then, only by harnessing incense energy to power them.

The lead state advisor, with long eyebrows, came from the Doumu Courtyard of the Tai Xuan Zhengjiao Sect, his Dao name Yuan Zai.

The Doumu Courtyard specialized in celestial phenomena and had played a major role in drafting the new calendar, excelling deeply in numerology.

Watching the Tai Yi Shi Pan rotate, his eyes narrowed slightly, his voice aged yet each word clear.

“Li Palace burns fiercely… Dui position obscure… Wu Xu direction shows faint bloodlight!”

The Xuan Sacrificial disciples standing below the altar immediately scribbled furiously, marking the directions and anomalies onto a miniature sand model of the capital nearby.

Several regions marked in cinnabar corresponded precisely to the places where Pei Zongti had sensed heavy malevolent qi.

These state advisors were not only calculating the whereabouts of Zhao Qingxu and Kong Hui—they were also monitoring and locking onto the “sha qi nodes” infected by malevolent energy.

And within the smoke rising from the incense burners beside the altar, the divine tablets of the Nine Gates’ City Gods trembled faintly.

These were the invisible “she ling” troops, already activated, ready to deploy at any moment…

…………

Near the capital’s outer streets, the scene was entirely different—grim and chilling.

The rhythmic pounding of hooves shattered the street’s stillness as elite Imperial Guard troops, clad in armor and armed with weapons, advanced.

Pei Zongti, in a crimson robe, rode at the very front.

Under his lead, the Imperial Guard surged like a steel river into the first designated zone:

A district outside Zhaoyang Gate, crowded with warehouses.

Instantly, the street entrance was sealed by heavy troops, powerful bows and crossbows strung and ready, their lethal aura freezing the air.

In black robes bearing taotie patterns, the Commandant Office’s Tiqi moved like blood-hungry hounds, splitting into dozens of groups under Luo Mingzi’s command, swiftly slipping into narrow alleys between warehouses and homes.

They not only led guard-dogs of the mountains but also drew forth specially crafted luopans for guidance.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The specially trained “Guardian Mountain Spirit Dogs,” hypersensitive to impurity, barked wildly and low.

Teams methodically searched every home, checking rooftops, cellars, and hidden wall compartments.

Any suspicious area triggered the most thorough inspection and sealing with talismans.

Experts from the Enforcement Hall followed closely behind, ready to act at any moment.

Li Yan and the Twelve Zodiacs also blended into this elite Enforcement Hall unit personally led by Luo Mingzi.

They had been invited to supervise as living yin magistrates, but given the situation, they clearly had no need to act.

It was more like watching a grand hunting drill.

“Heh, what a scene!”

Sha Li Fei, clutching his Divine Fire Gun, watched the disciplined, layered advance and couldn’t help clicking his tongue.

Long Yan gently stroked her waist pouch, calming the Guchong inside agitated by the thick sha qi, and shook her head:

“This is the true power of Great Xuan… always hidden, never displayed. I wonder what audacity the Yang family of Bozhou had.”

Li Yan nodded: “To tamper with the dragon vein—clearly the court is desperate.”

With that, his gaze turned further into the distance.

He could faintly sense three astonishing forces rapidly approaching.

Soon, the team made a discovery.

Inside the abandoned warehouse of the old canal dock, after splitting open rotten beams and pillars, they found the interior crawling with black-green tree galls.

Each gall split open, dripping pus steadily.

The sacks piled on the ground had dissolved into thick pus; dozens of corpses were dragged from between the beams.

These corpses were pierced through the crown of their heads by rust-red tree roots, fine fungal filaments growing from their eye sockets, trembling slightly in the wind.

“Tsk, this is the method of live pillar burial…”

Kuai Dayou, sucking his teeth, said, “At least ten years old—this place must have claimed many lives.”

Hearing this, Luo Mingzi immediately ordered the warehouse owner brought forward.

The fat merchant tried to lie, but after a few slaps from Commandant Office captains, he confessed the truth.

Many had indeed died here—homeless beggars who sneaked in at night.

He feared the warehouse wouldn’t rent out, so he bribed the yamen to cover it up.

“Audacious and reckless!”

The Ministry of Justice official beside him trembled with rage.

Clearly, many people would suffer today…

The discovered sites were not limited to one.

Deep in the dry well of Sweet Water Alley, after lifting the cover, a faint sound of drumming echoed.

Below, the well walls oozed sticky black blood, tracing vast blood-charms along the brick seams.

At the well’s bottom lay two bloated corpses of pregnant women.

As soon as a yellow talisman was applied, their bellies burst open, spewing forth numerous black, monstrous fish…

“This is a ‘Yin Body Well’!”

Kuai Dayou’s face turned grave. “The water nearby can’t be touched—otherwise, a great plague will follow. What a vicious method!”

What followed was even more chilling.

In the courtyard of the former Minister’s residence, the abandoned garden held a century-old locust tree, its canopy dense and leaves blackened.

Dozens of faded silk strips hung from its branches, suspending over a hundred wild cats.

The cat corpses swayed and struck the trunk with each gust, each impact emitting a cat’s cry.

Around the tree, the air was unnaturally cold—even at midday, a layer of frost had formed, covered entirely in cat paw prints.

Wang Daoxuan shook his head: “This is the Jiangzuo cult’s ‘Cat Ghost Tomb.’”

“Burn it!”

At Luo Mingzi’s order, the Enforcement Hall Daoists immediately brought piles of peach wood to set ablaze.

Amid roaring flames, countless wild cats screamed, sending chills down every spine.

Though they had clearly located many infected areas,

Li Yan’s heart remained tense.

At that moment, his Gou Die suddenly grew hot in his chest.

Though the sensation vanished quickly, Li Yan leapt without hesitation onto the courtyard wall.

Glancing left and right, his gaze locked onto a crowd watching from afar.

Among them, a scholar wore a wide-brimmed hat, his pupils faintly red.

“Kong Hui!”

Li Yan laughed aloud. “Since you’ve come, why hide anymore!”

(End of Chapter)