[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-cursed-blade-s-walk":3,"chapter-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-715":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Cursed Blade's Walk",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263020,4415,"Chapter 715","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-715",715,"\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the old man address him, Li Yan frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… this… didn’t you tell me to go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man grew flustered, gesturing with both hands as he recounted the events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was rather amusing, actually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s name was Sun Datong; he had once been merely a servant who tended fires and ran errands, serving the temple faithfully for years, and with the old temple keeper’s help, he had been granted Daoist registration, securing his future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was honest and diligent, with only one vice: alcohol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days ago, the old temple keeper left and never returned; even after reporting it to the yamen, there was no news. With no one to conduct rituals, the temple—already poorly attended—grew even more desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Datong was worried about the old temple keeper and feared the temple would be seized, so he scratched his head in desperation, with no solution—until he drank a few extra cups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan had just happened to pass by and rescued him; the old man was half-drunk, fell into a daze, and then dreamed of the Five Generals, who ordered him to guard the temple entrance and see to any newcomers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man was skeptical but saw the frost still on the ground and the clay idol’s lower half shattered; uncertain and uneasy, he waited outside the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then fierce winds erupted; when the wind died down, Li Yan stood outside the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s how it was…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan nodded, his expression grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To snatch a soul and move the body at will—each was a grave taboo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the perpetrator was a deity, he was displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such things must be guarded against in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He possessed many protective treasures, but against these Great Law Realm deities, he’d need another strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that’s all future concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Generals took advantage of this opportunity as well, creating a situation to meet him under the guise of capturing demonic energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems that with the transformation of human affairs, the Great Law Realm is trembling—the Heavenly Code must be loosening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those behind the Jianmu tree can act without restraint; others won’t sit idle either…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meeting, the Five Generals had two requests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first was to help stabilize his incense offerings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t hard, really—he had connections with many big shots in the Taixuan Zhengjiao Sect; he could ask them to deal with the heretical shrines slandering the Five Generals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to make his incense offerings flourish would require some ingenuity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Er Lang Zhen Jun, the Five Generals—perhaps they’ll be his pillars in the Great Law Realm; in this turbulent age, without patrons above, one often finds oneself at a disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other matter was Mount Tai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Generals had left in a hurry and hadn’t explained everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan only knew that Mount Tai was vital to him and to Er Lang Zhen Jun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems he’ll need to find an opportunity to visit Mount Tai…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Li Yan looked at the anxious Sun Datong and said sternly: “Heavenly secrets must not be revealed. Know these things in your heart, but if you speak of them outside, disaster will follow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Datong’s legs went weak; he collapsed to his knees, trembling like a leaf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan rose and helped him up, softening his tone: “You needn’t fear. As long as you keep quiet, good days will come. Tell me—when the old temple keeper left, did he say anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingxu, this demon, was far-sighted; during the Song Dynasty, he once used jiaozi to plunge the state into chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike others tied to Jianmu, he preferred to hide behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting demonic qi infest the Five Generals’ idol was no accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Datong furrowed his brow, straining to recall: “I remember a few days ago, the temple keeper went out, saying he was meeting an old friend. When he returned, he acted strangely—sometimes muttering to himself, sometimes laughing loudly—but when asked what happened, he said nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The day before yesterday, a beggar delivered a letter. The temple keeper took it and left in a hurry—and has been silent ever since.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan narrowed his eyes and asked sternly: “Do you know who his friend was?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Datong shook his head: “The Five Generals Temple has little incense; the temple keeper had few friends in the capital. I only know that Lu Xun, a senior official in the Ministry of Works, often came to drink tea with him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ministry of Works…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan pondered, committing the name to memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought a moment, then pulled a hundred-ounce silver note from his sleeve and said sternly: “This place is being watched by evil forces; it won’t be safe for a while. Take this money, shut the temple, and flee to the countryside. Return only when I send word.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, he turned and walked away quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching his retreating figure, Sun Datong looked down at the silver note in his hand, as if in a dream…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, Xuan Jisi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s how it happened…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan recounted the events of the previous night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The capital’s defense system was no joke: beyond patrols, it relied on temples, Daoist shrines, earth gods of neighborhoods, and the City God Temple to monitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any anomaly in the Gang and Sha energies would be detected by the City God Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last night’s commotion—even with the Five Generals masking it—still stirred the Enforcement Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given its connection to Zhao Qingxu and demonic qi, Li Yan had to report it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he dared not reveal a word about the Five Generals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhao Qingxu didn’t show himself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi’s eyes betrayed clear disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan mused: “With the Qiankun Academy scandal raging, he couldn’t possibly infiltrate openly—he must have another plan. Following this thread might lead us to it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mingzi wasted no time; he rose at once: “Someone, come with me to the Ministry of Works!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rain-washed cobblestones glistened in the capital; Li Yan’s party bypassed the bustling streets and arrived southeast of Chengtian Gate, in the central government district.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the seat of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries, known to the people as “Tianjie” or “Thousand-Step Corridor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the red walls and green tiles of the imperial palace, the Ministry of Works was built of gray tiles and plaster walls, vast and solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the main gate, two weathered stone lions crouched on either side, their bodies streaked with moss, their curled manes holding droplets from yesterday’s rain. Above the vermilion doors hung a massive plaque, inscribed in bold regular script with the two characters: “Gongbu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellencies, please follow me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did the Ministry’s dominant force, Momen, have good relations with Li Yan, but Luo Mingzi’s official token alone ensured no one dared delay them; soon, a clerk emerged to greet them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crossing the high threshold into the main courtyard, the first sight was the open ceremonial yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Square bricks, darkened by rain, covered the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the east and west sides, long corridors housed the offices of various clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the entrance hall’s arcades, mountains of newly crafted models and rolled blueprints nearly blocked the pathways. Clerks and runners hurried in groups, clutching thick documents or carrying wooden trays laden with materials, weaving through the courtyard and corridors, their faces tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air reeked of ink, tung oil, freshly cut timber, and sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most office doors stood open, inside shadows moving, voices calling out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry! Has the material list for the Tuntian Office reached the Yu Heng Office? Yan the Supervisor has demanded it for the third time!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who signed off on Zhang Physician’s blueprints from the Yingshan Office? Urgent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When will the waterproof felt for the Duishui Office reach Mount Xi?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The river channels can’t wait—the rainy season is coming!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the offices of the Yingshan and Yu Heng Offices were packed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Yan’s group passed beneath the Yingshan Office window, they heard heated debate inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clerk with a goatee slammed a massive construction blueprint: “No! The observation platform’s cantilever is too extreme! The academy’s new fill soil can’t bear it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A younger official cried out: “It’s the imperial design! It takes longer and uses more materials, but the academy’s opening ceremony is imminent—the artifact display platform and observation platform must be completed together! This design is mandatory!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Add a support beam, and costs skyrocket—where will the funds come from? Must I beg the Ministry of Revenue’s accountants?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1423,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cfcd3fcbd3958cac6a9a736455c11e6c18e18604ba1458bfa8ab4819a6ce2106","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-716","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-714",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]