[{"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-787":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},2263092,4415,"Chapter 787","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-787",787,"\u003Cp>In the back hall of the Jinling Prefectural Office, sandalwood incense curled gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On either side of the red-wood long table, the atmosphere was tense as drawn swords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the main seat sat the Prefect of Jinling, his face pale and smooth, eyes puffy, fingers idly twisting his beard, his gaze flickering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him sat the Vice Prefect of Ying Tian, his square face rigid, lips pressed into a thin line. Several local officials below him kept their heads bowed in silence, none daring to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Battalion Commander, formerly of the Capital Garrison Office, was also present, his back straight as a rod, but his knuckles white where he gripped his saber’s hilt; though his expression was grim, his eyes held only helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stole a glance at Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan seated across from him, opened his mouth as if to speak, but swallowed the words, feeling only a suffocating bitterness in his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li… Li Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prefect of Jinling cleared his throat, forcing a thin smile, his voice dragging with the usual bureaucratic cadence: “The matter of Huai Shu Village is horrifying; I, too, am heartbroken upon hearing it. But this case is of grave consequence, involving heretical cultists—clearly, the Capital Garrison Office, in concert with the Xuan Sect’s lineage, shall investigate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Young Master’s righteous intervention in uncovering the cause of Battalion Commander Tian’s sudden death—I shall certainly petition the court to commend you. As for the Lin Family Merchant House case…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew out the words, glancing at the Vice Prefect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Vice Prefect immediately chimed in, face beaming with flattery: “Lin Yaozong conspired with Japanese pirates, causing chaos in the Yangzhou grain transport hub—evidence is clear and documented. The Ministry of Justice has already issued orders assigning Hangzhou Prefecture to preside over the case.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a central verdict, ironclad. Our Jinling Prefectural Office has no authority to interfere. Young Master, while your Qiankun Academy token grants you the right to observe public sentiment, meddling in local criminal matters and interfering with an imperial case is… overstepping!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan said nothing, his gaze fixed directly on Zheng Battalion Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had expected it would not be easy to free the Lin family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Jinling officials, all Huoduohuoshao  tied to those two families, and with the Open-Sea Faction’s current power at court, would never handle this fairly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he had gone straight to Zheng Battalion Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Battalion Commander from the capital had been murdered; the region had been infiltrated by the Bianyi Cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he wished to live, he could no longer stand aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, Zheng Battalion Commander coughed, frowned deeply, and spoke in a low, stern voice: “Vice Prefect, the Huai Shu Village matter is grave. Battalion Commander Tian’s death is clearly tied to the ‘Bianyi Cult.’ Moreover, we now know the true killer—those few individuals…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zheng Battalion Commander, you are mistaken!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another official, from a local aristocratic family, interrupted: “Battalion Commander Tian’s death was caused by sorcery! The Lin family’s collusion with pirates is documented in black and white! How can these be conflated?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Qiankun Academy token is prestigious, but it does not override the laws of Great Xuan! Young Master Li, we understand your efforts, but do not let yourself be used, drawn into matters you ought not touch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was from the Lu family of Suzhou; his words carried greater weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Matters of right and wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan took a sip of tea, then spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was quiet, yet it drowned out the chamber’s clamor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hundreds in Huai Shu Village were forcibly turned into cocoons by the heretical cult under the guise of ‘Divine Silkworms,’ their essence and blood drained—this is right and wrong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Battalion Commander Tian, entrusted with escort duty, was reduced to a skeleton in the wilds of Jurong by the demonic entity ‘Forest Elder’—this is right and wrong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Weavers of Wu Zhong, driven to despair by oppressive taxes, turned to the cult merely to survive—this… is the greatest wrong of all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this, his intent and spirit struck directly into every mind in the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze flashed like lightning, sweeping over the officials whose faces twisted: “You say the Lin Merchant House case is under trial in Hangzhou, its records sealed—I shall go to them myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But here in Jinling, Battalion Commander Tian’s sudden death, the Huai Shu Village massacre, the Bianyi Cult’s control of the populace through silk threads, their plot to serve as internal conspirators—each and every one… cannot be severed from this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Jinling Prefectural Office and the Capital Garrison Office bear the duty to guard the land and protect the people, to investigate lawlessness. Now, as the cult runs rampant and evidence lies plainly before your eyes, you hide behind ‘no authority’ and ‘imperial case already decided,’ shirking responsibility, letting the demonic aura grow unchecked—and even… obstructing the investigation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, his tone turning icy, laced with a chilling aura of slaughter: “Is it weakness… or unwillingness? Or do you fear pulling up the radish and dragging up the mud, exposing those who must not be touched?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Yan! How dare you!” The Vice Prefect slammed his fist on the table, beard and hair bristling. “To openly slander imperial officials in the very courtroom of this Prefecture?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prefect’s face darkened: “Young Master Li, I have treated you with leniency because you are of the Qiankun Academy. But the law of the court cannot be trifled with! The Huai Shu Village matter will be thoroughly investigated by the Garrison Office. As for the Lin family case—it is final! If you persist, do not blame me for showing no mercy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the air seemed to harden into iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the excavation and cleanup at Huai Shu Village, led by local Xuan Sect Daoists, was in full swing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Garrison Office watching, no one dared tamper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, twisted human forms, encased in thick cocoons and long dead, were carefully lifted from the crypt beneath the ancestral hall and laid out on the village’s open ground—horrifying to behold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpses of the several “Divine Silkworms,” already poisoned by Long Yan’s special powder and the size of wild boars, were dragged out; their grotesque mouthparts exposed to daylight, causing the soldiers and constables clearing the site to gag and turn pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, in the heated bed cavity of Zhou Dayong’s home, several letters were found—scribbled in haste, stained with blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were written in desperation by Zhou Dayong, detailing how the Bianyi Cult’s divine emissary lured villagers into worshiping the “Silkworm Goddess” by promising secret methods of prolonging life, then forced them to supply able-bodied men to descend into the caverns and “serve the Divine Silkworms,” ultimately becoming cocoons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letters also named nearby villages that likewise worshipped the “Silkworm Goddess,” and described how Zhou Dayong, deceived, used a specially crafted bell to summon the “Forest Elder” to kill Battalion Commander Tian—explicitly to silence him, preventing Battalion Commander Tian from probing deeper into the mysteries behind the Lin family case!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These bloody, undeniable proofs were rushed by fast horse to Jinling City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere in the hall grew subtly tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Battalion Commander stared at the evidence in his hands, a chill of dread running through him; he barked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prefect! Vice Prefect! Battalion Commander Tian’s death was indeed the cult’s attempt at silencing witnesses! Zhou Dayong’s final letter directly implicates hidden puppeteers aiming to obstruct the truth of the Lin family case! This is no ordinary criminal matter—it is a heretical cult destabilizing the state, shaking the very foundations of the realm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is the duty of the Garrison Office to request the Prefecture immediately issue orders to surrounding prefectures and counties to thoroughly investigate the cult’s strongholds! Simultaneously, the Lin Merchant House case is riddled with inconsistencies—it must be reopened!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Li’s involvement, from the Qiankun Academy, is justified, reasonable, and lawful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoever dares obstruct this now is guilty in heart, sheltering demons and devils!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was desperate—if he didn’t speak clearly now, he feared he’d be shackled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the evidence, and meeting Zheng Battalion Commander’s murderous gaze, the Prefect of Jinling broke into a cold sweat, his earlier arrogance gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two great families were indeed dangerous to offend—but these major cases had all occurred on Jinling soil, and with the Taihu demonic disturbances, one misstep could earn him charges of dereliction of duty, allowing the cult to grow unchecked, even harboring internal conspirators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that point, confiscation of property and extermination of the clan would be the least of his worries!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, urgent, synchronized footsteps echoed outside the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A yamen runner stumbled in, voice trembling with alarm: “Report—Your Excellency! The… the Imperial Sacrificial Office’s Chief Investigator Qiu, and the Garrison Office’s Northern Commandant Chu, bearing imperial edicts and orders from the Ministry of War, have arrived at the Prefectural Office!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the hall froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before they could rise to greet them, two officials in deep black official robes strode into the back hall, their presence as still and deep as an abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lead figure had a face like polished jade, three long beards, and eyes that flickered with hidden lightning; his robe hem was embroidered with the snarling image of a Bi’an beast, and at his waist hung a jade tablet inscribed with swirling cloud-and-thunder talismans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Qiu Mingyuan, Chief Investigator of the Imperial Sacrificial Office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Commandant Chu was broad-shouldered, his face as hard as ironstone, clad in the thick black iron scale armor unique to high-ranking Garrison officers, radiating the bloodstained aura of the battlefield; at his waist hung a heavy, black tiger tally!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Mingyuan’s gaze, sharp as lightning, swept the hall, lingering briefly on the table of evidence and Li Yan, then declared loudly: “I, Qiu Mingyuan of the Imperial Sacrificial Office, by imperial decree and orders from the Ministry of War, have come to Jinling to oversee the ‘Bianyi Cult’ disturbances and the remnants of Japanese pirates!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All Jinling officials shall cooperate fully—no delays, no excuses, no obstruction! Those who fail, evade, or hinder shall be treated as accomplices—executed on the spot!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1695,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1af8354e471a1cb63455420d75f3bd2274335b72c6ea0f105e8656597ae896a4","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-788","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-786",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]