[{"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-788":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},2263093,4415,"Chapter 788","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-788",788,"\u003Cp>Behind the hall of the Nanjing Commandant’s Office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flickering dim candlelight stretched the shadows of Li Yan, Long Yan, Kuai Dayou, and others across the cold stone walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the room, besides Qiu Mingyuan, the Imperial Sacrificial Inspector and Battalion Commander from the capital, were several collateral branches of the Lin family. It was clear Qiu Mingyuan had not broken his word—though still detained, these men wore clean, neat clothes, and their prior wounds had been bandaged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragged out for overnight interrogation, the collateral Lin youths had pale faces and eyes filled with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, we are truly innocent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with Li Fat’s repeated questioning, each trembled inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had just escaped death—they did not want to be thrown back into prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Honors, please take heed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An older Lin youth bowed his hands: “Since Lin Yaozong seized power, he has controlled the ledgers and warehouse keys. We… we have no right even to audit. Besides, this is a capital offense—how would we dare get involved?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be afraid.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan comforted them, then asked in a low tone: “Lin Yaozong’s case has been clarified—it has nothing to do with you, or you wouldn’t be here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve called you here to ask: during their time in Nanjing, besides colluding with demons to cause chaos, what else did those people do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Think carefully!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Fat added his support beside them—seeming stern, but actually saving these clan members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These collateral Lin youths, sent to manage shops, were no fools. Hearing this, they exchanged glances, frowning as they strained to recall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There was one odd thing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of them frowned: “I was slapped by the new manager, so I secretly watched him. I vaguely remember—he frequently withdrew large sums of silver under the pretense of ‘repairing the ancestral hall’ or ‘buying rare materials.’ The ledgers were vague; the actual destination… even the second manager had no authority to inquire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan pressed: “Did you see any unfamiliar faces when he withdrew the money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another collateral youth suddenly remembered: “Once! I ran an errand for my third uncle to the ledger room and saw several strange men dressed as craftsmen leaving through the side gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The leader had half an ear missing, his finger joints grotesquely swollen, and a strange wooden box strapped to his waist—like… like a miniature ink square? The manager was bowing and smiling as he saw them off, his arms stuffed with thick stacks of silver notes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Half an ear? Miniature ink square?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou’s face darkened—he slammed his fist on the table and rose: “I know this bastard—‘Half-Ear Lu Ban,’ Chen Que Shou! One of the wanted scoundrels among Jiangnan’s Xuan sect craftsmen!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face twisted with revulsion: “They’re demons wearing craftsmen’s skins—specializing in the evil arts of the Lu Ban Book: ‘Thousand-Pound Gate,’ ‘Soul-Hanging Nails,’ ‘Five Ghosts Transport Array’—they kill employers and swindle wealthy households as easily as breathing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They also use their knowledge of mechanical tricks to collaborate with the ‘Probing the Hidden’ sect’s lawless treasure-seekers—stealing from ancient tombs, stealing dragon qi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They do the evil deeds, yet the people blame us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grew angrier, seething with injustice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan’s eyes flashed sharply: “The Lin family’s vast funds, used to harbor these heretical scoundrels and treasure hunters… it’s not simple! They master Lu Ban’s dark arts and demonic treasure-probing techniques—they must be plotting something!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Lifi rubbed his chin, thoughtful: “Tian Battalion Commander had access to military defenses and city schematics. Could it be that discovering this led to his murder?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou gritted his teeth: “Exactly! Tian Battalion Commander argued with Zhou Dayong in camp, mentioning villagers… he must have been trying to trace the source of the demonic arts—or prevent some critical node from being destroyed—before the ‘Old Man of the Forest’ sent those demonic wind insects to silence him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan nodded: “According to Zhou Dayong, those men deceived Tian Battalion Commander under the pretense of bribing him—meaning they intended to kill him from the start. Even if not this, they must have learned some vital secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Lifi sighed bitterly: “But now Tian Battalion Commander is dead, and Nanjing’s demons have vanished without a trace—the trail is likely broken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan said firmly: “No wall is truly soundproof—we’ll find it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a premonition: this matter was crucial—perhaps even more critical than the plan in Nanjing. Otherwise, the demons wouldn’t have risked exposure by acting directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After escorting the Lin youths back, Qiu Mingyuan, who had remained silent beside them, finally stepped forward and bowed: “Li Shaoxia, thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some things need not be spoken plainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Mingyuan had many reasons to thank him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, he had just said he would temporarily avoid conflict with the aristocratic families and officials—words that spread, and the others learned of it, secretly plotting countermeasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men were hateful, but what chilled him was that he had ears in his own ranks. Li Yan’s quiet invitation for him to listen was a clear hint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, the information Li Yan uncovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Japanese silver mine!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though overseas, the court forbids private mining of gold, silver, or copper for coinage. If they succeed, secretly circulating the metal will destabilize salt, grain, and commodity prices across the realm—how great a chaos might follow?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had fully trusted his own instincts, the consequences would have fallen on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unknowingly, he had walked through the gates of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Mingyuan recalled Pei Zongti’s final warning: cooperate fully with Li Yan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not disobeyed, but he had not believed it—so he followed his own logic, nearly falling into a deadly pit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Qiu Mingyuan’s expression turned solemn: “Li Shaoxia, rest assured—none of them will escape. They brought this on themselves; no one can save them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wu—wu—wu—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, horns suddenly blared, tearing through Nanjing’s night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, chaotic gongs erupted from multiple directions across the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report—urgent report—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Commandant’s Office scout stumbled through the interrogation room door, helmet askew, armor crooked, face pale with horror: “My lord! Chaos has erupted in multiple districts!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At Sanshan Gate’s water barrier… the nearby civilians have gone mad! The Qinhuai River docks too… and people report white threads rising from several wells in the eastern city!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also… a demon opera troupe is spreading… spreading that white-thread poison everywhere! And they’re shouting: ‘Silkworm God is enraged!’ ‘The court is unjust!’ ‘Surrender the city to avoid disaster!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Mingyuan’s face turned ashen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan frowned: “It’s the Silkworm Stiffness Art.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked toward the night sky, his expression grim:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go—the demons have moved suddenly; they’re coordinating with Taihu…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night was ink-black; the drum beat the second watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the public well in the eastern district, the night watchman Wang Lao Si yawned—then heard a faint “rustling” from the well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the dim glow of his lantern—he saw several damp, slick, gray-white threads climbing up the stone seams of the well’s rim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the nearby shadows, an old woman in a faded, dark-blue opera robe, hunched and bent, was shoving a wet, sticky, sweet-smelling mass of white fluff into the well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing? Quick—catch the demon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lao Si immediately pounded the gong, screaming at the top of his lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a watchman—he knew more than ordinary folk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nanjing was under foreign threat, demons stirring—the authorities had ordered all watchmen to report any anomaly immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patrol forces had tripled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True to form, two soldiers carrying lanterns rushed over from nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old opera woman suddenly straightened, her eyes cloudy but cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She grinned grotesquely, raised her withered hand—and the white fluff exploded into a storm of needle-thin, damp toxins, lashing toward them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers raised their shields—the shields were instantly speckled with wriggling, clinging threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before they could breathe, the old woman shrieked—and from the well, from the dark corners of the walls, seven or eight figures surged forth: civilians with blank stares and unnaturally slick, glistening skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foam dripped from their mouths; like puppet strings pulled, they lunged wildly at the soldiers, biting and clawing. One soldier’s wrist was torn open—several threads slithered into his flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>",1353,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","815f88ac473eb7120fa3a94e53a14492568f1323c830aadfc2b13af3d91058a3","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-789","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-787",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]