Chapter 795

"The Zhang Huaisu rebellion case?"

Hearing Kong Shangzhao’s words, Li Yan immediately recalled this matter.

Zhao Changsheng’s past life was Zhang Huaisu, the sect leader of the Great Song Ghost Religion.

At the time, ghost-worship was rampant, and Zhang Huaisu had long secretly founded the Ghost Religion, yet he appeared as a mad shaman, claiming his Daoist arts were immensely powerful and that he had lived over 1,700 years.

He told everyone he had witnessed Confucius executing Shaozheng Mao, the stalemate between Han and Chu at Chenggao, and that he had climbed high to watch the battle, speaking with convincing detail.

Logically, no one should have believed him.

But sometimes, reality is absurd.

At the time, the common people deeply believed his words; from high-ranking officials to impoverished peasants, many followed him, unknowingly becoming peripheral members of the Ghost Religion.

Many scholar-officials also greatly admired him, the most famous being Cai Bian.

At that time, Cai Bian had been exiled to Yuezhou for supporting Wang Anshi’s reforms, and just then the great Confucian Cheng Hao was serving in Yuezhou, becoming his friend and taking him along to meet Zhang Huaisu.

Cheng Hao strongly rejected this and refused to go.

As a result, Cai Bian suffered greatly.

Zhang Huaisu led a group of followers on a tour of Jinling, sensing that local officials harbored rebellious intentions, and publicly proclaimed: “Jinling is a land of coiled dragons and crouching tigers, brimming with imperial qi—the emperor will emerge here!”

It was precisely this that crossed the court’s bottom line.

The rebellion was crushed, and all officials connected to Zhang Huaisu were punished, including Cai Bian.

And the Great Song Ghost Religion began to surface from then on.

Thus, Jinling was closely tied to Zhao Changsheng, though the era was distant, and Li Yan had simply not recalled it until now.

"That’s right."

Kong Shangzhao gazed at the group and said gravely: "The enemy calculated precisely—they used the unknown 'Red Silk Workshop' to gain terrain advantage and set the time for tonight, preventing us from summoning skilled allies."

"Though your authority in the Netherworld has increased, it’s still unstable. I’ll go search the archives to locate the 'Red Silk Workshop' and prepare in advance."

Li Yan nodded slightly. "Be careful. Do it secretly."

"I’ll go with you." Long Yan rose slowly, her expression calm.

Sha Li Fei turned to Kuai Dayou, his face grim. "Dayou, tonight will likely be a brutal fight. You said you’d make that thing—we need to prepare it ahead of time!"

"Good idea!"

Kuai Dayou nodded. "But we’ll need some materials—can’t let anyone notice."

Lin the Fat immediately stood up. "What do you need? I’ll get it. My family’s businesses are destroyed, but I still have some influence in Jinling."

Seeing their expressions, Li Yan’s eyes softened slightly: "Everyone, be careful."

He didn’t ask how they planned to do it.

In this chaotic age, these companions were the only ones he could trust.

Soon, the group left in small groups, secretly.

As for Li Yan, he returned to his room and laid out each of his magical artifacts.

The Five Directions Luo Feng Flags, the Bing-Ding Living Ghost Talisman, the Celestial Command Seal from the Gou Die, the Duan Chen Knife, the Thousand Thoughts Armguards…

Gazing at the artifacts before him, his expression grew grave.

He had many cards in hand, yet still felt unstable.

This was expected. After countless battles, though their names had spread far and wide, many of their abilities had been exposed, compiled by underworld intelligence networks, and sold to major factions.

They had deterred some reckless riffraff, but when facing true enemies, they were often targeted and thrown into passivity.

At critical moments, they could only rely on their own strength.

Thinking of this, Li Yan sat cross-legged on the bed and entered inner contemplation.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, dark winds howled around him, and the sound of chains rang out.

His strongest ability was the "Thunder God Transformation" from the Divine Transformation Art.

But this technique consumed too much energy—he couldn’t sustain prolonged combat.

Timing was crucial…

…………

While Li Yan cultivated, the others were not idle.

Outside the Commandant’s Office archives, the old guard’s eyelids kept drooping.

Due to last night’s events, the Commandant’s Office had suffered heavy losses; Qiu Mingyuan had taken the elite away to hunt down "Earless Lu Ban" Chen Sanxiang, so only this old man was left to guard the key location.

He didn’t notice that a small insect had somehow appeared on the back of his neck.

Soon, the old man fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

Long Yan and Kong Shangzhao emerged from behind the wall.

"You go in."

Long Yan scanned the surroundings. "I’ll keep watch here—no one will disturb you."

Kong Shangzhao wasted no words, took the key from the old man, and walked toward the gate.

In Jinling City now, no one knew how many demonic agents still lurked in the shadows.

Even members of the Commandant’s Office couldn’t be trusted; to prevent leaks, this method was necessary.

Opening the archive room, a musty, moldy odor immediately surged forth.

Jinling had been the capital of several dynasties; a century ago, it was still the capital of the Great Xing Dynasty, accumulating countless archives. Looking around, there were at least a hundred densely packed shelves, all crammed with scrolls and ancient texts.

Even this was only what remained—most had already been transported to Beiping.

Others might have been overwhelmed, but Kong Shangzhao had previously served in the Commandant’s Office in the capital and knew the filing system by heart. Without hesitation, he followed the wooden labels and quickly found the Song Dynasty historical archives.

These records were ancient, mostly documenting murders and crimes in Jinling at the time, along with certain court movements.

Due to long disuse, they were thick with dust.

Kong Shangzhao pulled them out one by one and carefully examined them.

He couldn’t afford to waste time—if he didn’t find it here, he’d have to go to the Jinling Prefectural Office.

Whoosh—

He moved swiftly, eyes and hands working in tandem.

One by one, useless scrolls and texts were swiftly discarded.

Finally, a damaged Song-era text on the third shelf caught his attention.

"The Great Song Jinling Record of Subduing Demons…"

Kong Shangzhao’s eyes lit up, and he carefully pulled it out.

Though called a "Record of Subduing Demons," it wasn’t like the Enforcement Hall’s manuals on fighting ghosts and monsters—it documented cases involving dark arts, secret sects, court politics, and the underworld, mostly involving humans.

Looking at these records, Kong Shangzhao’s eyelids twitched.

During the Great Song era, ghost-worship among the people grew increasingly rampant, and many incidents were horrifying.

"During the Yuanyou era, the Qingxi Child Sacrifice: a dark master hid deep within the ruins of a Qingxi shrine, taking thirty-six young boys—all under ten years old—and binding them to black iron pillars, slicing open their bellies to extract their yang blood from the heart…"

"The Case of the Human-Faced Drum at Taoye Ferry: At Taoye Ferry, an unnamed drum stall suddenly appeared. The drum was neither leather nor wood—its surface felt warm and moist, as if alive. When struck, its sound was not the ordinary thud, but resembled a woman gnashing her teeth in curses, a baby’s cry like tearing silk—those who heard it felt their souls tremble, unable to sleep through the night…"

Suddenly, Kong Shangzhao’s eyes grew excited.

The Jinling rebellion case had been a huge scandal at the time—and indeed, it was recorded here.

After careful examination, Kong Shangzhao fell into thought, then turned and stepped outside.

"Sister Long, we may need to visit the Prefectural Office again…"

…………

On another side, in the old alleyways near the Commandant’s Office.

Lin the Fat, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, moved swiftly through the slippery lanes.

To avoid being followed, he deliberately took several detours.

It wasn’t paranoia—the Cocoon Robe Sect would surely send watchers; just as they left, they’d caught an old man trailing them. Unfortunately, he was merely a commoner manipulated by hatred.

This was the Cocoon Robe Sect’s strategy.

With Jinling’s defenses now tight, members practicing dark arts inevitably carried yin-evil qi, making them easy targets during daylight—so they could only move at night. Ordinary citizens with grudges became their eyes.

Arriving at an old mansion, Lin the Fat glanced around, then took out a key and pushed open the gate.

He was naturally cautious; this courtyard had been rented in advance, without involving the Lin family, as a hidden refuge.

After all, the Lin family’s businesses in Jinling had been infiltrated by demons—they had to be prepared.

But he hadn’t expected trouble to strike en route, landing him in prison.

Now, it had finally become useful.

Entering the courtyard, useless furniture from the main house and side rooms had already been removed.