Chapter 82: Visions in a Dream

Inside the large mansion in Shangyi Village, craftsmen worked day and night, which was truly noisy. Wang Daoxuan liked quiet, and coupled with his injured soul needing rest, the Ask-Dao Pavilion was naturally more suitable.

After Li Yan and the two others bid farewell to Manager Wan, they returned directly to Xianyang.

"Daoist Wang, you're back?"

"Brother Li Yan, if you beat that drum again, we're reporting you to the authorities!"

The residents of the old alley were still as "enthusiastic" as ever.

Neighboring Granny Liu tremblingly took out a copper key, "What a sin, those yamen runners broke the Daoist's front door, and the lock is broken. I was afraid of attracting thieves, so I locked it up."

"Many thanks, Granny Liu."

Wang Daoxuan took the key and opened the front door.

Just as the granny said, the Ask-Dao Pavilion had been ransacked by the yamen runners, leaving it in a mess, and some with sticky fingers had even taken the few plum-blossom vases the Ask-Dao Pavilion had.

More importantly, the Patriarch's Altar had been overturned.

Seeing Wang Daoxuan's ugly expression, Sha Lifei hurriedly laughed, "Daoist, don't be angry. Out with the old, in with the new. We have money now; renovating the Ask-Dao Pavilion for you is no problem at all!"

What he said was indeed correct.

The three of them had had quite a few troubles during this period, but they had also made a windfall.

In the bandit stronghold, they found some gold bars, which, when calculated, were enough for Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan to build a tower and still have some left over.

When going to the old tomb in the barren mountains to save people, Yuan Qu and Zheng Heibei were penniless, but Chen Fagui had saved quite a few silver notes, all of which were found by Sha Lifei—about seven hundred taels, enough for their expenses during this period.

There were also the horses of Yuan Qu and Zheng Heibei.

Luo Mingzi and the others didn't care for them, so they all belonged to the three of them.

In short, they couldn't be called rich, but they didn't have to worry about food and drink.

After they roughly tidied up the Ask-Dao Pavilion, night had already fallen. Sha Lifei was a guy who liked to show off when he had money, so he immediately ran to Qingfeng Tower, ordered some top-quality wine and dishes, and had them sent to the Ask-Dao Pavilion to celebrate escaping the disaster.

The few of them ate and drank while discussing their next plan.

"In two months, it will be the Winter Solstice Great Offering."

Wang Daoxuan smiled, "At that time, every Daoist temple on Mount Taibai will have temple fairs, with pilgrims arriving one after another, and there will even be incense-offering groups from other states."

"To prevent accidents, several earth-vein spiritual apertures on Mount Taibai will be closed and won't reopen until next spring."

"If we want to build the tower, we must finish it before the Winter Solstice."

"That works."

Li Yan pondered slightly, "I promised Senior Wu to send his coffin back to his hometown and rebury his wife and daughter; after that is done, I will head to Mount Taibai."

"Also, in two days, the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect will hold a ritual at the mass grave to help the Mountain God return to his position; Senior Luo Mingzi promised to let us observe."

"Oh?"

Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up, "That is indeed a good opportunity. The Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect's rituals are second to none in the world; I also want to broaden my horizons."

After setting the plan, the three of them returned to their rooms to sleep.

It seemed that with the heavy burden lifted from their hearts, they quickly entered dreamland.

Wang Daoxuan's soul was injured, and Sha Lifei was carefree; both of them slept soundly.

Only Li Yan, not long after falling asleep, had his eyelids twitching constantly, and cold sweat gradually seeped from his forehead.

In a daze, he suddenly sat up, only to find himself still in the Ask-Dao Pavilion, but surrounded by thin mist, everything looking blurry.

"Daoist, Old Sha!"

Li Yan sensed something was wrong and shouted, but no one answered.

He hurriedly pinched the Yang Seal, but his supernatural powers did not appear.

This is… under a sorcery spell?

Li Yan was vigilant in his heart and carefully pushed the door to go out, but immediately his expression changed drastically, and a chill rose up.

In the courtyard, someone had appeared at some point, dressed in white robes, looking like mourning clothes, their whole body wrapped in chains, covered in bloodstains.

The person kept their head down, messy black hair covering their face, and then slowly raised their pale left hand, pointing outside the courtyard…

*Whoosh! *

Li Yan sat up with a start and looked around.

It was still the Ask-Dao Pavilion; in the opposite wing, Sha Lifei's snoring could be clearly heard across the small courtyard.

"So it was a nightmare…"

Li Yan pinched the Yang Seal and didn't smell anything unusual, so he breathed a sigh of relief and continued to lie down to sleep.

This time, he didn't have any more nightmares.

However, he didn't know that the Gou Die mark on his left palm was slowly emitting a ghostly blue fluorescence, which was unusually obvious in the darkness……

…………

The night was silent, in a dilapidated street in the West City of Xianyang.

In the darkness, accompanied by noisy footsteps, two groups of figures appeared at the ends of the alley.

They were all dressed in black clothes and black hats, holding long knives and long sticks, and several people were working together to carry iron hook nets.

This kind of iron hook net was woven from fine chains, with sharp iron hooks at the connections, called "Ghost's Sorrow," used specifically for dealing with martial arts people.

They were all constables from the Xianyang City Yamen.

A middle-aged man walked out slowly, his temples gray, his features square and dignified; it was the Xianyang Chief Constable, Guan Wanche.

He looked at the large mansion in the distance, turned around, and cupped his hands:

"My lords, the secret agent said they are right here!"

Behind the yamen runners, three more people walked out. They were dressed in black brocade robes, with the fierce beasts Ya Zi and Bi An embroidered in silver thread on their chests and backs, wearing official hats, and even their leather waist and wrist guards were very particular, hammered with exquisite patterns.

This attire, at a glance, was the Commandant's Office.

The Commandant's Office was somewhat like the Embroidered Uniform Guard, taking orders only from the Emperor, doing everything from spying on intelligence and suppressing rebellions to monitoring officials, and coupled with their superb skills and expertise in joint-attack techniques, they were notoriously fierce in the martial world.

The leader was a one-eyed middle-aged man, wearing a black eye patch on his right eye, with a sword scar running up and down his left face, looking unusually ferocious.

"Move!"

At his command, two men from the Commandant's Office rushed out carrying bows and arrows. When they reached the nearby high wall, hidden strength erupted, and with a *whoosh*, they leaped high, stepped slightly for leverage, and landed silently on the wall.

At the same time, they had already bent their bows and set their arrows, the bowstrings creaking, aiming at the courtyard.

Guan Wanche was not surprised to see this.

These two were squad leaders of the Commandant's Office, both experts in Hidden Strength.

He waved his hand, and the yamen runners rushed out from the side alleys, guarding all the necessary paths, then kicked open the front door and rushed in.

However, despite such a commotion, no one came out from inside.

!.

Guan Wanche thought to himself that it was bad.

Sure enough, soon a yamen runner ran out, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, the people have run away!"

Guan Wanche's face turned livid. He accompanied the people from the Commandant's Office into the courtyard and searched every room, only to find it truly empty.

"Lord Chang, it is my dereliction of duty."

Guan Wanche hurriedly cupped his hands to apologize.

"No matter."

The one-eyed man from the Commandant's Office was not surprised, saying calmly, "They were able to steal from the Chang'an Prefecture Yamen; they are definitely not ordinary people. That you were able to catch their tail in such a short time is already not bad..."

Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

Then, this one-eyed man walked to the corner of the wall and picked up a stone jar.

Guan Wanche also leaned over and whispered, "My lord, it's a jar used in a pharmacy for grinding medicine. If we ask craftsmen, we might be able to find clues."

The one-eyed man didn't speak, but scooped out a bit of black powder from the jar, smelled it under his nose, his eyes narrowed, and then flicked it away lightly.

He looked around and said calmly, "Constable Guan, with your talent, staying in this Xianyang City is indeed a bit of a grievance. I wonder if you are willing to join the Commandant's Office."

Joy appeared in Guan Wanche's eyes, and he hurriedly cupped his hands:

"I am willing to serve you, my lord!"

…………

East City, Jin Bao Gambling House on Pailou Street.

In a dark alley in the back street, the short and fat Manager Wu poked his head out, looking anxious.

Just at this moment, two figures walked quickly along the dark corner of the wall; it was the two who had caused a scene at the Zhou family during the day.

Manager Wu was overjoyed and hurriedly turned to open the door.

After the two flashed inside, Manager Wu looked around again to make sure no one was following, and only then did he tightly close the door.

The workers in the backyard had all been sent away by him. The few of them followed a secret passage into a hidden room in the corner of the gambling house, and only then did the two take off their bamboo hats.

The concubine in white had already been waiting for a long time. Seeing this, she was overjoyed and, together with Manager Wu, bowed respectfully, making a gesture of a blooming lotus.

"Greetings, Incense Master!"

The middle-aged man dressed as a traveling physician touched his neck, rubbed it gently, and peeled it off; a delicately crafted human-skin mask appeared in his hand.

Under the mask was a handsome face with sword-like brows and star-like eyes, quite noble, but in his eyes, there was a clear blood vessel penetrating the pupil, and his skin was bright red, different from ordinary people.

These two facial features, in physiognomy books, one is called "Red Vein Penetrating the Pupil," and the other is called "Broken Heavenly Net," both symbols of a life not long to last.

And this man was clearly living very well.

"You two don't need to be so formal."

The man's voice seemed to carry a certain magnetism, and he said softly, "We are all brothers in the sect; I just took a few steps ahead, there is no distinction between high and low."

"Many thanks, Incense Master."

The concubine in white and Manager Wu stood up respectfully.

Manager Wu said with lingering fear, "I heard yesterday that the Incense Master and Brother Fire Ghost caused a scene at the Zhou family, and coupled with the Commandant's Office hounds following the scent, the old man was so worried he didn't sleep all night."

"No matter."

The man smiled, "I have tangled with those hounds for a long time; their methods are clear to me. I had already created the illusion of leaving to avoid implicating Brother Wu."

"Brother Fire Ghost has had his great revenge avenged; even if he were caught, it would be worth it."

"Incense Master, it was all my willfulness." The scarred young man on the side was full of guilt, but the look in his eyes toward the man was increasingly reverent.

The man didn't care and continued to ask, "What is the situation in Xianyang City now?"

Manager Wu hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "That traitor Chu Shan sent many beggars to keep looking for Miss Wang in the city, and Yuan Qu, the leader of the White Ape Gang, is also eyeing this gambling house of mine covetously."

"To protect myself, the old man released the news that the Mountain Tai Sui plotted by Chu Shan had been learned by people from all walks of life in the martial world. I heard that the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect is also going to go, so his lair is likely not safe. Plus, the Zhou family has been exterminated, so the Incense Hall is temporarily stable."

The man's eyes turned cold, "Rest assured, I will definitely get rid of this traitor before leaving!"

Then, he looked at the two again, his voice becoming urgent involuntarily:

"What about that painting?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 83 =====