Chapter 18: Spider Silk and Horse Tracks

In Qingquan Alley, the two-story mansion stood silent and still.

Lin Wanyi sat upright on the bed, the feverish flush on her cheeks gradually fading; her skirt, damp from sweat and warmed by her body heat, emitted a faint mist, turning her gold-rimmed glasses hazy.

Meiqiu crouched at the head of the bed, having fallen asleep from the long wait—Xie Jin wouldn’t let her roam—and had fully transformed into a lump of black coal.

Xie Jin sat on the stool beside the bed, holding a cultivation manual, seizing every fragment of time to refine his martial skill.

In this silent wait, time passed without measure; Lin Wanyi had not yet fully purged the poison when a hurried knocking came from outside the courtyard:

Knock-knock-knock~

“Jinhuan? Jinhuan?”

……

Lin Wanyi instantly went alert, halted her cultivation and suppressed the poison, then lifted her eyes and asked:

“Who is it?”

“Captain Yang—he’s probably here to ask about the case from earlier.”

Seeing government officials arrive, Lin Wanyi naturally grew tense.

After all, as a witch cult demoness, she could not be seen—but if she stopped purging now, the Blood-Clotting Powder would injure her. Wasn’t this a trap on both sides?

Xie Jin knew Lin Wanyi needed time; he put away the manual and rose:

“I’ll distract them.”

Yet as he stood, the ever-present A Piao suddenly whispered in his ear:

“You’re being watched. Someone may know your residence. She has no means of self-defense—leaving her alone isn’t safe. I’ll guard her. You go distract the officials.”

After brief consideration, Xie Jin still believed A Piao’s nonsense, unfastened the Zhenglun Sword, and left it in the house to ward off evil:

“Take this sword for protection. If you’re bored, talk to Meiqiu.”

“Gurki~”

Meiqiu mumbled with eyes closed, then fell still again.

Lin Wanyi was still purging the poison and said nothing more, merely nodded in thanks before resuming her meditation.

……

Creak~

Soon, the heavy gate opened from within.

Three figures stood outside: Linghu Qingmo in snowy white robes stood center, flanked on either side by Yang Dabiao, like a double-door refrigerator, and a black-armored Wu Zu.

Xie Jin stepped out calmly, bowing:

“Miss Linghu, Brother Yang. Who is this official?”

Liu Qingzhi, who had just been speaking of Xie Jin, felt a pang of sympathy for his troubled fate and replied:

“I’m Liu Qingzhi of the Prince’s Guard. I salute you, Young Master Xie.”

Hearing the name, Xie Jin felt a flicker of familiarity; after a moment’s recollection, he remembered the man who had “blown that thing and made Nanyu fall asleep,” and exclaimed in surprise:

“So you’re Officer Liu—long time no hear!”

Liu Qingzhi, seeing Xie Jin’s reverence was genuine, not mere politeness, frowned in confusion:

“Have you heard of my name?”

Xie Jin remembered clearly, but the matter inside the room was not for public discussion; he hesitated how to explain, when Linghu Qingmo spoke up:

“Save the pleasantries for later.”

Linghu Qingmo glanced into the courtyard:

“I heard Doctor Lin was poisoned by Blood-Clotting Powder—how is she?”

Xie Jin spoke calmly: “Doctor Lin is a physician—she has a way to counter the poison. She’s resting now. Let’s discuss this outside.”

“Blood-Clotting Powder isn’t ordinary poison. I brought an antidote pill.”

Linghu Qingmo stepped toward the main chamber, intending to check on Lin Wanyi’s condition.

But Xie Jin would never let her enter—he stepped in front to block her:

“She’s fine. She just sweated through her clothes, stripped naked—unfit for visitors.”

Stripped naked?

Linghu Qingmo halted, half-skeptical:

“You only arrived in Danyang yesterday—today you’re already…?”

Xie Jin knew it sounded abrupt, but his hometown was also in the capital; he smiled and explained:

“I live in the capital. I’ve visited the Lin family clinic many times before—we’ve known each other for years.”

So they’re old lovers…

Linghu Qingmo frowned slightly, her gaze implying: You have a lover and still touch my chest? You’re a scoundrel, aren’t you?

At that moment, Lin Wanyi’s voice came from within the inner courtyard:

“Miss Linghu, I’m fine. I’ve taken the antidote pill and am now cultivating to heal. I’ll rest a while longer. With my injuries, I cannot come out to greet you—please forgive me.”

Hearing her voice sounded unharmed, Linghu Qingmo relaxed, turned back toward the alley:

“I heard Fu Dongping was hired by yesterday’s demon bandits. Did you uncover any leads?”

Xie Jin shut the courtyard gate and led the three toward the alley’s end:

“I only arrived yesterday. I didn’t expect Fu Dongping was here to kill me—he struck too hard. By the time I tried to question him, he was already dead.”

Linghu Qingmo silently fretted, sighing:

"Slaying demons is virtuous, but leaving a few alive helps the authorities investigate."

Didn’t I leave no survivors yesterday?

Who knew the authorities were this incompetent—they didn’t even stop the bandits’ bleeding?

Xie Jin couldn’t criticize Yang Dabiao, so he merely nodded:

“My father always said: if you encounter demon bandits, kill them—never take chances. I’m used to it. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Yang Dabiao, who had failed his duty yesterday, chimed in:

"That’s right—but being ruthless doesn’t mean you have to kill. Next time, shatter their dantian, chop off their limbs, turn them into a stump—I guarantee they won’t bite back, and the authorities can still interrogate them."

Xie Jin frowned: “That’s too brutal. Killing is killing. Torture for pleasure is the way of demons.”

“Brutal?!”

All three turned to stare.

Even Liu Qingzhi couldn’t hold back—he seriously recalled:

“Yesterday, that monk was smashed to pulp—blood and flesh smeared half the alley; the government office runners still haven’t cleaned it up. Today, Fu Dongping’s intestines were pulled out and tossed on the ground…”

“Enough!”

Linghu Qingmo, mid-discussion, raised her hand to halt the chatter and asked:

“How did these demon bandits find you?”

Xie Jin spread his hands: “I don’t know. I stayed in this house last night and never left. This morning, after breakfast with Brother Yang, I went to the clinic—and then the assassin struck. Including the time to hire and track me, I was probably watched last night.”

“Last night…”

Yang Dabiao crossed his arms, thinking deeply:

"With such a short window, someone must have known your movements inside the authorities."

Xie Jin sensed an insider, yet still didn’t understand:

"If they have an insider in the authorities and know I slaughtered everyone in the warehouse for revenge, why wouldn’t they know my strength? Sending a nobody to die for nothing makes no sense."

Linghu Qingmo also found this odd; after thinking:

“Perhaps the insider knows little—only that you slaughtered the warehouse staff, not the details. Fu Dongping isn’t a nobody—any other twenty-year-old would’ve died eight times over.”

As the four discussed this, a constable suddenly ran up from the street:

“Captain Yang! Captain Yang!”

Yang Dabiao frowned: “What? Is there trouble in the city again?”

“No.”

The constable reached the four and handed over a bottle:

“While collecting corpses on Jinmen Street, we found this bottle. Please examine it, sir.”

Xie Jin glanced at the black bottle: “It’s from Fu Dongping—I saw it earlier. It likely held Blood-Clotting Powder.”

Linghu Qingmo took out a handkerchief, took the empty bottle, and carefully sniffed:

“It’s definitely a Blood-Clotting Powder container. Is there something wrong with the bottle?”

Yang Dabiao, accustomed to street dealings, frowned as he recalled:

"This bottle... didn’t the authorities seize 'Dengxian Powder' in containers like this?"

Liu Qingzhi rubbed his chin: “Yes, I think so. We once arrested a few poison dealers in the beggar dens—they had these bottles. Said they bought them from Sanhe Pavilion.”

Xie Jin had heard of ‘Dengxian Powder’—it induced hallucinations, made users feel euphoric, but damaged the spirit and created unbreakable cravings; it had been banned since the founding of the Daqian Empire, and his father had often raided it.

Seeing Liu Qingzhi knew its source, he asked:

"If the authorities know where Dengxian Powder is sold, why don’t they raid it?"

Liu Qingzhi looked uneasy: “We’re not sure if Sanhe Pavilion is selling it privately. The owner behind Sanhe Pavilion is the Li family of Wencheng Street—the Li family are relatives of Minister Li Gongpu, His Majesty’s favorite…”

Xie Jin nodded slightly, understanding.

Li Gongpu, always fawning over the Emperor, was secretly mocked as "Eunuch Li." Though his reputation was poor, he held the rank of Second-Rank Vice Minister and enjoyed the Emperor’s deep trust—no county authority would dare touch him, let alone the Prince of Dan.

Linghu Qingmo thought carefully, then asked:

“Does Dengxian Powder contain ‘Dragon Whisker Grass’?”

Yang Dabiao froze, his expression turning grave:

"Longxu grass is cold and yin in nature; it confuses the spirit. There does seem to be some in Dengxian Powder. Could it be that Sanhe Pavilion secretly colluded with demon bandits to gather Longxu grass, had their warehouse raided, and then hired assassins for revenge?"

Linghu Qingmo had found traces and acted with swift decisiveness:

"We can't ignore any lead—let’s go to Sanhe Pavilion first and see."

Xie Jinhuan also wanted to know who was hiring assassins to kill him; Lin Wanyi had Meiqiu and Apiao guarding her, so there was no issue—he followed behind…

(End of Chapter)