[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-roaring-dragon":3,"chapter-the-roaring-dragon-the-roaring-dragon-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Roaring Dragon",{"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},2281877,4463,"Chapter 21: Let the Daoist Die, Not This Poor Monk","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>Two quarters of an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A large force of constables arrived from all directions, sealing off the entire district; Wu Zu in ink-black armor patrolled in pairs between the houses, searching for traces of the demonic entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Sanhe Building, both gamblers and casino staff sat in neat rows, heads clasped, as constables held ledgers and questioned and searched each one:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your boss is eating people in the back—you didn’t know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Officer, I truly didn’t know. The boss came by for a round this morning, laughing and chatting, nothing seemed amiss…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When was the last time you saw him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This morning…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exact time!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Around the third quarter of the Chen hour…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the rear courtyard, the area was already packed with people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao and Liu Qing led their men in digging up the ground to a depth of three feet, searching for banned and controlled medicinal herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two white cloths covered the bodies of the Private Secretary and the servant beneath the eaves; County Wei  Yang Ting and the coroner crouched beside the charred corpse, examining it closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Xie Jin’s methods were excessively brutal, the coroner harbored a slight grievance, muttering quietly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Xie is truly mighty, but he hits too hard. Yesterday’s demonic monk—stitched over three hundred stitches and still couldn’t piece him back into a human shape—and today two more, gutted and pierced through the chest? We’ll be busy half the night again…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When County Wei  Yang Ting first arrived, he saw the shattered house and assumed the bodies on the ground were victims killed by the demonic entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discovering instead that the demon had been beaten to this state while Xie Jin remained unscathed, merely with bloodstains on his sleeves, Yang Ting was startled by Xie Jin’s terrifying cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with so many cases lately, Yang Ting hadn’t slept well in half a month; he had no time for flattery now, only carefully inspecting the charred corpse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s a birthmark on the leg—the deceased must be Li Shizhong himself. But he was perfectly fine this morning; how did he suddenly turn into this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It looks like he ingested a ‘Hua Yao Dan.’ This elixir helps demonic cultivators strengthen their bodies and quell their ‘Blood Craving.’ The lower the elixir’s grade, the more obvious the bodily mutations. Li Shizhong probably mixed it himself, took too much again, and turned into this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin stood nearby, helping examine the bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to his knowledge, demons referred to sentient beings—birds, beasts, plants, trees—that had attained spiritual refinement and could transform into human or hybrid forms upon reaching the transcendent rank. But such genuine demons were virtually unseen in Da Gan, where the teachings of countless sects held sway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Demonic Daoists,” however, were one of the cultivation lineages, as ancient as Daoist, Buddhist, or shamanic traditions. Historically, the rebellious sects like the “Ming Shen Jiao,” “Yan Luo Jiao,” and “Hua Xian Jiao” all belonged to this path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to texts, demonic Daoists split into Ghost Cultivators and Body Cultivators. Though their focuses differed, both followed the law of “the strong devour the weak,” cultivating solely through blood sacrifices, energy draining, soul snatching, and other illicit methods—in short, plundering the masses to fatten themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shizhong, who mixed his own Hua Yao Dan to reinforce his body, belonged to the most common branch of demonic Daoists: Body Cultivators. The government office  typically called them demonic bandits; most demonic disturbances in Da Gan stemmed from such people bringing ruin upon themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening for a moment, Xie Jin suddenly noticed Hu Ji, standing beside him, pressing her chest and frowning. He asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you injured?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji’s demeanor was cold and aloof, but she was in fact in great pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, when the demon lunged at her face, she had been saved by Xie Jin’s intervention and had not been harmed by the demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xie Jin’s method of rescue had been a full-force leap from the doorway, crashing straight into her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji had already been injured by Xie Jin’s mace the day before and was on leave; the impact felt like being hit by a mud truck, and she’d still exerted her energy to cast Thunder Art upon landing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the danger had passed, she felt a needle-like stab in her chest and dared not breathe deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet if Xie Jin hadn’t knocked her aside, the demon might have scratched her; she harbored no resentment, merely said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was accidentally injured the day before yesterday—I haven’t recovered yet. Don’t worry; a little rest will fix it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In public, Xie Jin couldn’t rub her sore spot; he warned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slaying demons isn’t child’s play. Living on the edge of blades is routine. You’re a girl—wear your armor from now on. That thing really does offer exceptional protection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you think I don’t want to wear it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t it because you smashed it and took it away for repairs!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji’s lips moved, but as the defeated party, she didn’t dare complain to Xie Jin; instead, she asked curiously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your martial arts are overly brutal—and I’ve never seen these techniques before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin replied casually: “Forms have no fixed shape. The best technique is the one that suits you—not necessarily the famous one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Silver Dragon Eight Styles—besides ‘Ti Long Wu Jiu,’ what are the other moves?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The forms progress from simple to advanced. The first four are bare-handed combat: sweeping, vertical strikes, direct thrusts—use as much force as you have. The essence lies in the last four: ‘You Long Pan Shan,’ ‘Pan Long Heng Gang,’ ‘Ti Long Wu Jiu,’ and ‘Diu Long Lao Mu!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji thought the first three sounded serious, but the last one had a strange tone—clearly not a proper term:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Diu Long Lao Mu? What does that mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Desperation Throw! If you can’t kill them, you run—so it’s called ‘Diu Long Lao Mu.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s an escape move, then by your logic, it should be called ‘Ni Long Ru Hai’…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clever—but this final move must be shouted aloud to unleash its full power. Even if you lose, you can’t lose the Qishi …”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s such a thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few casual exchanges, Yang Dabiao in the courtyard suddenly called out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad, come take a look.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’s your dad? When on duty, address me by rank!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency, please come quickly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin heard the call and walked to the study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The study’s debris had been cleared; the box containing Deng Xian San bore a sealed label, but bloodstains still stained the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao stood by the wall, lifting a landscape painting to reveal a hidden compartment containing silver notes, gold artifacts, and several ledgers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji stepped forward to examine them closely: the ledgers recorded the casino’s income and expenses, as well as profits from trading controlled substances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also a private ledger listing payments to Daoists like Chen Yuan and other bandits; the latest entry was a 300-tael payout, with no recipient named.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the final payment, Xie Jin immediately thought of his recent windfall:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These 300 taels were likely used to hire Fu Dongping.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji had tracked these demonic bandits for half a month without a single valuable lead; suddenly finding such concrete evidence, she was stunned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to the ledgers, Li Shizhong was secretly colluding with demonic bandits to gather Long Xu Cao—both the person and the herbs match… Is the case really solved this easily?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao scratched his head, also feeling the suddenness of fortune:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The evidence is overwhelming—it must be genuine. With this case closed, we can focus on tracking the great demon on Zi Hui Mountain and last night’s giant footprints…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin, who had been an outsider, felt as if struck by lightning!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing that the scapegoat was gone and Da Gan’s iron fist would now turn squarely on him, Xie Jin quickly raised his hand to interrupt:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait, everyone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The excited group fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given Xie Jin’s extraordinary performance over the past two days, no one underestimated him; Yang Dabiao asked seriously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jinhuan, what’s your point?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin was thinking, but he clearly had an argument:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something out of the ordinary always hides a trick. Yesterday’s bandits, Fu Dongping, and the mastermind here—all were silenced, dead with no witnesses…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right—all your doing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin’s expression froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Ting tapped his son’s head with his pipe:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop joking. Let Xie Jin continue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jin wanted to slap Yang Dabiao, but now wasn’t the time; he continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We just arrived, and Li Shizhong immediately went mad and started eating people—too coincidental. That’s point one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second, if Li Shizhong knew what I’d done at the warehouse, he wouldn’t hire a second-rate thug like Fu Dongping; if he didn’t know my details, he couldn’t have tracked my movements precisely. That’s point two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third, even if Li Shizhong underestimated my strength and hired Fu Dongping, he wouldn’t have let the killer carry the vial—such a critical piece of evidence—directly to us, leading us straight to his lair. That’s point three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though the physical evidence is abundant, these three points make me suspect this case may involve a frame-up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Ting, who had handled cases his entire life, also found the case suspiciously convenient; he sucked on his pipe and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The last two points could be explained as Li Shizhong’s negligence, but his sudden madness and the death of the bookkeeper are indeed strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Long Xu Cao purchases on the ledger match yesterday’s warehouse records, and we found no proof of forgery on-site—it won’t be easy to verify.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao rubbed his chin, pondering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li family must keep their own ledgers for business. If their records don’t match Sanhe Building’s, we can prove these ledgers were forged by the demonic bandits…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Ji shook her head: “If the ledgers match, it proves Li family ordered Li Shizhong to hire demonic bandits and kill people. If they don’t match, Li family still illegally sold Deng Xian San.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that Li Shizhong is dead with no witnesses, Li family can simply claim ignorance and make the dead man bear all blame—why would they hand over evidence to confess? We can’t forcibly search Li family’s ledgers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone present was a constable—they understood this perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li family’s patron was Huang Men Lang Li Gongpu, the Emperor’s favorite. Illegally selling Deng Xian San for profit was not a minor matter, but not a major one either. Even if Li family escaped severe punishment, their political enemies would seize this as a weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Li Shizhong dead and no witnesses, Li family now had the perfect chance to shift blame—and with powerful backing, they would never surrender the master ledger for Deng Xian San.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But without cross-checking with Li family, they couldn’t confirm whether Sanhe Building’s ledgers had been forged by the demonic bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they judged solely by current evidence, all recent demonic disturbances and hired assassinations would be pinned on Li Shizhong alone—wouldn’t this case just be swept under the rug?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao rubbed his head, his expression troubled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This case is probably unworkable—the Li family’s influence reaches straight to the Son of Heaven, and they’re refusing outright. We seem powerless. The great demon of Zihui Mountain is imminent; perhaps we should set this case aside for now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan saw Yang Dabiao wanted to shelve the case and focus on the demon instead—he wouldn’t allow it. He stepped forward, his tone grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Yang, what kind of talk is that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This case involves hiring demonic bandits to take innocent lives. Are we just going to drop it because the Li family has powerful connections? What about the innocent people who died unjustly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, if there’s another hand behind the scenes framing the Li family to cover their tracks and divert attention, perhaps the ‘heaven-piercing demonic aura of Zihui Mountain’ is their doing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In my view, we must pursue both fronts simultaneously: thoroughly investigate the Li family, make this a flagship case, and give other wealthy families who illegally sell Immortal Powder a lesson.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We must also dig deep to find any hidden demonic bandits—and we must act swiftly. Every day delayed could cost countless lives…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey hey!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao, chastised by Xie Jinhuan’s righteous tone, felt his old face flush. He quickly patted Xie Jinhuan’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course we’ll investigate! If we ignore a case, are we just food buckets? The Li family? Fine—I’ll lead the team to raid their mansion right now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qing, more cautious, turned and said: “Commander Linghu, the Li family’s connections are too vast. Shouldn’t we report this to the Wang Fu and let the Prince handle it…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Ting and Linghu Qingmo remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan’s words were technically correct—the government office should act this way in theory—but reality was far from ideal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, investigate the Li family with heavenly connections and make it a flagship case; on the other, dig deep for the demonic bandits and move swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would require mobilizing half of Danyang’s personnel—even the Dan Prince would have to step in personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, to track the source of Zihui Mountain’s demonic aura, 280 of the 300 Wu Zu have been deployed; every official from county to township to village to pavilion is working overtime. The Dan Prince hasn’t slept in days because of the Zihui Mountain crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we now launch a “Third Quarter Danyang City Anti-Drug, Anti-Crime Special Campaign,” the Dan Prince might suffer a heart attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a super-tier demon isn’t under the jurisdiction of a mere County Commandant—yet this case falls within Yang Ting’s territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Yang Ting still sucked on his pipe and looked at Linghu Qingmo:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This case is shrouded in mystery and involves too many powerful figures. Commander Linghu, you should report it to the Prefectural Office and see if they can send reinforcements. I’ll lead the team to arrest the Li family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dan Prince also serves as Prefect of Danzhou—reporting to the Prefectural Office means asking the Prince for manpower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Linghu Qingmo only dealt with punishing evil and rooting out corruption; the Prince’s pressure was none of her concern. She nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll report this to the Prince myself. Commander Yang, don’t fixate solely on the Li family—keep pursuing the demonic bandits. If we confirm a hidden mastermind, at least we can prove the Li family’s innocence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan frowned, speaking earnestly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How can you say ‘innocent’? Immortal Powder preys on the suffering. Countless commoners have been ruined—driven to poverty, illness, selling their children. The founding Emperor established three solemn laws explicitly banning incense-based hallucinogens. The Li family, favored by the Son of Heaven, has never brought benefit to the people, yet they…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough, enough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Linghu Qingmo thought herself straightforward and righteous, but she hadn’t expected Xie Jinhuan to be even more fiery. Afraid he’d say something fatal, she pushed him gently toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go take care of Doctor Lin first. We’ll talk later!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commander Linghu, I’m just speaking the truth…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We know, we know—we’ll investigate the Li family thoroughly, no leniency!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Dabiao and other seasoned government office veterans, chastised by Xie Jinhuan, could no longer drag their feet. They immediately mobilized, increasing manpower to continue the investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Xie Jinhuan had been ushered out, he quietly sighed in relief, silently wishing the Li family must be guilty and a hidden mastermind must exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better still—if both sides were guilty, and the bigger the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, Li Gongpu was secretly plotting rebellion, and the demonic bandits planned to assassinate the Dan Prince—no, the Emperor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then would Danyang’s entire bureaucracy run itself ragged, and the imperial court’s attention shift away from Zihui Mountain’s demonic aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could buy himself a few more days to deal with the old hag at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these government office officials were truly incompetent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they found nothing on the Li family, he’d be the one in trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they couldn’t uncover the demonic bandits’ mastermind, the government office would come knocking on his door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a matter of shared glory and shared ruin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he’d have to find a way to help…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this the old saying: “Let the friend die, not the poor man”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looks like I’ve got a bit of a cultivation talent…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2724,"2026-06-20T01:38:11.747Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d4e348164606f92ddca0903a99f72db02a3169bcd7b8cc38bf8c5800d1048509","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-22","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-20",252,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-roaring-dragon-cover.jpg"]