[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-roaring-dragon":3,"chapter-the-roaring-dragon-the-roaring-dragon-chapter-233":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},2282089,4463,"Chapter 233: The Trap Is Set (Revised)","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-233",233,"\u003Cp>The hundred-li canyon abruptly appeared atop the endless snowplain, stretching forward into towering snow-capped peaks, so that from afar it looked as if an immortal had cleaved the entire mountain range in half with a single sword stroke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan stood at the canyon’s entrance, reins in hand, his cloak fluttering in the wind as he gazed ahead at the straight, swordlike fissure in the land, his eyes filled with astonishment:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this really have been carved by a sword?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua was also here for the first time; wrapped in her cloak, she peered downward and saw the canyon spanned half a li in width, extending deep into the mountains with no visible end—her gaze equally skeptical:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably just a legend fabricated by later generations based on a geological oddity. A sword canyon three hundred li long? No human could have done that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Hongshang stood beside them, red umbrella slung over his shoulder, his expression calm:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This canyon, against the vastness of heaven and earth, is but a tiny crack. Not surprising if someone with sufficient cultivation made it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan’s realm was still low; he couldn’t fathom how exaggerated one’s power must be to cleave a three-hundred-li mountain range with a single strike. After a swift glance, he halted his horse on the snowplain and began walking along the frozen river into the canyon, searching for traces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the canyon was straight, its interior held frozen rivers and wooded areas; as they entered the mountains, they could still spot a few mine shafts on the cliff walls—the terrain was complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet their luck held: after advancing over thirty li along the canyon, they found signs of human presence on the ice river, pointing toward a mine shaft in the cliff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The canyon earned its name because the iron ore mined here was said to be imbued with the aura of the Emperor’s Sword, making blades forged from it exceptionally sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether the legend was true remained uncertain, but the ore from Lishan was indeed excellent for swordmaking—every dynasty had mined here. Today, the mine owner was Lishan Sword Cottage, over a hundred li away. Yet today, the open-pit mines had been exhausted; what remained were abandoned shafts, now hiding places for birds, beasts, and border bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan led his horse near the mine entrance. It was clearly an ancient shaft, barely taller than a man. Fresh boot prints were clearly visible on the snow at the entrance—someone had passed through as recently as this morning. The shaft extended deep inside, silent and still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua doubted a powerful killer of her parents would hide in such a small place, but a lead couldn’t be ignored—even if it turned out to be a false trail, eliminating a band of demons would still earn merit. She followed Xie Jinhuan inside, pulling a luminous pearl from her sleeve and tracing the footprints deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, atop the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven figures lay prone along the ridge, draped in white cloaks nearly indistinguishable from the snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Captain Chu Xing held a distant-viewing glass veiled in gauze, carefully observing the two men entering the Sword Canyon, and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that Xie Jinhuan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, He Can had his entire qi network sealed and bound with chains, his eyes filled with disbelief:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re really not afraid of death? You actually dared lure this demon here? With just five of you, trash and scum, you think you can kill him? If you want to die, don’t drag us down—do you think it’s easy for us to survive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Chu, also bound, sported a buzzcut with a few sprouts of hair, his expression one of utter despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Can had once scolded him, saying demonic Daoists always beat up their own when trouble arose—he hadn’t believed it then, but now he understood He Can’s bad luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at Zihui Mountain, the two had barely escaped death by betraying their teammates and risking everything. They’d planned to flee to the southern frontier, but halfway heard of chaos erupting at Huofeng Valley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Can, relying on his “coward’s instinct,” suspected the incident involved Xie the Great Demon, so they turned north again, intending to disappear and start anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what luck—neither the Southern Daoist Alliance nor Xie Jinhuan had caught them, yet the moment they crossed Shanhe Pass, northern demonic Daoists seized them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason? Followers of the Spirit God Sect were implanted with soul marks upon initiation, allowing Ghost Envoys to track and control them. The northern demons could actually detect these Spirit God Sect marks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Zhang Chu was captured, he was subjected to “ancient interrogation methods”: Why had they survived? How were they alive when Fachen was dead? Had they betrayed the organization?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Chu confessed to wetting his bed at age three—still, they didn’t believe he and He Can had escaped Zihui Mountain unscathed. Unable to extract answers from the branch, they prepared to transfer them to higher-ups, then dragged them here en route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, Zhang Chu still didn’t know which faction of demonic Daoists had captured them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Spirit God Sect was a demonic Daoist sect, yet it had orthodox lineage and branches. Its first patriarch was the Corpse Ancestor; the deity worshipped in the Spirit God Hall was naturally the Spirit of the Netherworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as a mid-level member, Zhang Chu had no qualification to pilgrimage to the Spirit God Hall. He only knew the Spirit slept beneath the Nine Heavens—when its eyes opened, it was day; when closed, it was night, governing life and death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All devout followers, upon death, would have their souls return to the Spirit God Hall. The sect’s ultimate goal was to resurrect the Spirit, at which point all martyrs would be reborn and ascend with the Spirit beyond heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these demons called themselves the Crimson Witch Sect, worshipping the Witch God, claiming their leader was the reincarnation of Crimson Witch Zhu Man, who would awaken soon and grant all followers noble titles and high offices—purely a shoddy, backwater cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this Crimson Witch Sect possessed terrifying power: they could identify Spirit God Sect marks, and had eyes and hands reaching everywhere—somehow, they’d lured Xie the Old Demon here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Chu knew Xie the Old Demon’s abilities well. Though they were dozens of li apart, once out of sight, he could appear behind you in the next instant. His face had gone pale as he interjected:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Captain Chu, this boy is no ordinary man. All seven of us together wouldn’t fill his teeth. He hunts killers like a god—finding us is child’s play. Don’t you dare doubt it…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming their identity, Chu Xing lowered the distant-viewing glass:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your southern lot of useless trash nearly had your nest overturned by a mere child. Do you think our northern sects are as incompetent as you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Can, seeing another fool who refused to believe, lifted his chin slightly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then go ahead. Before you do, unlock my chains—don’t let me freeze to death in this hellhole. Afterwards, I’ll burn you extra paper money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Xing had been assigned by superiors to serve as an observation post here. Dealing with Xie Jinhuan, a Southern prodigy, was certainly not his job as a lowly branch captain. He now pulled a bamboo tube from his cloak, inside which sat a messenger pigeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pigeon emerged from the tube, circled the snow once, then flew swiftly toward Lishan Sword Cottage…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap, tap…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The luminous pearl’s glow illuminated the first few feet ahead. The mine’s interior held pooled water, now frozen solid by the extreme cold. The deeper they went, the colder it grew, and no sound reached them—but traces of footprints remained on the ground and walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan advanced through the mine with his long spear, finding it cumbersome, so he switched it to his left hand and drew his Heaven-Piercing Iron Club in his right, watching his surroundings carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua also held her curved blade reversed, ready for danger. After advancing over three li, they found no bandits or traps—until they reached a more open section of the mine, where they noticed something odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mine had been abandoned for a hundred years, yet inside lay bedding, pipes, scraps of paper, and an oil lamp on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it looked like a temporary camp for mountain laborers, the stone walls bore a painting drawn in blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure’s upper body was that of a woman, her hair streaming crimson, her face fierce and menacing; her lower body was a serpent’s tail, arms outstretched, head tilted skyward—the image radiated ancient, sinister energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the demonic deity, ancient script was inscribed. Xie Jinhuan was about to decipher it when he heard Bu Yuehua frown and murmur:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ancestral Witch’s bones, buried in the abyss for a thousand kalpas; Crimson Witch blood sacrifice awakens the soul from its tomb… This venerates Ancestral Witch Zhu Man. It means Zhu Man died but did not decay—her bones lie buried for a thousand years; their leader is Zhu Man’s reincarnation, who will awaken the Ancestral Witch’s bones and soul through blood sacrifice…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan could read ancient script himself, so he asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does Zhu Man look like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua shook her head: “Records say Zhu Man was the incarnation of the Fire Phoenix—normally depicted as human-bodied with a bird’s head. A human body with a serpent tail belongs to an even older Ancestral Witch. This Crimson Witch Sect stitched together elements of Witchcraft and demonic Daoism—no one knows where it came from.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan paid no further attention to the demonic statue, instead examining its everyday items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the mine’s traces, these demons had clearly been here this morning—now all their artifacts and clothing were gone, and the paper had been burned. Unsurprisingly, the Imperial Ministry’s Gold Medal Constable had arrived, and they’d fled in panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan searched briefly and reached the oil lamp. He found the demons had fled in haste: the burned paper wasn’t fully destroyed. The handwriting was clearly a letter to superiors, revealing this much:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noble one returned to the capital early, unwell. Before the Young Emperor’s birthday banquet, gather another hundred refined souls as precaution…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southern intelligence: the lord of the Crescent Moon Manor is suspected to have come north. He bears blood enmity with the noble one—keep watch on his movements…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>??\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua caught sight of the writing, immediately crouched down, illuminated the paper with the luminous pearl, and her peach-blossom eyes flashed with killing intent. But remembering she must keep Nan Gong Ye’s identity secret, she spoke gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father and the old lord of Crescent Moon Manor were both killed by Soul-Binding Chains. We never found the killer—but this ‘noble one’ mentioned here must be the murderer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan had thought this was just ordinary demonic bandits, but now his brow furrowed with gravity. He turned to the human-serpent deity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I feel our trail has been exposed. Who else knows your whereabouts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua, seeing her own name on the paper, knew her location was compromised. She frowned in thought:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I only told my sect members before leaving. After departing the capital, I contacted no one—except Mu Sister. No one else could guess where I went…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan didn’t believe the ice-block had leaked their trail. He suspected a spy in Crescent Moon Manor. He carefully examined the charred messages again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These people need to gather refined souls before the Young Emperor’s birthday. Their goal must relate to his coming of age. This ‘noble one returned early, unwell…’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though stationed in the southern frontier, Bu Yuehua traveled widely and understood the top-tier politics of both courts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumor had it that Empress Dowager Guo, burdened by state affairs, suffered from a brain illness. Every year before Winter Solstice, she returned to her homeland for over a month’s rest, leaving governance to the Young Emperor and the Council of State. But this year, for unknown reasons, she returned to the capital early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crimson Witch Sect gathered refined souls—these were used by ghost cultivators and witch sects to strengthen the soul. If the “brain illness” was actually a soul ailment, these souls could heal it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Emperor had reached adulthood; by ritual, he must reclaim governance. But Empress Dowager Guo delayed returning power, and dissent ran deep in court. Chaos was likely to erupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, “the noble one returned early, unwell, urgently gathering refined souls before the Young Emperor’s coming of age, as precaution”—who else could this be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bu Yuehua stared at the paper, her eyes filled with disbelief:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The one who killed my father… was Empress Dowager Guo?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan found this impossible—he’d met the red-haired sister. If she truly wanted to kill a deputy of the Witch Alliance, she wouldn’t need Soul-Binding Chains—she could crush him into pulp with a single finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if he didn’t know Empress Dowager Guo, and didn’t utterly trust the red-haired sister, seeing only these words, he’d surely assume she was the Crimson Witch Sect’s hidden master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since this tied directly to Bu Yuehua’s blood feud, he’d rush to Yanjing to investigate Empress Dowager Guo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he’d fall right into the demonic Daoists’ scheme of driving the tiger to devour the wolf…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan sensed these leftover words were a trap—but a trap only worked if they knew he’d come here, and knew he was with Bu Yuehua…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Jinhuan realized something was wrong—he grabbed Bu Yuehua’s arm and turned to leave:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This place is wrong. Leave now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Bu Yuehua knew Empress Dowager Guo was her master, she’d instantly realize these clues were deeply flawed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she didn’t know yet—so she was confused. Yet she trusted Xie Jinhuan’s judgment absolutely. She swiftly gathered the torn paper and followed him out…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next part not revised yet!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2313,"2026-06-20T01:38:12.833Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","12d0128efab3a11d8473c1d2d5b0f74de2a137c1090ebf41aa6ef284ab7e5404","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-234","the-roaring-dragon-chapter-232",252,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-roaring-dragon-cover.jpg"]