Chapter 28: Follow the Vine to Find the Gourd

The disturbance at Sanhe Tower was serious, but ultimately did not threaten the survival of the entire realm; the Wang Fu's sponsored advisors still focused their main efforts on the demonic aura of Mount Zihui.

After leaving the county office, Linghu Qingmo hurried to Danwang Pavilion, climbing the stairs upward; just as he reached the second floor, he heard voices coming from the hall.

"Danzhou is vast in territory; ordinary Wu Zu and constables cannot identify major demons, and with just us, inspecting county by county and village by village would take a month or more…"

"Could it have gone north?"

"Impossible—the footprints came from the direction of Danzhou…"

"Those footprints might just be from hunters; once you're beyond top rank, do you even need to walk? Have you ever seen Mr. Mu ride around on 'qi-formed horses'?"

"Hmm… that does make sense—we're still too low in realm, unable to imagine the grandeur of the mountain's peak…"

…

The Wang Fu had seven guests and advisors above Rank 3: excluding Chief Steward Zhu Wenyuan, there were Tutor Huangfu Qi, Commandant Tie Fengzhang, and guest sage Ji Shiqing of Xuanhu Guan, among others.

When Linghu Qingmo arrived at the door, he saw that all except Commandant Tie Fengzhang were inside, along with several low-rank guests who, having found no trace of the great demon, were brainstorming around the central Danzhou map.

Zhu Wenyuan stood at the head, frowning at the fruitless search progress; seeing Linghu Qingmo at the door, he asked warmly:

"Qingmo, do you have something to report?"

"Greetings, all senior masters."

After bowing, Linghu Qingmo entered the hall:

"I just went to examine the corpse. Xie Jinhuan said the unidentified floating corpse tied to the demon raiders died from corpse flies, apparently nurturing some kind of 'gu flower'—I don't know the basics, so I've come to consult you all."

"Cultivation Flower?"

At these words, all the sponsored advisors fell silent.

Zhu Wenyuan held his folding fan, brows knitted; after a moment of serious recollection, he spoke solemnly:

"The method of cultivating Cultivation Flower is a secret of the Wu Sect, known only to those who have reached Rank 3 or higher. Are you certain Xie Jinhuan didn't misidentify it?"

Huangfu Qi, tutor to the heir and princess, second only to Zhu Wenyuan in status and having served in the Wang Fu for over twenty years, deeply respected by the Dan King, now stroked his goatee and questioned:

"Master Ji also examined that corpse—it had been rotting for days with no trace left; the coroner checked from head to toe and found no corpse flies. How did Xie Jinhuan see them?"

Ji Shiqing, from the Daoist clan Xuanhu Guan, had spent years traveling the southern wilderness in his youth and specialized in combating Wu Sect demons; though he did not rely on seniority to lord over others, he still nodded:

"If the corpse had died recently, identifying it as caused by Cultivation Flower might be possible. But this corpse was already devoured by maggots, rotten beyond recognition—effectively destroyed evidence. I truly cannot imagine how Master Xie could have deduced it was being nurtured by Cultivation Flower."

Linghu Qingmo did not know how Xie Jinhuan had deduced it either; after thinking, he replied:

"Xie Jinhuan is learned and resourceful—perhaps he had a sudden insight."

This explanation sounded rather fantastical.

Who among the Wang Fu's guests isn't learned and well-traveled?

Zhu Wenyuan didn't believe any of these advisors had worse eyesight than a twenty-year-old youth.

But since someone had presented evidence, even the most implausible possibility had to be considered; Zhu Wenyuan carefully recalled:

"There are six or seven types of Cultivation Flower nourished by corpse flies; determining exactly which one caused the death is difficult."

Ji Shiqing, who truly understood the Wu Sect, replied:

"The demon raiders are collecting 'Long Xucao'; only two types of Cultivation Flower use both corpse flies and Long Xucao.

"Excluding the impossible Anhun Grass, it must be the Mad Corpse Flower of Linglu Valley. Investigating along these lines might yield clues."

Huangfu Qi, seeing his colleagues following the thread, added:

"According to the 'Compendium of Herbal Essences,' the Mad Corpse Flower must be surrounded by corpses strewn everywhere. Danzhou Realm cannot have large piles of dead bodies—perhaps it's being nurtured using animal carcasses from slaughterhouses or livestock gathering points. If we find where the flower is cultivated, we can prove the Li family was framed, and someone else is behind it all."

Hearing these senior masters' insights, Linghu Qingmo naturally found his direction; he bowed respectfully:

"Thank you, all senior masters, for your guidance. I'll lead a team to search every livestock storage site within the city."

Zhu Wenyuan nodded; since the threat of a beyond-top-rank great demon far outweighed that of a mere Rank 3 Wu Sect practitioner, Linghu Qingmo's search team could act freely—if the Wu Sect practitioner dared show his face in the city, they'd arrive in an instant. No further words were spent on the matter; they resumed discussing how to locate the great demon…

——

Outside Danyang City.

The carriage sped along the main road upstream, occasionally passing convoys of escort guilds; the horse bells rang intermittently:

Ding ling ling~

Xie Jinhuan sat outside the carriage, holding a telescope bought in town, carefully scanning both banks of the Dajiang; the driving was left to his personal maid.

Meiqiu crouched beside him, paws gripping the reins, her amber eyes filled with bewilderment—her expression clearly asked: Isn't driving my job? Why don't you go ask someone to pat your head?

Inside the carriage, Lin Wanyi also gazed out the window, searching for possible locations where the Mad Corpse Flower might be cultivated.

Though her expression was focused, she constantly felt a chill—as if someone else sat in the carriage with her!

But she could not see the red-clad ghost before her; aside from occasionally pulling her robe tighter, she made no other movement.

After searching thus for a while, a scenic garden appeared along the riverbank, its waters lined with colorful, massive ships; its internal architecture was magnificent beyond count, throngs of tourists wandering and gathering within.

Xie Jinhuan turned the telescope toward the garden and saw dense crowds; he asked:

"What place is that?"

"Mudan Pond. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival gathering will be held there; it's not yet time, but on Mid-Autumn night, it may draw tens of thousands."

"I see."

Since it didn't concern him, Xie Jinhuan paid it little mind.

After scanning the riverbank for a moment, Lin Wanyi still felt uneasy; she turned to the empty seat beside her and whispered:

"Xie Jinhuan."

"Hmm?" Xie Jinhuan turned toward the carriage.

"Do… do you feel something odd about this carriage? Like… someone else is here?"

"Gū jī?"

Meiqiu turned her head; her expression clearly said: You're only now noticing the spirit?

Xie Jinhuan immediately pressed his maid down, staring at the two exquisite beauties inside the carriage, puzzled:

"Is there? Did you not recover from yesterday's poisoning yet?"

Lin Wanyi thought it was possible, and tightened her clothes again, asking:

"By the way, what time did you come back yesterday?"

Xie Jinhuan had come back relatively early, and had even gone into the bath. But if this matter were to let Lin Wanyi know, wouldn't she plant a love gu on him and turn him into a Lin family son-in-law?

"I came back quite late yesterday. Just as I entered the door, Miss Zisu arrived."

"Oh…"

Lin Wanyi also could not distinguish dream from reality. Seeing this, she just assumed it was a dream, dismissed the stray thoughts, and continued searching along the riverbank.

Two people, one ghost, and one bird, proceeding along the official road like this, after walking roughly twenty-plus li, the red-clothed floating ghost in the carriage suddenly spoke:

"Wait."

"Whoa~"

Xie Jinhuan immediately pulled the reins, stopped the carriage by the roadside, turned his head to look around, and could see that beside the overgrown official road, there was a tree-shaded path that looked to have been trampled out by people, leading toward the depths of the distant hills.

Lin Wanyi noticed the carriage had stopped, leaned out to look at the distant mountains and fields:

"That area over there seems to be called Cockscomb Ridge. There's a small stream flowing out from the mountains, joining the Huai River. Do you think it's here?"

Xie Jinhuan was not certain. He got down from the carriage, came into the path to observe carefully, and could see that on the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves and weeds, there were some scattered hoofprints and dung. There should have been livestock passing through recently, but the direction was all toward the mountains — going in, none coming out.

"This is a bit suspicious. Let's go in and take a look."

To avoid alerting the enemy, Xie Jinhuan first pulled the carriage farther away, stopping it beside an old bridge, and only then went deep into the path with one person and one ghost. In a moment, he discovered a small stream lying across the end, its source pointing toward the depths of the hills.

Xie Jinhuan had Meiqiu fly up high to scout, and only after confirming there were no living people in the mountains did he search upward along the stream.

Lin Wanyi lifted her skirt and followed closely behind, constantly feeling something was off around her, glancing left and right from time to time:

"This place wouldn't have dirty things, would it? How about we go back and report to the government office, bring more people?"

Xie Jinhuan glanced at the ghost bride drifting around searching, and replied:

"In broad daylight under the clear sky, how could there be dirty things? Even if there really were, I'm right here — what are you afraid of?"

Lin Wanyi actually also worried about being lured into the grove by a man, and then becoming a woman.

But in a place like this, Xie Jinhuan might not necessarily be able to do anything to her, a true inheritor of the Wu Sect, so she quickly tossed the thought from her mind.

Two people and one ghost walked along the rugged stream for roughly half a quarter-hour, and arrived beside a pool of water.

The pool was three zhang across, surrounded by tangled vines on all sides. A portion of the mountainside on one side had collapsed, with earth and rock piled up on the side of the pool, looking like a natural landslide.

Xie Jinhuan stood at the edge of the pool observing, and could see a faint stench of rot drifting in the air, its source seemingly beneath the landslide.

Ye Hongshang floated above the pool, and nodded slightly:

"This is the place. The flower-raising ground behind the pool has been buried. There are no living people inside."

Although Lin Wanyi had not heard the succubus's whisper, after carefully observing the surrounding environment, she also seconded:

"This place is shaded and close to water, the yin qi is very heavy. It really is suitable for raising Mad Corpse Flowers."

Xie Jinhuan confirmed he had found the place, and naturally did not waste words. After checking the landslide and confirming there were no mechanisms or traps, he drew the Tiangang Mace from his waist, came to the edge of the pool, and drew a deep breath.

Seeing this, Lin Wanyi hurriedly retreated to the edge of the pool, and even covered her ears.

Boom—

The next instant, a thunderous roar rang out from the mountain hollow.

Xie Jinhuan brought the mace down with all his might, and the pool instantly exploded, sending up a pillar of water!

The blast of qi swept up boundless spray, smashing into the side of the collapsed earth and rock, instantly blasting open a gap — but it was buried again by rolling stones.

Rumble rumble—

After going back and forth like this three times, the collapsed earth pile was finally blasted open into a gap, revealing a deep, dark cave entrance behind it, and a thick stench of corpses rushed at them…

(End of this chapter)