Chapter 30: Destroying Evidence?

Lin Wanyi had a dream.

In the dream, she knelt beneath the starry sky praying, seeing an peerless fairy goddess seated above the nine heavens, bowing her head to touch foreheads with her.

As a warm current surged into her brow, the tide-like coldness within her body receded, and her limbs and bones all relaxed.

It was an indescribable, wonderful pleasure.

Just like experiencing a perfectly timed afternoon spring nap, feeling completely comfortable and full of energy, making one obsessed and unwilling to move...

However, as that pleasure faded, her consciousness eventually slowly woke up.

How did I fall asleep...

Just now...

It seems I fell ill in a corpse pit in the wild mountains and fainted right in front of Xie Jinhuan...

"Miss Lin..."

"Ah—!"

A scream echoed through the mountain hollow!

Xie Jinhuan wanted to offer comfort, but found the intellectual beauty lying there, her face instantly turning with shame and fury, her beautiful eyes beneath the gold-rimmed glasses filling with panic and terror; first she wiped her forehead, found nothing there, then slapped him across the face!

Swish~

Xie Jinhuan, not expecting Lin Wanyi to slap him the moment she woke, quickly leaned back to dodge the blow, then grabbed her wrist:

"What are you doing?!"

"Let me go!"

Lin Wanyi struggled hard to free her wrist, even trying to kick with her feet.

But very soon, she realized something was wrong.

Her skirt was intact on her body, with no sign of any violation...

Her body felt no abnormality; instead, she felt full of energy and abundant qi and blood, clearly having received medical treatment and conditioning...

On the contrary, Xie Jinhuan's face was pale, his lips had lost their color, and he looked utterly exhausted...

?

Lin Wanyi's hysterics suddenly stopped, her scolding words choked back, her eyes somewhat dazed, unsure of what had happened.

Xie Jinhuan, having used her body to help create false evidence, naturally did not blame her at this moment; holding her wrist, he continued to infuse true qi:

"You suddenly fainted just now, your breath barely there. I didn't bring silver needles, so I could only do my best to treat you; does your body feel better?"

Lin Wanyi carefully examined her body inside and out, indeed finding no signs of violation, and the conditioning and nourishment of her body was obvious.

Xie Jinhuan remained upright in her lap, yet expended so much effort to save her; for her to wake up and treat him like a lecher, isn't that judging a gentleman with a petty heart and repaying kindness with enmity?

Thinking of this, Lin Wanyi felt embarrassed; after holding back for a long time, she finally shrank her neck and spoke timidly:

"I... I was just confused from sleep, sorry. Um... my body feels much better, thank you for your hard work."

Saying this, she took hold of Xie Jinhuan's wrist, wanting to check his body.

But upon this check, she discovered Xie Jinhuan's qi and blood were nearly drained, his exhaustion written plainly on his face; she didn't know how much essence, blood, and primordial qi he had lost in such a short time.

Lin Wanyi froze, her face shocked and dazed:

"What method did you use to save me? Why are you so depleted?"

Xie Jinhuan let out a bitter smile, his tone calm:

"It's a life-extending technique taught by my master; although it greatly damages essence, primordial qi, and blood, fortunately you were saved. How do you feel?"

Lin Wanyi felt as though after a long drought came a timely rain; every pore opened up, her mind clear and spirit refreshed, wishing she could experience it a few more times.

However, such insatiable desire would obviously drain Xie Jinhuan dry.

Discovering Xie Jinhuan had saved her in a manner nearly akin to self-harm, Lin Wanyi's face flushed with emotion; she quickly took out a pill to greatly replenish qi and blood from her waist and held it to Xie Jinhuan's mouth:

"You must take some medicine to replenish yourself, don't hurt your body... I don't know what happened just now; perhaps the corpse pit's yin evil was too heavy, triggering my old ailment."

Xie Jinhuan swallowed the pill and comforted her:

"I'm fine; let's go, return quickly to report to the authorities. This place involves great matters; it could be the old nest of a great demon from Mount Zihui."

Lin Wanyi no longer minded the barriers between men and women; she supported Xie Jinhuan to stand, still holding his arm, her two soft curves pressing against his upper arm:

"Take it slow; for these few days, you absolutely must not engage in intercourse, nor stay up late..."

Xie Jinhuan, though his face was quite thick, felt a bit unable to bear Lin Wanyi's gratitude like this, and joked:

"I don't even have a wife, so how could I engage in intercourse."

"Then don't masturbate; it hurts the body..."

"Ah?"

Lin Wanyi blinked her eyes; perhaps fearing Xie Jinhuan would think she knew too much and dislike her, she quickly added:

"I am a Physician, having read medical books since childhood, and often receiving Ladies from Wencheng Street, so I know a bit more; don't think wrongly."

"Understood..."

The two walked forward along the small stream; originally the atmosphere was slightly ambiguous.

But they had not gone very far when Meiqiu, circling in the sky, made two sounds:

"Coo—coo—"

Xie Jinhuan's depleted expression vanished completely; he pulled his arm from between the curves to grip the handle of his guandao, and his somewhat wandering eyes regained their piercing sharpness.

?

Lin Wanyi looked slightly puzzled, glancing up at the sky:

"What's wrong with Meiqiu?"

"Someone is coming."

"Ah?!"

—

The sun slanted west, and the valley beneath Rooster Comb Ridge was shrouded in autumn hues.

The rugged stream path was covered with brown-yellow fallen leaves and pine needles; a few squirrels leaped through the forest, and a black bird, seemingly hunting for prey, could be seen in the sky.

Four figures moved upstream along the stream. The Wu Sect shaman Lu Ming, dressed as an ordinary merchant, glanced at the black dot circling in the sky:

"This eagle has fine qualities. Once we're done, I'll try to catch it and take it back to amuse the Young Master?"

He Can, honored as the Young Master, dressed as a young master in brocade robes with a black umbrella hanging at his waist, walked ahead, his brow furrowed with displeasure:

"Things are nearly ruined, and I still have the mind to play with eagles? Look at you, over fifty years old, still so engrossed watching erotic paintings at night that you didn't even notice the rising mountain flood carrying corpses out."

"Master went to great lengths to cover it up, framing the Li family for the Dongcang Street incident. It was on the verge of being closed, and now? All that effort was wasted..."

Lu Ming knew he had committed a grave error and had no face to argue, so he could only complain:

"Did Xie Jinhuan open his Third Eye? He just arrived and overturned the warehouse. I thought he was lucky; with the corpse rotting like that, even the experts of the Pill King Pavilion couldn't figure out the root cause. How could he tell it was 'corpse flies and gu flowers'? Where did he see it from?"

"Who knows."

He Can hopped back and forth on a stone:

"Perhaps it is fate. Common folk say 'evil cannot overcome good' and 'those who do much unrighteousness will surely perish.' Do you really expect our group to be blessed by heaven, with smooth sailing and all affairs going well?"

"Uh..."

Lu Ming opened his mouth but didn't take up that gloomy talk, asking instead:

"The cave dwelling is sealed up; why are we still coming here?"

"The government office will trace the mad corpse flowers and find this place within at most two days. As long as we clean up beforehand, the government office won't find the flower-raising site. Even if Xie Jinhuan is just talking nonsense, the government office will still have to continue interrogating the Li family, and we won't expose ourselves prematurely or startle the snake."

"The Young Master's insight is profound."

"Profound insight? So much corpse qi accumulated inside the cave dwelling. Master originally planned to wait for the storm to pass and return to use it again, but because of your momentary negligence, it's all ruined. This is called cleaning up your mess..."

As the two conversed, they soon arrived outside the water pool deep in the valley.

He Can stopped by the stream, gazing at the broken hole in the landslide, slightly stunned:

"What's going on? Did the livestock inside rise as zombies and break through the confinement?"

Lu Ming frowned, scanning the surroundings:

"Rotten dead men and dead pigs—how could they possibly burst out of the stone? Perhaps someone just came here."

"Oh..."

After that single sentence, silence fell over the valley like death.

He Can pulled up the scarf around his neck, then took the black umbrella from his waist and held it, scanning the silent hills and woods:

"They should be gone by now, right?"

"Not clear. The stench of corpses hasn't dispersed; it still stings the eyes. The opponent opened the corpse pit at most two quarters of an hour ago."

He Can fell silent for a moment, scanning the wind and grass movements across the mountains and fields:

"You go destroy the evidence and eliminate the traces; I'll keep watch."

Lu Ming stepped back slowly, removing the tools from the two cloaked figures on his back.

Meanwhile, on the hillside.

Xie Jinhuan, concealed within the bushes, frowned as he observed the four figures by the water pool.

To hide properly, Lin Wanyi pressed tightly against Xie Jinhuan, her plump buttocks tracing a graceful curve behind him, yet she remained perfectly still.

Noticing the two leaders scanning left and right, Lin Wanyi frowned tightly:

"We might not be able to defeat four people. What do we do now?"

Xie Jinhuan was also examining the four's background. One was old, one young; he could see they were experts of the Profound Gate, with cultivation at a mid-level. As for the two cloaked figures behind, he couldn't make sense of them:

"The two people wearing cloaks seem to have no qi circulation; they don't look like living beings. What's going on?"

"Not like living beings?"

Lin Wanyi showed confusion; after a brief thought, her eyes darkened slightly:

"They might be puppets of the Corpse Witch Sect. Why would such ghostly things exist in Danyang?"

Xie Jinhuan had never seen puppets in his memory, but he had heard of them.

Puppets are the specialty of the Corpse Witch lineage of the Wu Sect. Since the Corpse Ancestor came from the Corpse Witch Sect, this lineage was almost exterminated; even in the Southern Border, they are rarely seen.

Though everyone denounces them, the combat power of the Corpse Witch Sect cannot be underestimated. Their controlled puppets have physiques refined by secret methods, incredibly tough and fearless of death or injury. The shaman masters themselves are skilled in witchcraft; in battle, they possess both offense and defense, capable at both long and short range, with almost no weaknesses.

The only flaw is that walking the path of the Corpse Witch is somewhat wasteful of Dao companions; not only do they have no friends, but they also easily get beaten up.

Xie Jinhuan, unsure of the Profound Gate's background, asked:

"Are both of these people Corpse Witches?"

Lin Wanyi observed carefully, unable to be certain.

Fortunately, Ye Hongshang, who followed like a shadow, as the strategist, did not fail in his duty at this moment:

"The old one is a Corpse Witch, the young one is a Ghost Witch; the mastermind is not among them. The black umbrella in that boy's hand is a magical artifact; inside it are raised several little ghosts. Using the Thunder Technique to control the Zhenglun Sword can ignore them."

Hearing this, Xie Jinhuan knew there was an opportunity to wipe out this group.

However, he still needed this group of demon bandits to take the blame for him; he did not want to act yet.

After all, if he uprooted this group of demon bandits completely, once the Wang Fu had free hands, wouldn't they come to hammer him again?

For this reason, he held his forces still, waiting for this group to leave.

But soon he discovered that these people seemed unwilling to return alive!

After a moment of standoff, the figures by the water pool showed unusual movement—one continued to keep watch, while the other took out a bag of unknown objects, appearing to intend to destroy the evidence and eliminate the traces.

Xie Jinhuan had truly bled his heart and drained his marrow to fabricate the scene and frame others—what if the demon raiders destroyed the evidence? Would all his effort be in vain?

Xie Jinhuan's gaze darkened as he lightly tapped Lin Wanyi's shoulder.

"They're trying to destroy the bodies and erase the evidence! Stay here, don't move—I'll be right back."

"Huh?"

Lin Wanyi hadn't expected Xie Jinhuan to be so fiercely righteous—he'd just exhausted his vital energy to save her, and now, to preserve crucial evidence for the government office, he was preparing to face four alone!

Under these circumstances, Lin Wanyi had no choice but to act; she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small blue pill, handing it to Xie Jinhuan.

"With puppets as shields, you can't get close—charging head-on will cost you dearly. I'll use poison mist to cover you; once you lure the puppets away, strike immediately—remember, kill the Corpse Witch first. Take this antidote now."

Xie Jinhuan examined the pill, then swallowed it—its bitterness shot straight to his brain, and his stern face instantly twisted into a grimace.

"Damn, it's bitter…"

"Shhh…"

…

—

My sleep schedule is completely flipped—I'm updating early today so I don't wake up halfway wondering if the update succeeded or2

(End of Chapter)