Chapter 30: Destroying the Evidence?

Lin Wanyi had a dream.

In the dream, she knelt beneath the starry sky in prayer and saw a peerlessly beautiful fairy seated atop the nine heavens, bending down to press her forehead against Lin’s.

As a warm current surged into her brow, the tidal chill within her body receded, and her limbs and bones relaxed fully.

It was an indescribable, wondrous pleasure.

Like having just woken from a perfectly timed afternoon nap, her whole body felt comfortable and her spirit brimming—so intoxicating she didn’t want to move…

But as that pleasure faded, her spiritual sense gradually stirred back to awareness.

How did I fall asleep…

Just now…

It seemed I collapsed in the corpse pit on the wasteland, fainting right before Xie Jin.

“Miss Lin…”

“Ah—!”

A scream echoed through the valley!

Xie Jin still wanted to offer comfort, but found the intellectual beauty lying before him had instantly turned crimson with shame and fury—her beautiful eyes behind golden spectacles filled with panic and terror. She wiped her forehead, found nothing, then slapped him hard!

Swish~

Xie Jin hadn’t expected her to slap him the moment she woke—he leaned back swiftly to dodge, then seized her wrist:

“What are you doing?!”

“Let go of me!”

Lin Wanyi struggled violently to wrench free, even trying to kick him.

But soon, she realized something was wrong.

Her skirt remained intact, with no sign of violation…

Her body felt no different—on the contrary, her spirit felt refreshed, her blood and qi abundant, clearly treated and restored…

Yet Xie Jin’s face was pale, his lips colorless, utterly drained…

?

Lin Wanyi’s hysterical outburst halted abruptly; her accusations died in her throat. Her eyes grew dazed, unsure of what had just happened.

Xie Jin had used her body to fabricate evidence—he naturally offered no reproach, still holding her wrist as he poured true qi into her:

“You suddenly collapsed, your breath as faint as a thread. I had no acupuncture needles, so I did my best to save you. Do you feel better now?”

Lin Wanyi carefully checked her body inside and out—no signs of violation, and the healing and nourishment were unmistakable.

Xie Jin had remained upright and exerted himself so greatly to save her—yet she had mistaken him for a lecher and struck him. Wasn’t this judging a gentleman by a villain’s standards, repaying kindness with hostility?

Realizing this, Lin Wanyi grew embarrassed. After a long silence, she shrank her neck and whispered timidly:

“I… I was half-asleep just now. I’m sorry. Uh… I feel much better now. Thank you.”

She reached out and grasped Xie Jin’s wrist, intending to check his condition.

But as she did, she discovered his blood and qi were nearly drained—his exhaustion written plainly on his face. She had no idea how much essence and vital energy he had lost in mere moments.

Lin Wanyi froze, her face filled with shock and bewilderment:

“What method did you use to save me? Why are you so weak?”

Xie Jin let out a bitter laugh, his tone calm:

“My master taught me a life-sustaining technique. It drains immense essence and blood, but at least it saved you. How do you feel?”

Lin Wanyi felt as if she’d just been drenched in long-awaited rain—every pore opened, her spirit clear and her energy soaring. She wished she could experience it again.

But such insatiable craving would surely drain Xie Jin dry.

Realizing Xie Jin had nearly sacrificed himself to save her, Lin Wanyi’s face flushed with emotion. She quickly pulled a potent blood-and-qi replenishing pill from her waist and held it to his lips:

“Quick, take this medicine. Don’t harm your body… I don’t know what happened just now—maybe the corpse pit’s yin corruption was too strong and triggered my old ailment.”

Xie Jin swallowed the pill and reassured her:

“I’m fine. Let’s go. We must report to the authorities quickly—this place is deeply connected. It might be the lair of a great demon from Purple Banner Mountain.”

Lin Wanyi no longer cared about propriety between men and women. She helped Xie Jin rise, clinging to his arm, her soft curves pressing against his upper arm.

“Go slow. For the next few days, don’t you dare engage in intercourse or stay up late…”

Even with his thick skin, Xie Jin couldn’t help feeling embarrassed by her gratitude. He joked:

“I don’t even have a wife—how am I supposed to engage in intercourse?”

“Then don’t masturbate. It harms your body…”

“Huh?”

Lin Wanyi blinked her eyes. Worried he’d think she knew too much and despise her, she quickly added:

“I’m a physician. I’ve read medical texts since childhood and often treat ladies from Wencheng Street—I know more than most. Don’t misunderstand.”

“I understand…”

…

The two walked along the stream. The atmosphere had been slightly tender.

But they hadn’t gone far when Meiqiu, circling overhead, let out two calls:

“Goo—goo—”

Xie Jin’s pallor vanished. He pulled his arm from her grasp, gripped his flail, and his once-distracted gaze sharpened into piercing intensity.

?

Lin Wanyi frowned slightly, glancing upward:

“What’s wrong with Meiqiu?”

“Someone’s coming.”

“Ah?!”

…

——

The sun slanted westward, casting autumn hues over the valley beneath Cockcomb Ridge.

The winding stream path was covered in brown-yellow leaves and pine needles; several squirrels leapt through the trees, and a black bird circled overhead, hunting.

Four figures advanced upstream along the stream, dressed as ordinary merchants. The sorcerer Lu Ming glanced at the black dot circling above:

“That hawk’s a fine specimen. After we’re done, shall I catch it and take it back to amuse the young master?”

He who was addressed as the young master, He Can, dressed as a brocade-clad nobleman, walked ahead with a black umbrella hanging from his waist. His brow was furrowed with displeasure:

“We’re about to ruin everything—do I have time to play with hawks? You’re over fifty, yet you still get lost in springtime paintings at night, even failing to notice corpses washed away by rising floodwaters.

“Master went to great lengths to pin the East Granary Street incident on the Li family. We were about to close the case—yet now, all that effort is wasted…”

Lu Ming knew he had committed a grave error and had no defense. He could only complain:

“Did Xie Jin open his heavenly eye? He arrived and immediately uncovered the warehouse. I thought he was lucky—the corpses were rotten beyond recognition, and even the Danwang Pavilion’s experts couldn’t discern the ‘corpse flies’ and ‘cancer flowers.’ How did he know?”

“Who knows.”

He Can paced restlessly over the rocks:

“Perhaps fate itself has decreed it. Common folk say ‘evil cannot overpower good’ and ‘those who do much wrong will surely perish.’ Do you really expect heaven to bless our kind, granting us smooth sailing in all things?”

“Er…”

Lu Ming opened his mouth but didn’t reply to this gloomy remark. Instead, he asked:

“The cave’s sealed. Why are we still here?”

The government office will trace the mad corpse flower to this location within two days. If we clean everything up beforehand, they won’t find the flower’s breeding ground. Then Xie Jin’s claims will be dismissed as nonsense, and they’ll continue investigating the Li family—we won’t be exposed prematurely.

“The young master’s insight is profound.”

“Profound? The cave was packed with corpse qi. Master planned to return after the heat died down and resume use—but because of your carelessness, it’s all ruined. This is cleaning up your mess…”

…

As they spoke, they soon reached the edge of the deep valley’s pond.

He Can halted by the stream, staring at the breach in the slope, and froze:

“What happened? Did the livestock corpses rise and break through?”

Lu Ming frowned, scanning the surroundings:

“How could rotten corpses and pigs break through stone? Perhaps someone else came here.”

“Oh…”

After that, silence fell over the valley.

He Can pulled up his face covering and drew his black umbrella, scanning the silent hills and woods:

“They’re gone, right?”

“Unclear. The stench hasn’t faded—it still burns the eyes. The corpse pit was opened no more than twenty minutes ago.”

He Can fell silent for a moment, watching the wind stir the grass and trees:

“You destroy the evidence. I’ll keep watch.”

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

Meanwhile, on the slope:

Xie Jin hid within the shrubbery, frowning as he studied the four figures by the pond.

To remain concealed, Lin Wanyi pressed tightly against Xie Jin’s front, her plump buttocks forming a graceful curve behind him—motionless.

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

“We might not be able to handle four. What do we do now?”

Xie Jinhuan was also studying the four of them; one old, one young, clearly experts of the Profound Heaven Sect, their cultivation base mid-tier, but the two hooded figures behind—he couldn’t make sense of them.

“Two people in cloaks—no qi flow at all, not like living beings. What’s going on?”

“Not like living beings?”

Lin Wanyi frowned, pondered briefly, then her gaze darkened.

“They might be puppets from the Corpse Witch sect. How is there still something like this in Danyang?”

Xie Jinhuan had never seen a puppet before, but he’d heard of them.

Puppets were the specialty of the Corpse Witch lineage of the Witch Cult, since the Ancestor of Corpses originated from that sect—this lineage was nearly exterminated, and even in the Southern Frontier, they were rare.

Though reviled by all, the Corpse Witch sect’s combat power was formidable; their puppets were forged through secret methods, their bodies unbreakable and immune to death or injury, while the witch masters themselves excelled in witchcraft, making them equally deadly at close range and afar—with almost no weakness.

The only flaw? Walking the Corpse Witch path made you a pariah—no allies, no friends, and you always ended up getting beaten.

Xie Jinhuan couldn’t gauge the Profound Heaven Sect’s true intent, so he asked:

“Are both of them Corpse Witches?”

Lin Wanyi studied them closely, unwilling to be certain.

Fortunately, Ye Hongshang, ever at his side, as his strategist, did not fail him now:

“The old one is a Corpse Witch, the young one is a Ghost Witch—the mastermind isn’t here. The boy’s black umbrella is a magic treasure; it harbors several minor spirits. You can ignore it if you wield the Zhenglun Sword with thunder art.”

Hearing this, Xie Jinhuan knew he had a chance to eliminate this group.

But he still needed these bandits to absorb the brunt of the thunder—he didn’t want to act yet.

After all, if he wiped out this bandit group, the Wang Fu would be free to come after him again.

So he held his ground, waiting for them to leave.

But soon he realized—they had no intention of returning alive!

After a moment of stalemate, the figures by the pond stirred—one kept watch, the other pulled out a sack of unknown substance, seemingly intending to destroy the evidence.

Xie Jinhuan had literally bled and sweated to fake the scene and frame someone—if the bandits destroyed the evidence now, would all his work be for nothing?

Xie Jinhuan’s gaze darkened; he lightly tapped Lin Wanyi’s shoulder:

“They’re trying to destroy the bodies! Stay here, don’t move—I’ll be right back.”

“Huh?”

Lin Wanyi hadn’t expected Xie Jinhuan to be so righteous—he’d just exhausted his qi 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 pulled a small blue pill from her sleeve and handed it to Xie Jinhuan:

“With puppets as shields, you can’t close in—charging head-on will cost you dearly. I’ll use poison mist to cover you. Once you lure the puppets away, strike—remember, kill the Corpse Witch first. Take this antidote.”

Xie Jinhuan examined the pill, then swallowed it—its bitterness shot straight to his skull, his stern face instantly crumpling.

“Fuck, so bitter…”

“Shh…”

…

—

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

(End of Chapter)