Chapter 35: Corpse Dredger

West Market, Livestock Market.

In the sewage ditch scattered with animal feces and entrails, the stench was overwhelming; in the surrounding streets, the cries of cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs rose and fell:

"Moo—"

"Woof, woof, woof..."

Linghu Qingmo stood by the stinking ditch where there was barely any place to step, her cold, beautiful face covered by a scarf, holding a long pole, searching for clues in the sewage.

Yang Dabiao, as a true man, felt that searching with a pole was too slow, so he volunteered, taking several Constables, rolled up his pant legs, and jumped straight into the stinking ditch.

As a result, after half a day, he had almost vomited up everything he ate the day before, cursing nonstop:

"Those bastards from the Street Bureau have cleaned the latrines on Wencheng Street spotless, but the Livestock Market hasn't been visited in half a year, making us a bunch of Constables dredge this stinking ditch here. I must have my father file a complaint when we get back..."

The government office Runners behind him, already vomiting until their faces turned pale, responded weakly:

"My Lord Yang, why don't you send me to escort the exiled prisoners? I would rather walk a thousand li to the Southern Border than stay here."

"You wish. The experts from the Dan Wang Pavilion said the place where the corpse is hidden might be in the livestock market; until it is found, no one is allowed to eat."

"Ugh—"

Linghu Qingmo did not jump into the stinking ditch, but was also so overwhelmed by the stench that her mind went blank; she stopped halfway to gaze at the long canal, her eyes full of despair.

Although Danyang was not as exaggerated as Luojing, its permanent population was not less than seven hundred thousand; the number of pigs, sheep, chickens, and dogs eaten daily was incalculable, and the scale of the livestock market was quite large, and it was not concentrated in one place.

Even if searching only according to the slaughter sites, it would take several days to finish searching Danyang City, and whether the Gu Flower could be found remained unknown.

Thinking that she would have to deal with the stinking ditch for the next few days, Linghu Qingmo suddenly no longer envied her master for being able to go out to slay demons and eliminate evil.

After all, the places her master went to were either the desolate lands of the Southern Border, or Dragon Bone Beach, or Ghost Weeping Marsh, the strongholds of demons and evil in those places; she dared not even imagine how disgusting the scenes were.

While she was thinking such thoughts, no clue to the Mad Corpse Flower was found; instead, a Wang Fu Wu Zu galloped in on a horse from the street, stopping beside the stinking ditch:

"My Lord Linghu, stop searching. Just now, Young Master Xie Jinhuan found a corpse pit at Rooster Comb Ridge outside the city; Liu Qingzhi asks you to go there immediately."

"Ah?"

Before Linghu Qingmo could respond, Yang Dabiao in the stinking ditch suddenly popped his head out, his face full of disbelief:

"He has already found it? Then haven't we been wading here in vain for half a day?"

The government office Runners behind him, finally freed, scrambled to climb out of the stinking ditch:

"Good that it's found, good that it's found. Let's hurry over there; I don't want to stay in this place for another moment."

Linghu Qingmo, her eyes full of shock and doubt, threw away the pole and mounted her horse:

"How did he find it? The elders from the Dan Wang Pavilion said it might be near the slaughterhouse..."

"I don't know. Anyway, Liu Qingzhi sent a message from Peony Pool, saying that Young Master Xie found the place, killed several demon bandits, and incidentally beat Bao Fei from Jinghua Manor until he vomited three sheng of blood."

"Ah?"

Yang Dabiao, who had just climbed onto the horse, heard this and was bewildered:

"Why beat Bao Fei? Is the mastermind behind the demon bandits Bao Xiaolin?!"

"No. It seems it was because Bao Fei blocked them from pursuing the demon bandits and spoke disrespectfully; could Young Master Xie, with that explosive temper, endure it? He beat him terribly."

"Then that's what he deserved; if my Jinhuan didn't plaster him against a wall, it was already out of compassion..."

Rooster Comb Ridge was more than thirty li from Danyang City; the group chatted along the way, and by the time they arrived, the sun was setting westward, and the entire Rooster Comb Ridge had darkened.

Linghu Qingmo dismounted outside the official road, followed a winding grassy path to a small stream, and went upstream; before reaching the water pool at the destination, a familiar scent drifted into her nose.

And this time it was even more intense!

Yang Dabiao, who had been jogging with a knife in hand, slowed down as he walked, his brows furrowed:

"My Lord Linghu, this smell is not quite right."

"How could the smell be right where the demon bandits hide? Hurry up!"

Linghu Qingmo had already realized what she would face, but when she truly crossed the small stream and arrived in the mountain hollow, she found the scene still exceeded her expectations.

The water pool that was originally green mountains and clear water had now turned into a foul-smelling polluted pool; the first thing that caught the eye was blood and remains staining several zhang of ground, with two legs lying on the ground.

Beside it lay two pitch-black unidentified corpses, their bodies riddled with holes, while beside the slightly flat part of the water pool, piles of indescribable rotting corpse fragments were heaped, so much so that it was impossible to distinguish whether they were human or animal.

Liu Qingzhi, who was supposed to be guarding the Princess, leaned on a pitchfork, sitting on a rock to rest, his face pale.

The several Wu Zu accompanying him were also so overwhelmed by the stench that they could not open their eyes; they squinted as they fished for things in the cave beside the water pool.

Discovering that reinforcements had arrived, Liu Qingzhi, as if seeing a savior, almost stumbled over to them and threw the manure fork in his hand to Yang Dabiao:

"Damn it, you finally came. Quick, quick, quick, switch shifts, switch shifts."

Yang Dabiao, as if struck by lightning, jumped aside to dodge the manure fork:

"What the hell do I have to switch shifts for? I just climbed out of the stinking ditch in the city..."

"Could the stinking ditch be as disgusting as this? I would rather stay in the stinking ditch..."

Linghu Qingmo's little head also throbbed faintly, but as the commander-in-chief, she gritted her teeth, took the fork, and asked:

"Where is Xie Jinhuan?"

"Here."

Xie Jinhuan, heart aching for his clothes, had already taken off his robe; standing bare-chested beside the depression inside the corpse pit, he used a fork to turn the corpses out. Although his willpower was extraordinary, after half a shi, he was also close to vomiting, with two cotton balls stuffed in his nose.

"Gurgle~"

Meiqiu, who loved cleanliness, had flown to the treetops to act as a supervisor; at this moment, she also greeted.

Linghu Qingmo hurried to the cave entrance, was immediately stung in the eyes by the stench, forced herself to hold her breath, and finally took out a scarf to cover her mouth and nose before leaping down to the front:

"My heavens... You are not a person of the government office; just wait outside, why suffer this torment?"

Xie Jinhuan stayed here to help, naturally fearing that the evidence forged with great effort would be destroyed!

He turned the bubbling corpse pit with a wooden fork, his expression calm:

"Since you're here, standing around like a lord won't do—get to work. We still need to clear everything out and count the human corpses; don't plan on going back till tomorrow morning."

The Wu Zu still laboring at the cave entrance, though unfamiliar with Xie Jinhuan, now praised him:

"Young Master Xie is truly righteous—he was wounded fighting demon bandits here, yet still came over to do this dirty, exhausting work, refusing all persuasion. Such a hero who takes it upon himself to slay demons and eradicate evil—I've only ever seen Lord Linghu before."

He's smooth talker, flattering two at once.

Linghu Qingmo, though a workaholic with no worldly desires, couldn't help but view Xie Jinhuan differently now; he was about to speak when suddenly his brow furrowed:

"You're injured?"

"Nothing serious—just overexerted myself and lost some blood qi. These demon bandits couldn't possibly have harmed me."

Yang Dabiao, seeing his younger brother so "devoted to public service and tireless in labor," had no heart left to complain; he took the tools from the Wu Zu:

"Jinhuan and I are both men raised by Lord Xie—how could we not endure hardship? After such great merit, I won't waste words praising you. Tomorrow night at Yuelai Pavilion, Lord Linghu is treating us—we'll toast you one by one!"

"Huh?"

Linghu Qingmo, expecting the wife-dominated Yang Dabiao to never invite anyone out, was momentarily speechless—but still nodded:

"Fine. Meet at Yuelai Pavilion tomorrow night."

"Whoa…"

The exhausted, nearly suffocated clerks and Wu Zu perked up instantly and hurried to work.

After speaking, Linghu Qingmo moved to take the fork from Xie Jinhuan's hand:

"Go rest properly. We'll handle this."

Xie Jinhuan refused, raising his eyes to the demonic statue in the pit:

"Dirty work is for warriors—you're still injured, don't meddle. First, examine this demonic statue. I can't make sense of it."

Linghu Qingmo turned his gaze to the sinister mural and carvings on the ceiling; though he didn't understand them, he sensed the thing was extraordinary, and ordered:

"Lord Iron's insight is profound! Hurry and summon Lord Iron and the others—this might hold clues to a great demon."

"Got it!"

Liu Qingzhi, as if granted pardon, sprinted off joyfully.

Linghu Qingmo carefully examined the traces, then looked around the groove—and spotted, among scattered debris, a finely bound book.

He assumed it was a clue and opened it—only to see… a train bento box…

Hss~?!

Linghu Qingmo, raised under strict monastic discipline, had never seen such explicit imagery; he nearly dropped the book:

"These demonic heretics are utterly beyond reason!"

"Heh…"

……

——

Half an hour later.

The sky darkened; the valley glowed with torchlight.

The Wu Zu and clerks still carried away rotting flesh, but no more jokes or banter—only the sound of footsteps echoed back and forth.

Xie Jinhuan sat on a rock by the pond, eating a government-issued boxed meal's chicken leg with Meiqiu.

The nearby resting Wu Zu and clerks, too nauseated, said nothing.

At the cave entrance stood a tall officer in black armor, sword at his waist, crouching low as he stared up at the demonic statue—his face stern, even fierce.

From his expression, utterly devoid of a smile, Xie Jinhuan guessed this was Wang Fu's Commandant, "Big Dummy Zhang."

Though the nickname was ridiculous, as the Prince's Commandant, he oversaw all Wu Zu and military personnel in Danzhou—his strength was undeniable. Alongside Zhu Wenyuan, he was known as one of the Two Gate Gods of the Dan Prince's court.

Yet even with his formidable strength and vast experience, Tie Fengzhang now faced a knowledge blind spot; after long scrutiny, he said:

"If I'm not mistaken, this was a demonic cult's blood sacrifice site."

?

Linghu Qingmo thought this was impossible to misidentify—he stepped forward with his sword, slightly puzzled:

"My master said demonic cultists use blood sacrifice rites where the statue merely symbolizes their sect—or is pure showmanship. Even drawing a bowl of noodles could suffice to transmute life. The key lies in the 'blood runes'—these markings around it.

"Demonic cultists transmute life through dark cultivation techniques; the higher their cultivation, the more complex and strange the direction and flow of blood-spirit energy, leaving distinct traces. Usually, the deeper their mastery, the more intricate and arcane the blood runes. These markings here? They're no ordinary demonic cultist's work."

Tie Fengzhang knew this logic—but in over fifty years, having slain countless humans and demons, he'd never seen blood runes this complex—they'd become lightning-strike patterns.

This proved the demon's control over blood qi was refined to the finest detail!

Demonic cultivation lineages are passed down through generations; though hidden underground, any powerful demonic cultivator appearing in the Great Qian must be a remnant of the Huaxian Sect or Mingshen Sect—yet their methods don't match these traces.

As for self-taught sages who turned to demonic cultivation, their methods, forged by trial and error, could never surpass the millennia of accumulated demonic knowledge.

Therefore, this demon bandit must be an unknown, transcendent-level demonic elder—or a true demon who cultivated to enlightenment by divine favor!

Only days ago, Mount Zihui erupted with a sky-piercing blood-spirit aura—such a powerful demon couldn't possibly appear twice at once…

Realizing the significance of this place, Tie Fengzhang rose and said:

"The demon cultivator here is the source of the blood-spirit aura from Mount Zihui! Recall all personnel from neighboring counties—investigate every case in Dongcang Alley, Sanhe Pavilion, and beyond. Dig up the earth three feet deep—find these demons!"

"Yes!"

The accompanying Wu Zu immediately obeyed.

Xie Jinhuan, mid-meal, felt immense relief upon hearing this.

Had he not feared being too abrupt, he'd have rushed forward to say:

"Lord Iron's insight is profound! Your humble servant's admiration flows like an endless river…"

He just wondered how bewildered this unknown cultivator would be when the imperial court's iron fist came crashing down!

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan was genuinely curious.

These past few days, Tie Fengzhang had nearly worried his hair white over the great demon matter. Finding the key lead, he wanted to rush back without stopping, but upon seeing Xie Jinhuan eating shirtless, he still paused to praise him:

"You've worked hard. I, Tie, keep this in mind. Once the matter is settled, I will personally submit a memorial to request a reward for Young Master Xie."

Xie Jinhuan said modestly, "I was just lucky. The ones who truly worked hard are the brothers from the government office out running around."

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan was exceptionally capable, yet modest and uncompetitive, and understood the ways of the world, Tie Fengzhang rarely showed a tiny smile!

Because finding the great demon's trail on Mount Zihui was an urgent matter, Tie Fengzhang did not say much more. After cupping his fists, he led the team away at top speed.

Linghu Qingmo wanted to go along to investigate the case and had originally prepared to call Xie Jinhuan, but remembering that Xie Jinhuan had been crawling and rolling about all day, she still instructed:

"You go back and rest first. Leave this place for the constables to handle. Once I have a lead, I'll notify you in time."

"Alright. You have injuries on your body too, so don't push yourself so hard."

"How could I be as hard-pushing as you?"

"Heh heh…"

……

(End of this chapter)