Chapter 38: Hangover

Dawn's first light seeped in, and the County Constable's Office was filled with a faint autumn chill, along with a stench strong enough to knock a coroner unconscious.

Yang Dabiao squatted on the steps, holding a few steaming big meat buns in his hands, cursing between ravenous bites:

"That bastard grandson, splashing people and dismembering corpses—if I catch him, I'll strip the skin right off them…"

Linghu Qingmo, who had just rushed over from the Princess's manor, had slept for a few hours the night before and was in fact full of energy.

At this moment she stood on the steps with sword in hand, gazing at the rotting corpse parts spread across the ground, pondering silently.

Yesterday, several dozen constables spent half the night sorting through countless corpses to find the human ones; judging from the skulls, there were eleven victims, and they had also found some suspected gu worms.

Currently it could be confirmed that this yao bandit had profound cultivation, practicing demonic arts while also cultivating Mad Corpse Flowers, but the identity and purpose remained a mystery.

Linghu Qingmo was injured and should have been resting, but with senior officers all over the city searching for the yao bandit, how could she sit idle? Seeing no progress at the County Constable's Office, she asked:

"How is Xie Jinhuan's rest going?"

Yang Dabiao shrugged slightly: "I knocked on the door this morning, no movement. Only saw Meiqiu bouncing around on the wall. Probably fought from dawn to dusk yesterday, exhausted, still not awake."

Seeing this, Linghu Qingmo turned and headed out:

"I'll go check. By the way… we agreed yesterday you'd treat us. Tonight gather Little Wang and the others, let's go to Yuelai Tower for a meal, count it as an early Mid-Autumn."

"Oh!" Yang Dabiao, seeing the female bodhisattva remembered this matter, instantly felt his buns lost their flavor: "How could I accept that, let Lord Linghu spend…"

Linghu Qingmo's gaze turned cold: "If you eat and drink your fill and still can't find a lead, you treat them back. How you explain it to your wife, figure that out yourself."

"Understood!"

Yang Dabiao clenched his sandbag-sized fist before his chest: "Even if I have to dig three feet into the earth, I'll dig out that great yao from Mount Zihui!"

Linghu Qingmo said no more nonsense, took her sword and left the County Constable's Office, heading to the not-far-distant Qingquan Lane.

Because personnel from other counties had all been recalled, the side streets had more people than the previous two days; the lamb shop at the entrance was also full, everyone exchanging leads gathered from various places.

Linghu Qingmo swept a glance at the breakfast stalls and pork vendor, found that Xie Jinhuan wasn't there, and only then came to the white-walled, green-tiled residence.

She had been about to knock, but discovered pitch-black Meiqiu, all alone, pacing back and forth on the wall, looking listless.

?

Linghu Qingmo, slightly puzzled, stepped closer and looked up:

"Meiqiu, why are you staying here?"

"Gu Ji~"

Seeing breakfast walk over on its own, Meiqiu quickly landed on her shoulder, nuzzled her cheek with her head, then opened her beak to beg for alms.

Even though Linghu Qingmo hadn't known her long, she could tell from the body language that she was hungry, and thought: What did Xie Jinhuan go do? How come he didn't even feed the bird?

"Where's Xie Jinhuan?"

"Gu."

Meiqiu tilted her head and stuck out her tongue, seemingly indicating—dead!

"Ah?!"

Linghu Qingmo was struck as if by lightning, thinking Xie Jinhuan had been killed by the yao bandit. So startled she immediately leaped up and landed inside the courtyard.

Whoosh~

In the early morning, the warm autumn sun spilled across the courtyard. Because official duties had kept her busy, she hadn't had time to fulfill the bet; a few fallen leaves were scattered along the white-stone path.

Linghu Qingmo, sword in hand, hurried through the moon gate to the rear quarters, looked up, and saw the main room's door wide open, two weapons lying on the ground, and Xie Jinhuan—wearing only a thin pair of trousers—sprawled out on the roof, as if he'd been silenced.

"Xie Jinhuan?!"

Linghu Qingmo's face went pale. She had just wanted to leap up and catch Xie Jinhuan, drop to her knees, look up at the sky, and cry "No~~~", when suddenly she realized something wasn't right.

The courtyard was thick with the rich scent of wine, a shattered wine pot lay by the bathhouse door, and Xie Jinhuan, lying on the roof, perhaps hearing the noise, even let out an "Mmm~~"…

?

Linghu Qingmo froze, her worried gaze turning to bewilderment, and thought:

What's going on?

Xie Jinhuan, such an upright person—how has he become a drunkard like Ling'er?

Could it be that his bestie stole his home, that Ling'er snuck over last night?

At this thought, Linghu Qingmo's eyes grew suspicious. She searched the courtyard, didn't find any scantily-clad Ling'er, and only then secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Picking up a piece of the wine jar and smelling it, she found it was the so-called "three-cup knockout" Hero's Tears, and couldn't help but look helpless.

Cultivators had extremely high resistance; for those with powerful strength, ordinary wine couldn't get them drunk at all, but traveling the jianghu without drinking naturally lacked flavor.

For this reason, skilled brewers developed special wines like Hero's Tears, with an astonishing after-kick—reportedly even super-grade experts could get drunk on it; normally one savored it by the cup.

Xie Jinhuan was merely a fourth-rank martial artist; greedily drinking a whole jar, wouldn't that have killed him with drunkenness?

Linghu Qingmo didn't know what to say, and called out from beneath the eaves:

"Xie Jinhuan? Xie Jinhuan?"

Whoosh~

After several such calls, Xie Jinhuan suddenly flipped up, on guard, scanning his surroundings!

Seeing it was Miss Mo Mo below, no danger, his eyes lost their luster again, and he toppled forward stiffly.

"Eh?!"

Linghu Qingmo's heart jolted. Seeing the naked man rapidly enlarging above, afraid Xie Jinhuan would hurt himself falling, she quickly spread her arms to catch him, and the result was:

Thud—

A body heavy as death slammed right into her chest.

With the ample cushion, Xie Jinhuan was fine, but Linghu Qingmo had a chest wound, and was struck so hard her willow brows knit tight; she nearly toppled to the ground.

"You wretch…"

Linghu Qingmo had grown up never having held a man, let alone one bare-chested and bare-backed.

Sensing the man's body heat and wine breath rushing at her face, Linghu Qingmo's cheeks flushed red. She propped up the body that had gone soft as mud with her chest, and pounded his back a few times:

"Xie Jinhuan? Xie Jinhuan!"

"Gujii!"

Meiqiu hadn't eaten breakfast yet; she also landed on his shoulder and flapped her wings at Xie Jinhuan.

Pat-pat-pat…

Xie Jinhuan had been warned by Lin Wanyi not to overdrink, but the wine was too good and the ghost bride kept pouring—how could he remember the doctor's advice? He passed out completely that night and didn't even know how he got onto the roof.

Now leaning against Seeing Mo Mo's lap, his awareness had returned to his mind, but his limbs refused to obey; after resting a moment, he patted the woman in his arms:

"I'm fine…"

Thump—

His back was slammed hard!

Linghu Qingmo kindly helped Xie Jinhuan up, but was groped—her eyes instantly turned icy:

"You're faking drunk, aren't you?!"

Xie Jinhuan realized his hands were gripping something round, plump, and wonderfully elastic—he'd touched the wrong place—and apologized:

"Sorry… this wine's strength is way, way, way too much~~~"

Zilalal—

Seeing Linghu Qingmo's hand still not moving despite the apology, she transformed into the "Thunder King," pressing both hands onto his shoulders and forcibly powering him on.

Amid flashes of lightning, Xie Jinhuan's body snapped upright, shuddered several times, and his gaze cleared—he looked around bewildered:

"Uh… sorry, I drank too much."

Linghu Qingmo finally stopped, and considering Xie Jinhuan's great contribution yesterday and his genuine drunkenness, she let the earlier impropriety pass:

"Who did you drink with last night? Why did you drink so much?"

Xie Jinhuan was still dazed from last night's blackout; after a moment's recovery, he realized his spirit was full and his blood qi abundant—even his dantian felt significantly fuller. Clearly, the Dragon Blood Pill's body-strengthening effect was exceptional.

"Miss Lin gave me a jar of wine yesterday—I'd never tried it before, and I accidentally got drunk. What's the situation at the magistrate's office?"

As he spoke, Xie Jinhuan hurried to the side washroom to freshen up.

Linghu Qingmo patted her rear, drew her sword, and walked to the door:

"All the constables and Wu Zu ran all night, found several herbal shops that sold Dragon Whisker Grass and livestock. After comparing the sketches, we've identified over a dozen low-level thugs among these bandits—the mastermind's identity remains unknown. If you're not busy later, come with us to take a look—we can have dinner together tonight…"

Seeing that the magistrate's office had truly shifted its attention to the bandits, Xie Jinhuan felt considerably more at ease.

Cleansing the bandits could help him recover his lost funds, and he wanted to catch that ghost shaman—logically, he should help.

But he still needed the bandits to absorb the lightning strike—if he quickly exposed the mastermind, wouldn't he get hammered again?

After careful thought, Xie Jinhuan decided to "trust Dabiao's wisdom," and said:

"The magistrate's office is investigating these matters—we going in won't help. Let's look into something else. Do you remember the book 'Yang Chun Yan' we found in the corpse cave yesterday?"

Linghu Qingmo's eyes immediately caught sight of the "train bento"—the memory of last night's sleeping scene still haunted her mind; how could she forget?

"Why are you asking about that?"

Xie Jinhuan wasn't trying to try the "train bento" with Seeing Mo Mo:

"That book came from 'Jiwen Zhai'—its packaging was exquisite, so the price wouldn't be cheap, and its content is unusual. If the thieves bought it casually, the shopkeeper might remember their faces. Let's go check later."

"Huh?"

Linghu Qingmo sounded skeptical: "Even if the shopkeeper remembers, they can't possibly know the thieves' identities or whereabouts—is this even useful?"

Xie Jinhuan knew this line of inquiry was useless—he just wanted to visit the bookshop:

"Right now it's a sweeping search—we must investigate every place connected to the bandits. If there's a lead, we can't ignore it."

Linghu Qingmo nodded thoughtfully: "Fine. Hurry up and get ready."

Xie Jinhuan washed up swiftly; halfway through, he glanced at the ice-mountain beauty at the door and asked:

"Mo Mo, where did your master, Nangong Xianzi, go?"

?

Linghu Qingmo frowned, her gaze suspicious; seeing Xie Jinhuan's innocent expression—as if he was merely curious—she replied calmly:

"'Nangong Xianzi' is a江湖 nickname. You should call her Nangong Sect Leader or Nangong Elder."

Xie Jinhuan actually wanted to call her "dream bride," but saying that would earn him an electric shock from Seeing Mo Mo:

"I'm used to江湖 ways—my apologies. Where did Nangong Elder go?"

"My master's cultivation is high—she spends most of her time killing demons in the southern wastes, Longgu Beach, and Ghost Wail Marsh. She returns before winter each year and leaves again in spring. By now, she should be back soon."

Here, Linghu Qingmo looked at Xie Jinhuan and gave him a solemn warning:

"My master, like you, sacrifices herself for the righteous path—but she always acts cautiously, prioritizing self-preservation whenever danger arises. Cultivators must reach higher realms before they can help more people. Dying too early—even for the righteous path—is reckless."

"You found a lead yesterday—you should've reported it to the magistrate's office. Going alone to investigate, if you'd walked straight into a bandit lair, the Dan Yang Elder wouldn't have arrived in time to save you."

Xie Jinhuan was more cautious than anyone—but yesterday he didn't report it because he wanted to "ask a fellow cultivator to absorb the lightning strike." He couldn't say that aloud, so he shook his head and smiled:

"Life and death are fate—when trouble comes, no one can avoid it. If I really die out there, don't be too sad, Mo Mo—take care of Meiqiu for me… Ugh?!"

Linghu Qingmo froze, then rushed forward to clamp her hand over his mouth, her eyes cold:

"Why are you saying such inauspicious things out of nowhere? Who's going to be sad for you?"

Xie Jinhuan had accidentally acquired a ghost bride—he'd spoken from genuine feeling; seeing Seeing Mo Mo truly worried, he stopped:

"Heh~ You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you? Let's go get something to eat."

"Gujii!"

Meiqiu, perched on his shoulder, finally heard the topic turn to food and butted in fiercely—her expression clearly asked: Are we even going to live anymore? Don't you know what "wise birds choose good trees" means?

Linghu Qingmo rubbed Meiqiu's head, then, no longer wanting to stare at his eight-pack abs, stepped outside to wait…

(End of Chapter)