Chapter 82: Pressure Falls on the Opponent

The sun rose in the east.

County Commandant Fei Ji, accompanied by several government office runners, carried out the alchemical furnace, medicine pots, and other evidence from Wu Su’s room, murmuring praise along the way:

“Look at this—what do you call ‘speed is the essence of warfare, and a mighty father begets a mighty son’? When this is done, let’s treat Jinhuan to a banquet—my treat!”

“Commandant Fei is generous—Yang Dabiao, look at this…”

“Yes, yes, I’ll punish myself with three cups first, then toast three each to Commandant Ji and Jinhuan… Wait, shouldn’t we also send off County Magistrate Wu?”

“Shhh, shhh, shhh…”

…

Outside in the courtyard, officials in various official robes gathered to discuss the case.

County Magistrate Wu, just awakened from unconsciousness, stood alone at the periphery, trembling like a lowly lackey, his eyes conveying:

Who am I?

Where am I?

Oh right—I’m supposed to go to Lingnan to watch the demonic beasts bare their fangs…

…

The monk Jingkong, dispatched from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, squatted beside a basket covered in white cloth, inside which lay—uh—Wu Su’s fragments?

Monk Jingkong, with his compassionate heart, could not bear to rummage through the remains; instead, he carefully examined a severed arm, his expression startled:

“The limbs are abnormal—definitely the result of prolonged consumption of the Transformation Elixir. There’s also a family jade pendant found near the corpse in the cellar—undoubtedly the killer. The methods of Young Master Xie and Lady Linghu are truly astonishing.”

Linghu Qingmo, tagging along to learn, was praised as a divine female detective, and felt embarrassed:

“I was just following behind, learning—I didn’t help at all. It was all Xie Jin’s investigation…”

“Ah~”

Monk Jingkong, as always, knew how to comfort:

“When disciples of our sect train outside, as long as they have fellow sect sisters accompanying them, they always gain extra drive—it’s an invisible boost. Lady Linghu, don’t undervalue yourself.”

“Er…”

Linghu Qingmo wondered: Isn’t this just calling her a decoration?

Is this an insult or a compliment…

…

Captain Lu Qian of the Red Lin Guard also assisted on the other side.

Upon hearing the news of the killer’s capture that morning, Lu Qian was deeply suspicious—he had old grudges with Xie Jin and even suspected Xie Jin of “killing innocents to claim credit.”

But after personally inspecting the scene inside and out, the killer was indeed guilty, and Xie Jin’s investigative path held no major flaws; the only oddity was that the killer seemed unusually weak.

Lu Qian pondered carefully, then turned to ask:

“Though this man studied the Five Elements arts, his cultivation level could never have detected all masters within a hundred zhang…”

Xie Jin saw that Lu Qian hadn’t come to investigate—he’d come to find fault. He couldn’t openly mention his illegal gains, so he replied:

“This man seems to possess the ‘Golden Seeking Divine Art’—he doesn’t judge by cultivation, but by the material of magic treasures. Qi signatures can be hidden, but magic treasures cannot. That’s how he kept succeeding. I caught him because I carried a hunting hawk that could track his movements from above.”

“Gujī~”

Meiqiu, perched on his shoulder, shook her head and wagged her tail, her tiny expression clearly saying—We four are truly amazing!

Lu Qian still harbored doubts, but the man had been reduced to minced meat—there was no way to determine what divine art he’d practiced. He said no more.

Standing among them was Prefect Chen Ping.

The Prefect of Jingzhao held a third-rank position, equal to the ministers of the Six Ministries—even in the capital, he was a powerful official.

Two days ago, the Emperor had cursed Chen Prefect into the ground; he’d initially thought the Cult of the Ming God was stirring chaos, only to wake up and find Xie Jin had solved it by taking a stroll. He’d truly planned to exile Wu Yuanhua to Lingnan for retirement!

Now, after hearing the others conclude the case, Chen Prefect turned to Wu Yuanhua:

“I thought some cosmic demon lurked behind this. Such a simple case—and you spent eight months investigating it, only for the son of an old county commandant to solve it. If so, what use are you as county magistrate?”

Wu County Magistrate had no defense—he thought inwardly:

Whether I’m useful or not depends on who I’m compared to!

Last night they were still holding a meeting—I blinked once, and suddenly I’m almost in Lingnan. Who could survive this?

But he dared not speak back to his superior, so Wu County Magistrate merely kept reflecting:

“Your servant is at fault! I was negligent…”

Xie Jin knew the county office could never catch this demonic bandit—even immortals would be baffled. Without him, the killer would only be caught by sheer bad luck—like stumbling into a combatant with no weapons, or being spotted by a supreme-level master like Lu Wu or Cao Fuer.

The county office would be punished, and Fei and his friends would suffer too. Xie Jin thought better of it and stepped forward:

“Your Excellency overpraises me. Yesterday, after speaking with County Magistrate Wu and Commandant Fei, I realized the demon bandit might be a cultivator without a sect. County Magistrate Wu—I’ve known him since childhood. He’s diligent, incorruptible. Had he and Commandant Fei not offered me advice over the years, I’d never have learned so much.”

Oh my!

Wu County Magistrate’s eyes filled with tears—he would have knelt and kowtowed right there if the setting allowed.

Seeing Xie Jin’s kindness, Chen Prefect refrained from further scolding his subordinate and turned back, smiling warmly:

“I heard from Danyang that you’re exceptionally capable and humble. But they undersold it. Had Prince Dan not already promised you a high post, I’d have petitioned the throne to appoint you to his position…”

Xie Jin bowed: “Thank you, Your Excellency, but this case cannot end here.”

“… ”

At these words, the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

All investigators turned their heads.

Chen Prefect had sworn an oath to the Emperor to close the case quickly—he wanted nothing more than to bury it. Hearing this, his heart sank:

“This case… has more to it?”

Xie Jin knew there were two killers—the other was a Ming God Cult bandit exploiting the chaos—but he couldn’t say so openly. Instead, he said:

“After I cornered Wu Su, I asked him why he’d sunk so low, harming innocents for selfish gain!

“But he claimed he killed only thirteen. The other four were framed by someone else taking advantage of the chaos. A dying man wouldn’t lie like that.

“I intended to keep him alive, but as you know, I was injured recently and still recovering. His Five Elements arts were formidable—I could only prioritize self-preservation.”

Facing a ruthless, resilient demonic cultivator, everyone followed the principle: “Kill if necessary.” No one would blame Xie Jin for killing him outright—he might have revived at any moment.

Still, his words left the others hesitating.

Chen Prefect, whose top priority was closing the case, asked:

“Demonic bandits are masters of deception. This claim is likely… Jinhuan, do you believe it’s true or false?”

If Xie Jin said it was false, the case would close immediately. He paused, choosing his words carefully:

“If there truly is a demonic bandit exploiting the chaos, he’ll eventually surface and cause greater harm. Let’s investigate further for a month—if no leads emerge by then, Your Excellency may decide.”

A month with no leads meant Wu Su had lied—and the case could be closed. Chen Prefect had no objection and ordered:

“Do as Jinhuan says. But this is a ‘case within a case’—investigate them separately. Even if you find the demonic bandit’s trail, the ‘Corpse Case’ is already closed.”

“Yes.”

Wu County Magistrate nodded vigorously.

After giving his orders, Chen Prefect remembered Xie Jin’s father’s affair and sighed:

“When your father faced trouble, I spoke up—but the imperial palace was haunted, disturbing His Majesty’s rest. The disturbance was too great.

“Hmm… the exact details—you may review the old case files. I’ll have them retrieved; go to the county office tomorrow morning to collect them.”

Xie Jin only knew his father had been transferred to Ruizhou’s Nanning—he’d never been told the reason. He bowed:

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

…

—

At noon, in a basement beneath the outer city.

Dim orange light illuminated every corner; the air reeked of potent medicine.

A wooden bed leaned against the wall; atop it lay a man drenched in blood, his hair wild, his body scarred. A horizontal wound across his lower back resembled a dragon or python’s strike—flesh and skin utterly shredded.

Zhang Chu, incense master of the Ming God Cult, leaned against the wall, his sword hanging at his waist, holding a report just delivered by the government office, his brow furrowed.

Days ago, the battle at Huaijiang Bay ended with the massacre of Taishu Dan and his entire group. The news reached the Ming God Cult and sent shockwaves through its ranks.

To brew a Blood Demon Elixir, the Ming God Cult had granted Taishu Dan immense authority: unlimited funds, resources, intelligence—and even diverted all top-tier cultivators, including Mu Yunling, to create the perfect opportunity for him.

This flawless setup could have allowed even a third-rank dog on a leash to produce the Blood Demon Elixir.

Yet Taishu Dan’s group of over twenty was wiped out clean by a single low-cultivation youth.

Zhang Chu initially suspected Taishu Dan had relapsed into his old habit—pretending death to betray them and flee.

But the Ming God Cult was already demonic—how much lower could Taishu Dan sink?

The next step down was the animal realm!

So they could only assume Taishu Dan was incompetent, poorly coordinated, and had leaked the operation.

Yet the Anzhuang buried in the Dan Prince’s mansion had recovered a gravely wounded survivor. After being revived, he swore their operation was flawless—it was Xie Jin who was unnatural.

Zhang Chu didn’t believe this nonsense. He subjected the man to every form of torture to reconstruct the truth.

But the man was stubborn. Three days and nights of beating yielded no confession—he still insisted it was Xie Jin’s doing.

Had he not borne the surname “He” and had some background, Zhang Chu would have turned him into a puppet blood slave already.

But what they never expected: last night, the moment Xie Jin arrived in the capital, the wandering Daoist on the Antique Street was found dead—his soul returned to the Ming God Temple. And they discovered a second killer hidden in the Corpse Case.

From the moment Xie Jin entered the county office last night, it had taken less than four hours.

In contrast, Taishu Dan, despite the Blood Demon Flower being exposed, the corpse cave discovered, and Xie Jin on his tail, had still dragged things out until the Mid-Autumn Festival—and nearly succeeded. His ability was simply incredible.

Faced with this utterly incomprehensible method of pursuit, Zhang Chu now bore crushing pressure.

The “siphoning yang essence” within the city? That was Zhang Chu’s own convenience. With this pace of investigation, he might not last as long as Taishu Dan.

After studying the report for a long time, Zhang Chu set down the paper and looked at the man on the wooden bed:

“Judging by this, Taishu Dan managed to hold on for six or seven days before his soul returned to the Mingshendian —truly worthy of his former reputation. I misjudged you and your master.”

He Can, once the young master of a criminal syndicate, had been slaughtered into an orphan and then captured and tortured by his so-called allies—his heart was filled with unbearable grievance, but now he could only grit his teeth and say:

“You believe me now? I told you eight hundred times—Xie Jin is too unnatural. Anyone sent after him would meet the same end. If I hadn’t had my ‘Yuan Emperor Armor,’ I’d have been dead eight times over…”

“Why the hell did you kill his father? If that hadn’t happened, would Xie Jin have gone after us like this?”

“Who actually killed his father? You’d better tell me—I can’t let my master die without knowing the truth…”

Zhang Chu set down the report and shook his head:

“In the case of the imperial palace haunting, his father may have discovered the identity of one of our inner spies, so we moved to eliminate him—but the team we sent vanished without a trace. We never learned the full details, or whether the boy was even with the caravan.”

He Can turned his head, incredulous:

“You call yourselves the Mingshenjiao ? With such sloppy work, if this boy has come to the capital, I guarantee you won’t last a month—he’ll dig you all out.”

“Why the hell did you even save me? If I’d died in Danyang, at least I’d have gotten a quick end. Now, following you, I’ll get stabbed a second time—that bastard doesn’t just threaten to kill families—he actually does it, down to the last child…”

Zhang Chu had already realized how dangerous Xie Jin was. After thinking a moment, he said:

“The boy stays in the Heir’s mansion. He’ll likely go to the Golden Pavilion tonight. I’ll go tonight and eliminate him—for your master’s revenge.”

“You? Go eliminate Xie Jin?”

He Can fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Before you go, tell the others to bring me food. Don’t let me starve to death in this hellhole because you die in the Golden Pavilion.”

?

Zhang Chu frowned. “You’re broken. You’re no longer fit to walk the cultivation path. For the sake of your surname He, once you’re healed, take your severance pay and leave.”

“How to walk the cultivation path—I know better than you. If you want to go, go. I’ll wait for your good news. May you travel safely.”

“Hmph…”

Zhang Chu’s face turned icy, but he ignored this spineless dog and turned to leave the basement…

…

—

Wangjing Battalion Commander’s Office, back chamber.

Han Jingchuan, clad in a crimson qilin robe, paced back and forth, his tiger-like eyes shadowed with anxiety:

“Is Xie Jin some kind of immortal? He slew Taishu Dan in six or seven days—I thought he was just lucky and fast. Then the Corpse Case mastermind— the county office spent half a year hunting him, and Xie Jin killed him in half a night…”

Company Commander Lu Qian stood in the chamber, also frowning tightly:

“I personally verified it—he’s definitely the Corpse Case mastermind. And he didn’t just grab a suspect out of thin air: he first went to the Ghost Market, traced the pharmacist, used the registry to identify the man, then tracked his movements with a hunting hawk…”

The procedure was logical—but with a speed of four hours? It was terrifying.

Han Jingchuan had feared Xie Jin would come to assassinate him soon—but now, why wait?

With Xie Jin’s efficiency, he’s only alive tonight because Xie Jin was busy hunting the Corpse Case killer.

If Xie Jin has nothing else to do today, he’ll likely kill him tonight.

Sensing Xie Jin’s aggression was too strong, Han Jingchuan couldn’t openly punish a hero who’d solved the case, so he said:

“Have we tracked Xie Jin’s movements?”

Lu Qian thought a moment. “The Prince of Dan will attend a play at the Golden Pavilion tonight. Xie Jin will likely accompany him—he won’t come to Changle Street tonight.”

Han Jingchuan clenched his fists behind his back and began pacing again, thinking how to act.

Lu Qian had long served under Han Jingchuan. Three years ago, when Xie Wen took the blame, Lu Qian escaped punishment.

Now, with his partner Zhou He dead, he felt the chill of a fallen comrade. After a pause, he said:

“This boy moves too fast, his methods too unpredictable. We can’t trick him with a setup. There’s no such thing as guarding against a thief forever—waiting like this, we’ll give him an opening.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Maybe I should go to the Golden Pavilion tonight—see if there’s a chance to strike first.”

Han Jingchuan remembered Li Gongpu’s warning and frowned:

“He’s with the Prince of Dan. How can we strike? If it fails, we’re handing him a sword.”

Lu Qian covered his mouth and leaned close, whispering:

“Xie Jin must leave his seat to relieve himself—there’s always an opening. As for consequences—he claimed the Corpse Case had another killer, right?”

“He solved the case so fast—the hidden killer must be terrified. It’s normal for them to come at night to silence him. We just clean up the traces and pin it on the demon bandits…”

Han Jingchuan thought it over—his resolve wavered. “But Li Gong told me: don’t move unless they move first…”

Lu Qian spoke earnestly:

“What’s Li Gong’s status? Even if Xie Jin marries the Prince of Dan’s daughter, he can’t topple Li Gong—he has time.

“We don’t. Xie Jin has already caught the Prince of Dan’s eye, and now he’s racked up one triumph after another—he’ll rise fast.

“When he’s three ranks above you, he won’t need assassination to kill you. One word from him, and you’ll be ordered to commit suicide—and thank him for letting you die quickly.”

Han Jingchuan felt the weight of the mountain pressing down.

To thrive in the capital, you don’t rely on reading books and passing the imperial exams—you rely on ability and connections.

Xie Jin had both in terrifying abundance. From last night’s momentum, Li Gongpu couldn’t hold him back.

If we don’t strike now, once Xie Jin is firmly planted, we’ll have raised a tiger that will devour us…

After long hesitation, Han Jingchuan said:

“The patrol notice for Changle Street is already out. Tonight, I’ll wait like a hunter by the tree. You go to the Golden Pavilion to scout. If Xie Jin won’t come, and there’s an opening—then we strike.”

The news of the patrol along Changjie has already spread; tonight I’ll lie in wait, and you go to the Golden Tower to investigate. If you confirm Xie Jinhuan won’t come, and there’s an opportunity to strike, we’ll act when the time is right!

…

…

(End of Chapter)