Chapter 178

Pan Yun: "But what?"

Zhang Ziming frowned, "Whether absorbing Yuan force or using flesh to nourish corpse worms, one should choose young people with vigorous blood and qi—why did he pick this… old Daoist priest?"

Pan Yun: "Oh, he's young."

Chen Ziwu, fearing misunderstanding, quickly bowed and said, "I am Chen Ziwu, twenty-three years old. To move freely through the martial world and perform divination and fortune-telling rites, I adopted this disguise—misunderstanding, misunderstanding…"

Zhang Ziming and the others fell silent for a moment, studied him, then asked, "Pan Yun, do you know him?"

Pan Yun: "Met him today. I was selling herbs; he bought some."

Zhang Ziming and the others instantly understood—Mount Sanqing's herbs were unmatched throughout the martial world.

Zhang Ziming glanced at Zhang Zixiang.

Zhang Zixiang then asked Chen Ziwu to remove his makeup; if they were to investigate, they needed to know what the man truly looked like.

Chen Ziwu smiled, obediently following Zhang Zixiang away.

When they were far enough, Zhang Ziming murmured, "Absorbing worms—I've only glimpsed them in ancient texts. They're treacherous and venomous; no cultivation methods for breeding them exist, and no texts on transferring Yuan force mention them. I wonder where this man got them, and how he managed to breed so many."

Wang Gongze: "The southwest is rich in insects and skilled in cultivating poison—could he be from there?"

"Why would a southern heretic come to our Jiangnan?" a senior brother said. "I say, regardless of origin, wake that heretic, apply the Seventy-Two Punishments, and he'll confess."

"We've zapped him—he won't wake," Zhang Ziming glanced at Pan Yun. "I struck too hard. I fear if his brain is damaged, waking him won't help."

Pan Yun: "Unlikely. At most, he's got his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and Upper Dantian split open. He can't have hidden the worms in his brain—that'd be suicide."

Everyone moved to the next room to stare at the heretic lying stiffly on the wooden bed, then turned together to look at Pan Yun.

The man on the bed had blackened skin, standing hair, disheveled, and emitted the scent of roasted meat.

Pan Yun stared at him, silent.

Pan Xiaohei let out a soft "Meow." "Aren't you going to save him? He might die right now."

【Evil bastards live a thousand years—I don't believe he'll die so easily.】

Pan Yun said aloud, "Why not open him up while he's still alive? See where the mother worm is hiding—whether alive or dead."

Zhang Ziming: "No. That's no different from being a heretic. We should summon Yuanzhu Lou to revive him—at least find out how many people he's harmed, and how many others use absorbing worms."

"Send someone to Si Guo Cliff to bring Lin Tangzhu down. This matter is serious—Criminal Law Hall must investigate."

"Dawn's coming—no need to climb up. He'll come down himself," Zhang Ziwang said irritably. "Why does he insist on locking himself on Si Guo Cliff? Can't he reflect down here?"

Pan Yun softly reminded him, "Zhang Yuanzhu, I'm still here."

Everyone: …

Zhang Ziwang fell silent, his face flushing crimson.

Teachers could say such things privately, but not in front of students—Si Guo Cliff was a tool of intimidation.

If reflection was the same anywhere, why send students up to Si Guo Cliff?

The atmosphere grew awkward; all fell silent. Finally, Zhang Ziwang's friend Wang Gongze spoke: "I'll go fetch Yuanzhu Lou."

The stagnant mood revived; they resumed circling the heretic. "His clothing suggests decent wealth—search carefully. Maybe we'll find clues to his origin."

"New face—he's not from Jiangnan or Central Plains. Must be from the north or southwest."

One senior brother stepped forward, pried open the heretic's teeth, and said, "Teeth and build—definitely not northern."

Pan Yun stood by, arms folded, listening. They found nothing useful; she nearly fell asleep.

Fortunately, Chen Ziwu returned, makeup removed.

Unmasked, Chen Ziwu was a young, energetic lad.

He bowed repeatedly, then peered at the heretic on the bed and asked, "Is he dead?"

Pan Yun: "Not yet."

"Then he's about to be?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Chen Ziwu hesitated. "Perhaps we should revive him. I know a bit of medicine—wake him, then question him."

Zhang Ziwang stopped him. Who here didn't know basic medicine?

They'd all seen him. Leave him be. Let Lou Tong handle the rest.

He didn't fully trust Chen Ziwu. "When did you arrive at Long Hushan?"

Chen Ziwu: "Yesterday."

"Why come to Long Hushan?"

Chen Ziwu: "To seek the Dao."

He added, "I am twenty-three. I seek ordination."

"Do you have a clerical certificate?"

Chen Ziwu shook his head, face slightly flushed. "I cultivated myself."

Zhang Ziwang extended his hand. "Your household registry."

Chen Ziwu hurriedly rummaged in his sleeve and produced it.

Indeed, in every dynasty, every land, the first thing checked after an incident was identity papers.

Pan Yun leaned in to look.

Zhang Ziwang glanced at her, then handed it to her after reading. Pan Yun glanced once, then took it immediately.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow—Fengyang native. The dynasty's birthplace, huh~

Pan Yun closed the registry and passed it along. Everyone took turns reading.

According to Chen Ziwu, he came to Long Hushan for cultural exchange: first, to see if he could learn something from Long Hushan Academy; second, to inquire about ordination.

The Celestial Master's Mansion governed all Daoist priests nationwide; the Academy was a school open to Daoists everywhere, accepting long-term students and occasionally offering short-term training.

It welcomed Daoists from all regions to visit for exchange.

Pan Yun felt it was just paying respects at a mountain sect.

Because the Daoist Priests who came calling all blustered and built fragile friendships with Daoist Priests from Daoshangqing Palace or the Academy, just to obtain insider information anyone could find out.

Choosing to climb the mountain in the evening was to have a good excuse for the darkness, so they could beg lodging at Daoshangqing Palace.

"I originally planned to visit the abbot of Daoshangqing Palace tomorrow—oh, after dawn—and register as a guest to cultivate there until September for the Ordination Exam."

"You dare come to take the Ordination Exam, so why not take the License Exam?"

Chen Ziwu sighed, "I want to, but the imperial court's requirements are strict. For someone my age, I'd have to be beaten with a board before even sitting the exam. My heart… is trembling. I feel I won't pass on the first try…"

!. Read

After being beaten, how can you sit still for the exam? The exam is hard enough, and the number of those admitted is tiny—only a fool would think you'd pass.

Zhang Ziwang frowned, "If you don't have a license, how is your labor service accounted for?"

Chen Ziwu grinned, "I'm a native of Fengyang, so I don't have to serve."

Zhang Ziwang gave a meaningful look, "A native, huh~~"

Zhang Ziwang passed over this matter and asked, "How did he capture you?"

Chen Ziwu's capture was utterly ordinary—the man pretended to be a Daoist Elder from the Academy, walking down toward Chen Ziwu from above.

After getting close, he exchanged just two sentences, and when no one else was on the road, he struck.

He and the Corpse moved simultaneously; Chen Ziwu resisted only a few moves before being taken away.

Perhaps fearing he might injure himself, damage his Upper Dantian, or lose Yuan Qi, the man was extremely careful—he inflicted no harm, not even an internal injury, let alone an external one.

"So you've never seen this Cultivator before? This is your first time encountering a Heretic Daoist?" Lin Jingle walked in and asked.

Everyone turned around and only then realized Lin Jingle had been standing at the door for a long time.

Everyone glanced out the window—the sky had just brightened; dawn had come.

Zhang Ziwang said, "You've come at the perfect time. This man either followed someone here to Long Hushan or came specifically to capture someone on Long Hushan. We must investigate whether he has accomplices."

Lin Jingle grunted, stepped forward to glance at the man on the wooden board bed, and asked, "Where's Yuanzhu?"

"Here." Lou Tong walked in with a sour expression—she had terrible morning grumpiness; someone had been banging on her door before dawn, and her not drawing her sword was already kindness.

Wang Gongze followed behind, rubbing his nose as he awkwardly entered.

Lou Tong examined the man, then began treatment; Lin Jingle fixed her sharp gaze on Chen Ziwu, flipped through his household registry, and said, "You haven't told us yet—did you see him for the first time, or had you met him before?"

Chen Ziwu hurriedly said, "I've never seen him before, truly—if I had, I'd never have let him get close."

Lin Jingle: "Where did you come from to Long Hushan?"

"Kaifeng."

"In the past half-month, did you encounter anyone unusual, anything out of the ordinary?"

Chen Ziwu was about to say no, then paused slightly.

Lin Jingle nodded slightly, "Then you did."

Lin Jingle turned to Lou Tong, "Can he be saved?"

Lou Tong's expression improved slightly; she nodded. "Yes, but he'll need time to wake up. This isn't a thunder summoned by a Lei Fu—whose thunder was this?"

Everyone fell silent and looked directly at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun extended her hand. "I did."

Lou Tong said, "You cannot use this method in school sparring—it will kill someone."

Pan Yun grinned. "This is a last-resort technique. Don't worry, Yuanzhu—I won't use it unless I'm cornered."

Lou Tong said, "Go rest."

Pan Yun glanced at the man on the wooden board bed and nodded. "Then I'll come back after he wakes."

Chen Ziwu could only watch helplessly as she left.

Lin Jingle's questioning was far sharper than Zhang Ziwang's. As soon as she left, Lin Jingle began grilling him repeatedly—not only asking about every single day of the past month, but also probing deeply into his movements over the past year.

She asked the same questions over and over, jumped between topics, scribbled furiously on paper, and finally concluded, "He's been following you since Kaifeng Prefecture."

Chen Ziwu, through the relentless cross-examination, also realized this.

He murmured, "Could it be I'm so talented that he chose me?"

Lin Jingle glanced at him and said, "Because you can convert Neili into Yuan Qi. You now cultivate Yuan Qi, while most in the Jianghu cultivate Neili. The ones captured as fertilizer and Ji Xiu cultivate Neili."

So he could only be fertilizer, while Chen Ziwu could serve as a Yuan Qi provider.

Chen Ziwu thought of the endless worms crawling out of the jar's mouth, turned deathly pale—he had no desire whatsoever to be this.

Seeing his ashen face, Lin Jingle offered rare comfort: "It's the same either way. Fertilizer still has eggs laid in its bloodline. You? You die, and that's it—but at least your corpse is preserved. You're better off than fertilizer."

(End of Chapter)