[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-185":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2337390,4570,"Chapter 185: Suspicion","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-185",185,"\u003Cp>Yin Song downplayed the presence of the Academy students in this matter; their goal was to uncover the insect-human incident in Luchuan, and the key lay in Mo Rushi’s past—his actions at Long Hushan were merely to provide his insects with flesh and blood for reproduction; knowing this was enough, why dwell on trivial details?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Yin Song mentioned the deadline, Cao Ye had been tense inside, neglecting to thoroughly investigate Mo Rushi’s arrest; instead, he followed Yin Song’s line of thought and diligently questioned Mo Rushi’s origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang and Lin Jingle, lagging behind, exchanged a glance but said nothing, yet doubt stirred in their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jing, who walked beside Cao Ye, also frowned, several times trying to warn Cao Ye but finding no opening to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Rushi’s origins were certainly important, but given his high cultivation and careful conduct, how could he have been suddenly captured by the Academy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just inquired—he heard that when Mo Rushi seized that fertilizer student, it was already dark; could the Da Shangqing Palace and the Academy have reacted so swiftly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As far as he knew, the Academy lost students every year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They called it “disappearance,” but a deeper investigation revealed these were merely rumors spread by word of mouth; in truth, every year, students at Long Hushan Academy who could not bear the pressure of advancement and cultivation would flee, or simply quit being Daoists and return home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had reviewed the Academy’s records of student disappearances and deaths over the past three years—only one student had genuinely disappeared first, then died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had gone to the riverbank to catch fish for a snack, slipped, fell in, and was swept away and drowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, the Academy improved its cafeteria, beginning to serve meat once every three days; though scarce, since then, no student had died from sneaking out to fish and falling into the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Liu Jing knew the Academy had a standard procedure for student disappearances—it would never react so swiftly, with a flood of instructors rushing down the mountain the moment a student went missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something must be happening that they did not know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Cao Ye was led by Yin Song’s nose, especially after seeing Mo Rushi and the preserved corpse—now he fixated solely on Mo Rushi’s past, and as for why he was captured, who cared?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was captured by Long Hushan’s people—could Long Hushan’s people possibly be at fault?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Ye was in a hurry, did not ask further, ordered horses and a coffin prepared, and immediately set off with Mo Rushi and the corpse toward Luchuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speed astonished Pan Yun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hid in an alley, watching quietly as they methodically secured the coffin and escorted the prisoner onto the cart; her gaze slid from Cao Ye to Liu Jing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Jing’s cultivation was low, but he was sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun had only watched him for three breaths when he immediately lifted his head and scanned the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun turned and vanished behind a pile of firewood, withdrew her gaze, and slipped away quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen and Miao He waited at the other end of the alley, clutching a bundle of herbs; as soon as she returned, they rushed to her and asked, “Little Master, did you see clearly? Were they the ones who oppose your family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun nodded. “It’s them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zhen needed men for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so naturally he used those he trusted—thus Cao Ye was his man, or at least aligned with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ma Shun, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was Wang Zhen’s lapdog—could any of the Embroidered Uniform Guard disobey Wang Zhen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun sneered, took a packet of herbs from each of Miao He and Miao Zhen, lifted her chin, and said, “A gentleman seeks revenge, even if it takes ten years—I’m young, I have all the time in the world. Let’s go back to the mountain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen and Miao He nodded in unison, and the three of them marched back to the mountain with proud strides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan stood behind them, watching them sprint away with lightness skill; he opened his mouth to speak but they vanished before he could utter a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan: “...My master hasn’t given me the money purse yet~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan watched them disappear, dared not shout loudly, and lowered his head to return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Song saw it all, assumed something had happened, and secretly worried but dared not show it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when Cao Ye went to assign guards for Mo Rushi did Yin Song find a chance to pull Feng Yan aside and ask, “What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan: “Master, my aunt and sisters took the money purse and forgot to return it to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They went back to the mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan nodded. “They bought a lot of herbs—I paid for everything—but they forgot to give me back the money purse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forgot? So what? It’s not a big deal. Go pack your luggage—we’re leaving with Commander Cao and his men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan: “But that was all our money, Master—we have nothing left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Song stiffened. “Not a single silver tael left? You put it all in the purse?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Song rubbed his forehead. “Fine. I’m used to it. Our Sanqing Mountain’s fortune seems even worse—traveling with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, we won’t go hungry. I’ll see if I can earn something along the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Yan nodded solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Embroidered Uniform Guard called out; Yin Song hurried to bid farewell to Zhang Ziwang and the others from the Tian Shi Mansion, mounted a horse, while Feng Yan sat beside the driver on the cart carrying Mo Rushi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Song told Cao Ye, “Don’t think my acolyte is foolish—he has a lucky birth chart that wards off evil spirits. Letting him sit on the cart’s pole will suppress Mo Rushi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Ye instructed the Embroidered Uniform Guard driver to look after Feng Yan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had heard rumors about Feng Yan—since Yin Song took him on, his financial losses had slowed and his savings had increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always been half-skeptical, but now he could believe it—and hoped Feng Yan truly possessed this power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang and the others watched them depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clansman nearby sighed, “Who would have thought Yin Song is so favored by the court? Alas, Sanqing Mountain is about to rise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The True Person hardly manages anything...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang’s eyes flickered toward him; the man immediately fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang and Lin Jingle returned to the Academy and immediately sent someone to investigate Pan Yun; learning she and the others had returned to the mountain long ago, they exchanged a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “Given the relationships among Sanqing Mountain disciples, would Pan Yun and the two others buy herbs and not see them off, but return directly to the mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked at each other—the answer was obvious: No!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle: “Though Yin Song serves in court and is dissatisfied with this year’s ordination exam, given his usual habit of avoiding trouble, he would never draw such attention to himself before the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “Something unusual must be afoot. Miao Zhen and Miao He’s backgrounds are fine—it’s Pan Yun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle frowned. “How old is she? What could possibly be wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “Pan Yun claims she shares the surname Pan with her mountain god master—but does a mountain god truly have such demands or preferences? Wang Feiyin is the senior disciple, yet he never changed his surname.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle asked: “Have you divined Pan Yun?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang paused, then said: “I’ve divined her—but I could divine nothing. The more times I asked, the more the result showed her identity was legitimate—she was indeed born into servitude, sold by her parents as a slave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle lightly tapped the table—questioning, yet questioning himself: “A servant girl, a commoner’s daughter sold by her parents—could she truly possess such resolve and confidence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle himself came from a common background; when he first entered the Academy, he was a country bumpkin in the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, his cultivation wasn’t low, yet he still felt deeply inferior among his peers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even he felt inferior—how could Pan Yun, whose circumstances and origins were worse than his, be so confident and steadfast?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle stood. “I’ll divinate her too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle fetched his tortoise shell and began divination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang watched beside him; after Lin Jingle cast the shell three times and calculated, Zhang Ziwang saw the result at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun was fine—her identity was legitimate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang frowned tightly, then said: “If we’re not mistaken, then someone has shielded her from divination—concealed her fate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged a glance and spoke simultaneously: “Yin Song!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang leapt up, pacing in place. “It must be Yin Song! His mastery of celestial arts is unmatched in the Tian Shi Mansion—unless one of those senior elders intervenes, we can only wait to divine her origins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait until time weakens the concealment spell, then we can divine the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle: “But if he returns to the Academy, won’t he reinforce it? Can we really prevent them from meeting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added: “Besides, don’t forget Zhang Li—her concealment spell may not match Yin Song’s, but it’s more than enough to block our probing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “Then what do you suggest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle: “Investigate. Since we can’t use divination as a shortcut, we must investigate like the government office—send people to Pan Yun’s hometown, trace her parents, get portraits drawn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang hesitated. “Perhaps we should drop it. The girl hasn’t done anything wrong—no need to investigate her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If she did nothing wrong, why assume a false identity? Assuming a false identity is itself wrong—how can it be without fault?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “You’re too rigid, too dogmatic. Maybe she has a hidden reason? Though the girl is sharp-tongued, disrespectful to elders, and fierce—her character is genuinely decent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle: “You listed only her moral flaws—how did you conclude her character is decent?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang stood. “I won’t argue with you—I can’t win against you. My position is simple: I refuse to investigate a student like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle sneered: “Hypocrite. If you didn’t want this, you shouldn’t have started talking about Yin Song and her anomalies—you only wanted to push me into investigating while pretending to be the good man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jingle ordered him out: “I’m not Zhang Zifang, that fool. Since you brought it up, don’t expect to leave unscathed—if Sanqing Mountain asks, I’ll say we both sensed something odd about her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ziwang: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So sometimes he truly hated Lin Jingle—even once considered him the person he hated most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1785,"2026-06-20T22:03:57.478Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cb30967ebb177cc47c0a1f99114c76f43b339221e5b929108077542e7194f664","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-186","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-184",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]