# 135. Dried Corpse
"With your current status, can't you just go and interrogate him?" Daoist Jinlian was puzzled.
"The Earl Pingyuan is a hereditary noble title, after all. I can't resort to violent means without any evidence. Besides, Normal investigations are easily stalled. So, Light and Dark methods should be used together for proper results." Xu Qi'an explained casually.
"Daozhang is undoubtedly a master in the realm of Primordial Spirit. You should be able to make him cooperate obediently and reveal all the information he could, right? It should be an easy task for you."
"... You are quite experienced. This doesn't match your previous life experiences at all." Daoist Jinlian nodded, giving the affirmative answer.
"Some cars may look new, but their mileage looks very scary." Xu Qi'an said, seriously.
"What do you mean by that?" Daoist Jinlian frowned.
"I mean that you can only see the surface. A person's life is always more exciting than the words in a file." Xu Qi'an shrugged.
"Makes sense" Not interested in continuing this topic, Daoist Jinlian said, "Relax yourself. I'll move to your sea of consciousness."
"Is your primordial body out of your body yet again?" Xu Qi'an was alert.
“Hehe, my body was injured and my strength was reduced. But, my Yin Spirit is intact, so it can better display my powers.
"There is a curfew in the inner city. I can't move in the open with you. I can hide from ordinary Bronze Gongs, but it's not good for either you or me if I am discovered. Moreover, the capital is filled to the brim with all sorts of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. There are other dangers besides the Nightwatchers."
*That's true. But It's too much if you wish to penetrate my soul with your own... We aren't that familiar yet...* Xu Qi'an frowned in embarrassment.
Although he trusted Daoist Jinlian, it wasn't to the extent of allowing the other party's primordial spirit to invade his sea of consciousness.
Furthermore, he couldn't guarantee that Daoist Jinlian wouldn't see some of his secret memories, like the memories of his previous life, or the plump white buttocks of the Famous Oiran Fuxiang.
Shaking his head, Daoist Jinlian said, "What should I do, then?"
At the same time, the shrill meow of a cat came from the roof. Xu Qi'an smiled and pointed to the top of his head, "Sorry for the trouble, Daozhang."
"..."
...
After changing into his Nightwatcher uniform, Xu Qi'an openly left the courtyard. Even if he met someone from the Imperial Guard along the way, they didn't bother to accost him, after seeing the Nightwatcher Uniform on his body. But, they did wonder why a black cat was standing on the shoulder of the Nightwatcher.
Xu Qi'an was only stopped when he met his fellow Nightwatchers, but all such problems were solved after he took out his gold token and said that he had been ordered to investigate the case.
Xu Qi'an didn't rush and maintained his normal pace, arriving at the Mansion of Earl Pingyuan in about an hour.
After he looked around to make sure that no one else was around, he found a secluded corner and tore off a page from his "Spell Book", that recorded the technique of One Leaf Concealment.
"Hisss..."
Qi ignited the paper, after which an invisible force enveloped Xu Qi'an and the black cat.
*The Confucian Laws following Commandments...* The black cat's orange pupils stared at the scene, and Daoist Jinlian suddenly thought about many details.
*It's no wonder Number Three portrayed himself as a student of the Cloud Deer Academy. Not only is his cousin a member of the Academy, but he himself also seems to have a great relationship with the academy.*
*Otherwise, he wouldn't have had another way to gain a book of recorded spells.*
Daoist Jinlian ruled out the option of it being a gift from his cousin. Firstly, it was impossible for an ordinary student to receive such treatment from a Great Scholar.
Secondly, How could a student give away such a great gift so easily? They would want to use it by themselves.
*... The scholars at Cloud Deer Academy have always looked down on Martial Artists. Why would they give him such a treasure...* While Daoist Jinlian was thinking about this, he saw Xu Qi'an pull out a cloak from the Earth Book fragment and cover himself.
*Why are you so proficient...* The black cat shook his head.
"Before we act, I have two trivial things I want Daozhang's advice on." Xu Qi'an, face covered by a cloak, suddenly said.
"Speak!" The cat forced the air to vibrate, and produce human language.
"Are Spirit Dragons only close to the royal family?"
"Theoretically, It is so."
"Theoretically?"
"Spirit Dragons like Purple Qi, not members of the royal family." the black cat explained.
... Xu Qi'an nodded thoughtfully, "One more thing. I went to the imperial city to investigate the case today. I heard that the Spirit Dragon went berserk today without reason, and the guards couldn't stop it at all. It almost hurt Princess Lin'an."
The black cat didn't speak for a long time.
"Daozhang?"
The black cat looked around cautiously, as the dignified voice of Daoist Jinlian resounded, "The thing sealed under Sangpo lake, has entered the capital..."
"How did you know that?"
"Spirit Dragons are inborn masters of the Qi Watching art, and their level is beyond the reach of ordinary practitioners of Qi Watching. It can sense things ordinary people can't sense."
*No wonder Chu Caiwei's Qi Watching technique couldn't discover any sort of abnormality. She's just not good at her discipline... So that is the reason why Spirit Dragon simps on me. It should be able to sense the weird luck in me... That means that the Jianzheng could also sense it, right?*
Xu Qi'an was startled by his guess.
*The thing from Sangpo has entered the city... The Spirit Dragon felt the threat. So, It went mad and tried to flee the Imperial city without hesitating... I should find a way to reveal this to Wei Yuan tomorrow.*
After finishing the conversation, Xu Qi'an stuck to the courtyard walls and reached the backyard wall of the mansion, which he jumped over.
After landing, he cautiously looked left and right to make sure that the sounds of his clothes moving through the air didn't disturb the experts in the mansion.
Earl Pingyuan’s mansion was vast. According to normal living habits, the head of the family usually lived in the largest courtyard on the east side.
Using the One Leaf Concealment spell, Xu Qi'an escaped several groups of patrolling guards and reached the largest courtyard that was in the east.
As he stepped into the yard, he heard a high-pitched groan, along with a man's heavy breathing.
*...Oh what a great time to come.* Xu Qi'an cursed and couldn't help but move faster.
Feeling under the window, he gathered a small needle of qi on his fingertip, and pierced through the highly flexible paper window. Then, he looked through the small hole he’d made.
The hole happened to be facing the master bedroom, so the movement of the two people in the bed fell straight into Xu Qi'an's eyes. But, as it was covered by the bed curtain, he only saw the embroidered quilt rising and falling and heard the woman's cries.
"Pop"
At the time, A slight sound came from above his head, the sound of a cat's sharp claws piercing the window paper.
Xu Qi'an raised his head and saw the black cat standing on its hind legs above his head. Its two front paws were resting against the window. Its face was pressed against the window as it watched intently.
*Why are you so good, Daoist...* Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched twice.
"He should be Earl Pingyuan's son. Let's rush in." Xu Qi'an suggested.
"Let's go in after this is over. Men are most relaxed at that time." Daoist Jinlian rejected Xu Qi'an's suggestion.
*No, you will regret this. you don't know how terrible Martial Artists are. After all, we are the ones with a strong body...* Xu Qi'an lampooned.
Two sticks of incense time later…
Daoist Jinlian looked at Xu Qi'an, "Well, I admit it. You were right."
The woman went from hoarseness to begging for mercy, and then finally fainted. It still took some time before the man let out a deep growl and was finished.
*Tsk tsk. That's It? Thinking of the first time I slept with Fuxiang, I persisted until midnight...* Xu Qi'an thought, as he was about to go around to the front door and thunderously sneak attack the other party.
At the time, Xu Qi'an suddenly felt goosebumps raise under his skin and his toes curl. It seemed as if bloody thorns were behind him, piercing his body.
Inexplicable fear filled his mind.
"Something is coming..." Daoist Jinlian's voice was heavier than ever before.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qi'an heard the sounds of guards from a distance, "Who dares to trespass into Earl Pingyuan's mansion... Argh!"
Halfway through, the speech turned to a scream.
Immediately afterward, ripples due to colliding Qi resonated and screams resounded from all sides, before it all fell into silence.
Earl Pingyuan's son, who had already entered sage mode, heard the movement. Without even putting on clothes, he quickly jumped up from the bed, took off the sword hanging on the wall, and rushed out of the room, holding an ugly expression.
A man wrapped in a black robe appeared in the yard. His face was hidden inside the hood. His aura made Xu Qi'an's legs tremble and made him want to run away.
The black cat arched its back as its long hair all stood up and its vertical pupils shrank rapidly. Its abnormality represented Daoist Jinlian's mood to a certain extent.
"Who are you?" Earl Pingyuan's son trembled.
His legs, his arms, and his facial muscles, all trembled uncontrollably.
"Your debt collector." A hoarse voice came from the hood, and the man in black showed his head, revealing a pale face with rather handsome features.
He had a pair of dark eyes. His pupils seemed to occupy his entire eye socket, without any traces of white in his eyes.
Xu Qi'an didn't know him. But, he kept his appearance in mind as he tried to guess his identity.
"It's you, It's you...." Earl Pingyuan's son screamed, terrified. "You should already be dead. I watched you die with my own two eyes..."
"I was dead. But, I crawled out of hell again." The man in the black robe had a hoarse voice. He raised his right hand, that hand seeming as if had come from the devil. The fear in Xu Qi'an's mind blew up.
Whoosh... The blood-red hand raised a cyclone, sucking Earl Pingyuan's son into its palm.
"Save, save me...Someone, someone please come..."
Earl Pingyuan's son shook his legs wildly, before suddenly, his flesh and blood dried out, and he turned into a mummified corpse in an instant.
A person alive the previous moment lost his life the next.
Alive and well in the previous moment, dead in the next.
*A Dried Corpse?!* Lightning seemed to have struck Xu Qi'an's head.
The black-robed man let out a sinister laugh, moving his qi as if in anger. Bang… the dried corpse exploded into powder.
After completing the kill, the man in the black robe turned his head and turned his cold gaze toward Xu Qi'an's hiding place.
He pointed his palms towards the bottom of the window. Whoosh... the cyclone reappeared.
"Fuck..." Xu Qi'an's feet were stuck to the ground, leaning backwards, being pulled closer to the other side little by little, close to the abyss-like palm that devoured lives.
Xu Qi'an reached into his bosom, squeezed out the pills of might that Chu Caiwei had given him. He crushed the porcelain bottle with all his strength, and stuffed all the pills into his mouth.
Then, He held the hilt of the black gold long sabre as he calmed himself down.
Clang!
In the night, the dark gold sabre flashed, and dinged, as a string of dazzling sparks splashed from the bright red arm.
Xu Qi'an's right arm was ruptured, and the muscles of his right arm were convulsed.
*This is an enemy I can't slash with a single attack... On facing such enemies, the Intent given by the book isn't to slash again, but to run away.*
"Run!"
The black cat vibrated the air to make the sound and jumped up at the same time to pounce on the black-robed man.
Amidst the turmoil, the black cat's body disintegrated in mid-air, and Daoist Jinlian's primordial spirit came out to crash into the black-robed man.
*Take Care, Daoist...* Not looking any further, Xu Qi'an took the opportunity to break free from the pull of the cyclone and jumped up the ridge of the roof. In two or three steps, he fled over the wall.