# 147. A Message from Jinlian
Under the black cloak, those hands stretched out on their own, qi swirling in their palms… whoosh! Hengyuan helplessly flew up, flying towards the whirlpool of death.
In pain his eyes opened wide, his skin quickly drying, his blood flowing away, as his body began to visibly wither away.
That familiar face reflected in his eyes, slowly withering away, slowly inching towards death… Henghui, watching all of this, suddenly showed some expression on his ruthless face, his inky black eyes no longer as cold and unyielding.
Bang! Hengyuan was thrown aside, colliding heavily with the well wall.
Henghui’s left hand was clamped over his right, as he grunted through gritted teeth, “You will not kill him, you will not kill my Brother…”
His face suddenly became cold and unfeeling, and his voice became enticing, “Hengyuan is a warrior monk, his qi is flourishing, he would be perfect to heal your injury… do you not want revenge, do you not want revenge?”
Immediately after, that cold expression disappeared, and pained struggle took its place, “No, you can’t kill him! He’s my sect-brother!”
“You can kill anyone in the world, why not him?”
“You can kill anyone, just not him! He’s my Brother, he’s the one I revere the most.”
“How about Pingyang?”
“Pingyang…”
His expression became cold, then pained, then cold again, as if two personalities were fighting over his body. As they struggled, the veins on that thick right arm began to glow in red light, becoming stronger and weaker, as if it were breathing.
Henghui’s main personality seemed to have been suppressed, as the coldness slowly took the upper hand.
“Henghui…” Hengyuan’s voice was tired, “Do you remember that chant that your brother taught you before?”
*The Chant of calming minds…* Henghui resisted the right arm that had gotten out of his control, and sat down slowly, his back to the well wall. He put his hands together, and started to mutter.
A long time later, he slowly calmed those evil desires, and the right arm stopped its agitation.
Henghui opened his eyes, those eyes that still had no sign of white. In the darkness of the well bottom he stared at Hengyuan, his voice hoarse:
“Brother, didn’t you want to know what I encountered a year ago? Well, I’ll tell you.”
…
“What’s the maid’s name?”
In the interrogation room, Xu Qi’an drank tea, looking at the oiran sitting anxiously opposite him.
“He’er…” Mingyan answered promptly.
She constantly stole glances at Xu Qi’an, as well as the tightly shut door behind them. As an oiran of the Jiaofangsi, she had received her fair share of important guests, and knew what the Nightwatchers Constabulary was like.
Any officials who were put here, would lose a layer of skin if they did not outright die, and a weak woman like her, may be facing a fate worse than death.
“When did she start serving you.” Xu Qi’an’s expression was serious.
“For- for three or four years.” She looked at Xu Qi’an in fear, “Around three and a half years, as for the exact time your servant can’t remember.”
This young man sat there expressionless, an imposing aura naturally forming around him. She hardly dared to take breath, as a towering mountain of stress weighed on her heart.
*How did he change so much? Last night he seemed fully like a hedonistic boy born with a silver spoon.*
*Three and a half years… afterwards I’ll send someone to look that up, to see which women entered the Jiaofangsi at that ime.* Xu Qi’an nodded,
“Normally, who did she meet, or were close confidants with?”
Mingyan thought for a long time, simultaneously trying to remember, and giving out a long list of names.
After asking a few more questions, Xu Qi’an looked at the clerk who was making notes, who nodded back.
“Thank you, Miss Mingyan, for your cooperation. You may leave.”
“Eh?” Fortune came like a tornado, and she was momentarily in disbelief.
“I’ll take you back to the Jiaofangsi.” Xu Qi’an rose, and made a “please” gesture.
Oiran Mingyan anxiously followed him out of the room, and all the way to the constabulary door. When she saw the horse-drawn carriage parked there, she finally felt a great weight lift, and knew that she would really be sent back to the Jiaofangsi, and not to be kept in the constabulary to be…
She immediately recovered some of her past personality, giving a full bow, “Thank you, Master Xu.”
Xu Qi’an stretched out a hand, and pinched those round, plump buttocks, “Don’t thank me with words, thank me with actions.”
*This man can change face faster than a woman can…* Mingyan was somewhat embarrassed, and glanced at the carriage.
Xu Qi’an’s eyebrow raised, looking at the carriage and falling into thought.
…
The horse drawn carriage stopped outside the alleys of the Jiaofangsi. The oiran stepped out, and said softly, “If Sir Xu has time, please come to my Azure Pond Courtyard for tea.”
With pleasantries exchanged, she quickly turned and left, her steps very quick, her dress flapping.
She was somewhat scared of Xu Qi’an, naturally not because of his 24-carat gold hardness; nothing happened on the carriage.
She was always apprehensive of those with hard to predict tempers.
Xu Qi’an rode back to the constabulary, and gathered the core members of his team for a meeting.
Very quickly, the three Silver Gongs, Lyu Qing, as well as Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were summoned to the side hall by Xu Qi’an.
“I gather everyone knows what happened last night in the Jiaofangsi.” Xu Qi’an said.
Everyone nodded their heads; they had all been told by Song Tingfeng. They also knew that in the end it was the Sitianjian’s disciples that acted and saved the day.
As to why Song Tingfeng did not report back to the constabulary, they all tacitly did not ask, because yesterday night, unfortunately, it was Gold Gong Zhu who was on duty.
Lyu Qing stared at Xu Qi’an for a long time, to where his hair stood on end, and he asked with a frown, “Constable Lyu, what’s the matter?”
Lyu Qing pursed her small red lips, “How did Sir know that there were Yao hiding in the Jiaofangsi?”
The other men gave understanding smiles, and only Li Yuchun maintained a stiff face, being out of tune with the others due to his insufficient lustfulness.
Xu Qi’an replied with a straight face, “When I was patrolling one night, I looked at the Jiaofangsi with qi-watching magic, and discovered Yao qi.”
“Why did I not hear you report this?” Li Yuchun asked blankly.
“At that time, I didn’t know what green light stood for, after that because I gave that arsehole Zhu a blade, and was put in jail for it, and then after…” Xu Qi’an shrugged.
*After that you became my subordinate, even though we called each other by what we did, I didn’t need to report to you any more.*
“Alright, there’s things I need you all to do.” Xu Qi’an took out a list of names from his robes and smacked them down on the table.
“Boss, you lead people to investigate the names on the list. They were close with the Yao woman. Furthermore, investigate for people who joined the Jiaofangsi four years ago, or any woman who suddenly got famous.
“Constable Lyu, you take a team to search house by house for Henghui, remember to take utmost care.”
After he had spoken, Xu Qi’an sat down again and drank some water, planning to go report the matter at the Jiaofangsi to Wei Yuan.
That twinge in his heart came out of nowhere. He immediately left the side hall, and entered the latrine, whereupon he took out the Earth Book fragment. The Earth Book Group Chat, which had not had activity for a long time, finally came to life again.
【FIVE: I’ve come to pay back my debt to THREE, mm, we’ve finished exploring the Abyss. I’ve discovered a secret as big as the heavens themselves!】
Given that she had deliberately mentioned him, Xu Qi’an could not remain silent, and replied 【THREE: What secret?】
【FIVE: How about you guys, have you decided to owe me one?】
【TWO: Let’s hear it then.】
【FOUR: Heh, no problem.】
【FIVE: Is ONE not here?】
【ONE: Ok.】
After everyone had expressed themselves, number Five messaged: 【FIVE: The seven shaman tribes have worked as one, and overcome many difficulties, and after a life-and-death exploration, finally reached the abys…】
【THREE: Just get to the point.】
【FIVE: … we found the Confucian Sage’s statue in the abyss, he’s watching into the abyss.】
*The Confucian Sage?* Everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society were shocked, and then could not help but think of Three. As a distinguished student of the Cloud Deer Academy, he may know something about this.
But he probably won’t say… furthermore, they still hadn’t returned any favours… the amount they owed was just getting more and more…
【FIVE: THREE, you’re a student in the Cloud Deer Academy, you should know something about this, right?】
Everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society were very happy, Five asked well.
*How would I know, I’m also shocked…* Xu Qi’an did not respond directly, adding 【Apart from the Sage’s statue, what else was there? Furthermore, could you describe in detail what the stage’s statue looks like.】
This was all useless talk without any substance, with the only goal to get more information.
【FIVE: Apart from the Gu god and various insects, the only thing in the abyss is the sage’s statute. Oh, I’ve just remembered, the sage’s statue was cracked at the forehead, the elders in the tribe seem to be really worried.】
*The sage’s statue’s head is cracked… the Shaman clans’ elders are really worried…* Number Two suddenly had a thought, 【Say, might the Sage’s statue not be suppressing the Gu God? Otherwise, why would the sage’s statue appear in the Abyss?】
【FOUR: We cannot discount this possibility, using statues, bronze models, and other bronze items as vectors for sealing formations is very commonly seen. The best example of this is in ancient times, when the human emperor cast nine cauldrons, to suppress the mountains and rivers of the Nine Provinces, gathering the fortunes of Humanity.】
【ONE: That Sage statue’s forehead is starting to split, doesn’t this imply that the seal is no longer as stable? Thus the Gu God is beginning to re-awaken.】
【FOUR: This is a possibility.】
This topic quickly passed, as after all both the rank of the Gu God and the distance to the Southern Marches were all too far removed from everyone.
Xu Qi’an sent another message 【ONE, recently you haven’t even asked me about the Sangpo case’s status, have you got any leads from those ancient books?】
【ONE: None.】
After this, One silently went back under the water.
*ONE’s reply isn’t usual, earlier they were clearly very interested in the Sangpo case… but after so may days, he (or she) hasn’t even asked me once…* Xu Qi’an continued to message, 【TWO, do you have any leads on where Zhou Chixiong is?】
【TWO: Nope, I’ll continue to keep an ear out.】
People mountain people sea, of course it was not so easy to find him. Xu Qi’an was both disappointed, but also felt that this was expected.
After talking for a few more minutes, number Four and the others expressed their worry towards Six’s whereabouts, calling for Number Nine the Daoist Jinlian, yet he did not respond.
*… The weather’s so good today, perhaps Jinlian Daozhang is up on some roof sunbathing.*
Xu Qi’an lampooned, before suddenly seeing Jinlian stick his head out of the water, 【NINE: Three, come out and see me.】
“Hm?” Xu Qi’an stared blankly, before understanding him. He quickly put back his jade mirror, left the latrine, and quickly walked towards the constabulary door.
He looked around at the door, and saw on the street stood a ginger cat, its tail perked up high, quietly watching the Nightwatchers Constabulary main door.
Xu Qi’an naturally walked over, over to beside the cat, yet he did not look down at it, rather looking in all four directions.
The ginger cat said solemnly, “I’ve found Six.”