Chai Xian did not answer immediately. After a moment’s thought, he said,
“My parents died when I was young, and I was left with no one to depend on, begging on the streets of Xiangzhou to survive. Later, my foster father adopted me. He treated me extremely well, even valued me more than his own sons. As a result, my three elder brothers all disliked and resented me.”
“Only Xiao Lan treated me sincerely, never looking down on me because of my past…”
At this point, Chai Xian seemed lost in thought, as if transported back to years ago, to that sweltering summer when a filthy little beggar boy was brought home to the Chai household. A young girl peeked from behind a screen, studying him quietly. When their eyes met, he looked down in shame.
The girl’s smile was radiant.
Listening to Chai Xian recall his past, Xu Qi’an was momentarily lost in thought, remembering Wei Yuan.
Back then, Empress Shangguan was like a bright ray of light that shone into Wei Yuan’s miserable youth.
“That night, after supper, a servant said my foster father wanted to see me. I knew it was about Xiao Lan: we had quarrelled many times over her proposed marriage.
“I was deeply in love with Xiao Lan, hoping my foster father would give her to me. But he felt that since I was already part of the Chai family, I was destined to serve the clan. Xiao Lan marrying me would be mere icing on the cake, while a match with the Huangfu family would benefit the family more.”
Ginger Cat An chuckled, “That’s not wrong.”
Chai Xian’s eyes dimmed slightly as he continued,
“After sending away the servants, I went to see my foster father, and halfway there, I heard sounds of fighting from his room, so I hurried over…
“I was too late. My foster father had already been murdered, the killer nowhere to be found. I was overcome with sorrow and rage. Just then, aunt arrived with other family members.
“They didn’t even question it, immediately accused me of killing my foster father, wanting to purge me from the family. However much I tried to explain, it was useless. Not a single person believed me. With no choice, I summoned the Iron Corpses and broke out of the Chai estate.
“My foster father may not have been killed by me, but that night, my hands were indeed stained with the blood of many Chai clan members. After fleeing Xiangzhou, I hid here to recover. This family owed me a favour and has always been willing to believe in me, never judging me guilty because of the rumours outside.”
Ginger Cat An interrupted, “It wasn’t you who abducted Xiao Lan?”
Chai Xian shook his head, “Afterwards, I was worried about Xiao Lan and secretly snuck back into the Chai estate, but couldn’t find her. After pressuring the servants in private, I learned she had gone missing on the very night my foster father was killed. I fear something terrible may have happened to her.”
An asked thoughtfully, “You broke into the corpse-storing cellar tonight looking for Xiao Lan?”
Chai Xian nodded, with a hint of relief in his eyes, “I didn’t find her.”
Ginger Cat An pressed further, “Who is the villain moving about Zhangzhou, committing murders and refining corpses?”
“I don’t know.”
Chai Xian’s face turned ashen, his tone and expression steeped in hatred:
“Someone has been impersonating me, going around killing people and creating murder cases. They want to push me to the brink, make me utterly beyond redemption. At first, they killed just some people from the martial world, then lesser gangs, and now even ordinary citizens haven’t been spared.
“This so-called demon-slaying assembly, that’s exactly what they wanted.”
Ginger Cat An probed, “Why don’t you run away?”
Chai Xian retorted, “Why should I run? My foster father’s death is shrouded in mystery, Xiao Lan’s whereabouts are unknown, and my enemy is still out wreaking havoc. Why should I run?”
Brother, your temperament’s a bit extreme… Xu Qi’an suddenly thought, if the real culprit behind the scenes understood Chai Xian’s character so well, then all of this had been orchestrated precisely to force him to stay.
A clever use of both overt and covert schemes!
Chai Xian sighed suddenly, “During this period, I’ve often gone looking for the real culprit behind all this, searching areas where murders had taken place, but the only people I caught were petty criminals: impersonators using my name for robbery or corpse-refining.”
Ginger Cat An said, “In your heart, you must have someone you suspect.”
Chai Xian hesitated before replying, “I think it’s my aunt who framed me.”
The ginger cat’s face showed a human-like expression as he tutted, “Go on, explain.”
A brief silence, then Chai Xian sighed:
“Who else could it be but her? The eldest brother died young, the second and third brothers are worthless. If my foster father died, only Xiao Lan and I would stand in her way. Isn’t this case killing three birds with one stone?
“Before tonight, I only suspected her, but had no proof. Yet tonight, when I sneaked into the Chai estate, I personally overheard her making love to a lover in her rooms.
“She’s changed, a once upright woman now so wanton, it’s her desires that have made her ugly.”
Ah, that! You probably also know her wild man: that’s Li Lingsu back then from the bank of Daming Lake… Ginger Cat An silently lampooned.
Apart from the “wild man” being a mistaken assessment, Chai Xian’s analysis matched his own.
A basic principle in criminal investigation: whoever gains from a crime is a suspect.
In the Chai estate case, Chai Xing’er was the only real beneficiary, so she had a motive. Of course, it wasn’t definitive, only that she was a suspect.
But the later string of murders committed under “Chai Xian’s” name in Xiangzhou and then Zhaozhou didn’t fit the pattern of a normal criminal.
Xu Qi’an had been perplexed by this until now. Upon meeting Chai Xian, he realised: the disappearance of Xiao Lan and the frame-up of the murders were meant to keep Chai Xian from leaving.
That required the real culprit behind the scenes to know Chai Xian’s character intimately, someone unfamiliar would never have managed such manipulation.
“Thank you for telling me these things. I understand what happened now. If you really have been wronged, I’ll try to investigate and clear your name.”
Ginger Cat An said.
But before that, you’ll need to return the Dragon Qi to me… Just as he thought this, he heard Chai Xian quietly say,
“Thank you. The reason you’ve told me all this, is it because you’re waiting for your main body to arrive?”
…Ginger Cat An’s feline face froze, nearly meowing in embarrassment.
Chai Xian sighed, “Sorry, but right now I can’t trust anyone. If you truly wish to help, you may use this place as our contact point. Should you make any progress or wish to reach me, simply pass a letter to Er Ya.”
That way, whether I mean good or ill, I cannot threaten this family for now… Ginger Cat An replied in a low voice, “Alright!”
As soon as he spoke, Chai Xian sent out a surge of Qi and knocked the ginger cat unconscious.
…
A quarter of an hour later, Xu Qi’an’s main body hurried over, appearing and vanishing in the darkness like a ghost, arriving in the alley.
Apart from an unconscious ginger cat, the alley was empty, there was not a soul in sight.
Xu Qi’an leapt onto the clay-tiled roof, scanned the surroundings, but could sense no trace of Dragon Qi. That meant Chai Xian had already left the area.
Quite cautious indeed, aren’t you?
He floated to the ground, picked up the ginger cat, pinched his eyebrows in frustration, and walked slowly away.
The Heart Gu had two ways to control animals. One was “influence”, commanding groups of beasts or insects to follow your bidding. The other was “possession”, placing a wisp of your soul into a single animal and control it completely.
To put it simply, “influence” was a wide-area ability. “Possession” only affected one or two animals at a time depending on the strength of your spirit.
He had managed to control the ginger cat over such a distance all thanks to the tenacity of a third-rank soul.
Separately, the method the Corpse Gu used to control walking corpses was similar to Heart Gu’s “possession” mode. The difference was, Heart Gu used one’s own soul as a power source while Corpse Gu implanted a child gu into the corpse, which consumed very little power.
He rna and leapt through the shadows, at last returning to the inn.
Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox had already fallen asleep. The little white fox’s upper body was buried under the covers, with its two hind legs sticking out. When Xu Qi’an shadow-jumped back into the room, he happened to see its hind legs twitching a few times.
Several seconds later, its legs twitched again.
After this repeated a few times, Xu Qi’an suspected it might be short of oxygen, so he pulled its head out from under the covers.
Sure enough, it was fine then.
…
The next day!
In the early morning, the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect, looking suave and handsome in a light-blue cotton robe, silver-patterned boots, and with his hair bound by a jade hairpin, arrived at the inn.
He stepped into the main hall, quickly swept his gaze around, and locked onto the table by the window.
At the table sat a plain-looking man and woman, and a little white fox was lying on the table drinking porridge. From time to time, it looked up at Xu Qi’an, then lowered its head to drink porridge again.
“Why do you keep looking at me?” Xu Qi’an asked doubtfully.
This little fox had been giving him strange looks since morning. In its button-like black eyes lay a mix of hostility, fear, grievance, and a little bit of pitifulness… Well, in short, a complicated emotion.
The little fox spoke softly:
“I dreamt last night that you were taking revenge on me and were going to strangle me. Even though I begged you for mercy, you still wouldn’t let me go.”
It wore an aggrieved expression.
Wasn’t it because your own sleeping posture was so bad you buried your head under the covers and almost suffocated yourself… Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched, and he retorted:
“Why did you have such a dream? Or more precisely, why would I want to take revenge on you? Wasn’t it because you did bad things last night and felt guilty?”
The little fox, being so young, was left speechless and could only whimper.
Li Lingsu came quickly over, sat down at the table, rubbed his waist, and laughed:
“What bad things did this little thing do last night?”
Mu Nanzhi replied coldly, “What bad things could she do? Unlike some men, being lascivious is one thing, not minding men or women is another, sometimes, even living or dead doesn’t matter!”
Li Lingsu’s and Xu Qi’an’s faces suddenly stiffened.
“Madam, what a thing to say…” Li Lingsu gave an awkward laugh. “There’re good and bad among Yao too; can’t judge on race alone. And what do you mean by living or dead doesn’t matter?”
Knock, knock!
This guy suddenly has a conscience now, has he had a Yao lover? Xu Qi’an tapped the table a few times and said, “What do you want?”
Li Lingsu immediately lowered his voice. “Senior, I’ve run into some trouble.”
After a pause, seeming a little embarrassed, his voice grew even quieter: “I’m afflicted by Desire Gu again. You’re a master of Gu techniques, could you help remove it for me?”
Best not to get involved with neurotic women… Xu Qi’an asked, “Was it planted by Chai Xing’er?”
Li Lingsu’s face showed sorrow as he nodded.
At that moment, the waiter came over, bowed, and asked, “Honoured guests, what would you like to eat?”
Li Lingsu glanced at Mu Nanzhi’s and Xu Qian’s food, thought for a moment, and said:
“Bring out all your best dishes for strengthening the kidneys and invigorating yang.”
…the waiter gave him a strange look, “Alright, alright…”
His gaze then fell on the little white fox, and he flattered:
“What spirit it has, not like our shopkeeper’s cat. Today it’s completely listless, seems to have fallen ill.”
No, it’s just been drained dry… Xu Qi’an thought to himself.
Having finished speaking, the waiter withdrew.
Mu Nanzhi gloated:
“Seems you were destined for romantic disasters. First, you were under house arrest for half a year by the Dongfang sisters, drained dry, and now Desire Gu planted by Chai Xing’er? Tsk, tsk, one day you’re going to die at a woman’s hands.”
Huh, Madam Xu rarely mocks me like this, could she be jealous?… Ah, my damned charm. There’s nothing possible between us… Li Lingsu gave a polite smile and kept his distance from the plain-looking Madam Xu.
Had Mu Nanzhi known what was going through the Holy Son’s mind, she would have spat in his face.
“But since you’re following him, you can ask his advice on how to deal with women’s quarrels. He’s just like you, always getting into romantic trouble, and all those women, in every respect, far surpass your sweethearts.” Mu Nanzhi sneered coldly.
Romantic trouble everywhere? And women more attractive and of higher status than my lovers? The Holy Son glanced at Xu Qian, not believing it.
From Madam Xu’s appearance, he could tell what kind of taste Xu Qian had.
If this chap ever saw Mu Nanzhi’s real face, what would he think… Hmm, and the date with the National Teacher was approaching… Xu Qi’an took a sip of porridge and said in a low voice:
“Be careful of this woman Chai Xing’er. I ran into Chai Xian last night.”
“What?!”
The Holy Son’s voice suddenly rose.
Mu Nanzhi also looked over.
Xu Qi’an gave a brief summary of last night’s events, omitting, of course, the bedroom scene between the Holy Son and Chai Xing’er, not to spare him embarrassment, but to keep “Xu Qian” looking dignified.
Li Lingsu, still rubbing his waist, said seriously:
“I still don’t believe Xing’er would do such a thing, but as you say, she’s the prime suspect. But suspicion is just suspicion, without proof, we can’t say she’s the real culprit.
“Everything Chai Xian said is just his side of the story.”
Xu Qi’an grunted, chewing his fluffy steamed bun, and said:
“So Chai Lan is the key now, we have to find her, alive or dead. Also, go to the Chai family and check the events of that night. Compare what Chai Xing’er says, what Chai Xian says, and what the other Chai family members say. See if you can find any clue.
“Tomorrow is the Demon-slaying Assembly. We’ll watch and see what happens then.”
Monks like Jingxin and Jingyuan had also got involved, so his priority was not to solve the case, but to find Chai Xian and extract the Dragon Qi.
Otherwise, if Jingxin and Jingyuan realised Chai Xian was host to the Dragon Qi, they would surely convert him to Buddhism.
With his cultivation and the power of the Stupa tower, fighting this group of monks would be evenly matched.
They couldn’t deal with him, but he couldn’t kill them either.
The key was, Jingxin and Jingyuan might have a way to contact Vajra Du’nan. If this dragged on too long, he might end up facing a third rank, or even an Arhat.
“By the way, the Demon-slaying Assembly will be held tomorrow by the Xiang River outside the city,” Li Lingsu said.
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!