The juniors of the Chai family guarding the entrance stepped aside, and Li Lingsu pushed open the half-closed door, revealing the scene inside.
It was a small room, with two rows of upright corpses. They had previously worn hoods, but now all the hoods had been removed and tossed on the ground.
Between the two rows of corpses stood Chai Xing’er and three clan elders: one with sparse hair, one burly, and one with a severed arm.
Are these the iron corpses? Li Lingsu moved his gaze, looking at the beautiful widow in a pale blue long dress.
She was also looking at him, her eyes as clear as an autumn pool, with a touch of gentleness and some discontent. “Why have you come here?”
“I heard someone broke into the cellar last night, so I came to have a look.”
Li Lingsu ignored the scrutinising gazes from the three elders, walked over to Chai Xing’er’s side, and smiled. “Was anything lost?”
Chai Xing’er shook her head and turned to the three clan elders. “For a thief to infiltrate Chai Manor in the middle of the night, without alerting the guards and disturbing those watching the cellar, shows that the thief was thoroughly familiar with the grounds and our security.”
The clan elder with sparse hair mused, “You’re suggesting it’s Chai Xian’s doing?”
“Who else could it be?” Chai Xing’er replied with a cold laugh.
The burly elder muttered, “Removing all the hoods from the walking corpses, likely searching for someone… Who’s he looking for?”
The one-armed elder said calmly, “Xiao Lan has been missing for many days. Is it possible that he thinks Xiao Lan is dead and turned into one of these corpses? That kid must be out of his mind.”
Chai Xing’er was about to respond when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Li Lingsu standing before one of the corpses, silently examining it.
The corpse had fine, clear features and looked to be about thirty. He must have been an exceptional man when alive.
“He was my husband,” Chai Xing’er said plainly.
Li Lingsu grunted in acknowledgement, then raised his hand to pinch the male corpse’s shoulder, confirming that it was an iron corpse.
“Uncles…”
Chai Xing’er glanced at the three elders.
The elders gave a slight nod and temporarily withdrew from the room.
Once the wooden door was closed, Chai Xing’er walked to Li Lingsu’s side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. She looked at the male corpse calmly and softly said,
“I haven’t often spoken to you about him.”
“I don’t want to know,” Li Lingsu turned and made to leave.
“Li Lang…”
Chai Xing’er grabbed him, her hand icy cold. Her tone became slightly anxious as she said, “It’s not as you think.”
Without waiting for Li Lingsu to reply, she rapidly explained,
“Back then, my big brother and he were out on business and were ambushed by enemies seeking revenge. He was gravely injured and on the brink of death. To save his own life, big brother turned him into an iron corpse, and that’s how they escaped and returned with their followers.
“When I learned of this, I argued badly with my brother, then left home to clear my mind. Not long after, I met you.
“It’s not that I couldn’t let go of my old feelings for him, keeping him by my side as an iron corpse.”
Li Lingsu paused briefly and said, “I believe you.”
…
“Chai Xing’er’s former husband died at Chai Jianyuan’s hands and was made into an iron corpse…”
In the inn, listening to Li Lingsu’s “report”, Xu Qi’an felt as if he could smell a melodramatic family TV drama.
This made it even more likely that Chai Xing’er could be the true culprit behind the scenes.
Even though her former husband had been seriously wounded, his life hanging from a thread; even though there was no way out alive for him; ultimately he had died at Chai Jianyuan’s hand, and then turned into an iron corpse.
Yes, to immediately refine someone into an iron corpse meant that Chai Xing’er’s former husband must have been at least sixth rank, Bronze Skin and Iron Bones. Chai Jianyuan refined him into an iron corpse, his enemies probably cursed their mothers.
Finally managed to kill one, only for him to “revive” in another way…
“Try to find out more about her former husband from the Chai family elders.”
“That’s it?” Li Lingsu frowned.
“Mm!”
Xu Qi’an took a sip of tea and nodded.
Li Lingsu was silent for a few seconds, then reluctantly said, “If she really turns out to be the mastermind, what will you do?”
Xu Qi’an looked at him. “Killing her own brother, mass murder—death!”
Li Lingsu’s face immediately darkened. After a moment’s silence, he said gruffly,
“I will destroy her cultivation, bring her back to the Heaven Sect, and never allow her to leave the mountain for the rest of her life. If you wish to kill her, you’ll have to kill me first.”
He cupped his hands, turned, and left.
“Tsk tsk, this Heaven Sect Holy Son is quite interesting.”
Mu Nanzhi laughed. “For the supreme forgetting of emotion, he dallies with so many women, all to forget them in the end. But as it turns out, he falls for every one of them.”
That’s why the Heaven Sect needs to recall defective products. The Holy Son has strayed onto a wicked path… Xu Qi’an thought.
Beneath the table, Mu Nanzhi gently kicked his foot and teased, “Oh, romantic and sentimental Silver Gong Xu, if you were Li Lingsu and your beloved confidante committed a terrible crime, what would you do?”
Xu Qi’an thought seriously for a moment and replied, “If that confidante named Mu Nanzhi committed a grave offence, I would abide by law and public duty.”
“What did you just say!”
Mu Nanzhi flew into a rage, pulling a fierce face as if she really meant to chop Xu Qi’an to pieces.
But the next moment, her anger turned to embarrassment. Her cheeks reddened, and she spat, “You’re talking nonsense.”
Who’s your confidante? Shameless!
Thud thud thud… Under the table, she furiously stomped on his foot.
After she finished venting, Xu Qi’an said:
“I was just brushing Li Lingsu off earlier, giving him a random task to do. For us, investigating the case isn’t actually important, obtaining the Dragon Qi is what truly matters.”
There was no rush with the case. After all, Chai Xian had been wronged for so long, a little longer would hardly matter. But Jingxin, Jingyuan, and that group of monks were also in Xiangzhou, it was like having a fierce tiger lying by their bedside.
The threat was far too great.
He had previously made an agreement with the tower spirit of the Stupa tower, stipulating that he could not use it against Buddhist disciples, but he could use it for self-protection, for example, by shrinking himself inside or piloting the tower to escape.
In other words, the best Xu Qi’an could do was ensure he did not lose; he lacked the strength for a direct confrontation.
Under such circumstances, if Chai Xian ended up facing Jingxin and the others, there would be no concealing the fact that Chai Xian was the Dragon Qi host.
Since the Buddhist sect had come to the Central Plains to collect Dragon Qi, they must have a method of identifying Dragon Qi hosts.
Therefore, the real urgency was not the case, but finding Chai Xian first.
“By the way, how is the nine-coloured lotus root coming along?”
Mu Nanzhi gave a proud “hmph”, turned her face aside, and raised her chin: “It will be fully mature within three months, and then another three months to produce lotus seeds.”
As expected of the reincarnated Flower Goddess, it’s going along very well. The lotus seeds themselves aren’t urgent, but the lotus root can be cut and given to the old scoundrel of the Wulin Alliance to help him break through to second rank… Xu Qi’an nodded in satisfaction, then said,
“In-in a few days, the National Teacher might come looking for me, she has some business to discuss. I may have to leave with her for a few days then.”
Hearing this, Mu Nanzhi turned her head and frowned, “For what?”
“J-just… business…”
“Hmm?”
Just business, as I said… Xu Qi’an lowered his head and sipped his tea.
Mu Nanzhi gave him a suspicious look and muttered, “So mysterious. Just say what it’s about. She’s a difficult person, but I get along with her very well; I could act as a go-between for you.”
Ah, princess consort, that sort of thing is better tried when everyone is a bit more familiar with each other… Xu Qi’an made a casual excuse and changed the subject:
“I’m gonna go out for a bit.”
Xu Qi’an changed into an ordinary cotton robe and left the inn.
He intended to persuade Chai Xian to confront Chai Xing’er at the Demon-Slaying Assembly. Chai Xian would surely not appear in person, he would most likely control a corpse, but that method had a distance limitation.
Given Xu Qi’an’s current range for sensing Dragon Qi, he only needed to fly the Stupa tower overhead to easily locate Chai Xian’s hiding place.
…
Chai Manor.
In the courtyard where the Buddhist monks were staying, Chai Xing’er took a sip of tea, put down her cup, and turned her head to say,
“Master Jingxin, I hope you will preside over justice at tomorrow’s Demon-Slaying Assembly and call upon the righteous to join forces to eradicate the ungrateful wretch Chai Xian.”
Zhangzhou was one of the Great Feng’s breadbaskets. Although there were impoverished places like Xiangzhou, in general, it was fairly prosperous.
It was well known that the more prosperous a place was, the weaker its people’s fighting spirit tended to be. In harsh, remote areas, fierce and difficult people were more common.
Moreover, as the court valued Zhangzhou’s fields, it intentionally suppressed the power of the jianghu there, preventing large gangs from arising.
As a result, martial arts had never flourished in Zhangzhou, and Rank Four experts were exceedingly rare.
“As we travelled through the Central Plains, the recent incidents in Xiangzhou have pained us deeply.”
Jingxin said in a gentle voice, “It is a pity that the Great Feng court forbids Buddhist evangelism; as a result, the realm suffers endless natural and man-made disasters, the people are in hardship, and refugees are everywhere.”
The two monks standing beside him pressed their palms together in a gesture of piety, quietly reciting a Buddha’s name, their posture making it clear they agreed with the sentiment.
If only the Great Feng had let the Buddhist sect preach in the Central Plains sooner, the world would not be in such chaos now.
After a few more casual exchanges, Chai Xing’er took her leave.
Jingyuan said, “This case is rather suspicious, Chai Xian’s actions are inconsistent. Master, can you use precepts to question Lady Chai Xing’er?”
“You suspect her as well?” Jingxin smiled.
“Investigating cases is not difficult for us. That Xu Qi’an is considered a prodigy at solving cases in the Great Feng, but he uses nothing but low tricks.” Jingyuan said with pride.
Jingxin nodded, then said,
“To question Chai Xing’er now, if she is indeed the killer, then what? What if the entire Chai residence is under her control? That would mean making enemies of them all. If we are to invoke precepts, it should be at tomorrow’s Demon-Slaying Assembly.
“Also, until we have seen Chai Xian, I will not act rashly. You must all remember that.”
Seeing that several young monks were a bit confused, the warrior monk Jingyuan laughed and explained for Jingxin:
“Earlier, when Chai Xing’er mentioned Chai Xian’s cultivation had suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds, I also found that interesting. That’s why I was eager for our senior brother to use precepts and investigate.
“If what she said was true, then Chai Xian is very likely a Dragon Qi host. But if she is lying, now isn’t the right time for a confrontation, tomorrow will be better.”
…
Relying on his memory, Xu Qi’an arrived at a small village and then, recalling last night, at the house where Chai Xian had hidden.
The man of the house was out working, and in the yard, a young woman was hanging laundry, while a girl of about ten was picking vegetable leaves.
Seeing a stranger arrive, the mother and daughter became a little nervous and wary.
The young woman hesitated, and in dialect asked, “Who are you looking for?”
… Xu Qi’an said, “Can you speak mandarin?”1
“I can. I learnt it from the xiucai in the village,”
The little girl said with a hint of pride.
She was wearing a worn-out cotton jacket, patched in many places. Probably due to malnourishment, her face looked slightly sallow.
As a reminder, mandarin literally means “the language of the officials” and in China is generally the dialect of whatever the court spoke (so central plains for much of history) ↩
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