Chapter 67: The Gambler’s Sudden Death

After Bai Hongtu recalled his Flying Sword and openly demonstrated his sword control, a wave of cheers and praise erupted from the onlookers.

Once he clearly explained the situation, the officers immediately sealed off the street and sent people to retrieve Song Sanlang’s corpse.

“Hold on a moment!” Li Yanchu suddenly stopped the officers.

He turned to Bai Hongtu and said, “Don’t forget about the mountain demon outside the city... and this man could control a two-part corpse. He’s too dangerous to be handled carelessly.”

Bai Hongtu froze for a moment, then nodded in sudden understanding. “Good thinking. You’re very cautious!”

After a brief moment of thought, Li Yanchu said, “Buddy, could I trouble you to bring Head Constable Wang here as a witness?”

He then explained to the others, “This man practiced Demonic Dao. There’s a high chance his corpse may still be dangerous. The guards might lose their lives if something happens during transport. If Head Constable Wang comes to witness it, then Young Master Bai can destroy the corpse on the spot using sword techniques. Better safe than sorry.”

The officer’s face changed slightly. Recalling the strange disappearances in Wei City’s prison, a chill ran down his spine.

“Daoist Master Yanchu, thank you for thinking of our safety. I’ll go fetch Head Constable Wang immediately.”

The surrounding officers and local militia couldn’t help but cast grateful looks at Li Yanchu. If it had been a normal situation, perhaps Bai Hongtu would have felt like Li Yanchu was stealing the spotlight. But tonight, a sinister corpse-bearer had been slain personally by Bai Hongtu using his Flying Sword Technique, and that alone had brought him no small amount of glory.

Even though Li Yanchu had swooped in at the end to “take the kill,” Bai Hongtu decided to overlook that detail entirely. Especially when he saw the admiration in everyone’s eyes and heard Li Yanchu earlier call him “Young Hero Bai!”, Bai Hongtu’s face lit up with a wide grin.

But then a thought occurred to him, and he turned to ask, “Why aren’t we going back with the body to the

yamen

? Why leave it here?”

Li Yanchu replied calmly, “If this corpse really is problematic, what if it goes berserk and attacks during the trip? It’s safer to deal with it right here and now.”

A strange glint flashed in Bai Hongtu’s eyes. He simply said, “Wise.”

Li Yanchu smiled faintly, but his gaze drifted toward the distance in the direction of Lady Qingyi Temple.

The ghost-rearing false City God, the paper effigy maker, and the corpse-bearer were all now dead. But who knew if other strange figures still lurked in Wei City?

As for the matter of the blood money, it likely had nothing to do with tonight’s paper effigy maker or corpse-bearer. There must be another culprit.

When Head Constable Wang finally arrived, Bai Hongtu performed a spell and disposed of Song Sanlang’s corpse, after which the two of them returned to the Daoist temple. Once again, their plans to enjoy music at the entertainment district had to be postponed.

Back at the temple, Li Yanchu reviewed the merit he had earned that night and was pleasantly surprised. Tonight alone, he had gained nearly five thousand merit points! Added to what he already had, Li Yanchu was now basically a nouveau riche cultivator.

Back in his quarters, Li Yanchu sat down and calmly began to review and analyze the recent events, and a thoughtful glint flickered in his bright eyes.

Song Sanlang had clearly used some special method to block Qi Sights, managing to hide a two-part corpse within his own body without giving off the slightest trace of evil qi.

“The setup targeting the Five Lakes Gang began over a year ago, but Song Sanlang only arrived in Wei City recently. And that fake City God... who knows how long he had been hiding in the city. Yet somehow, the three of them were connected. Was it a temporary alliance? Or are they all part of the same organization?”

If it is the latter

, Li Yanchu thought,

then this matter is far from over

. Sooner or later, other members of that organization were bound to come to Wei City.

He lightly tapped his fingers on the table, his expression growing heavier. “Magistrate Xu has already reported everything up the chain, step by step... But who knows when the imperial court will actually send someone to investigate? Wei City’s situation... may not be so simple. That letter from Wuling Wanderer to the old monk was only just recently sent, yet the setup against the Five Lakes Gang started over a year ago.

“That means the paper effigy maker and the false City God had long since discovered clues about the Elixir of Immortality being in Wei City, and they had already begun secretly searching for it, eventually zeroing in on Lady Qingyi Temple. So it seems the Elixir of Immortality is currently hidden within that temple... No, wait. That might not be the case.

“The Five Lakes Gang hid gunpowder in an attempt to blow up the temple. The false City God told me that the blood money traces back to Lady Qingyi, and he too wanted to use me and the authorities to destroy the temple. Which suggests that, in their eyes, finding the elixir requires destroying Lady Qingyi’ temple. Could it be that the elixir is hidden beneath it?

“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to just dig a tunnel in secret? Even if slower, it’d be much safer than blowing it up. Once something happens to that temple, the authorities are bound to station heavy guards there, and that would only make searching for the elixir harder. And what if the elixir is discovered by someone else first?”

Li Yanchu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache forming from trying to untangle the thoughts of these demonic and heretical schemers.

Rather than believing the Elixir of Immortality was buried under the temple, he was more inclined to think that these people had simply been trying to deal with Lady Qingyi.

“The false City God killed so many people in Wei City, and yet Lady Qingyi never stepped in; that alone proves she’s not a legitimate deity. Even if she’s not truly demonic, she’s certainly not a being of goodness.”

Li Yanchu had grown deeply wary of Wei City’s Lady Qingyi. Though she resided in a temple overflowing with incense offerings, something about her presence made him uneasy.

When he had left his body in spirit form and approached the temple, he felt a thick, oppressive pressure. It was so heavy it became difficult to move, as though something was pressing down on his soul.

Grand temples with heavy incense and ritual power exert immense suppression on primordial spirits and yin souls.

***

The next morning, just as Li Yanchu stepped out the door, he heard a piece of news that caught him completely by surprise.

Last night, in Wei City's largest gambling den, three gamblers suddenly dropped dead on the spot. There were no visible wounds, and no prior symptoms; each of them collapsed silently amidst the bustling noise of the gambling hall. Even more bizarre, the three were seated at different tables, yet they died at the exact same moment.

When Li Yanchu heard this, he immediately frowned. “That kind of death... it’s just like having one’s three souls and seven spirits drained by blood money, their essence and qi exhausted.”

He let out a soft sigh. Despite having used the authorities to warn the people about the dangers of blood money, deaths were still occurring, now inside a public gambling den.

A sense of unease crept into Li Yanchu’s heart. Blood had been spilled.

That day, an unusually large number of citizens came to have their coins tested. Even without an official investigation, the incident at Daxing Gambling Den would naturally be linked to the blood money scandal that had been stirring up the city.

By the end of the day, they had identified over five hundred tainted coins. This time, Li Yanchu didn’t immediately use talismans to purify and destroy them. Instead, he took them back to the Daoist temple and stored them away.

Bai Hongtu eyed him carefully and hesitantly asked, “Yanchu, you’re not planning to...” He trailed off.

Seeing that Li Yanchu still hadn’t used talismans to dispel the yin and resentment clinging to the coins, Bai Hongtu suddenly had a realization.

Li Yanchu said calmly, “I think our original approach may have been flawed. If destroying the resentment on the coins won’t force whatever’s behind this to act, then maybe it’s better to gather them all together. I want to see whether that thing can really sit still and do nothing.”