A Pawn's Passage

Deacon Zhou pondered aloud. “Now, it seems that the simplest and most direct way is to directly search the Xiang Residence. That should reveal some clues.”

The assistant major was from the Green Phoenix Guard, which was part of the Imperial Court, so he had more factors to consider. “Master Xiang is a Juren Scholar, and his grandfather has some connections with the Imperial Court. Scholars always like to stick together with their peers. We need to be confident in finding evidence of wrongdoing if we search this place. Otherwise, we will be in trouble if this place is found to be clean.

“Furthermore, Master Xiang is now unconscious. If we search his house without consent, he might hold us responsible for certain missing items. He’s not an ordinary civilian, so it won’t be easy to brush him off. Also, we can’t guarantee there isn’t a kleptomaniac among our subordinates. By then, it’ll be his word against ours.”

Deacon Zhou hissed. “This is indeed a bit tricky.”

He looked at Qi Xuansu for advice. “Brother Wei, what do you have in mind?”

Qi Xuansu wanted to push it back, but he thought about it and suggested, “Why don’t we invite the local magistrate over? He’s in charge of the local affairs in the county, so we can invite him here to be a witness for the search.”

“Brother Wei, this is a good idea!” The assistant major clapped his hands. “If the county magistrate is willing to bear witness, we can prove that we didn’t act without authorization even if we don’t manage to find anything in the search. If he refuses to bear witness to this search, then he will be held accountable for the consequences.”

Qi Xuansu thought to himself, People in officialdom sure know how to cover for themselves. Although this assistant major has a military background, he has quite a good foresight for handling various scenarios.

The assistant major continued, “I will go in person to invite the county magistrate over.”

Deacon Zhou reminded him. “Tell the county magistrate that representatives of the Daoist Order, the Black Robes, and the Green Phoenix Guard have all arrived. He’s the representative of the local civil affairs, so he must be present as well. If he shirks responsibility this time, he needs to be able to explain it to the higher-ups when the time comes.”

“Right.” The assistant major nodded with a smile and strode away.

After about half a day, Xiang Rulin finally woke up. The local magistrate and assistant major arrived soon after.

The Great Xuan Dynasty did not emphasize literature over martial arts. The Six Arts of Gentlemen, which included etiquette, music, archery, riding, mathematics, and calligraphy, were also popular. Therefore, although the county magistrate was a civil official, he did not sit in a carriage. Instead, he rode on horseback, braving the wind and snow.

Although the magistrate was somewhat reluctant to get involved, he was left with no choice. If something went wrong, he would certainly be held responsible. However, if the case could be solved, he would also gain a share of the credit.

Thus, the county magistrate conveyed the decision to search the Xiang Residence to the owner of the house. Xiang Rulin protested, but to no avail. His vision went black as he fainted again.

Deacon Zhou had some medical knowledge, so he examined Xiang Rulin. He stroked his beard and remarked, “Master Xiang fainted due to overwhelming emotions, but his constitution is weak with a deficiency in yang energy.”

The assistant major snickered. “Huh, it doesn’t occur to me that a man of his age can still be so unrestrained in bed to the point he lacks yang energy.”

Deacon Zhou said helplessly, “Having a deficiency in yang energy doesn’t mean that he is a virile man. Yang energy and yin energy are opposing forces. When these two forces meet, one is bound to overcome the other. Only the Daoist Sages can truly achieve a balance of yin and yang.”

The assistant major was a Martial Arts Practitioner, and the county magistrate was a Confucian disciple, so they were not as proficient in the study of yin and yang as Deacon Zhou.

The county magistrate could not help but ask, “What happens if one’s yang energy is weak?”

Deacon Zhou explained, “A weak body will lead to evil spirits possessing one’s body. When that happens, the body will weaken further until death befalls the victim. However, if the yin energy in the body is too intense, I’m afraid that the victim will not be able to rest in peace even after death. There is also a risk of its corpse rising from the dead.”

Hearing this, the assistant major gasped. “It seems that we mustn’t delay this search.”

Deacon Zhou nodded in agreement. “Let’s search this place. We’re at least 80% sure there is something fishy here.”

The assistant major no longer hesitated. He strode out, summoned the Green Phoenix Guards, and gave them a set of instructions. The Green Phoenix Guard spread out and searched the Xiang Residence thoroughly. Although the assistant major had already emphasized for them to adhere to the rules, the Green Phoenix Guards were inevitably an arrogant bunch. They shouted at the residents and even got violent. For a while, the Xiang Residence was in chaos.

The crowd gathered outside the Xiang Residence watched in excitement, exaggerating rumors spreading like wildfire. At first, it was rumored that Xiang Rulin’s wife and concubine were killed. Later, it was rumored that Xiang Rulin had committed a serious crime, so the local government was sealing off the residence and confiscating everything.

The public was not angry. Instead, they were mostly gloating.

While the Green Phoenix Guard conducted the search, Deacon Zhou introduced Qi Xuansu to the county magistrate. The county magistrate dared not look down on this young man and greeted him politely.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh at the importance of status. If he did not have the Black Robes badge given to him by General Qin Wubing, he would not be treated with such courtesy even if he was a Yuxu-stage cultivator.

The sky turned dark in the blink of an eye, and the search was almost complete. All that was left to search was a small garden with a locked door.

Qi Xuansu, Deacon Zhou, the county magistrate, and the assistant major went over to the door of the small garden. Several Green Phoenix Guard held torches to light up the area.

By this time, the heavy snowfall had stopped.

The assistant major instructed a subordinate to summon the housekeeper of the Xiang Residence and asked while pointing at the door. “What is this place?”

“This is the cemetery of our master’s first wife.” The housekeeper glanced timidly at the assistant major and quickly lowered his head upon meeting those sharp eyes. “The missing Madam is actually from the master’s second marriage.”

The county magistrate scoffed. “What a joke! Why would anyone build a cemetery at home?”

The housekeeper knew that something was going on, so he quickly distanced himself from this matter. “I think it’s strange too, but the master insists on doing this. We servants can’t stop him. Besides, no one is allowed to go inside, so we don’t know what’s in there either.”

The assistant major pressed on. “You don’t have the key?”

The housekeeper lowered his head. “I don’t, sir.”

The assistant major waved his hand in dismissal, then signaled two of his subordinates to watch the housekeeper closely. He then turned to the other three men. “What do you guys think of this?”

Deacon Zhou and the county magistrate looked at each other before saying, “It seems that the only option is to break down the door.”

Qi Xuansu, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. “Since this happened because of me, let me do the honor of breaking down the door.”

The assistant major immediately agreed.

Qi Xuansu did not waste any time. He took two steps forward and stomped one foot into the ground to stop his forward momentum. His body leaned forward, and his fist at chest level pulled back as if he were pulling a bow. Then he abruptly unleashed a punch like a shot arrow. His joints created sounds of a firecracker as he completed the whole action in one breath.

“Nice punch!” The assistant major, who was also a Martial Arts Practitioner, knew this technique, his eyes lighting up with admiration.

The moment Qi Xuansu’s punch landed on the door, an illusory ripple spread across the door. However, faced with a punch with a combination of blood qi and innate qi, this simple formation only lasted for a moment before collapsing. The door to the small exploded into pieces, filling the sky with sawdust.

Seeing this scene, the county magistrate and Deacon Zhou could not help but shrink their heads instinctively. They secretly thought that if this punch had landed on their bodies, they would have been critically injured, if not dead.

Qi Xuansu clenched his fists and walked into the cemetery first.

The other three followed closely behind. The group of Green Phoenix Guards, civil servants, and Daoist priests trailed their bosses.

As soon as they entered the cemetery, they could not help but gasp in horror.

This was indeed a cemetery. A solitary gravestone stood in the middle, but all around it were scattered bones. At a glance, it was easy to identify them as human bones.

This place was abandoned and eerily silent—a chilling sight, especially with exposed human remains everywhere.

Deacon Zhou came to a white bone that was obviously different from the surrounding bones. It had a light jade-white color, so it should be the remains of a cultivator. Next to this piece of bone was a damaged magical weapon that resembled a Bagua[1].

Deacon Zhou sighed softly as he pointed at the bones. “This should be the Diviner who drew the talisman on the wall of the guest room. He was indeed murdered.”

At this time, the county magistrate knew that he had to make a decision. He ordered in a stern tone, “Arrest Xiang Rulin immediately and seal off the Xiang Residence. No one is allowed to leave without permission!”

The assistant major waved his hand as a signal to his subordinates.

The cadets under the local magistrate and the Green Phoenix Guards immediately dispersed to do their jobs, creating more cries and chaos in the Xiang Residence.

The rumors earlier suddenly became true.

1. The Eight Trigrams defined as a set of eight symbols used to represent the fundamental principles of reality and the natural world. ☜