After the Great Dao Died

”I... I only know it’s a medicine catalyst...” Cold sweat poured down Wang Kong’s forehead, his voice faltering. ”Chief Steward Zhao said... said this batch of Dragon-Drawing Powder is different from the previous ones. He paid a massive price to get it... He values it immensely. He even made me handle fetching it, forbidding anyone else from touching it...”

”A medicine catalyst,” Chen Lingxi interrupted him. ”To refine what medicine?”

”I really don’t know!” Wang Kong’s voice pitched a fraction higher. ”Chief Steward Zhao never tells me these things. I’m only in charge of watching you take the medicine and recording who lives and who dies... He doesn’t tell me anything else...”

Chen Lingxi looked into his eyes.

Wang Kong’s gaze was panicked and terrified, but it did not look like he was lying.

A dying man in this situation truly had no need to lie.

”What about Liu Changle?” Chen Lingxi asked. ”Where did he go?”

Wang Kong froze for a moment, then shook his head. ”I don’t know... He suddenly disappeared... Chief Steward Zhao sent people to the front servant quarters to look for him early that morning, but he was already gone... Chief Steward Zhao flew into a massive rage over it and beat all the servants in the North Courtyard, but he still couldn’t beat his whereabouts out of them...”

”Suddenly disappeared?”

”Just suddenly disappeared!” Wang Kong said anxiously. ”His belongings were all there, but the person was gone, as if he’d vanished into thin air... Chief Steward Zhao said... said it was impossible. An official bondservant can’t leave the marquis estate, so someone must have hidden him... But after searching all these days, nothing turned up...”Chen Lingxi fell silent for a moment.

Having lived two lifetimes, he still had the ability to read people.

Wang Kong’s current behavior did not seem faked.

He asked a few more questions, and Wang Kong answered them one by one. His words were jumbled and repetitive, offering nothing else of use.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

The spring breeze blew through Liujie Alley, stirring the loose hair on his forehead.

A peddler’s cry drifted from the end of the alley, its drawn-out melody echoing lazily.

Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked twice and then went quiet again.

He withdrew his gaze and curled his fingers into a fist.

Wang Kong’s eyes suddenly widened. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

Crack!

A streak of crimson light swept past.

Wang Kong’s forehead shattered under the punch. His body slowly slid down against the dirt wall.

He was dead.

Chen Lingxi squatted down and rummaged through his clothes.

He fished a few silver pieces from the man’s chest pocket, mostly broken silver, totaling around twenty to thirty liang.

Two small deerskin pouches were sewn into the inner lining of his belt. He opened one to find three pills lying inside, pitch-black and perfectly round, exuding a pungent medicinal scent.

He leaned in and sniffed them, but was unable to identify the medicinal ingredients used to make them, so he stuffed them, pouch and all, into his shirt.

Inside the other pouch was a packet of medicinal powder.

’This should be the Dragon-Drawing Powder.’

He tucked the Dragon-Drawing Powder away safely.

He cast another glance at the piece of Hetian jade hanging at Wang Kong’s waist.

The jade was warm and lustrous, distinctly white, and of excellent quality.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose not to untie the jade.

’The jade and the Short Blade are valuable, but if I bring them back to the courtyard, they’ll leave too many flaws and invite trouble.’

Having finished all this, he stood up and dragged Wang Kong’s corpse into the half-collapsed adobe house at the end of the alley, dumping it in the same place as the previous two bodies.

He then changed back into the blue martial outfit he had taken off earlier.

’An arrow shot from the bow cannot turn back.’

’I just have to keep moving forward.’

Chen Lingxi quietly walked out of the winding alley and merged into the flow of people, his footsteps never stopping.

According to the rules, government slaves had to report to the prefectural office before noon.

In the past, Chen Lingxi and the other government slaves always set off over a shichen early to avoid being delayed on the road.

Therefore, even though Chen Lingxi had killed three people in Liujie Alley, he still had not missed the reporting time.

He navigated through streets and alleys, and before long, he arrived at the Yuanjiang Prefectural Office.

The Yuanjiang Prefectural Office was situated right in the center of the eastern part of the city, facing south. It featured vermilion doors studded with bronze nails. In front of the gates stood two stone lions, their eyes glaring fiercely as their paws pinned down an embroidered ball and a lion cub.

It was currently the chen hour, and a long line had already formed in front of the prefectural office. There were commoners submitting legal petitions, bailiffs escorting prisoners, and neatly dressed petty officials waiting to be summoned.

Chen Lingxi blended inconspicuously into the crowd, silently lining up at the side door where the government slaves reported.

The side door was half-open. A long elm table was set up at the entrance, and behind it sat an old clerk. His complexion was a sallow yellow, his beard thin and sparse, and he was currently squinting as he marked a registry with a brush.

Chen Lingxi stepped forward and reported his name and the location of his slave registry. The old clerk raised his eyelids to glance at him, flipped through a few pages of the registry, found his name, and checked it off with his brush before waving his hand to signal that he could leave.

He made absolutely no mention of the other ten government slaves on the list.

Chen Lingxi bowed his head in thanks and turned to leave, but suddenly heard a dense clatter of horse hooves from behind.

The hoofbeats approached incredibly fast. The iron horseshoes hammered against the bluestone pavement, merging into a continuous clatter like a summer rainstorm pounding against tiled eaves.

The crowd in the square spontaneously parted to both sides. Anyone who was half a beat too slow was yanked out of the way by their companions.

Chen Lingxi looked toward the sound.

A fine chestnut horse rounded the street corner into the square. The steed was tall with four snow-white hooves and a mane that cascaded like black satin. As it ran, the muscles beneath its coat rippled like waves. It was truly a magnificent horse.

Sitting atop the horse was a woman.

She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. She was exceptionally tall, her back and shoulders as straight as a spear.

She wore a dark, tight-fitting martial suit, covered by a scarlet cloak that snapped loudly in the wind like a fluttering war banner.

A long saber hung at her waist. Its scabbard was a dull, dark color without any ornamentation, yet it naturally exuded a chilling aura.

Her features weren’t exactly delicate or soft. Her brows slanted upward, the outer corners of her eyes tilted slightly, her nose was high and straight, and her jawline was strong and firm. Her entire face was sharply defined, as if chiseled by a knife or an axe, yet it radiated an indescribable, compelling heroism.

What made Chen Lingxi’s heart skip a beat, however, was the surging qi and blood churning around her.

This qi and blood was not being intentionally circulated; it was a sign of natural, passive overflow.

Faint silver light could be seen shining through her body, blending with the thin morning mist to outline her silhouette in a hazy glow, making her look like a sheathed silver blade.

What was more, with every breath she took, an extremely faint silver mist rose from her skin. The mist did not dissipate, but rather swirled and circulated around her, like a docile silver dragon coiling around her body.

Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes.

’Silver Bone Realm.’

’And it is Silver Bone Great Completion, perhaps even higher.’

Chen Lingxi was astonished.

This woman appeared to be around the same age as Lin Longyue, older by one or two years at most, yet her cultivation level was actually superior.

In Yuanjiang Prefecture, the identity of a woman who possessed such a cultivation level at this age was all but obvious.

’The Prefecture Lord’s daughter, Chu Linzi,’ he silently recited the name to himself.

He had long heard of this person’s name and heard that she was highly valued by the Crown Prince.

Seeing her today, she was truly a sharp and dazzling figure.

Chen Lingxi didn’t want any trouble, so he lowered his head, turned sideways, and prepared to leave.

Right at that moment, Chu Linzi reined in her horse.

She swung down from the saddle. In the time it took her scarlet cloak to rise and fall, her figure was already a zhang away.

She casually tossed the reins to a groom who rushed over to greet her, then took sweeping strides toward the main entrance of the prefectural office.

When she reached the stone steps of the main entrance, her footsteps suddenly paused.

She turned her head.

That gaze swept across the crowd in the square like a blade’s edge, ultimately landing on the line of government slaves.

It landed on Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

Their gazes met from across a distance of over ten paces.

A hint of surprise flashed through Chu Linzi’s eyes, quickly transforming into a look of scrutiny.

She raised a hand and beckoned. An accompanying bailiff jogged forward and stood with his arms by his sides, waiting for her orders.

Chu Linzi lifted her chin slightly toward Chen Lingxi’s direction and said something.

Her voice wasn’t loud, and Chen Lingxi couldn’t hear it clearly, but he saw the bailiff nod repeatedly before turning to walk toward him.

Chen Lingxi’s heart sank, but his face remained impassive as he stood with his hands down.

The bailiff stopped in front of him, looked him up and down a few times, and asked, ”Whose slave are you?”

His tone carried the usual arrogance of those who worked in the government offices.

”In reply to Milord, I am Chen Lingxi, an official bondservant of the Baosu Marquis Residence,” Chen Lingxi answered with his head bowed.

The bailiff gave a grunt, turned around, and hurried back to Chu Linzi’s side to whisper his report.

Upon hearing the report, Chu Linzi’s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly.

”Baosu Marquis Residence,” she repeated the name.

”What a pity. If you were at any other estate, I would have considered asking for you to be transferred to my courtyard.”

She turned her head to cast one last glance at Chen Lingxi, then withdrew her gaze and waved her hand at the bailiff. ”Since he is a slave of the Baosu Marquis Residence, pay him no mind,” she said.

With that, she took a wide step through the main entrance of the prefectural office. Her scarlet cloak dragged a fleeting arc over the threshold before she vanished into the depths of the gateway.

The bailiff waved at Chen Lingxi, signaling that he could leave.

Chen Lingxi bowed in salute, turned, and departed.

However, his body was slick with cold sweat.

’Normally, I use the Concealed Edge Method to hide my spirit qi, but I don’t constantly conceal my qi and blood. If my qi and blood flickered in and out of existence, it would be even more suspicious.’

’But to think that this Chu Linzi seemed able to see right through my qi and blood cultivation at a single glance.’

’Her eyes are even sharper than Jiang Yuan’s.’

Chen Lingxi hurried through the streets and alleys. Before long, he could spot the vermilion-painted gates of the Baosu Marquis Residence from afar.

The two rows of golden, pearl-like nails on the door gleamed brightly in the morning light. A few guards were leaning against the door pillars, chatting and laughing in low voices. Seeing him enter through the side gate, they merely threw a glance his way and paid him no further attention.

He passed through the covered corridors, bypassed the Yin’an Courtyard, and didn’t stop until he headed straight back to the West Courtyard Servant Quarters.

Pushing open the door, he turned back to slide the latch into place and then closed the windows, immediately plunging the room into dimness.

He didn’t light a lamp. Relying only on the few slivers of daylight leaking through the cracks in the window lattice, he sat down at the table.

Taking out the items he had gathered, he laid them out one by one on the table.

First were the pieces of broken silver he had looted from Wang Kong’s clothes. He weighed them in his hand—about twenty-odd liang. Added to the monthly allowance he had saved up, he was finally a bit more comfortable financially.

He put the silver away and lined up the three crimson pills in a row.

The pills were roughly the size of longans, perfectly round like pearls, with surfaces as smooth as jade. He brought them close to his nose and took a whiff. A rich, medicinal aroma assaulted his senses.

From just that single sniff, Chen Lingxi felt his spirit slightly invigorated. Even the strand of spirit qi in his dantian seemed to become more active, gently pulsing within his meridians.

’These pills are definitely no ordinary goods. They must have been bestowed by Zhao Yong.’

He carefully wrapped the three pills in a clean piece of coarse cloth and tucked them securely into the inner folds of his clothes. Only then did he turn his gaze to the final item—the packet of Dragon-Drawing Powder.

Untying the deerskin pouch, he saw that the medicinal powder was dark brown and as fine as dust, exuding a strange scent.

Chen Lingxi brought the powder close to his nose, just about to take a careful sniff, when the Divine Chamber in his mind suddenly trembled.

He subconsciously sank his awareness into the void of the Divine Chamber, only to see that the glowing, tadpole-like golden text had distinctly jumped a tick—[Perceiving Clear Divine Ability: Origin Replenishment Progress 53.4].