Yinshan Record

Chapter 213 Secret Arrangements
Su Che felt that his ability to lie without batting an eye was already unparalleled.

Sending Lu Bai to Jiankang was definitely not just about making money.

Money was very important to my past self, but it has no meaning to me now.

Money is just a tool to help me achieve what I want and desire.

The important thing is to bring the people of the Su family of Duling to Tian'an County and Cizhou.

Zhu Yi did not have suitable official robes, and Su Che expressed his understanding.

With the Chiwen Jie (a type of mythical beast) in place, not only can the official robes of the Deputy Commander of the Court of Judicial Affairs be obtained at will, but even the imperial robes of the current emperor can be obtained at will.

Su Che wrote a letter, stamped it with the seal of the Deputy Commander of the Criminal Division that he always carried with him, and handed it to Zhu Yi, asking him to go to the Tian'an County government office to borrow people.

The Imperial Guards did have clear regulations requiring them to conceal their identities when stationed in local areas, but these regulations were inflexible and dated back many years.

Those prominent figures in Tian'an County naturally knew who Zhu, the owner of the silk shop, was, just as they knew that Tongdelou was owned by the Langya Wang family.

Some things and identities are destined to be revealed.

The constables arrived quickly, a total of sixteen, led by a head constable. They all looked very energetic and brought their full set of weapons, including iron rulers, long knives, and ropes.

However, each of them looked quite tense.

Exorcising demons and catching ghosts is basically no longer the responsibility of the yamen runners in this world.

It wasn't their business to begin with.

"Ado."

Zhu Yi fastened his leather belt, donned the official uniform of the Imperial Guard, and wore a black gauze hat. Years of experience as an Imperial Guard still carried a hint of fierceness. With a single glance, the constables all trembled in awe.

"This time we're taking the Corpse Demon. Don't be afraid. Just treat this worthless monster as a thief with a bit more strength."

"You will follow behind me and be on guard. Do exactly what I tell you to do, and don't do anything unnecessary. If you do a good job, the magistrate will record your merits, and we will also give you additional rewards."

"If you don't do a good job, let me make it clear from the outset: don't blame the law for being heartless!"

After saying this, Zhu Yi bowed to Su Che.

"Does Your Honor have anything to say?"

"You just need to lead people to do things."

Su Che did not go to the county government office, but had already told Zhu Yi the location of the old house. This man was also a veteran among the imperial guards, so he naturally knew how to handle the situation.

As for those few corpse demons...

Zhu Yi is right, they are all good-for-nothings.

Not to mention that these yamen runners were fully armed, and with Zhu Yi, the old imperial guard, personally overseeing the situation, even a group of desperate peasants could drive them away.

Zhu Yi led the way, following Su Che's previous instructions, with the head constable and his men following closely behind. Although the procession wasn't exactly grand, it still attracted countless sidelong glances.

Tian'an County is used to peace and prosperity, so the official uniforms of the Imperial Guards were still too conspicuous on the streets.

This should be the place.

Looking at the white walls and black tiles in front of him, Zhu Yi realized that he had been neglecting his duties for the past few years. Whose family was this deep mansion?

Who owned this house before?

“It’s the old house of the Shen family in the county. Five or six years ago, the county was hit by a plague, and many people died. The Shen family, both noble and common, all died. The county ordered their house to be sealed off.”

The constable made it very clear: "I was the one who handled this task back then, and the coffin should have been sealed in the Shen family's main hall all along."

"No burial?"

Zhu Yi frowned.

Generally speaking, in cases like this where the entire family has been wiped out, if no one is available to collect the remains, the government should organize the burial.

Tianan County, however, did not take this step.

"My lord, the imperial court has such laws, but in our Tian'an, we believe in burial according to one's own lineage. When a person dies, it must be settled by their own family. Those whose entire lineage has been wiped out are considered to have failed their ancestors and are not allowed to be buried here."

Strange and unusual.

Zhu Yi was certainly aware of the customs of Tian'an County, but he simply wanted to use the head constable to speak to the magistrate in charge of law and justice, thus exonerating himself.

"Old Zhu, we're here on business, let's not bring up old grievances."

Su Che interjected.

"work."

"Order."

Zhu Yi adjusted the straight sword with a ring pommel at his waist, walked a few steps to the entrance of the Shen family mansion, which was sealed by Tian'an County.

Exposed to wind and sun, rain and frost, the seal has long since become unrecognizable.

"The Imperial Guard of Cizhou is handling this matter; open the seal."

As he spoke, he flicked his hand through the air, a burst of energy peeling away the seal piece by piece. With a flick of his palms, a gust of wind caused the long-rotten door to creak and slowly open.

What a skillful way to arrange tree roots!

Su Che silently praised him.

The cultivators among the Imperial Guards are different from those from the Jianghu (martial arts world) in the Jingye Division. They were originally elites under the command of the Great Liang Emperor, so most of them follow the path of martial arts and Confucianism.

Regardless of Zhu Yi's reputation in Tian'an County, the swiftness with which he acted just now shows that he hasn't forgotten the foundation upon which his family stands.

Since it's the government's weapon, then we still have to rely on force to decide things.

Withered vines and old trees, broken wells and crumbling walls—the gate opened, startling a crow into cawing. Zhu Yi drew his long sword and slowly walked into this long-sealed mansion.

The head constable led a group of constables and followed closely behind.

"Do you remember where the body was laid to rest back then?"

"It should be in the lobby."

Zhu Yi bypassed the screen wall, swept his long sword across, cutting through the withered grass and tangled vines, and strode straight towards the entrance hall.

The Shen family's mansion truly deserves the reputation of a grand and secluded residence. The courtyard is very deep, and every brick, tile, and house layout shows that a lot of thought and effort was put into it back then.

Unfortunately, things have changed, and in the end, it was all for naught.

Zhu Yi led the people into the entrance hall of the Shen family mansion. The furniture and decorations had long been removed, leaving only seven huge coffins standing on the ground, each with four long benches underneath.

A sheet of yellow paper was placed on top of broken bricks in front of the coffin. "My lord..."

After rushing into the hall, Zhu Yi looked at Su Che with hesitation.

Su Che frowned slightly.

Although a trace of evil energy can still be felt here, it is only a remnant.

If things seem to be going well, those corpse demons are no longer here.

"Open the coffin."

Su Che slowly waved his hand, signaling the constables to step back.

Zhu Yi brandished his long sword, spinning around like a hawk, the blade sharp and cold, skillfully shattering the coffin lids one by one.

Click.

The old, heavy coffin opened with a thud, revealing the corpse inside.

Four men and three women, all of them were dead but not stiff, their bodies covered in festering sores. Among them were the lady and maid that Su Che had seen in the courtyard that day.

However, each corpse had been dissected, and a long iron nail had been driven into its chest.

"grown ups?"

Zhu Yi looked at Su Che.

"Old Zhu, come and take a look."

Su Che walked up to the lady's body.

"In your opinion, how many years has this thing been around?"

"Reporting to my lord, these corpse demons appear withered and lifeless, like zombies, and are clearly no match for me. Generally speaking, whether a corpse demon absorbs the essence of a human or the essence of the sun and moon, it takes about three or four years for it to regain its appearance before death."

"The Shen family was wiped out by the plague six years ago. I believe they must have recently turned into zombies."

"What do you think?"

"Dismemberment to suppress the mind is the most common method for suppressing corpse demons." Zhu Yi looked at Su Che: "Could it be that some cultivator traveling the world noticed the anomaly here and took the opportunity to help?"

"Makes sense."

Su Che waved his hand to signal to the group of yamen runners.

"You all retreat outside the courtyard and seal off the surroundings. Don't let anyone else in. Although the corpse demon is gone, the corpse poison is still there."

The constable was eager to get away from this troublesome place as soon as possible. Hearing that there was still corpse poison here, he immediately led his men to leave quickly.

After the constables had all left, Su Che used his magic to wave his hand, and the iron nail that had been pinning the corpse demon's heart flew up with him and hung horizontally in the air.

"Supporting justice, what a coincidence!"

"What do you mean, sir?"

Zhu Yi had no idea what the judge in front of him was up to.

The corpse demon is dead; this matter is over.

"Look at these iron nails, can you see any clues?"

The iron nails were dark and dull, painted with a layer of vermilion lacquer, and looked unremarkable.

"It's superfluous."

Su Che looked at the shattered corpse of the corpse demon.

"These wounds were inflicted by sword energy, and the person who made the move had already condensed sword aura."

Su Che has recently been diligently practicing the Taiyu Abi Sword, and with a group of hungry ghosts and fierce spirits as his practice subjects, his swordsmanship experience has improved by leaps and bounds. Judging from the wounds on the corpses, he immediately determined that the one who did the work must have been a sword cultivator, or someone with considerable swordsmanship, at least having condensed sword aura.

"For a sword cultivator who has mastered the sword aura, killing a few weak corpse demons is already like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. He can just kill them and leave. Why bother with iron nails to suppress their hearts? Could these things be thousand-year-old corpse kings?"

"Are you saying, sir, that person did this on purpose to mislead us?"

"Corpse demons are caused by the malevolent energy of heaven and earth, especially the foul energy underground, which is particularly prone to causing them to turn into corpses."

Su Che pointed to the bench under the coffin.

"Leaving aside the custom in Tian'an County that forbids the burial of those who have died without a family line, these coffins are all suspended in mid-air. Where does the foul air from the ground get in from?"

“Someone must have deliberately set this up.” Zhu Yi looked at Su Che in surprise: “But what use are these few insignificant corpse demons?”

“I’m thinking about that too.”

"Yellow paper."

Zhu Yi sheathed his sword.

He tossed the broken bricks aside and reached out to grab the yellow paper.

"Be careful."

Su Che flicked his fingertip, sending out a sword aura.

The target was Zhu Yi's wrist. Su Che's sword energy was not forceful; it only made Zhu Yi's hand go numb.

Zhu Yi looked at Su Che with suspicion.

"You can't just take things without permission."

Su Che pointed his finger, and a gust of cold wind blew, sending the yellow papers flying into the air.

The yellow paper was scattered everywhere, like autumn leaves swept away by the wind. Judging from its material, it was no different from the yellow paper sold at the entrance of the City God Temple.

But there was only one picture, which depicted a lifelike, ferocious, bloodshot eye, as if painted with fresh blood, its crimson color almost dripping.

"This is?"

The Nine Netherworld Burning God Yin Fire shot out and enveloped the yellow talisman. Within the dark blue flames, the blood-red eye twitched incessantly, as if it were alive.

"There should be more."

Su Che looked at the yellow paper in front of the coffins.

Sure enough, someone had secretly orchestrated this.

(End of this chapter)