Minglong

Chapter 11 Imminent
thump—

thump—

The sun rises, and the sunlight shines into the prosperous city that stretches to the horizon. Tens of thousands of residents go out one after another. The music and singing in Wuwei Tower have just died down, and the streets and alleys are filled with the hustle and bustle of the city again.

In Qingquan Lane, the morning light shines on the two courtyards. A few chrysanthemums bloom quietly outside the study. The fine chrysanthemum patterns converge towards the center, and the color changes from light to dark, showing small holes the size of peanuts. They are fresh, juicy and beautiful.

Xie Jinhuan walked out of the room wearing a plain robe, took a deep breath of fresh air, looked around his new residence, and then walked out with the coal briquettes.

There are quite a lot of tenants in Qingquan Lane, most of them are wealthy merchants from Taoxianfang, or teachers from Danyang Academy. They all have carriages and horses with them when they go out, and they are dressed in rich or noble clothes. They are quite curious about his new tenant.

Xie Jinhuan learned everything since he was young, and also paid attention to his body shape and conversation. His temperament was indeed not bad, but he only had more than 20 taels of silver left on him, which was robbed. It was indeed a bit "unworthy of his position".

Ye Hongshang was right, all problems stemmed from lack of strength.

To improve your strength, you need elixirs, and elixirs cost money.

Xie Jinhuan used to rely on his father wholeheartedly, and he had forgotten how to make a living in the past three years. Thinking about it, he turned to look at Meiqiu:

"Qiuqiu, what have I been doing to earn money for the past three years?"

"Guji?"

Meiqiu squatted on his shoulder, thought about it for a while, raised his wings, and wiped Xie Jinhuan's neck, meaning - kill and rob!
what?
Xie Jinhuan felt that he should be a knight, at most he had a little more love for beauty, and he should not do such a morally corrupt thing. However, Meiqiu did not look like a fake, so he could only ask:

"Is there a more legitimate way, without killing people?"

Meiqiu thought for a moment, fanned Xie Jinhuan's face with his wings, and then stretched out his claws:

"Gooji!"

The tone was fierce, clearly violent extortion!

Xie Jinhuan opened his mouth and thought to himself: Oh my god, I haven’t been a bandit hiding my identity for the past three years, have I?
No wonder the thieves who stole my money bag yesterday were so smooth and effortless...

He wanted to ask more, but he felt dizzy. Then a ghost in red appeared behind him, holding a small umbrella and laughing teasingly:

"Oh, you'd better not ask, lest you reveal all the bad things you did in the past and ruin your own moral integrity. It would be better to forget the past and start a new life like your sister."

Xie Jinhuan discovered that a ghost in red appeared, but the ambient sound did not disappear. He could even see pedestrians walking in the alley, and he was shocked.

After making sure that others couldn't see his hallucinations, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief:

"Meigu is ignorant, so I must be doing justice and confiscating the illegal gains."

After saying that, he looked at the frightened Coal Ball:

"Has our father been around these past few years?"

Meiqiu felt that there was something dirty around him, but when he heard the question, he still thought about it seriously, and then his eyes looked confused.

do not know?
Seeing that he could not get any details, Xie Jinhuan did not bother his personal servant who only knew how to eat. He let Apia disappear first and went out of the alley.

The alley is at the entrance to a side street, making it quite convenient for dining. There is a mutton soup restaurant there, the banner has become yellowed and the words can no longer be seen. Steam is rising from a large iron pot at the door, and the seats under the eaves inside are packed, with most of the diners being minor officials in official uniforms.

Yang Dabiao, who had gotten up early to start work, and even the county lieutenant Yang Ting sat opposite each other at a small table outside the shop. They had six empty bowls in front of them and three white flour buns in their baskets. As they ate heartily, they said:

"After a night of corpse testing, even the seniors at Danwang Pavilion couldn't figure out the trick. This clue is broken again..."

"If the demon bandits were so easy to find, why would we need these policemen?"

"Hey? Jinhuan, are you up?"

"Yes. Good morning, Uncle Yang."

Xie Jinhuan came up to him, bowed to Yang Ting, and sat down in the empty seat next to him.
"When did Brother Yang come back last night? I wanted to say hello, but I waited for half the night and you didn't come back, so I went to bed first."

"Oh, forget it."

Yang Dabiao peeled the garlic cloves to relieve the greasiness, his face bitter:
"Last night, facing that rotting corpse... Never mind, let's not talk about this over dinner. I finally worked until late at night and was about to come back, but what happened is, there's more news from the palace."

Xie Jinhuan pressed the coal ball to prevent it from entering the pot, and asked curiously:
"what news?"

"It's still about the Zihui Mountain incident."

"?"

Xie Jinhuan's heart froze, thinking that this was probably not good news.

As expected, Yang Ting took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, on which was half a shoe print:

"The officers searched the mountains and found a suspicious footprint. The person's footsteps were over a foot long, indicating considerable martial arts prowess. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily, making it difficult to track. However, judging from the general direction, the person must have come to Danzhou alone..."

When Xie Jinhuan saw his footprints, he felt like the sky had collapsed!
The night before, he was afraid of being persecuted by demons, so he risked his life to run away, not paying any attention to hiding his tracks. Now he found footprints...

"Based on the shoe prints, this person is a man, or perhaps a demon transformed into a man. He's about six feet one inch tall..."

While Yang Dabiao was speaking, he handed the paper to Xie Jinhuan:
"Because this is a matter of great importance, the prince is personally supervising the operation at the palace, ordering all counties, townships, villages, and pavilions to prioritize this matter. All men who appeared yesterday or were missing the day before and who meet the height requirements must be registered and investigated one by one."

According to Daqian's measurement scale, his height is about 1.8 meters, which is actually a large range. But when you add the fact that he 'suddenly appeared yesterday or was missing the day before yesterday, and he is quite powerful', it is obviously easy to check.

Xie Jinhuan looked at the footprints on the paper and broke out in a cold sweat. He calmly put his feet under his robe.

"Danzhou has nine counties and fifty-seven districts, and the population is incalculable. I'm afraid it will be difficult to find it."

County Lieutenant Yang Ting put down the soup bowl and wiped his mouth:
"This is a matter of national destiny, so we have to look for him even if it's difficult. According to the palace, if we can't find any trace of him within three days, we will report it to Luojing and let the Red Kirin Guards and the Imperial Observatory take over the matter."

"..."

When Xie Jinhuan heard this, his heart was finally at peace.

The Red Lin Guards are the emperor's minions, and their status is roughly equivalent to that of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The Imperial Observatory is a top-level violent organization dedicated to suppressing evil spirits. The director, Lu Wuzhen, was conferred the title of National Master and the leader of the three great masters of Daqian. In terms of Taoism, he was able to kill the leader of Zihui Mountain with one hand and overthrow Mu Yunling, the chief priest of Danyang Academy, with both hands.

The joint law enforcement by these two agencies is tantamount to Daqian using nuclear weapons. If it still fails to solve the problem, it is no longer a problem, but the end of Daqian!

Isn’t this a death sentence?

Facing the impending divine punishment, Xie Jinhuan had no mood to eat.

But he couldn't show any abnormality. Seeing that Yang Dabiao could eat seven big bowls, he thought that the food in this shop was not enough to satisfy his hunger, so he also ordered seven bowls of soup and seven steamed buns. Then he almost died of stuffing!

Yang Dabiao was full and satisfied. Seeing Xie Jinhuan's face turning green with chopsticks, he raised his hand and patted his shoulder:

"Young people, you have to eat before you can fight. Take your time. I'm going to the government office first."

"Okay, the meal has been paid for."

"Ah, nephew Xie, you're too polite."

Yang Ting, holding his pipe, patted Xie Jinhuan on the shoulder and left with his son.

Left alone with one man and one bird, facing seven bowls of mutton and seven large steamed buns...
-
A moment later, on the banks of Chongming River.

Xie Jinhuan rubbed her three-month pregnant belly and walked along the river, wearing a new pair of shoes.

Coal Ball was rarely full, and squatted on the bird's shoulder with a dazed look in his eyes. It seemed that he had entered the sage time, thinking about the meaning of bird life.

For a moment just now, Xie Jinhuan actually wanted to betray his friend and escape.

But there was no point in running away now.

It is obvious that the King of Dan is willing to pay any price and wants to see the monster alive or dead.

If he dares to disappear now, he will be immediately identified as a key suspect, and then various groups will jointly track him down. His appearance, background, and martial arts are all transparent, and he will be blocked before he even leaves Danzhou.

Even if he could escape from Danzhou, privately digging up the Demon-Suppressing Tomb would be a "crime against humanity" and might even lead to an "annihilation order for all religions." If all the bigwigs from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Mohism, and the military were dispatched, could he still escape from Daqian after passing through five gates and killing six generals?
He didn't even have the chance to go back to the mountains to clear up any traces. The mountains were full of people searching for evil spirits, and it would take a day and a night to go back and forth. As a person involved in the case, he was caught by a master and was exposed on the spot.

The only way out at the moment is to avoid being discovered under the gambling lights, and then find a way to escape from danger as soon as possible.

While thinking about this, the man and the bird soon arrived at Ning'an Street.

In the early morning, there were not many cars and horses on Baishi Street. There were osmanthus trees planted on both sides of the street, and the fragrance of osmanthus was intoxicating as one walked among them. A large three-story medical clinic stood on the side of the street, and above the main building hung a gold-plated signboard with the words "Skillful Hands and Kind Heart".

Xie Jinhuan didn't really want to deal with the witch cult, but if he didn't find a way to improve his strength, let alone re-seal the Demon-Suppressing Tomb, it would be a problem whether he could escape after being exposed. He had to hold his nose and swallow it even if it meant drinking poison to quench his thirst.

However, to be on the safe side, he also inquired about the background of the Lin Family Clinic on the way here.

The Lin family is a family of imperial physicians. Their main home is in Luojing, and the head of the family is the left court judge of the Imperial Medical Bureau. This place is just a branch of the Lin family in Danyang, and should have been looked after by a concubine.

But Lin Zisultandao was very talented. After being adopted by the Lin family from a relative's home, he was admitted to Danyang Academy at a young age. As his guardian, Lin Wanyi also followed him, taking care of him and managing the family business.

Judging from her reputation in the market, Lin Wanyi was a very kind person. Not only did she have superb medical skills and often provided free medical treatment to poor neighbors, she also sponsored some apprentices who were learning skills in the Imperial Academy and Zihui Mountain. She had an extensive social circle and knew almost all the wives of high-ranking officials.

Such a female doctor would never be associated with the witch cult of raising poisonous insects from corpses.

But evil spirits will disguise themselves externally. It is hard to say how kind they appear on the surface, but how cruel and ruthless they are behind the scenes.

After hesitating for a moment outside the clinic, Xie Jinhuan suppressed his distracting thoughts and walked towards the door. Halfway through, he faintly heard the voices of women talking from the second-floor window:

"Sister Lin, you have to think of a solution for me. My Qingzhi hasn't touched me lately and stays out all day and all night..."

"It's common for couples to have less sex over time. Sir Liu might be too busy with official duties..."

"He's not busy at home. Can you help my sister? I heard that you prescribed a 'Yanghe Pill' for Mrs. Song from Wencheng Street. She took it seven times a night. Mrs. Song didn't go out for several days, and it didn't hurt her health..."

"Alas, Madam Song wants a baby. Seven times a night means Master Song is in good health..."

"My husband is as strong as a Wagyu bull and in good health, but he just dislikes me. Last time, I was kind enough to help him blow the Nongyu, and he actually fell asleep..."

"..."

……

Xie Jinhuan blinked and looked towards the room on the second floor. He could confirm that the 'Lin family girl' was the Lin Wanyi he met at the dock yesterday.

Blowing that Nongyu...

If Xie Jinhuan remembered correctly, this method was indeed very healing.

When I saw Lin Wanyi yesterday, I thought she was a virtuous, intellectual, and conservative beauty. I didn't expect her to be so talkative in private...

As expected of a witch cult...

Xie Jinhuan had already witnessed the power of the crazy young ladies in the Princess's Mansion yesterday, so he was not surprised at this. He entered the clinic and found two female apprentices weighing medicine in front of the hundred-piece cabinet, also chatting secretly:

"I heard from the coachman that Master Xie has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, is highly skilled in martial arts, and has an extraordinary demeanor. He even held the carriage that the host and Zi Su got out of..."

"Both Dongjia and Zisu are unmarried. If they both fall in love..."

"Don't worry, Zi Su's head is full of evil ideas, how can she think about marriage? The last time she refined that 'Eating a Pill for Being Full', the old alchemist in the academy had hiccups for three days, and he almost came to scold the master for not being strict enough. If that Master Xie dared to come to the house, I reckon he would be scared away in three days..."

……

When Xie Jinhuan heard the phrase "吃充充珠丹", he felt that neither the big nor the small Lin family members were fuel-efficient.

But since he was already here, he didn't back down. He came to the counter and knocked on it.

dong dong~
The female apprentice who was weighing the medicine turned around when she heard the voice and saw a young man with cold eyes standing outside the counter. She was stunned for a moment:

"Uh... what's wrong with you, sir?"

"Goo~"

From yesterday until now, Meiqiu has noticed that Ah Huan's brain is not normal. He tilted his head and touched Xie Jinhuan's head, indicating that there was something wrong there.

Xie Jinhuan knew that he had amnesia, but the Lin Family Clinic was afraid that this disease could not be cured, so he just responded calmly:

"I'm not sick, I'm looking for someone. Is Dr. Lin Wanyi here?"

"Oh, the boss is seeing patients on the second floor. You have to wait a moment."

……

(End of this chapter)