Minglong

Chapter 35: Corpse Recoverer

West Market, where livestock gather.

The stench from the sewage drains, littered with animal feces and offal, was overwhelming, and in the surrounding streets, the barking of cows, sheep, pigs, and dogs echoed.

"Moo-"

"Wang Wang Wang..."

Linghu Qingmo stood by a stinking ditch where there was almost no place to step. He covered his cold face with a scarf and held a long pole in his hand, searching for clues in the sewage.

As a real man, Yang Dabiao felt that searching with a pole was too slow, so he volunteered and took a few constables with him, rolled up his trouser legs and jumped into the stinky ditch.

As a result, after half a day, he had almost vomited out all the food he had eaten the day before, and kept cursing:

"Those bastards from the Street Office have cleaned the toilets on Wencheng Street spotlessly. The livestock market hasn't come for half a year, leaving us, a bunch of constables, to unclog the sewers. I'll have to tell my dad about this when I get home..."

The yamen runner behind him, whose face had turned pale from vomiting, responded weakly:
"Master Yang, why don't you send me to escort the exiled prisoners? I would rather walk a thousand miles to southern Xinjiang than stay here."

"You wish. The experts at Danwang Pavilion said the body might be hidden in the livestock market. No one will be allowed to eat until they find it."

"vomit--"

……

Linghu Qingmo didn't jump into the stinking ditch, but he was also smoked unconscious. He stopped halfway and looked at the long canal, feeling hopeless.

Although Danyang is not as exaggerated as Luojing, its permanent population is no less than 700,000. The number of pigs, sheep, chickens and dogs eaten every day is countless. The livestock market is quite large and is not concentrated in one place.

Even if we only search along the slaughterhouse, it will take several days to find Danyang City, and it is still unknown whether we can find the Gu flower.

Thinking about having to deal with the stinking ditch for the next few days, Linghu Qingmo suddenly stopped envying his master for being able to go out and slay demons.

After all, the places her master went to were either the southern border wilderness, Dragon Bone Beach, or Ghost Crying Lake. She couldn't imagine how disgusting the scenes in those places, the bases of evil spirits, were.

While he was thinking about it, he still didn't find any clues about the Crazy Corpse Flower. Instead, a soldier from the palace came galloping down the street and stopped beside the stinking ditch.
"Lord Linghu, stop looking. Just now, Master Xie Jinhuan found a grave of corpses at Jiguanling outside the city. Liu Qingzhi asks you to go there quickly."

"what?"

Before Linghu Qingmo could respond, Yang Dabiao, who was in the stinking ditch, jumped out first, his face full of disbelief:

"He's already found it? Then haven't we been wading here for nothing?"

The yamen runners behind were freed and scrambled to climb out of the stinking ditch:

"It's good to find it, it's good to find it. Let's go there quickly, I don't want to stay here for a moment."

Linghu Qingmo's eyes were filled with surprise and doubt. He dropped the pole and jumped on his horse.
"How did he find it? The senior from Danwang Pavilion said it might be near the slaughterhouse..."

"I'm not sure. Anyway, Liu Qingzhi sent a message from Mudanchi saying that Master Xie had found the location, killed a few demon bandits, and even beat Bao Fei of Jinghua Villa so hard that he vomited three liters of blood."

"what?"

Yang Dabiao had just climbed onto the horse when he heard a voice that made no sense:
"Why attack Bao Fei? Is Bao Xiaolin the evil bandit behind this?!"

"No. It seems that it was because Bao Fei stopped us from chasing the demon bandits and even spoke rudely to us. With Mr. Xie's violent temper, how could he tolerate that? He got beaten badly."

"Then he deserves it. My family's Jinhuan didn't let him plaster the wall, which was a sign of mercy..."

……

Jiguanling is more than 30 miles away from Danyang City. The group talked along the way. When they arrived, the sun had already set and the entire Jiguanling was dark.

Linghu Qingmo dismounted outside the official road, followed the winding grass path to the stream, and went upstream. Before he reached the pond at his destination, a familiar smell wafted into his nose.

And this time it’s even more exciting!

Yang Dabiao was originally jogging with the knife in hand, but he slowed down as he walked, his brow furrowed.

"Master Linghu, this doesn't taste right."

"The place where the demon bandits are hiding, the smell is right, right? Let's go!"

Linghu Qingmo already realized what she would face, but when she really crossed the stream and arrived at the valley, she found that the scene was beyond her expectations.

The pond that was originally surrounded by green mountains and clear waters has now turned into a foul-smelling pool. The first thing that catches the eye is the bloody debris that has dyed the area several feet red, and two legs are lying on the ground.

There were two pitch-black unidentified corpses lying nearby, their bodies riddled with wounds, and next to the slightly flat pool of water were piles of indescribable rotten body parts, making it impossible to tell whether they were human or animal.

Liu Qingzhi, who was supposed to be the princess's bodyguard, was sitting on a rock, resting with a fork in his hand, his face pale.

The accompanying soldiers were also unable to open their eyes due to the smoke, and they fished things out of the hole beside the pond with half-closed eyes.

When Liu Qingzhi saw the reinforcements, he almost stumbled over and threw the dung fork in his hand to Yang Dabiao:
"Damn it, you're finally here, hurry up, change shifts."

Yang Dabiao was struck by lightning and jumped aside to avoid the dung fork:

"Why the hell should I change shifts? I just crawled out of the city's stinking ditch..."

"How can a stinking ditch be as disgusting as this place? I'd rather stay in a stinking ditch..."

……

Linghu Qingmo's head ached slightly, but as the commander, he gritted his teeth, took the fork, and asked:

"Where's Xie Jinhuan?"

"At this."

Xie Jinhuan felt sorry for his clothes and had already taken off his robe. He stood with his upper body naked beside the groove inside the corpse pit and used a fork to turn the corpse out. Although he had extraordinary willpower, he was about to vomit after half an hour, and his nose was stuffed with two balls of cotton.

"Guji~"

Coal Ball was very clean, so he flew to the top of the tree to act as a supervisor and also said hello at this time.

Linghu Qingmo quickly came to the cave entrance. The stench immediately made his eyes hurt. He forced himself to hold his breath, and finally took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose before flying over.

"Oh my God... You're not from the government, so just wait outside. Why put yourself through this?"

Xie Jinhuan stayed here to help because he was naturally afraid that the evidence he had forged with so much effort would be destroyed!
He used a wooden fork to stir the bubbling pit of corpses, his expression calm:

"Now that you're here, what's the point of standing there acting like a big shot? Get busy! We need to clear them all out and count the bodies. Don't wait until tomorrow morning to go back."

The soldier who was still busy at the cave entrance, even though he didn't know Xie Jinhuan, exclaimed in admiration:
"Master Xie is truly a man of integrity. He was injured while slaying demonic bandits here, yet he still came here to do the dirty work. No matter how much you try to persuade him, he won't change his mind. I've only met Lord Linghu before, a man so dedicated to slaying demons and monsters."

He spoke very smoothly, praising two people at once. Even though Linghu Qingmo was a workaholic and had never had any worldly desires, he couldn't help but look at Xie Jinhuan differently at this time. Just as he was about to say something, his brows suddenly furrowed:
"You are hurt?"

"It's nothing, I just used too much force and lost some energy and blood. These monsters can't hurt me."

Seeing his brother's dedication to the public and hard work, Yang Dabiao was too embarrassed to complain and took the tools from Wu Zu:

"Jinhuan and I were both brought up by Lord Xie. How could we not endure even the slightest hardship? You've made such a great contribution, so I won't bother praising you. Tomorrow night at Yuelai Tower, Lord Linghu will be the host. Let's treat Jinhuan well and toast to everyone!"

"Eh?"

Linghu Qingmo thought that Yang Dabiao, who was dominated by his wife, would treat him to a meal at any time. He was speechless after hearing this, but he nodded.
"Okay, let's meet at Yuelai Tower tomorrow night."

“Wow…!”

A group of officers and soldiers who were almost fainted from the smoke suddenly became alert and started working quickly.

After Linghu Qingmo finished speaking, he went to grab the fork from Xie Jinhuan's hand:
"You go out and have a good rest. We'll take care of things here."

Xie Jinhuan naturally didn't give it to him. He raised his eyes and pointed at the evil god statue in the corpse pit:
"Let the warriors do the dirty work. You're still injured, so don't get involved. Check this evil statue first. I don't see the way."

Linghu Qingmo cast his gaze towards the ominous portrait and patterns on the top. Although he did not understand them, he sensed that this thing was indeed unusual and instructed:
"Liu Qingzhi, go call Master Tie and the others over quickly. There might be clues to the great demon here."

"okay!"

Liu Qingzhi ran away happily as if he had been pardoned.

Linghu Qingmo carefully examined the marks and looked around the groove, and found a hardcover book among some miscellaneous items nearby.

Thinking it was a clue, she picked it up and looked through it, but what caught her eye was a train bento...

Hiss~?!
Linghu Qingmo had always strictly followed the rules and regulations since childhood, and had never seen such a revealing scene before. He almost threw the book away.

"This group of demonic scum is simply unreasonable!"

"Ha ha……"

……
-
Half an hour later.

The sky gradually darkened and the valley was illuminated by the light of torches.

The Wuzu servants were still carrying the rotting corpses, but there was no more joking and bantering, only the sound of footsteps coming and going.

Xie Jinhuan sat on a rock beside the pond, eating the chicken legs in the lunch box sent by the government office with Meiqiu.

The Wuzu officers who were resting nearby were so nauseated that no one opened their mouths to eat.

At the entrance of the stone cave, a tall military officer in black armor was squatting on the ground with a sword hanging from his waist, looking at the statue of the evil god above. His face was tough and even a little fierce.

From the expression without a trace of smile, Xie Jinhuan could guess that this was the palace's military commander 'Da Sha Zhang'.

Although his nickname is a bit funny, as the military commander of the Prince's Palace, he is in charge of the military officers and soldiers of the entire Danzhou. His strength should not be underestimated. He and Zhu Wenyuan, one is a civil official and the other is a military official, and they are known as the two great gatekeepers under the Dan King.

However, despite his extraordinary strength and rich experience, Tie Fengzhang was now in a blind spot of knowledge. After examining it for a long time, he said:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the place where the demonic sect performs blood sacrifices."

?

Linghu Qingmo felt that this was unmistakable! She stood before him, sword in hand, slightly puzzled:
"My master told me that when demonic sects perform blood sacrifices, the statues are merely symbols of their school of thought, or they're just a trick. Even if they draw a bowl of noodles, they can still refine living beings. The key lies in the 'blood lines', which are the lines around the edges.

"Demons use evil techniques to refine living beings. The direction of the blood evil energy flows in different ways depending on the level of cultivation, and naturally, the traces left behind are also different. Generally, the more advanced the person's cultivation, the more complex and mysterious the blood patterns they leave behind. These patterns don't look like those of an ordinary demon."

Tie Fengzhang knew this, but in his fifty years of life, having killed countless demons, he had never seen such complicated blood patterns. They had all turned into lightning patterns.

This is enough to show that the demon's control over blood and energy has become meticulous!
The magic methods are also passed down from generation to generation. Although they are hidden deep underground, the powerful magicians who can appear in Daqian are mostly the remnants of the "Huaxian Sect" and "Mingshen Sect" who survived the troubled times. Their methods are different from the traces here.

As for the masters who have escaped into the demon path on their own, it stands to reason that the skills they developed by feeling their way across the river cannot be better than those accumulated over thousands of years of demon path practice.

Therefore, the demon bandit here should be an old demon who has never appeared before but has achieved immortality, or a real demon who has been favored by heaven and cultivated himself into a spirit!

A few days ago, a bloody aura surged from Zihui Mountain. It's impossible for two such powerful monsters to appear at the same time...

Thinking of this, Tie Fengzhang realized the importance of this place and stood up and said:

"The demonic bandits cultivating here must be the source of the bloody evil energy of Zihui Mountain! Call back all the personnel from other counties and investigate the cases of Dongcangfang, Sanhelou, and others with all their strength. Dig deep into the ground to uncover these demonic bandits!"

"Yes!"

The accompanying soldiers immediately accepted the order.

Xie Jinhuan, who was eating at the time, felt relieved when he heard this!

If he wasn't worried about being too abrupt, he would have come up and said:

"Master Tie, your words are profound! My admiration for you is like the endless torrent of a river..."

I just wonder how confused this unknown Taoist friend would be when he finds that the imperial court is swinging an iron fist at him!
Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan was really a little curious.

Tie Fengzhang had been so worried about the big demon these past few days that he almost turned gray. After finding the key clue, he wanted to turn back immediately, but when he saw Xie Jinhuan eating shirtless, he stopped and praised him:

"Thank you for your hard work. I will keep this in mind. When the matter is concluded, I will personally write a letter to ask for a reward from Master Xie."

Xie Jinhuan said modestly: "I'm just lucky. The ones who really work hard are these brothers from the government office who are running around outside."

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan was very capable, humble, and well-versed in the ways of the world, Tie Fengzhang rarely smiled!

Because the whereabouts of the giant monster in Zihui Mountain had been found and the situation was urgent, Tie Fengzhang did not say much. After bowing, he led the team away quickly.

Linghu Qingmo wanted to go along to investigate the case and was planning to ask Xie Jinhuan to come along, but thinking about how Xie Jinhuan had been working hard all day, he decided to tell him:

"Go back and rest first. I'll let the officers handle this. I'll notify you if I get any clues."

"Okay, you're injured, so don't fight so hard."

"Can I fight with you?"

"Ha ha……"

……

(End of this chapter)