Han Anbo walked over and pointed to several areas on the body. "There are marks on his neck and hands from being restrained and bound. He was definitely interrogated by people from the Ministry of Justice, so they must have known he was a Night Guard. However, it’s also possible that Nether Mountain or someone else is framing them."
"I’ll try using a Fate Skill."
Li Qingxian spoke as he walked over to a nearby empty table, taking out the Life Materials one by one.
First, he piled dirt from the road into a line, then sprinkled it with silk from a spider web. Next, he took out a donkey’s ear and a dandelion puffball, and finally, he placed a swallow’s feather on top and began to cast his spell.
When the spell was complete, all the Life Materials dissolved into a faint glow. The light gathered like water, slowly condensing into a single white thread.
Li Qingxian then took out a pair of tweezers and collected a strand of the deceased’s hair, his left eyeball, the caked blood from the top of his head, a piece of skin from the ligature marks, and dirt from under his shoe. Then, using a Spirit Awakening Talisman, he cut out a paper effigy.
Casting a second spell, the Life Materials turned into a stream of blood that slowly flowed onto the paper effigy, forming a one-eyed figure that wept tears of blood.
Li Qingxian then took out a dead sparrow, a drop of morning dew, an eagle feather, a handful of mixed grains, a piece of straw, and mud from a swallow’s nest, and cast a third spell.
A flash of light. A white-eyed sparrow appeared, FLUTTERING its wings. It slowly waddled over to the white thread and snatched it up in its beak.
Like a living snake, the white thread shot into the sparrow’s mouth.
The paper effigy weeping blood bent at the waist and bowed three times to Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian returned the bow.
The paper effigy weeping blood gave a light leap, landing on the sparrow’s back.
With a CHIRP, the sparrow took flight, carrying the little, blood-weeping effigy. It flew into the air and began to circle the corpse.
At first, the sparrow shrieked, its cries growing louder and more urgent. After a long while, the cries slowly faded.
Finally, the sparrow tumbled from the sky, landing in the corpse’s left eye socket. It dissolved into a stream of blood that slowly flowed into the empty socket.
An identical eye appeared in the corpse’s eye socket.
Li Qingxian took out eight bronze incense burners carved with trigram and turtle shell patterns. He arranged them according to the Postnatal Trigrams directions, placed three sticks of incense in each, and lit a candle beside each one.
He cast the fourth spell.
The candle flames suddenly shot up two inches high, transforming into tiny figures of fire. They leaped from the candles and began to walk around the bronze incense burners as if on patrol.
The candle wicks, though without flame, slowly blackened and shortened.
The smoke from the twenty-four incense sticks gathered above them, coalescing into a single cloud of white smoke.
Li Qingxian chanted a spell, "Celestial rivers, bright and vast; earthly rivers, grand and fast. When men die, they seek vengeance. When beasts fall, they seek retribution..."
The spell concluded. The technique to track hate and vengeance was now complete.
A furious gust of wind swept through the morgue, sending loose cloths flying. It rustled everyone’s clothes and whipped their hair into disarray.
Winds from all directions rushed toward the corpse.
The eight little flame figures ran rapidly, forming a circle of fire that completely blocked the winds from all eight directions.
The cloud of smoke in mid-air swirled into a vortex and funneled into the left eye socket.
A faint light flickered in the left eye socket. A moment later, the socket spewed out a hazy mist, about the size of a human head, that writhed ceaselessly.
Li Qingxian’s right hand rapidly formed seals while he muttered an incantation. Opening his Spiritual Eye, he saw the mist in front of him transform into a clear image.
A Night Guard was kneeling on the ground, held down by two people on either side. He looked up, his body trembling slightly.
A handsome young man wearing the uniform of a Seventh-Grade Military Officer from the Ministry of Justice walked over and smiled. "The Ministry of Justice worked hard to get this lead. How could we let you Night Guards steal the credit?"
With that, the man placed a large hand on the Night Guard’s head.
The image dissipated.
A cold glint flashed in Li Qingxian’s eyes.
’I’ve heard that voice before.’
’I’ve seen his silhouette and profile before.’
’He was the Direct Inheritor of Demon Transformation Mountain who crippled Zheng Hui’s and Yur Ping’s Dantians in front of Fengxiang.’
Li Qingxian still remembered the way he’d thrown the fine silver, and the arc the crumpled ball of silver notes had traced through the air.
Li Qingxian waved his hand to collect the remaining Life Materials, then took out a handful of yellow sand, a clump of willow catkins, and a bowl of river water. He performed the Trace Erasing Technique and turned to leave.
Back in the room, Jingg Guan asked with a dark expression, "Was it really the Ministry of Justice?"
"A Seventh-Grade Direct Inheritor from Demon Transformation Mountain," Li Qingxian said.
Jingg Guan was stunned for a moment. He sucked his teeth. "I don’t pay much mind to the other Demon Sects, but this Demon Transformation Mountain is the Emperor’s die-hard... uh, no, I mean, Demon Transformation Mountain was the first to pledge allegiance to the Imperial Court."
Li Qingxian waved his hand to dismiss the others, then activated a Spirit Talisman to seal the room.
"So we can’t provoke Demon Transformation Mountain? What’s this about them being a ’direct line’?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan hesitated for a long moment before saying, "It’s not really a secret; all the High Grade officials know. All the little clues suggest that the Emperor turned Demon Transformation Mountain years ago. When the Celestial Demon Sect was annihilated and the other Demon Sects were integrated into the Ministry of Justice, Demon Transformation Mountain suddenly became the number one power among them. The Emperor’s shadow was clearly behind it. His Majesty is truly a ruler of revitalization, to be able to control the top Major Sect among the Demon Sects. It’s truly admirable."
Li Qingxian could clearly hear a tremor in Jingg Guan’s voice.
"But the Demon Sects still..." Li Qingxian changed his tack. "They still don’t act like they’re part of the Imperial Court. They have no respect for us in the Night Guard and Internal Factory. That Night Guard clearly identified himself as one of ours, yet that Direct Inheritor from Demon Transformation Mountain killed him without hesitation."
Jingg Guan said helplessly, "Demon Transformation Mountain is just that domineering. Deliberately showing off their Demonic Skill and dumping the body in the street was a warning to us not to even think about competing with the Ministry of Justice for credit. Otherwise, the next body will be one of ours."
"What should we do?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan sneered, "Since the Ministry of Justice wants to take the credit, let them. Beichang County is a mess anyway. The more people the Ministry of Justice offends, the better for us."
"What about the dead Night Guard..."
"You’re still young. You’ll understand once you’ve seen more of it. This sort of thing couldn’t be more common. If you really feel sorry for him, send his family a few extra pieces of silver. The Night Guard loses at least a thousand men a year. We can’t keep track of them all."
Li Qingxian sighed softly.
"Eunuch Jingg, whose faction is the most powerful here in Beichang County?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan smiled faintly. "I’ve met quite a few people these last two days, and I’ve also reviewed the documents sent by the Internal Factory. Beichang County is a place where dragons and serpents swim together, but there are only a few great dragons. One, of course, is the Emperor and the Imperial Court; their power is strongest around the official mines. Another is the faction led by Prince Qing. You surely know the story. When the Emperor first took the throne, the National Treasury had been picked clean by All the Kings. It got so bad the court couldn’t even issue military provisions and salaries. In the end, Prince Qing sold nearly his entire family fortune to help the Emperor weather the storm. Ever since, he has been deeply trusted by His Majesty. He’s in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and can even interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue."
Li Qingxian nodded. "Prince Qing is foremost among All the Kings and a master at amassing wealth. It’s only natural he’d have the biggest stake here."
"Beyond them, the Demon Sects, Evil Sects, clans from the Martial Arts World, and some high-ranking officials have also bought mines here. Except for the Literature Cultivation Clans, led by Chief Minister Zhao, none of the other sects are very graceful in how they operate."
"Chief Minister Zhao is involved here too?" Li Qingxian asked, surprised.
"Did you think Chief Minister Zhao was some celestial Immortal who lives on air? He has a clan to feed, disciples and proteges to look after. How could his court salary possibly be enough? However, Chief Minister Zhao’s business is all legitimate, unlike the others."
"Can you even make money legitimately?"
"Of course. If it didn’t make money, why would Chief Minister Zhao get involved?"
"So you’re saying that it’s possible to make money here legally, but those other people insist on digging private mines to earn illicit profits?" Li Qingxian asked.
"That’s just how the world is. Those who follow the rules lose out," Jingg Guan said.