"Recognize this?" Yun Que pointed at the bloody characters on the ground.
"Death..." The bald man read the writing.
"You read it right, so you deserve to die."
With that, Yun Que plunged a saber straight into the man's heart.
The bald man could no longer survive. He spewed a large mouthful of blood, and right before his death, he bizarrely burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha! If I die... don't expect to live either! Killing me will only make me stronger!"
The bald man finished speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he drew his last breath.
"You can get stronger even after dying? Interesting."
Yun Que stabbed him another dozen or so times, then said, "Come on, show me how you get stronger."
After waiting a moment, the corpse indeed showed some changes.
The body remained still, but a series of dim patterns emerged across his bald head.
Inside the dim inn, the temperature began to drop bit by bit.
***
In the courtyard of the inn, Wu Dachuan fought his opponent to a standstill with all his might.
Both were Ninth Rank Martialists, matching each other in physical strength and speed, and wielding identical weapons, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment.
On the other side, the Ninth Rank Martialist surrounded by a group of bailiffs and government soldiers appeared far more ferocious. Wielding a broad-bladed saber that whistled through the air, he could cut down a bailiff with a single stroke.
Before long, a dozen men were hacked down to the ground.
The dead and wounded comrades struck deeper terror into the other bailiffs; their encircling momentum vanished completely, and they began to hesitate and pull back.
Brawls relied entirely on momentum.
To crush an opponent in one go, if a hundred soldiers and bailiffs could charge without fearing death, even a Ninth Rank Martialist would be exhausted to death.
However, these bailiffs and soldiers were not regular troops after all, and they received little training in normal times. While dealing with petty ruffians was fine, they immediately fell to a disadvantage when encountering a fierce Ninth Rank Martialist.
The besieged martialist flashed a murderous look, bypassed the crowd, and locked his eyes on the young princess.
"Capture the ringleader first!"
He feinted with a saber strike to scare off the charging bailiffs, intending to break through the crowd and kill Mu Qingyao.
Yet just as he took two steps forward, a black sword pierced clean through his back!
*Splatter!*
A streak of blood shot high into the air!
"Where do you think you're going? I haven't taught you how to write yet."
A chilling voice came from behind him.
Yun Que stepped around to face the man, grabbed the fellow's fingers—which were still stained with fresh blood—and traced another character on the ground.
"Death..."
Blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, the Ninth Rank Martialist struggled to read the bloody character before him.
*Crack!*
Yun Que raised his hand and brought down his blade, sending the man's head rolling to the ground!
This swift and clean execution made the group of bailiffs cheer aloud, feeling a profound sense of catharsis.
Ma Yong and Niu Bucai both shuddered.
They had known Yun Que was formidable at slaying demons, but they never expected him to be equally terrifying at killing men.
With both execution targets vanquished, the remaining martialist wearing the small cap immediately panicked. Seizing the opportunity, Wu Dachuan delivered a whip kick that knocked the fellow over, swiftly resting his saber against the man's neck.
Captured alive!
A crowd of bailiffs rushed forward, binding the small-capped martialist in a tight rope harness.
With the major situation settled, County Magistrate Ma Yong immediately straightened up, re-entering the courtyard with an air of dignified resilience—acting as though he had been the one slaughtering everything just moments before—intending to claim credit before the princess.
It didn't take much; as long as Princess Lingyun casually dropped a good word to the Emperor in the future, this tiny county magistrate could secure a meteoric rise.
"Audacious miscreant! How dare you commit murder in Cangshi Town? Truly an unpardonable crime!"
Pointing at the captured martialist, Ma Yong ordered, "Men! Drag him to the dungeon for a rigorous interrogation!"
Accepting the command, Wu Dachuan prepared to lead the men away.
Niu Bucai lowered his voice.
"My lord, it would be better to interrogate him right here on the spot. Dragging him into the dungeon is bound to bring complications—that tallies plaque they carry has quite a backing."
Ma Yong hesitated.
A tallies plaque meant there was a powerful faction behind this gang, and they might very well find a way to spring their men.
Anxious to impress the princess and crack the case as quickly as possible, Ma Yong weighed the situation briefly and decided to conduct the interrogation immediately.
"Come! Bring out the beating boards and thrash him until he tells the truth!" Ma Yong commanded.
With all three squads of the county yamen's bailiffs present, a good number of men had died in the fierce battle just now, and every single casualty was a colleague. Lacking an outlet for their fury, a dozen men immediately surged forward, ready to strike.
Covered in blood and wearing a ferocious expression, the small-capped martialist roared, "Don't bother wasting your energy! Ask whatever you want!"
Overjoyed, Ma Yong assumed a stern expression and demanded, "Just who are you lot, and what is your purpose in coming to Cangshi Town to slaughter the citizenry?"
The small-capped martialist laughed savagely. "I am your grandpa! I was born to kill! Hahaha!"
Enraged, Ma Yong barked, "How dare you insult an official of the court! Beat him!"
Channeling his inner energy into his dantian, Wu Dachuan let out a low roar and shattered the fellow's leg with a single staff strike.
As a Ninth Rank Martialist, he knew well that disabling an enemy's limbs first was the only way to restrict them.
The other bailiffs also showed no mercy.
Staves fell like raindrops, and the small-capped martialist was soon beaten to a bloody pulp, hanging on the brink of death.
While Ninth Rank Body-Refining Martialists indeed possessed astonishing physical constitutions, their muscles and bones remained unreinforced, making them fragile to blunt force. Unless one was a Rank Eight Bone Refining Realm martialist, few could endure such a beating unscathed.
Just as the small-capped martialist was about to be beaten to death, he suddenly roared savagely, "The red candle never extinguishes! The lotus terrace endures forever!"
Spitting out a large mouthful of blood, the small-capped martialist abruptly destroyed his own dantian, causing his internal qi to reverse and rush straight to his heart. Combined with his severe injuries, he drew his last breath instantly.
He had taken his own life!
Everyone present was baffled by the strange slogan shouted out by the man before his death. Having never heard it before, they had no idea what it meant.
"All perpetrators have perished, and justice dwells in the hearts of mankind!"
Ma Yong first struck a heroic pose, then hastily added, "The princess has been startled; I beg her to rest for a moment in the yamen."
Mu Qingyao slowly shook her head, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the small-capped martialist who had just breathed his last, her eyes carrying a strange sorrow.
Ma Yong followed the young princess's gaze, then shivered all over.
Princess Lingyun was capable of seeing ghosts and specters!
No one uttered a sound in the courtyard.
Following Mu Qingyao's gaze, the crowd slowly shifted, finally staring in unison toward the doors of the inn.
"There is danger, leave this place!"
Mu Qingyao suddenly spoke in a grave tone.
Though Ma Yong could not see the source of the danger, he trusted the young princess's warning and turned to bolt out of the courtyard without a second thought.
Niu Bucai was even faster, sprinting out first on the county magistrate's short legs.
Wu Dachuan and the crowd of bailiffs and soldiers retreated one after another, staring at the inn's doors with uneasy suspicion.
Only Yun Que stood his ground without moving an inch.
Inside the dim inn, a cold wind began to blow.
The howling wind sounded like the weeping of malicious spirits, making everyone's scalp tingle.
Mu Qingyao walked to Yun Que's side and whispered, "I can sense a powerful resentment gathering. Something terrifying is forming; the souls of the martialists who died in the courtyard just now have been sucked into the inn by this resentment."
"Is that so? Let's go take a look."
Yun Que strode forward and re-entered the inn.
His actions left everyone watching from behind utterly won over.
Wu Dachuan was so in awe he was practically ready to prostrate himself.
Brother Yun was truly Brother Yun—not only was his combat prowess astonishing, but his nerve was even more staggering.
Facing a terrifying ghost house like this, he treated it as casually as dropping by a neighbor's house!
Inside the inn, the bald man's corpse had mysteriously withered away, leaving behind only skin and bones while his flesh and blood seemed drained by some unknown force.
That bald head had swollen to about twice its size, its scalp covered densely with earthworm-like gray patterns that were shocking to behold.
"It's a Soul-Sealing Curse!"
Recognizing the truth at a glance, Mu Qingyao exclaimed in shock, "The Soul-Sealing Curse is used to seal away souls. This man sealed a massive amount of malevolent ghosts onto his scalp—judging by the number, there are no fewer than a hundred, likely all the spirits of people he killed."
"Raising so many wandering spirits on his head, aren't you afraid of popping?" Yun Que remarked nonchalantly.
Mu Qingyao urged anxiously, "His master soul is fusing with these malevolent ghosts and is about to generate an evil spirit! An evil spirit is even more dangerous than a Rank Eight Martialist!"
The moment her voice fell, shadows of varying sizes emerged atop the bald head.
These shadows were visible only to Mu Qingyao—they were the distinct surviving souls of human beings!
Over a hundred surviving souls twisted and fused with one another, forming a colossal entity with eight arms and three heads, shaped like an evil ghost!
right in the center was an oversized bald head with pale skin, fangs, and a ferocious, terrifying expression.
The moment the monster formed from the fused souls appeared, the dim inn turned pitch-black as night, with chilling winds howling and ghost qi swirling thick and ominous!
Relying on her spiritual affinity, Mu Qingyao could withstand such terrifying ghost qi, but if it were an ordinary person like the county magistrate, the lighter consequence would be damaged sanity, and the heavier would be the complete annihilation of soul and mind.
The evil spirit had formed!
Mu Qingyao's pretty face turned as pale as paper.
An evil spirit of this magnitude was even more terrifying than the three-eyed demonic wolf on the mountain. Not only could ordinary people not withstand it, but even a Ninth Rank Martialist like Wu Dachuan was no match for it.
Even a Rank Eight Martialist would have to keep their distance!
Unless one reached the level of a Rank Seven Spirit-Refining Martial Artist, whose soul was exceptionally powerful, it was impossible to contend with such a mighty evil spirit.
"No wonder this fellow said he'd get stronger after dying; so he undergoes corpse mutation."
Yun Que chuckled lightly and told Mu Qingyao to wait outside.
After Mu Qingyao left the inn with lingering apprehension, Yun Que stood at the threshold, facing the crowd of bailiffs and soldiers outside the courtyard gates, and slowly smiled as he closed the double doors.
*Creak.*
The sound of the door panels latching made Ma Yong, Niu Bucai, and the others freeze to their bones.
Wu Dachuan instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
What did you call this?
This was what you called supreme skill breeding boundless courage!
Knowing full well there was a terrifying evil ghost inside the house and yet locking himself in with it, Wu Dachuan felt a strong impulse to drop to his knees and kowtow to Yun Que.
Just for this nerve alone, everyone had to yield to him!
Still harboring some anxiety, Mu Qingyao tightly clenched her small hands, sweating profusely for Yun Que.
Her perception of spiritual entities was exceptionally sharp.
She knew all too well just how terrifying the evil spirit formed inside the inn was.
That was a vicious ghost capable of obliterating Ninth or even Eighth Rank cultivators!
Once possessed, a living person's soul would be instantly annihilated, reducing them to a walking corpse.
Mu Qingyao had deep, firsthand experience of an evil spirit's might; she had witnessed with her own eyes the terrifying spectacle of an evil spirit running amok—a scene nothing short of purgatory.
The tiny inn radiated an arresting, bone-chilling coldness.
The temperature around the inn plummeted abruptly, as if deep winter had descended.
The people outside instinctively began to back away, and even a Ninth Rank body-refining martialist like Wu Dachuan could not withstand such piercing cold.
Just as the crowd retreated in terror, a blinding flash of light stained the inn's windows blood-red!
The moment the bloody light burst forth, everyone outside closed their eyes and covered their faces.
Mu Qingyao also instinctively closed her eyes and covered her eyelids with her hand, after which she recalled a phrase Yun Que had once uttered:
*'In the face of sufficient malevolent energy, ghosts are nothing but a joke!'*
In an instant, Mu Qingyao guessed what that blinding blood-red light inside the inn truly was.
That was neither blade-light nor evil spirit, but malevolent energy!
Monstrous malevolent energy!
The bloody light flashed and vanished; the inn grew quiet, falling completely still.
The chill that had previously enveloped the entire courtyard also dissipated along with it.
No one dared to act rashly.
Wu Dachuan and the other bailiffs gripped their sabers and swords cautiously, facing the scene as though confronting a formidable enemy.
After waiting for a while without seeing Yun Que emerge, Mu Qingyao was the first to push open the inn's doors.
Inside the inn,
Yun Que was squatting beside the bald man's shriveled corpse, rummaging through things while muttering to himself.
"After examining corpses for a few years, it's finally my turn to get first pick. What Rank Eight Martialist, what poor ghost..."
After rummaging for quite a while, he found no valuable treasures—only two hundred taels in silver banknotes.
Actually, Yun Que had anticipated this long ago.
After all, apart from being looked down upon by other cultivation systems, martialists often had quite a few negative prefixes attached right before the word 'martialist'.
Rash, foolish, clumsy, and stupid were the most common, alongside even harsher labels like poor, cheap, and stinking.
And poverty was truly the most realistic portrayal of a martialist.
Most martialists were very poor.
A handy weapon plus some silver made up their entire net worth.
Should they ever stumble upon good items like medicinal pills or spiritual materials, martialists would use them immediately to strengthen their own bodies.
Naturally, the stronger the physical body, the greater the combat power; the scenario of keeping good items unused in one's pocket simply did not exist.
Yun Que was the same way.
The money he had earned over the years from hunting demons had all been converted into materials for tempering his *qi* and blood; his pockets were cleaner than a freshly washed face.
Finding nothing of high value, Yun Que simply swiped the broken hooked sickle-spear.
He had heard this gadget consumed a massive amount of refined iron, so even broken it should fetch a decent price.
Seeing that Yun Que was safe and sound and that the evil spirit had completely vanished, Mu Qingyao let out a long breath.
At that moment, the young princess felt a sudden stirring in her heart. She turned around and looked toward a corner of the courtyard.
The female wandering spirit residing within the well gave a graceful bow toward the inn's doorway before gradually fading away until it disappeared entirely.
With deep vengeance finally avenged, the departed spirit could rest at last.
Pocketing the silver banknotes and the hooked sickle-spear, Yun Que glanced at the darkening sky and said, "It's at least a two-day journey to Baiyu City; we won't make it today. We'll set off tomorrow."
"I'll leave it to your arrangements," Mu Qingyao replied.
"Are you very well-read?" Yun Que asked.
"I wouldn't dare claim to be deeply learned, but I certainly haven't read few books; I've read practically all the texts of Dajin," Mu Qingyao said.
"Come with me somewhere; there's a special item I need help identifying," Yun Que said.
***
With the three culprits brought to justice, the murder case involving Estate Master Chen's household was officially concluded.
County Magistrate Ma Yong enthusiastically invited the young princess to rest at the county yamen and dispatched Wu Dachuan and other bailiffs to ensure her protection.
Mu Qingyao politely declined.
A small township had few garrison troops, and with the meager forces of the Cangshi Town yamen, the arrival of a few Ninth Rank Martialists would result in total annihilation.
Mu Qingyao knew well that the three individuals killed just moments before were by no means the true masterminds behind the scenes, and she had no wish to implicate these bailiffs.
Ma Yong was no fool; he vaguely sensed the extraordinary circumstances behind this affair—that a tiny Cangshi Town had actually played host to a Rank Eight Martialist committing murder.
And the victim was merely an insignificant commoner woman.
Connecting this to the report Wu Dachuan had given earlier about the townspeople wanting to burn Princess Lingyun alive, sweat began to bead on Ma Yong's forehead.
He was merely a minor county magistrate—how could he dare meddle in the power struggles of major figures?
Once tainted by even a hint of such matters, the lightest consequence would be losing his skin!
Just as Ma Yong was at a loss, a voice sounded from beside him.
"The princess's safety is of paramount importance. If any mishap were to befall her here in Cangshi Town, your head, my lord, would likely be forfeit. We ought to escort the princess away from this place as quickly as possible."
"Sending men is fine, but the problem is the princess doesn't want us tagging along!" Ma Yong said anxiously.
"I have been acting as the princess's guide all along. Why doesn't my lord dispatch me to accompany her? That way, I can also provide a measure of protection."
Ma Yong turned his head and saw that the speaker was none other than Yun Que.
Overjoyed, Ma Yong exclaimed, "Good! Yun Que, you truly are the elite of our county yamen! The task of escorting the princess is entrusted to you!"
Niu Bucai chimed in hurriedly, "With Brother Yun providing the escort, the princess is guaranteed safety!"
"This subordinate obeys. However, as for the travel expenses, my lord had best settle them first," Yun Que said with a smile, extending his hand.
Ma Yong and Niu Bucai's expressions stiffened simultaneously.
Within the yamen, Yun Que was indeed the strongest, but he was also the fastest when it came to demanding money.
Frowning, Ma Yong probed cautiously, "Ten taels?"
Seeing Yun Que sneer, Niu Bucai held up two fingers and offered, "Twenty taels!"
Yun Que yawned.
"One final price: fifty taels! Not a coin more," Ma Yong said, wincing as if in physical pain.
"My lord, this subordinate has accidentally caught a chill and is feeling unwell; I can't leave town these days. You had better find someone else more capable for the task of protecting the princess," Yun Que coughed feignedly a couple of times.
"No, no, no! Just how much do you want?!" Ma Yong gritted his teeth.
"We've known each other for so many years, don't fleece us too hard. Give us a friendship discount!" Niu Bucai chuckled dryly.
With a beaming smile, Yun Que held up two fingers. Ma Yong and Niu Bucai exchanged glances, their faces turning completely bitter.
Mu Qingyao waited outside the door. After quite a while, Yun Que finally came out, walking and stuffing something into his tunic at the same time.
Possessing exceptionally sharp eyesight, Mu Qingyao recognized at a glance that they were silver banknotes.
Furthermore, they were notes of two hundred taels each.
Mu Qingyao could not help but smile amusedly.
Walking down the street, Mu Qingyao's mood felt much lighter. She asked, "Where is this mystical item you mentioned, and what on earth is it?"
"You'll know when we get there. It's a huge chunk and should be quite valuable, though unfortunately, it can't be moved out," Yun Que said.
Hearing this, Mu Qingyao grew all the more curious.
The two walked down the long street until they reached the northernmost edge of Cangshi Town.
This was a barren mountain region with few households. Though technically within the borders of Cangshi Town, it was practically uninhabited.
At the foot of the mountain lay a mine shaft, surrounded by temporary shed-like shacks hastily erected for people to rest.
It was dusk at the moment, and the laborers from the mine had finished their shifts, walking home in groups of three or five.
Upon spotting Yun Que, the miners immediately greeted him with respectful and enthusiastic warmness.
There were mine foreheads in charge of the tunnels, and under normal circumstances, no one was allowed to enter the mines after dark for fear of accidents.
Yun Que, however, was an exception.
Learning that Yun Que wished to enter the mine, the foreman fetched a lantern without a second thought and handed it to Yun Que, taking care to fill it to the brim with lamp oil.
"It's dark inside the mine and the ground is uneven; Brother Yun must watch his footing," the foreman said with a fawning smile, treating him with far more reverence than he would a county magistrate.
Carrying the lantern, Yun Que led Mu Qingyao into the pitch-black mine shaft.
The mine tunnel was long, narrow, rugged, and bottomless.
This was a jadeite mine of Cangshi Town, and quite a few precious jade pieces within the Imperial City originated from this very location.
The remote little township of Cangshi Town had come into existence precisely because of it.
A single jadeite mine sustained nearly half the households in the town, and almost every family had produced a miner at some point.
Stepping into the mine shaft, Mu Qingyao's curiosity was replaced by a heavy sorrow.
She walked quietly beside Yun Que, occasionally glancing up at the ceiling or corners, her clear gaze tinged with a trace of grief.
Though this jadeite mine had nurtured many townsfolk, it had also claimed the lives of many others.
Mining was not only grueling and exhausting, but it was also fraught with extreme danger.
Countless miners had lost their lives to sudden rockfalls.
Along the way, Mu Qingyao spotted at least a dozen wandering spirits lingering in the sunless depths of the earth.
While Princess Lingyun possessed the faculty of spirit communication, she lacked the power to grant salvation.
"The men who come down to the mines to labor are all fellows with brute strength. First, they must eat their fill so their *yang* energy is robust; second, they only work during the day and never enter the mines after dark—these are the rules."
Yun Que's voice broke the silence.
Mu Qingyao said, "I can see that many wandering spirits exist here. Entering the mine after dark is indeed dangerous for ordinary people."