Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 143 Tracking
The Dusi Office is not closed at night.

Two hours ago, after the officials of the three divisions and many legal schools discussed and came up with a set of rules, Huang Fu and Dewen led the two groups to leave the meeting room one after another and return to their respective residences to rest.

As the rotating chief officer, Shen Zhong could not rest. Soon he returned to the Dusi Office and was on duty at night while handling urgent military affairs from various places.

Dozens of brave cavalry guards, armed with sharp weapons and patrolling with dogs, stood guard solemnly in various places of the three divisions, always on guard against the possible emergence of evil spirits.

A circle of incense ash was scattered outside the military tent to ward off evil spirits and insects. Inside the garrison, there was a faintly visible yellow paper talisman every few meters. Countless talismans were connected to each other, suppressing the aura inside and outside the three divisions.

After several rounds of interrogation, Sha Ting brought Niu and Bi to the outside of Shen Zhong's military tent.

"Mr. Deputy Commander, Captain Sha Ting of the Cavalry Guards and Lieutenants Niu and Bi from the Morgue are here to see you!"

"Enter"

Hearing the sound of three people entering the tent, Shen Zhong just glanced at them casually and then put his energy back into the reports sent back from the front line.

Ever since the Li family took the lead in launching the attack at the Dharma Assembly yesterday, the natives of the thirteen prefectures of Jiaozhi seemed to have received some signal and all launched a rebellion, which is now causing countless garrisons to be in a state of panic.

The Ming army and the rebel soldiers killed each other, and countless monsters and ghosts appeared on the ground and wreaked havoc on the people. The so-called natural disasters and man-made disasters were nothing more than this.

Reports from the front line were sent back to the three headquarters like flying snow. Shen Zhong looked at the urgent military information in his hand with a somewhat impatient tone.

"what's up?"

"Sir, someone stole bodies from the morgue tonight. The heads and torsos of the evil men Li Li and Li Zhi were stolen. I dare to guess that it was done by a thief who is good at bewitching people."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhong, with a frown on his face, put down the ink pen in his hand, raised his head and glanced at Niu and Bi.

"Are there any casualties?"

"Your Excellency, there were no casualties or loss of precious materials."

Shen Zhong adjusted his sitting posture, opened his shoulders, and exuded a faint murderous aura.

"Oh? A traitor? Or a thief?"

Neither killing people nor stealing treasures. In Shen Zhong's opinion, this thief is either a cautious and experienced thief, or a thief from the Sansi family with another identity.

"Go, lead three teams, bring enough tracking talismans, and no matter what means you use, you must give me a result before dawn!"

"Yes!"

Sha Ting also knew that this matter was of great importance and did not dare to neglect it. He hurried out with the order and mobilized the troops.

It was a dark night, but from time to time, lightning flashed in the courtyard of the Sansi, making it as bright as day.

After the fierce fighting yesterday and the funeral today, Qin Huai, who had been nervous for two days, could finally take a break and adjust his condition.

After waving his hand to disperse the Luwu Qixiang that was releasing dragon thunder in the yard to charge the Flying Fish Suit, Qin Huai turned around and took out a cowhide notebook.

A good memory is not as good as a bad pen, and it is still necessary to write down a lot of information and think carefully. The notes he brought from Jiazijiu recorded many key clues of the Yamafu incident.

Turning to the latest page, the seven characters "Morning Coffin, Witchcraft, Taoism and Buddhism" came into view. Qin Huai looked at the densely packed branches and tree diagrams below, and crossed them with a marker in his hand, first covering the names of Li Li, Li Zhu and Hui Kong with bright red crosses, and then put a few question marks on Huineng and Feitian Yaksha.

Thinking about Huineng who did not show up at yesterday's Dharma Assembly and the Flying Yaksha who had never been seen before, Qin Huai felt that things might not be as simple as he had previously thought.

Originally, he thought it was just an old trick of an old Taoist faking his death to catch a big fish, but after seeing the Buddhist behavior tonight, Qin Huai couldn't help but think more deeply about it.

You know, even Li Li and Hui Kong had to use various means and rely on many rare treasures to improve their strength to the Eight Extremes Realm. If it weren't for the Feiyu Suit with the aura of the Kingdom of Heaven to suppress the backlash, Li Li would never dare to step into the Great Witch Realm to cause trouble for Dehong. If Hui Kong didn't have those ten strange Buddha statues full of incense and vows, he probably wouldn't be able to build the Multi-Treasure Vajra, let alone make the Qinhuai Silver Spear suffer repeatedly.

In Qin Huai's opinion, the two of them had already cultivated to the peak of the Nine Lights, which was the prototype of the Heavenly Man's Aura, but their cultivation was not enough and they still could not enter the realm of the Vajra (Great Witch) (Eight Extremes). Therefore, the two of them had to rely on unconventional means and strengthen themselves many times before they could have the strength to fight against Master Dehong.

But the flying yaksha was different from the other two. It was a real eight-level demon with 1,500 years of practice. Although its performance yesterday was not impressive, it did hold Dehong back for a long time.

If a zombie has such power, what kind of trouble would the corpse refiner behind it be?
Not to mention that behind Hui Kong there is Master Huineng, whose depth is unknown and whose thoughts are hard to understand. After all, after Master Dehong no longer appears, this Buddhist Vajra is the real number one master in Jiaozhi.

It’s not easy.

Qin Huai licked the corner of his mouth, and a flash of bright silver flashed across his hand, and the bumpy Gentian Spear appeared out of thin air.

Although the Dragon Gallbladder Spear was of rare quality, its sharpness and toughness were only above average. After being damaged by the thick skin of the white elephant, the multi-treasure diamond, and the witch skin of the beast, the frost-white blade of this bright silver spear also broke open with several imperceptible tiny cracks.

Qin Huai felt a little distressed as he gently ran his fingers over the broken blade and blunt gun tip. But there was nothing he could do, so he could only see if he could find a reliable craftsman to repair weapons in the next few days.

"Morning, coffin, witch, Gu, drama, Taoism, Buddhism, what is the connection between them?"

Qin Huai took out the [Grass Head Talisman] from his arms, stared at the empty hole on the talisman, and muttered to himself, not knowing who he was asking.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

"Is Junior Brother here?"

There was a knock on the door. Qin Huai heard Guangyu's voice and hurriedly put away his belongings and went forward to open the door.

"Brother, please come in."

The wooden door opened and he stepped into the room. After a while, Guangyu and Qinhuai sat on the low bed again.

"Yesterday I saw you fighting hard and expended a lot of energy, so I prepared a few talismans for you. There aren't many talismans, so you can keep them first, just as a little gift from me."

Guangyu took out a handful of purple scrolls and stuffed them into Qin Huai's hands, his words clearly indicating that he would not tolerate refusal.

"Then it would be disrespectful for Junior Brother to refuse."

Qin Huai did not intend to be polite with Guangyu. After all, the Yanfu incident was only half over, and he did not know what dangers would arise later. He really needed these Qingwei talismans with infinite uses.

"I came here tonight mainly to teach you the ritual of inviting the saint tomorrow, so as to avoid any mistakes. Junior brother, follow me out."

When Guangyu saw Qin Huai put away the talisman, he nodded slightly, his expression straightened, and started talking about important matters.

Qin Huai followed Guangyu to the courtyard, and under the moonlight that appeared and disappeared from time to time, the two of them began to learn the Seven Star Steps and the magic spells and chants.

Qin Huai was a quick learner and soon mastered the rituals.

Guangyu read it once, nodded, and was about to speak to confirm when he heard a dog barking outside the door.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

Then there was the neighing of horses' hooves getting closer and closer.

Listening to the late-night noise, Guangyu frowned slightly, but didn't say much.

"Master, the bodies of the criminals you killed yesterday have been stolen!"

The gradual sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped, and a cavalry guard jumped off his horse and jumped into the Qin family courtyard, looking a little anxious.

"What? What's the point of stealing that thing? Refining corpses?"

At this moment, Qin Huai, whose mind was filled with all the Gangbu rituals, was a little confused and did not understand what Junyong meant.

"Which ones were lost?"

Guangyu frowned, and without thinking about interfering in other people's business, he asked for more details. In his opinion, the theft of the demon's body was a small matter, as long as it was not summoned by evil magic, everything would be fine. However, there was not enough information now, so he had to ask a few more questions.

"Reporting to the High Lord, these are the bodies of Li Li and Li Zhu and a few pieces of saltpeter."

"Any clues?"

"The tracking talisman is floating out of the city. Would Master Guangyu like to go with us?" Jun Yong's expression brightened and he looked at Guangyu and the others hopefully.

"Junior brother, would you like to take a walk?"

"go!"

Qin Huai had no objection, as he also wanted to see who this corpse stealer was.

The earth and rocks collapsed, huge pits appeared all over the field, and the remains of hundreds of animals on the ground constantly stimulated the senses of the Cavalry Guards.

"The tracking talisman has burned out here."

Hearing Sha Ting's reminder, Guangyu nodded and searched for clues with many soldiers.

Qin Huai also opened his Glimpse and joined in, walking towards several places where the ground was clearly glowing.

Thousand-year-old corpse hair: The flying yaksha, who has practiced Taoism for thousands of years, has white hair on its body, which is full of yin energy and contains deadly poison.

Borneo Rafflesia pollen: extremely toxic! Accumulated to a sufficient concentration can corrode the weather!

Qin Huai carefully picked up a few items, put them in a wooden box, handed it to Guangyu, and asked him to check them.

"Thousand-year-old corpse hair and highly poisonous pollen, combined with these traces of brutal battle. If I'm not mistaken, this corpse stealer must have had a conflict with the Flying Yaksha."

"Uneven benefits? Internal strife midway?"

Listening to Sha Ting's speculation, Qin Huai raised his eyebrows and an unlikely speculation emerged in his mind.

"Maybe they are trying to take advantage of the situation and eradicate the root of the problem."

"It's unlikely. There are only a handful of masters in Longyuan who can destroy the ground to this extent."

Qin Huai shrugged and turned to look at the corpses of the beasts beside him.

"These beasts died in a miserable way. It didn't look like they were hacked to death by weapons, but more like they were hit to death."

"There are also traces of burning from different flames, and sharp claw strikes from huge beasts."

Guangyu stroked the protruding stone pillars and sharp rock spikes, and had a rough guess in his mind.

Hulu~

A long whistle sounded, and the Cavalry Guards who were exploring deep into the forest also sent a signal, indicating that Qin Huai and his men had found new clues.

Coming into the cave and smelling the strong scent of medicine, Guangyu closed his eyes and felt it carefully for a moment.

"It should be the life-saving medicine in Annan witchcraft. The power of my Shangqing Divine Thunder that day was not strong enough, so it should not have killed them."

Guangyu shook his head, feeling a little regretful.

"So, these remnants of the Li family were recuperating in this cave yesterday, preparing to seize Li Li's body?"

Qin Huai narrowed his eyes, smacked his lips, and felt that this was most likely the truth.

"That's right, Captain Sha, there is a strong presence of living people here. Use another tracking talisman to see if you can lead to the thief's tracks."

Hearing Guangyu's order, Sha Ting did not hesitate and immediately took out a green and yellow talisman. Blood and energy slightly emerged from his fingertips, and a layer of blood light flashed on the talisman. The tracking talisman ignited without fire and released a puff of green smoke.

Looking at the smoke that circled around in the cave a few times and then slowly disappeared, the disappointment on Shating's face was beyond words.

Behind the three people, in a dark corner that no one noticed, some gray air currents were emerging, connecting with each other, and slowly shrinking.

"The thief is very careful and has arranged countermeasures in advance. The tracking talisman is unlikely to work."

"It's okay, Lao Sha. We did our best, didn't we?"

Qin Huai patted Sha Ting, obviously not thinking that it would be so easy to catch the corpse controller.

"That's right. It's your military achievements that are lost anyway. Why should I, Lao Sha, be in such a hurry..."

"wrong!"

Qin Huai raised his eyebrows, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he hugged the two of them with his arms and rushed out of the cave.

boom!
The Yin energy that had been compressed to the extreme exploded with a bang, and the caves in the mountains and forests collapsed instantly. Qin Huai and the other two looked at the caves that disappeared in an instant, their faces looking a little ugly.

"What a sinister trick, Senior Brother. It seems that we will have a long way to go to solve the troubles in Jiaozhi."

Listening to Qin Huai's sigh, the young Taoist under the moon remained silent.

The dark clouds gave way to the bright moon, and the bright moonlight sprinkled down, stretching Guangyu's shadow very long.

...

The dawn is coming on the hundred thousand mountains

Li Zhi rushed back to Qinghua overnight, and took advantage of the early hours without a break. After putting down the half-crippled Li Cai, he took out the bodies of his eldest brother and third brother from the black coffin, and hurriedly set up a magic circle to summon the souls.

"Second brother, the heads of the eldest and third brothers are like this, can their souls be brought back?"

Li Cai, looking pale after a long journey, turned his body and looked at Li Zhi who was selecting materials. He couldn't help but asked the question he had always wanted to ask.

The Flying Yaksha dug two yin-yang pits, one deep and one shallow, and carefully left a space for the fish's eyes.

Li Zhi, who was standing by, was also not idle. He took out the clean grass he brought back from Borneo, used the corpse claws as a pen, the spirit blood as ink, and sprinkled some unknown powder on it. A small witch formation with a faint green light was set up by Li Zhi.

"Everything depends on human effort. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have even a 10% chance of success. But these days, I'm not sure."

After taking the time to answer his fourth brother's question, Li Zhi interlaced his fingers and uttered a few strange syllables. An extremely pure gray-white airflow emerged from the witch formation out of thin air and was controlled by Li Zhi, blowing towards the two heads.

The lime that was tightly attached to the flesh and blood was wiped off bit by bit, and the shriveled head slowly regained its moisture and gradually became complete.

After cleaning the two heads that died with their eyes open, Li Zhi mixed and ground countless materials and arranged them according to the established rituals.

Li Zhi placed fourteen lamps to illuminate the two corpses, and a dark black talisman was burning in each lamp.

Looking at the bamboo poles inserted every foot and the spiritual road extending all the way to the northwest end, Li Cai didn't dare to breathe.

After a long time, Li Zhi arranged the two corpses into the shape of yin and yang fish, and placed a yin and yang Bagua in the center of the soul-calling magic circle. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the two and did not move again.

"Second brother, is there any place for me to use my skills next?"

Although Li Cai was powerless, he still wanted to see if he could do anything to help.

"You don't need to worry about it. All you need to do next is to do one word."

Li Zhi spoke in a gloomy tone, his face showing neither sadness nor joy.

"what?"

"Wait."

...

(End of this chapter)