Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 63 The Secret of Tianying City
Li He blushed when he heard that Zhou Zhao wanted to enter the Inner Seven Halls.

"Master Zhou is so righteous, Old Li is deeply ashamed. We were forced to do those things because that Qi fellow threatened our lives. Master Zhou disregarded past grievances and relieved me of internal and external troubles..."

"If I, Li He, ever have any disloyal intentions in the future, then I would be too ungrateful and lack brotherly loyalty."

Zhou Zhao listened, nodded slightly, and didn't take it to heart.

She didn't care at all whether Li Hetong and Zhan Guang were planning to bide their time and temporarily feign compliance with her, only to turn their backs on her ruthlessly once they recovered from their serious injuries.

Because she never intended for Tianying City to have a future.

She calculated with her fingers and concluded that July 15th would be an auspicious day; either she would die, or Tianying City would perish.

Concerned about the "internal troubles" that would follow at dawn, the group did not linger and quickly dispersed.

Ye Bai was perceptive; he tidied up the empty bowls and cups Zhou Zhao had drunk from on the table and left the Ten Thousand Coffins Cave to handle the old hall master's funeral.

In the empty cave, only Zhou Zhao and his two companions remained.

"Why don't you kill them both? Qin Tianying might not believe it. If he sends someone to investigate, your lie will fall apart on its own."

Seeing that there were no outsiders, Qianmian no longer concealed himself and looked at Zhou Zhao to ask. He then added an explanation, "After I disposed of Li Shi's body, I followed you to the Xu residence. Master Qi is skilled in poisons and gu but not in martial arts, and most of his disciples are the same."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao shook his head. "I have too few men under my command. If I kill them, I won't be able to spare enough people to suppress those monsters and demons in a short time."

"As long as there are common interests, even enemies can be used to our advantage. Master Qi betrayed Qin Tianying and used Gu worms to control four of the leaders of the outer twelve strongholds. Qin Tianying may not be unaware of this. Li Shi must have known that there would be action tonight, which is why he was hiding in the secret room to spy on it."

"I dare to act this way because I am certain that Qin Tianying will not only not interfere with the affairs of the outer twelve strongholds, but also will not investigate Master Qi."

"He will only send people to Bei'an County to seize the fragments of the Six Paths Heavenly Book."

Zhou Zhao spoke, his gaze intense.

She looked at Qianmian and blinked. "What should we do? I've already seen through Tianying City's biggest secret and have Qin Tianying's Achilles' heel."

Qianmian was taken aback.

Zhou Zhao raised her chin slightly, exuding a youthful spirit. She was quite pleased with herself, and her whole demeanor was radiant.

Although she was in the underground cave, Qianmian felt as if a full moon was shining on her face, making her glow.

"You're saying that the entire Tianying City is an altar built by Qin Tianying, and that the underground passages are all built according to the patterns of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The wooden box in his hand only contains a broken tortoise shell, while the other piece is the one that Hall Master Qi secretly hid."

"The Hundred Ghosts Parade on the fifteenth of July was a blood sacrifice specially chosen by Qin Tianying."

"He hired a master of mechanical engineering..."

Qianmian paused as he spoke.

No, Qin Tianying didn't ask a master of mechanical arts to open the wooden box...

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao gave Qianmian an approving look.

“That’s right! This is the secret of Tianying City. Tianying City is not a safe haven that Qin Tianying built for criminals, but an altar for him to pursue the path to immortality.”

“I suspect there are at least three pieces of tortoise shell. He obtained one piece very early on, so he knew the method of blood sacrifice. Master Qi obtained the second piece, and he also knew the method of blood sacrifice. Under Xu Qifang's arrangement, he chose the Xu family as the sacrifice.”

"You should have noticed that each of the four city gates has a hall, and each hall is further divided into three strongholds." Tianying City is divided into far too many small sections. It is clearly a group of desperados and roughnecks, yet the inner halls are named after the Big Dipper, and the outer city is named after constellations. It is obviously done on purpose.

"Doesn't this look like the bronze tripods placed in the four cardinal directions in front of the Xu family's gate, with three human heads on each of them?"

"Including Xu Qifang, and the last pillar that rose up at her feet, it was not six but seven, which coincides with the Inner Seven Halls."

"All of this proves that my guess was correct."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes were full of certainty, "Moreover, I guess he has already opened the wooden box that Zhang Ran mentioned and has already obtained the fragments inside."

"It was this incomplete scroll that gave him the impetus for his new big move. He chose July 15th of this month as the day to perform the blood sacrifice. As you said before, Qin Tianying doesn't care at all who among the twelve strongholds can break through the encirclement and rise to power through the Gu cultivation."

"Actually, he doesn't care who becomes the leader of the seven inner halls either, just like you fought your way through the Yaoguang Hall and became the new leader."

"In his eyes, everyone is a sacrifice. Of course, the higher the martial arts skills and the more profound the inner strength and vitality of the sacrifice, the better. Otherwise, why do you think the Seven Inner Halls would have a competition for new talents? Why would he support you, the number one new talent, who fought your way through Yao Guang Hall and took the position of hall master?"

It's not because Tianying City is a lawless, wicked place where only the mighty can prevail.

Rather, it was because this was what Qin Tianying wanted.

Just like the flower flags of the twelve outer villages, Xu Qifang secretly selected them all.

Qianmian listened with an exceptionally solemn expression.

He thought for a moment and said, "The master of mechanical arts is not here to open the wooden box, but to help Qin Tianying activate the underground mechanism on July 15th to perform a blood sacrifice for Tianying City."

Zhou Zhao nodded heavily.

She knew it! With her skills, why would she die in Tianying City? Even if Qin Tianying was highly skilled in martial arts, if she couldn't win, couldn't she at least escape?
Moreover, she has Ah Huang and Qianmian as her helpers. If Qianmian is not Su Changying, then why would Su Changying appear on July 15th? She doesn't know about others, but Su Changying, the "martial arts prodigy" recognized by the entire Daqi army back then, was not called that for nothing.

If that day was the end of Tianying City, then it makes sense.

The three of them were silent for a while.

The seven inner halls and twelve outer strongholds are mostly filled with villains, but there are also many refugees or ordinary people who have been forced to seek refuge in Tianying City. They are like ants that go unnoticed, supporting the entire city bit by bit.

They were not destined to die.

Even on the most exalted land, in a prosperous era, there should be no massacre of a city—a crime against all reason and morality.

“I understand what you mean. Go into the inner city to file a complaint at daybreak. Qin Tianying will definitely send someone with you to retrieve the armor. Nine times out of ten, he will send me. I will try my best to get his confidants to go with me. You and Zhao Yizhou make arrangements and prepare to catch fish.”

When Zhao Yizhou was mentioned, Qianmian paused for a moment.

The rumor involuntarily surfaced in his mind that Zhao Yizhou intended to marry Zhou Zhao.

He shook his head slightly, clearing his mind of distractions, and continued, "However, if they are all wiped out, and you and I return alive, he might become suspicious. Be prepared to act at any time. I've cultivated many loyal followers during my time in Tianying City, and then..."

As Qianmian spoke, he looked at Zhou Zhao with a deep gaze.

"Take Ah Huang and leave Tianying City. After July 15th, I will get the tortoise shell and reunite with you."

Zhou Zhao met Qianmian's gaze. "Oh, so you plan to die so we can live?"

"Thousand Faces, when you were atop the stone pillar, who were you looking at?"