Minglong

Chapter 124 Perhaps he just went to kill someone.

The Yip Sai Wing mansion was brightly lit. The constables who came after hearing the news carried torches and followed around the mansion. Among them were also the Red Scale Guards.

Linghu Qingmo, carrying coal briquettes, searched the courtyard with Fiji and the others, his eyes scanning the surrounding buildings:

"Is Xie Jinhuan alright? Where did he go?"

"Guji~"

Coal Ball, dragged into working overtime in the middle of the night, raised its wings to slit its own throat, but was completely ignored.

Fei Ji, the county magistrate of Wan'an, knelt beside the corpse, which had already turned into rotting flesh, his eyes filled with worry:

"I heard from Master Jingkong that they went to kill the demon bandits. There were pieces of clothing everywhere, and the corpses were beaten like that; they must have suffered terribly themselves..."

Linghu Qingmo was resting in the palace when she suddenly heard a commotion outside the city. She brought Meiqiu with her and ran over to see what was going on. Little did she know that Xie Jinhuan was secretly slaying demons behind her back!
If only I hadn't pretended to be angry today. If she had stayed by my side, Xie Jinhuan wouldn't have had to risk her life alone...

As everyone was searching, a soft whistling sound came from the house.

Several constables immediately looked up on alert, only to see a young man in tattered clothes, wearing a sleeveless, tight-fitting suit bestowed by the King of Dan, leap down from the wall:

"Hey? MoMo, what brings you here too?"

Linghu Qingmo was extremely worried and rushed over to him, examining his body while holding his shoulders.

"Are you alright? You look so pale."

Xie Jinhuan had only been kicked once by Ye Shirong, and his exhausted state was entirely due to the female knight's relentless pressure. However, it was too embarrassing to talk about this:
"I'm fine. These remnants of the Underworld Cult are really cunning. I went to chase after them just now, but I couldn't find them."

The monk Jingkong, who was also examining the traces, interjected:
"Using the 'Body-Devouring Gu' beforehand to silence him is impossible to stop. However, Ye Shirong has been established in the capital for twenty years and has concealed his cultivation methods with secret techniques, so no one has ever noticed anything unusual before. How did Young Master Xie manage to find him?"

Xie Jinhuan knew the officials would be puzzled, so he explained:

"I was playing music at the Linde Hall today when I noticed something strange about Yip Sai Wing, so I came over to check on him tonight. Little did I expect to actually catch him red-handed."

Linghu Qingmo frowned and couldn't help but pinch Xie Jinhuan's lower back:

"You have clues but you won't tell me? I knew your questioning of Yip Sai Wing at the Linde Hall wasn't just about wanting to grow a goatee..."

"Sigh, I wanted to discuss this with you, but you turned around and ran away."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head and smiled, just about to find an excuse to take his leave, when he heard a sound coming from the well in the courtyard:
"Sir, there is something here."

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan and Momo went to the well to examine it. They could see that the stone door to the well had been forcibly broken open, revealing a tunnel. He landed in it and went in with the others to check. Inside, they could see that there were more than a dozen prison cells.

Inside the cell were wooden frames with more than thirty men on them. They were all disheveled and had dull eyes, looking like dead people, but they were very robust and even quite large.

At the far end of the corridor was a rest room, containing two plank beds with dice, miscellaneous books and other things to pass the time, as well as medicine and bandages.

Linghu Qingmo, who usually only captured minor demons and bandits, was slightly puzzled by this:

"Who are these people?"

The monk Jingkong sighed softly, a hint of pity in his eyes:

"Blood slaves. They are kept by evil cultivators to plunder blood and qi. Each time, only a little is extracted, and then the blood and qi are nourished and restored with pills. This can be done in a cycle. Usually, one person can be used for several years. Although the progress is slow, it is difficult for people to detect."

Fiji had been working in the capital for a long time and had seen many major cases, but this was truly the first time he had ever seen a secret base for sorcerers. He looked around at the various cells:
"Is there any hope for these people?"

The monk Jingkong shook his head: "His soul has long since returned to the earth, leaving only his body in the world. Fortunately, even though he was imprisoned here and subjected to torture, he did not feel the pain of having his tendons and bones torn apart."

Xie Jinhuan noticed that many of the constables had furrowed brows, and Mo Mo even had anger in her eyes. He was quite good at comforting people.

"Ye Shirong died a terrible death. His limbs and lumbar vertebrae were broken, and he was subjected to more than a dozen cuts in a slow slicing manner. It was a way of venting the anger of these people."

Fiji nodded slightly, then turned to look at the yamen runners:
"See? You're too lenient with the demon bandits, but they have no pity for the common people. From now on, you'll have to be as evil and wicked as Jin Huan, even more so than the heretics, before these bastards will truly be afraid of you."

"Yes."

“Send all the blood slaves to the Imperial Observatory to verify their identities and thoroughly investigate those who have had dealings with Yip Sai Wing in recent years.”

The accompanying servants immediately began to work.

As a county magistrate, Fiji certainly wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Seeing Xie Jinhuan's tattered clothes, he first asked with concern:
"Not everyone in the government is incompetent. Leave the rest to us. We'll notify you as soon as we have any leads. Go back to the Prince's Mansion to rest and recuperate; don't overwork yourself..."

Xie Jinhuan had some personal matters to ask Uncle Fei, so he slightly raised his hand and, under the pretext of discussing the case, went with Fei Ji outside the Ye residence, whispering:

"Uncle Fei, there's something I need to trouble you with."

Fiji's small mustache drooped, and he immediately became unhappy:

“We’re uncle and nephew, why are you talking about trouble? Just tell me what you need. Even if you want to go to the Purple Gold Pavilion, I’ll disguise myself and show you the way…”

Seeing Mo Mo waiting beside her, Xie Jinhuan, afraid of being overheard, quickly said:

"It's important. Today in Linde Hall, I noticed Li Gongpu's eyes were acting strange; he kept glancing at the Crown Prince. I feel like he's trying to curry favor with His Highness..." "Ah?"

Fiji's expression turned serious, and he stroked his chin:

"His Majesty is extremely strict with the Crown Prince, and Li Gongpu is a master of flattery, causing him to become obsessed with trivial matters and neglect his duties. This is no small matter..."

Xie Jinhuan adopted a patriotic and concerned expression:
"Yes. His Majesty's achievements are remarkable, and even if there are some minor lapses in etiquette, they can be understood. But if an old fox like Li Gongpu is allowed to bewitch the Crown Prince and corrupt the future emperor, it could bring disaster to the world."

"You want to investigate whether Li Gongpu has been secretly getting close to the Crown Prince?"

"Yes. But I'm all alone, and I don't have many trustworthy people..."

Fiji pondered for a moment, then patted Xie Jinhuan on the shoulder:

"I reckon Li Gongpu was quite involved in your father's affairs back then. I'll handle this personally. I can't catch the evil and crooked uncles, but I can tell what's going on with a single glance."

Xie Jinhuan quickly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Fei."

"If you keep being so polite, I'll have to scold you! Go back and rest now."

"Ha ha……"

After finishing their business, Xie Jinhuan turned and walked towards the street.

Linghu Qingmo waited on the street with coal briquettes on his shoulder. Seeing that no one was around, he approached and supported himself with his hand on his arm.

"Are you going back to the Prince's Palace now?"

Xie Jinhuan needed to find Mu Yunhong to trick her into giving him the Jiazi Lotus. It was obviously inappropriate to bring Momo along, so he thought about it and said somewhat awkwardly:
"Uh... I've already arranged to go over tonight, she'll probably still be waiting... I'm just going over for dinner, it's not as bad as you think..."

It's not as bad as I thought, what are you explaining?
There is no three hundred taels of silver here...

Linghu Qingmo took a soft breath, still a little unhappy, but Lin Wanyi was the legal wife, and she was dragging Xie Jinhuan away, preventing him from going over. He was about to be pulled by Lin Wanyi's hair when he thought about it and said:
"Then go ahead. I'm not sleepy either. I'll keep watch here with the yamen and let you know as soon as there's any news."

Xie Jinhuan was afraid that Mu Yunhong would flee out of fear of punishment, so he had to go there immediately. However, he didn't want Momo to be neglected. After a moment's consideration, he opened his arms to give her a bear hug, but then realized that he was covered in dust, so he reluctantly withdrew his arms.
"Never mind, you're all dirty, don't get your skirt dirty."

Linghu Qingmo had already covered his chest with both hands and his eyes turned slightly cold. When he noticed that Xie Jinhuan had half-held his arms and then stopped, his eyes couldn't help but look a little blank.

She certainly wouldn't mind Xie Jinhuan's dusty, tattered clothes; on the contrary, she felt a little sorry for him. Seeing that Xie Jinhuan wasn't being unreasonable anymore, afraid of getting her clothes dirty, she thought for a moment and then looked away.
"You...you should tell me first, don't be angry!"

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan was unsure what Mo Mo was planning, and blinked.
"Don't be angry?"

Linghu Qingmo felt much better after getting the safe keyword:

"I'm not angry. You only have one chance left."

After saying that, he turned and ran!

Hey?!

Xie Jinhuan hadn't expected Mo Mo to become so clever. Since the words were already out, how could she let the opportunity slip away? She stepped forward to block Mo Mo's path, cupping her cheeks as she spoke:

Boo boo boo…

Linghu Qingmo's face immediately turned red, but he gritted his teeth to avoid saying anything safe, and kept his promise not to get angry. He simply stood on tiptoe slightly, closed his eyes, and endured the indescribable sensation on his lips.

Xie Jinhuan gave Momo several kisses, then realized that since Momo wasn't telling her to stop, it would be inappropriate to stop on her own initiative...

zizi...

Linghu Qingmo's eyelashes trembled slightly. He wanted to tough it out and preserve his chance to 'stop,' but Xie Jinhuan was just too good at it. If he endured it any longer, he would be bullied into groaning. He could only lean back and dodge.
"Stop!"

Xie Jinhuan was completely satisfied and stood obediently at attention.
"You only have one chance left, so you have to be genuinely not angry!"

Linghu Qingmo wasn't actually angry; he just saw Xie Jinhuan trying to cause trouble and was afraid of getting her clothes dirty, so he deliberately provoked her.

But Linghu Qingmo would never voice these thoughts in his mind. He would put on an act of 'I'm so angry but I can't lose my temper,' and carry the coal briquettes away.

"I'm going to investigate the case. You go ahead and do your work and get some rest."

Xie Jinhuan had important business to attend to, and knowing that Mo Mo was unhappy, he had to leave. He simply shook his head and smiled before flying away.

Call ~
Linghu Qingmo took two steps, then turned back at the sound and saw that Xie Jinhuan had indeed gone to find Doctor Lin without stopping. His expression was complicated, and he muttered to himself:
"A womanizer..."

"Guji~"

Coal Ball, perched on my shoulder, raised its wing and patted Linghu Qingmo's head, seemingly trying to comfort him—don't overthink it, maybe Ah Huan just went off to rob and steal to earn money for his journey!

Seeing the coal ball shaking its head and acting cute, Linghu Qingmo reached out and patted it, which improved her mood considerably. After taking a few steps, she looked back again...

(End of this chapter)