Minglong

Chapter 187 Interlude

noon.

Xie Jinhuan rode a chestnut horse with a long spear slung over its side, walking along the bustling dock, his gaze sweeping over the diverse crowd heading north.

With six days to go until the Heroes' Gathering at the Three Rivers Estuary, this grand martial arts event has attracted countless heroes from both the north and south. In order to secure a good spot, most of the martial arts practitioners set off early, resulting in a noticeable increase in the number of martial arts enthusiasts on both land and water routes.

However, not all people in the martial arts world are chivalrous; they are a mixed bag. Whenever a large number of them appear, there will inevitably be cases of committing crimes, engaging in gang fights, and so on.

To prevent any trouble, the government stationed officers at the port intersection, and inns and brothels began checking rooms. In just a few days, they caught quite a few unlucky people who were detained for fifteen days and fined five thousand coins!

Therefore, it's important to be cautious about staying overnight away from home and avoid doing anything reckless that could cause a stir...

Linghu Qingmo is quite a workaholic. Whenever he has free time, he goes to the yamen to take a look. When he heard about the missing persons case at the dock outside the city, he volunteered to come and investigate.

Xie Jinhuan returned from Fengyi River in the morning and originally planned to go to Fanyun Temple, but Zihui Mountain was preparing to summon Fanyun Temple to the capital for discussions and they would not arrive until tomorrow. So, he went to the Lin family first to ask the Great Immortal Zisu to refine the Fire-Adding Oil Pill, and then went out with Momo to take a look.

The two were walking along the riverbank. Linghu Qingmo, carrying coal briquettes on his shoulder, noticed so many people running towards the confluence of the three rivers and asked:

"Will you be traveling by water or land?"

Xie Jinhuan blinked and looked at the cold and beautiful female constable:

"The waterway is more comfortable, while the land route is more interesting. Which do you prefer?"

?

Linghu Qingmo was asking a serious question, but when she realized her boyfriend seemed to be making a lewd joke, she immediately frowned.
"You're just wandering the world, why are you asking me?"

He ran ahead after saying that.

Xie Jinhuan chuckled lightly, passed by the dock market, and even bought a grilled fish strip from a street stall to feed to the coal briquette he was about to take.

The two traveled together and soon arrived at a small inn.

The inn was mostly filled with wandering martial artists. A young boy sat in the lobby with a Taoist robe and other items beside him, which were not of the Dan Ding School style. They seemed to belong to a minor Taoist sect in the south—the Yin Yang School.

The various schools of thought and religions are not limited to just the few that are explicitly mentioned. For example, in addition to the two major schools of meditation and asceticism in Buddhism, there are also heretical paths such as the Joyful School, but these have been completely eradicated.

The Yin-Yang School, commonly known as Yin-Yang Masters in the marketplace, originated from Taoism. They primarily handle funeral services, but also offer services such as feng shui consultations, fortune telling, and exorcism. These skills are passed down through generations and they mainly operate in the marketplace.

At this moment, a constable was already in the hall, questioning the suspect.

When did the person go missing?

“Last night. My master is a feng shui master who travels around and knows some family secret techniques. Last night he said he was going downstairs to buy some wine, and then he disappeared…”

……

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinhuan went to the small inn and looked at the innkeeper behind the counter:
"Did the missing person go downstairs to buy alcohol yesterday?"

The shopkeeper, fearing trouble, quickly responded:

"They came, but didn't go upstairs. Instead, they walked to the door, looked around, and then disappeared..."

Xie Jinhuan frowned slightly, walked to the door and looked around. His gaze fell on an inconspicuous corner of a building a few feet away. If someone wanted to ambush someone, it would be very difficult to notice them standing there.

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan went to the table again, picked up the magic bell, and tried to control it.

As a result, the balance of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) was adjusted back and forth. After adjusting to a point where the five elements were predominantly yin, the bell emitted a sound:
Ding bell~
Her voice was ethereal, seemingly possessing a captivating and alluring quality.

Linghu Qingmo stood before him, his brows slightly furrowed:
"Is this a soul-summoning bell?"

The boy quickly explained, "My master is a geomancer who usually performs exorcisms for haunted houses. He has never done anything evil."

Xie Jinhuan put down the magic bell and said to the constable:
"Take this child back to the county government office for a few days. Have the office post a notice at the city gate that all cultivators with yin-based techniques should not walk alone recently, as it may be another abduction by the Underworld God Sect."

"Yes."

The constables quickly led the young Taoist away.

Linghu Qingmo stood before him, his brows furrowed:
"You wiped out a wave of the Underworld God Cult, yet they continue to commit crimes. They must be up to something big in the shadows. What are they planning to do?"

"The evil Taoist priest is capturing people, definitely intending to use them as human sacrifices. We still need to investigate his motives."

As Xie Jinhuan spoke, he was pondering whether to continue his 'entrapment' operation and venture deeper into the lion's den!

They discovered some江湖客 (jianghu ke, a term referring to people from the martial arts world) on the dock, running from downstream, looking back frequently, as if they had encountered something terrifying...
-
Earlier, at Port Losi.

Under the bright autumn sun, people from all walks of life would occasionally arrive, leading their horses onto large ships that would take them directly to the confluence of the three rivers.

A small merchant ship was moored on the riverbank. Two cult members dressed as laborers placed the unconscious hostage in the cargo hold, sealed her airways, and bound her.

On the deck, Blood Third, dressed as a martial artist, carefully scanned the passing martial artists with binoculars, searching for usable targets.

A follower stood beside him, his brow furrowed.

"Old Blood, isn't it too risky to arrest someone in broad daylight?"

Xue Laosan naturally knew the risks were high, but after witnessing Xie Jinhuan's strange abilities, he was really worried about his men running to Xiaoyao Cave at night. If they accidentally caught Xie Jinhuan or his informant again, he might not be able to survive a second time.

In other places, there were hardly any people at night. In order to complete the task above as soon as possible, Xue Laosan had no choice but to personally go to the port to block the comings and goings of all sorts of people.

As it turned out, because of the grand meeting at Sanjiangkou, a large number of people came to watch the excitement, including many cultivators whose cultivation methods leaned towards the Yin.

After scanning the area for a moment, Xue Laosan looked towards the window of the ferry on the riverbank:

"This person couldn't possibly be Xie Jinhuan, could he?"

The believer quickly picked up his binoculars to take a look, and could see a woman faintly visible in the window of a large ship heading towards the confluence of the three rivers in the distance.

The woman wore a black cloak, with the hood removed to reveal an elegant and graceful updo adorned with a purple orchid butterfly hair clip. Her face was covered by a black veil, giving her a rather mysterious appearance.

At this moment, the woman was casually reaching out to touch the window frame, her movements suggesting she was setting up a trap. Hmm... a female rat from the Gu Poison Sect!

The believer glanced at him briefly, then took out Xie Jinhuan's portrait for a closer comparison:

"Probably not. No matter how skilled Xie Jinhuan is at disguise, she couldn't possibly walk around disguised as a woman. If word got out, she'd be talked about for the rest of her life. However, men are yang and women are yin. Female cultivators of the Gu Poison Sect are mostly complementary to their techniques, each more poisonous than the last. Anyone who dares to walk alone like that is probably not simple..."

Xue Laosan knew how dangerous the combination of the three keywords 'Gu Poison Sect, beautiful woman, and lone person' was. In the Southern Frontier, just showing his face would scare away half the people on the street.

But this is the capital city; we can't just let some super-grade witch suddenly appear here.

Moreover, judging from the situation, this woman was taking a large boat to Sanjiangkou to watch the excitement. She was obviously a wanderer from the Jianghu. Why would a famous patriarch do such a trivial matter?
The orders from above are to arrest her as soon as possible. This woman definitely meets the criteria, and witches are all top-quality vessels for replenishing yang energy through yin-yang cultivation, which would be beneficial for restoring physical strength...

Thinking of this, Blood Old Three put down the telescope;

"I will deal with this man myself. You all keep a close eye on him."

"Yes."

The believer immediately nodded, watched the old man leave, and then picked up his binoculars to observe the situation at the window.

Looking around, they realized the woman at the window had vanished sometime during the night; they couldn't tell if she had gone inside or somewhere else...
-
The riverbank was packed with people, and countless wandering swordsmen surrounded the tea stalls, listening to the storyteller recount his tales: "Such a beautiful and wealthy woman, how could that witch from the sorcerer sect compare? Filled with jealousy, she cast a 'love potion' on Fairy Nangong..."

"Isn't the love potion only effective on men?"

"Well, it's fine between women or men, as for the antidote, hehe..."

"Understood……"

……

Blood Brother Three, dressed as an ordinary江湖客 (jianghu kè kè, a wandering martial arts world), weaved through the throngs of people and walked along the riverbank towards the moored ferry. Before he even reached it, he heard a voice behind him:
"Master, you've dropped something."

The soft, gentle female voice sounded mature and graceful, just like the elegant and dignified matriarch of a sect...

Blood Elder Three subconsciously turned around and found that a figure had appeared more than ten feet behind him.

The figure's appearance was not clearly seen; only the eyes beneath the hood were visible.

Its eyes glowed red, exuding a strong eerie feeling, like a fox spirit perched atop a mountain, looking down at the ants at its feet. In just a moment of eye contact, all the surrounding noise and scenery vanished without a trace, leaving only endless darkness.

Heart Moon Fox Eyes...

The third brother of the Blood Sect had only one thought flash through his mind before he could even feel fear. His thoughts had already completely fallen into the illusion. Then, all around him, grass grew tall and birds sang, magical treasures were everywhere, and gold and silver rained down. All the thoughts he had had in his mind appeared before his eyes, making it difficult for him to extricate himself...

People were coming and going on the street. Xue Laosan stopped and looked back. Many pedestrians looked at him with suspicion, but no one reacted.

Bu Yuehua, her hands clasped at her waist, her skirt rippling like water, brushed past her, a puzzled thought to herself:

The gangs in the Central Plains have been living in comfort for too long; they even dare to plot against a lone witch, and they even dare to turn back...

Wait, a ghost cultivator?
Upon discovering that the person's soul was too powerful and was still trying to break free, Bu Yuehua slowed her pace, considered for a moment, and then a ghostly green flame emerged from under her cloak, instantly enveloping the figure's entire body.

Call ~
The Moonfire of the Crescent Moon Manor is an extremely yin fire that burns the soul but not the limbs. Xie Jinhuan was burned by Wanyi and had to wear a mask of pain, not to mention Bu Yuehua's attack.

In the instant the figure was engulfed by flames, hideous ghostly figures emerged around the stunned man. They tried to escape, but were burned and forced to retreat, using only their bodies for protection, and letting out mournful howls.
"what--"

Upon hearing the piercing scream, almost all the martial arts practitioners passing by drew their weapons and turned around, creating a cacophony of noise.
"what happened?"

"You scared the hell out of me..."

"Why did this thing spontaneously combust?"

"This is a sorcerer! A sorcerer..."

……

Upon discovering the traces of the evil spirit, most of the pedestrians on the street fled on the spot, while some daring experts surrounded the area and unleashed a flurry of blows.

sough--

Bu Yuehua had already gone far away, and quietly opened her right hand, with an oily green flame emerging from her palm.

The moment the ghost cultivator's body was dismembered, Bu Yuehua followed the direction of the flickering flames and tracked it to a bush half a mile away. A serpentine throwing knife shot out from her sleeve.

Sa——

Just as a titmouse took flight, it was struck by a throwing knife and pinned to a tree trunk.

Then Bu Yuehua transformed into the 'Ahua Brand Flamethrower,' spewing out eerie green flames from her palms and spraying them at the hideous ghostly figure. In just a moment, the soul was completely burned away, and the surroundings became quiet.

"So this is all the sorcerer is capable of..."

Bu Yuehua lightly flicked her finger to retrieve the throwing knife, wiped the blood with a handkerchief, and slowly returned to the port ferry...

……
-
Shortly after.

Xie Jinhuan, carrying his spear, stood on the blood-soaked street. He first looked at the few pieces of mangled flesh on the ground, then at the unidentified chunks of flesh that had flown onto the roof. Suddenly, he understood how helpless the coroner must have felt receiving his 'work'. He slightly spread his hands:
"How many demon bandits are these?"

A group of chivalrous江湖客 (jianghu keke, chivalrous heroes) saw the recently renowned Marquis of Danyang arrive, and all looked at him with anticipation, bowing and greeting him:
"One! This guy was standing on the street in a daze at first, then his whole body burst into flames, displaying an overwhelming demonic aura! Luckily, a few of us were brave enough to go up and chop him up..."

"You all have excellent martial arts skills. When you go to the yamen to collect your reward later, when you make your next move, hmm... please make sure you look presentable, otherwise it will be difficult to identify your school of martial arts..."

"Sigh, we're all martial arts practitioners. We were afraid these bandits would rise from the ashes, so we even smashed them with hammers until our fingers were smashed to pieces..."

……

Seeing Xie Jinhuan's hesitant expression, Linghu Qingmo couldn't help but recall Da Biaozi and Liu Qingzhi's previous complaints, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Well? Did you see anything?"

Xie Jinhuan isn't a real god. He's been turned into mincemeat. What could he possibly see?
However, based on the eyewitness accounts, he could still deduce some of the details:
"This person was probably under an illusion spell when he was in a daze; the sudden burst of cold green flames must have been caused by a ghost fire; many people saw ghostly figures around him, so he must be a ghost cultivator, but we don't know if it's the one that Songhe Bay didn't kill."

Upon hearing about flames capable of scorching the soul, Linghu Qingmo immediately thought of the Crescent Moon Manor, which had pushed its Yin-cold cultivation techniques to their extreme.
"To cause a ghost cultivator to hallucinate, the person who made the move must be either below the highest rank or not far away. Could the person who came be the master of the Crescent Moon Manor?"

Xie Jinhuan felt that there could be no one else.

The entire Gu Poison Faction was exiled, and Bu Yuehua entered the pass as an unregistered resident, on the imperial court's wanted list.

But Xie Jinhuan couldn't very well take his mother-in-law back and subject her to severe torture and arbitrary interrogation. So, he simply said:
"It's still uncertain. Being able to eliminate the ghost cultivators would make him a hero who rid the people of a scourge. We'll investigate this person further later, but for now, we'll focus on the matter of the Underworld Cult."

Linghu Qingmo nodded, noted the matter down, and began to clean up the mess...
-
in the afternoon.

Lin Wanyi personally cooked several side dishes and prepared a bottle of fine wine, placing it on the small round table in her boudoir.

Xie Jinhuan finished work and went home. Holding a large bowl of rice, he ate heartily, not forgetting to serve his good wife some food.

"Why would Master Bu appear in Luoxi Port? Did she also go to the Three Rivers Estuary to watch the excitement?"

Lin Wanyi helped pour the man's wine, a hint of doubt in her eyes:

"I don't know. You really want to see my master?"

"Oh, no."

Xie Jinhuan knew of Bu Xianzi's reputation, but he couldn't afford to offend this true enchantress. He immediately picked up his wine cup and clinked it against his young wife's.
"The situation in the capital is tense lately. Although Master Bu is highly skilled, if he really encounters the leaders of the Taoist and Buddhist sects, it might be difficult for me to come to his rescue..."

"Witches from the witch cult aren't so easy to catch. In the martial world, it's always witches from the witch cult who bully people..."

"That's true. My Wanyi is so capable; I have connections now..."

"?"

Upon hearing the lewd remarks, Lin Wanyi raised her hand and pinched Xie Jinhuan's waist:
"You have to fight in the arena tomorrow. Go back and prepare after breakfast, so you won't be unable to stand steadily on the stage and have Miss Linghu scold me again..."

"How could that be? I have so much energy right now. If I don't burn it off, I'm prone to impulsiveness tomorrow..."

"Oh, you should eat first..."

"Ha ha……"

……
-
At the beginning of the month, I'm asking for monthly votes or two!
Four thousand words, and there's a big chapter coming up. I'm only halfway through writing it. Everyone, read it at noon or chapter 2!

(End of this chapter)