Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

A rough, large hand suddenly pressed down, heavily pressing on Shen Qi's left shoulder.

"You dare to lie to me, you little brat?"

He Shan looked down at him, the bloodstains on his cheeks still wet, his whole body exuding a menacing aura.

Shen Qi half-squatted on the ground, feeling a weight on his left shoulder, and his body sank two inches down. He remained expressionless and spoke calmly.

"My lord, how can you say I 'deceived' you? My identity as a member of the Observatory is genuine, and I have indeed received guidance and instruction from the Director. Just now, I truly helped you identify the evil cultivator among the crowd, didn't I?"

"You little brat, I'll settle the score with you later!"

He Shan snorted coldly, his five fingers forming a claw as he grabbed Shen Qi by the back of his collar.

……

He Shan led Shen Qi through two streets and alleys back to the teahouse they had visited earlier.

He strode across the threshold and flicked his wrist.

Shen Qi landed on both feet, staggered forward half a step to dissipate the force, and stood firmly.

Jiang Xinyue leaned back in the wooden chair, her right hand holding a book full of annotations, "Yuanming Sui," which she was carefully flipping through.

He Shan knelt on one knee, the armor plates clanging together.

"My lord, the person has been brought."

Jiang Xinyue closed the book and gently placed it on the table, saying softly, "You're quite fast."

He Shan stood up and dusted off his hands.

"It was quite a coincidence. I had just stepped out of the street when I bumped into this kid among the servants, helping to collect the bodies of our fallen brothers."

Jiang Xinyue's gaze passed over He Shan and landed on Shen Qi.

The young man in front of me was wearing tattered coarse cloth clothes, the hem of which was covered with mud and bloodstains. His hands were wet, and there were still dark red bloodstains between his fingers.

Jiang Xinyue turned her head slightly and gave Lin, the registrar, a look.

Lin, the registrar, understood immediately and dismissed his attendants, then led several clerks and armed guards out in single file.

The heavy cotton curtains fell, leaving only the three of them in the room.

Jiang Xinyue stared at Shen Qi, her gaze piercing: "According to Lord He, you claim that you were instructed by me and learned the art of observing fate and discerning evil?"

Shen Qi lifted his clothes and knelt on one knee.

"Your Excellency, I have been studying the 'Yuanming Sui' day and night and have been fortunate enough to learn the art of observing fate. Just now, the situation on the street was critical. In order to protect myself and assist Lord He in quelling the rebellion, I dared to borrow the prestige of the Chief Judge. Please punish me, Your Excellency."

Jiang Xinyue quietly observed Shen Qi, but a ripple of emotion stirred within her.

Has this kid really mastered it?

The early version of "Yuanming Sui" does indeed record the strange and unusual techniques of observing qi and fate and identifying demons and evil spirits. However, this technique has an extremely high threshold and can only be obtained by those with extraordinary talent. Even among the tens of millions of people in the Dayan Dynasty, it was difficult to find one.

For this reason, those in charge throughout the ages deleted and modified all the obscure and profound parts in order to make it easier to pass on the knowledge, which is why the simplified version that is circulating today exists.

Could this kid really be a genius, one in a million? Did he somehow find an ancient book and actually learn some of its true meaning?

Jiang Xinyue withdrew her scrutinizing gaze, her tone remaining calm: "With a formidable enemy at hand, we must act expediently in times of crisis. Please remember the matter of borrowing a name."

After saying that, he picked up a Xuan Tie talisman from the Observatory on the table and casually tossed it to He Shan.

"The outlying refugee quarters are a mixed bag. If remnants of the Hidden Nether Sect were to mingle among them, a forced search by the soldiers could easily incite a popular uprising."

He Shan caught the talisman steadily.

"He Shan, you go with Shen Qi. He will identify the suspect, and you will carry out the attack. You must stay by his side at all times and protect him completely."

"This subordinate obeys!"

He Shan clasped his hands in a deep fist salute.

Shen Qi remained kneeling on the ground, not getting up.

"Your humble servant obeys."

He slowly raised his head to meet Jiang Xinyue's gaze: "My lord, I have a request."

Jiang Xinyue raised an eyebrow slightly: "Speak."

Shen Qi looked directly at Jiang Xinyue, his gaze firm, his tone compassionate:

"In today's battle within the inner city, quite a few brothers from the Surveillance Bureau and the Patrol Battalion perished. I humbly beg Your Excellency to bestow your grace and, after the Suppression Envoy dispels the remaining evil energy on the bodies, entrust me with the funeral arrangements for these fallen brothers."

"I'm just a mortician, nothing special. I was helping collect corpses outside just now, and I saw how horribly my brothers died, their martial meridians ripped out by evil cultivators. Many of them didn't even have a complete corpse left..."

He straightened up slightly, his back ramrod straight, and spoke earnestly: "I dare not boast about anything else, but my skills in sewing corpses and grooming are something I can be proud of. I only wish to do my part to send these brothers who guard the city on their way with dignity."

Jiang Xinyue stared at Shen Qi. What He Shan had said earlier was true; this kid risked his life to help collect the body outside, which showed that he was kind-hearted and loyal.

Jiang Xinyue nodded slightly, a look of appreciation appearing on her pale face: "I will have people transport the bodies to the official mortuary in the south of the city in batches. Do your best in your task."

"Thank you, sir."

Shen Qi kowtowed again.

He Shan strode forward, grabbed Shen Qi by the back of his collar, and lifted him up from the ground.

"Come on, kid, let's go kill some people!"

……

Outer city gate, barbican.

The refugees surged like a tide, and were forcibly driven by the armored soldiers of the patrol battalion to the foot of the towering city walls.

In an instant, the cries of children, the wails of women, and the curses of men mingled together, creating a deafening din.

He Shan stepped onto the high ground, his spear slamming heavily into the ground, his aura surging and suppressing the clamor of the crowd: "All of you, line up! Take your turn passing through here!"

Shen Qi stood beside He Shan, his eyes slightly lowered. In his vision, countless gray and dim life threads intertwined. His gaze was as calm as water as he swept over the crowd.

Suddenly, Shen Qi's gaze stopped, and he pointed at a thin man trembling in the crowd.

Without saying a word, He Shan threw the crimson spear with his backhand, sending it flying through the air like a dragon emerging from the sea.

"Pfft!"

The man let out a scream before a spear pierced his chest, pinning him to the ground.

The crowd erupted in terrified screams, but were silenced by the gleaming swords and spears of the armored soldiers. Two soldiers stepped forward, dragged the corpse out, and ripped open its sleeve, revealing a hideous black Taotie pattern etched on its wrist.

Shen Qi remained calm and continued scanning.

"The third one from the left, the old woman with the cane."

"The woman in the back row holding a child."

He Shan's attack was swift as the wind and as powerful as thunder. In the blink of an eye, three or four deeply disguised evil cultivators were killed on the spot, turning into several corpses on the ground.

"We've been exposed! Let's take down that guy first!"

Seeing that the disguise was useless, a roar suddenly rang out from the crowd. Seven or eight figures tore through their disguises, their bodies surging with murderous aura, wielding pale white bone spikes, and charged towards the high platform where Shen Qi was located without regard for anything else.

"A bunch of chickens and dogs, how dare you be so arrogant!" He Shan grinned maliciously, grabbed with one arm to recall his spear, and leaped into the enemy ranks.

At the same time, the heavily armored guards around him quickly closed in, protecting Shen Qi tightly in the center.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the suddenly rising evil cultivators were slaughtered, their mangled corpses piled up, awaiting the arrival of the Suppression Envoy.

……

The setting sun was like blood, dusk was falling, in the inner city, in the main hall of the Observatory.

Jiang Xinyue changed into a clean blue casual robe, but his broken left arm was still slinged across his chest with a white silk ribbon. He sat upright behind the large sandalwood desk, listening quietly to Registrar Lin's detailed report on the day's battle losses and the clearing of the outer city. His originally relaxed brows furrowed even more tightly.

After Registrar Lin left, the main hall returned to deathly silence.

Jiang Xinyue remained silent for a long time, then slowly closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"This time, a heretical cultivator at the Unblemished Realm actually crossed the border and brazenly entered Chengping County..." Jiang Xinyue's voice was low and heavy, carrying an unyielding sense of gravity. "This is truly unacceptable. There seems to be a serious problem with the border at the Northern Territory."

"We still need to report to the capital and ask Master to investigate personally." Jiang Xinyue stood up, walked to the front of the hall, and looked at the deep night outside the door. "These remnants of the Great You have been lying dormant for thousands of years, their desire to destroy my Great Yan has never died. Now the northern border is suffering from a severe drought, the earth's veins are severed, and natural disasters and man-made calamities are occurring one after another... Master, Master, why did you send your disciple to this Chengping County?"