Yin Yang Soul Searcher

Bai Jueming said without changing his expression, "Brother Hai, how could an ordinary person hear that clearly? It was a pill to restore soul power. Cheng Yanbing gave me a pill to help me recover because he saw that I had worked hard during the soul-questioning."

"That makes sense. Besides, investigating cases is our job. Even if we find out the truth, he wouldn't give you such a valuable pill on your first meeting." Zhou Dahai thought about it and realized that the shopkeeper must have misheard.

He didn't have any other thoughts, but he was surprised when he heard about the pill, thinking that even if the Craftsmen's Hall was rich, it wouldn't be so extravagant.

You knew nothing of the Craftsmen's Hall's arrogance, so Bai Jueming quickly pressed you, "What did you do after you couldn't hide it anymore?"

"After I could no longer hide it, I felt it was necessary to eliminate the threat completely. That night, I lay in wait near Li Chang's house and killed him when he returned. Then, afraid that someone would see my injuries, I hid in my room and dared not go out. My food and drink were delivered to me by my servants."

At this point, the shopkeeper began to kowtow and beg for forgiveness from Zhou Dahai: "My lord, I was blinded by greed and made a mistake in a moment of confusion."

Zhang He was also being manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes. But why would the mastermind help Zhang He out?

He could have easily found anyone to sell the pills to "Chen's Pharmacy," or perhaps it was simply a nesting scheme? Zhang He sought out Li Changzhi because he couldn't personally intervene... This damn case is still going on and on.

Just then, Zhou Dahai stood up, his fat belly jiggling, and walked up to the shopkeeper, saying, "Don't worry, you won't die for now. Everything will be decided by our hall master." Then he placed a hand on the shopkeeper's shoulder and began to ask questions in his sleep.

A moment later, Zhou Dahai loosened his grip on the shopkeeper's shoulder. Bai Jueming, who had been pondering nearby, asked, "Brother Hai, how was it?"

"The answer is always the same in dreams; it's the truth. Let's go and take him to the hall master to report." With that, he walked over and opened the door. Two martial artists came in and dragged the shopkeeper away.

Bai Jueming and Zhou Dahai went downstairs first. As they passed through the lobby, Bai Jueming noticed that the staff and customers were still standing there, trembling with fear. This showed how terrifying the Yin-Yang Palace's investigations were.

The group went outside, and Zhou Dahai was the first to mount his horse: "Let's retreat." Two martial artists carried the bound shopkeeper onto a horse, and the group headed straight for the Yin-Yang Hall to report back.

The horse's hooves clattered on the bluestone slabs. Bai Jueming tugged at the reins and moved closer to Zhou Dahai: "Brother Hai, how can we continue investigating this case? You didn't even see the masked man's face in your dream."

Zhou Dahai's belly jiggled on horseback as he slowly sighed and said, "I don't know either. This mastermind only had contact with Zhang He, yet he managed to accomplish such a huge task. He's no pushover."

"Furthermore, Brother Shan hasn't mentioned how to investigate the formation. Both leads are blocked; this is tough!"

Bai Jueming nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly thought of something. According to Cheng Yanbing, there were only a handful of people in the Great Xia Dynasty who knew this formation. If Brother Shan reported this to someone of the Vice Hall Master's level, it shouldn't be difficult to guess who was responsible. Perhaps the higher-ups already knew who did it, but their identity couldn't be revealed?

Master of the Craftsmen's Hall? NO, NO, NO, don't think about it anymore. The more you know, the more dangerous it is. Just complete the tasks assigned to you and don't get involved in anything else. Bai Jueming secretly made up his mind.

The group arrived at the yamen gate and entered the courtyard. A minor official stepped forward to lead the horses back to the stables. Four martial artists escorted the manager, following behind Bai Jueming and his companion. They arrived at the entrance of Zhengshan Hall.

Zhou Dahai grabbed the rope binding the shopkeeper and said, "You four, go back." The four obeyed and left.

Bai Jueming looked at Zhou Dahai with a puzzled expression, then pointed to the four people who had left. The meaning was clear.

"You think I'm stopping them from going in?" Zhou Dahai scoffed. "You think just anyone can enter this hall? The martial artists I recruited myself aren't qualified to go in. This is a place for Yin-Yang Masters to discuss matters, not a place for martial artists to fight. That's the rule set by Brother Shan."

Isn't this a bit disrespectful to martial artists, making it seem like all they do is fight? Indeed, those who do mental work look down on those who do manual labor—this isn't my opinion.

The two men escorted the shopkeeper into the hall. Li Zhengshan, with thick black eyebrows and a stubble beard, was sitting behind a table, drinking tea. The two men clasped their hands in a gesture of respect.

Zhou Dahai said directly, "Brother Shan, we've caught him. This man is Zhang He, the owner of 'Jia Family Pharmacy.' He's the one who killed that gambler, Li Changzhi."

After saying that, he pushed the shopkeeper forward, and the shopkeeper staggered forward a few steps.

Li Zhengshan calmly put down his teacup and asked, "Does he have any clues about the mastermind behind this?"

Zhou Dahai thought for a moment and said, "I guess so."

Li Zhengshan frowned, his eyebrows resembling black maggots: "What do you mean by 'consider it'? Explain clearly."

"Um, Brother Shan, in the dream, he asked a question, and the herbs were given to him by a masked man. He's never seen the masked man's face, nor does he know the masked man's purpose or whether he's a cultivator," Zhou Dahai explained. "We can't be sure if the masked man is the mastermind either."

"You know nothing, so why are you working for the masked men?" Li Zhengshan stared at the shopkeeper with eyes as sharp as knives, causing the shopkeeper to involuntarily take two steps back. Then Zhou Dahai pushed him forward two steps.

"This person is just trying to frame the owner of 'Chen's Pharmacy' for his own selfish reasons..." Bai Jueming explained.

Zhengshan Hall

On the wide, clean street, a young woman of about sixteen, wearing a light blue fitted dress, skipped and hopped along, carrying large and small bags of pastries from Tangxinzhai.

The girl's skin was as white as snow, her nose was delicate and pretty, her eyes were as clear as spring water, as if stars had fallen from the sky, and her lips were exquisitely sculpted.

Arriving at the entrance of the government office, the young girl stopped. She blinked her large eyes and peered inside. This must be the Zhengshan Hall her senior brother had mentioned, right? The girl walked up the steps, where a minor official came forward to greet her.

"Excuse me, is this Zhengshan Hall?" The girl's voice was as clear and melodious as a nightingale's.

The clerk who came to greet her looked at the girl with some surprise; this was not a place a young girl should be.

He couldn't help but ask in confusion, "This is Zhengshan Hall. Is there something you need, young lady?"

"Please go and inform them that Tang Weiwei from the Craftsmen's Hall has come to deliver a message," the girl explained.

Upon hearing the words "Craftsmen's Hall," the clerk suddenly understood. No wonder a young lady would come to a place like this. It made sense that she worked there; after all, it was full of cultivators. It wasn't surprising that she would come here. "Please wait a moment, young lady, I'll go and inform her immediately."

Simply give this letter to a man named Li Zhengshan, and then have him pass it on to their temple master.

My task will then be complete. My senior brother will then secretly help me refine magical artifacts to fulfill the task Master gave me.

I can also take this opportunity to eat my fill of the new pastries from Tangxinzhai. Thinking of this, a satisfied smile appeared on the girl's face.