Yin Yang Soul Searcher

The Yin-Yang Hall, Zhengshan Hall. The entire hall was bathed in candlelight.

The man who had previously brought Bai Jueming out of prison sat behind the table. Thick, dark eyebrows and a stubble of beard. He shone like a firefly in the night. It was none other than the hall master, Li Zhengshan.

Three men dressed in black uniforms from the Yin-Yang Palace stood casually in front of him. The three were constables under Li Zhengshan's command.

"Bang!" Li Zhengshan slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Stand up straight!" The three men straightened their backs and looked straight ahead.

Then Li Zhengshan pointed at them, exasperated, and said, "Look at you all! It's been a whole day, and you've all seen that dream. You haven't found a single clue, and you can't figure out what methods the mastermind used. What are you good for?!"

The three men below exchanged glances. A fat man stepped forward; his name was Zhou Dahai, and he had followed Li Zhengshan the longest. He said sheepishly, "Brother Shan, Brother Shan, calm down. We still have a day. Let's keep our eyes peeled and observe carefully. We'll definitely uncover the mastermind's methods."

He paused, then continued, "Brother Shan, this matter is a bit tricky. Cheng Yanbing is ordered to refine pills, and many people know about it, so we can't find out who leaked the information. Moreover, the street where Chen's Pharmacy is located is the only way from the Craftsmen's Hall to the Yin-Yang Hall, so it can't provide any useful clues." Normally, when no one else is around, the three of them privately address Li Zhengshan as Brother Shan.

Another subordinate glanced at the leader and saw that he wasn't that angry. After all, the leader himself hadn't found any clues, so of course he dared not say it aloud.

He then stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Brother Shan, how about we ask people from other branches for help? Let's see if anyone else has any ideas."

Li Zhengshan leaned back in his chair, sighed, and shook his head: "I've already consulted the other hall masters, but none of them could find any clues. As for asking a deputy hall master for help..." He then glanced at the three people standing there: "Which of you will go?"

The three men stepped back and waved their hands, saying, "There's really no need for that. If you don't dare to invite us, how could we?"

"By the way, Brother Shan, why did you send that kid who got arrested a couple of days ago to investigate?" Zhou Dahai asked, somewhat puzzled. "If we can't figure out the case, it's no wonder that kid with no experience in handling cases can't."

Li Zhengshan shook his head: "This is Vice Hall Master Luo's idea, and I don't know the specific reasons. Moreover, Vice Hall Master Luo said that his identity and background are clean. If he does well, he will become one of you and work under me. If he doesn't, Vice Hall Master Luo will deal with that kid personally."

Two days ago, it was Vice Hall Master Luo who led Li Zhengshan and others to wipe out the guys who stole the mineral deposits. On the one hand, they saw that Bai Jueming was an Yin-Yang Master, and on the other hand, Bai Jueming was unaware of the mineral deposit theft. That's why they were willing to give Bai Jueming a chance to live. Of course, whether he can seize this opportunity is another matter.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "If the four of us can't handle it, we can go to Liangzhou to handle the case, and we won't have to go back to the capital anymore."

Liangzhou is located on the northern border of the Great Xia Dynasty, bordering Beichen. The environment is harsh, the climate frigid, and the local people are known for their volatile temper and unruly nature. Going to Liangzhou without some power, you might get robbed by those reckless individuals who sneak into your door in the middle of the night without even knowing why. Life here in the capital is nowhere near as comfortable.

As soon as he finished speaking, the three men below the court were somewhat incredulous. They hadn't received such severe punishments for failing to solve cases before. Fatty Zhou Dahai, on the other hand, immediately panicked, his chubby face contorted with grief: "Brother Shan, you have to think of something! I have an elderly mother in her sixties to support, and a three-year-old baby to nurse. They can't live without me!"

The two men beside Zhou Dahai also looked anxious. Having been Onmyoji for so many years, they were long accustomed to the stable life in the capital. Occasionally, they'd go on business trips for a month or two at most, returning as if it were a paid vacation. They'd rather resign their official positions than spend their lives suffering in that remote, impoverished place, but they had no choice...

Li Zhengshan hadn't expected such a severe punishment for failing to handle the case properly. Actually, it was understandable since the Imperial Preceptor was involved, after all, the Imperial Preceptor's pills had gone wrong, and Vice Hall Master Luo was under a lot of pressure. If the truth couldn't be found, he had to be severely punished. Not to mention the four of them going to Liangzhou, Vice Hall Master Luo might also be punished by being sent to the border to atone for his sins.

Thinking of this, Li Zhengshan shook his head and said, "I can't help it either, but..." He then changed the subject, "But we still have a chance. How's the investigation of that herb going?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dahai quickly exchanged glances with his two colleagues, and he understood what they meant.

Finally, he stepped forward somewhat awkwardly and said, "Brother Shan, last night after the shopkeeper fell asleep, we checked his dream. He encountered a gambler who won herbs at the gambling table and sold them to him. We saw the gambler's appearance in the shopkeeper's dream, drew a portrait, and have already secretly sent people to search for him in gambling dens all over the capital. It's been too short, and there's still no news..."

"We also checked the memories of the pharmacy staff, and there were no traces at all... As for the herbs themselves, there was nothing wrong with them. Cheng Yanbing said it was a thirty-year-old Sand Dragon Grass." After saying that, he secretly glanced at Brother Shan's expression.

Li Zhengshan, however, remained expressionless, taking a small sip of his tea. After witnessing Cheng Yanbing's dream, the three secretly searched Chen Zhanggui's dream that very night, looking for clues through herbs.

It's a good job, but unfortunately the time was too short, there weren't enough people available, and we didn't tell these three people in advance that if things didn't go well, we would have to go to Liangzhou, mainly because we were afraid it would affect their mindset while handling the case.

Otherwise, the three of them would definitely have mobilized all available resources to investigate. In truth, they had little hope of finding the gambler; the mastermind could easily have killed him to silence him and cut off all leads. As for using the corpse to search for souls, the mastermind could have simply taken it away or cremated it; searching for souls would have been pointless for them.

He then snorted coldly, saying something that didn't reflect his true feelings: "You three good-for-nothings, with this little bit of competence, you think you can stay in the capital? Go back and pack your things, get ready to go to Liangzhou tomorrow." He then waved his hand to signal them to get lost; he had no clues and seeing them annoyed him.

Hearing that they were to go to Liangzhou tomorrow, Zhou Dahai and his two companions were red-faced with anxiety: "Brother Shan, there's still a chance. We'll mobilize all our manpower tonight to search for the gambling addict. You're knowledgeable and experienced; recall the details of your dream, and you'll surely be able to discover the mastermind's methods."

His voice rose several octaves as he said this: "Brother Shan, give the brothers a way out!"

Li Zhengshan sighed: "Let's do it this way and see if we can make a breakthrough tonight."

As for sending Bai Jueming to investigate the case, he had no hope for him to begin with, but since the higher-ups said to give him a chance, he decided to try it out as a last resort.

The three men accepted the order and rushed out the door in a hurry. A short while later, the three men burst back in just as quickly.

Before Li Zhengshan could recall the scenes from his dream, he saw the three of them return. He chuckled, somewhat annoyed: "What? Aren't you going to investigate the case anymore? Can't wait to go to Liangzhou?"

Of the three, Zhou Dahai quickly spoke first: "Brother Shan, this kid says he has a lead." The three of them had helped Li Zhengshan arrest Bai Jueming a couple of days ago, so they naturally knew this criminal.

The three of them had just stepped out when they ran into Bai Jueming. Upon asking if he had any leads, they quickly turned back. They were a little incredulous; the four of them hadn't found any clues, but he had! They wanted to hear what the clues were first, to see if they needed to send some people to investigate this lead.

Then Zhou Dahai waved his hand, and the remaining two stepped aside. It was Bai Jueming, who looked still shaken. Seeing the person sitting in the hall, he understood that these three must be his subordinates.

No wonder the three of them rushed out earlier, and immediately surrounded him after seeing him, asking if he had any clues. Bai Jueming was so frightened that he thought he was going to be torn between two men, after all, the original owner of this body was quite handsome.

He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and clasped his hands, saying, "My lord, I have successfully completed my mission and found an important clue."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhengshan was initially startled, but equally incredulous. This kid had uncovered clues that four veterans of the Yin-Yang Hall and several other hall masters hadn't noticed? How could he possibly save face?

Then a sense of suspicion crept into his mind. Was this kid just afraid of dying and lying? After all, he'd given him a deadline of midnight tonight. Was he trying to stall for time?

Then Li Zhengshan, with a tense expression, narrowed his eyes, making his thick, dark eyebrows look like two black maggots: "You should understand the consequences of lying."