Yin Yang Soul Searcher

The next morning, after breakfast, Bai Jueming teased Xiaotang. He promised to buy her a candy figurine next time he came back, and the little girl happily gave her older brother a kiss on the cheek.

The family wasn't short of money, but the eldest sister, who was used to living a poor life, couldn't bear to buy anything.

After saying goodbye to his family, Bai Jueming went to the Craftsmen's Hall to report for duty.

Fatty Zhou Dahai arrived late with four martial artists. He had dark circles under his eyes, looking like he had indulged in excessive sexual activity.

Wang Pang, standing nearby, joked, "I asked you to investigate the demon race, what happened? Did you get drained by that fox spirit?"

"Is your face covered in ass? Can't you say something nice?" Zhou Dahai cursed. "Yesterday, I went to that Treasure Beast Mountain to investigate the demon cultivators. It exhausted me."

"Did you find anything?" asked Wu Yuan, the lean man.

"Listen to it when you report to Brother Shan later." Zhou Dahai was too lazy to report twice.

"Let's forget about it then. We'll go patrol the streets later. It's better not to know about something this important." Why get involved in something like this when there's such a safe and easy job?

The two exchanged a smile and moved a little further away from Zhou Dahai.

"You sons of bitches!" Zhou Dahai was about to unleash a torrent of profanity when he heard a minor official on the platform say, "Lord Zhou, Master Li said that you should go directly to him after you return."

Zhou Dahai dragged Bai Jueming to the lobby. Zhou Dahai thought that if there were any more tasks like this, he would push them to Bai Jueming and try to get to patrol the streets himself.

Li Zhengshan, his brow relaxed, leaned back in his chair, intently sipping his tea. Hearing the noise, he sat up: "How's the investigation going?"

Zhou Dahai, affectionately known as "Brother Shan," clasped his hands and said, "We've investigated the Treasure Beast Mountain and its surroundings. We didn't find any demon cultivators; they must have fled long ago."

"I led that group of warriors deep into the Treasure Beast Mountain, and we didn't encounter any danger or many wild beasts."

I then led a team to conduct an undercover investigation of the nearby villagers, and we didn't find any villagers killed or injured. However, some hunters in the village complained that they were finding fewer and fewer prey recently.

"It's nothing serious," Bai Jueming rubbed his chin. "What are those demons doing in the capital?"

Li Zhengshan closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

"Brother Shan, do you think it's possible that the demon cultivator was discovered and thus fled to cover their tracks?" Zhou Dahai speculated.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Li Zhengshan thought for a moment: "The demon cultivators have traveled so far, deep behind enemy lines, to the capital. They must be ensuring the plan goes perfectly. Perhaps it's just as you think."

"Hey, wait a minute," Bai Jueming interrupted, "Brother Shan, I suddenly remembered something from yesterday."

"Last night, on my way home, I passed by Hua'an Street and saw a group of people suddenly gathering near Chen's Pharmacy to buy medicine. The shopkeeper told me that the people had mild miasma poisoning."

"Brother Shan, do you think this matter could be related to the demon race?"

"This..." Li Zhengshan frowned, his eyebrows furrowed like black maggots. "Have you inquired about where those people live?"

"No, the shopkeeper said he'd prescribe some herbs and they'd recover. I didn't ask any further questions." Bai Jueming shook his head. "Does this have anything to do with where they're staying?"

"I'm starting to doubt whether you're actually from the capital," Zhou Dahai said, looking at Bai Jueming with some curiosity.

"Outside the capital, the Tuyun Mountains to the northeast are shrouded in miasma year-round. People who make a living there often experience these symptoms, and there are occasional instances of people scrambling to buy herbs. There's no need to make a fuss about it."

"Maybe I'm being too sensitive?" Bai Jueming murmured.

"Why don't we go and ask around?" Li Zhengshan's gaze shifted to Zhou Dahai.

Zhou Dahai pointed to his dark circles from excessive indulgence and complained, "Brother Shan, I just got back."

Li Zhengshan turned his gaze to Bai Jueming.

"Brother Shan, what if Chu Jiangyuan has someone secretly watching me?" Bai Jueming said, indicating that this was not a good idea. Besides, he really didn't know the way.

Li Zhengshan tapped his fingertips on the table: "Wu Yuan and Wang Pang went to patrol the streets, and now we don't have any suitable manpower."

"No way!" Li Zhengshan slammed his hand on the table, startling Zhou Dahai, who was trying to doze off.

"We can't just leave this kind of thing to our hall. I'll talk to the deputy hall master and ask the other halls to lend a hand."

"He truly is my good leader," Bai Jueming thought to himself, giving him a thumbs up.

Zhou Dahai couldn't wait any longer and said, "Brother Shan, I'm going to catch up on some sleep now."

Li Zhengshan nodded, then looked at Bai Jueming: "You don't have anything to do today, so go patrol the streets with Wu Yuan and the others. It's still quite safe on the streets of the inner city."

The layout of the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty was basically the same as the layout of ancient capitals that Bai Jueming knew.

The innermost part is the palace of the second emperor, the outermost part is the imperial city, and outside the imperial city is the inner city. The outermost part is the outer city where Bai Jueming lives.

Bai Jueming couldn't help but sigh; the closer one got to the palace, the closer one was to the center of power in the Great Xia Dynasty. A place so many people dreamed of, yet it was already bustling with activity...

After leaving the lobby, Zhou Dahai quietly found a room to catch up on his sleep.

Bai Jueming arrived at his "office," where Han Xueshan was practicing breathing exercises, her face radiating heroic spirit and her features exquisite.

Young lady, with your perseverance, you'll succeed at anything. On another note, you should also focus on self-improvement; you can't just call for help at the drop of a hat—distant water can't quench immediate thirst.

It's all the original owner's fault for being such a troublemaker! Who were the people she offended?! Thinking of this, Bai Jueming put on a smile: "Miss Han, have you had breakfast?"

Han Xueshan rolled her eyes at him and didn't say anything.

Bai Jueming grinned ingratiatingly, "The sect leader assigned me a task: to patrol the streets. Do you want to come along?"

Although patrolling the streets isn't dangerous, it's always good to have an extra person around just in case.

"If there's no important mission, I'll be cultivating." Han Xueshan said calmly with her eyes closed. "Unlike some people, I don't like to ask for help everywhere. I'm shy."

"You tomboy, if you don't want to go, then don't go. Do you have to put me down like this? Isn't it a skill that I can get help from someone?" Bai Jueming frowned and left on his own.

Seeing Bai Jueming's dark face before leaving, Han Xueshan snorted twice with satisfaction. You bitch, you made me angry, and I will too!

Bai Jueming went out to patrol the streets, and he specially changed into casual clothes because professional attire was too conspicuous. He preferred to keep a low profile.

On the streets, the sound of horses' hooves and the rumble of carriage wheels filled the air. High-ranking officials and nobles hurried along in their magnificent carriages.

Shop signs and banners hung high along the street, swaying gently in the breeze. In the silk shop, shop assistants enthusiastically introduced the textures and patterns of various fabrics to customers; in the jewelry store, a dazzling array of jewelry filled the counters.

The surrounding prosperity had nothing to do with Bai Jueming; he was just a poor man.

The third floor of the Craftsmen's Hall.

Cheng Yanbing, with an unremarkable face, wore a long robe with an embroidered alchemy furnace on the wide cuffs.

Master knows I went to the black market? Who leaked the news? Cheng Yanbing entered her master's room full of suspicion.

What comes into view is still that alchemy furnace that occupies a third of the room, golden in color and carved with dragons and phoenixes.

Cheng Yanbing walked around the alchemy furnace and looked at his master, who was sitting cross-legged on a futon.

His hair was gray, and his limbs were hidden beneath a black robe. A whisk lay in the crook of his arm.

"Master, you wanted to see me?" Cheng Yanbing asked cautiously.

"Where did you go the other day?" Qiao asked, her eyes closed, unable to see Yan Bing.

"I didn't go anywhere. I just wandered around the capital for two days." Cheng Yanbing had a bad feeling. He had warned his junior sister to keep it a secret from their master before they set off. How did their master find out?

Although my junior sister is a bit foolish, she wouldn't do something so harmful to herself and others.

Qiao shook his head, not wanting to say anything more, and the whisk in his arm flew up on its own.

"No, Master, please don't do this!" Cheng Yanbing cried out in fear, waving his hands frantically. "I'll confess honestly, I went to the black market."

Cheng Yanbing was genuinely terrified. Her master was ruthless, and the pain from the blow would linger for a long time, even after taking pills.

Qiao, blowing his beard and glaring, scolded, "How many times have I told you not to go to places like that? But I didn't call you here today because of that." He then retracted the whisk that had been floating in the air.

Cheng Yanbing patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was negotiable, as long as he didn't get smoked.

"Master, what are your orders?"

"It was His Majesty's order," Qiao Shou said calmly. "His Majesty ordered the Craftsmen's Hall to forge a batch of weapons."

"Is another war about to break out?" Cheng Yanbing had a toothache.

Whenever a war was about to break out, the emperor would issue an edict ordering artisans to manufacture various weapons, armor, and specially treated explosives with array formations attached.

These magical artifacts, equipped with array formations, possess immense power, enabling ordinary people to fight against low-level cultivators. Therefore, their control is extremely strict! The imperial court only provides a limited number of these artifacts to local areas each year, and they must be sent back to the Craftsmen's Hall for repair and replacement annually.

If the imperial court issues an order for the mass production of ritual implements, there's only one possibility: they're preparing for war!

"His Majesty has issued a decree today, ordering Yunzhou to send troops to attack the Great Demon Kingdom!" Qiao Shou explained, "Therefore, you must refine this batch of magical artifacts as soon as possible and hand them over to His Majesty."

"Master, our Great Xia and the Great Demon Kingdom have been at peace for so many years. Why are we fighting all of a sudden?"

Cheng Yanbing was extremely reluctant to fight, because he was in charge of leading the craftsmen in the Craftsmen's Hall to forge magical artifacts, which was unbearable, working day and night!

"In the end, it's all because of that guy from the Yin-Yang Palace," Qiao Shou said calmly.

"He was injured while leading a group to capture the auspicious beast some time ago. He was ambushed by the National Preceptor of Beichen Kingdom and the demon cultivators of the Great Demon Kingdom, and he has been unable to exert his full strength ever since."

"His Majesty decided to send troops to the Great Demon Kingdom in order to avenge his family."

"I see," Cheng Yanbing nodded, then asked in confusion, "Then why not attack Beichen? Beichen is closer to us, and its national strength is not as great as that of Daxia."

"Beichen is still human after all." Qiao Shou shook his head: "You know that demon cultivators and humans have been hunting each other since ancient times and regard each other as enemies."

"Moreover, the territory where the auspicious beast was hunted this time was originally part of Beichen Township eight years ago. Thundercloud Cave Heaven was seized by that guy from the Yin-Yang Palace eight years ago."

"Hehe, the Grand Preceptor of Beichen was beaten to the point of near death by that guy back then. Now that there's a chance to launch a sneak attack, of course he won't let it pass." Qiao Shou said with a smile.

Why would Master be so happy to hear about the Imperial Advisor being retaliated against? Cheng Yanbing was filled with doubt, but dared not ask...