Yin Yang Soul Searcher

"You brought Yang Yongyuan back?" Li Zhengshan suppressed his inner turmoil, his voice slightly indifferent.

After spending the entire day out and bringing the body back, it means that no clues have been found, and we need to ask the Imperial Advisor for permission to search the soul!

Sensing Li Zhengshan's cold tone, Zhou Dahai quickly explained, "This isn't Yang Yongyuan's body, Brother Shan. The person who killed Yang Yongyuan has been found, but she's already dead."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jueming lifted the white sheet covering the stretcher, revealing Lianzhu's purplish-blue face, indicating she was severely poisoned.

"What on earth happened?" Li Zhengshan couldn't hide the confusion on his face. He had considered that the murderer had already escaped, and he had also considered that his men wouldn't be able to find the murderer. But he never expected that they could bring him back a dead murderer.

This is not the level of strength they should have!

"Let Moyu speak; he has a thorough understanding of the case." Although the two had already exchanged information at Qingyue Tower, there were still many details that Zhou Dahai did not understand.

"Then I'll make it short, but it's a long story..."

Across the river from Qingyue Tower, there is a restaurant not far away. From the windows of the top-floor private room, you can overlook the entire Qingyue Tower.

The door was tightly shut, and the table in what was supposed to be a dining area was empty. A man and a woman stood by the window, gazing in the direction of Qingyue Tower. Clearly, they hadn't come up the stairs. In such a place, one couldn't enter a private room without being willing to spend money.

From the Yin-Yang Palace sealing off Qingyue Tower to investigate the case, to Qingyue Tower being sealed off, the two simply watched silently from inside the room.

The woman wore a red and white dress that clung tightly to her figure, revealing a slender waist, a proud bust, and a round, pert bottom, perfectly creating a mesmerizing and alluring figure.

Her fair face was flushed with a faint blush, and her fox-like eyes, with slightly upturned corners, seemed to hold a bottomless pool of allure.

The man was dressed in a dark green robe, and his skin had a greenish tinge. His entire body was a disturbingly green, with sunken eyes and a prominent nose. He seemed to exude an aura of evil.

The woman's voice was seductive, like a succubus: "Why can't you suppress that little bit of green on you? In the human world, people will think your wife ran off with someone else."

"I like green, why should I care about the opinions of those humans?" The man listened to the woman's captivating voice without any emotional fluctuation. His gaze was fixed on the distant Qingyue Tower, and his voice was neither male nor female.

Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairs outside the door, followed by someone saying, "Bring me your best food and wine. I want to catch up with my two guests."

"Alright, gentlemen. There's no one here, please follow me." The waiter, with a handkerchief draped over his shoulder, led the two men to the door where the man and woman were.

"Someone's coming. It's best to keep a low profile in the capital," the foxy woman suggested.

The man, whose entire body was a terrifying shade of green, didn't say much, only nodded faintly.

Just as the two were about to leap out of the window, a dense, grid-like array of phantom images suddenly appeared on the windowpane. The straight lines revealed a faint golden hue invisible to mortals, like a fishing net sealing off the room.

"This is... an array? We've been discovered!" The woman's voice was filled with disbelief. In a flash, the two quickly channeled their magical power and rammed into a single point. Unexpectedly, the fishing net displayed astonishing resilience, creating a huge bulge that it couldn't tear apart.

The next second, some fine Sanskrit characters appeared on the fishing net that revealed a faint golden hue. The round package grew smaller and smaller, and finally bounced the two of them back into the room.

The alluring woman suppressed her charm, turned her head, and stared at the door with a grim expression. Breaking this formation wasn't difficult, but it would require a significant amount of their time.

Clearly, the people outside were after them. They just couldn't understand how, despite their low-key approach in the capital, they could still be tracked down.

Just as the waiter outside was about to push the door open, the man who spoke grabbed his wrist: "Go prepare the food and drinks, I'll go in myself."

Feeling the astonishing force in his wrist, the waiter instantly realized that this was a cultivator. He quickly put on a fawning smile and said, "Alright, sir, please go ahead." Then he walked downstairs.

After the waiter had walked away, the man pushed open the door and entered.

Looking at the two people in the room who were in a defensive stance, the man smiled and then said casually, "I can smell the fox's stench from far away. Don't you know how to tone it down a bit?"

The man, whose entire body was a terrifying green, lingered his gaze on the other man for a moment before looking at the burly man behind him. The burly man casually closed the door, ensuring that no one outside could hear their conversation.

"That's better than the two of you not daring to show your true faces."

"My disguise skills have become so bad? I was seen through so easily." The man touched his face; his appearance was the kind that wouldn't be noticed twice in a crowd.

He then waved his hand dismissively, "There's nothing I can do about it. I made a small mistake in the capital. I have to be careful. If I get caught, I'll be dead."

"Please don't stand on ceremony, gentlemen. I've just ordered some food and drinks. Let's sit down and talk." The man sat down at the table and gestured for the two to sit down and chat.

Seeing that the two did not move, the burly man behind him took a step forward. He released his entire aura, and in an instant, the entire room was filled with the violent aura of a martial artist, as well as the surging blood and qi in his body.

Under the burly man's brutal pressure, even raising a hand was incredibly difficult for the two. They were terrified; if this martial artist possessed such power solely through pressure, he must be a third-rank martial artist! Moreover, at such close range, they had no chance of escape.

"Can we sit down and talk now?" The man who sat down chuckled, his gaze fixed on the two with ill intent: "Jinxiu, the fox spirit from the Great Demon Kingdom, and Yangliu, the tree spirit." The man revealed their identities.

The fox spirit Jinxiu wasn't surprised. Anyone who could pinpoint their hiding place so accurately must know her identity. Thinking this, a seductive look returned to Jinxiu's face. She swayed and sat opposite the man, placing the heavy object on the table, her voice alluring: "My lord, is there anything I can do for you?"

Faced with this alluring scene, the man remained calm and cut to the chase: "Put away that lustful look of yours. I'm here to cooperate with your demon race!"

"Cooperation?" Jinxiu raised an eyebrow, her seductive demeanor vanishing. "You, a human, actually want to cooperate with us? Just who are you?"

"Who I am is unimportant; what matters is that I can help you." The man smiled. "Besides, you have no other choice. Your life or death is entirely up to me."

Jinxiu glanced at Yang Liu behind her and noticed him shaking his head slightly. A chill ran down her spine; this meant Yang Liu couldn't break the formation.

Seeing this, the man smiled and said, "Don't even think about running away. My formation can temporarily trap even the eldest disciple of the Craftsmen's Hall, let alone the two of you."

"So it was you who did it!"

Since the Great Xia Imperial Preceptor was injured, the two demons had infiltrated the capital and naturally learned the whole story of the pill case. They just didn't know who had such ability to steal the pills right under Cheng Yanbing's nose! Combining this with the words of the person before her, Jinxiu could easily guess what he meant.

A moment later, Jinxiu's surprise faded, replaced by a captivating look: "I'm getting more and more curious about your identity."

This person has both a formation around him and a third-rank martial artist by his side, so his status and strength are definitely not low!

The man was unwilling to answer the question, and simply chuckled, "Just remember, none of us like the Great Xia."

"My lord, you should show sincerity when you're looking for a partnership. We don't even know your name, and you've so rudely trapped us here. How can we trust you..." Jinxiu winked at the man in a coquettish manner.

"My greatest sincerity is that I haven't handed you over to the Great Xia Dynasty. Besides, it seems you have no other choice now." The man smiled.

Upon hearing this, Jinxiu sighed helplessly, "You're right, sir. It seems we have no choice. However, if you decide to cooperate, we don't have the final say."

"Oh? Neither of you two can make the decision?" The man raised an eyebrow with interest. "It seems your demon race has quite a grand plan this time, since more than just the two of you have come."

Jinxiu smiled alluringly: "I'm just working for someone else, I have no choice in the matter."

Just then, the green willow, which was now frantically bright, suddenly asked, "How did you find us?"

Upon hearing this, the man looked out the window and smiled faintly.

Inside Zhengshan Hall.

Li Zhengshan sat upright in the main seat, holding a teacup in his hand, occasionally taking a sip of tea. It was as if he were the one who had been talking until his throat was dry...

"Afterwards, I reasoned with Cheng Yanbing and appealed to his emotions at the Craftsmen's Hall. In the end, I persuaded Cheng Yanbing to go to the Yang residence and find out that Yang Yongyuan had been poisoned by miasma."

Bai Jueming's vivid narration below astonished Li Zhengshan. He was amazed that Bai could deduce so much from such subtle clues; Li Zhengshan had struck gold. With such a master of deduction under his command, how could he not uncover the truth of the case?

Zhou Dahai and the others listened in deep thought. Bai Jueming hadn't explained things in such detail back at Qingyue Tower. It turned out he had already deduced so much... They realized they had relied too much on the methods of the Onmyoji.

Han Xue's forehead veins throbbed as she listened, and she just wanted to hit him. This shameless bastard was too good at praising his own achievements.

She followed Bai Jueming the whole way. Why hadn't she heard him offer so much analysis? And was it him who persuaded Cheng Yanbing? He only brought her here by flattering her!

Bai Jueming recounted how Zhou Dahai had Qingyue Tower sealed off. He then shared his speculations about the entire case.

"When I went to the Craftsmen's Hall to consult Cheng Yanbing, he was forging magical artifacts. He told me that His Majesty had decreed that he wanted to avenge the peerless and incomparably powerful Imperial Preceptor. He specifically ordered the Craftsmen's Hall to forge magical artifacts in preparation for Yunzhou to send troops to the Great Demon Kingdom. Brother Shan, you know about this, right?"

"This matter has nothing to do with our Yin-Yang Hall, but we've heard a little about it. However, they wouldn't praise the Imperial Preceptor like that." Li Zhengshan took a sip of tea to hide the helplessness on his face. His subordinate was already starting to flatter the Imperial Preceptor, who was currently injured and in seclusion and couldn't hear anything...

Zhou Dahai was stunned. You can lick like that?

Having been exposed, Bai Jueming wasn't embarrassed and continued his analysis: "Yang Yongyuan was poisoned by miasma. Brother Shan, do you remember when I told you about the many people outside the city who were mildly poisoned by miasma and were queuing up to buy medicine at Chen's Pharmacy?"

Li Zhengshan's expression changed, and he vaguely felt that he had grasped something. But he still couldn't figure it out; the miasma only existed in the outskirts of the capital, and it was unlikely that officials of the imperial court would go to such a place.

"Cheng Yanbing once told me about a method of alchemy called 'guiding qi into the pill.' This involves introducing the surrounding qi into the pill, giving it that qi's effect. However, this process causes the qi to circulate wildly. So I suspect the mastermind is refining pills there, causing the miasma to spread and forcing the surrounding people to buy medicine in the capital!"

"Your analysis does make some sense," Zhou Dahai said, rubbing his chin. "But what does this have to do with the imperial edict?"

Everyone in the hall turned to look at Bai Jueming, which was also what they wanted to ask. One moment it was the imperial edict, the next it was poisoning. These two things were completely unrelated.