Yin Yang Soul Searcher

Zhou Dahai continued, "Brother Shan, our men found out the whereabouts of that gambler at the Tianle Gambling House in the south of the city. Following the clues, they found the gambler's house."

"When we found him, the gambler was already dead; we were a step too late. But we had already used the Soul Searching Pill to search for his information." Zhou Dahai then began to recount the results of the soul search and questioning.

Bai Jueming stood to the side, deep in thought.

The deceased was named Li Changzhi. He had no legitimate livelihood and spent his days drinking and gambling.

Two days ago, Li Changzhi lost money at the gambling table and was found by a masked man who gave him a box containing herbs. The man told him to sell the herbs to the owner of "Chen's Pharmacy," and all the proceeds would go to Li Changzhi.

Li Changzhi must have had doubts, but there was nothing he could do. He owed the gambling den money, and if he couldn't pay it back within three days, he would be executed. So, following the masked man's instructions, he sold the herbs to the owner of "Chen's Pharmacy" for forty taels of silver.

Just this morning, shortly after Li Changzhi returned home, a masked man arrived. After some feigned conversation, the masked man suddenly attacked Li Changzhi while he was off guard, but unfortunately, the masked man was not a cultivator.

Li Changzhi and the man wrestled, but Li Changzhi, a habitual drinker and gambler, was physically weak. He was ultimately slit in the throat, wounding the masked man in the process. Before dying, Li Changzhi tore off the masked man's disguise.

Upon hearing the results of the soul search, Bai Jueming frowned slightly. The masked man wasn't a cultivator after all. How could someone who wasn't a cultivator commit such a major crime? It seemed there was a bigger fish behind this. This mastermind was really something else, pulling one trick after another.

The mastermind behind it all won't get involved personally; they'll use shills. If Li Changzhi were smart, he should have used a shill too, and then kept creating nested nested schemes... that way the case could take a year to investigate. Bai Jueming has a lot to say about this.

"Brother Shan," Zhou Dahai continued, "We were worried there might be some things we missed, so we brought the body back to you. See if there's anything else you want to ask."

After listening to Zhou Dahai's words, Li Zhengshan frowned and walked to the corpse, squatted down, and lifted the white sheet.

The knife wound on the corpse's neck was horrifying, and there were dark purple bruises on its face, marks of being beaten. A short dagger was still stuck in its chest near the heart, the blade completely embedded in the heart.

This masked man was quite ruthless; he slit the man's throat. As if afraid he wasn't quite dead, he even plunged a dagger into his heart. Unfortunately, there's no technology to check fingerprints these days. Bai Jueming stood aside, observing secretly.

At this moment, Li Zhengshan began to mobilize his soul power, placing his right hand, fingers together, on a spot about an inch above Li Changzhi's forehead. A wisp of faint black smoke emerged from Li Zhengshan's palm, flowing downwards and slowly seeping into Li Changzhi's forehead. Then, Li Zhengshan slowly closed his eyes and began to search Li Changzhi's soul and ask questions.

The questions asked were mostly the same, except that Li Zhengshan asked one last question: "Why does it have to be 'Chen's Pharmacy'?" This question was not directed at the spirits, but at Zhou Dahai and the other two.

When Onmyoji searches for a soul, other players cannot hear the questions asked by the player or the answers given by the corpse.

The three exchanged glances, and then Zhou Dahai said, "Brother Shan, is this a coincidence? Hua'an Street is a necessary route for delivering pills."

Li Zhengshan shook his head and denied it, saying, "Hua'an Street is indeed the only way, but there can't be only one pharmacy on that street, and it's a bit strange that the masked man specifically named it 'Chen's Pharmacy'."

"If I were a masked man, I would only tell Li Changzhi to sell the herbs on Hua'an Street, not specifically to Chen's Pharmacy."

Perhaps it was because the person behind the scenes had set up a formation at "Chen's Pharmacy" long ago? Bai Jueming voiced his guess.

"No need to guess. That masked man is just an ordinary person. We'll find the answer as soon as possible." Li Zhengshan said as he walked to the table and sat down. "Zhou Dahai, go tell the painter to draw a portrait of the masked man, then distribute it to everyone and start a city-wide manhunt. He's just an ordinary person; he can't escape."

Zhou Dahai and his two companions accepted the order and left.

Li Zhengshan then looked at Bai Jueming: "You've just joined the Yin Yang Palace, and you don't have any people under your command. You can't be of much help right now. You can go home first, or you can search with the three of them. Come to the Yin Yang Palace at 9:00 AM tomorrow to report for duty."

The hour of Si (巳时) is roughly 9 AM, which is when I start work. Having a permanent position makes all the difference. As long as there's no danger, this 9-to-5 job is pretty great. Plus, since I live in Beijing, I don't have to get up early every day to deal with traffic jams.

"Then I will go home first and tell my family the good news of joining the Yin-Yang Palace. From now on, I won't have to make a living in the black market anymore," Bai Jueming said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.

Li Zhengshan grunted in agreement, then waved his hand, indicating that Bai Jueming could leave.

He left the main hall and walked out, led by a minor official. As he walked, Bai Jueming observed the layout of the courtyard, which resembled the layout of government offices from the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, some parts were even more exquisite and beautiful.

White walls and black tiles, antique charm. Bai Jueming sighed inexplicably, the architecture under the feudal imperial system was simply more beautiful than the rectangular buildings built by modern people. The quality was beyond question, carefully selected by Jiuzu.

Upon reaching the door, the clerk bowed and took his leave. Bai Jueming thanked him and walked out the door.

The capital of the Great Xia Dynasty is the most prosperous city in the land. More than 110 years have passed since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Gaozu. The capital's population has more than tripled from its initial 400,000 to its current size. It rivals even the modern society in which Bai Jueming lives.

Long banners hung from roadside restaurants, swaying in the wind. The cries of street vendors rose and fell. A constant stream of luxurious carriages and horses, and throngs of pedestrians. It was not merely a display of prosperity, but also a testament to the capital's immense wealth.

The bustling city streets were dazzling and mesmerizing. Standing on the street, Bai Jueming suddenly felt a little dazed. The warmth and vibrancy of everyday life were the most comforting to the human heart. Since starting work, the prosperity of the city seemed to have become a distant memory.

If I don't get into a car accident or time travel, I'll still have to work non-stop the next day after getting drunk. Aside from being sick, it seems like I haven't had a proper rest in ages.

Bai Jueming arrived at a steaming roadside stall selling steamed buns, where a middle-aged man was busy serving customers.

Bai Jueming bought a few steamed buns and ate them at the stall, but unfortunately, the taste wasn't very good. After all, the seasonings were far inferior to those of his own time, and there was no technology; it was all made with real ingredients. How can you make money running a stall like this? Thumbs down!

After finishing the steamed buns, I packed a few to take home. I wonder if my sisters ate them. The original owner was quite considerate of her family; she would go out for three or four days, and if she earned any money, she would buy some good food for her family. And the original owner seemed quite afraid of her older sister? Maybe it's because she was both a mother and an older sister.

Bai Jueming had just turned a corner and arrived at Hua'an Street when he saw a familiar face from yesterday: Cheng Yanbing, the chief disciple of the Craftsmen's Hall.

Cheng Yanbing was sitting listlessly on the steps in front of Chen's Pharmacy, resting his chin on his hand.

Bai Jueming thought for a moment, realizing he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen it. This eldest disciple had given him a pill worth three hundred taels of silver just yesterday. And it was something that was priceless and unavailable elsewhere. He needed to maintain this relationship; if he did, he might be able to earn some extra money by reselling pills on the black market through this disciple.

Then, he walked closer. Bai Jueming, as if he had just seen Cheng Yanbing, said, "What a coincidence, isn't this Brother Cheng? What are you busy with here?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yanbing, who was sitting on the steps, looked up at Bai Jueming and said, "Master asked me to come again because he was worried that ordinary people in the formation would be harmed by the spiritual energy, so I brought my junior sister here to take a look."

After listening, Bai Jueming nodded secretly. So, even after the formation ended, it could still cause harm to ordinary people. That's a useful point; I'll remember it.

"Are you here to continue investigating the case?" Cheng Yanbing then asked.

"No, that's not it. Yesterday, Brother Cheng helped analyze the case, and I reported it to Hall Master Li, which was a great help to him. He obtained important clues. He felt I had worked hard, so he specially gave me a day off," Bai Jueming explained boastfully.

You already made all those boasts yesterday; you can't exactly say you were just recruited today and will report for duty tomorrow. That would damage your image.

"I see. Your Master Li... wait, that's not right. Didn't you say yesterday that he was Lord Hei's subordinate?" Cheng Yanbing asked疑惑地.

"No, Brother Cheng, you must have misheard," Bai Jueming explained without batting an eye.

"Is that so? I've probably been too busy with the pills these past few days, so I misheard?" Cheng Yanbing shook her head, not thinking much of it.

"By the way, Brother Cheng, you're out so early, you must not have had breakfast yet. These are some meat buns I just bought," Bai Jueming quickly changed the subject, casually gesturing with the buns in his hand. He hoped to shut him up.