Yin Yang Soul Searcher

After Bai Jueming's detailed and vivid account of the battle throughout the night, the Vice Hall Master felt as if he had been there in person. He could feel the endless tricks of the demon race, as well as the hardship and fearlessness of our soldiers' valiant resistance.

The hall masters listened with great interest. They had been following the Third Prince's army and were completely unaware of what had happened before. They now realized that the First Prince's army had already endured so much by the time they arrived, and it was truly remarkable that they had managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Bai Jueming glanced at everyone's expressions and nodded in satisfaction. He felt he had a talent for public speaking and could stir people's emotions.

"I never expected your demon race to be so well-prepared. You blocked so many of my Great Xia's experts and injured so many of my Great Xia's soldiers! And finally stole the corpse of my Great Xia's auspicious beast! You deserve to die!" The deputy hall master grabbed Jinxiu's head and pulled her up in front of him with a little force. Jinxiu was too scared to struggle.

"With numerous ferocious beasts, the three of you demon cultivators, an array master, and a third-rank expert assisting you, and even your attack on the Craftsmen's Hall yesterday, how could you have accomplished so much in the capital? What was your purpose in stealing the magical artifacts? Confess the truth!"

The deputy hall master's gaze, hidden behind his mask, was like a knife. His voice gradually rose, causing Jinxiu to tremble all over. Then, Jinxiu was thrown heavily onto the table by the deputy hall master.

It seemed the Vice Hall Master harbored deep hatred for demon cultivators. Was there some personal grudge? Bai Jueming glanced at the beast bones and hides on the Vice Hall Master's wall. They were gleaming from being rubbed.

Bai Jueming felt that if this fox wasn't still useful, the deputy hall master would probably have skinned her alive on the spot.

Jinxiu was thrown onto the table and cried out in pain. She dared not make a sound and could only crawl on the table on all fours, her eyes showing a human-like fear as she looked at the vice hall master.

"Speak!" The deputy hall master's voice boomed like thunder.

Unless absolutely necessary, the Deputy Temple Master is unwilling to use soul-searching or dream questioning. Dream questioning requires asking about every single detail, while killing someone for soul-searching only reveals events that occurred within the last seven days. It's better to let her tell the truth herself, and then use this method to verify its authenticity later.

As Jinxiu slowly recounted her story in a trembling voice, the sky outside the Yin-Yang Tower was already beginning to lighten.

A light drizzle began to fall on the streets, shrouding the entire capital in a misty rain.

Two months ago, the Imperial Advisor killed the auspicious beast. The Imperial Advisor of Beichen and the demon race simultaneously launched a sneak attack on the Imperial Advisor, which violated martial ethics, forcing the Imperial Advisor to return to the capital to recuperate ahead of schedule.

The National Preceptor of Beichen and the demon cultivator explained that this auspicious beast's innate ability was healing. If it were refined into a magical artifact, it should have the ability to heal a second-grade cultivator, or even a first-grade one!

This is why the Imperial Advisor had to personally deal with the second-grade auspicious beast, because his healing abilities were so strong that they were difficult to kill!

On one hand, they were worried that the Great Xia would obtain such a powerful magic weapon; on the other hand, the Great Demon King needed this auspicious beast to heal his wounds. Therefore, the demon clan's task force came to the capital, intending to steal the auspicious beast's corpse.

As for why they didn't act outside the capital, one reason was the hasty preparations; they hadn't had time to find out the Crown Prince's marching route. Another reason was that their army was impregnable; with three demons, acting rashly without absolute certainty could easily lead to a disastrous defeat.

Finally, the three demon squad decided to take action in the capital, where they had ample time to prepare. Although it was somewhat risky, it would also be easier to find out the First Prince's marching route in the capital.

After arriving in the capital, Yang Liu went to Treasure Beast Mountain to find the ferocious beasts there, refine them, and forcibly infuse them with large amounts of their blood and energy to create beast-shaped explosives. These were intended to counter military formations and also to fight ordinary soldiers. During this process, Yang Liu was accidentally discovered by a woman, after which she quietly led the group of ferocious beasts to a different location.

Jinxiu and Pengli, unsure of where to begin, went to the black market hoping to gather some useful information.

After all, some high-ranking officials and nobles like to have people from the black market do dirty work. If they could keep an eye on one or two court officials here, it would definitely be of great help to the demon race's operations! This is why the black market cannot be completely eradicated.

The demon race was lucky; they discovered a high-ranking official in the imperial court who had been secretly searching for skilled trackers in the black market.

Peng Li first secretly inquired about the man's identity and official position outside the black market, and felt that he was someone who could cooperate with him.

This man had a thin face and a goatee. He always traveled to the black market with many skilled guards. This man was Yu Haochu, the Vice Minister of Works of the Great Xia Dynasty!

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was greatly surprised, and the hall masters had different expressions. They began to whisper among themselves and curse in low voices.

It was him! Bai Jueming's eyes sharpened. He had seen this person on the way to the Yin-Yang Palace after the explosion at the South Gate, after the investigation. He remembered that it was the day the emperor held court.

No wonder this person is so concerned about the South Gate bombing case, asking all sorts of questions about it. He's definitely involved! He probably already knew that the demon race stole the gunpowder and came here to quietly gather information!

Do criminals like to go back to the scene afterward to check on their masterpiece?

The deputy hall master's expression darkened slightly beneath his mask. He was the Vice Minister of Works, a high-ranking official in the imperial court!

The saying goes, "He who eats the king's bread should share his burdens." Would someone of such high rank risk the extermination of his entire clan to cooperate with the demon race? What has the Great Xia Dynasty done to wrong him? Why would he act this way? Has he completely forgotten everything he's learned from the classics?!

This person had long-standing close ties with people in the black market, and Chu Jiangyuan was one of them, serving under this court official.

"Then someone born to Yu Haochu?" Bai Jueming couldn't help but shout out, after all, enemies are bound to be furious when they meet.

No wonder that time he, Cheng Yanbing, and Han Xueshan set up a trap to kill Chu Jiangyuan, but ended up being rescued by Peng Li because he talked too much. Yu Haochu was worried that searching Chu Jiangyuan's soul after his death would expose him. That old scoundrel, he really leaves no room for error!

The hall masters were taken aback. They were unaware of the feud between Bai Jueming and Chu Jiangyuan, so they naturally couldn't understand why Bai Jueming was so agitated.

Back then, Chu Jiangyuan sent someone to silence him, and he suspected it was Chu Jiangyuan who did it. He and Han Xueshan then devised a plan to have Cheng Yanbing cripple Chu Jiangyuan, but Peng Li rescued him. He regretted not killing him that time because he talked too much, and it remained a deep-seated resentment. Now, he has to be extremely careful when he goes out, fearing that one day Chu Jiangyuan will retaliate!

Upon hearing this news, Bai Jueming only wanted the deputy hall master to quickly lead people to ransack Yu Haochu's house, force him to reveal his whereabouts, and settle his score with him!

The deputy hall master waved his hand, signaling him to calm down and listen to Jinxiu continue.

Jinxiu was startled by Bai Jueming's reaction and slowly moved to the table, distancing herself from him. She didn't understand his agitation. Jinxiu knew that Peng Li had ultimately saved Chu Jiangyuan, but she didn't know that the person Chu Jiangyuan wanted to kill was the man before her.

Jinxiu continued.

When Peng Li first approached him, he explained his purpose. He used a combination of kindness and pressure to persuade Yu Haochu to agree to cooperate with the demon race.

When Yu Hao first arrived at the black market, he naturally had some dirty business to get done. He said he would use both kindness and force, but in reality, he agreed after a little thought.

To show his sincerity, Peng Li agreed to help him with some tasks first. After all, they needed time to make preparations in the capital.

Yu Haochu also showed his sincerity, telling Peng Li that the eldest prince only had three routes to take if he wanted to enter the capital, and the official road fifteen miles away from the Tuyun Mountains was the route with the highest probability.

As it turned out, he was right. The old fox who had been navigating the officialdom was indeed quite shrewd.

Yang Liu secretly moved the refined ferocious beasts to the Tu Yun Mountains, but due to the excessive miasma, the refined beasts could not survive.

So Yang Liu began refining the miasma again. Inevitably, some miasma leaked out, causing large numbers of people from the surrounding areas to flock to the capital to buy herbs for treatment. The ferocious beast then lurked in the Tu Yun Mountains.

Yu Haochu had two objectives. First, he had always coveted the position of Minister of Works, Yang Yongyuan, and had sent someone to inquire about Yang Yongyuan from the prostitute Lianzhu.

Therefore, killing Yang Yongyuan and making him the Minister of Works was the first thing we did for him.

That lecherous old man, Yang Yongyuan, would frequently send Lianzhu, the most beautiful courtesan of Qingyue Tower, to serve him. Yu Haochu had inquired about Yang Yongyuan through Lianzhu, and fearing she might leak the information, Yang Liu and I devised a plan that would satisfy both of us. We would use the miasma collected from the Tuyun Mountains to find Lianzhu, inject the miasma into her body, and through the union of her yin and yang with Yang Yongyuan, we would kill him.

If she dared to resist or have any disloyalty, the miasma would instantly kill her. We lied to her, saying that as long as the task was accomplished, we would protect her life; she had no choice.

Moreover, by killing people with miasma, Lianzhu will have enough time to leave the Yang residence. Then we can take him away and execute him, and you Yin-Yang Masters will not notice anything amiss.

Unfortunately, this was only half successful. Before we could even deal with Lianzhu after we finished, your Yin-Yang Palace people were too clever; they had already found the culprit, Lianzhu, through the slightest clues. Yang Liu and I were thus exposed to your Yin-Yang Palace's eyes.

Bai Jueming unconsciously straightened his back. "The clever one is me. I deserve the greatest credit for this case!"

No wonder the Tuyun Mountains have been fine for so many years, and then suddenly so many people started buying herbs.

He realized he'd been misled by Fatty Zhou, who said that people occasionally flocked to the capital to buy herbs, nothing to be alarmed about. That wasn't true at all; it was actually from that time onward that ferocious beasts had already infiltrated the Tuyun Mountains.

Taking the opportunity, Bai Jueming raised a question: "Yu Haochu was the biggest beneficiary after Yang Yongyuan's death. Wasn't he afraid that the court officials would suspect him of killing Yang Yongyuan?"

After thinking for a moment, Jinxiu said, "Yu Haochu once said that if we consider seniority and the efforts of his cronies in the court, if Yang Yongyuan leaves safely, he will be the only one who can hold the position of Minister of Works."

"But no one expected that he wouldn't wait for that old codger Yang Yongyuan to retire safely. So he handed this task over to our demon race. Eliminating Yang Yongyuan and taking the position of Minister of Works as soon as possible might arouse a little suspicion, but the benefits clearly outweigh the risks."

"Almost no one doubted that he could have smoothly transitioned to the position of Minister of Works, but instead chose to kill Yang Yongyuan. In the end, he succeeded, and no one doubted him. Even the emperor of your Great Xia personally promoted him to Minister of Works."

"That old bastard, he looks so kind and gentle, I never expected him to be so vicious!" Bai Jueming cursed.

"Damn it, turning his colleagues against each other, or colluding with the demon race to commit this rebellious act, I think he doesn't care about the lives of his entire clan!" The deputy hall master snorted coldly, suppressing the urge to immediately confiscate Yu Haochu's property and silence him!

Jinxiu continued to tell her story in detail.

The second thing was that he had been secretly embezzling the mineral resources of the Great Xia Dynasty by abusing his position. Unfortunately, this was discovered. The person who discovered the evidence of his secret sale of mineral resources threatened him, demanding that he use his position as Vice Minister of Works to do his bidding for the mysterious person.

So it turns out that this old geezer was secretly embezzling the mineral resources. It seems that Chu Jiangyuan was just hiring people from the black market to steal mineral resources for his own benefit. No wonder!

Bai Jueming thought this to himself. A small-time broker in the black market makes a living by killing and robbing. Where would he get the connections to seize mineral deposits? If he had the ability to steal them, he would also have the ability to sell them. If he had such a way to make money, he wouldn't need to make a living in the black market.

This is why Yu Haochu sought out skilled trackers in the black market.

Peng Li entrusted this matter to Yang Liu and me. When the person who threatened him sent someone to his residence for a talk, Yang Liu and I secretly followed him, hoping to catch the person behind him.

But unexpectedly, during my chase with Yang Liu, that person discovered us. Moreover, he was a Four Seasons Master from Western Shu, with a fourth-grade cultivation level.

Yang Liu and I are only at the fourth rank of cultivation, while he is far stronger. We couldn't defeat him quickly enough, and a battle eventually broke out on the streets of the capital. This attracted the night watchmen of your Yin Yang Palace.

Just as he was about to be critically injured, a man in black appeared and saved him. We don't know the identity of the man in black, but we heard the Four Seasons Master say that the man in black was his mastermind.

We were clearly no match for the man in black, and with the people from your Yin Yang Palace arriving soon, I impulsively launched a sneak attack on him, but obviously, I couldn't harm him.

"And so, Yang Liu and I escaped. That Four Seasons Master should have been rescued by the man in black, right?" Jinxiu said uncertainly. Because she and Yang Liu had run so fast, she didn't know if the Yin-Yang Palace had caught the Four Seasons Master and the man in black.

Bai Jueming stroked his chin and asked, "So, you and Master Siji should be enemies? Then why did he still attack the First Prince and help you escape?"

"That's what I find strange too. I don't know why he helped me. We only clashed with that Four Seasons Master once, and we haven't had a chance to meet him since." Jinxiu's face showed a human-like puzzlement.