Yin Yang Soul Searcher

A light drizzle fell in the courtyard, and the entire backyard of the Yu residence was quiet, as if it were still asleep.

Bai Jueming's expression was solemn. He opened each door in the backyard, quickly scanned the rooms, and then left, as if searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" Han Xueshan asked, following behind her, somewhat puzzled.

"I'm looking for One Ear."

"One ear?"

"That's where we two went to the black market to ambush someone. Chu Jiangyuan hired someone to steal mineral resources to serve Yu Haochu." Bai Jueming explained as he opened the doors one by one. He searched all the rooms, but there was no trace of Chu Jiangyuan.

After hearing Bai Jueming's explanation, Han Xueshan twitched the corner of her mouth. Bai Jueming had once told her that after she fainted, he cut off one of Chu Jiangyuan's ears. The name was quite fitting...

"That shouldn't be the case," Bai Jueming rubbed his chin, standing under the eaves thinking. Back then, he and Cheng Yanbing had ambushed Chu Jiangyuan, crippling him, before Peng Li rescued him.

Yu Haochu asked Peng Li to rescue him because he was worried that his identity would be exposed by the Yin Yang Palace's soul search. If he were Yu Haochu, he would have two choices after taking Chu Jiangyuan away.

Either leave Chu Jiangyuan behind and let him recover from his injuries so he can continue doing dirty work for you.

Either kill Chu Jiangyuan with your own hands, dispose of the body, and cut off all leads, then you'll be safe.

But now that the entire Yu family has been wiped out, Chu Yuanjiang's body has not been found. Could it be that Chu Yuanjiang was not recuperating at the Yu family?

Bai Jueming privately asked Cheng Yanbing, who said that if Chu Jiangyuan didn't have the pills from the Craftsmen's Hall, it would take at least ten days for him to recover from his injuries and be able to move normally again.

As of today, it has been less than ten days since the assassination attempt on Chu Jiangyuan.

Could it be that Yu Haochu had already silenced Chu Jiangyuan and disposed of the body? If so, that would be troublesome. Bai Jueming felt uneasy about not being able to find the body.

As for the claim that Chu Jiangyuan was recuperating outside and not at the Yu residence? Bai Jueming felt that Yu Haochu wouldn't make that decision.

This isn't very safe for Yu Haochu. Chu Jiangyuan is a gangster who doesn't care about martial ethics at all, so don't expect him to keep secrets.

If the injured Chu Jiangyuan were caught, wouldn't all my efforts to save him have been for nothing? That would only expose me even faster! So, if Chu Jiangyuan wanted to be treated, it would be best to do it right under my nose!

Bai Jueming shared his thoughts, then asked, "Xiaoxue, what do you think Yu Haochu will do?"

Han Xueshan rolled her eyes, not minding that he called her Xiaoxue, and seriously considered: "Could Yu Haochu have hidden Chu Jiangyuan in some secret room or passageway? Let him recuperate in there quietly?"

Bai Jueming thought about it and felt that Xiaoxue's words made sense: "You reminded me that the residences of high-ranking officials must have some secret passages and hidden rooms, which are perfect for hiding filth and evil. We do need to search more carefully."

He couldn't eat or sleep without finding a clue about Chu Jiangyuan, after all, he was the first person in this world who wanted to kill him.

I can't sleep until he's dead!

Afterwards, Bai Jueming and Han Xueshan searched through all the dozens of rooms in the Yu residence. They also summoned several martial artists from outside the door to carefully tap on the walls and floor tiles, searching inch by inch.

Upon hearing the unusual sounds from the walls and floor tiles, the martial artist immediately smashed them apart with a single blow, a violent demolition that saved time and effort.

Persistence pays off, and the two finally found a secret room in the vast Yu mansion, in Yu Haochu's study.

The loud noise of the martial artist breaking through the wall attracted several hall masters who were searching for clues, and they all gathered in Yu Haochu's study.

Behind the bookshelf was a secret passage leading straight underground. The entire passage was made of bluestone slabs, and tiny firelight flickered on the walls on both sides, making the passage eerily cold and sending chills down one's spine.

The hall masters were not surprised by this scene, thinking to themselves that it was a basic practice for high-ranking officials in the imperial court.

Several martial artists went down first to clear the way, followed by Bai Jueming and several hall masters. They arrived at the underground without any incident, where they were greeted by two stone doors on the left and right.

A martial artist pushed open the first stone door on the left. The room was dimly lit. Han Xueshan turned on the tinderbox, and what came into everyone's view was a room full of gold and silver treasures, as well as boxes of various sizes containing all kinds of rare jade, agate and emerald. Given Yu Haochu's status, these things were obviously obtained through embezzlement and bribery.

These items are roughly estimated to be worth over 100,000 taels of silver.

Bai Jueming's eyes widened. If it weren't for the fact that there were so many people around, he would definitely have taken a closer look at those treasures. Any one of them was a fortune that an ordinary person couldn't earn in ten lifetimes!

"That corrupt official! How much of the people's hard-earned money has he embezzled!" Han Xueshan's spirited face was filled with rage. As a Taoist disciple, her sense of justice was overflowing.

Bai Jueming was unsurprised by this. He'd seen plenty of embezzlement in his past life; news reports every day showed how many kilograms of gold or property deeds a corrupt official owned. It was all standard practice. Having seen so much, he hadn't become cynical.

The group searched the room again, but found no valuable clues other than the embezzled treasure. They then left the room.

One of the hall masters took out a seal and affixed it to the stone door: "These things are none of our business. We can wait for the imperial court to send someone to take inventory."

Bai Jueming agreed righteously, but his heart was bleeding. He pleaded, "I'd be happy to take less; it won't affect the overall situation..."

The group then arrived at another stone door, but strangely, it could not be opened. There was a button next to the door, which Bai Jueming pressed. With a clatter, the group heard the sound of chains sliding.

Then the stone door opened a crack, and a nauseating stench wafted out—the smell of rotting corpses.

Bai Jueming felt a surge of stomach acid, but he forced himself not to vomit. Everyone else also frowned, struggling to suppress their nausea.

After the stone door opened, what came into view were corpses, piled up almost into a small mountain. Some bodies were rotting and oozing pus, with insects crawling on them. Others had already turned into piles of bones. Clearly, they had been dead for a long time.

Closest to the gate, three corpses lay on the ground, their decay just beginning. Bai Jueming's eyes narrowed; the middle corpse's face was wrinkled, making it difficult to identify.

But even when this person turned into gray-white Jue Ming, he recognized him. It really was you, One-Eared!

It turns out that Yu Haochu hid the body of the murderer here.

The other two corpses, judging from their clothing, were likely servants of the mansion. Judging from their state of decomposition, they were probably thrown here at the same time as One-Ear.

Han Xueshan stood to the side, covering her mouth and nose, forcing back her nausea, and said, "That corrupt official deserves to die! He secretly caused the deaths of so many people; he deserves to be torn to pieces!"

"Judging from the looks of it, he shouldn't have been dead for more than seven days!" Bai Jueming's eyes lit up. "It should still be possible to perform a soul search now!"

A hall master stepped forward and asked, "Whose body is this?"

"This man is Chu Jiangyuan, the 'black glove' who helped Yu Haochu embezzle the mineral resources!"

The hall masters were taken aback. Jinxiu had just mentioned that Yu Haochu was secretly embezzling the mineral deposits, but they hadn't expected Bai Jueming to know so much, even able to identify the people who were working for him.

No wonder the deputy hall master sent Bai Jueming to investigate the clues; it turns out he knows so much about the matter.

So he was Chu Jiangyuan! One of the gang leaders who participated in the arrest said, "Back then, we and Li Zhengshan caught that group of thieves who stole the mine, but unfortunately, we didn't catch a single useful fish."

"Only a few people know sporadic information about Chu Jiangyuan, which is of no use in capturing him."

"Even our undercover agents in the black market don't know where he is. They say he left the black market before the incident. How did you know he was hiding here?"

"Hmm... how should I put it?" Bai Jueming hesitated for a moment, "I used to work in the black market, as you all probably know..."

The hall masters nodded. They naturally knew about this matter. After all, becoming an Onmyoji was not easy. After the mining case, the news that Li Zhengshan had gained a subordinate spread quickly.

Upon hearing Bai Jueming's words, the hall master who had been questioning him seemed to realize something, and his face showed great surprise: "You were involved in stealing the mine? You used to work for him?"

This gang leader was not involved in the arrests related to the mining case and was unaware of any specific details.

Bai Jueming scratched his head sheepishly: "I'm just trying to make a living...please understand."

Bai Jueming briefly explained his love-hate relationship with Chu Jiangyuan... He initially sought revenge on Chu Jiangyuan, but was eventually rescued by the demon race.

Connecting this with Jinxiu's account, it's natural to deduce that Chu Jiangyuan was hidden in Yu Haochu's residence...

The hall masters were shocked after hearing this and had to admire Bai Jueming's ruthlessness, courage, and cunning!

A mere eighth-rank official dared to seek revenge against Chu Jiangyuan... and almost succeeded, even managing to find the deceased Chu Jiangyuan. This deductive ability is truly terrifying!

With such strong reasoning ability, it's no wonder that he was able to completely break away from the black market and clean up his act, and also gained the favor of the deputy hall master. Where can you go to reason with that?

While the hall masters were still marveling at Bai Jueming's methods, Bai Jueming had already instructed several martial artists to start carrying the corpse.

The martial artists looked grim, as if they had swallowed dead flies. The corpse was covered in blood and oozing pus; they were reluctant to lift it...

However, they still reluctantly lifted themselves out and returned to the study.

The hall masters examined the bodies and confirmed that the three corpses had been dead for no more than seven days, and that their souls were still intact! They could perform a soul search!

One of the hall masters suggested, "Let's hurry up and search his soul. Chu Jiangyuan has been dead for some time, and we can't be sure how long it will take for his soul to dissipate. Let's get started as soon as possible."

Another hall master nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. If we can get all the information Chu Jiangyuan knows, then we won't have to bother taking the body back to the Yin-Yang Hall."

"Moyu, what are your thoughts?"

The fact that the head of the hall took the initiative to ask Bai Jueming for his opinion shows how much he values ​​him.

Bai Jueming shook his head, indicating that he had no objection. His only regret was that his level was too low to personally perform a soul search on his enemy.

"Then I'll have to trouble you hall masters to make sure you get to the bottom of everything."

"We're all serving the imperial court, why be so polite?"

A hall master stepped forward, a wisp of black soul power appearing in his right hand, which he then channeled into the space between Chu Jiangyuan's eyebrows.

Two hall masters are in charge of searching the bodies of the remaining two servants to see if there is any connection between them.

The three hall masters closed their eyes and began searching the soul, while Bai Jueming squatted to the side, lost in thought.

The mastermind came to the Yu residence to silence him, destroyed Yu Haochu's soul, and burned all the clues on the paper. This was because they were afraid that the Yin-Yang Palace would come to search his soul and find clues about him. This is easy to deduce.

The most crucial point here is that the mastermind's involvement with Yu Haochu is due to the mineral deposits, but why didn't the mastermind expose Chu Jiangyuan, the key figure?

Chu Jiangyuan was in charge of Yu Haochu's mining operation, a fact the mastermind definitely knew. Even if the mastermind didn't know, he could still kill Yu Haochu and search his soul. He would also know where Chu Jiangyuan disposed of the body.

If I were to do this myself, I would definitely search their souls and ask questions to ensure that nothing goes wrong, and then destroy their souls without leaving any clues!

But why didn't the mastermind find Yu Haochu's body and destroy his soul?

Could it be that the mastermind acted in such a hurry that they didn't have time to find the secret room and destroy Chu Jiangyuan's soul?

Or is there another possibility: the mastermind deliberately left this clue to guide the Yin-Yang Palace's investigation? What benefit would that bring him? He wouldn't need to destroy all the paper clues. He could leave two, making it look like they weren't completely burned.

Seeing Bai Jueming's dazed expression, Han Xueshan couldn't help but ask, "You've found another clue?"

Bai Jueming snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and said nothing more.

Seeing his serious expression, Han Xueshan didn't ask any further questions.