Leading the Daoists was none other than Daoist Fayuan, who had previously been injured by Li Changqing. Sneering at Li Changqing, he said, "Master Li, demonic taint is no minor matter. Even if not for your own sake, our Heavenly Master Sect must proceed with caution for the sake of Qingyang County's common folk, and perform a ritual to exorcise your demons."
Li Changqing fell pensive for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter as his Demon-Slaying Saber slid slowly from its sheath. "This official is carrying out imperial orders. Aside from my superiors in the Demon Suppression Bureau and the Emperor himself, none shall dare obstruct my investigation. If you wish to take me, try your hand at it yourselves."
Even as he spoke, he drew two medicinal pills from his robes and swallowed them down. His frame swelled visibly, his bulging muscles corded with thick veins that radiated waves of blistering heat. His eyes turned entirely white, leaving no trace of pupils.
A tangible, oppressive pressure bore down upon everyone present. Both Chu Qiguang and Fayuan felt a chill run through them, an ominous threat akin to a cold blade pressed against their throats.
"Impudent!"
A low bark rang out from beyond the gate just then. Abbot Chenzhu stepped into the courtyard, his right hand held open as a Heavenly Master talisman floated above his palm, radiating pulses of golden light.
Surrounding Abbot Chenzhu, three warriors clad in golden armor and brandishing golden spears soared into the air. Standing twenty feet tall, their forms faintly hazy and indistinct, they encircled Li Changqing and his men.
Li Changqing's face darkened. "Dharma-protecting divine generals? You are the abbot of Qingyang Temple?"
Chu Qiguang's gaze was fixed on the talisman in the abbot's hand, closely observing the power behind this wondrous object.
According to Qiao Zhi, talismans were artifacts that only powerful figures who had entered the Dao could create—genuine supernatural power.
While Li Changqing's fifth realm was formidable, it still belonged to the human realm.
In Chu Qiguang's own understanding, a fifth-realm martial artist was still flesh and blood, a carbon-based life-form, whereas the power wielded by those who had entered the Dao had transcended such limits.
The talisman Abbot Chenzhu had unleashed belonged to Qingyang County, capable of summoning three Dharma-protecting divine generals to fight. Each possessed strength comparable to a fifth-realm martial artist, knew neither fear of death nor pain, could fight suspended several feet above the ground, and could be restored good as new after a period of ritual offerings even if slain.
Abbot Chenzhu looked at Li Changqing and said, "Li Changqing! In broad daylight, you dare brandish your blade to commit violence? You truly have fallen under the sway of demonic taint. Accompany me back to the temple, and I shall personally resolve it for you."
In the next instant, the three Dharma-protecting divine generals engaged Li Changqing. Golden radiance crisscrossed the air, clashing repeatedly against the blade light in Li Changqing's hands. In a flash, thunder and wind seemed to intertwine, unleashing an unbroken barrage of earthshaking booms.
With a crash, Li Changqing smashed through the courtyard wall in an attempt to break out, only to find the three divine generals pursuing him through the air. They caught up in a flash of lightning, their three golden spears trailing thunderbolts and plunging Li Changqing into desperate peril.
Finally, accompanied by a deafening crash, Li Changqing was batted out of the air like a fly, struck squarely across the spine by a divine general's spear, and slammed into the ground.
With a roar of fury, he tried to scramble to his feet, but the other two divine generals struck his shoulder and hips with their golden spears, pinning him down firmly.
Li Changqing bellowed again and again, his muscles heaving and swelling like an enraged demonic beast, yet he could not break free from the suppression of the three Dharma-protecting divine generals and was pinned fast to the earth.
Daoist Fayuan strode forward with a hearty laugh. "Master Li, shall we be on our way?"
Li Changqing glared venomously at Fayuan, then glanced toward Chu Qiguang in the distance. "How many days can you hold me? Just wait until I get out—then we'll see who has the last laugh."
Watching the group depart, Chu Qiguang thought to himself, 'These talismans truly are marvelous. The power of a Daoist temple runs remarkably deep; no wonder they can stand toe-to-toe with imperial authority. I should find a chance to ask Abbot Chenzhu if I can buy some talismans or higher-grade pills...'
***
Stripped of his Demon-Slaying Saber and pills, Li Changqing was locked straight into a dark cell at the temple.
The cell was originally meant to detain demons and monsters; even without his weapons and pills taken, Li Changqing would have been hard-pressed to break out.
He simply sat cross-legged, content to wait out the time.
Yet over the course of an entire day, the temple offered him only a bowl of plain water and a single steamed bun, infuriating him to the point of cursing them out.
For a powerful martial artist, the stronger the body, the greater the toll on muscles and internal organs, and the more food was required.
As a fifth-realm martial artist, Li Changqing naturally consumed far more energy than ordinary men. Over the next seven days, he was practically starved half to death. His physical strength deteriorated, and even his martial arts regressed as a result.
***
When Chu Qiguang arrived at the Wu residence, Wu Wei and Hao Wen hurried out to meet him, utterly astonished by the news that Li Changqing had been taken away by the temple.
Hao Wen exclaimed in amazement, "Nephew Chu, I have truly witnessed your ability to summon the clouds and turn the rain!"
Wu Wei stared at Chu Qiguang in shock, having never imagined that Chu could genuinely knock the Demon Suppression Bureau's Li Changqing out of the game, even if only temporarily.
Chu Qiguang's standing in their minds had shifted once more, commanding far more respect and conviction than before.
Wu Wei hurriedly asked, "Now that Li Changqing has been taken away, what should we do next?"
Hao Wen also stared intently at Chu Qiguang, eagerly anticipating what other astonishing moves he had in store.
"First, write a letter to Grand Secretary Wu and inform him of our situation here," Chu Qiguang said. "Second, I must ask the two of you to dispatch more men to me. There are matters I need to investigate."
Though somewhat disappointed that Chu Qiguang had not unveiled some dazzling plan to turn the tables, they still assigned men to him out of trust.
Wu Wei sent a steward named Wu Lu, while Hao Yongtai volunteered to help from the Hao family's side.
When Wu Lu first arrived, he was rather disgruntled about taking orders from a petty second-realm martial artist like Chu Qiguang. While he dared not openly defy him, he was inclined to feign compliance while secretly dragging his feet.
Chu Qiguang had dealt with far too many slackers of this sort, and with Wu Wei firmly in his corner, he simply had a cat monster frame the man, found an excuse to break one of his legs, and had him replaced. The next steward sent by the Wu family proved far more earnest, following Chu Qiguang's instructions to the letter.
With their cooperation and the assistance of the cat and dog monsters under his command, Chu Qiguang began his investigation directly from the silver shops, swiftly uncovering numerous irregularities tied to the Ding family.
Having lived two lives, Chu Qiguang's knowledge and methods far outstripped most people of this era. The variety of financial tricks he had seen in modern times was vastly more extensive and intricate than anything this ancient society had to offer.
Through the silver shops, he discovered that after a series of maneuvers, the Ding family purchased vast quantities of calligraphy, paintings, and antiques each year to send to the capital. The value of these annual gifts ranged between thirty thousand and fifty thousand taels of silver—plainly a conduit for illicit interests.
And if the Ding family was willing to send out thirty to fifty thousand taels in gifts, they were likely raking in eighty to a hundred thousand taels or more each year.
"Keep digging. Where did the Ding family get so much silver? Something is definitely amiss."
***
On the Wu family training grounds, Chu Qiguang was practicing alongside two youths in their teens, their laughter and chatter painting a picture of warm harmony.
Over this period, Chu Qiguang had investigated the Ding family alongside Hao Yongtai while seizing the chance to draw closer to Wu Wei and integrate himself into the Wu family circle.
He now visited the Wu residence several times a day. On the one hand, it made dispatching men more convenient; on the other, he felt safer within the Wu family grounds.
Standing far off in the shade of a tree, Hao Xiangtong watched Chu Qiguang chatting so merrily with the girl. Her fists clenched involuntarily, the tree's shadow draping over her until she seemed wholly cloaked in darkness.
'What does this Chu Qiguang mean by being so cozy with Wu Qingchen?!'
Chapter 87