Cats were swift by nature, and leaping across eaves and scampering over roof tiles made this one all the faster. Navigating street and alley on foot, how could Zhu Ping and Zhu Gui possibly keep up?
At first, the black pigeon circled through the air, unable to shake off the cat, yet running the two Zhus ragged and out of breath.
By the time it veered around the city wall and turned toward the heart of the city, the two men had fallen far behind.
The fat cat, thoroughly excited, gave relentless pursuit, chasing it all the way into a dilapidated manor inside the city.
This place had once belonged to a prominent family. Its master, Wan Song, had been a philanthropist known far and wide.
Unexpectedly, due to a lapse in vigilance, he had taken in and assisted the One-Horned Ascetic, a notorious brigand roaming Yunzhou Prefecture. The villainous monk repaid kindness with treachery, slaughtering Wan Song's entire household before sweeping up all their wealth and fleeing.
From then on, heavy resentment lingered over the manor, and weeping could often be heard coming from within at night.
As a result, few people ever dared venture here.
As the saying goes, fear is born of the unknown.
Zeng Mu knew what vengeful spirits were, and having cultivated eagle eyes, the spirits grew fearful instead when met with the predatory gleam in his pupils.
"Right on time!"
The black pigeon flew into Wan Manor. Looking back mid-flight and seeing the fat cat chasing after it, Zeng Mu, perched on a distant loft, felt a surge of malice.
He crouched low in hiding, guiding the pigeon closer.
The cat indeed followed. As it neared the loft, it clamped its jaws shut on the black pigeon. Suddenly, a black net descended. A flash of yellow light collided against the net and scrambled frantically to break out. With a sinister laugh, Zeng Mu darted out, cinched the net tight, and dragged it close.
The harder the cat struggled, the tighter this Demon-Binding Net constricted.
"Little beast, now that you've landed in my net, you think you can get away?!"
Zeng Mu chuckled darkly. His tall, thin frame blocked the sunlight, casting the fat cat into shadow. But when he pulled the net back to inspect his prize, his grin vanished, replaced by sudden fury.
"Vicious cat! How dare you kill my spiritual pigeon!"
He snarled under his breath, cradling the black pigeon in his hands and lifting its limp neck. There was no breath left in it.
Though such a spiritual beast was not suited for magical combat, it moved without sound or trace. Combined with the Eagle Eye Technique to scout across vast distances, it was top-notch whether for foraging mountain herbs or probing perilous grounds. Cultivating one took at least ten years of arduous effort.
Elder Pan of the Enforcement Hall had obtained this pigeon from the Upper Court and passed it to Zhou Cang, who in turn promised to gift it to Zeng Mu once the business was done. Who would have thought it would be ruined by this cat!
Without the pigeon, he would have to stake out targets in person from now on.
Despicable as Qin Xuan was, he was an undeniable core disciple. If Qin Xuan caught onto him, wouldn't he be in grave danger?
At the thought of having to risk his own neck, Zeng Mu glared at the fat cat, rage boiling within him.
Carrying the Demon-Binding Net, he walked over to the well.
Beside the well stood a massive banyan tree, where several vengeful spirits drifted, weeping and wailing as if trying to recount some grievance.
Zeng Mu could not understand them. He waved them off impatiently. "Shoo, shoo! Get lost, all of you! Stop buzzing in my ears."
He drew water from the well, plucked the pigeon's feathers, gutted it, and washed the meat twice.
The pigeon meat was plump and tender, making the cat in the net drool with longing.
Zeng Mu honed his blade on the wellstone. Seeing the cat coveting the meat, he sneered, "Now it's your turn. Soon I'll brew a pot of fowl-and-beast stew. Once I've had my fill, I'll go settle scores with that bastard Qin Xuan."
Turning back to the spirits, he added, "You lot can catch a whiff of the broth and be content. Make any more noise, and I won't hesitate to use my talismans to blow your souls to smithereens."
The gleaming blade flashed before the fat cat's eyes.
Only now did the large cat realize the danger it was in.
It glanced back frantically, hoping someone from Lianyun Manor would catch up.
"You little beast, you really do have some wit about you. Even better—you'll make for a far richer tonic. By the time the people behind you get here, you'll already be sitting in my belly."
Zeng Mu brought the blade close to the fat cat's bells, sounding like a seasoned gourmet. "Slice this part off, roast it over flint fire until medium-well, and sear it with a dash of hot oil. It'll make a splendid bite to go with wine."
"Meow-uuu!"
The cat let out a despairing shriek.
Zeng Mu raised the knife and brought it down without hesitation. Just then, an emerald ray flashed by. While he remained frozen in his downward swing, he held only the hilt; the upper half of the blade had severed clean off and dropped with a clatter right onto the cat's belly.
The steel was icy cold. Startled, the cat tilted its head, tongue lolling out against the net in a dead pose, convinced it had already lost its manhood.
Shuddering from head to toe, Zeng Mu stumbled back several paces in terror, his eyes darting after the vanishing emerald ray.
A figure clad in green stood perched on the eaves of the loft, back turned toward him.
When the green-robed figure turned around, who else could it be but Qin Xuan?
He had arrived long ago, but had needed to wait until Zeng Mu actually made a move. Looking at the cat nearly faint from terror, he chuckled inwardly.
"Q-Qin... Senior Brother Qin!"
Zeng Mu could hardly believe his eyes. He knew Qin Xuan's background well and had never heard of him learning any profound sword art.
Yet... yet...!
He glanced down at the smooth break of the severed blade in his hand. Forged from darksteel stone and folded a hundred times, it had been cleaved into a mirror-smooth surface in an instant. The sharpness of that sword ray just now was truly terrifying.
Especially coming from Qin Xuan's hand.
How could this be possible?!
Seeing Qin Xuan alight lightly from the loft, Zeng Mu felt as if facing a mortal enemy. An object slipped into his palm as he schemed how to feign weakness, waiting for a chance to strike a heavy blow before the other man could unleash his sword art.
"Junior Brother Zeng, if you wish to leave this place alive, put away that Fire Thunder Talisman in your hand."
Qin Xuan offered patient instruction. "Did you fall asleep when the Transmission Elder lectured on the Talisman Scripture? Before hiding a Fire Thunder Talisman, do you not know to conceal its aura first? Bringing such clumsy tricks to a battle—isn't it laughable?"
Zeng Mu seethed with indignance. How could he not know that? He simply lacked the fine control over his spiritual power to do so.
"Senior Brother's lesson is well taken."
Right before Qin Xuan's eyes, Zeng Mu had no choice but to tuck the Fire Thunder Talisman back into his hundred-treasure pouch.
Qin Xuan looked toward the plucked and cleaned pigeon, asking at a leisurely pace, "Explain yourself. Why did you use Eagle Eye to spy on me from afar? Don't bother making excuses. Among the temple's Twelve-Storied Tower arts, I've learned far more than you have."
Seeing the sharp gleam of the Eagle Eye Technique flicker in Qin Xuan's eyes, Zeng Mu knew that even if Qin Xuan had not specialized in it as he had, he was certainly versed in it.
With no way out, he could only confess, "Senior Brothers Shen Yunfei and Zhou Cang ordered me to spy on you. The spiritual pigeon was obtained by Elder Pan from the Upper Court."
"Tell me something I don't know."
Qin Xuan stared at him, and seeing Zeng Mu hesitate, he pointed toward the pigeon. "If you can't come up with something useful, your fate will be no different from its."
"S-Senior Brother, spare me!"
Zeng Mu's face drained of color, and he hurriedly begged for mercy.
"I heard Senior Brother Shen mention that the Upper Court at Guanjiang Mountain is locked in fierce conflict with two demon sect powers, the Renmao Sect and the Huanyin Sect. Troubles arose from this, causing a rift between Elder Li Yanshen and Elder Lai of the Luogu Peak lineage. Because Elder Li recommended you and Senior Brother Zhao, Elder Lai reached his hands into the Lower Court to humiliate Elder Li and block you both from entering the Upper Court. Senior Brothers Shen and Zhou are working for Elder Lai!"
In his bid to survive, Zeng Mu blurted out everything, including how Elder Pan Ang had brought Elder Luo to his courtyard.
"Senior Brother Qin, Elder Pan and Elder Ji also follow the orders of the Luogu Peak faction. Elder Pan in particular—not only does he possess high cultivation, he is also the second-in-command of the Enforcement Hall. Now that you've returned to the temple, I fear you won't escape his harassment."
Hearing this, Qin Xuan felt a hint of surprise.
"To tell you this much, it seems you have their deep trust. You must have helped them frame and sabotage me on plenty of occasions."
With a guilty conscience, Zeng Mu panicked at those words.
He kept his head down, a vicious glint surfacing in his eyes as he debated whether to stake everything on a desperate gamble.
Then he heard Qin Xuan continue:
"There is no need for you to return to the temple. Go straight to Fengling Temple in Chuanlai Commandery. Senior Brother Qian Fan and I are good friends; you can settle down with him and never have to deal with Shen Yunfei again. Consider this a way out."
Zeng Mu was reluctant, suspecting things could not possibly come so easily.
Yet a wave of killing intent surged toward him, forcing him to swallow back his objections. "Understood."
"Good, at least you have some sense."
"What happens here no longer concerns you. Write a letter to Elder Pan right now, saying his spiritual pigeon was eaten by Lianyun Manor's cat, and that being too ashamed to return, you had no choice but to leave for good."
Zeng Mu thought it over; that seemed plausible enough.
If Qin Xuan had asked him to frame someone, he would have worried about being silenced once his usefulness ran out.
From the looks of it now, Qin Xuan was being quite generous, genuinely leaving him an exit route.
Relaxing his guard, Zeng Mu took brush and paper from his hundred-treasure pouch and wrote the letter. After showing it to Qin Xuan, he produced a wooden crane and slipped the letter into the bamboo tube strapped to its leg.
Such wooden cranes were refined with the spirit essence of birds and could transmit messages.
The moment the wooden crane took to the air, Qin Xuan flicked his sleeve and brought out the Cold Wolf Banner.
Breathing through his Taiyin Aperture, Qin Xuan converted a surge of freezing, yin magic power—even more potent than Qian Fan's Three-Nine Cold Light Art—more than enough to activate the banner.
"Junior Brother Zeng, Senior Brother Qian is waiting for you."
Caught entirely unprepared, Zeng Mu barely had time to show horror on his face before a biting gale swept him up, sucking him into the banner and extinguishing his life in an instant, without a single sound escaping his lips.
Qin Xuan opened the Demon-Binding Net and lifted the fat cat by the scruff of its neck.
"Cat, who was it that saved you?"
The fat cat had not refined its vocal bone nor eaten Transformation Grass, so it could not speak. But it was clever enough to understand Qin Xuan's meaning.
It extended a thick-padded paw and pointed toward Qin Xuan.
"At least you have a conscience. Hurry back to the manor."
As he let go, he tossed the spiritual pigeon to the cat as well. Clamping the pigeon in its mouth, the cat swiftly scrambled onto the roof, glanced back at Qin Xuan, and—whether out of obedience or sheer fright—truly bolted off toward Lianyun Manor.
Once the cat left, Zhu Gui, Zhu Ping, and their men would not come here.
Although Qin Xuan had made use of Lianyun Manor's presence, his conscience remained clear. Had he not stepped in and Zeng Mu actually butchered the cat, Lianyun Manor's troubles would only have been far worse.
After the fat cat was gone, Qin Xuan turned to look at the massive banyan tree.
Inside the hollow of the trunk, vengeful spirits were wailing.
Oddly enough, he discovered that he could actually understand the meaning behind their cries.
These spirits were crying for help.
Having originally intended to leave the manor, he reconsidered and walked over to the banyan tree.
"What are you saying?"
The wailing of the spirits abruptly ceased. One of them, its features blurred yet taller than the rest, drifted out from the hollow into the shade of the banyan tree.
Though it possessed no physical form, Qin Xuan felt as though someone were bowing to him.
"Immortal Master, can you understand my words?"
Not only could Qin Xuan understand, he could discern the agitated voice of a middle-aged man.
Had an outsider been here, they would likely have heard nothing but weeping.
"I can. Are you the master of this manor?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man choked with emotion.
"Immortal Master, this humble one is Wan Song, the master of the manor. Forty years ago, I was a well-known philanthropist in Pingyuan Commandery. By divine luck, I gave shelter and aid to an otherworldly expert from Zhongzhou. Seeing my devotion to doing good, he bestowed upon me an imperial writ granting me two hundred years of spirit lifespan and urging me to continue my good deeds.
"Who would have thought that I would later cross paths with a wicked monk, who was none other than the One-Horned Ascetic in disguise!
"That villain showed no gratitude for my family's kindness. Instead... instead, he slaughtered young and old alike throughout my household! Our grievances could not be quenched, but thanks to the expert's writ, our souls could not disperse. We gathered beside this banyan tree, waiting day after day for his return so we might pour out our bitter suffering."
Qin Xuan mused for a moment. "Did the people from Yingyang Prefecture never come?"
"They came. Lord City God of the commandery also saw me, but he is a god of incense in the mortal realm. He could not understand the ghostly speech of the underworld, so I could not describe the villain's appearance, and they were unable to capture that ascetic. Pitying our family's tragic plight, he merely instructed Yingyang Prefecture not to destroy our spirits."
Wan Song continued, "An underworld emissary from the Nine Nethers Bureau came here as well. He could converse with me, but could not meddle in affairs of the mortal world at will. My family's resentment was too heavy for us to enter the six paths of reincarnation. The emissary had intended to drag us away, but upon learning of the writ upon us, he left us to fend for ourselves."
At this point, Qin Xuan could already feel Wan Song's despair.
"What does that One-Horned Ascetic look like?"
Wan Song was so moved that his voice trembled.
"Im-Immortal Master, that One-Horned Ascetic has exceedingly faint eyebrows and eyes like an ox. The 'single horn' actually refers to his nose, which points sharply upward in a gruesome sight, making him look like a demon.
"When I took him in, his accent sounded like someone from the vicinity of Pingyuan Commandery. He wore a yellow kasaya, and around his right wrist hung a string of prayer beads etched with flame patterns. His face was that of a benevolent monk, but it was false—a mask that could be peeled away..."
Wan Song related every detail thoroughly.
Qin Xuan nodded and repeated Wan Song's words back to him.
This time, all the spirits inside the hollow of the banyan tree drifted out and knelt across the ground.
"Did I repeat anything incorrectly?"
"No... Immortal Master, not a single word was wrong!"
"Very well. I shall seek out this villain for you. Whether I can find him depends on the will of Heaven. But if our paths cross, I will surely sever his dog head and bring it here as an offering."
Wan Song choked up again, scarcely daring to believe it. "Immortal Master, this humble one has nothing left and no way to repay you..."
Qin Xuan swept his gaze across the area. Reaching out a hand, a banyan leaf fluttered down into his palm.
"Let this serve as your reward. How about it?"
"Benefactor, may I ask your honorable name?"
"My surname is Qin, given name Xuan, courtesy name Zihou. A gentleman of noble virtue keeps his word and never deceives. Rest easy and go."
Qin Xuan waved his hand and strode toward the exit of Wan Manor.
All at once, the many spirits of Wan Song's household kowtowed toward the silhouette bathed in sunlight. In that instant when their resentment dissolved and their souls prepared to return to the Nine Nethers, they wailed toward the heavens—a cry of grievance, of release, of gratitude...
Carried by that writ from Zhongzhou, the sound traveled far and wide. The weeping of ghosts shook all of Pingyuan Commandery!
In an instant, throughout Pingyuan Commandery and its surrounds, numerous grand figures in secluded cultivation opened their eyes one after another.
Every single one of them wore an expression of horror.
Ancient legends of Chaotic Antiquity told:
Across the Nine Provinces, such a phenomenon of ghosts weeping and spirits howling in broad daylight occurred under only one circumstance: when someone had mastered a formidable divine ability that could shake heaven and earth, and move ghosts and gods to tears...
Chapter 21