The Heavenly Puppet's manipulation of Jin Chuan to kill Wu Di had made a tremendous racket.
Hearing the commotion, the two guards in the courtyard—both Wu Di's direct subordinates and fiercely loyal to him—sensed that something was wrong and rushed headlong into the room.
The Sunlight Bead shone brightly, illuminating the hall as clear as day.
The moment the two guards burst inside, they saw Wu Di. They saw his headless corpse slumped against the central hanging scroll, and they saw his severed head rolling to the side, the back of its skull facing upward.
They also saw Jin Chuan covered in blood, and the sharp longsword dripping with fresh gore in Jin Chuan's hand.
Jin Chuan snapped back to his senses as if waking from a dream. He turned to face the two guards, wanting to speak, but their faces drained of color and they spun on their heels, bolting for their lives.
As Wu Di's confidants, they knew full well how formidable Wu Di was.
If Jin Chuan could kill Wu Di, there was no way they could stand against him.
Besides, with Wu Di already dead, fighting was entirely pointless.
The two scrambled out of the hall in panic, whipped out their copper whistles, and blew with all their might. The shrill whistling instantly echoed through the entire garrison.
Most of the agents in the garrison were still asleep. Siming County had always been quiet and peaceful, so the men possessed little vigilance.
Even when jolted awake by the whistles, they remained groggy and bewildered, with hardly anyone realizing right away that it was an alarm.
Jin Chuan shivered in fright at the sound of the whistles. His wits returned completely. Regardless of what methods Zhou Wuji had employed, in everyone else's eyes, he was the one who had murdered Wu Di.
Zhou Wuji could forcefully control his every movement; killing him would be as easy as turning over a hand.
Things having come to this, throwing himself at Zhou Wuji's mercy was his only chance of survival.
At this moment, Jin Chuan's mind was unusually clear. Instead of fleeing in a hurry, he ran straight to Wu Di's bedroom.
Beside Wu Di's headboard was a hidden compartment where Wu Di kept all his finest treasures.
It was a secret Jin Chuan had discovered by chance from frequenting Wu Di's quarters.
With no time to look for a key, Jin Chuan slashed open the hidden compartment with his goose-feather saber. Inside, he caught sight of a thick stack of banknotes, and at the very back, a jade box.
Stashing the banknotes and jade box into his robes, Jin Chuan hurriedly slipped out through the back window of an adjoining room.
There were agents guarding the garrison's back gate as well. Recognizing Jin Chuan, the guard dared not ask questions and respectfully opened the gate to see him off.
Jin Chuan had not gotten far past the back gate when he heard footsteps behind him.
Looking back, he saw a masked figure clad in a black-and-white Daoist robe—the unmistakable garb of an expert from the Yin-Yang Dao.
Jin Chuan shuddered in shock, but that shock quickly turned to delight. Seeing the extraordinarily bright, spirited eyes gleaming behind the mask, he knew the person was Zhou Wuji.
Just as Jin Chuan was about to speak, Zhou Wuji pressed a finger against the center of his forehead.
Zhou Wuji struck with lightning speed, leaving Jin Chuan no chance to react.
Within that single finger was the deep, ethereal sword intent of the Night Rain Sword. The faint, elusive sword intent pierced straight into Jin Chuan's mind, extinguishing every spark of life in him.
Before this Junior Banner Officer of the Iron Clothes Guard could even comprehend what was happening, he was already dead.
Stowing Jin Chuan into the Five Yin Pouch, Zhou Wuji retraced his steps.
Leaving Siming County seat, he retrieved his horse from the woods and rode deep into the mountain forest.
Only when dawn was fast approaching did Zhou Wuji find a suitable spot. He stripped Jin Chuan of his belongings before laying him to rest in the earth.
Once everything was settled, Zhou Wuji let out a soft sigh.
He did not know whether he was sighing for himself, or for Jin Chuan buried deep in the dirt.
As for Wu Di's death, the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment credited it to his account as well.
Still, Wu Di had been a base and vicious scoundrel; Zhou Wuji had felt not the slightest burden in killing him. That fellow was certainly not worth a sigh!
Wu Di possessed a destiny pattern of only three liang and two qian—hardly worth much for a Rank 7.
Emerging from the woods, Zhou Wuji rode leisurely on horseback toward Canglong Temple.
The sun had already risen, but heavy dark clouds blanketed the eastern sky, blotting out the morning rays and leaving the heavens gray and overcast.
Mists rolled through the mountains, where vast stands of tall, straight firs drifted in and out of sight amid the clouds.
The oncoming breeze carried a chill, leaving it unclear whether snow or rain would fall.
Zhou Wuji pulled a jade flute from his sleeve and played a rendition of *A Lone Shadow Travels the World*.
Without the deep, desolate rhythm of drums, the flute could convey only the vast, empty solitude of a solitary figure walking between heaven and earth against his own shadow, capturing the helpless destiny of a boundless Jianghu where waves rise with the wind.
Zhou Wuji poured all the wistfulness in his heart into the music, letting it drift far away with the wind.
When the tune ended, he felt that he had played exceptionally well. It was a pity no passing beauty or hermit master had come by, and even if Jin Chuan could hear it, he could hardly crawl out from underground to praise him.
Zhou Wuji murmured with a sigh, "Clear and cool flows the true melody, yet deep in the mountains, none know the tune."
With that, he cast aside that tiny bit of sentimentality.
Jin Chuan had colluded with a demonic cultivator of the Yin-Yang Dao to kill him; he had deserved to die. As the victor, there was no need to dwell on it.
Eliminating the major threat of Wu Di in one stroke had been executed quite deftly, which was truly a great thing.
He had also obtained over thirty thousand taels in Hengfeng banknotes from Wu Di, which counted as a modest windfall.
Though that demonic cultivator had been at Rank 6, the man had carried merely a hundred taels in gold notes, equivalent to just a thousand taels of silver.
Evidently, demonic cultivation offered little prospect; a Rank 6 cultivator was far less adept at raking in silver than a Rank 7 Senior Banner Officer.
Inside the jade box was a root of purple blood ginseng, shaped distinctly like a human figure. By the looks of it, it was probably over a hundred years old.
A century-old purple blood ginseng was a prized treasure, one that even a thousand taels of gold might not buy.
The most valuable harvest, of course, was the Heavenly Puppet Classic and the magic treasure, the Heavenly Puppet.
This secret art was bizarre and insidious, perfectly suited for dealing with troublesome enemies.
The test on Jin Chuan had proven just how useful the Heavenly Puppet was.
The only drawback was that it consumed far too much divine sense. With his current cultivation, controlling the Heavenly Puppet was somewhat taxing.
Now that the major threat of Wu Di was gone, there was no one left in Siming County who could pose a danger to him.
Over the next few months, he would focus on diligent cultivation to elevate his divine sense as much as possible.
As for the Five Tigers Fist, it was sufficient for the time being.
His battle against the Rank 6 demonic cultivator had demonstrated the formidable power of the Five Tigers Fist.
Once his true qi advanced further, or his swordsmanship reached a breakthrough allowing him to integrate all the variations of the Five Tigers Fist, it would not be too late to study it more deeply.
Rumbles of thunder sounded, followed by a torrential downpour.
Zhou Wuji happened to step inside the Daoist temple just in time, narrowly escaping the storm.
Hearing the thunder, Wuzheng stepped out of the main hall to read the weather and ran right into Zhou Wuji.
A look of delight appeared on Wuzheng's face. "Junior Brother, you're back."
"Senior Brother, I have just returned." Zhou Wuji cupped his hands in greeting. Wuzheng was his senior brother and the abbot of the temple, after all; propriety could not be neglected.
"Did everything go smoothly?" Wuzheng asked.
"Yes, the bear demon has been dealt with. However, the villagers laid a trap trying to resolve it themselves, which led to some casualties..."
"Is that so..." Wuzheng sighed. He could hardly blame the villagers, yet he could not help feeling somber.
Ordinary folk lacked martial arts or Daoist techniques; confronting a bear demon was fraught with peril. Casualties were inevitable.
After chatting a bit, Wuzheng said considerately, "You worked hard slaying the demon and traveled through the night, Junior Brother. Get some good rest."
Zhou Wuji exchanged a few more polite remarks before returning to his room.
After being busy all night, he was indeed rather tired. He finished his routine cultivation, washed his face, and went to sleep.
The torrential rain soon stopped. Wuzheng had an appointment with the Li family, so after breakfast, he set out for Siming County accompanied by two Daoist acolytes.
Upon entering the city, Wuzheng noticed a large contingent of garrison soldiers at the city gates, rigorously searching passing merchant wagons and pedestrians.
Wuzheng was somewhat surprised. It was only the fifth day of the first lunar month; why would the garrison be so diligent in stationing guards, and in such numbers? Something must have happened.
Even if the soldiers did not recognize Wuzheng, they all recognized the robes of the Arctic Sect, so naturally no one dared bar his way.
The moment Wuzheng arrived at the Li residence's main gate, Li Cheng'an, who had been waiting in the outer quarters, came out to greet him.
With Zhang Xinhu's disappearance, Li Cheng'an had become the foremost martial expert in Siming County, and the Li family's prestige had surged accordingly.
Without Zhang Xinhu at the helm, the Zhang family had first been stripped of more than half its assets by Company Commander Zhang Yunfeng and his men, while the Li family swallowed up most of the remaining shops and properties.
Lately, Li Cheng'an had been riding high in Siming County, brimming with pride.
Yet before Wuzheng, Li Cheng'an dared not show the slightest discourtesy, for Zhang Xinhu stood as a cautionary tale!
Li Cheng'an ushered Wuzheng into the main hall. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wuzheng casually asked, "What has happened in the city?"
"A major incident. Senior Banner Officer Wu Di of the Iron Clothes Guard was killed by his subordinate Jin Chuan! Jin Chuan has fled, and his whereabouts are unknown." When Li Cheng'an brought this up, his expression turned grave.
The Iron Clothes Guard oversaw the local region, supervising officials above and the populace below, wielding immense authority.
Senior Banner Officer Wu Di had been greedy and ruthless; all the prominent local clans feared and hated him in equal measure.
Hearing that Wu Di had been killed, the various families were overjoyed.
Yet Li Cheng'an felt that the whole affair was exceedingly suspicious. Junior Banner Officer Jin Chuan was Wu Di's trusted confidant.
Jin Chuan had absolutely no reason to murder Wu Di, nor did he possess the ability to do so.
Li Cheng'an found the news utterly baffling.
Yet everyone in the garrison pointed to Jin Chuan as the culprit. The matter was bizarre indeed.
Wuzheng was also astonished. He inquired about the details, and upon hearing that Jin Chuan had committed the crime around the third watch, his heart skipped a beat...
Then he thought it impossible. Strong as Junior Brother Wuji was, there was no way he could have commanded Jin Chuan to kill Wu Di.
He remarked, "Wu Di was a Senior Banner Officer, after all. With him murdered by a subordinate, the prefectural capital will surely send someone to investigate."
Li Cheng'an frowned. "That is another major headache!"
The last time Company Commander Zhang Yunfeng came, he had devoured most of the Zhang family's wealth.
Now with Wu Di dead, who knew under what pretext the Iron Clothes Guard would use this to extort more wealth?
Wuzheng did not fear extortion from a Company Commander, but he found Zhang Yunfeng arrogant and conceited, harboring a strange hostility toward their branch temple for reasons unknown.
He feared that this matter might become entangled with Junior Brother Wuji, which would make things even more troublesome...
By the time Zhang Yunfeng in Yunyang Prefecture received the news, it was already the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month.
"Jin Chuan killed Wu Di?!"
Zhang Yunfeng was bewildered and incredulous. He remembered Jin Chuan: a twenty-something Rank 8 Junior Banner Officer, sharp and capable, to whom Wu Di entrusted all his private affairs.
Jin Chuan was a clever man; how could he possibly kill Wu Di?
A subordinate murdering a superior was regicide within the ranks—an unforgivable, heinous crime!
Sitting nearby, Zhang Banshan noticed Zhang Yunfeng's grave expression and asked, "What happened?"
"Trouble in Siming County again. The Senior Banner Officer there, Wu Di, was killed by his subordinate."
Zhang Yunfeng shook his head. "Over the past few months, several experts have died in Siming County. It truly is uncanny!"
"Could that Zhou Wuji be behind this?" Zhang Banshan's thick brows lifted, a fierce murderous intent flaring in his eyes.
His most prized disciple, Zhang Xinhu, had vanished inexplicably. That affair was definitely tied to Zhou Wuji.
If not for his wariness of the branch temple, Zhang Banshan would have long since marched up to Canglong Temple himself to beat that little Daoist to death.
Zhang Yunfeng shook his head. "Zhou Wuji is merely a Rank 8. Even if his swordsmanship is decent, he could never possess such ability.
"Jin Chuan was either coerced by a powerful expert, or he was possessed..."
He paused, then added, "In a couple of days, I'll head to Siming County to investigate this thoroughly."
Zhang Banshan remained silent for a moment before saying, "If the opportunity arises, please kill Zhou Wuji, Yunfeng."
Zhang Yunfeng nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, Third Uncle. The branch temple fails to recognize where they stand, opposing us at every turn. It is high time they were taught a lesson..."
Chapter 73