Chapter 235: The Mastermind

Wu Dehai immediately panicked. Seeing the suspicious look in Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai's eyes, he hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "My lord, please judge fairly! My son Wu Shiqing is kindhearted by nature, something everyone in Zigui County knows. He has now even been harmed by an evil entity and lies gravely ill in bed. How could he possibly do such a thing?

"This man is clearly slandering him! Slander!"

"You're the one spouting nonsense!" Yuanfeng had clearly decided to throw caution to the wind. He shouted angrily, then dropped to his knees and cupped his hands. "My lord, please see the truth. My elder brother became addicted to gambling and borrowed money from the Chaoshan Association. A gang of thugs came to our home every day to press him for repayment, driving him so far that he nearly hanged himself.

"I didn't want our family disgrace becoming public, nor could I raise enough money to repay the debt, so I went to Wu Dehai to plead for mercy. Who would have thought he would use this to blackmail me and force me to monitor the academy's movements!"

The moment those words were spoken, an uproar erupted among the people from the academy.

"Yuanfeng, you deserve a miserable death!"

"You call yourself a disciple of the sages?!"

"Wu Dehai, you really are a treacherous villain!"

For a time, the academy members cursed furiously.

But then Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai slammed the court block down, his expression dark. "ENOUGH! No more shouting."

Pointing at Yuanfeng, he growled, "Continue."

At this point, he was completely infuriated, to the point where he wished he could drag all these useless fools outside and have them beaten. Yet he had also keenly sensed that something was wrong.

Yuanfeng knew there was no escaping disaster this time, so he stopped concealing anything and explained everything in detail.

"My lord, I had no hope of achieving further scholarly distinction. In my free time outside teaching, I developed an interest in certain secret matters of the mystic path. One day, I happened to discover a fragmentary ancient Chu manuscript in the library. It contained a method for refining Red Pills.

"Since Wu Dehai was blackmailing me, I usually took extra care of his son, Wu Shiqing. That young man was likewise interested in the arts of the mystic path, though he was even more fond of Buddhist teachings, and we often exchanged ideas.

"After I obtained the method for refining the Red Pills, I showed it to him. It was only with his help that I managed to produce the medicine."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "How did he help you?"

Yuanfeng's face reddened slightly. Gritting his teeth, he said, "This pill is refined through a water method and requires no fire. It needs red lead, autumn stone, cinnabar... and other ingredients. I come from a poor family. How could I possibly gather all of them?

"Most importantly, it also requires 'human milk'. Wu Shiqing was equally interested, so he helped me obtain all the ingredients. The two of us refined the pills together several times and produced more than a thousand in total.

"After trying them, we discovered the pills were remarkably effective. We therefore began taking them secretly, and our studies improved greatly.

"Later, after something happened to Wu Shiqing, my elder brother secretly returned to gambling and ran up another mountain of debt. I originally wanted nothing more to do with him, but I couldn't withstand my parents' repeated pleas, so I secretly sold these pills to people at the academy to raise money..."

As they listened to this account, the academy members were furious beyond measure. Even Wu Dehai stared dumbfounded, clearly never having imagined that his own son was involved.

Li Yan said solemnly, "Do you still have any of those Red Pills?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Yuanfeng hurriedly took a small white porcelain bottle from inside his clothes.

The bottle was exquisitely made, with an illustration of Guiguzi Descending the Mountain painted on its surface, giving it a distinctly antique air.

When Wu Dehai saw it, his chest tightened. "Isn't that from this old man's collection? That unfilial brat actually stole it!"

Li Yan ignored him. He took the white porcelain bottle, pulled out the cork, and poured a pill the size of a soybean into his palm.

He formed the Yang Seal and took a sniff next, then immediately nodded. "That's right. The demonic qi comes from this!"

For a moment, the entire hall fell deathly silent. The academy students looked at one another, their faces turning pale. They had never imagined that the "immortal pills" they had secretly been taking were something everyone else had been eating as well, nor that they were actually infused with demonic qi!

County Magistrate Wu was trembling with rage. He was no fool. Although he seemed to act recklessly in Zigui County, in reality, he had always stayed just within his boundaries. It was enough to accumulate wealth without taking matters so far that the imperial court would come after him. He had never expected his own son to hand him such a catastrophe!

Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai's expression was equally ugly. He had only seen superficial problems like embezzlement, bribery, and forcibly seizing civilian land. Such things happened all across the Divine Continent. Compared with the current chaos in the southwest, they were hardly worth mentioning.

He had never expected so much filth to be hidden underneath. Moreover, he had a feeling that he had only just lifted the lid on something foul, and there was no telling how much more chaos lay beneath it.

Li Yan and Sha Lifei merely watched everyone coldly. This series of events was precisely why they had such a poor opinion of the authorities. There was nothing wrong with having a government. There was even less wrong with having laws. But human greed had no end. Ordinary people could only see what lay on the surface, whereas people of the jianghu were well informed and knew just how filthy these sanctimonious officials and gentry could be behind closed doors.

Daoist Feng from the City God Temple felt his scalp go numb. He had thought that receiving support from an expert would help resolve the matter. Instead, before they had even accomplished anything, they had already dug up an enormous mess.

Everyone knew it was a deep pile of shit. Why did you have to stir it?!

Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai drew a deep breath and gave the order. "Men! Arrest them all!"

He understood that some things could no longer be ignored. The courthouse runners outside exchanged glances, hesitating.

Seeing this, Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai immediately flew into a rage. "How dare you! The grain you eat comes from the Great Xuan, not from the Wu Family! You are not their dogs!"

When Wu Dehai heard his roar, his face instantly turned deathly pale. He tore off his black gauze hat and threw it aside, then glared at the courthouse runners. "What are you standing there for like idiots? Hurry up and put me in chains!"

The courthouse runners had no choice but to step forward and make the arrests.

Wu Dehai secretly glanced to the side. Seeing the sinister look in Zhou Kai's eyes, he could not help bitterly lamenting to himself.

Just then, a sharp gleam flashed through Li Yan's eyes. Hidden force suddenly erupted beneath his feet, as he shot out of the county courthouse's main hall with a whoosh. Then he snapped his hand backward.

"What are you doing?!"

The soldiers immediately roared and surrounded him with their spears.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Before their cries had even faded, something tumbled out of the sky, wings flapping wildly. A gray carrier pigeon landed heavily on the ground, a throwing knife pierced straight through its chest. It didn't take long to stop breathing.

Li Yan glanced indifferently at them. "The culprit is in the rear courtyard. Why aren't you going to arrest him?"

These veterans were highly experienced. How could they fail to understand that someone had been trying to secretly send word outside? Two of them immediately rushed into the rear courtyard. Before long, they dragged out a burly man with a face covered in a thick beard.

Only when the man was captured did Li Yan pick up the carrier pigeon. He removed the bamboo tube tied to its leg, glanced at the secret message inside, then returned to the hall.

He handed it to Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai, sneering. "Lord Zhou, it seems they really aren't following the laws of the Great Xuan!"

The moment those words were spoken, one of the courthouse runners dropped to his knees with a thud.

"My lord, spare me!"

"Idiot!" A courthouse runner beside him sent him sprawling with a kick, drew his blade with a clang, and roared, "Brothers, we've been exposed! Follow me and fight our way out!"

The entire hall instantly descended into chaos. The academy scholars had never imagined a twist like this. Terrified, they scrambled in every direction to hide while Wu Dehai's eyes widened in disbelief.

Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai, however, was a man with real courage. With a clang, he also drew his sword and roared, "Preposterous! Not one of you is leaving today!"

"Kill!"

The soldiers guarding the entrance were battle-hardened veterans, and their reactions were extremely swift. They immediately leveled their spears and formed ranks to block the way.

These courthouse runners had originally been nothing more than local hooligans. After attaching themselves to Wu Dehai, they had strutted around abusing their power, spending their days drinking and indulging themselves. When would they ever have found time to practice martial arts? Against actual soldiers, they stood no chance.

They charged outward in a disorganized mob, only to be stopped cold by the military formation. Some did not even get a chance to swing their blades before being run clean through. Others did manage to land blows, but could not penetrate the soldiers' iron armor.

"Grab that dog official!"

The leader of the courthouse runners turned toward Zhou Kai in the hall. He understood that only by seizing the Assistant Prefect and using him as a hostage would they have any chance of escaping today.

Yet after taking only two steps, their vision suddenly blurred.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of fists and kicks rang out. Li Yan stood expressionlessly in the middle of the hall, while several courthouse runners screamed as they were sent flying. The soldiers immediately knocked them unconscious. Their minor rebellion was suppressed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Dehai trembled all over in fear. He knew he was in serious trouble.

"T-this... what is going on?"

"Idiot!" Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai shot him a cold glance. "That Chaoshan Association was taken over by someone else long ago. You were nothing more than a puppet they placed out in the open!"

He turned to solemnly order, "Chen San, take my warrant and immediately go to the garrison to mobilize troops. Take control of Guizhou City's defenses and spare no effort in arresting the rebels of the Chaoshan Association!"

"Yes, my lord!"

One of the soldiers accepted the warrant, took two men with him, and rushed out of the courthouse before immediately galloping away on horseback.

Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai then cupped his hands toward Li Yan. "Young Hero Li, the other side may have evil cultivators capable of wielding mystic arts. I'll have to trouble you for your assistance."

Li Yan nodded. "Naturally."

Killing intent flashed in Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai's eyes as he ordered the remaining soldiers in a deep voice, "Sever the tendons in these men's hands and feet, and bind them inside the courthouse so they can't escape. Then follow me to the Wu Family's residence!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The soldiers moved efficiently. For a time, blood splattered throughout the hall and screams rang out without end, frightening the scholars until their faces turned pale.

Once that was done, Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai led the soldiers out of the county courthouse, with Li Yan and Sha Lifei following beside him. As for County Magistrate Wu Dehai, his hair was disheveled as one soldier dragged him along by the collar.

Inside the main hall, the academy scholars were still badly shaken.

One of them gulped hard. "T-They just left like that? Weren't we tainted by demonic qi? How exactly are we supposed to cure it?"

"Idiot!" A lecturer beside him cursed in exasperation. "Things have blown up this badly. Worry about staying alive first."

He then cupped his hands to address Song Mingshu. "Academy Head, what do you think we should do?"

Song Mingshu truly deserved to be the Academy Head of Danyang Academy. Even now, he was still able to remain calm. He said solemnly, "It seems this matter is far more complicated than we imagined. For now, we must do whatever we can to salvage the situation.

"The Chaoshan Association has a great many members. I fear they may cause trouble throughout the city. Return immediately and organize your household servants and guards. Until the garrison troops arrive, do your best to keep the situation under control!

"Also, take this old man's written order to Boatmaster Luo of the Raft Sect. Tell them that the Chaoshan Association is about to collapse, and ask them to organize righteous men of the jianghu to take action!

"The rest of you, stay with this old man and keep watch over these rebels!"

The rapid series of orders filled the academy students with confidence as they immediately began acting according to his instructions.

Elsewhere, Li Yan and the others were moving quickly as well. County Magistrate Wu's residence was not far from the courthouse.

As they walked, Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai asked in a deep voice, "Young Hero Li, do you think Wu Shiqing could be the mastermind behind all this?"

Li Yan replied solemnly, "Even if he isn't, he has to be deeply involved!"

Indeed, both of them had begun suspecting Wu Shiqing.

Perhaps because Li Yan had cut off the warning message in time, the people of the Chaoshan Association had not yet discovered what was happening, and the residence remained peaceful.

At the main entrance, the servant guarding the gate stared dumbfounded as a group of men came rushing over with murderous momentum, while his own master was being held by soldiers.

How could anyone in the city dare lay hands on my master?!

But before he could shout, one soldier lunged forward and pressed a blade against his throat. "Make a sound and I'll kill you!"

The servant trembled all over and did not dare speak.

Zhou Kai gave a signal with his eyes. Another group of soldiers immediately ran toward the rear entrance to prevent anyone from escaping.

As for the main gate, it had been left slightly ajar. The fierce soldiers kicked it open with a crash and rushed inside with their spears.

"Everyone on the ground!"

"Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

The servants inside the Wu Family's residence trembled as they dropped flat onto the ground. Several household guards were members of the Chaoshan Association. They had just begun to resist when the soldiers stabbed them one after another with their spears.

Zhou Kai turned and asked coldly, "Where is your son?"

Wu Dehai said shakily, "In... In a side room in the rear garden."

By then, his mind had gone completely blank.

"Hmph!" Zhou Kai ignored him and led the group rushing toward the back courtyard.

Wu Dehai had squeezed the people of Zigui County dry to become enormously wealthy within a short period of time. Naturally, his residence had been built on a grand scale and occupied a considerable amount of land. Not only was the rear garden large, there were even two smaller courtyards within it.

Zhou Kai led the group to one of them. After kicking open the gate, the soldiers quickly brought everyone inside under control.

Unexpectedly, Wu Shiqing had not fled. Instead, he lay on a bed with a deathly pale face, his body twitching involuntarily. His eyes had rolled upward, and white foam spilled from his mouth.

Zhou Kai frowned. "Young Hero Li, it seems he isn't the mastermind after all. What kind of evil spell has he fallen under?"

Li Yan formed the Yang Seal and took a deep sniff. His expression immediately changed. He stepped forward at once and tore away the blanket covering Wu Shiqing.

A sharp stench of blood immediately filled the air. A gash had been torn open along Wu Shiqing's ribs, exposing his liver clearly within. The organ was mangled and fragmented, as though something had been gnawing on it.

Li Yan's brows knitted tightly. "It's the same demonic qi as before. What kind of demon could be behind this?"

While he was still puzzled, Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai beside him suddenly went pale. "Quickly! Back to the courthouse! Protect those scholars!"

With that, he actually turned and ran. Li Yan had never seen him so flustered. Zhou Kai did not even bother picking up the black gauze hat that had fallen from his head as he led the soldiers in a mad dash back toward the county courthouse.

After one unexpected development after another, even Sha Lifei was completely confused.

"Brother Yan, what the hell is going on?"

"We'll know once we see. Let's go!"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and turned to follow Zhou Kai. Behind them, Wu Shiqing had already stopped breathing.

"Ah! My son!"

Ignored by everyone, Wu Dehai felt as though everything before him had become a nightmare. He clutched his son's corpse and wailed bitterly.

The group moved extremely quickly and soon returned to the courthouse's main hall. However, the sight before them made everyone's blood run cold.

The courthouse runners who had been captured earlier, together with all the scholars and even the Academy Head himself, had all been beheaded.

That was not all. Every single one of them had been cut open, with their livers removed. The entire county courthouse hall was drenched in blood, resembling a scene from hell.

Li Yan's expression darkened as he glanced at Assistant Prefect Zhou Kai beside him.

"Lord Zhou, it seems you know what this is. Who did this?"

Zhou Kai's face was deathly pale as he said in a trembling voice, "The Great Song Ghost Sect!"

"The Great Song Ghost Sect?"

Li Yan frowned slightly, a strange feeling rising in his heart.