"This wretched woman!"
Though Duke of Zhenjiang was seething with anger, he couldn’t bla Xue Yunrou. After all, he had personally seen her summoning the souls.
If it had been an ordinary spellcaster, they probably wouldn’t even be able to summon these remaining spirits. As for a Lingwu with limited technique level, it was even more unlikely.
But he was filled with rage and had nowhere to vent it. In frustration, he swept a punch and shattered a large tree nearby that would otherwise have required at least five people to hug its trunk.
Powered by his full strength, the countless wood chips and dust were blasted dozens of feet away.
Sima Tianyuan seed thoughtful, saying: "Again, the soul flies away and scatters. It seems like this isn’t the first ti?"
"Indeed, this has happened nurous tis. The Taoists of Dushan Temple t the sa fate: their souls flew away and scattered."
Jiang Hanyun said with a slightly downcast expression, "And Wei Shi, who was killed in prison, and the cultivators in the underground Dark River – their souls scattered upon death. So of them were silenced after being killed, while others were simply suicide soldiers."
"Do you think this case might be related to the remnants of the Maitreya Teaching?"
Lei Yun looked puzzled, "But why would she want to harm these two elderly ladies? How could these two won secluded in their residence pose a threat to them?"
Li Xuan, however, was gazing at the lingering spirits in the sky, thinking to himself how good it would be if his red-dressed female ghost hadn’t sealed herself off. He greatly appreciated the ability of the guardian spirit that allowed him to directly see the deceased’s mories. He also missed the ability to see the blood-colored line marks that could reveal his enemy’s flaws.
But then Li Xuan thought, even if the red-dressed female ghost was still there, she would probably be incapable of doing anything too.
Those that could elicit a reaction from the red-dressed female ghost were only those broken souls filled with resentnt and obsession.
Lu Xuanniang willingly ended her life, her soul scattered, most likely there wouldn’t be any resentnt left.
Just as these thoughts were flashing through Li Xuan’s mind, thousands of blood strings suddenly burst out from behind him, extending towards the soul fragnts that Xue Yunrou had summoned.
The next mont, Li Xuan found a string of unfamiliar mories had erged in his mind.
They were Lu Xuanniang’s mories. Perhaps because her soul was severely damaged, all Li Xuan had got were two blurry, fragnted images.
One was of Lu Xuanniang drinking poison and then cutting her own throat, surrounded by a strong sll of cooking oil – this was worthless information to Li Xuan, just confirming Lu Xuanniang’s cause of death.
The other showed Lu Xuanniang holding a jewelry box, from whose viewpoint it seed she was concentrating on a letter inside. But what caught Li Xuan’s attention were the pieces of jewelry around the letter.
A chill ran through Li Xuan’s heart. Ignoring the faint sensation of cold in his chest, he strode towards the room in the front.
By now, the flas in this row of rooms had been extinguished by the spellcasters of Zhenjiang’s mansion, revealing a scene of destruction. Sima Tianyuan and Lei Yun, among others, had already entered to search for possible clues.
First, Li Xuan pretended to scan the surroundings before digging out the jewelry box that was buried under the collapsed beams.
The box was nearly half burnt and completely charred. The jewelry inside was also charred and even lted in places.
Unconcerned about the hot jewelry, Li Xuan took out a silver hairpin and a similarly colored hair accessory from the box, and rubbed them hard with his sleeve.
As expected, he saw the character ’Lu’ at the end of the hairpin and the hair accessory.
Li Xuan’s hand tightened a little, "Xiaowei Jiang! I found sothing."
Jiang Hanyun, who was sniffing around with her fox, imdiately strode over, "Any clues?"
Not only did she co over, but Duke Duan Dong, Lei Yun, and Sima Tianyuan also approached.
Princess Changle and Xue Yunrou, who had followed from a distance, also turned their attention to Li Xuan.
"What is it?" Jiang Hanyun had clearly seen the jewelry in Li Xuan’s hand, and imdiately snatched it away from him, "Lu? Is this set the sa as the hairpin we found in the underground river?"
"What’s going on?" Sima Tianyuan looked at the two of them in confusion.
Li Xuan briefly explained, "The day after we captured Xue Wuya, Xiaowei Jiang and I went back to the underground river and dug up a parcel from the mud. Inside was a hairpin, which was part of the sa set as this jewelry, and ca from the Jiaofang Division."
Since the styles of the Jiaofang Division’s jewelry were all similar and could easily trigger disputes, the surna would also be engraved on the jewelry.
In this era, a woman’s ’headgear’ generally included three hair combs, one pair of hairpins, one pair of hair clasps, one pair of hairpins, one pair of hair tassels and a forehead decor - these are the most basic ones.
"This decorative style, it should be from the sa set, that’s for sure."
Jiang Hanyun looked shocked, "This case indeed has links to the remnants of Maitreya Teaching. But, why?"
Li Xuan was also puzzled and thought for a mont, "Why not think about what will happen after these two elderly ladies die?"
While speaking, a sudden thought flashed across his mind, "Could it be due to mourning?"
The mourning is a Confucian ritual of the era. If an official’s father or mother dies, regardless of the official’s title, it is required by law to resign from his post and return to his ancestral ho to practice full mourning for twenty-seven months, known as mourning.
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, a sense of horror erging in their eyes. Duke of Zhenjiang sighed softly, "I am afraid that is likely the case! It’s easier for those of us in the military; if we choose not to mourn, it’s generally not a problem. But my cousin, first he lost his son, now he has lost his mother, he is likely to be not in the right fra of mind to carry on with his public duties. And even for the sake of his lifelong reputation, he would need to resign and return to his ancestral ho to mourn."
"It seems that Cui Hongshu’s death may not have been as straightforward as we thought."
Li Xuan paused and turned toward the people behind him, asking, "Who benefits from Cui Chengyou, Yushi Cui’s, resignation?"
The first one to answer was Yue Qianqian who was standing ten feet away. After careful contemplation, she spoke up, "Ladies and Gentlen, I think it could be tied to the case of stolen military supplies! Cui Yushi has reportedly been investigating the Nanjing arsenal and other arsenals in Dasheng Pass, Zhenjiang and Changzhou for large-scale thefts over the past two months. It is said that the progress of this case had been significant recently. However, if Cui Yushi resigns, this case might fall apart."
This statent stunned everyone present, including Lord Duan Dong of the East Town. Even Princess Changle was taken aback.
Before, they were rely shocked, but now the undercurrent beneath the surface was rolling in, feeling more real.
anwhile, Li Xuan, deep in thought, picked up a charred leg of a chair and scribbled a few lines on the ground.
Admiral Li Chengji of Caojiang
Zongbing Duan Dong of Navigation
Zongbing Han Long of Dasheng Pass
Jiancha Yushi Cui Chengyou of south Zhili
Later, Li Xuan’s eyes beca darker and shrouded in mystery.
※※※※
After investigating Lu Xuanniang’s suicide scene, Sima Tianyuan hurried back to Zhuque Hall. He had to report the full details of the case involving the East Town Lord’s residence to the Lord and Vice Lord of the Hall as soon as possible and update the appropriate authorities of the Jin Dynasty.
The Liudao Division held a coveted position in the Jin Dynasty, avoiding direct involvent in court fights. But it always paid great attention to any event that could potentially lead to large-scale spiritual disasters and would often intervene directly.
This ti, although the motives of the ’remnants of the Maitreya sect’ were not clear, their actions had certainly crossed the bottom line of the Liudao Division.
Lei Yun, who was responsible for cleaning up, was given this task as his team from the Huoya City was the best staffed that day. After Sima Tianyuan had left, the follow-up work was left to him.
Jiang Hanyun was tasked with transferring Demoness Zidie, Xian Nanyan to Zhuque Hall and detaining her in the Zhenyao Tower.
Of course, it was not just her and Peng Fulai’s weak team participating. The Liudao Division showed its respect for the fifth ranked black lister.
Not only would Sima Tianyuan’s ’Huoque Departnt’ accompany them, but also the two slaying demons Colonels under Lei Yun’s command from the ’Huoya City’ would serve as escorts.
Jiang Hanyun, however, permitted the East Town Lord extra ti to say his private farewells with Xian Nanyan and her father.
Though Jiang Hanyun did supervise the entire farewell. She positioned herself within three steps of Xian Nanyan, her hand on her waist knife, alertly guarding against both the East Lord and Xian Nanyan.
The chance of the Town Lord Duan Dong attempting to rescue Xian Nanyan was slim. But, chances only needed to be taken.
As for Xian Nanyan, Jiang Hanyun was always on high alert against her.
anwhile, Li Xuan was standing in an unnoticed corner, peering into his own robe.
Just a mont ago, when the blood threads dispersed and started extracting Lu Xuanniang’s mories, he sensed a long-forgotten chilly feeling in his chest.
This was the first occurrence since the red-clothed ghost decided to seal herself, which made Li Xuan anxious.
He had about twenty days left to live, and currently, he could only maintain his life through the daily cultivation of Thunder Style. If the Yinsha grew, his days might be numbered early.
Luckily, the sense of Yinsha was very faint, and the green patches on Li Xuan’s chest didn’t seem to expand. This slightly settled Li Xuan’s mind.
Does that an that he has the ability to extract the mories of the dead ghost woman but he must bear the burden of increasing Yinsha and dwindling lifespan?
While he was thinking, Li Xuan fixed his robes.
At this mont, he noticed a female attendant in palace attire walking toward him, "Li Youjiao, my princess wishes to see you. She has sothing to consult with you."
Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue who were standing next to him were initially surprised and then looked at Li Xuan with anticipation, sympathy, and schadenfreude.
They were thinking that if Li Xuan caught the princess’s fancy, their youth would co back to them.
Li Xuan was agitated too, wondering if Princess Changle had taken a fancy to his handso looks.
Indeed, the princess’s beauty was breathtaking, but for soone like him who disliked restraint, dating a princess did not sound fun.
But then, Li Xuan composed himself, "Is Miss Xue here?"
"You an Miss Xue Yunrou?" the palace dressed lady attendant replied with a slight smile, "Princess Changle and Miss Xue Yunrou have not t since Miss Xue left the capital. They have much to discuss. The princess has invited Miss Xue to stay in the Forbidden Palace for a few days."
At this, Li Xuan was relieved, gave a nod to the palace dressed lady attendant and said, "Lead the way."
He figured that given the jealous anger Xue Yunrou displayed at the East Town Lord’s residence earlier that day, she wouldn’t have tolerated the princess laying hands on him.
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