Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 384 - 335 Daughter

The Butcher paid no mind, still indifferently drinking wine and eating meat.

Yuan Sou slightly lifted his eyelids and sharply asked, "Why hasn’t your master come?"

The Ya Jiu Puppet replied, "He’s wanted by ’Chang’an Micro-View’ and thus can’t appear around Chang’an City."

Yuan Sou let out a cold laugh. "He doesn’t come himself and sends you to die?"

The Ya Jiu Puppet said, "It’s not a death sentence. According to the plan, we could severely damage the Yu Country and retreat unscathed..."

"Not interested."

The Butcher hoarsely interrupted, "Situ Zhi has been held by the garrison for so long. His scapula has been shattered, and his Qi Sea Spiritual Veins are ruined. Even if he’s rescued, he won’t recover his former Cultivation. I do have a grudge against the Yu Country, that’s true, but I wouldn’t risk it for a cripple."

The Ya Jiu Puppet’s gaze hardened slightly, and he pulled a small bamboo tube from his bosom. Opening the tube, he took out a scroll hidden inside and slowly said, "Before I came here, I received authorization from You Qiong. This isn’t a notification for the two of you; it’s an order."

CRACK.

The Butcher paused in the act of chewing on a bone. He spat out a sharp bone splinter and slowly stood up from his chair. His towering figure cast an enormous shadow on the courtyard’s stone-tablet floor in the candlelight.

"You say, an order?"

The Butcher’s hand gently pressed on the handle of the chopper at his waist. The next instant, his entire being turned into a blur, appearing in front of the Ya Jiu Puppet. His face was ferocious, divided in two by a diagonal scar. His left eye, at the scar’s peak, was sunken in; he had been blind for many years.

"Do you truly believe that having cultivated the Supreme Mysterious Sect’s Thousand Mechanism Puppet Technique allows you to rest easy, and that no one will discover your real body? Even your teacher wouldn’t dare talk to me like that. What gives you the right to use You Qiong to pressure me..."

The Butcher grabbed the Ya Jiu Puppet’s hair, his chopper inscribing a deep cut on the puppet’s neck. Blood gushed forth. The Ya Jiu Puppet instinctively covered his neck with his hands, struggling to say, "In the garrison’s Stone Coffin Forest, apart from Situ Zhi, numerous other serious offenders are imprisoned. They, all of them, are Cultivators..."

SNAP.

The hand gripping his hair suddenly released. The Ya Jiu Puppet stumbled back several steps, swiftly patching up the neck wound with Mind Threads. He then took out a bandage, sprinkled it with hemostatic powder, and wound it several times around his neck, barely stopping the bleeding.

"Cultivators? Prisoners?"

The Butcher coldly asked, "Who are they?"

"The Demon Cultivator Shun Youyi, who practiced the Blood Corpse Tomb Gate Technique and committed over a dozen mass family exterminations in places like the Yu Country’s Youzhou, Pingzhou, and Yizhou. Shen Feng, who cultivated the Vast Ocean Wave Technique; on the South Sea trade routes of the Zhou Kingdom, with a single boat and man, he called forth storms and plundered countless vessels, dubbed the Sea Serpent. Jing Yuan Taoist, who practiced the Yin and Yang Technique in Lingnan, called himself the Haotian Angel, deluded common people across the states, and sparked peasant rebellions..." the Ya Jiu Puppet said with difficulty.

Every criminal meriting the Stone Coffin punishment from the garrison was so filled with wicked deeds as to be unforgivable; even Ling Chi seemed too lenient for them.

The Ya Jiu Puppet hoarsely added, "Among them, at least nine have practiced the bloodline arts of the Former Sui."

"..."

The Butcher narrowed his remaining right eye. The Bloodline Secret Technique of the Former Sui was a mimicry of the Ancient era when humans and gods coexisted. It involved using long-term marriages between Cultivators to allow progeny to gain Innate superpowers independent of Spirit Veins. Doing so could avoid the instability of Spirit Vein inheritance, but it would also lead to various issues in descendants. Mild cases might involve physical disabilities or diminished intellect. Severe cases could result in significant bodily deformities, an inability to communicate with others, rendering them almost demon-like. Few could pass on the trait stably. Hence, it was abandoned by the mainstream Cultivation World.

"Bloodline Cultivators... they do taste rather good."

The Butcher extended his tongue and licked his rough, cracked lips. He slowly withdrew the chopper, turned his head slightly, and asked Yuan Sou in the courtyard, "Yuan Sou, what do you think?"

Yuan Sou picked up the last paper-thin slice of meat from his plate with chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed carefully. After belching contentedly, he finally spoke, "Acceptable. I was getting sick of the food at the Ghost Market anyway, so a change of taste isn’t bad."

"Good."

The Butcher nodded. He tossed a "Get lost" to the Ya Jiu Puppet, then turned and walked through the courtyard into a bungalow. He took down something hanging from a hook on a beam and placed it on a chopping block.

DANG DANG DANG!

The sound of chopping echoed continuously inside the house.

"..."

The Ya Jiu Puppet took a deep look at the two of them and turned to leave.

All the chess pieces were now in position. Next, they only needed to wait quietly for Qixi to arrive.

「 」

Letting out a long breath, Li Ang yawned as he awoke from bed. As usual, he brushed his teeth and washed his face, then walked into the living room where the table was set with an impressive breakfast. A piece of paper, inscribed with a line of writing, was held down by a porridge bowl at the table’s edge.

"Have your breakfast first, Young Master. I’ve gone with Galuo to help decorate the wedding venue for the Princess. I’ll come to pick you up in the afternoon."

Wedding venue decoration? I bet they’ve run off to taste the dishes.

Li Ang chuckled helplessly and pulled away the note.

Prince Yue, Li Hui’s wedding was to be held in Furong Garden. Court dignitaries and all foreign envoys in Chang’an were to attend, with the Faith Cultivation Cardinal personally officiating the marriage ceremony. The wedding would feature the most splendid silk and satin, the purest breed of horses, the tallest lanterns, the most treasured spices, and the most expensive wines. The top chefs from various State Mansions had gone through numerous selections before they could work in the wedding kitchen. The best opera troupes had been preparing for a year. All dancers and musicians diligently honed their skills, aiming to provide an outstanding performance. The total cost of the entire wedding was probably calculated in the millions of strings of coins.

That’s not just spending a thousand pieces of gold; it’s clearly a hundred thousand!

Li Ang shook his head. The wedding did not use court tax money; it was paid by the Emperor and Empress themselves—in other words, financed by Imperial Merchant Jin Wusuan, Manager Jin.

The people of Chang’an will probably remember this wedding forever. It’s hard to say how many poems will be written after tonight.

Li Ang finished his breakfast and returned to his study to continue writing talismans. He had advanced to a High Order in the Jialan Sect and reached the Rain Listening Realm. However, his realm was still unstable, and he needed to consolidate his foundation further. Writing talismans was a good way to calm his mind. During his time with the Jialan Sect, Li Ang, through the Bookworm Immortal, had seen the Cultivation Techniques the sect had accumulated over many years. Most of the techniques required a Zen background, so Li Ang couldn’t cultivate them. However, there were also some Pre-Sui Talisman designs, now lost to time, that he could try to replicate.

Li Ang methodically wrote out the talismans. Outside the window, the sun rose and gradually set, and before he knew it, it was evening.

Suddenly, Li Ang’s hands paused in their motion.

His Mo Si Clone elsewhere sent back news: Chang’an County’s Government Officials had discovered the old peddler’s body. They noted the suspicious wound behind his neck and transferred the case to the garrison. The garrison took this case seriously and had already transported the body back to their Banzheng Square headquarters. It would not take long for them to uncover Ya Jiu’s existence.

He smiled faintly. Through the Mo Si Clone outside, he saw Li Leqing’s carriage entering Golden City Square. He then packed up the talismans on the table, ready to leave.

The carriage stopped at the front door, but it was not Li Leqing who descended, but Chai Chai.

She ran over excitedly, "Young Master, Young Master, the wedding venue is so much fun! They set up a lantern as tall as several floors that keeps spinning. There’s a famous Jiangnan chef, and the dishes he makes are just like what you said; they really glow..."

Li Ang listened to Chai Chai’s endless chatter with a smile and asked, "Why have you come back?"

"I’ve come to get some sobering medicine."

Chai Chai pouted, "Galuo drank a lot at the banquet, her face was very red, and she kept insisting she wasn’t drunk."

Li Ang laughed, about to say something, but then his heartbeat abruptly skipped.

The Mo Si that had been lying dormant and calm suddenly erupted, piercing through his spine.