Chapter 60: A Restless Night
Late at night, with the moon Sining faintly, tonight’s Jinyang City was destined to be restless.
The main gate of the city lord’s mansion collapsed with a loud crash. Si Zheng stepped inside, his face terrifyingly grim.
Not long ago, the five subordinates he had sent to monitor the city lord’s mansion had their soul lamps unexpectedly extinguished. Anxious, he hurried here and found the positions where the five had hidden. All he saw was bloodstained clothes on the ground, with not a single corpse left behind!
The deaths of these five men were directly related to his orders. In a fit of anger, Si Zheng gathered the members of the Demon Slayer Department and destroyed the main gate of the city lord’s mansion, ruSing inside to find the mastermind behind all this, intending to exact a bloody revenge!
Due to the commotion, people inside the mansion hurriedly ran out, including City Lord Ye Heng and his son Ye Luoting.
Seeing his own gate destroyed, Ye Luoting shouted, “What do you think you’re doing? This is the city lord’s mansion. The Demon Slayer Department has no right to run amok here!”
Si Zheng waved his right hand, and Ye Luoting, who was hysterical, was immediately captured, unable to utter another word.
“The mansion has been infiltrated by evil spirits. Acting under the orders of the Demon Slayer Department, I will thoroughly search every corner of the mansion and gather everyone here. If anyone dares to resist…” Si Zheng put down the large wine gourd he carried, and with a bang, the ground cracked, and cracks spread in all directions.
The threat was evident!
Ye Heng coldly watched everything unfold, showing no intention of intervening. He sneered, “Master Si, you’re truly imposing. Do you know the consequences of the Demon Slayer Department intruding into the city lord’s mansion?”
Si Zheng smiled sardonically, “City Lord, what do you mean by intrusion? Evil spirits killed my five brothers and then fled to your mansion. I am only considering your safety.”
“Hey, you all, protect the city lord properly. Don’t let the evil spirit take advantage of the situation!” A few people immediately surrounded Ye Heng, more like preventing him from escaping rather than protecting him.
Meanwhile, other members of the Demon Slayer Department entered the city lord’s mansion to search. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.
About half an hour later, everyone returned to the main gate. Si Zheng looked at Cang Feilan, the leader of the group, only to see her shaking her head.
No harvest whatsoever!
Si Zheng frowned, using his ability to see ghosts and sense souls. He scanned the people gathered at the city lord’s mansion, and all of them had intact souls and spirits, with no anomalies!
Ye Heng sneered, “It seems our Master Si has been mistaken and hasn’t found the evil spirit?”
Upon hearing this, Si Zheng approached step by step, looking down at Ye Heng, and asked, “Where is the seventh-rank warrior who has always been guarding your son?”
Ye Heng didn’t care, “He is a person, not a tied-up dog. Can I keep an eye on him forever? Perhaps the warrior, being hot-tempered, went somewhere like a brothel. Master Si is also a frequent visitor to such places. Why not check there?”
The two stared at each other, engaging in an invisible confrontation.
Seeing that tonight would yield no results, Si Zheng turned around, picked up his large wine gourd, and walked away. “Let’s go!”
“No need for an escort!” Ye Heng remained composed. However, as soon as all the members of the Demon Slayer Department left, his eyes momentarily turned completely black before quickly returning to normal.
On the other side, in New Spring Street, at Old Li’s residence.
The creaky wooden door was pushed open, and an unexpected guest arrived. In the dim moonlight, the visitor could finally be seen clearly: the seventh-rank warrior who had disappeared from the city lord’s mansion.
Hearing the noise, Old Li came out from the inner room, saying, “It’s too late today; I’m not selling alcohol anymore.”
The warrior didn’t speak, but a sound emanated from his body. “Who would have thought that Li Yang, the former commander of the Spirit Extinguishing Army eighteen years ago, has become like this now?”
Old Li narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the warrior. “A puppet technique. Hmph, a creature neither human nor ghost. What do you want with a cripple like me?”
“In the past, you led a hundred thousand troops to battle against the Garuda clan at Zhenling Pass. Despite a tragic victory, the surviving soldiers were cursed by the fire and suffered a fate worse than death.
However, Heavenly City turned a blind eye, not sending anyone to help or treat you, leading to the death of all the returning soldiers, except you, who were burned alive.”
“Do you not harbor any hatred?” The martial artist’s eyes glowed with a ghostly green light, and his words were meant to provoke.
Old Li’s chest rose and fell slightly. It seemed like he was recalling the past. Beneath his calm exterior, there was a hidden anger unknown to others.
“So?”
“So… we came to find you, hoping you would join us, overthrow the Great Qin, and reshape this world!”
The night wind blew, and the silence was terrifying.
Old Li did not respond. After a long while, he chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?” the presence within the martial warrior asked.
“You’ve managed to intrigue me,” Old Li grinned.
“Very well.” Before the words had fully left his mouth, the shadows of the surrounding houses turned into massive black pillars, like coffins, burying the martial wariror instantly.
Old Li turned around and returned to the inner room, self-mockingly murmuring, “If I agree to your proposal, how will my departed brothers look at me when I walk the path of the dead?”
On their way back years ago, those surviving soldiers had died in the city of Jinyang, or rather, the Forbidden City or his Coffin. As it was for him.
In the Lord’s Mansion, in a dim room, Ye Heng opened his eyes. “We found Li Yang, but unfortunately, we couldn’t recruit him to our cause. It would have made our future plans much easier.”
The three-headed, six-armed ghostly Buddha statues emitted a chilling laughter. “These soldiers are single-minded. Making them go against their will is harder than making a glutton abstain from food.”
“How are your preparations going? When will you make your move?”
“Soon.”
While the two were still talking, hurried footsteps echoed outside.
Ye Luoting entered the room, glanced around cautiously, and asked, “Father, where is that mysterious masked man?”
“He received a summons from the Tang family, the Ministry of War in Heavenly City, and has already left.”
Ye Luoting sighed in relief. “So, he took the other two resurrected warriors with him?”
“Yes, why are you here? What do you need from me?” Ye Heng turned his head, his gaze icy.
Ye Luoting felt a sudden pang of fear. His father seemed like a stranger to him since the arrival of the masked man.
“I wanted to ask, how do we deal with Qin Feng of the Qin family next? After all, we’ve lost all the people we could use. And that boy always has a bodyguard by his side.”
“We don’t need to handle this matter ourselves.”
Perplexed, Ye Luoting asked, “We don’t? But Father, didn’t you want to use his corpse to please the Tang family from the Ministry of War earlier, in exchange for our opportunity to enter Heavenly City?”
“I don’t want to repeat myself,” Ye Heng stared at Ye Luoting, who trembled under his gaze, and didn’t ask further questions, hastily taking his leave.
The ghostly Buddha statues spoke again, “Qin Feng from the Qin family? Who is he?”
“Just the son of a third-class national general in the Ministry of War, who offended the Tang family. To avoid arousing Ye Heng’s suspicion, I played along with the memories of those Ministry of War people. He’s insignificant, not worth bothering about.”
“I see. I’ll be busy from now on. Can’t contact you anymore. Lay low on your own.”
“I’ll wait for your good news.”
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