Eternal Life: I Can Sell Everything

Chapter 229: Chapter 225: Investigating the Weird

Song Ciwan suppressed the urge to look back at the city gates. Following the crowd, she soon traveled three *li* away from Li City.

The main road was still wide, but some of the common folk began to peel off onto the branching paths on either side. Song Ciwan picked a direction at random and followed. After walking a while longer, she gradually separated from the crowd and arrived alone in a secluded, deserted area.

Song Ciwan raised her hand and cast the Sun and Moon Transformation Skill. This was the only complete, high-level magic she currently possessed.

Her other skills were either low-level, like Grasshopper and Mountain-Breaking Fist. Although Song Ciwan possessed the complete versions of these, the potential of such low-level techniques was limited. As her cultivation increased, they would become far less useful.

Or there were skills like the Void Illusion Demon Sword and the Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique. These were incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, Song Ciwan currently only possessed the First Layer of each.

A complete Sun and Moon Transformation Skill was in a league of its own; she had only obtained it by trading in a Great City Level Mysterious Ghost Spirit.

For now, this magic had no obvious Attack Power, but it was said that when its unique Illusionary Transformation Ability was mastered, it could even alter the sky and sun themselves.

That was still a distant future, however. Right now, Song Ciwan couldn’t even fathom what kind of power that would be.

Her Sun and Moon Transformation Skill was currently at the First Layer of Mastery (2356/10000), and she was already quite adept at casting it.

Gradually, the wild grass around her seemed to shoot up wildly, while she herself appeared to dissolve into a blade of grass, a wisp of wind, or even a pocket of air, vanishing from the world.

Of course, Song Ciwan had not actually disappeared.

It was just that anyone passing by would be unable to detect her presence, neither with the naked eye nor even with a normal Spiritual Sense.

「Pinglan City, Shanren Square, Song Residence.」

Two groups had appeared at the Song Residence. The first to arrive was led by none other than the female general of the City Patrol Department, Guo Haichi, whom Song Ciwan had met before. The group that arrived later consisted of Demon Extermination Envoys from the Lantern Hanging Department.

Among these Demon Extermination Envoys was a face familiar to Song Ciwan: Zhang You, the Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist who had once been trapped with her in the Huai Xi Village Deceitful Realm!

Zhang You had once been punished by Gao Xiaolang, back when he was acting as Mr. Gao. Inside the Inverted Deceit Realm, Zhang You had taken on the appearance of an old man, but in reality, he was in his twenties and in the prime of his life.

But now, having left the Inverted Deceit Realm, his appearance had seemingly recovered, yet not completely.

The Zhang You of today had white hair mixed in with the black, and wrinkles creased the corners of his eyes. He looked to be more than ten years older than his actual age!

The two met at the Song Residence, and Guo Haichi exclaimed in surprise, "Well, if it isn’t Lord Zhang of the Lantern Hanging Department. What happened to you? Don’t tell me you were injured in the Illusory Nether City? In that case, your Lord Luo is truly heartless! How could he send a subordinate out on duty when he’s sick?"

With his salt-and-pepper hair and weathered face, Zhang You gave a dry chuckle. "General Guo, you come from a prominent family, so you wouldn’t understand the hardships of a poor Martial Artist like me. What does it matter if I’m sick? Isn’t that all the more reason to work harder and secure the resources needed to get better?"

Guo Haichi looked astonished. "Lord Zhang, you mean to say that when you Demon Extermination Envoys get sick or injured, you have to earn the resources for your own treatment? Your higher-ups don’t allocate funds for things like that?"

As she spoke, a pitying smile touched her cold, pretty face. She sighed, "That can’t be right. At the City Patrol Department, we have our own resident Daoist Doctors. Anyone injured in the line of duty receives treatment at our department’s office, completely free of charge."

She frowned. "The Lantern Hanging Department stands above the six departments of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office. It’s its own system, with a direct line to the throne. And yet this is how it’s managed internally?"

Her words were tantamount to ripping the dignity from the Lantern Hanging Department and stomping it into the ground. The color instantly drained from Zhang You’s face.

He retorted in fury, "General Guo, I’ve shown you courtesy out of respect for your rank, but it is not the place of an outside official like you to meddle in the governance of the Lantern Hanging Department! What, are you suggesting you want to critique the regulations established by Her Highness, the Eldest Princess?"

Having been hit with such a heavy accusation, Guo Haichi flicked her sleeve, also incensed. "How absurd! Lord Zhang, I was speaking out of concern for you, yet you repeatedly use the Eldest Princess’s name to intimidate people. Her Highness is as untouchable as the bright moon in the sky. How can mere mortals like us speak of her so casually?"

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

Her subordinates hurried to follow. One of the Martial Artists asked anxiously, "General, we’re leaving already? The Cyan Nether Compass just reacted, but we haven’t found anything yet!"

Guo Haichi replied as she walked, "A deceitful aura may have been detected here, but there’s nothing now. What is there to investigate? We won’t find anything. It’s a complete waste of time!"

Soon, she and her subordinates had left the Song Residence.

When they were several streets away from the Song Residence, one of Guo Haichi’s subordinates asked in a low voice, "General, we suffered a backlash when we used the Backlight Shadow Tracking Talisman earlier. Shouldn’t we inform the Lantern Hanging Department?"

Guo Haichi glanced at him, her brow furrowed slightly, but she didn’t answer. She just kept walking.

From behind, another Martial Artist quickly pulled the man aside. "Hey, Brother Zhu, we don’t have to be *that* honest! Look at the Lantern Hanging Department. They snatch up any credit to be had and push all the dirty, thankless jobs onto us. After all that, you really want to treat them like family?"

"But if we don’t tell them, what if this turns into something major later..."

"If it turns into something major, that’s the Lantern Hanging Department’s problem! They’re the ones who snatched this case away from us, so it has nothing to do with our department!"

...

Back at the Song Residence, Zhang You had his men turn the small courtyard Song Ciwan rented inside out. As expected, they found no useful clues.

Growing slightly frustrated, he thought for a moment, then sent a subordinate to bring the neighbors from the adjacent courtyard over for questioning.

Because Song Ciwan had rented a house at the end of the block, with a solid wall to the west and no neighbors on that side, Zhang You’s subordinate only brought over Young Master Sun and his wife from the eastern side of the Song Residence.

The moment the couple was brought over, a Jade Token hanging at Zhang You’s waist suddenly began to vibrate faintly.

One of Zhang You’s subordinates cried out in alarm, "My Lord, these two have been tainted by a deceitful aura!"

Zhang You stepped forward and placed a palm on each of them, instantly drawing out the deceitful aura that clung to their bodies.

He took out a Jade Bottle, sealed the two strands of aura inside, and tossed it to a subordinate. "Question them. Find out everything they’ve been in contact with over the past two days, everything they’ve experienced, and whether they encountered anything supernatural last night."

With that, he casually chose a chair in the main hall of the Song Residence and sat down.

「Pinglan City, the South Suburb.」

At that moment, Song Ciwan had just released Gao Xiaolang from the Yin Soul Pearl. Gao Xiaolang tumbled to the ground, then scrambled back to his feet. He swayed for a moment and said urgently, "Sister Song, I have a bad feeling. You need to get out of here! I have to get away from Pinglan City right now!"