Chapter 547: The Demon Rises Ten
Over these past few days, whether in the dream land or in reality, Cheng Yu had been cooped up in cramped, stifling little rooms.
He felt as though he were about to grow mold. He did not want to stay in that side room for even one more instant, so he climbed off the bed and walked toward the door.
Birdsong came from outside, chirping merrily. Dust motes danced in the sunlight slanting through the doorway, showing that it was a brilliantly sunny day.
The instant Cheng Yu stepped out the door, the beam of light shining through it was blocked by his own body.
Beyond it lay total darkness.
What—?
Damn it!
He wanted to turn and retreat back into the room, but behind him, there was only emptiness.
Where’s that small side room I was just in?
Only Bai Ziqi still sat in the same place, smiling at him.
And as he smiled, his mouth split all the way back to his ears, revealing a row of jagged teeth, long and short alternating like a crocodile’s.
Only then did Cheng Yu belatedly realize that Bai Ziqi had been sitting in the corner the whole time and had never once come near that beam of light at the door!
That ray of light had likely been the last thread of clarity left in his heart.
“You stepped out of your heart chamber and left the protection of Bai Ziqi’s candle flame.” Under Cheng Yu’s horrified gaze, Bai Ziqi’s face slowly changed into that of the Hundred-Faced Nightmare. Both heads let out shrill, chittering laughter together. “Come now, it’s time to settle our old score!”
* * *
Bai Ziqi first returned to the county yamen to check on Cheng Yu.
If anyone else entered, what they would see was the curse master still lying unconscious, Fan Sheng standing guard beside him like a wooden statue, unmoving, and a pale white-and-gold candle burning in each of the four corners of the room.
There were other restrictions hidden here as well. Whether someone tried to seize Cheng Yu openly or sneak in secretly, they would suffer for it.
“Everything peaceful?” It should have been. He Xiao and Fushan Yue, who were the most suspicious, had had no chance to act within the past hour.
Fan Sheng nodded and said, “Everything is peaceful. Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai can rest easy. How’s Wu Kai?”
“Dead.”
Fan Sheng was startled. “Then only Cen Boqing is left?”
“Yes.” Bai Ziqi rubbed his forehead. “The sole surviving fruit.”
“Zhongsun Mou is dead, and Wu Kai is dead too. Cen Boqing absolutely must not come to harm. I’ll send more people to watch him.”
“Mai Xuewen killed Zhongsun Mou. As for Wu Kai, he was most likely killed by the side responsible for refining the elixir of youth. Those two sides are fighting each other, yet they’ve managed to wipe out all our leads and witnesses.” Bai Ziqi let out a faint sigh. “And both sides have shoved Cen Boqing at me. Heh.”
Fan Sheng said dryly, “Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai has worked hard.”
“Not at all. Compared to cases I’ve handled before, this one is much simpler. On my very first day in Baishajue, I already caught Cen Boqing confessing. All I have to do is bring him back. What could be smoother than that?”
Bai Ziqi said no more on the matter. He returned to the inn to wash up and change clothes, then went out for breakfast.
In the morning light, Baishajue was as bustling and lively as ever, full of carts and horses and overflowing with energy.
Just like He Lingchuan had, Bai Ziqi sampled the locally famous Hu Mazi’s beef-stuffed flatbread, then slurped down two bowls of rice noodle soup with sweet egg wine[1] before climbing Chao Lake Tower for a view. After that, he went to inspect the place where Fan Sheng had lost to He Lingchuan—
Lotus Palace.
Of course, after the water spirit’s mishap, only withered lotus remained there.
Still, the route he walked was actually centered on the county yamen. If something happened there, he could return without much effort.
On the way back, he passed the inn where he was staying and saw people peering about both inside and outside, craning their necks and looking around.
They were likely those from rich and influential families staying in Baishajue, hoping to come pay a formal visit to a cloud envoy.
Bai Ziqi had no desire to deal with them at all, so he turned a corner and went straight to the county yamen instead.
County Magistrate Tian immediately came over to report that the constables had already brought over Wu Kai’s belongings from the Cen Residence and were examining them one by one.
Wu Kai had been cautious in life and might not have left behind any useful clues. However, Bai Ziqi was even more cautious. He did not want to overlook a single detail.
By the time he finished dealing with these things, it was already afternoon. He and Fushan Yue had originally planned to interrogate Wu Kai during this time slot. But now the prisoner was dead, and that step had been canceled.
Fan Sheng was still in Cheng Yu’s side room. The eternal lamps remained lit in the four corners.
But Cheng Yu was still unconscious.
Bai Ziqi entered with his hands clasped behind his back. “No abnormalities at all?”
“None that I could see.” Fan Sheng pointed at the four lamps. “The restrictions were never triggered, and the flames stayed calm the whole time. But that Cheng fellow just never woke up.”
The door to the room stood open, yet the four candle flames remained steady and quiet, never wavering.
Ordinary wind could not disturb them. But at the same time, they were exceedingly sensitive.
His tone was grave. He had clearly realized that this was the greatest abnormality of all.
He had personally watched Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai feed Cheng Yu a whole heap of potent medicine. With that quantity and that efficacy, it should have been enough to get five or six dying old men back on their feet, playing music and dancing again.
So why had it failed to work on Cheng Yu?
Bai Ziqi observed carefully for a few moments, then reached out to feel Cheng Yu’s pulse. “His injuries have improved greatly.” His complexion has even turned somewhat rosy.
The spirit medicine taken out by a cloud envoy really is no joke. “His heart and lungs are clear too.”
There was no good reason for him not to wake up.
Whenever something was this strange, there had to be a monster behind it. Bai Ziqi’s face darkened. After thinking for a moment, he drew out the white-and-gold candle from his robe once more.
After the chase last night, all that remained was the candle’s little stump, but Bai Ziqi still lit it.
This lamp spirit had a special use, but the candle was almost burnt out and could only be used one final time.
The flame rose, but this time Bai Ziqi did not pinch it out the way he had the night before. Instead, he lowered his voice and murmured a few words of prayer into the flame.
Soon, the candle flame turned pale green.
That dim, eerie glow like corpse fire suddenly made the side room, despite the brilliant midday sun outside and the stifling heat, feel strangely cold and sinister. The two guards standing outside involuntarily shivered, feeling a chill creep up from the depths of their hearts.
Of course, the two men inside the room were not afraid.
“This kind of light can illuminate the soul.” Bai Ziqi brought the green flame close to Cheng Yu, holding it just before his breathing mouth and nose.
Naturally, the flame itself remained perfectly still. Fan Sheng felt as though the scene before him had blurred into double images, so he quickly rubbed his eyes. Bai Ziqi, however, changed expression.
Fan Sheng’s heart tightened. “What is it?”
Bai Ziqi did not answer. Instead, he beckoned one of the guards inside and held the flame before the man’s nose and mouth as well. “Look.”
Under the green flame’s illumination, the guard’s whole body and face seemed somewhat blurred. Fan Sheng forced himself to focus and realized that the man’s features had turned vague, while behind the spot between his brows, roughly where the brain was, there flickered a wisp of white light like a little flame.
“This is what a living human soul looks like under the Soul-Illuminating Candle.” Bai Ziqi’s voice carried anger now. “Now look at Cheng Yu again!”
No matter how he shone the flame on him, Cheng Yu’s mind remained utterly empty, like a house whose owner had already left.
“He lost his soul long ago. He’ll never wake up!”
“How is that possible...” Fan Sheng blurted out. “I stood guard here the whole time. No evil thing could come near him!”
The restrictions had never been broken. They had not even given a warning.
Naturally, Bai Ziqi knew that too. His eyes shifted slightly. “When did Cheng Yu lose his soul?”
Fan Sheng could not answer that question, and Bai Ziqi had not expected him to.
The night before, when Bai Ziqi had interrogated Cheng Yu alone, the man had still been conscious for a little over ten breaths and had answered him twice. At that time, Cheng Yu’s soul had still been present.
After that, Cheng Yu lost consciousness, so Bai Ziqi had no choice but to switch and interrogate the guards instead. Then Fushan Yue had arrived with He Xiao.
Once those two left, Bai Ziqi returned to Cheng Yu’s side room, set up the restrictions, and left Fan Sheng in charge.
In other words, Cheng Yu had lost his soul while the three of them were interrogating the guard, Cen Boqing, and the others.
Fushan Yue and He Xiao could probably be ruled out, because Bai Ziqi himself had been present the entire time. He was the eyewitness.
According to Cen Boqing’s own confession, Cheng Yu had only been temporarily hired to deal with He Xiao and had no connection to Cen Boqing’s elixir of youth business. So Cheng Yu’s lost soul was probably not the doing of the same people who had killed Wu Kai.
Then who wanted him dead?
Could it really be, as He Xiao had suggested, that the evil yin spirit whose vessel had been burned came back to take revenge on Cheng Yu?
Cheng Yu’s earlier act of sealing his soul inside the bottled dream land, together with the guard’s testimony, both confirm that he feared something. That thing had come once, then again, and finally succeeded.
On the surface, Baishajue’s progress had seemed smooth enough. Someone had practically prepared the “real culprit” for him. Yet whenever Bai Ziqi tried to investigate further, he kept feeling obstructed at every turn.
He slowly let out a breath of pent-up frustration.
Just how many different forces have been drawn into this bizarre case?
* * *
He Lingchuan sat on the rooftop playing his flute, accompanied by the susurrus of the gentle wind.
Practice truly did make a difference. His skill had improved considerably now, and he could smoothly play several complete tunes.
The Soul-Stealing Mirror felt it had finally nearly endured its way through the worst of it. “You’ve got a lot of room for improvement!”
He Lingchuan flicked the mirror surface with a finger. “Just say that I’ve improved! Or don’t say anything at all!”
As a beginner, he lacked finger technique and finesse, but the one thing he did not lack was breath.
Whether one played the flute or the xun, lung capacity was essential. Complex pieces were built on sustained notes supported by all kinds of techniques. Others who practiced this would train until their heads spun and their chests gave out. But He Lingchuan had cultivation, and he had long since grown used to breath regulation and internal circulation in daily practice. His breath was naturally deeper and more enduring, giving him an innate advantage here.
That said, he knew his talent for music was limited. At best, he could pretend to be a cultured young aesthete. No matter how much he practiced, he was unlikely to ever reach a high level at it.
Still, the calm focus that came with playing was very beneficial for nurturing a settled, tranquil state of mind.
That was also why many cultivators liked to study a musical instrument on the side.
This case of hunting monsters and harvesting beads, which had started back in Shuangyi Town, had finally come to a temporary close with Cen Boqing’s confession. At long last, He Lingchuan could enjoy a few easy days and relax.
Throughout the investigation, even when he hid indoors, avoiding the rain, he still needed to keep every nerve taut, always on guard against sudden attacks from his enemies.
The Soul-Stealing Mirror sighed too. “This case was way too complicated.”
“There’s nothing wrong with complicated.” It had deepened his understanding of Beijia layer by layer.
How could a cursory, sightseeing-style journey ever have exposed him to so much of its hidden truth?
The mirror still was not at ease. “You really aren’t afraid Cheng Yu will expose you?” Is it really fine to just leave Cheng Yu in Bai Ziqi’s hands and let things be?
Cen Boqing had already confessed, so Fushan Yue would no longer interfere with however Bai Ziqi chose to deal with Cheng Yu. As he himself had said, Cheng Yu was only an irrelevant bystander.
He Lingchuan smiled. “Nope.”
“Why not?”
He Lingchuan smiled without answering.
As an artifact spirit, the mirror’s voice could only be heard by its master. But his own words and actions might still all fall under Bai Ziqi’s notice. Who knew whether a cloud envoy had some marvelous means of monitoring him?
1. I think this is basically eggnog but with wine instead of milk? I’m not sure, though. I haven’t tried it before. ☜
