Lu Qian was looking around the coffin shop, while Lu Tianxing was deep in a feast.
This was the innermost courtyard of Steamer Alley, a residence with white walls and black tiles, surrounded by lush gardens, named "Jade Hall Spring."
In the delicate warm room, on the stove sat two pots—one simmering dog meat, the other mutton.
Nearby were more than a dozen plates stacked high with all kinds of mountain delicacies and seafood.
On the heated kang bed, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged in a bright red robe.
On his chest and back were eight blood-red spots that shone dazzlingly.
He held chopsticks in his right hand and a wine bowl in his left, eating and drinking heartily, sweat beading on his forehead, completely immersed in the feast.
Beside him was Lu Tianxing; each man was accompanied by a stunningly beautiful young woman, clearly a pair of sisters with similar features, both well-rounded and radiant.
The two women smiled sweetly, pouring wine and warming dishes for the men, occasionally whispering gentle words to them, doting on them with great care.
Outside, a cool breeze whispered through the alley.
Lu Tianxing carefully dipped a fragrant boiled egg from the dog meat pot into a small bowl before the middle-aged man, smiling as he said, "Brother-in-law, I was a bit uneasy about this affair and feared it might end poorly. But with you personally leading the team here, my heart can finally rest."
The middle-aged man was short and stocky, his head shaped like a woven basket, but his arms were thick and powerful.
His palms were dark as cast iron, with blue veins snaking across the backs of his hands and fingers, faintly gleaming coldly in the lamplight.
Unfazed by the heat, he picked up the egg and popped it into his mouth, chewing twice before swallowing it.
He raised his wine bowl and drank deeply with satisfaction.
Setting it down, he stroked his large beard.
His eagle-like eyes flashed coldly as he spoke harshly, "Xiao Xing, this time your work was indeed sloppy. You lost so many men but didn’t even get a single lead on the enemy. Higher-ups wanted to punish you severely, but I stopped them."
Cold sweat beaded on Lu Tianxing’s forehead.
The man waved his hand and commanded coldly, "But the Supervisor is wise."
The two of them bowed in the direction of the Imperial City.
The middle-aged man snorted and said quietly, "These days, the prison’s manpower has mostly been devoted to monitoring the officials and scholars of the whole court, especially those Confucian disciples. There aren't many left to investigate this case properly."
"No need to worry about silence—it's a good sign if anything stirs."
"The first three men you lost were members of the orthodox sword lineage of the greatest clan in Eastern Divine Continent... That matter undoubtedly involves those bastards in Siji Ward, who won’t be easy to touch for now."
"But the other fifteen men who were killed—the injuries on their bodies—just a few days ago, the Supervisor personally summoned some retired internal ancestors, and they identified the wounds."
Lu Tianxing’s eyes brightened.
"Found suspects?"
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue, picking up a sheep’s hoof with chopsticks, then said heavily, "It was only confirmed yesterday. Otherwise, why would I have volunteered to come personally and back you up today? These bastards disappeared nearly seventy years ago; now, barely anyone in the guard remembers them."
"Hmph, the Nine Yin Sect — have you heard of them?" the man glanced sideways at Lu Tianxing.
Lu Tianxing frowned.
"Seems like I have. Heard it somewhere… on some case file?"
"And the Ghost Mother Worship Sect? That name should ring a bell. It hangs in the main hall of the guard’s headquarters as the number one traitor and evil demon on the 'Iron Record of Treason.'"
Lu Tianxing shuddered and suddenly leapt onto the kang, shouting, “The Nine Yin Sect—yes, that’s them! They are the Ghost Mother Worship Sect! They have a base in my territory? No wonder they struck so viciously. Several brothers nearly got crushed to a pulp!”
"Calm down, calm down. What’s the big deal?" The middle-aged man raised his head with confidence.
"You don’t fear a strong enemy—you fear not knowing who they are. No matter how brutal the Ghost Mother Worship Sect is, once they leave a trace, they won’t be able to stand against us."
"The Supervisor himself ordered this. This time, all available manpower has been mobilized—fifteen hundred officers and guards under direct command, plus the ghosts they summoned from the ground. Over ten thousand men have surrounded your two streets and one alley."
"Everyone is equipped with top-tier armor, long spears, and great halberds from the armory. Powerful bows and crossbows are also fully supplied."
The man stuffed the sheep’s hoof into his mouth and quickly spat out the white bones.
"This time, you lost men, but you caught their scent. Heh heh."
Pointing the chopsticks at Lu Tianxing’s shocked face, he leisurely continued, "I’m going to give you full credit for this one. After enduring so many years in the rank of muscleman, it’s time you got a real upgrade."
Lu Tianxing’s expression shifted drastically.
He hurriedly sat down and poured another bowl of fine wine for the middle-aged man.
“Brother-in-law, all thanks to your support, hehe.”
The middle-aged man smiled, clinked his bowl with Lu Tianxing’s, and drained it before slapping his forehead hard. “Oh right, there’s one more thing you need to keep in mind. There’s a young man called Lu Qian who just joined your team?”
Lu Tianxing looked at his brother-in-law in surprise. “Yes, a fair-skinned pretty boy, but surprisingly, he has the Tuo Pulse Realm cultivation despite his young age. Must come from a big family.”
"In Haojing’s Lu clan, only the Jingyang Lu clan’s Duke Lai branch and Marquis Tian’en branch fit that profile. He should be from one of those."
Lu Tianxing blinked.
The middle-aged man smiled leisurely.
"Before we set out today, the Supervisor sent word through someone to tell you to watch him closely."
Chuckling, the man lowered his voice. “This kid’s got a bright future. He just joined the guard and has already earned three meritorious awards from the Supervisor himself. Pretty impressive, huh?”
Lu Tianxing was shocked. “What? He hasn’t done anything and already got three merits?”
The man shot a sidelong glance at Lu Tianxing. “You don’t get it. He’s not idle. He made Bai Changkong spit blood on the street, forced the General’s mansion to send out manpower, spread rumors about Bai Changkong all over, and made Confucian disciples clash with the General’s household. That’s a huge achievement!”
On Oil Basket Street, Lu Qian caught up with Old He in just two or three steps.
With his hands tucked inside his sleeves, Lu Qian whispered, “Call the men out. That shopkeeper An recognized you. Yeah, just send troops to raid those two coffin shops for sure—we won’t make a mistake.”
Old He looked at Lu Qian in shock and delight. “You’re sure? How do you know they’re guilty?”
Lu Qian pointed to his eyes and sincerely said, “This pair of eyes of mine can naturally see details most people can’t. The evil aura on that coffin shop’s shopkeeper and kid was visible to me from three miles away."
“They definitely have problems. Even if they didn’t kill those eighteen brothers, they’re certainly not on the right path. Catching them won’t be a mistake.”
A gleam of blue light flashed in Lu Qian’s eyes.
He continued calmly, “Besides, do you think the guard is afraid of making mistakes?”
Old He blinked.
Lu Qian added, “Also, who lives in Qifang Garden of Siji Ward? We should have the brothers investigate.”
“Three girls, aged fifteen or sixteen, died around the New Year, and they all got the cheapest thin-skinned coffins. That tells us their backgrounds are humble—likely maids or servants.”
“Doesn’t this pattern seem familiar?”
Lu Qian said coldly, “Probably our young master Liu had a few honest days, but it didn’t last—he’s back to causing trouble again.”
Old He’s eyes popped wide as if he’d seen a ghost.
Dryly, he said, “Lu Qian, I ask you, is this just luck? Or… or…”
In Lu Qian’s mind, his spiritual light rippled like water from a lotus seed.
He smiled sheepishly at Old He, “Of course it’s luck. But as the saying goes, there’s always a little inevitability in coincidence. We can discuss how lucky I am later, but right now, time isn’t on our side.”
The two hurried along and had already crossed a good half of Oil Basket Street.
Ahead was a gold shop, its door half-closed, faint light spilling through.
Laughter came from inside.
“Hey!”
The laughter abruptly stopped, replaced by a soft sigh.
“So delicate, such lovely jewelry.”
“The workmanship, worthy of a six-hundred-year-old shop. Even the palace frequently uses their pieces.”
“When I was a girl, I often picked jewelry from there.”
“After entering the palace, I still mostly used their treasures.”
“But men and fortune don’t last forever… What happened after is…”
The soft sigh was chilling to the bone.
Lu Qian’s hair prickled as he hurried past the gold shop.
Several red silk lanterns hung outside.
Suddenly, the lights brightened fiercely, blood-red flames dyeing a stretch of street several dozen yards around them.
A faint mist flowed out from the shop’s partially open door.
The door silently opened fully, and a bright red phoenix sedan chair floated out, like a paper kite, hovering half a foot above ground, blocking the path of Lu Qian and Old He dead center.
Their faces turned pale.
The curtains of the phoenix sedan chair lifted slightly, and a pair of blood-red embroidered shoes gently appeared beneath the curtain.
A mournful, desolate voice whispered, “Since I was born flesh and blood of father and mother, why was I sent to where no sunlight reaches to suffer?”
“Gentlemen, shall we play a matching game?”
The mist rapidly spread to both sides of the street, soon blanketing the entire stretch in a thick fog.
(End of chapter)