Knife splashing

Chapter 710 Kong Hui's Execution, Rumors of the Divine Weapon

"Qiankun Academy...contains something that will influence the transformation of humanity!"

Kong Hui's hoarse words were like a thunderclap.

Li Yan's pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill instantly shot up his spine.

In that instant, Yan Jiuling's casual words echoed clearly in his ears:

Yuan Feng, the master craftsman of the Mohist school, was the supervisor of the academy, yet he almost disappeared from the academy.

His whereabouts are shrouded in mystery. He frequently enters the inner palace and has repeatedly led the elite of the Mo Clan to disappear without a trace, causing much discussion. However, these discussions are easily suppressed by a series of supreme imperial edicts.

The imperial court's funding for Qiankun Academy was quietly elevated several ranks, a level of preferential treatment that drew attention...

In addition, for several previous incidents, the imperial court mobilized heavily and purged many officials.

Was all of this orchestrated by Emperor Xiao Qixuan taking advantage of the situation?

Using this successive storm, quietly cleanse the court.
"Steam engine!"

These three words exploded in Li Yan's mind.

Only this thing deserves the name of "leveraging humanitarian change"!
He was instantly shaken.

After that fleeting glimpse of Liangzi Lake that day, I gave myself that subtle hint.

That seemingly insignificant move... has turned into a dramatic event!
He had anticipated this, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Elder Yuanfeng and the others must have already broken through.

The secret arts of the Mohists: the power of water, fire, and steam…

Intertwined with the enormous shadows of the mechanical gears and steam I had seen that day…

This future Kyushu,

Where will this "device" lead us?
Thinking of this, I felt a sense of disorientation, as if the world had been turned upside down.

Li Yan wasn't the only one listening in outside the cell.

This case is of great importance and involves many people in the capital, so there are people from the Military Commandery, the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Guard, and the Enforcement Hall.

As soon as Kong Hui uttered his words, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The putrid smell of blood in the cell, like sticky phlegm, clung to their throats.

This suffocating feeling welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Speculation about humanitarian change has been circulating since last year.

At first, not many people paid attention to this matter, thinking it was just some fortune tellers talking nonsense or prophetic words from someone with ulterior motives.

However, with the chaos surrounding the Nine Tripods in Chengdu, coupled with unusual celestial phenomena, this matter has been confirmed.

What is humanitarian change?
For ordinary people, it meant a change of dynasty and widespread chaos.

For those in the Xuanmen sect, however, it was a change in the national sacrifice, a calamity in the mortal world.

In short, no force dared to underestimate them, and all were secretly making preparations to deal with them.

The sorcerer is nothing more than a scourge to the capital.

But since it concerned humanitarian change, everyone's hearts were on edge.

Wang Yan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was personally taking notes.

He froze upon hearing this, his pen smearing ink onto the yellow hemp paper without him even noticing.

A surge of emotion swept across the eyes of the old criminal investigator who was in charge of the "Great Xuan Law".

He subconsciously pressed the file down with his sleeve, as if those few drops of ink were red-hot charcoal.

"Infinite Heavenly Lord!"

Luo Mingzi swallowed hard, feeling his palms sweating.

Logically speaking, he was a member of the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect, but since the matter was of great importance, he dared not act recklessly.

Pei Zongti frowned, staring at Kong Hui inside, and said in a deep voice, "Explain clearly, what does he want that thing for?!"

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the prison cell.

Even Li Yan perked up his ears.

No matter how important a steam engine is, it's still an inanimate object. He couldn't understand why Zhao Qingxu was interested in it.

"Hahaha…"

Inside the cell, Kong Hui, on the cross, slowly raised his head, his left eye, which was covered in blood, cracked open, and his smile was full of mockery:

"What do you think?"

The moment he finished speaking, his head exploded.

In an instant, the candlelight in the room turned bluish, and a chilling wind howled and swirled, carrying flesh and blood.

A black mist surged out of his mind.

The black mist condensed into a blurry human figure and rushed straight towards the ceiling covered with runes—like a moth drawn to a raging flame.

not good!

This guy is trying to kill himself!

Without saying a word, Li Yan swung out the Soul-Hooking Lock.

However, it was already too late.

scoff!

The soul-destroying talisman carved on the wall, filled with flowing cinnabar, resembles a body overflowing with blood.

The black mist in human form, formed from Kong Hui's vengeful spirit, collided with it and instantly exploded.

In the mist, Kong Hui's last face appeared; before his mocking lips could even rise, they scattered in pieces.

In the blink of an eye, the eerie wind subsided, and the cell fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone knows that the imperial court will never let this wicked man, Kong Hui, go unpunished.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so resolute that they directly left their body to seek death.

"This... sirs, what should we do?"

Wang Yan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, put down his brush and looked at the crowd.

"This matter should be reported to the Emperor immediately!"

Commander Jiao Wanbao of the Golden Guard stepped forward, his armor clanging loudly. The gilded tiger-head slit at his waist gleamed coldly in the firelight. He glanced around and said in a deep voice, "No one is to divulge today's events!"

"What you say makes sense, sir," the crowd echoed.

This matter is of great importance and must be reported to the Emperor.

But whether it will spread privately, no one can guarantee.

"Lord Pei, I want to use this man's head to pay tribute to my friend."

Li Yan shook his head slightly and looked at Pei Zongti.

"Ah."

Pei Zongti was in a state of confusion. He nodded casually, asked for the testimony, and went to the palace with Jiao Wanbao.

Li Yan had already drawn his sword, but a thought struck him, and he looked at Wu Ba.

Without saying a word, Wu Ba stepped forward with a grim face, grabbed Kong Hui's shattered head, and tore it off.

Blood and flesh splattered in the dim firelight, and the white bone fragments at the severed neck were stark.

The group then asked for a wooden box and lime, buried Kong Hui's head, and left the prison.

Rumble!
The bronze doors of the prison gates of the Enforcement Hall creaked open, and the twilight, like blood, spilled onto the Chongwen Gate Arrow Tower.

Li Yan and the others looked at the wooden box and felt it was somewhat absurd.

The infamous "Master of Rotten Books," Kong Hui, ultimately chose to commit suicide.

Perhaps, this former master was unwilling to continue to suffer humiliation.

Just then, several Taoist priests stumbled over, half their faces covered in soot and ash.

"Zhao Qingxu was executed at Fuchengmen!"

"How can it be?!"

Luo Mingzi frowned, clearly not believing it.

Although the Taoist priest was disheveled, his face was full of joy. "Senior Brother Luo, it's absolutely true!"

"We found the mechanism left by the sorcerer Kong Hui. Just as we were about to solve it, someone came to stop us. He was exactly as Young Hero Li had described. He was wearing a mask, holding a folding fan, and his magic was very strange. But he didn't expect that the spearmen of the Commandery were also there."

"Thirty divine fire lances fired simultaneously, obliterating not even a trace of the soul!"

Luo Mingzi shook his head and said, "Nonsense..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Yan stopped him, smiling and saying, "It's good that he's dead. Brother Luo can report to the Emperor for a decision."

Luo Mingzi instantly understood, waved for the Taoist priests to leave, and then whispered, "Let's turn the tables on them?"

He certainly didn't believe that Zhao Qingxu would die so easily.

Most likely, it was a fake death to lower their guard and make them plot against the Qiankun Academy's possessions.

“Hmm, this person is cunning, we must not alert him…” Li Yan lowered his head, then looked up at the western sky, where the setting sun was sinking into the dark clouds, like spilled cinnabar spreading on rice paper.

More than Zhao Qingxu, he was now curious about what could have made the emperor so concerned…

Just how far had the research on the steam engine progressed?

But there's one more thing to do before that.

"Let's go back to Cangzhou first to pay respects to Brother Wu!"

With the Peach Banquet destroyed, the Jianmu tree removed, and Kong Hui dead, Zhao Qingxu will not appear anytime soon.

They took this opportunity to travel to Cangzhou.

Li Yan also knew that the matter of the steam engine would inevitably cause quite a stir...

……

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, palace lanterns flickered.

Pei Zongti and Jiao Wanbao's shadows stretched long across the cold gold bricks.

The two held their breath and recited the testimony that Kong Hui's spirit had given before it dissipated:

"The sorcerer Zhao Qingxu may have faked his death! His true form has vanished, plotting against Qiankun Academy..."

"Crack!"

Emperor Xiao Qixuan snapped his knuckles, causing the paperweight on his imperial desk to crack open.

His face darkened, and he sneered, "Good, good, it seems the palace is riddled with holes."

"The old servant's sin."

Zhao Wujiu, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, immediately knelt on the ground.

"It's good to know!"

Xiao Qixuan gave him a cold glance, clearly very angry, and didn't give Zhao Wujiu a friendly look either.

He glanced at the two men below the steps, took a deep breath, and issued an order: "The demon king has been slain. The night curfew at the Nine Gates is to be lifted immediately. The Golden Guard sentries are to withdraw from the streets!"

"According to the order!"

Jiao Wanbao's Adam's apple bobbed, knowing that the emperor was also going to play along.

Sure enough, Xiao Qixuan then issued a series of orders:

"No additional soldiers may be stationed outside the academy, but within a hundred paces, secret police and local officials will be on the move in stealthily!"

"The Jianmu demon has made such a deployment in the capital; he must have someone helping him. Follow the clues and don't let a single one escape!"

"Have Huo Yin personally oversee the academy; if any demons appear, kill them!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

……

Due to the unrest in Tianjin, the imperial court dispatched the navy to conduct a thorough inspection of the waterways.

With the river bandits lying in wait, the fast boats of the transport gangs roamed freely, and Li Yan's party arrived in Cangzhou in just two days.

A haze shrouded the canal, and Wu Quxin's tombstone stood alone in the wilderness, where not a blade of grass had yet grown.

Among the offerings, paper ash lay piled high, and wine, meat, and pastries glistened with oil.

Wu Ba's face was ashen. He untied the pale, oiled paper wooden box, which resembled a shroud, and with a flick of his palm, Kong Hui's head rolled into the dust like a rotten melon.

Those cloudy, lifeless eyes stared straight at the iron-gray city wall of Cangzhou in the distance.

"Brother Wu, just watch!"

Li Yan poured out the wine, and a clear, cool stream of wine flowed from the spout, overflowing Kong Hui's withered hair and seeping into the parched yellow soil.

The person who harmed you has been executed.

He was speaking when his knuckles, which were gripping the handle of the teapot, suddenly tightened.

At this point, what's the use of saying more?
Though revenge was taken, the person is gone, their soul scattered and vanished into nothingness.

Li Yan shook his head, let out a soft sigh, and poured half a pot of leftover wine onto the cold stone tablet.

Wu Ba, standing nearby, prostrated himself and kowtowed, the sound of his head hitting the ground several times with muffled thuds.

The paper money curled and fluttered in the flames, transforming into black butterflies that swirled in the sky.

Iron Lion Takezuka was also nearby, his long white beard trembling slightly in the north wind.

Staring at Kong Hui's tattered head, he remained silent for a long while, then sighed and looked at Wu Ba:

"That brat only ever talked about your name! Come back to the manor with me. From now on, his mantle will belong to you!"

Li Yan was slightly taken aback: "Senior, this... is probably against the rules, isn't it?"

The lineage of Wu Qu is not limited to the Eight Extremes Sect, but also includes the secret teachings of the Huaguang Sect.

The Huaguang sect reveres the Five Manifestations Huaguang Emperor, also known as the Horse King in folk religion. Their teachings are highly valued, while Wu Ba is, after all, a human demon.

"What nonsense!"

Takezuka sneered, "How many messes have those brats cleaned up for them? Once someone dies, not a single ghost shows up!"

"I'm too lazy to keep the rules! What, are you chickening out?"

Li Yan's eyes flashed, and he immediately pushed Wu Ba forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said loudly, "We will do as you say, senior!"

If the old lion is fearless, then they are naturally even more fearless.

The Huaguang Sect's martial arts are fierce and are widely practiced in the south and among martial arts circles.

If someone tries to cause trouble in the future, we can simply confront them.

Not long after, at the Wu family mansion.

The front hall was solemnly furnished with ancestral tablets of the samurai family, the candlelight flickering.

Upon entering the rear hall, one is immediately struck by a solemn altar: a colossal statue of a deity sits in the center, with vertical eyes on its forehead, a red face, and three eyes, gleaming with golden armor—this is the "Divine Seat of the Five Manifestations of the Great Emperor Huaguang." To its left and right are slightly lower tablets inscribed with "God of a Thousand Miles of Eyes" and "God of Hearing the Wind."

"The Huaguang lineage is based on martial arts, borrowing the divine power of Marshal Ma's control over thunder and fire; the Five Thunder Technique is particularly brutal..."

The sound of the bell reverberated like a bronze bell. Wu Ba, kneeling before the altar, buried his head deep in the ground, his head covered with a red cloth that connected him to the altar.

"Our sect's teachings are divided into two categories: the transmission of scriptures through literature and the instruction of techniques in martial arts mountains..."

"Once you enter my school, you will be a fully qualified disciple for forty-nine days, without fail! You will recite mantras daily, avoiding defilement and maintaining purity..."

"Our Wu family branch specializes in the Five Thunder Strikes, with particular emphasis on Shadow Strikes, Secret Strikes, and Counter-Attack Techniques..."

The solemn incantation reached their ears, and Li Yan and the others stood quietly in the courtyard, waiting in silence.

"Tsk tsk, now that the big guy has received the inheritance, his strength will surely reach a new level..."

Shalifei shook his head and said in a low voice, "Brother Yan, after we return to the capital in a few days, why don't we go directly to Qiankun Academy?"

Lu San glanced at it and said, "What's your rush? There are too many people there, I find it annoying."

"You can't say that."

Shalifei tugged at Lü San's sleeve with a grin, "Brother Lü San, you're not in a hurry, but my matter is still unresolved. I heard from Fatty Lin that there are many good things in the academy's storeroom. If I want to get that gun out, I can only ask Qiankun Academy for help."

Li Yan frowned and said, "Qiankun Academy is very busy, so it may be difficult to find a master craftsman."

"rest assured."

Shalifei said in a low voice, "That kid Kuai Dayou has already agreed to help me. There aren't many people in the capital who are more capable than him."

Wang Daoxuan asked in surprise, "When did you get involved with him?"

Shalifei chuckled and said, "That kid's got a stubborn streak. The other day he saw my book and kept asking me all sorts of questions. And you know what? Thanks to him, I finally had a chance to refine my magic weapon, the spear..."

"Okay, no rush."

Li Yan looked towards the capital and shook his head, saying, "When we get to Qiankun Academy, we'll find Zhao Qingxu first."

The thought of Zhao Qingxu gave him a headache.

This person is extremely mysterious; everyone Jianmu encounters now has a background.

This guy, however, was completely unheard of using any magic.

What exactly is their background...?

…………

Inside the Hall of the Priest of the Mysterious Ritual, in the Sutra Repository.

The air was thick with the musty smell of camphor wood and old paper.

In the dim candlelight, Kong Shangzhao's fingers brushed across the brittle pages of a copy of "Tales of Bianliang during the Dazhong Xiangfu Era," his gaze suddenly freezing on the entry for "The Phantom of Yizhou Jiaozi Bureau Paper," the ink on the yellowed Xuan paper as red as blood.

"In the third year of the Tianxi era, a clerk at the Yizhou Treasury died suddenly..."

"He was greedy for money. When he died, he had a large sum of money in 'Jiaozi' (paper money) that he did not burn. His resentment was imprinted on the cinnabar seal on the paper money."

"Later, every midnight, a faceless humanoid figure would crawl out of the ticket, devouring the essence of the copper coins, always proclaiming, 'All the wealth in the world should belong to one…'"

He suddenly froze, then picked up Kong Hui's confession from the prison cell to examine it, muttering to himself:

"Not human, definitely not human, how could this be..."

(End of this chapter)