Knife splashing

Chapter 736 Siege of the Demon Nest
The soil in the pit was still freshly damp, with a few wood chips scattered around the edge.

"You're too late!" Lin Yu's chubby face instantly collapsed, and he slammed his fist hard against the wall.

"The item was just dug up, it shouldn't have gone far!" Lü San's voice was as cold as iron as he glanced at the increasingly bustling streets around him.

Kuai Dayou winked smugly, "Easy, watch me."

After saying that, he turned his head and looked around.

As a local bigwig in Beijing, he was very familiar with this area.

Soon, he raised an eyebrow and shouted at several ragged thugs who were peering into the distance, "Scarface! Get over here! And Li the Traitor! Are you blind?!"

The idlers were called out, and although they were unwilling, they clearly recognized this skilled and well-connected carpenter and knew that he was not someone to be trifled with.

The shrewish man chuckled and trotted over: "Master Kuai, how are you? What brings you to this unlucky place so early in the morning?"

"Cut the nonsense!"

Kuai Dayou's eyes widened, and he pointed to the empty pit. "Who took this 'old companion' away before dawn this morning?"

"What does it look like? Where did it go? Tell me quickly!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a small string of copper coins from his pocket, jingling them in his hand—a combination of enticement and intimidation.

The group of thugs exchanged glances.

It was Scarface who spoke first, his tone tinged with lingering fear: "Master Kuai, this is eerie. Around dawn, before the fog had even lifted, it was 'White Paper Horse' Wu Shenhan who came! He was alone, pushing a cart covered with a tattered straw mat, sneaking up to that stake like a ghost."

"A white paper horse? Old Dog Wu?"

Kuai Dayou frowned deeply. "That old dog specializes in making paper figures and horses and handling funerals. He's incredibly cunning! Hasn't he been sickly and never left the house? How could he possibly carry this heavy thing?"

That's exactly what's strange!

Another thug, nicknamed "Three Hands," chimed in, his voice even lower, "That old dog Wu can usually be blown away by a gust of wind, but this morning he looked incredibly strong. His face was pale and his eyes were glazed over, like a living dead."

“A few of us were a bit further away, sheltering from the wind in the corner. We saw that he didn’t use any tools to pry it open. He just grabbed the wooden stake with both hands and pulled it out with a shout.”

"That strength was inhuman! They loaded it onto the truck, covered it, and left, heading towards his house, into the alley behind the Ping An Coffin Shop. They were incredibly fast, like a ghost was chasing them..."

"go!"

Wang Daoxuan's face darkened, and he immediately said, "Go to Ping An Coffin Shop!"

There's no need to ask any further questions; this Wu Shenhan is definitely suspicious.

…………

Ping An Coffin Shop is located among dilapidated houses in the west of the city.

This area was a gathering place for pawnbrokers in Xiajiu. The alleys were deep and narrow, and year-round, they were filled with a sinister smell of cheap incense, paper ash, and rotten wood.

squeak~
Pushing open the creaking wooden door of the Wu family's house, which looked as if it might fall apart at any moment, a strong, indescribable stench hit you.

It was a mixture of the bitterness of medicinal herbs and a fishy smell similar to the rust and decay of metal.

The room was dimly lit and poorly furnished, almost bare.

The corner was piled with half-finished white banners, paper horse skeletons, and some rough paper dyed with indigo and vermilion.

The wisps of incense ash floating in the air drifted and sank in the dim light.

Wu Shenhan was a thin, middle-aged man with a large mouth and crooked eyes.

Those who work in this line of work, unless they have a great lineage like the Night Crying Man, can only choose ugly and lonely people, all because they are afraid of bringing bad luck to their families.

Take Wu Shenhan for example; he can make enough money by taking on odd jobs to eat, drink, gamble, and whore around in his spare time.

Although it was lonely, it was also quite glamorous.

But at this moment, he was curled up in the corner of the cold earthen bed, wrapped in a dirty and greasy quilt, with only his ashen and bloodless face showing.

His withered, claw-like fingers gripped the blanket tightly, his body trembled violently, his eyes were unfocused and vacant, and he kept muttering fragmented words in a neurotic manner:
"Immortal, spare me! Spare me!"

"Old dog Wu, do you recognize me?"

Kuai Dayou stepped forward and grabbed his collar menacingly. "Tell me, where is that wooden shelf at the execution ground?"

Wu Shenhan, his face filled with fear, stammered, "I can't say, I dare not say..."

Kuai Dayou was about to get angry, but Wang Daoxuan stopped him.

The Taoist priest seemed to be deep in thought. He stepped forward and tore open Wu Shenhan's collar.

But below the Adam's apple, near the collarbone, a patch of skin the size of a coin looked strangely odd, displaying an eerie dark red color.

The edges were charred and curled up, deeply imprinted into the flesh.

The center is slightly concave, and several fine, twisted blood-red lines can be vaguely seen under the skin, the shape of which is very similar to a copper coin that has been deformed by high temperature.

"This thing again?"

Upon seeing this, Lü San frowned immediately.

He recalled the chaos in Chengdu when Lu Sheng controlled the Prince's Palace and distributed "Lucky God Money" indiscriminately, causing the entire city to be cursed and turning it into a demonic realm.

That was a really bad memory.

"This isn't lucky money..."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and frowned. "The creator of the 'Joyful God Coin' is Zhao Jie, a disciple of the Six Ren Immortals Sect. It is relatively secretive and requires the creation of a magical artifact as a medium."

"But this method involves directly casting a spell, so it must have been done by Zhao Qingxu."

"Taoist priest, save me! Help me!"

Upon hearing Wang Daoxuan's words, Wu Shenhan suddenly opened his eyes. As if sensing a glimmer of hope for salvation, his body convulsed, and tears streamed down his face as he begged for mercy.

"Don't move yet!"

Wang Daoxuan gave a stern rebuke, bent down, frowned, and carefully examined the object.

"This seems to be 'burial money for wronged people'..."

"Master, what is the money for burying grudges?"

"The amulet coins specially made for burial are filled with deathly and ominous energy. I ask you, have you received any unclean money recently?"

Wu Shenhan made a gurgling sound in his throat, his eyes drifting towards the corner of the wall.

Kuai Dayou immediately stepped forward, picked up the shovel next to him, and shoveled hard at the corner of the wall.

Ding!
The object wasn't buried very deep, and it immediately made a crisp sound.

Upon digging it out, they were astonished to find a whole bag of silver, jingling as it was unearthed.

At Wang Daoxuan's signal, Kuai Dayou pulled out a dagger and cut it open.

Sure enough, inside was a blackened ancient coin, covered in verdigris and reeking of a foul odor.

"It seems I was mistaken!"

Wang Daoxuan's brows relaxed slightly. "The capital has a City God Temple and local gods. If Zhao Qingxu wants to cast a spell remotely without disturbing the City God, he still needs a medium."

"With this money for burying grievances, the caster can use it to track locations and detonate spells at any time, killing people and silencing them without a trace. There should also be restrictions, which is why Wu the shaman dared not say..."

"Quickly, follow me to set up the altar and break the curse!"

Upon hearing this, Lü San and Wu Ba immediately helped to set up the formation.

Wang Daoxuan had a complete set of simple magical artifacts for setting up formations, specifically for dealing with such situations. Most of the time, Wu Ba carried them, and they worked in perfect harmony, setting them up one by one.

As for Fatty Lin and his two companions, since they were unfamiliar with them, they could only observe from the sidelines.

The two of them were alright, since they had met before.

Only Kuai Dayou was initially surprised, then a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Soon, a simple formation was set up.

Five small French flags were planted around the room.

This is called "taking root and establishing a Dharma altar," which isolates the inside from the outside, making it difficult for even the City God to detect.

Subsequently, Wang Daoxuan first purified the altar with cinnabar mixed with well water, drew the "Nine Phoenixes Breaking the Evil Spirits" talisman to dispel evil, and then stepped on the steps of the Big Dipper while reciting the "Supreme Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra".

A strong wind blew up inside the room, and the stench of decay quickly dissipated.

This ritual required a combination of internal and external methods, so Wang Daoxuan used the Taoist medical techniques he had learned to insert a three-inch golden needle to pierce Wu Shenhan's Tiantu, Tanzhong, and Juque acupoints.

After being inserted into the acupoint, the gold needle began to tremble slightly.

This is a sign that the evil energy within the body has been frightened. Just before the golden needle was about to be pushed out, Wang Daoxuan immediately stepped on the Life Gate point, changed his hand seals again, and shouted like thunder: "Open the Life Gate, close the Death Gate! All evil spirits of the Nine Netherworlds, quickly return to your original forms!"

Wow~
A strong wind picked up again.

Strands of scarlet blood emanated from the scars on those coins.

"what--!"

Wu Shenhan suddenly felt a sharp pain.

He screamed madly, his body arched and stiffened, as if being violently lifted up from the inside by an invisible force, his bones creaking and groaning under the strain.

puff!
Finally, with a spurt of foul blood, Wu Shenhan seemed to have all his strength drained away, and lay heavily on the bed, covered in cold sweat, his eyes glazed over.

In the distance, the unearthed burial money on the ground was also completely shattered.

"All right!"

Wang Daoxuan removed the altar, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said in a deep voice, "I know you can still move. Don't pretend to be dead. If we don't get rid of this demon, you will surely die!"

"Yes Yes…"

Wu Shenhan swallowed hard and weakly began to explain the reason.

He was unlucky. Half a month ago, he inexplicably took on a job. It happened at night, and on his way to the client's house, he encountered a ghost wall and arrived at the place in a daze.

The master was very mysterious, dressed in black robes and wearing a mask. He gave him a large bag of silver and said that he was not needed for the time being, and that he could take the silver back and await orders.

Wu Shenhan was also blinded by greed. Even though he knew something was wrong, he still took the silver home.

I've been living a very carefree life for the past two weeks, indulging in all sorts of vices, from eating and drinking to gambling and womanizing.

But just yesterday afternoon, a little beggar suddenly came to the door, handed over a letter, and said that he had been entrusted by someone to give him this item.

Wu Shenhan looked and realized it was the mysterious man's order to steal the execution ground's wooden frame in the middle of the night.

If it were someone else, they might have done it.

Although Wu Shenhan was a fake sorcerer, he knew some taboos. The wooden execution frame was stained with the blood and resentment of the dying, so it was not a good thing.

He had a sudden thought and prepared to break his promise.

When the city gates open tomorrow morning, they will take the silver and fly away.

Anyway, he could never earn that much money in his entire life.

However, this greed led to disaster.

When the appointed time arrived, he immediately felt as if his internal organs were on fire, and the pain was unbearable. Only then did he remember the warning from the man in black, and in a panic, he went to steal the wooden frame.

Although I successfully retrieved the items and placed them in the designated location, the pain was not lessened at all. I lay in bed for a long time, and coin-shaped scars appeared on my body. I was too weak to leave.

"strangeness…"

Wang Daoxuan seemed to be thinking, "This is the effect of the restriction. Zhao Qingxu did not actively trigger the evil curse, otherwise you would not have survived until now."

Where did you put your things?

"It was right at the street corner. I hadn't gone far when I heard the sound of a carriage. I ran back to check, and the things were gone."

"Tsk tsk..."

Kuai Dayou shook his head and said, "This method is watertight. Even if you, an unrelated person, are sent to do the work, and you find a dead body, the clues will be completely cut off."

Wang Daoxuan asked thoughtfully, "Do you remember that place?"

Having narrowly escaped death, Wu Shenhan harbored deep resentment towards those people. He immediately tried desperately to recall, "I was drunk that night and encountered a ghostly maze. I really don't remember, I only know it was in the south of the city... That's right!"

He suddenly spoke up: "I remember there was a peculiar smell there."

"What is the taste?"

"It felt like a mixture of candle smoke, moldy old books, and spices—very stuffy..."

"Oh?"

Wang Daoxuan frowned, unable to figure out what this tasted like.

"I know!"

Kuai Dayou, who was standing next to him, lit up and said, "I know this place. It's the Taixi Church in the southwest of the city. I went there when I was helping them repair the roof beams."

"The flavor is very unique; it's the only one of its kind in Beijing!"

…………

The Tonghui River wharf was shrouded in a light mist in the early morning.

Dozens of cavalry captains and armored soldiers swept through the streets like an iron torrent. The common people only felt the officials' boots pounding the ground like the rapid beat of drums, and a group of elite soldiers had silently blocked all the intersections, with the flames of the fuses flickering at the muzzles of the muskets.

"The Commandant's Office is in charge of official business; close the doors and hide!"

The officers in black spurred their horses and shouted orders. The wonton vendors and tea stalls along the street were instantly torn down, and the crackling sound of doors and windows being slammed shut echoed through the air.

Several idlers who were peeking out were immediately knocked back into the doorway by the butts of guns.

The entire street was transformed into a desolate wasteland within twenty breaths.

"Mr. Kong, please don't do this again..."

At the street corner, Luo Mingzi whispered instructions to Kong Shangzhao.

"Thank you for your trouble, senior," Kong Shangzhao replied, bowing his head.

Wang Daoxuan and the others were also nearby, watching the actions of the Commandant and the Taoist priests of the Enforcement Hall.

They dared not act recklessly when Zhao Qingxu was involved.

After all, this old demon was highly skilled and cunning, and he also had the assistance of an unknown number of Japanese experts. Although he was somewhat unwilling, he could only inform the Commandery.

The wood from Taodu Mountain is precious. If we let this person escape because of greed, we will surely regret it later.

Moreover, it is daytime now, and only the Commandery can clear the entire street to avoid implicating innocent people.

Their actions also alarmed the people in the church.

"Master, something's not right!"

The Japanese samurai in charge of surveillance immediately found Yu Yiyuan and said urgently, "There's no one on the street. We've probably been discovered."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yiyuan, who was cultivating, quickly went to the window to look out.

The once bustling streets were now deserted, with only trampled vegetable leaves stuck to the bluestone slabs.

Looking at the empty streets, his face darkened. "Baka! The streets are empty! These Western missionaries are truly idiots!"

"Master, what should we do?"

"Leave first, let these idiots cover our retreat..."

These past few days, playing hide-and-seek with the Commandery and the Enforcement Hall, he has come to his senses that Zhao Qingxu has simply used a promise to keep them trapped here and risking their lives.

For several days, Zhao Qingxu had not shown up, yet he had ordered them to cause destruction everywhere, clearly indicating that he had other important matters to attend to and was using their lives to attract the attention of the Commandery.

Before he could finish speaking, the attack had already begun.

In the distance, at the street entrance, several members of the Duwei Division had already raised their flags and fire lances.

"boom--!"

With a loud crash, wood chips flew everywhere from the church's iron-clad oak doors.

At the same time, three zhang away, five teams of Taoist priests from the Enforcement Hall shot out like lightning!

The four men tore open the black rope made of ink lines and nailed it along the street. The leader stepped on a divination board and threw out five three-inch iron stakes with his backhand, which contained the five elements and directions, and smashed them hard into the cracks in the stone slabs.

This is the "Nail-Stabilizing Stake" from the "Prohibition of Dharma Altar Ritual"!
"Raise the flag!"

Luo Mingzi waved his whisk and pointed it to the sky. The other ten Taoists immediately flipped their wrists and flicked their sleeves. The five talisman flags, accompanied by the sound of wind breaking, were driven straight into the roof tiles along the street.

A copper bell is secretly attached to the end of the flag; it vibrates when it touches anything, making a sudden, chaotic tinkling sound.

This is the "Frightening Banner," which uses the sound of bells to interfere with spells, preventing escape techniques from being used.

Crossbowmen on the roof pointed their arrows with a cold glint, while axemen hid in the shadows at the base of the wall.

The entire street was surrounded like an iron barrel, leaving no blind spots to hide in...

(End of this chapter)