Knife splashing

Chapter 790 Chaos in the Night

Inside the rear hall of the Jinling Commandery.

The dim candlelight flickered, casting long shadows of Li Yan, Long Yan'er, Kuai Dayou, and others onto the cold stone wall.

Inside the room, besides Qiu Mingyuan, the Chief Justice of the Capital, there were several members of a collateral branch of the Lin family. It was clear that Qiu Mingyuan had kept his word; although these people were still temporarily detained, their clothes were clean and tidy, and their previous injuries had been bandaged.

Interrogated overnight, these members of the collateral branches were pale and filled with fear.

"Young Master, we are truly innocent."

Faced with Lin Pangzi's repeated questioning, the group trembled inwardly.

Having just escaped death, they certainly didn't want to be thrown back into prison.

"My lords, you are wise to see the truth!"

An older member of the Lin family cupped his hands and said, "Ever since Lin Yaozu took power, he has controlled the keys to the accounts and the storeroom. We...we no longer even have the right to check them. Besides, this is a capital offense, how dare we get involved?"

"Do not be afraid."

Li Yan offered a word of comfort, then asked in a deep voice, "The matter of Lin Yaozu has been investigated and found to have nothing to do with you, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"I called you here to find out what those people did during their time in Jinling, besides colluding with sorcerers to cause trouble?"

"I've thought it all through carefully!"

Fatty Lin was also there to help, appearing stern but actually trying to save his people.

These offspring of collateral branches, who were assigned to run the shop, were not fools. Upon hearing this, they looked at each other, frowning and deep in thought.

"There is something strange about this..."

One of them frowned and said, “I was slapped by that new manager, so I kept an eye on him. I vaguely remember that for a while he frequently withdrew large sums of cash under the pretext of ‘repairing the ancestral hall’ or ‘purchasing rare materials.’ The accounts were vague, and the actual destination… even the second manager had no right to ask.”

Li Yan pressed further in a deep voice, "When you withdrew the money, did you see any unfamiliar faces?"

Suddenly, a member of the other branch of the family remembered something: "Once, when I was running errands for my third uncle to the accounting office, I bumped into a few unfamiliar men dressed as craftsmen leaving through the side door."

"The leader was missing half an ear, his knuckles were frighteningly large, and he had a strange wooden box tucked into his waistband, like...like a miniature inkwell? The manager was smiling obsequiously as he saw them off, with a thick wad of silver notes in his pocket!"

"Half an ear? A miniature inkwell?"

Kuai Dayou's expression changed drastically. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, saying, "I know this bastard, 'Chen the Crippled Hand, the One-Eared Lu Ban'! He's one of those wanted scoundrels among the Jiangnan Xuanmen craftsmen!"

His face was full of disgust as he said, "These are a bunch of evil spirits disguised as craftsmen! They specialize in the harmful and cursed arts in the 'Lu Ban Book,' such as 'Thousand-Pound Gate,' 'Soul-Hanging Nail,' and 'Five Ghosts Moving Array.' Killing employers and swindling wealthy families is commonplace for them!"

"He also relied on his knowledge of ingenious mechanisms to often cooperate with those equally lawless treasure hunters from the 'Exploring the Mysterious Lineage' to engage in activities such as robbing ancient tombs and stealing dragon energy!"

"They did the bad things, but the people blamed us for it!"

He became increasingly angry and indignant as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes. "The Lin family's enormous funds to support this group of scoundrels and treasure hunters... they're definitely not simple! They're proficient in Lu Ban's curse techniques and evil methods of treasure hunting and locating acupoints; they must be planning something!"

Shalifei stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Commander Tian has access to many military defense and city fortification maps. Do you think it's possible that discovering this matter led to his death?"

Kuai Dayou gritted his teeth: "That's right! It must be so! Commander Tian argued with Colonel Zhou in the camp, mentioning the clansmen in the village... He probably wanted to find out the source of the spread of evil magic, or prevent a key node from being destroyed, which is why 'Old Man in the Forest' used that evil wind and demonic insects to silence him!"

"possible."

Li Yan nodded and said, "According to Zhou Dayong, those people tricked him under the pretense of bribing Commander Tian, ​​which means they had murderous intent from the beginning. Even if it wasn't that, they must have known an important secret."

Shalifei said with a wry smile, "But now that Commander Tian is dead, and those sorcerers from Jinling have long since vanished without a trace, the trail has probably been lost."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. We'll find them eventually."

He had a premonition that this matter must be extremely important, even more crucial than the plan in Jinling, otherwise those sorcerers wouldn't have risked exposure to take action directly.

After escorting the Lin family disciples back, Qiu Mingyuan, who had been silently observing from the sidelines, finally approached, cupped his hands, and said, "Young Master Li, thank you."

Some things don't need to be said too explicitly.

Qiu Mingyuan has many people to thank.

Firstly, he had just said that he would temporarily set aside his grievances with those powerful families and officials, and some of his words had already been leaked out, reaching the ears of those guys, who then secretly discussed countermeasures.

These people were certainly hateful, but what alarmed him even more was that he had an ear by his side. Li Yan had subtly invited him to listen in, which was a clear indication of his intentions.

Secondly, it was information that Li Yan had gathered.

Japanese silver mine!
Although it is overseas, the imperial court has issued a ban on private individuals mining gold, silver, and copper to mint coins. If they succeed, the coins will flow back to various places and impact the prices of salt and grain, causing who knows what kind of trouble it will cause.

If we listen to him completely, he will naturally have to bear the consequences.

Unbeknownst to me, I had already walked through the gates of hell.

Qiu Mingyuan recalled Pei Zongti's instructions before he left, telling him to cooperate more with Li Yan.

Although he did not disobey the order, he did not take it seriously. Therefore, he continued to act according to his own logic and almost fell into a big pit.

Thinking of this, Qiu Mingyuan said solemnly, "Young Master Li, don't worry, none of those people will escape. They brought this upon themselves, and no one can save them!"

"W-W-W-W-!"

Just then, the sound of bugles suddenly rang out, tearing through the night sky of Nanjing.

Immediately following this was a chaotic cacophony of gongs ringing out simultaneously from multiple directions within the city.

"Report! Urgent report!"

A captain's clerk stumbled open the interrogation room door, his helmet askew and armor askew, his face filled with horror: "It's terrible, sir! Riots have broken out in multiple places in the city!"

"The people near the Sanshanmen Water Gate are going crazy! The Qinhuai River wharf is also... and some people have even seen white threads emerging from several wells in the east of the city!"

"And... there are sorcerers from a ghost opera troupe spreading... spreading that white silk poison everywhere! And... they're still shouting 'the silkworm god is furious,' 'the court is tyrannical,' and 'surrender the city to avoid disaster'—these are all crazy things!"

"what?!"

Qiu Mingyuan's expression changed drastically.

Li Yan frowned as well, "It's the silkworm paralysis technique."

He looked up at the night sky, his expression grave, and said:
"Let's go. The sorcerer's sudden attack might be coordinated with those at Taihu Lake..."

…………

The night was as dark as ink, and the clapper struck after the second watch.

Near the public well in the east of the city, the night watchman Wang Laosi had just yawned when he suddenly heard a strange rustling sound coming from the well.

By the dim light of the lantern, several wet, slippery, grayish-white threads were seen climbing up the stone wall from the cracks in the well curb.

In the shadows nearby, an old woman with a hunched back, dressed in a faded, dark blue old woman opera costume, was stuffing a wet, fluffy, white, cotton-like thing that smelled sweet and fishy into the well.

"What...what are you doing? Quick, catch the demon!"

Wang Laosi immediately began banging the gong frantically while yelling at the top of his lungs.

He was a night watchman, so he knew more than ordinary people.

The city of Jinling is now under the watchful eyes of foreign enemies and plagued by evil spirits. The government has given them orders to promptly raise the alarm if any abnormality is discovered.

The number of patrol personnel was also three times greater than usual.

Sure enough, two patrol soldiers carrying lanterns rushed over upon hearing the noise.

The old woman suddenly straightened up, her eyes cloudy yet fierce.

She grinned strangely, and with a flick of her withered hand, the clump of white fluff scattered with a "whoosh," transforming into countless fine, damp, poisonous needles that rushed towards them!

"careful!"

The soldiers raised their shields to block, and the shields were covered with a layer of wriggling fine threads that made a "plop plop plop" sound!

But before they could catch their breath, the old woman let out a sharp shriek, and seven or eight ordinary people with dull eyes and unusually smooth skin suddenly sprang out from the well and the shadows at the base of the wall.

Foaming at the mouth, they lunged at the soldiers like marionettes, tearing and scratching. One soldier's wrist was ripped open, and several thin threads burrowed into his flesh through the wound! In any other place, this group would surely be dead.

But Jinling City is different. It was originally the capital of the previous dynasty, and there were two garrisons in the city. Due to the chaos caused by the Taihu Lake demons, two more troops were transferred in.

Even the power of orthodox religious lineages is continuously increasing.

Call ~
Suddenly, a fierce wind howled at the alley entrance.

As the dust settled, two Taoist priests appeared, dressed in dark blue robes, with peach wood swords on their backs, wooden crowns on their heads, and tiger-shaped jade pendants hanging from their waists.

These two were cultivators from the local Jiangnan lineage, known as the "Tiger Gate Order."

This sect is quite unique; they specialize in studying lost incantations recorded in various ancient books, which are difficult to learn and master, and their members are few in number.

Although they are all experts, they only operate in the vicinity of Jinling.

"It's a ghost opera troupe!"

"Stop your madness, you witch!"

The two Taoist priests were also quite skilled.

One person made hand seals and brandished a peach wood sword, actually using Wudang swordsmanship, but combined with the Tiger Gate Token secret technique. The wooden sword was like a sharp weapon, slicing through the air and forcing the strange old woman back.

The other one deftly pulled out a handful of cinnabar rice and scattered it on the manipulated people while chanting a spell.

When the white silkworm thread met the cinnabar rice, it immediately hissed and emitted black smoke. The people's eyes briefly regained their clarity, and they collapsed to the ground...

……

"boom--!"

A deafening explosion resounded near the massive stone gate.

The guards at the water gate rushed toward the source of the strange noise, carrying torches. Above the gate, a dozen strong men dressed in brand-new short martial arts costumes and with ferocious painted faces were leaping and somersaulting between the stone walls and winches like monkeys.

They brandished steel forks and poisoned hook-and-sickle spears! The glint of their blades reflected in the torchlight, and in an instant, they felled several of the front-line guards!

Below the gate tower, a man nearly ten feet tall, with a bright red face painted on his body and as imposing as an iron tower, roared "Ha! Ha!" as he swung a heavy octagonal hammer with arms as thick as human legs.

Clang! Boom!

It slammed down again and again on the heavy iron-clad wooden gate.

Sparks flew everywhere, the door bolt creaked, and wood chips and metal scraps flew all around.

The arrows shot by the defenders were deflected by his unusually bulging theatrical costume.

"Form ranks! Shieldbearers up, musketeers!" the garrison commander shouted hoarsely.

The musketeers immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee, ready to fire.

He was confident that no matter how powerful the sorcery was, it couldn't stop the muskets.

But at that moment, several shadowy figures slid down the water wall like bats. They were several martial arts clowns dressed in tight black water suits, holding exquisite crossbows, aiming at the soldiers with raised guns, ready to pull the trigger!

"Go!"

With a sharp shout, several Taoist priests from Meishan, Ganzhou, dressed in brown-yellow linen robes and adorned with colorful belts, rushed out from the side alley entrance like ghosts.

The bamboo tubes in their hands spewed out thick smoke and fire mixed with sulfur and black dog blood, instantly obscuring their vision!

At the same time, several paper talismans flew "whoosh" to the water-clad martial clowns.

With a loud bang, it transformed into a ball of fire and exploded violently.

With a muffled groan, the two martial arts clowns fell into the water as if struck by a heavy blow.

At the same time, muskets roared continuously, and the martial arts performers on the city wall were hit by bullets one after another...

…………

Zhengyangmen Street was also in complete chaos.

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities—!"

"The government is corrupt and has angered the Goddess of Silkworms!"

A clown with a white-painted nose, a red beard hat, and two-foot-high stilts nimbly weaved through the gaps in the chaotic, fleeing crowd.

He pounded on the demon-faced drum while singing in a shrill, grating, and strange tune.

The drumbeats were strange, and the loud thumping made people's hearts race and their blood surge!
"Behold! A demonic star has descended upon the world! A ghostly hair!"

Another female character in a green dress, standing in the shadow of the eaves, held a few strands of silk thread wrapped in black energy in her orchid-like fingers and gently blew on them.

The silk threads, like living snakes with eyes, slithered into the mouths and noses of several fleeing passersby.

The panicked civilians' faces contorted in terror, their eyes glazed over, and they made gurgling sounds as earthworm-like protrusions began to wriggle under the skin of their necks. They staggered as they tried to pounce on those around them.

At the same time, a cloud of ghastly green poisonous fog suddenly burst out from the shadows at the street corner, spreading with a strong smell of rotting mulberry leaves.

The onset of silkworm rigor mortis takes time.

Seeing that they were being interrupted, these sorcerers immediately used poisonous Gu.

"Heaven and earth are natural, and impurities disperse!"

The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed through the night sky.

Several figures, trailing sword light, rushed across the rooftops.

It was the cultivators from Maoshan who arrived!

The old Taoist nun at the head of the group had a stern face. With a slash of her crimson magic sword, a scorching sword aura precisely severed the rope holding the clown's leather drum!

Behind her, several disciples scattered grains into the air while chanting incantations to cleanse the people whose mouths and noses had been pierced by the "ghost hair." The people trembled violently.

"Uh~ Uh~"

Accompanied by painful retching, several strands of blackened, broken silk threads were vomited up.

Another young Taoist priest rushed into the green mist, while a yellow photo was taken into the culvert at the street corner.

A thunderous explosion rang out, and the green mist swirled and dissipated…

When Li Yan and the others arrived, this was the scene they saw.

He was somewhat surprised and did not join in.

A dragon crossing the river is never welcome. Since arriving in Jinling City, these local Xuanmen forces seem to be deliberately avoiding contact with him.

Even the Huai Shu Village only sent ordinary disciples.

In retrospect, their methods were quite remarkable.

No wonder the Earth Immortal Zhou Yinyao trusted them so much.

"This must be Young Hero Li."

The old Taoist nun, led by Maoshan, walked over, bowed expressionlessly, then looked at Qiu Mingyuan beside her and said calmly, "With the Dragon-Subduing Ceremony imminent, these demons are fighting like cornered beasts, not worth mentioning."

Li Yan frowned slightly. "Senior, you're speaking too soon..."

Rumble!
Before the words were even finished, the ground beneath everyone's feet began to tremble.

In the distance, there were flimsy houses with roof tiles falling off with a clatter.

"The earth dragon has turned over!"

Terrified screams echoed through the night sky...

(End of this chapter)