Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 75 Shifting the Blame Eastward (510 words added after release)

"That vicious man has been fighting for days and has been seriously injured."

Now, pursued and driven away by several demon-slaying generals, they are fleeing this way.

When it came to serious matters, Du Bingyan's expression changed drastically. Her eyes shone brightly, and she became calm, composed, and heroic.

She glanced at Liu Sheng and then explained:
"General Xie ostensibly went to 'pursue the White Lotus Cult,' but in reality he had secretly turned back and set up defenses around Black Wind Mountain, just waiting for Wu Song to walk into the trap."

hiss!
That Xie Bao is truly cunning and treacherous!

Liu Sheng was worried about Wu Song, but his face remained expressionless as he asked with a puzzled look:
"Why is General Xie entrusted with this important task? It seems... the other demon-subduing generals are all cooperating with him. Could it be that he has a higher rank and greater strength?"

“Wu Song is violent, reckless, and inflexible. He killed General Xie’s brother earlier, and if he knew that General Xie was here, he would definitely come.”

Du Bingyan gave a vague reply, and then solemnly instructed Liu Sheng to keep it a secret and not to leak it.

Liu Sheng nodded hurriedly, a sudden realization dawning on his mind—

Xie Bao's actions were a ploy to use himself as bait to lure his master, a big fish.

That's bold!
What a man!

Therefore, they should die.

I need to find an opportunity to tell my master this news and warn him to be careful and not to be ambushed.

Before long, they arrived at the Xu family mansion.

Lu Baihu had already been waiting there with his men. When he saw Liu Sheng and his companion, he quickly came forward, leading the way and explaining the findings of the Xuanjing Division's investigation.

"Preliminary confirmation indicates it's a tiger spirit of immense power. There are signs of a fight at the scene, but the valuables, cultivation manuals, weapons, and medicines in the house remain untouched..."

Liu Sheng followed behind Du Bingyan, silent and walking with his head down.

He couldn't even remember how many times he had been to the Xu residence; he could walk with his eyes closed and not get lost.

Perhaps because too many people had died in a short period of time, resentment and evil spirits gathered, making the house unusually quiet and eerie.

Even with the sun shining brightly overhead, there was no heat at all.

Before long, they arrived at the study in the backyard.

The scene remained untouched, and apart from a series of additional footprints, it was largely unchanged from when Liu Sheng left that night.

Returning to this familiar place, Liu Sheng felt a mix of emotions.

Fortunately, he restrained his greed that night and did not touch anything belonging to the Xu family, thus successfully "misleading" the government.

As long as we avoid the Soul-Seeking Gu in Du Bingyan's hands, we'll be safe for now.

"Shh~sh~"

Without further ado, Du Bingyan took out a bone whistle and blew it. The Seeking Breath Gu seemed to understand and began to bustle about on the spot.

A rainbow-like glint flashed in Liu Sheng's eyes, and its every move immediately appeared clearly in his mind.

The Gu worm then probed the air a few times with its nasal needle, circled the tiger claw mark a few times, and finally flew to a spot in the mostly collapsed ruins with a "whoosh," where it kept circling.

"dig!"

Lu Dongya was greatly encouraged and immediately ordered the ruins to be excavated.

The local militia, constables, and constables who were on the lookout for the order stepped forward.

Soon, a section of beam was revealed in the excavated ruins.

The Spirit-Seeking Gu descended swiftly...

It kept spinning around this crossbeam, making a "buzzing" sound.

"This……"

Lu Dongya's expression stiffened, and he turned to look at Du Bingyan:
"Captain Du, what is the meaning of this Breath-Seeking Gu?"

Du Bingyan was silent for a moment, glanced at the still circling Seeking Breath Gu, took a deep breath, and slowly said:
"That tiger spirit first appeared here."

After saying that, she fell silent again, only clenching her fists tightly.

Lu Dongya was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then looked him over carefully and remained silent.

According to the on-site inspection, that giant tiger spirit was at least four zhang tall, with a shoulder height of about twelve zhang and a weight of over six thousand shi.

Putting aside the question of how someone with such a massive size could hide in a study without being discovered.

The weight alone would be enough to crush the entire study, let alone a section of beam.
Even a fool would know that this is impossible, let alone the intelligent people present.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became subtle.

Although the militiamen and constables did not speak, the strange and mocking look in their eyes was unmistakable.

This Breath-Seeking Gu was touted as something amazing, but this is all it is?
Not reliable!
Consequently, they also looked down on Du Bingyan a bit more.

Liu Sheng observed coldly, remaining silent and unwilling to reveal anything. He wasn't a tortoise!
After all, this involves their own lives.

At this moment, Lu Dongya recovered, nodded, and mumbled:

"The demon is incredibly powerful; perhaps it truly used methods unknown to us to lurk here..."

He still needed Du Bingyan's help, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and smooth things over.

Du Bingyan was proud by nature and didn't bother to explain at this moment, so she just nodded.

Soon, the group left the ruins of the study and arrived at Xu Qidong's courtyard.

Finding Xu Qidong is the most important thing for them on this trip.

This is just the behavior of the Breath-Seeking Gu...

"Buzz~"

It wandered around the dormitory, sometimes on the bed, sometimes in front of the table, like a headless fly.

In the end, it simply fell to the ground and stopped moving.

very good!

The silk of the white-faced black puppet spider can completely sever its aura, making it undetectable even by the Qi-seeking Gu!

Liu Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, he pursed his lips, and reassured himself.

"Captain Du, what is the meaning of this?"

At this moment, Lu Dongya suddenly spoke, his tone cold and hard, his face gloomy, showing no trace of his former smoothness.

This guy was born in the Year of the Dog. When he needs something from someone, he adopts an extremely humble attitude and says all sorts of nice things.

Once they find that something is no longer valuable or doesn't meet their expectations, they immediately turn their backs on it.

What a talent!
"The person is right here in this house, believe it or not."

Du Bingyan retorted expressionlessly, put away the Soul-Seeking Gu, glanced at Liu Sheng, and turned to leave.
"Walk."

Liu Sheng glanced at Lu Dongya and saw that his face was ashen. He couldn't help but smirk and quickly followed after him.

Ha, you dared to give her the cold shoulder, and now you've got what you deserved!
Live it!

However, Liu Sheng felt that wasn't enough, so he continued to muddy the waters:
"My lord, could this be the work of the White Lotus Sect?"

"The White Lotus Sect?!"

Du Bingyan paused, turned sharply, stared at Liu Sheng, and after a moment of silence, asked:

"Evidence, reasons!"

"I'm just guessing. The imperial court has hunting dogs that can track people for hundreds of miles, but the evil cultists are fearless and are trying to create riots. There must be a way to deal with them."

Liu Sheng paused, and seeing that Du Bingyan seemed to be deep in thought, he added:
"Moreover, some people have seen the third son of the Xu family colluding with the White Lotus Sect, which may be related to the disappearance of the fourth son of the Xu family."

Du Bingyan's eyes lit up, and she suddenly realized:

"The cult leader captured Xu Qidong and coerced the Xu brothers to cooperate?"
Yes, that makes sense.

The brothers Xu Qichun and Xu Qixia were killed, presumably to silence them!
There are still cult members lurking in the city!

Hey, you said it yourself, it's none of my business!

Liu Sheng chuckled inwardly, then lowered his head and remained silent.

Now... we should be safe.

At this moment, a hint of hesitation flashed across her face, but she finally spoke:

"Go and remind Commander Lu that this is a serious matter and he should not act rashly."

This woman has such a magnanimous spirit, clearly separating public and private matters!
Yes, it's huge. I measured it myself.

Liu Sheng responded and returned the way he came, repeating the story to Lu Dongya.

"That's right, it must be the White Lotus Sect!"

Lu Dongya suddenly understood and clapped his hands:

"They have a strange spider that spins silk that can conceal its presence, no wonder it can deceive the hunting hounds and the scent-finding Gu!"

Then, he showered Du Bingyan with compliments and finally hinted that if there was anything in the house that caught her eye, she could take it.

It's just about dividing the spoils!
It's the usual routine.

Liu Sheng was about to refuse, but the words were on the tip of his tongue when a thought struck him, and he immediately changed his tune:

"I have mastered a sword technique called the 'Green Snake Sword Technique.' I've heard that the third son of the Xu family practices the 'Green Snake Skill.' The two may be related. I wonder if I could borrow it to take a look?"

(End of this chapter)