Wu and Yan Qingshan were thrown into prison to await further interrogation.
Madam Wu remained relentless, clamoring that she would appeal all the way to the Son of Heaven. Tang Jinxian could not be bothered to waste any more words on her.
After returning to the Patrol Yamen, she immediately ordered the case’s preliminary trial dossier to be sent to the capital’s central yamen with all haste, determined to put Wu, this psychologically twisted murderer, to death.
Though, in her heart, she did not believe the court would spare Wu for such a horrifying crime merely because of some slight old affection owed to Madam Wu’s late husband.
But what if?
The current emperor was young, and was already known for his capricious temper.
And in court, factions stood in opposition, with party strife never ceasing.
If Wu’s case unfortunately became entangled in the games of certain powers, or touched some sensitive nerve of the ruler, whether he lived or died might truly come down to a single casual word from the imperial throne.
After all, if Yan Qingshan hardened his heart and insisted on shouldering all the blame alone, Wu might not be without a thread of hope.
Jiang Mu knew nothing of these matters.
After flattering Tang Jinxian and handing all the credit over to her, he found an excuse and slipped out of the Patrol Yamen.
He turned “stealth mode” back on.
Being forced to step forward this time had been purely unavoidable. By pushing all the credit onto Tang Jinxian, at least he could make himself appear less conspicuous.
When he left the Patrol Yamen, Jiang Mu happened to run into Yan Qingshan’s family, who had hurried over after hearing the news.
His wife was crying until she looked like a woman made of tears, crying out again and again that he had been wronged.
Behind her followed their eldest son, his face pale with panic, and their youngest, still small and utterly bewildered.
The sight inevitably made one sigh with emotion.
A family that had once been happy and whole had fallen apart in the blink of an eye.
What exactly had Yan Qingshan been after?
Jiang Mu found it difficult to guess at the man’s state of mind. He could only suppose that perhaps years of resentment at his talents going unrecognized had truly poured his anger onto the road of no return that was crime.
Besides, if the real culprit had not been found this time, Tang Jinxian would definitely have lost her position as chief commissioner.
And Yu Zhengqing would probably have faced some punishment as well.
As for Yan Qingshan, he might really have been able to profit from it and move up a rung.
“When profit comes first, the human heart becomes unfathomable.”
Jiang Mu shook his head, cast aside those tangled thoughts, and walked in the direction of home.
Right now, he only wanted to go back, bury his head, and sleep.
Last night, in order to resist the charm of a certain “pet,” he had almost gone the entire night without sleep. At this moment, he was already unbearably exhausted.
Even the Sea-Calming Divine Needle had been boiled into Indian God Oil.
……
……
On the long street, people flowed like woven threads.
A luxurious carriage moved slowly through the bustling crowd.
Three people sat inside.
One was the yellow-skirted woman who had previously gone to the Shi family, Jiang Zhenzhen. A small red bell hung at her waist, and at this moment she was chattering away with the woman across from her.
The woman was in her thirties, dressed in an elegant Daoist robe, her bearing otherworldly. A red sandalwood box rested on her knees.
She was Elder Zhao of Divine Phoenix Island.
And seated quietly beside Elder Zhao was Shi Xueying.
The young girl’s figure was slender and graceful, like a new lotus in the rain, with an indescribably pure beauty.
The girl had originally been listening quietly to her senior sister and master speak, when her gaze inadvertently swept past the carriage window. Suddenly, her expression stilled slightly, revealing a trace of complexity.
Elder Zhao noticed her odd reaction and followed her gaze.
When she saw the young man on the street, walking lazily with a weary expression, she seemed to understand something and asked indifferently, “He is that child from the Mu family?”
Shi Xueying bit her lip lightly and gave a small nod.
Jiang Zhenzhen turned her head to look, then clicked her tongue. “He’s rather handsome, but unfortunately he’s a fool.”
“…He isn’t foolish anymore.”
Shi Xueying said softly.
Jiang Zhenzhen rolled her eyes hard. “So what if he isn’t foolish anymore? Didn’t he just nearly lose his life saving you back then? Don’t tell me you’re really planning to listen to your sister’s advice and offer yourself to him.”
Shi Xueying lowered her head, her slender fingers toying with her skirt, silent.
Time flowed like water, always able to wash away gratitude and leave behind worldly calculations.
When she was little, she had liked playing with Mu Jiang because, back then, she had been innocent and ignorant of the ways of the world.
But as she grew older, she came to understand many things.
Only the guilt in her heart could never quite be erased.
“Regret and remorse are the filth of the heart. If the filth is not removed, demons will arise…”
Elder Zhao looked at Shi Xueying, her tone as pale and clear as water.
“If a cultivator harbors guilt toward another and cannot let it go, that thought will become a heart ailment born of attachment and accumulation, making the heart unable to find stillness and the spirit unable to find clarity. In the end, it will become an obstacle to cultivation.”
Shi Xueying was first bewildered, then seemed to be enlightened all at once. The guilt in her eyes gradually faded, and clarity returned.
“Thank you for your guidance, Master.”
The young girl’s face showed gratitude.
Jiang Zhenzhen looked at her master with a face full of reverence.
As expected of a highly respected senior elite of the Daoist sects, Master’s insight into the path of the “Dao” was extraordinary. No wonder she had been able to take part in deciphering those profound, incomplete ancient texts.
Elder Zhao’s gaze swept past Jiang Mu, who was gradually receding outside the window, and she said coldly,
“When your cultivation bears fruit in the future, find an opportunity to repay this kindness and settle the karma. People of the mortal world are already beset by many tribulations. No matter how great a debt of gratitude may be, there will always come a day when it can be fully repaid.”
“Yes.”
The young girl nodded slightly and no longer looked at that figure.
From this day onward, their paths would be as separate as clouds and mud.
As for who stood among the clouds, and who gazed up from the mud—
Time would give the answer.
Though that answer would be rather cruel to a certain someone.
Elder Zhao’s jade-like fingers gently rubbed the box on her knees, wiping away a trace of killing intent.
For an instant just now, she had harbored the thought of killing Jiang Mu.
She would absolutely not allow a seedling she favored to be troubled by heart demons in the future. It would be better to sever the problem in advance.
Even though the laws of Great Qian were strict, for someone above others like her, what was there to care about in killing a commoner on the street?
That foolish boy would lose nothing but a single life. But if Xueying were held back by him, she would lose an entire lifetime’s fortune.
But on second thought, Elder Zhao felt she had worried too much.
A foolish youth of no standing—what achievements could he possibly have in the future? Better to leave him for her disciple to settle with her own hands, lest Elder Zhao’s interference instead damage Shi Xueying’s flawless Dao heart.
“When the heart is veiled by hidden worries, it is seized by sunken ghosts…”
Elder Zhao sighed faintly and thought to herself, My own heart demon—how should it be removed? I wonder whether this spiritual object obtained from Prince Cheng’s estate can help me cut away my heart demon.
She opened the box.
Inside lay a scarlet dagger, wrapped layer upon layer in jet-black strands of hair.
Mysterious. Eerie…
Once, in Great Qian and even in this world, there had been no such thing as cultivating immortality or seeking the Dao.
Yet a spiritual calamity had changed that entire order.
As those scattered, incomplete secret manuals and ancient texts were gradually deciphered, people like them slowly came to realize that there truly existed in this world a path leading to longevity, a path by which one might pursue the Great Dao.
Although they were still in the stage of exploration, it was enough to drive them mad with desire.
“The Great Dao has no form; it gives birth to Heaven and Earth. The Great Dao has no feeling; it moves the sun and moon. The Great Dao has no name; it nourishes all things.”
Elder Zhao recalled the Daoist scripture once deciphered by White Sun Academy. Stroking the dagger wrapped in strands of hair, she murmured softly, “At the end of the Dao, what exactly lies there?”
Just then, the dagger suddenly began to buzz and tremble.
Elder Zhao was startled and looked down.
She saw that the dagger was actually seeping strands of black blood, winding and overflowing through the gaps between the hairs.
“What is going on?”
Elder Zhao was somewhat stunned.
The bloodstained hair began slowly loosening, strand after strand floating and writhing, as though giving off a scent.
Terrified, she hurriedly shut the lid and pasted the talisman seal back on.
Only then did the box fall still.
“An uncanny object is an uncanny object after all. When using it in the future, I must be extremely careful.”
Elder Zhao’s heart still trembled with lingering fear, her fingertips quivering slightly.
……
At that moment, at the other end of the street.
Jiang Mu turned back to look at the lively street, sniffed, and furrowed his brows.
“Strange. It seems like Senior Sister’s scent?”
“Like the ocean.”
“Wait, why would I think Senior Sister’s scent is like the ocean?”
Jiang Mu scratched his head, unable to figure it out.
Thanks to Hunyuan Xingyi Ma Baoguo for the reward.