CHAPTER 84: OLD PINE RIDGE

The guard’s face changed drastically.

This prisoner had only just been brought in today. It was said he had murdered his wife, so how had he suddenly died the moment he saw Head Constable Wang? Could it be... that Head Constable Wang was somehow connected to this case?!

The guard panicked. He was merely a low-ranking guard, and he didn’t dare get involved in anything like this. He immediately took a step back and remained silent.

Head Constable Wang placed his hand on the hilt of his saber and barked coldly, “Guard, open the door! What are you doing hiding all the way back there?”

The guard jolted, quickly took out his keys, and hurried forward to unlock the cell.

Inside, the stench was overwhelming. A mix of decaying vegetation and the rancid smell of urine turned the stomach.

Head Constable Wang crouched down and checked Zhang Hai’s breathing and pulse. His brow furrowed instinctively.

“He’s really dead.”

Head Constable Wang was a bit stunned. One sentence from me and he died of fright?!

Li Yanchu activated his Qi Sight, scanning the cell for any trace of sinister or demonic qi.

“Strange, there’s no trace of evil presence in this cell,” Li Yanchu said.

Everyone fell silent.

Li Yanchu crouched beside Zhang Hai and lifted his eyelids, examining the whites of his eyes.

“There’s no sign of demonic qi or malevolent qi, and no symptoms of spirit possession. This man is rather odd.” A thoughtful look appeared in Li Yanchu’s eyes.

According to Madam Zhang and the maid Ku Xing, Zhang Hai’s bizarre behavior before death was highly suggestive of possession. But now that they had seen Zhang Hai’s corpse, they realized there wasn’t a trace of demonic or malevolent qi on him.

Bai Hongtu suddenly said, “This man seemed to recognize something after seeing Head Constable Wang, and then died of fright. Head Constable Wang, do you know him?”

The guard trembled and lowered his head, fixed his eyes on his nose, utterly silent.

Damn it, can you not have this kind of conversation in front of me? I’m just a guard.

Head Constable Wang replied in a deep voice, “The arrest was carried out by Captain Ma and his men. I never met this person.”

Then he gave a wry smile. “Even I felt a moment of doubt on whether I somehow had something to do with his death.”

Bai Hongtu stepped in a little closer, scrutinizing Head Constable Wang, clicking his tongue. “Your features are upright and imposing, your blood and qi are strong, and your right arm is especially muscular. No matter how you look at it, you’re clearly a martial expert. You don’t seem like someone who practices dark or unorthodox arts.”

The corner of Wang’s mouth twitched slightly, and he didn’t even know how to respond to that. He just gave a small smile.

Li Yanchu, hearing the part about the right arm being unusually strong, couldn’t help but glance up to take a look.

Head Constable Wang asked curiously, “Daoist Master Yanchu, what are you looking at?”

Li Yanchu shook his head and smiled. “It’s nothing. Your right arm really is a bit stronger than usual.”

With both of them complimenting him, Head Constable Wang couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with himself. He smiled and said, “To tell you the truth, I’ve practiced swordsmanship since I was a child. My right arm has undergone years of intense training, so yes, it’s stronger than average, and my hand speed is quite fast as well.”

Li Yanchu nodded slightly. “It shows that your blood and qi is vigorous.”

What did martial artists love to hear most? Definitely the approval of their peers. Head Constable Wang immediately felt a lot more at ease, a smile appearing on his face.

Once the coroner arrived, he personally examined the deceased Zhang Hai.

The coroner's surname was Hu, commonly known as Hu Sandao. He was a man in his forties, a seasoned expert in autopsy whose skills had been passed down through generations.

“Head Constable Wang, I’ve completed the examination. This man died from fright, and there are no external injuries on the body. It’s just that... he didn’t die recently. He’s been dead for at least three days.”

At first, Head Constable Wang was nodding along. But when he heard the last part, he abruptly looked up, shocked.

“What did you just say?”

“Dead for over three days!?”

“That's right,” the coroner replied. “I examined him several times just now, so there’s no mistake.”

The prison cell fell into a heavy silence.

Head Constable Wang and the guard both felt a chill shoot up from the base of their spines to the tops of their heads. It sent a cold sweat down their backs.

The guard’s face changed drastically. He stammered, “N-no way... this man... he clearly just died!”

The coroner, on the other hand, remained composed. After all, his line of work was dealing with the dead. His nerves were well-trained.

“There’s absolutely no mistake. This man has been dead for at least three days,” he said with a thoughtful tone.

Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu exchanged a glance, both visibly surprised. Over three days? Could it be... that when Zhang Hai returned from outside, he was already dead? Had Madam Zhang been living with a corpse these past few days? And was she killed by Zhang Hai’s corpse in the end?

Or perhaps... something unclean had borrowed Zhang Hai’s body to return from the dead, pretending to be alive, and only just now left after seeing everyone?

No... Li Yanchu frowned. If something unclean had possessed Zhang Hai’s corpse, it should’ve left behind traces of demonic or malevolent qi.

Bai Hongtu’s eyes also flickered with shifting thoughts; he had fallen into deep contemplation.

Head Constable Wang, still shaken, muttered, “I never expected... to run into something this bizarre again, damn it.”

“In my opinion,” Li Yanchu said calmly, “this corpse should be burned immediately to prevent the risk of corpse transformation.”

Head Constable Wang nodded. “Right, right. Someone carry this body out and burn it!”

He felt mentally exhausted. Strange incidents had been happening one after another in Wei City lately, and he was already seeing far more white hairs in the mirror than before.

***

After leaving the Wei City jail, Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu walked side by side down the street. Head Constable Wang had already sent someone to oversee the burning of the corpse.

Bai Hongtu said, “This whole thing reeks of something unclean. Madam Zhang didn’t even know she was dead, and came to us for help to save her husband. But her husband had already been dead for days and was possibly a walking corpse.”

Li Yanchu’s expression turned grim. “Madam Zhang’s only lingering attachment after death was the desire to save her husband. That’s why her remnant soul came back—it’s touching, in a way.”

Bai Hongtu nodded. “Can’t argue with that. Still, this whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It just doesn’t feel right... It’s too tragic.”

If Madam Zhang hadn’t died at Zhang Hai’s hands, and if Zhang Hai hadn’t mysteriously died in prison, this whole matter wouldn’t have felt so disturbing to him.

Li Yanchu had a tendency to stick his nose into things. Otherwise, when the innkeeper at Taiping Inn had been bullied, he wouldn’t have stepped in. And later, when malevolent spirits began harming people, he wouldn’t have intervened to exorcize them either.

As it happened, Bai Hongtu was the same way.

“Shall we go check out that Longmen Village?” the two of them said in unison.

Then, they looked at each other and smiled.

***

Near Wei City, there were many towering, treacherous mountains. One of them was called Old Pine Ridge. It was shrouded in mist all year round, thick with dense forest, crawling with wild beasts and venomous insects.

Even the hunters who made their living from trapping only dared to venture around the outer edges of Old Pine Ridge.

Crack!

Crack!

A fierce young man, covered in blood and wielding a sharp spear, charged through the mountain forest, crashing through layers of thorny underbrush.

Flocks of birds startled by his presence scattered into the sky.

The young man was tall and imposing, his aura sharp and intense. The spear in his hand gleamed with a chilling light; it was clearly a weapon that had tasted blood and taken lives.

His name was Xu Dingfang, a colonel under the command of the Commander of Beifeng Prefecture. He had been ordered to pursue a group of spies from a foreign tribe. After being hunted down, the foreign spies had fled into Old Pine Ridge.

Xu Dingfang had brought seven elite Tiger Guards with him in pursuit. But now, the seven seasoned warriors who had come with him had all perished within the ridge, and he himself was being hunted.

He had to break through and report what had happened here to the Commander, so that the Commander could send in troops to wipe them out.

Xu Dingfang was a martial arts expert, battle-hardened from the front lines. His blood and qi were strong, and he carried an intense, murderous qi. Yet at this moment, his face showed a rare trace of fear.

He was covered in wounds, many the size of an infant’s mouth. Fortunately, he had trained in hard qigong martial arts, so none of the injuries were deep.

He darted through the treacherous forest terrain and finally spotted signs of human presence. Clutching his blood-soaked spear, he charged forward without hesitation.

But suddenly, Xu Dingfang froze in place. As he looked at the scene before him, a chill crept up his spine.

An old man walked over, his face creased into a grin like a blooming chrysanthemum. “Honored guest, are you heading into the mountains? It’s getting late, why not stay at my place for the night? It’s very affordable.”

It was a seemingly honest, yet faintly scheming old man. At this moment, Xu Dingfang felt cold sweat soak through his back. He was back again!