Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 113: Strange Case

The City God of Chunhui Prefecture had a gloomy expression, but he was still unwilling to leave. His Dharma image floated high in the sky, constantly scanning the hills. The two judges of the Rewards and Punishment Departments and the Head Official of the Yin and Yang Department stayed by his side.

The eyes of the illusory form of the head official of the Yin and Yang Department flashed as he scanned the area below him. The Civil and Martial judges of the Rewards and Punishment Department took out their book in one hand and their judges’ brush in the other. As soon as they found any trace, it would be captured in the book immediately.

“This demon has become quite powerful. Where did it come from? How could it disappear in only a few moments?”

The chief officer of the Yin and Yang Department was shocked, angry, and puzzled.

The City God of Chunhui Prefecture narrowed his eyes, looked over the hills once more, then looked back in the direction of the prefecture’s capital.

“I’m afraid that this demon has been performing evil acts in Chunhui Prefecture for quite some time without having been discovered by us. I cannot be sure of how many mortals it has secretly taken advantage of!”

The two judges and the head official of the Yin and Yang Department all had sullen faces and remained silent. In particular, this demon had just killed the night patrol messengers, showing that it did not take the Chunhui Prefecture underworld seriously at all. It was humiliating to be provoked in person.

The City God’s jurisdiction over the underworld was also subject to many restrictions. Some monsters and ghosts could still temporarily evade the oversight of the underworld. For those with greater achievements in Taoism, if they concealed their aura, it was also possible for them to amongst mortals.

However, for those evil spirits who understood just how powerful the underworld was, they wouldn’t use violent means to harm people. This was because, when a local child was born, the elders in their family would often go to the temple to pray for blessings and offer sacrifices at their ancestral shrines in their homes, and thus the birth date and the child’s fortune would be “recorded” in the local underworld’s books.

Once an evil spirit harmed mortals through violent means, there would be a bright light marking a change in the underworld record book, which would be discovered by the on-duty ghost guards, and reported to the chief officer, thus notifying the underworld government of something happening.

However, there were still some evil spirits with a deep proficiency in Taoism or who practiced strange arts who could avoid it. For example, they would slowly erode their victims by living together day and night, or more commonly by seducing their victims with their beauty to make them more willing.

At this moment, the City God of Chunhui Prefecture was a little furious. He waved his sleeve and a golden chain shot out towards the hill below. It penetrated through the rocks and soil as if it were an illusion, but to no avail.

About a quarter of an hour later, the City God and his subordinates finally admitted that they had completely lost the trace of the demon, and could only return to the city to make further plans.

“Let’s go investigate the city first. The fire that broke out just now was particularly strange. We should also do our best to thoroughly check the underworld record books.”

Even though they were mentally prepared, the two judges secretly groaned at his worlds. However, there was nothing else they could do, as it was their duty.

This so-called “thoroughly checking the record books” involved the entire population of Chunhui Prefecture’s capital city, nearly 20 thousand lives; it was an enormous task, even for spirits and gods. The Rewards and Punishment Department, and even all the rest of the 24 Departments, would have to work together on this matter for several days.

As for the Lord City God, he naturally would not have to personally participate in such matters as checking record books.

At the inn, Yin Zhaoxian fell to the ground and curled up on himself. Although the source of the intense pain in his body had faded away, the aftermath of that feeling still washed over him in waves.

Moreover, Yin Zhaoxian’s body temperature was now extremely high, and his whole body was still red. Any sweat that came out immediately evaporated. If not for a gentle force in his abdomen that continuously soothed the pain in his body, he would have collapsed long ago.

“Hoooh…hoooh…hooh…”

After a while, the pain finally disappeared, and Yin Zhaoxian’s body temperature slowly dropped to the level of a high fever. It might only have been a short while for the outside world, but for him, every breath felt like a month, or even a year.

In fact, it really hadn’t been that long since Madam Hong was thrown back and smashed through the wall of the inn, making a loud noise. Only now did people start to hear noisy voices around the inn, showing just how quickly everything had happened.

“What happened just now?”

“I don’t know, it sounded like thunder!”

“Hey, didn’t you hear a woman screaming?”

“I heard it, it was so scary…!”

“There are several holes smashed into the side of the inn here!”

“Could it have been struck by lightning?”

“Oh, it’s Yin Jieyuan!”

“Really?”

The two servants and several guests of the inn finally discovered Yin Zhaoxian. Someone hurried in to check on him. They checked his breath and found that he was still breathing, then touched his forehead and found that it was burning hot.

“Call the doctor, call the doctor!”

“Oh, and report to the police!”

……

Almost all the guests of the inn were awakened late that night. Some people had come out to check, while others lay awake and hid in their rooms. Of course, there were also a few scholars whose yang energy and lifeforce had been sucked away beforehand, and were still unconscious in their beds.

There was a flurry of activity in the inn. Some people were performing rescues, some were calling the police, whole others held lanterns and went outside to inspect the broken wood and bricks. Then, more officers arrived.

After all, the list of top examinees had just been announced, and another prefecture’s top scorer was suspected of having been attacked, which was definitely no trivial matter.

Invisible to the the naked eye, on the high roofs of the inn and surrounding buildings, the City God of Chunhui Prefecture and his subordinate officials gazed down on the scene. Many underworld officials were investigating the case just like their counterpart officials in the world of the living. The foundations of the security of two worlds, the Yin and the Yang, worked side by side without either side being aware.

“Just now, a flame burst out and repelled the demon, but there is not even a single scorch mark on the curtains of the inn. It’s very strange!”

The City God’s vision seemed to penetrate through the roof to see the current state of Yin Zhaoxian’s original room in the inn. Then, he turned his eyes to look at Yin Zhaoxian, who had already been moved to another place.

“It is rare for an ordinary scholar to harbor a trace of righteous energy in his mind, and it is very easy for it to dissipate. However, this person’s virtue is so strong that it can actually be manifested. How rare!”

“Your Excellency is correct, but he is only a mortal. It would be impossible for him to have the kind of strength to repel such a powerful demon.”

The head of the Yin and Yang Department had already visited Yin Zhaoxian, and knew that he practiced neither martial arts nor any cultivation practices for spiritual energy. Of course, Yin Zhaoxian himself was extremely talented, and had a profoundly dignified personality, and possessed a noble aura, which made him unusually extraordinary.

“This is a man of great integrity. Perhaps he saw some traces of that demon. I will personally send myself to him in a dream later, and ask him what he has seen!”

After the City God finished speaking, he turned around and returned to the temple with his officials.

Although the cultivation techniques of sending dreams and entering dreams seemed to be similar, they were in fact two different techniques. The former could be regarded as a gift from gods and spirits, while the latter was a special technique that had to be performed by an immortal cultivator.

In the inn, the doctor diagnosed Yin Zhaoxian with a simple cold.¹ He told him to keep warm, prescribed some medicine to help him sweat it out, and mentioned that the symptoms, which had turned into a low-grade fever, would soon subside. Yin Zhaoxian stayed awake for a while after the doctor visited, though he soon succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep again. The officers and the innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief.

When Yin Zhaoxian was awake, he only informed the officers that he was attacked by a woman in red who called herself Madam Hong. He did not divulge that what he had seen was a monster. He did not want to be regarded as an insane scholar.

It was now the time of the the fourth watch. After the night watchman had rung his gong for a while, a gust of cold wind and the scent of incense blew into the guest room where Yin Zhaoxian was staying. However, compared to other manifestations, the presence of the City God was not accompanied by a gloomy feeling.

The City God of Chunhui Prefecture glanced at the inn servant in charge of guarding Yin Zhaoxian’s rooms, who was dozing on the table. Then he looked at Yin Zhaoxian, waved his arm, and his figure disappeared in a blur.

Yin Zhaoxian, who was sleeping on the bed, immediately frowned.

In his dream, he found himself sitting in a dimly lit room, with a bed underneath him. Before him stood a man, with half of his body shrouded in darkness. He could not see him clearly, but he looked like a high-ranking official of the imperial court. The man was sitting on a stool in front of a table.

The more Yin Zhaoxian tried to see clearly, the blurrier it seemed. The other party exuded a heavy aura.

“Where am I? Sir, who are you?”

“Do not be afraid, Yin Jieyuan.² I am the City God of Chunhui Prefecture. I have come to ask you a question!”

The voice of the City God was like a loud bell, ringing out in front of him and echoing all around, calming Yin Zhaoxian.

After all, people’s thoughts in their dreams were often unclear, their emotions were amplified, and sometimes they did some stupid or illogical things.

When Yin Zhaoxian heard that the other party was the City God, he was shocked, and hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed.

“I, Yin Zhaoxian, greet the Lord City God!”

“Well, Yin Jieyuan, let me ask you, did you see the face of the woman who attacked you in the inn?”

It was not easy for him to tell others about these events, but he had to tell the City God the truth. At this moment, Yin Zhaoxian was under the impression that it was most likely the City God who had saved him when he was almost killed by the demon.

“Many thanks to you, Lord City God, for saving me during my crisis. The woman just now was no mortal. I vaguely saw that she looked like a bloody skeleton. She called herself ‘Madam Hong’.”

The City God frowned.

“Madam Hong?”

“That is correct. As for the rest, I, Yin, am unaware. At that time, I was really dizzy and in great pain.”

The City God smiled. He could easily imagine the scene in which an ordinary person, who had never seen a ghost in his life, encountered a demon. Fortunately, this man had a righteous spirit.

However, the City God suddenly thought of the flames from before, and realized that this Yin Zhaoxian might have previously had some other adventure.

“Oh, there is one more thing. Yin Jieyuan, when the demon was about to harm you, a strange flame appeared and repelled it. However, nothing in the inn was burnt. Did some master gift you with some protective item? “

When the City God asked this question, Yin Zhaoxian realized that it was not him who had saved him in the crisis just now. The first thought in his mind was of Ji Yuan, and then of the old man who had swallowed half a tree’s worth of jujubes the other night.

“To tell you the truth, I am fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of a friend who has the ability to make ghosts, gods, and monsters admire him. He is definitely no ordinary person. When we parted, he gave me a letter as a gift… But I dare not reveal his name without his consent…”

The City God nodded slightly. It was fine as long as he understood the reason.

“It must be this person who protected you. He must have seen Yin Jieyuan’s righteousness at the time and helped you…”

The City God pondered for a moment and realized that Yin Zhaoxian would not be able to give him any more information.

“Thank you, Yin Jieyuan, for clearing up my confusion. I will take my leave!”

In the dream, the City God bowed slightly, and Yin Zhaoxian hurriedly returned the salute. In a trance, the dream ended, and Yin Zhaoxian fell back into sleep.

1. T/n: …Alright who’s that doctor because someone is clearly a quack. The man literally has 1st or 2nd degree burns on his body and you’re saying “oh, yeah, sure, it’s a cold”
2. T/n: you have no idea how tempted I was to put “BE NOT AFRAID”