The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 382 - 236 Great Song Ghost Sect_2

Chapter 382: Chapter 236 Great Song Ghost Sect_2

Rustling!

While they were speaking, the sound of wings flapping resounded in the air.

Some soldiers immediately raised their crossbows.

"Don’t shoot!"

Li Yan hastily stopped them, and then he saw Lv San’s hawk descend from the sky, perching on a wooden rack preening its feathers.

He removed the secret message from the bamboo tube attached to its leg. After roughly estimating the contents, Li Yan immediately took out paper and pen and scribbled a few lines.

Beside him, Sha Lifei whispered, "Has Daoist Wang and the others found anything?"

Li Yan nodded and said solemnly, "I’ve instructed them to stay hidden for now. They’re only to gather intelligence. They mustn’t reveal themselves."

The incident in Erbei Village was likely related to the Ghost Sect.

Faced with an unknown and fearsome enemy, Li Yan naturally had to be cautious, so he ordered Wang Daoxuan and Lv San to remain carefully concealed.

Seeing his secretive demeanor, a flicker of suspicion crossed Zhou Kai’s eyes, who directly inquired, "What’s this about, you two?"

"We have partners investigating outside."

Li Yan said gravely, "The appearance of the Ghost Sect calls for caution."

Zhou Kai didn’t hide his thoughts either, saying plainly, "Please don’t take offense, but at times like this, suspicion of each other is the last thing we need. After all, no one knows how deep the Ghost Sect has infiltrated."

"Li, the young hero, I don’t understand much about the matters of the Mystical Sect. Where do you think we should start our investigation?"

Li Yan pondered for a moment and said, "First, interrogate those from the mountain assembly and Wu Defa. Perhaps we’ll find a clue."

"Secondly, there’s definitely something wrong with that red pill. Now, all the victims are associated with the Academy..."

"I have my own suspicions about the matter."

Zhou Kai spoke gravely, "The Ghost Sect originally rose in the area of Ezhou, where their murderous sacrifices were made to the ghost called ’Leng Zheng Shem’."

"Yijian Records has it noted: to sacrifice to Leng Zheng God using murdered officials and scholars, claiming they’re ’clever people’, one equal to three. Monks and Daoists are called ’cultivators’, one equal to two. Beyond that, women and children, just one suffice."

"If the records are correct, officials and scholars are their primary targets, followed by people of the Mystical Sect, and only then women and children."

"I see."

Li Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, "According to scholar Yuan Feng, the method of concocting the ’red pill’ was suddenly found in the library."

"The effect of this medicine is to make them more energetic and clever, clearly marked as prey."

"No, that’s wrong. There are members of the Ghost Sect within the Academy! Even those scholars who survived are not safe!"

Without another word, Zhou Kai immediately gave the order, "Go, search the Danyang Academy, check the roster to see who didn’t come today, and arrest all those who remain!"

"Also, bring all the scholars to the county government and assign people to guard them day and night!"

"Summon someone, bring Wu Defa here!"

Zhou Kai was a decisive man. With his orders, the entire county government and garrison of over a thousand men busied themselves.

In no time at all, the accused were being brought in one by one.

Beginning with Wu Defa, they carried out interrogations.

Li Yan and Daoist Feng sporadically asked questions from the side, looking for doubts while Zhou Kai’s subordinates recorded all testimonies.

The night had deepened; the chaos in the city during the day had left the citizens trembling with fear, while the county hall was brightly lit with candles, the sounds of whips lashing and agonized screams carrying on incessantly...

...

On the other side, deep within the dense forests of the South Bank.

"I didn’t expect it to be the Ghost Sect."

Wang Daoxuan, looking at the secret letter in his hand, shook his head with a solemn expression, "I thought this Demon Sect had become a part of history, but it seems to have been rekindled."

"These followers of the Demon Path kill people and offer them to ghosts. With the strong Witch Wind in Ezhou, Xiangxi, and the indigenous mountain regions, I fear something big is about to occur."

"Dao Xuan, I don’t understand."

Lv San shook his head with a frown, "There are perfectly good orthodox practices for worship, such as the City God and land spirits. Why would they risk death to sacrifice humans to evil ghosts?"

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "Worshipping the heavens, earth, and stars is to hope. But to worship evil ghosts insatiably is to desire..."

"Shh!"

Before he could finish, Lv San suddenly went tense, signaling for silence, and finally pointed to the left side.

Wang Daoxuan immediately caught on.

The two lowered their bodies, hiding in the underbrush to peer down.

The one working undercover had hidden the object extremely well.

However, once Lv San activated the Secret Technique, all the rats, snakes, and little birds in the forest became his informants, effortlessly leading them to the hidden object.

Looking down at the valley below, between the dense leaves of a large tree, hung something dark and charred, which would have gone unnoticed if not for close scrutiny.

It was a piece of burnt wood, not even half a man’s height, covered in Blood-Colored Talismans and adorned with a cow skull.

This was the Wood Spirit’s true form.

Trees that could give birth to Wood Spirits were all centuries old, having survived the elements and already transformed into a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, capable of self-concealment.

The Wood Spirit was a guardian spirit of the Spiritual Treasure.

Its methods of manipulation were also very evil.

If the Wood Spirit’s main body was destroyed, it would turn into a Bloodthirsty Spirit Charm to take revenge. The practitioners were taking advantage of this fact.

They would first locate the spirit wood, use methods similar to treasuring objects to suppress it, then set up arrays to bewilder its mind and strip its will.

In the end, they would burn the spirit wood to ashes.

The Wood Spirit, driven by resentment, could unleash tremendous power.

And this power was then used, through Secret Techniques, to harm others.

Wang Daoxuan had not destroyed it and had not even hurried to extract its essence for preparation of the Seven Arrows Secret Spell, as he was waiting for the person behind the scenes.

In the distance along the mountain path, people carrying torches advanced, the number was not insignificant, resembling a fire dragon winding through the dark, dense forest.

Wang Daoxuan had already set up his array, with small triangular Magic Flags planted all around, further intertwined with red rope, faintly forming the Eight Trigrams, completely concealing the two people’s qi.

Hidden in a dark corner, they would not be discovered.

As the fire dragon approached ever nearer, they finally saw the faces of the comers.

There was a group of people in black, each with a red belt tied around their waist, their heads covered with hoods, and their faces painted with oil paint into fierce and malignant Evil Ghost expressions.

In this uninhabited mountain forest, it was like a parade of ghosts.

Some of them carried torches, some held sharp blades, and in their midst, eight people carried a coffin made of Black Wood, creating a very eerie atmosphere.

Leading the procession was an elderly man.

This old man wore a blue Confucian robe, his hair white and flowing. Despite his advanced age, he walked with a straight back and an air of authority.

Arriving under the great tree, the old man immediately raised his hand.

"Stop!"

After instructing the people to halt, the old man brought out an incense table, burning wood and waving around fragrant spices until the air was filled with dense smoke.

Several people in black robes knelt around him, cutting open their palms with knives, inhaling the thick smoke rising from the burning wood, shaking their heads and continuously muttering incantations.

After these preparations, the Confucian-robed elder gave an order, and several black-clothed people climbed up the tree to slowly lower the charred wood.

Next, they actually put the wood inside the coffin. Then they killed a live chicken on the spot, mixing the chicken’s blood with cinnabar to make an ink, with which they drew all kinds of strange symbols on the Black Wood coffin.

Bang bang bang!

The coffin, soaked in chicken blood, was nailed shut.

Once that was done, the crowd carried the coffin off into the distance.

"It’s the Ghost Sect!"

Watching the departing lights, Wang Daoxuan’s expression turned solemn, "They have most likely heard the wind and are trying to take away the last clue."

"Let the hawk follow from afar, we just need to see clearly where it goes without startling the quarry!"

Lv San nodded and waved his hand.

With a rush, the hawk soared into the sky, disappearing into the night...

...

In Guizhou City, inside the county government hall.

The candles were brightly lit, the incessant interrogation throughout the night filled the hall with a strong odor, a mix of smoke, sweat, and blood.

The floor which had been cleaned during the day again showed streaks of blood.

However, no one seemed to mind.

With the reappearance of the Ghost Sect, no measure of cruelty seemed too excessive.

"This Ghost Sect is truly cunning!"

Rubbing his swollen forehead while examining a confession, Prefect Zhou Kai said, "The mountain worship was originally a folklore to worship the Mountain God, common in all states, but in Zigui, it had evolved into a gang."

"As soon as Wu Dehai arrived, he took them under his command, and then someone else took control. Now it seems that the other party had premeditated it. The peripheral gang members are responsible for collecting money, while the core members are elusive."

"We’ve caught nothing but scum."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "But it’s not without gain."

"These peripheral gang members, under the guise of high-interest loans, often take away the women and children of the people’s households in place of debt, and so far, not one has returned."

"They hand people over to the core gang members, who have probably become human sacrifices, and they pretend to be river bandits, robbing passing merchants and abducting people."

"Who knows where they are hiding for their rituals?"

Sha Lifei shook his head in amazement, "Zigui County doesn’t have its own garrison, though the Zhushan Sect often controls the soldiers to patrol the mountains, but there are too many places to hide."

"To the north is the Shennongjia, to the west the Wushan Mountains, and to the south the Turen Mountain Dwellings and Miaojiang—what a perfect place!"

The Prefect Zhou Kai’s face was grim, "I will write to request an increase in Zigui’s defense forces, and regarding the Zhushan Sect, if their Magic Veins can’t keep control, it might be better to cede the territory to Zhenwu Palace now!"

"Report!"

While they were speaking, a soldier hurried into the hall.

"Sir, we have found something!"