Above the Great Dao

Qianyang Mountain, Li Family campsite.

Li Kefa's face was overcast as he looked at the bustling campsite, where the government officials from Water Buffalo County were busy at work and the forensic doctor was examining the bones on the ground.

He was the father of Li Xiaoding and the County Magistrate of Water Buffalo County. The Li Family held great influence; whatever he said went in Water Buffalo County, and the actual County Magistrate was nothing but a figurehead.

He had three daughters and only this one son, but now his son was dead!

He had received the news from the Ding Family and rushed to the scene, only to find that his son had been eaten by an evil spirit, leaving behind nothing but bones!

Including the seven guards in brocade clothes who had followed Li Xiaoding, all were devoured by the evil spirit!

"Sir, your subordinate has questioned the Ding Family's people, and they seem to be clear of any suspicion."

A thirty-something-year-old young man strode over, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a tall and robust physique, broad shoulders, dressed in red robes, wearing an official hat, with a strange weapon on his back. Looking like a spear but not quite a spear, it had a spearhead on one end and three tubes welded together on the other, resembling a hammer.

This weapon was known as a Three-eyed Fire Gun, exceptionally powerful, even more potent than ordinary spells. The black iron tubes were filled with gunpowder and saltpeter, and when ignited, would burst with the force of thunder, shooting lead bullets like arrows a hundred steps, injuring people from afar!

And these lead bullets were round, weighing one liang for ten, hollow, stuffed with gunpowder inside. Upon hitting the target, they would explode with enormous force.

This man was Zhuge Jian, the archivist of Water Buffalo County's government office, a very capable person; it was only due to his humble family background that he could serve as an archivist.

With a bow, Zhuge Jian said, "Yesterday afternoon, the Fourth Miss from the Ding Family sent a maid named Zi E to seek a closer relationship between our two families. Unfortunately, as nightfall approached, Zi E had not returned. Concerned for Zi E's safety, the Dings sent people here, only to discover the disaster that had befallen the camp. By then, it was dark, and they could only retreat to the Ding Family camp, leaving the young master's body at the mercy of the evil spirit and wild beasts."

Li Kefa coldly asked, "Are you suggesting my son did not die at the hands of the evil spirit?"

"The young master was murdered by a person."

Zhuge Jian said, "I have made a careful investigation. From the scene, the killer did not use spells or talismans but relied on a small knife and physical combat. In a mere moment, killing nine people. In that moment, he struck thirteen times, with the most injured person receiving only two blows."

He had observed extremely carefully; though Li Xiaoding and the others were left only with skeletons, he was still able to determine the number of times Chen Shi had struck based on the minutiae upon the bones and the footprints on the ground.

Li Kefa's face was as still as water, and he inquired, "What else?"

"In the process of killing the nine people with thirteen strikes, no one on the scene had enough time to cast a spell. They were cut down before even preparing their spells."

Zhuge Jian continued, "The person's build is not tall, only between five to six feet, but his body is exceptionally strong and powerful. Within a distance of one zhang, his fists and feet can arrive instantaneously, seizing life! His fists can directly shatter bones!"

Li Kefa frowned; not many cultivators practiced body refinement.

"Using a Warrior Talisman could create such a formidable physique."

Zhuge Jian said, "By activating a Warrior Talisman, one can instantly gain the divine strength of a Yellow Turban Warrior, wreaking bloody havoc in a flash. However, the man did not use a Warrior Talisman."

Changing the subject, he added, "I have inspected the ash remnants of the talismans. Among all people at the camp, only two talisman ashes remained. These two talismans were Protective Golden Bell Talismans. Moreover, the user should have been the young master. Therefore, the killer must be a short-statured body refinement cultivator! Or perhaps a master who has achieved a Golden Core, concealing their expertise in spells, deliberately using fists and knives to kill."

Li Kefa frowned and said, "After killing my son, this person immediately fled. With the vast world out there, how can we find this murderer?"

Zhuge Jian solemnly said, "The person left a clue, as he brought along a dog."

Li Kefa was momentarily stunned; he had not seen any dog paw prints on the ground.

None of the dozens of government officials from Water Buffalo County had noticed any paw prints either.

"There are bones gnawed by a dog on the ground."

Holding a piece of bone in his palm, Zhuge Jian said, "These bite marks were left by canine teeth. And on the table, there's some cinnabar dust. Thus, the identity of our visitor seems clear. This person must be a talisman master who brought along a black dog, presumably to draw talismans. Black Dog Blood is yang in nature, an excellent material for grinding cinnabar. Therefore, the dog must be a black one! This man is short and a talisman master with a black dog. Identifying him shouldn't be too difficult."

Upon hearing this, Li Kefa breathed a sigh of relief; there were too few people fitting that description.

"There is another way, which is to summon my son's spirit to identify the real culprit."

Li Kefa said, "You go prepare some Soul Summoning Talismans, ready for spirit summoning. I also wish to meet my son..." he trailed off, his eyes reddening.

Zhuge Jian hesitated before responding, "Sir, I took the liberty of attempting to summon the spirit just now. I was not able to summon the young master's spirit..."

Li Kefa was stunned, looking at him puzzled.

Zhuge Jian cautiously said, "Not only could I not summon the young master's spirit, but the spirits of the others were also unsummonable. The people who died at the hands of this talisman master, their souls all disappeared."

Li Kefa stood in shock, his expression quite sorrowful: "My son's soul is gone? Could it be that upon killing, this person could even consume my son's soul?"

Zhuge Jian thought for a moment and said, "I have a conjecture, which is that this person must possess an evil spirit. Only an evil spirit or a similar entity has the ability to consume souls. This talisman master might have nurtured an evil spirit, or he could be possessed by one."

Such events had occurred before; an evil spirit possessing a person, blending into townships to consume people, capable of eating an entire village in just a few days!

Li Kefa exhaled a breath of foul air and said, "Archivist Zhuge, capturing this short-statured talisman master with a black dog shall be your responsibility. Do not kill him, as I must interrogate him personally, flay open his chest, and rip out his heart, to avenge my son's spirit in heaven!"

Zhuge Jian bowed and acknowledged the order, commanding the officials to search for the talisman master with the black dog at all crossings, stations, and villages.

The grandfather and grandson returned to Huangpo Village, where the grandfather went about his usual business of preparing medicines, while Chen Shi took the medications and bathed in medicated baths. Deep into the night, in his sleep, Chen Shi suddenly felt his heart seize with pain, and he woke up in agony to piercing heartache!

His heart pain suddenly erupted once more!

Ever since he had begun cultivating the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, he had not suffered from this condition, but this time the attack was incredibly fierce!

The blue ghost hand on his chest clenched its five fingers tightly around his heart, causing the muscles in his chest to contract, as if his heart was about to be crushed!

Chen Shi's body trembled, convulsed, stiffened, his veins bulging out, in such pain that he could not breathe, and his face quickly turned red!

The red slowly turned purple.

He couldn't open his mouth or make any sound, unable to call for his grandfather to save him!

After a long while, Chen Shi was drenched in sweat, the bedding nearly soaked through before he gasped his first breath.

With this breath supporting him, he grabbed onto a lifeline, hastily mobilizing the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique to full force, battling the blue ghost hand gripping his heart!

It wasn't until the latter half of the night that he finally suppressed the blue ghost hand.

The fingers of the blue ghost hand, which had been inserted into his chest, now slowly extended, and the pain gradually subsided.

Chen Shi was still frightened, this time the blue ghost hand's grip on his heart had been heavier and lasted longer than ever before. If he hadn't gasped that first breath, he feared he would have died of pain right there in bed!

"Could it be that when I executed Li Xiaoding today, I overexerted myself, and my body could no longer suppress the Ghost Hand Seal, causing this condition to break out?"

Chen Shi thought carefully, he did feel an intense sense of hunger when he executed Li Xiaoding and the others, which suggested he had expended too much.

"Grandfather's medicine can suppress the blue ghost hand, but it seems to have diminishing effectiveness, only the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique is still effective. I must quickly make another trip to the True King's Tomb to get the full Three Light Righteous Qi Technique!"

The Three Light Righteous Qi Technique was the only cultivation technique he had obtained that could suppress the blue ghost hand; it was Chen Shi's only lifeline.

"But to get the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, it will surely alarm the Ghost God Domain," Chen Shi frowned.

The last time he had managed to get so far was thanks to the spiritual power support from the spirit meats given by Miss Zhao; now without the spirit meats, he could only rely on his own strength. With his current strength, he feared it was still impossible to reach the stele before the Ghost God Domain opened up at the True King's Tomb.

"I must first go to the desolate mountain temple to cultivate for a period to make my body stronger before I can attempt the True King's Tomb again!" He made up his mind and then went to sleep.

Chen Shi's life returned to its usual routine: getting up early to eat, fighting with the village dogs, stealing watermelons, worshiping his dry nurse, listening to the scholar ghost solve puzzles, then heading to the desolate mountain temple to cultivate the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, and returning home at night for medicine and a medicinal bath.

That day, Chen Shi had just paid respects to his dry nurse outside the village and was listening to Zhu Xiucai lecturing on the Classics when the sudden sound of horse hooves approached. A group of more than ten government officials galloped past the post road, kicking up dust and appearing like plumes of mist as they headed towards Huangpo Slope.

"It's the Six Gates again!"

Chen Shi looked on curiously and wondered, "Didn't the Six Gates in Xinxiang County get wiped out by the dry nurse from Fangdian Village? And all the bodies were taken away by the ghost bride."

It was strange, the ghost bride had vanished since that night, and no one inquired about the mysterious temple that had suddenly appeared. Even the death of more than thirty people from the Six Gates had not spread any news—it was quite odd.

Chen Shi had always been uneasy about the killing of Li Xiaoding, fearing someone would trace it back to him, but it seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Zhu Xiucai sneered, "What's so strange about that? The so-called Six Gates is but toilet paper in an outhouse, merely a consumable. Skilled men like these are churned out in the millions every year in the West Bull New Continent; the death of a few dozens is of no consequence. As long as the County Magistrate lists the vacancies, an innumerable number of scholars would fight tooth and nail to get in."

Chen Shi knew he was correct; cultivators who passed the scholar examination, if they didn't advance to become higher scholars, had to seek a livelihood elsewhere. Government official positions in the county office were, after all, government jobs of the Great Ming, and once there was an opening, scholars swarmed to it.

"Sigh—"

The ten or so officials suddenly halted their horses, and the leader dismounted, stepping quickly up to Huangpo Slope, smiling as he said, "Little brother, I am Zhuge Jian, the archivist from Water Buffalo County. What's your name?"

"Cheng Shi."

"Cheng Shi, little brother, may I ask if there is a talisman master by the name of Chen Yindou in Huangpo Village?"

Chen Shi blinked and replied, "There's someone named Chen Yindou. What business do you have with him?"

Zhuge Jian's face beamed with a smile, "How tall is this Chen Yindou?"

Chen Shi replied, "About as tall as you."

Zhuge Jian slightly frowned, and the officials behind him discussed amongst themselves, "Head, it seems like the case wasn't done by Chen Yindou. What do we do now?" "We've been running around the nearby villages these days, and people have been dispatched in the towns as well. Could the murderous talisman master have flown away?"

Zhuge Jian also felt a bit of a headache; he had been investigating all over, and no county or town had turned up any suspects. He had hoped to find something in a rural area, but after searching through all the villages, large and small, they hadn't found a talisman master who matched the description of being short and accompanied by a black dog.

"Could I be wrong in my direction?"

He was about to head back when suddenly, a large black dog trotted toward Huangpo Slope, wagging its tail at the little boy under the tree.

The black dog appeared kind and almost seemed to be smiling.

The boy looked up and smiled, "Magistrate sir, my grandfather is calling me home to eat."

Zhuge Jian nodded, watching as the little boy and the black dog walked away, when suddenly a thought struck him like thunder.

"What if the murderer isn't a short adult, but a child? A child talisman master with a strong physical body!"