“Young Master Murong, please have some tea.”
Looking at the clear tea in his cup, Murong Yu remained silent for a long moment before saying with some embarrassment, “Brother Chen, do you know how much money was spent to repair the Confucian Stone that was shattered by your poem last time?”
“How much?”
“One hundred thousand taels of silver.”
Chen Ning: “...”
“What about the Golden Tripod, then?”
“I'm afraid it will cost at least five hundred thousand taels of silver to start.”
Chen Ning gasped softly.
Yesterday, Murong Yu had been summoned by Grand Confucian Li for a full hour-long talk. The academy's Grand Confucians had emptied their private savings just to barely patch the financial hole.
Although the Grand Confucians held back their heartache and didn't mention money directly, Grand Confucian Li still required the two of them to redeem themselves by solving a case.
Murong Yu said, “The body of the Six-Armed True Demon has been delivered to the academy. The Grand Confucians are currently using ‘Trace to the Roots’ to search for traces of the Red Blood Sect. Before that, Grand Confucian Li wants us to handle a recent rumor circulating in the Imperial Capital.”
“A rumor?”
“Yes, a rumor about a mermaid's revenge.”
“I've heard this rumor too! Little Hua... wait, no, Auntie Zhang next door mentioned it!” Qing Yan chimed in with interest from the side.
It was worth mentioning that Little Hua was a cute calico cat at the inn that was a favorite of everyone. However, ever since Qing Yan arrived, Little Hua clung almost exclusively to her all day...
The rumor of the mermaid's revenge had indeed spread through every street and alley of the Imperial Capital recently. Over the past week, six victims had already appeared.
These six people shared the exact same characteristics. First, they were all monks. Second, at the time of their deaths, their hearts had been gouged out with fish spears, and their corpses had grown scales and fins resembling a mermaid's.
Opinions varied wildly among the public, but so far, no one had seen the killer's true form.
Chen Ning pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “Is there any connection between these hunted monks?”
“Do you mean, Brother Chen, that this demon's crimes might have a specific purpose?”
Since all the targeted victims were monks, people instinctively assumed the demon was randomly hunting monks out of revenge and turning them into half-fish monsters to vent its anger.
Hearing this, Murong Yu's eyes lit up. “Wait a moment, Brother Chen. I'll go fetch the case files right away.”
Relying on his status as a Noble Scholar of the academy, Murong Yu was qualified to requisition case files directly from the prefecture office. Before long, he returned with the files for the several cases.
Sure enough, just as Chen Ning had predicted, all these hunted monks came from Qingtian Temple outside the Imperial Capital.
“Brilliant, Brother Chen! Of all the Qingtian Temple monks who entered the Imperial Capital, only one is still alive. It seems tonight will be his turn.”
The clue was found, but looking at the records in the files, Chen Ning could not help but frown slightly. “However, one thing is very strange. Knowing full well that they were being hunted, why did these monks refrain from asking the government for protection, and even deliberately stay in isolated, deserted places?”
“You mean, Brother Chen, there might be something wrong with these monks as well?”
“Mm. But whatever it is, we should find out tonight.”
...
Night fell. Chen Ning and Murong Yu arrived near the inn where the last monk from Qingtian Temple was staying.
As the night deepened, the area around the remote inn was deserted, pitch-black like a deep, bottomless cave. But after activating his Red Lotus Divine Pupils, night was virtually no different from day to Chen Ning, his vision completely unobstructed.
Inside the inn.
Snap.
In the quiet room, a red string suddenly snapped, and scattered Buddhist beads crashed to the floor.
“He really came!”
The robe-clad monk instantly grew terrified, looking out the window in horror.
“Flee! I must flee! Otherwise, I'll be killed too!”
The monk tightly wrapped his robe around himself, concealing his entire body and face completely. He ran downstairs in a panic, nervously scanning his surroundings.
Just then, the monk's pupils shrank violently.
A figure was slowly walking over from the distance.
It was a man wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat. At first glance, he looked like an unremarkable, ordinary person. But looking closely, one could clearly see his skin had a bluish tint, and every step he took left behind a trail of water tracks.
This man was clearly a dead Water Ghost!
“Keen Sight and Hearing.”
Although far inferior to the Red Lotus Divine Pupils, Murong Yu also managed to see the Water Ghost through a Confucian technique.
“He really did come.”
Murong Yu noticed the fish spear in the bamboo-hatted Water Ghost's hand. “Weaponry like this is usually used only by the mermaid race. It seems this Water Ghost indeed has something to do with mermaids. But... if it's just for revenge, why would he go through the trouble of turning the corpses into mermaids?”
“Don't kill me! Don't kill me!”
By now, the Qingtian Temple monk had turned around and was running frantically in the opposite direction, his terrified voice sharp and piercing.
However, coldness filled the Water Ghost's eyes, and a thick killing intent emanated from his body. The fish spear in his hand flashed with a dark blue light, and in the blink of an eye, he had already caught up with the monk.
The fish spear pierced through the air.
Just when it seemed about to impale the monk's body—
Clang!
A barrier formed from a wisp of purple qi instantly bounced the fish spear away.
“Worlds Apart in a Single Step.”
In the next second, Chen Ning appeared before the man, his fist howling with wind as it struck.
Bang!
The Water Ghost's body flew sideways under the terrifying force. However, the dark blue light radiating from the fish spear actually blocked most of the impact, keeping the Water Ghost from suffering severe injury.
Chen Ning was also slightly surprised.
This bamboo-hatted Water Ghost was very weak, possessing the strength of roughly a Sixth-Rank Master Realm cultivator. To be able to withstand his punch, the pearl embedded in that fish spear was likely a remarkably precious treasure.
However, in the end, it was only the weapon that was strong, not the person.
“Condemn by Word and Pen.”
“Break!”
As Chen Ning wrote the character for “Break” in midair, the character instantly transformed into a sharp, arc-shaped wave of Confucian Qi that slashed through the air.
Crack!
The barrier finally reached its limit and shattered in an instant.
Before the Water Ghost could react, Chen Ning slapped the fish spear aside with one palm and grabbed his throat.
“Noble Scholar's Sword.”
Chen Ning called out into his sea of consciousness.
In the next moment, the weapon that materialized in his hand was none other than the White Sword, which had not appeared in a long time.
In the perception of the Noble Scholar's Sword, it did not seem to regard the bamboo-hatted Water Ghost as an evil that ought to be slain.
So that's how it is.
Chen Ning had sensed something strange long ago. Although the case of the Qingtian Temple monks being hunted appeared to be a matter of demon corruption, the entire affair smelled fishy from start to finish.
The monks of Qingtian Temple would rather risk being hunted down than dare to ask the Demon Suppression Division or the government for assistance. Clearly, they too harbored an unspeakable secret and had a guilty conscience.
“My lord, this Water Ghost is a demon! Kill him quickly!”
“He is a demon, but aren't you?”
Chen Ning kicked the Qingtian Temple monk aside.
Beneath his robe, fins actually grew from the monk's back, and his entire body was covered in fish scales. His face was half-human and half-fish, swollen and twisted like a tumor—utterly hideous to behold.
Rate on N.U.
