"Venerable Suyin, is it... complete like this?"
The speaker had a square face, a goatee, wearing a broad-sleeved white robe, exuding an imposing aura. He was clearly someone who had long held a position of power.
He withdrew his gaze from the stone coffin in front of him and asked the elderly man beside him with a slight respect.
The elder had a gaunt skeletal frame, appearing withered and resembling a mound of wrinkled skin. His blue and white robe, adorned with seven fallen stars, added an air of celestial dignity to him.
In the coffin before him lay an even more withered female corpse. If You Su were present, he might even see her hollow eyes filled with blood-red worms.
"Barring any accidents, it is foolproof. Even if you let those few from the Profound Sky Sect come, they wouldn’t be able to discern anything." Venerable Suyin also withdrew his gaze, then glanced at the square-faced middle-aged man, "Mr. Xiang, it’s only because I have old ties with your father that I’m helping you with this. Don’t forget what you promised me."
Mr. Xiang’s expression first tightened, then he forced a smile:
"Of course, that person might already be in Mo Ye City, who knows. Whatever Venerable Suyin wishes to do, I, Xiang, shall not interfere."
Even though Mr. Xiang was the City Lord of the Feather Transformation Realm, he had to maintain constant humility in the face of a Void Realm Venerable from Nanyang Continent.
"Good!" Venerable Suyin laughed heartily, "Rest assured, with me here, I can certainly ensure your son’s safety."
"Then my deepest gratitude to Venerable Suyin..."
Mr. Xiang thanked him respectfully. He suddenly stood up and frowned, speaking solemnly, "It seems there are some pests eyeing this decayed corpse... Venerable Suyin, please go ahead, I’ll take care of them."
"Go ahead."
Venerable Suyin placed his hands behind his back, his mind already elsewhere.
...
"Ye Liangchen pays respects to Mr. Xiang."
You Su, leading three women, bowed to the imposing City Lord.
"Ye Liangchen? What relation are you to Ye Qingchen?"
Mr. Xiang sat high on his platform and wasn’t overly courteous to this wealthy young man from afar, for the latter was introduced into the City Lord’s mansion by his rebellious son. It was clear that the visitor was here not merely to pay respects to him as the City Lord.
"That is of no importance."
You Su wasn’t intimidated by the other’s aura and remained calm. He knew very well that showing fear at this moment would only make it more apparent that he was bluffing.
Indeed, Mr. Xiang narrowed his gaze and continued to scrutinize You Su and the two women beside him.
Unknown to You Su, although he didn’t know Mr. Xiang, Mr. Xiang had already investigated him.
You Su’s act of hiding his identity played right into Mr. Xiang’s hands as Venerable Suyin wanted him to lure the young man to Mo Ye City, clearly planning something against You Su.
If anything did happen to You Su, Mr. Xiang could claim ignorance due to the latter’s concealed identity.
"Why has Mr. Ye left Henggao City to visit my small Mo Ye City?"
"I’m taking my maid on a journey, passing through here, and caught wind of a grievance, so I wanted to play the role of a righteous knight."
"So, Mr. Ye has come to my City Lord’s mansion to address this grievance?"
Mr. Xiang leaned back, his gaze lingering on Qiao Xiuyun, who was surrounded by the three, causing the young girl to fearfully clutch Ji Lingruo’s clothing.
"Indeed."
You Su remained composed and placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, giving her more courage to step forward.
"This is Qiao Xiuyun, the younger sister of Qiao Xiuying, the former courtesan of Xiao Xiang Pavilion at Mo Ye City. Qiao Xiuying went missing inexplicably a few days ago. Qiao Xiuyun traveled thousands of miles from Black Rock City just to find her sister. But to her surprise, her sister had already turned into a corpse, and worse, the body was stolen. I’m here to help her find her sister’s body."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Xiang laughed instead of getting angry, "But I heard Qiao Xiuying was redeemed and went home to live in peace. How could that be called going missing?"
"The City Lord doesn’t know, but that was just a false rumor spread by the Xiao Xiang Pavilion to continue their business as usual. In reality, she has been dead and missing for nine days."
"I see. I will increase the manpower to thoroughly investigate the entire Mo Ye City. Once there is news, I’ll send someone to notify Mr. Ye. Then you can come back to retrieve her body."
You Su’s deep investigation surprised Mr. Xiang. He waved a hand, already intending to dismiss them.
"May I boldly ask Mr. Xiang, does this thorough investigation of Mo Ye City include the City Lord’s mansion?"
On the surface, You Su remained calm, but in reality, his palm was already holding the jade bead given by the Chief Elder.
Should he encounter insurmountable issues, he only needed to crush one to turn the situation around.
Even though in front of him stood a Feather Transformation Realm cultivator, he had unwavering faith in the Chief Elder’s strength.
Mr. Xiang, indeed, was somewhat angered by You Su’s impertinent words and asked in a deep voice:
"Are you suggesting, Mr. Ye, that this brothel girl’s body is hidden in my City Lord’s mansion?"
"Your son had a secret relationship with Qiao Xiuying, but due to your obstruction, they could never be together. Besides, Qiao Xiuying had no special relations in this Mo Ye City, so no one else would covet her body. Other than being hidden in the City Lord’s mansion, I really can’t think of where else her body could be."
This statement by You Su was almost like rubbing salt into Mr. Xiang’s wound.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Xiang didn’t fly into a rage but instead acknowledged the matter:
"It seems Mr. Ye has indeed put considerable thought into this grievance."
"If you want something not to be known, the only way is not to do it. No matter how well you hide the evidence, eventually, someone will find out."
As soon as the words fell, Mr. Xiang burst into laughter, as if he had heard something extremely amusing.
"Foolish... Once upon a time, I was as foolish as you, believing that what I deemed was justice."
Mr. Xiang laughed and shook his head, "Mr. Ye, you don’t need to pretend anymore, you were sent by the Exorcism Bureau to secretly investigate the evil spirits, weren’t you?"
You Su furrowed his sword-like brows but did not deny it.
"I can be frank with you, Qiao Xiuying’s corpse is indeed with me. But it’s not to cover up the scandal you speak of. Who my son loves cannot taint the reputation of the Xiang Family in the slightest. I hid her body actually to protect her, so do you still wish to make her corpse public? Or turn a blind eye and keep her disappearance a secret?"
Mr. Xiang restrained his laughter and looked at You Su with scrutinizing eyes.
Protect her?
You Su thought nervously about the meaning behind Mr. Xiang’s words, why would a dead person need protection?
Mr. Xiang’s openness caused him to hesitate, making him somewhat afraid to respond.
It was Qiao Xiuyun who lightly tugged at the hem of his sleeve that made him determined.
No corpse means no truth revealed.
It’s not him who is bluffing, but this Mr. Xiang.
"Mr. Xiang is mistaken, no matter what, leaving the bones without a trace is no protection for her."
Qiao Xiuyun nodded firmly at his words, as a family member of the deceased, her only thought was to see her sister’s body and bring her home.
Mr. Xiang gave You Su a long, deep look, and sighed:
"I hope you can maintain your righteous air after a while."
With that, he stood up, his wide sleeves swirling, and said:
"Come with me, and see the truth you wish to see."
Ji Lingruo and Zi Yiyi exchanged a glance, then followed You Su with Qiao Xiuyun.
...
In the dimly lit chamber, the group gathered around a stone coffin.
"Once this coffin is opened, it cannot be closed again."
Mr. Xiang stood behind the crowd, offering one last reminder.
You Su placed his hand on the coffin lid, without hesitation, he exerted all his strength to lift the overly heavy cover.
The first thing to hit their noses was a thick stench of decay.
As the candlelight grew brighter, the appearance of the person in the coffin became clear to everyone.
Ji Lingruo and Zi Yiyi both showed expressions of shock, and Qiao Xiuyun even let out a scream.
The little girl who had longed to see her sister had not yet burst into tears of reunion but was instead frightened pale by the worms pouring out of the eye sockets of the corpse.
You Su looked at these blood-colored worms with a solemn expression, as these were without exception, ghost mites.
"Have you seen the truth?"
Mr. Xiang seemed to sigh, "You think you’re helping this little girl, but actually, you’re harming her. Previously, I was the only one who knew this secret, but now there are five. Your Exorcism Bureau has always hated evil as much as enmity, take it away, this is the source of the ghost mite chaos."
"Sister... Sister is not a bad person!"
Qiao Xiuyun fiercely refuted, suppressing her urge to gag.
"Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have dared to believe it either. You think I hid it to cover up a scandal, but actually, it was to protect my son’s lover’s reputation. The facts speak for themselves, not only is her brain stem, but even her entire body is filled with ghost mites. There’s no such thing as a Ghost Mite Mother; she herself is the source of all ghost mites. How else do you think she could set foot on the immortal path? And reach the Condensed Water Realm in just a few months?"
Mr. Xiang shook his head helplessly, questioning and answering himself, "That’s because she willingly offered her body to the evil spirits, thinking that this would make her match my son, but she was too foolish... So foolish that I pitied her, which is why I hid the truth for her..."
The group listened, shocked at this unforeseen truth, all of them dumbfounded.
Qiao Xiuyun was on the verge of collapse, unable to believe that it was all her sister’s doing. Clearly, when she was young, it was her sister who often warned her not to go near the coast, for beyond the Divine Radiance Stone by the sea, there were countless filths.
"She indeed isn’t a bad person; she just loved my son too much... This is also my fault, I shouldn’t have obstructed them so much... What does it matter if she was a courtesan?"
Mr. Xiang confessed with a sorrowful voice, anyone could hear the thick regret in his tone:
"Take it, the corpse you were looking for, the truth and the source of the ghost mites that the Exorcism Bureau wants are all here. It was my fault for hiding her corpse, I am willing to accept punishment, only hoping that you can spare her family, she is not a bad person."
Qiao Xiuyun, with tear-filled eyes, gazed at this sorrowful middle-aged man with mixed feelings, not knowing whether to thank or blame him.
One more important reason why her sister advised her not to contact evil spirits was because those who collude with evil would have their families implicated if discovered by the Exorcism Bureau.
This is an irreversible great sin, and now the difficult choice falls onto You Su.
If he chooses to take the corpse to report it, then Qiao Xiuyun’s family, including her, will die.
But if he chooses to cover up the truth, then he will fail the assessment.