“The Daoist boy is not the key here, his senior brother is the main focus,” Sikou Yu’s eyes gleamed.
“On the night Lin Que was murdered, Zuo Sheng took a group of you to meet that scholar, claiming it was to help him out of a tight spot.”
“But in my view, Zuo Sheng purposely redirected attention to that scholar!”
“Chen Mu had a conflict with Lin Que, and then Lin Que ended up dead. The first reaction of anyone in the know would be to consider Chen Mu a suspect.”
“But what if the real murderer is someone else?”
“Wouldn’t Chen Mu then become an obvious target, the perfect scapegoat?”
“If Chen Mu suddenly disappears without explanation, it immediately solidifies the other person’s identity as the culprit.” Sikou Yu said this, his entire being unable to contain his excitement.
“It’s very possible that Chen Mu has already been silenced by Zuo Sheng.”
“All to protect his true ally. That senior brother from Qingfeng Observatory!” Sikou Yu laughed heartily, his face filled with satisfaction.
The frustration of the past few days from searching without success was swept away in an instant.
Right, everything fits now, it must be that senior brother!
Qingfeng Observatory has magical artifacts, they must have a legacy, their martial ability is certainly not weak.
Only such a person would recognize the value of ebony wood and take it away.
And that Chen Mu? A poor scholar from a small place, how could he possibly have the strength to kill Lin Que?!
“No wonder we can’t find anyone. They’ve all been silenced, where could we possibly look?!”
He clenched his fist and swung it fiercely through the air, his face resolute. “Spread the word immediately, I want that Daoist boy’s senior brother found!”
Sun Fu: “…”
The house in Shanglin Neighborhood…
“Hmm?!” Sikou Yu stared intently at Sun Fu.
Sun Fu immediately shut his mouth, his body sweating like rain: “Yes!”
…
At this moment, the “silenced” Chen Mu was squatting in front of a small food stall.
In his hand, he held a palm-sized charcoal-roasted stuffed bun, taking a bite that engulfed half of it in one go.
The steaming hot, slightly reddish meat filling with layers of fat and lean emitted an aroma that immediately filled his nostrils.
“Great skills, boss! I’ll take three more!” Chen Mu’s face, adorned with “flank meat,” praised loudly as he gulped down the stuffed bun in two bites.
“This is a skill that has been passed down through five generations in my family.” The owner, a short, plump middle-aged man in his forties, beamed with a smile upon hearing the praise.
“I’m not bragging to you. My buns, with their crispy crust and rich filling, have had so many people trying to steal the recipe, yet no one has ever been able to learn it.”
“In this world, I’m the only one who knows how to make the authentic old Qi family’s stuffed buns. If you want to eat them, you still have to come to me, Qi Laoda!” He pointed a thumb at himself, tossing his head back in pride.
Chen Mu responded with a beaming smile, giving a thumbs-up to Qi Laoda.
Now, there were two people who knew how to make them…
…
Ultimately, Chen Mu couldn’t resist.
He stepped out of his home and headed to the North Market’s fresh meat street.
Purchasing too much fresh meat might attract prying eyes. But the unsolvable Ghost issue troubled Chen Mu even more.
“First, master the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse. I just have to be a bit more careful.”
Chen Mu looked at the entry at the bottom of the grey wall.
Shapeshifting: 670/10000/First Rank;
“Each time I step out, I’ll change my face.”
“North and South Markets, each butcher’s stall, one visit only.”
“Every time I deliver, I’ll choose a random spot.”
“With these three precautions, it’s unlikely there will be any issues in the short term.”
After all, he rented more than one courtyard in Shanglin Neighborhood, allowing him to switch delivery spots at will.
And he didn’t need to make purchases every day. By combining it with catching river fish, buying every other day was enough to sustain his cultivation.
“If need be, I’ll just stay up late at night—there’s no proficiency to be gained without burning the midnight oil.”
“With the help of the Divine Intent Diagram, I should be able to reach the peak in no more than two months!”
Having eaten his fill and made up his mind, Chen Mu left Qi Laoda’s small eatery and started wandering the streets.
Soon, a meat stall came into view.
The stall was four meters long, with a residence in the back where the faint sounds of livestock echoed from the yard.
“The store isn’t the biggest, with no significant backing behind it.”
“Nor is it the smallest; it can provide enough fresh meat.”
Chen Mu walked up.
“Would the guest like to order some meat? Which piece do you fancy? I’ll cut it for you.”
“I need the meat from four freshly slaughtered pigs, skinned and bloodletted, and keep the heart, liver, spleen, and lungs. When can you have it ready for me?”
“Rest assured, guest! We have plenty of apprentice butchers in the backyard. Just give me an address, and I’ll have it delivered by the afternoon!” The butcher shop owner smiled with glee.
Chen Mu handed over a silver tael: “This is the deposit. Have it delivered to the third house in the Yichou Alley at Shanglin Neighborhood in the afternoon.”
“Sure thing!”
After giving his instructions, Chen Mu did not linger and hurried home. Around two in the afternoon, he left his house again and made his way to Yichou Alley, three streets away.
He chanted a curse, first releasing a small paper man to climb to a high place. He saw two men waiting at the door, pushing a handcart, chatting casually while fanning themselves with their bamboo hats to stay cool.
Confirming that there were no surprises, Chen Mu then walked unhurriedly into the alley, received the goods, and paid off the balance.
After sending the two men away and securing the courtyard door, he stored the fresh meat into the Five Ghosts Bag. Once again, he used the paper ghost to climb high and scout the surroundings before hurriedly departing.
“It’s a bit of a hassle, but at least it’s safe,” Chen Mu muttered as he adjusted the muscles on his face back to their original appearance at his riverside home.
With tens of thousands of taels on his head, Chen Mu was always restless.
The four cleanly slaughtered pigs had been devoured. Stay immersed on m-vlem|p-yr
He chanted a curse and released the paper ghosts. Having eaten their fill, the Five Ghosts Bag made the three little paper men more lively.
Thinking of the perspectives the little paper men provided when scouting for enemies, he felt as if he had gained three extra eyes.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but marvel, “Magic artifacts are truly deserving of their name, mystical and extraordinary.”
The paper ghosts, too weak to even lift a leaf, were not only capable of suppressing other ghosts but also served as reconnaissance.
“I must explore the usage of the Five Ghosts Bag more thoroughly in the future.”
“I wonder what kind of magic artifact that old man wields?”
…
Three days later.
In Nanyang Prefecture, near the South Market at Yongtai Workshop.
Sun Fu entered the Mysterious Painting Workshop with a gloomy expression: “Master Zhen, where is the painting I ordered?”
Two days of searching yielded no results.
This morning, an irate Sikou Yu had angrily kicked him, leaving his abdomen bruised and in considerable pain.
Fortunately, his efforts were not entirely fruitless. This Mysterious Painting Workshop once had a branch in Qingshan County. The workshop owner, Master Zhen, had met the leader of Qingfeng Observatory.
“These are the portraits of Daoist Cheng Yi and the young acolyte Cheng Ming,” said Master Zhen pointing at the unrolled scroll with a smile.
“My skills are a bit rusty, but without boasting, these portraits resemble them by at least seventy percent.”
“Thanks, Master Zhen,” said Sun Fu, breathing a sigh of relief.
Resembling the large and the small figures by seven tenths would greatly reduce the difficulty of the search.
After paying the fee for the painting, Sun Fu hurriedly found Sikou Yu, who was lounging in Chunfeng Tower.
“Master, these are the portraits of those two individuals,” Sun Fu said, bowing and fawning.
Sikou Yu glanced at them briefly, nodded indifferently, and casually tossed the painting to a strong man beside him: “Go find them.”
“Yes!” The brawny man saluted respectfully and left.
As he passed Sun Fu, the corners of his mouth curled slightly. With his back to Sikou Yu, he gave Sun Fu a clear, scornful smile.
Sun Fu’s face turned pale.
He had lost Sikou Yu’s trust!
He had gone through great pains to locate the individuals, paying out of his own pocket for the portraits. All he needed was to follow the clues in the paintings to earn great merit, yet now someone else would reap the rewards.
Dazed, Sun Fu didn’t even realize how he had exited Chunfeng Tower.
It wasn’t until the breeze started cooling his sweaty body that he came back to his senses.
Noticing a local thug on the street corner, Sun Fu’s expression immediately soured.
He had seen that man before; he was one of Zuo Sheng’s subordinates.
Having lost Sikou Yu’s confidence, he no longer had protection. If Zuo Sheng came after him, his death was certain!
“No, I can’t just sit around and wait to die.”
“I must regain Sikou Yu’s favor.”
“What to do, what to do…”
“Right, that mansion!”
Though seven or eight days had passed, the event was still vivid in his memory.
“The Locking Ghost Bug behaved abnormally; there must be something wrong with that mansion!”
A ruthless look flashed in Sun Fu’s eyes, resembling a gambler desperate to turn his luck.
“I can’t be careless. I need to find a thief to scout it out under cover of night!”
“As long as I find clues related to the Ebony Wood, my life will be saved!”