Chapter 5: Martial Dao Cultivation, Buy One Get One Free
Fishing out nine Golden Moon Tokens, Xu Yongsheng emerged from the well.
The alley remained silent on both sides.
Xu Yongsheng frowned inwardly.
These spiritual items didn't seem to have naturally formed in the well, nor could just anyone possess them. They looked more like they had been left behind by someone, though whether intentionally or unintentionally was unknown.
Xu Yongsheng's nose twitched, and he faintly smelled a hint of blood...
After a brief thought, he put away the Golden Moon Tokens and first left Xingyuan Ward.
Upon returning to his residence in Yongning Ward, Xu Yongsheng did not immediately begin using these spiritual items.
At noon, Liu De suddenly came to his door: "Second Brother, a major case has occurred!"
Xu Yongsheng: "What major case?"
Liu De pointed in the direction of Xingyuan Ward: "The Yang Residence... Painter Yang's entire family has been wiped out!"
Xu Yongsheng looked in the direction the other party pointed: "Painter Yang's family in Xingyuan Ward, you say..."
In the Heluo Eastern Capital, where high officials and noble personages were numerous, Painter Yang Ting'an was still considered a notable figure, neither too big nor too small.
Since its founding, the Great Qian Imperial Dynasty had been mighty but also experienced drastic ups and downs. During this period, a female emperor ascended to the throne, almost changing the very fabric of the nation.
After the empress abdicated and passed away, and after several more tumultuous events, the current Qian Emperor finally re-established stability over the land, solidifying the mountains and rivers, and ushering in a new era of prosperity that has lasted for many years until now.
However, the current Son of Heaven of Great Qian is not only the strongest expert in the world but also proficient in various arts such as opera, calligraphy, and painting.
He has been on the throne for a long time, and in recent years, he has increasingly favored and trusted actors, musicians, and painters, often bestowing rewards. Yang Ting'an was one of them.
Although the current Qian Emperor Your Majesty often favored the new and tired of the old, and Painter Yang had fallen out of favor in recent years, his various savings were still abundant. The year before last, he returned to live in his hometown, Heluo Eastern Capital.
Though some called him a parvenu who gained many rewards from the imperial court, Painter Yang was also often benevolent and charitable, helping his fellow villagers in his hometown of River Luo, thus earning a good reputation among the common people.
Although he had fallen out of favor with the Qian Emperor in recent years, he was, after all, once an imperial painter. This case of his family being wiped out caused quite a stir in the Eastern Capital.
After Liu De left, Xu Yongsheng took out the nine Golden Moon Tokens.
Yang Ting'an was an ordinary person without Cultivation, but he had received many rewards from the imperial court in his early years, so it was not surprising for him to possess spiritual items for Martial Dao Cultivation like the Golden Moon Tokens.
However, these items were most likely not hidden in the well by someone from the Yang Residence. Judging from the bloodstains on the Golden Moon Tokens, it was more probable that the murderer had accidentally dropped them while committing the crime, robbing treasures, and leaving...
Xu Yongsheng was neither surprised nor afraid, neither flustered nor hurried. He ground these Golden Moon Tokens into powder.
The spiritual energy within them was carefully nurtured and absorbed by him.
As the Heavenly Pavilion between his eyebrows vibrated, an invisible presence within it was subtly imbued with illusory golden light, gradually solidifying.
As time passed, the five constant virtues of Zhi in Xu Yongsheng's Heavenly Pavilion became increasingly abundant, and the form of that originally invisible object became completely detailed.
Compared to the Ancient Sword of Righteousness, what coalesced from Zhi at this moment was an ancient and charming Tortoise Shell.
By late June of Shengjing's eighth year, Xu Yongsheng's five constant virtues of Zhi in his Heavenly Pavilion were completely filled and reached Perfection, forming the Zhi's Tortoise Shell, and gaining the profound understanding of the 'Yi's' cosmic phenomena.
Unlike two months ago when his Chest Human Pavilion achieved Righteousness, where a vast aura filled him, threatening to burst forth, now that Xu Yongsheng had cultivated the second phase and second pavilion, he only felt refreshed and clear-headed, his mind unprecedentedly sharp, and all his senses more acute than ever before.
Just like last time, the mysterious booklet had a similar reaction.
Xu Yongsheng calmly observed for a moment, and seeing no further changes, he calmly opened the Southern Pavilion's miscellaneous notes and read the content related to the Confucian ultimate technique, Fire Observation Pupil.
The Fire Observation Pupil, named after the meaning of 'seeing clearly as if observing a fire,' is not a tangible Martial Dao Move like the Zhi Zheng Blade. However, through Cultivation, it can further enhance eyesight based on the Zhi's Tortoise Shell, suitable for both near and far distances.
Sure enough, as Xu Yongsheng Cultivated the Fire Observation Pupil, he also automatically mastered another ultimate technique for martial artists, the Eagle Eye.
Through his tests and comparisons, the martial artist's Eagle Eye could observe longer distances and was good at capturing dynamic objects, while the Confucian Fire Observation Pupil could discern more details at close range and was good at observing static objects.
Combined, they enhanced each other, making an already excellent ability even better.
And only when he employed the Eagle Eye, besides the Confucian Zhi's Tortoise Shell in his Heavenly Pavilion between his eyebrows, there was clearly an additional illusory martial artist's Nianqi longbow.
Nianqi, one of the five phases and five Qi of martial artists, is opposite to but also different from the five constant virtues of Zhi. Besides the ability of wisdom and insight, it often represents the martial artist's focused will to continuously study and practice martial arts.
However, precisely because of this, excessive focus and single-mindedness can easily lead to gradually neglecting other things, and at the extreme, to Qi Deviation, with the danger of becoming detached, heartless, and obsessively mad.
But for Xu Yongsheng, this was another beneficial 'buy one get one free' situation...
He let out a long breath, calmed his mind, and continued to hone his Fire Observation Pupil and Eagle Eye while carefully observing the changes within himself.
Until one day, Ma Yang, the Commander of the Right Demon Suppression Guard of Great Qian, suddenly called on him.
Nearly two months had passed, and the case of the Yang Residence massacre in Xingyuan Ward remained unsolved.
This matter was unusual. High-ranking experts with profound accumulation of the five constant virtues of Zhi, who understood the myriad phenomena of the 'Yi', would more or less possess some mysterious abilities to deduce and divine the truth.
Often, only experts of similar rank or those with special methods or treasures could manage to block such divination and deduction.
"Does the Yang Residence case involve a master behind the scenes?" Xu Yongsheng greeted Ma Yang and his subordinates.
Ma Yang shook his head: "There's another possibility, which is that the direction of the divination and deduction was somewhat off..."
Hearing this, Xu Yongsheng thought of a possibility.
Indeed, Ma Yang then said: "That would be an inside job, with the thief crying 'stop thief'!"
After all this busy work, the suspect had been identified as a Military Marquis under the jurisdiction of Henan Prefecture.
The Henan Prefecture government office was also within the Eastern Capital city. Previously, for the major case of the Yang Residence, the entire hierarchy was mobilized, and Henan Prefecture also dispatched a large number of personnel to investigate.
Although that Military Marquis was not the one responsible for deduction and divination, he was undoubtedly overlooked in the initial direction of the early investigation.
"This person is named Tan Jian, and his martial arts Cultivation already shows signs of Qi Deviation. On one hand, he was overlooked earlier, and on the other hand, he might indeed possess spiritual items that can obscure divination and deduction," Ma Yang said. "We were preparing to apprehend him this morning, but he noticed something and is hiding in this area of the South City, concealing his tracks. We are currently spread out searching. The South Market is crowded and chaotic, and Yong Sheng, you know the area well, so please help Ouyang."
Ouyang Shu, the young Demon Suppression Guard military clerk who came with Ma Yang and was responsible for searching the South Market, said solemnly: "I heard that Xu Langjun has already entered the ninth rank of Martial Dao, so self-preservation should not be a problem. However, after finding the person, do not act rashly. Notify us to handle it."
Thinking of the help he received from the Golden Moon Tokens, and the fate of Painter Yang Ting'an's family, Xu Yongsheng nodded: "I am willing to lend a hand."
The South Market was as bustling as ever, with a constant flow of people, making it extremely difficult to find someone within it.
Xu Yongsheng walked through it calmly, his Eagle Eye superimposed with the Fire Observation Pupil, taking in the sights from near and far.
He didn't know how long he had walked when his pupils suddenly contracted.
In the distance, inside a relatively secluded restaurant in the bustling South Market, empty bowls were stacked high on a table. A lean man was at this moment devouring food like a hungry ghost reincarnated.
Xu Yongsheng signaled Ouyang Shu and others who were searching other areas nearby.
He had found that Military Marquis Tan Jian.
The other party's actions seemed completely at odds with concealing his tracks and fleeing.
But looking at Tan Jian's ravenous eating and distorted, ferocious face from afar, Xu Yongsheng knew that this person had completely fallen into Qi Deviation.
The other party should have mainly focused on cultivating and mastering 'Essence Qi', one of the five phases and five Qi of martial artists.
Martial artists who Cultivate Essence Qi nourish themselves, strengthen themselves, and perfect themselves, but they can easily fall into insatiable greed and endless desires.