36: The whole city is in turmoil; using someone else to do the dirty work.
The first rays of morning sunlight fell upon the bluestone slabs of the Listening to Rain Pavilion, yet they could not dispel the faint, lingering scent of blood in the air.
The two puffs of blood mist outside the courtyard wall, formed by the side effects of the "violent origin pills," had long been cleaned up overnight by the Red-clothed Female Ghost. She had even meticulously scraped off a layer of the wall plaster and replaced it with fresh mud.
Inside the room, Lin Que slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi.
Origin Opening Realm Middle Stage, stabilized.
Last night, using the lives of those two "rats," he not only withstood the violent backlash of the Fierce Medicine but also fully absorbed its immense medicinal power, forcibly expanding the liquid True Yuan within his Dantian by a full circle.
"Master."
The Red-clothed Female Ghost cautiously floated in, holding two blood-stained Storage Pouches, her pale face full of ingratiation:
"These are the belongings of the two men outside the wall last night. This servant retrieved them for you."
Lin Que took the Storage Pouches and casually swept them with his Divine Sense.
Poor.
So poor they were practically penniless.
Apart from a few broken Spirit Stones and some low-grade Talismans, there were only two waist tokens engraved with the character "Iron."
"Iron Sword Sect again?"
Lin Que casually crushed the waist tokens into powder, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Kill the young ones, and the old ones come; kill the old ones, and scouts arrive. This Iron Sword Sect was like a piece of dog-skin plaster—once it stuck, unless you tore off the skin along with the flesh, it would never end.
"Squeak!"
The Little Snow Ferret poked its head out from his embrace, disdainfully curling its lips at the pile of shabby Talismans, then patted its round belly as if seeking praise and spat out a tiny spark.
Last night's piece of fire yao crystal had been almost completely digested by it. Now, the little creature's fur glowed with a faint red light, faintly exuding an aura of pressure belonging to an ancient Vicious Beast.
"Alright, I know you're impressive."
Lin Que stuffed a Low-Grade Spirit Stone into its mouth as a snack, then stood up and walked into the courtyard.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The courtyard gate was gently knocked, the rhythm hurried and suppressed, as if by a thief.
"Enter."
The gate creaked open, and Shopkeeper Wang from the brokerage house, sweating profusely, slipped in. He first glanced fearfully at the red-clothed figure floating in mid-air, then knelt with a thud before Lin Que, not even daring to catch his breath:
"E... Exalted Immortal! Something terrible has happened!"
"Southern Commandery City... is sealed!"
Lin Que's expression remained unchanged. He walked to the stone table and sat down, signaling the red-clothed one to pour tea:
"Why panic? If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
"No, Exalted Immortal!"
Shopkeeper Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling: "Early this morning, the Iron Sword Sect went mad! They discovered Elder Li Lie's... corpse."
"I heard the Iron Sword Sect Leader was furious and directly issued a 'Blood Kill Order,' offering a bounty of one thousand Spirit Stones to capture the murderer! Now, all exits in the outer city are blocked by Iron Sword Sect Disciples and city guards, searching house by house! The one leading them is the Iron Sword Sect Punishment Hall Deacon, a Kaiyuan Realm Perfection expert!"
"One thousand Spirit Stones?"
Lin Que's hand, holding the teacup, paused slightly, a flash of surprise in his eyes: "My life is only worth that much?"
Shopkeeper Wang felt his scalp go numb.
Wasn't this lord's focus a bit off? Was now really the time to complain about the bounty being too low?!
"Exalted Immortal, you... you should still avoid this!" Shopkeeper Wang said with a pained expression. "Although the Listening to Rain Pavilion is a haunted house and no one usually dares to come, this time the Iron Sword Sect has even brought out 'Spirit Seeking Dogs.' They'll search here sooner or later!"
"Avoid? Why should I avoid it?"
Lin Que took a light sip of tea, his gaze falling on the huge sack Shopkeeper Wang carried on his back:
"Did you bring what I wanted?"
Shopkeeper Wang was taken aback, nodding subconsciously: "Y... yes, I brought it. This is the 'base material' I obtained through connections overnight from the Pill Tower Waste Yard, along with some broken Vicious Weapons collected from Ancient Battlefields..."
He untied the sack, and an acrid stench and nauseating decay instantly filled the air.
Inside the sack were various blackened waste pills, broken rusty weapons, and even a few black bones emitting an ominous aura.
These things were collectively known in the cultivation world as "Inauspicious Objects." Ordinary people avoided them like the plague; even slight contact could ruin one's Luck and damage one's cultivation.
But in Lin Que's eyes, this was practically a mountain of gold.
"Well done."
Lin Que set down his teacup and casually tossed ten Spirit Stones to Shopkeeper Wang: "A reward for you."
Shopkeeper Wang held the Spirit Stones, nearly moved to tears. Although this lord was a Devil Head who killed without blinking, he was truly generous!
"Red-clothed one."
Lin Que stood up and pointed at the sack on the ground:
"Collect all these things. We're going out."
"G... going out?"
Shopkeeper Wang's eyes nearly popped out of his head: "Exalted Immortal, the outside is full of Iron Sword Sect people right now. If you go out now, won't that be walking right into a trap?!"
"Walking into a trap?"
Lin Que walked to the withered well in the courtyard, looking at the handsome youth reflected in the well water, a strange curve slowly forming at the corner of his mouth.
He took out from his embrace a pearl the size of a longan, shimmering with a seven-colored halo.
One of the Six Treasures of Wuyou Hall—the thousand changes multi-treasure pearl.
This treasure could not only transform into thousands of weapons but also had a little-known function—Thousand Faces.
"Hum!"
As Lin Que infused a trace of True Yuan, the pearl instantly transformed into a flowing liquid light, covering his face.
The next second.
That handsome, elegant youth disappeared.
In his place stood a middle-aged freak, eight feet tall, with a stiff face and a blue birthmark covering his left cheek.
He exuded an icy aura that kept people at bay, his back ramrod straight, his eyes cold as knives, looking like a ruthless character who dealt with corpses year-round.
"This..."
Shopkeeper Wang and the red-clothed one stared, dumbfounded.
This wasn't just disguise—it was practically changing into a different person! Even the aura of his bones and Soul had changed!
Lin Que glanced at the red-clothed one floating in the air:
"As for you..."
Lin Que flipped his wrist, tossing over the gray robe stripped from Li Lie's body, now washed clean.
"Put on this skin and suppress your ghostly aura. From now on, you are my mute medicine apprentice."
The red-clothed one reluctantly took the gray robe, shrinking her form into a pale, thin girl, lowering her head and following behind Lin Que.
"As for you, Shopkeeper Wang."
Lin Que patted the utterly stunned Shopkeeper Wang:
"Seal the Listening to Rain Pavilion temporarily. If you're caught, do you know what to say?"
Shopkeeper Wang shuddered all over, immediately raising his hand to swear:
"This humble one knows nothing! This house has always been empty, never rented out!"
"Very good."
Lin Que nodded in satisfaction, leaning on the thousand changes multi-treasure pearl, which had now transformed into a withered wooden staff.
"Let's go. Let's see if this Iron Sword Sect's 'Blood Kill Order' can really block my path."
...Southern Commandery City, West Gate.
The atmosphere was tense and murderous.
Dozens of Disciples in Iron Sword Sect blue robes, led by a Deacon with a fierce, meaty face, blocked the city gate, leaving no room to pass.
That Deacon's True Qi surged around him, clearly at Kaiyuan Realm Perfection, just a step away from the Spirit Sea Realm.
Beside them, two Spirit Seeking Dogs, as large as oxen with blood-red eyes, barked incessantly at the crowd, frightening passersby into avoiding them.
"Everyone, keep your eyes peeled! The murderer carries the residual blood Qi of Elder Li. The Spirit Seeking Dogs will never mistake it!"
The Deacon shouted loudly: "Anyone suspicious is to be detained! Those who dare resist will be killed on the spot!"
In the crowd, Lin Que, transformed into the "Blue-Birthmarked Freak," walked expressionlessly toward the city gate, followed by the red-clothed "Child Maiden" holding a jar.
He did not queue.
Instead, he walked straight through the crowded throng. The strong stench of corpses and medicinal dregs emanating from him forced those around to instinctively cover their noses and make way.
"Halt!"
An Iron Sword Sect Disciple stepped forward to block his path, pointing a long sword at Lin Que's throat, his face full of disgust:
"What are you doing? Can't you see people are queuing?!"
Lin Que stopped.
He did not bow and scrape as Shopkeeper Wang had expected. Instead, he coldly glanced at the Disciple.
That glance held no emotion whatsoever, as if looking at a corpse.
"Southern Commandery Corpse Workshop, transporting waste."
Lin Que's voice was hoarse and grating, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.
He thumped the foul-smelling sack he was carrying onto the ground.
Thud!
The ground trembled, and a visible cloud of black-yellow dust (waste pill poison gas) sprayed from the sack's opening.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
The blocking Disciple bore the brunt, choked by the poison gas until tears streamed down his face, retreating repeatedly: "Damn it! What the hell is this? It stinks!"
The commotion immediately attracted the attention of the Kaiyuan Realm Perfection Deacon.
"What's going on?"
The Deacon strode over, his gaze sinister as he stared at Lin Que: "From the Corpse Workshop? Why haven't I seen you before?"
As he spoke, he signaled to the Spirit Seeking Dogs beside him.
The two Spirit Seeking Dogs growled lowly as they approached Lin Que.
However.
Before they could get close to the sack.
"Whimper..."
The two originally ferocious beasts suddenly whimpered as if they had smelled something terrifying, tucked their tails between their legs, and frantically backed away, even vomiting on the ground!
That sack contained the most poisonous waste pills and Vicious Objects from the Black Alley. To creatures with sensitive senses of smell like Yao Beasts, this smell was practically a biochemical weapon.
"Hmm?"
The Deacon's expression changed, his gaze shifting uncertainly toward Lin Que.
Even the Spirit Seeking Dogs didn't dare approach? What kind of deadly poison was this guy carrying?
"Open it and let me see." The Deacon tightened his grip on his Magical Artifact long blade, not relaxing his vigilance despite the Spirit Seeking Dogs' reaction.
Lin Que's mouth curled into a mocking, cold smile.
"See?"
He extended a withered, large hand and directly untied the sack's rope.
"Sir, since you want to see, then look carefully."
"But let me warn you first: what's inside here is **'Corpse Rot Bone' and 'Soul Erosion Dregs.'** If you get tainted by the inauspicious aura and damage your Dao foundation, don't blame me for not warning you."
With that, he violently opened the sack's mouth!
Whoosh—!
An extremely thick black smoke instantly billowed out, accompanied by a nauseating stench of corpses and sour decay, directly rushing toward the Deacon.
The Deacon's face changed dramatically. He instinctively held his breath and retreated three zhang in a flash!
This smell... was too overpowering! Even the protective True Qi of Kaiyuan Realm Perfection seemed unable to block that inauspicious aura drilling into his pores!
"What ancient tomb was this dug out from?!"
The surrounding Iron Sword Sect Disciples were even more affected, stumbling around and avoiding it like the plague.
Lin Que stood within the black smoke, his expression calm, as if long accustomed to it.
The Red-Clothed Child Maiden behind him remained expressionless, even tightening her grip on the jar of ashes in her arms.
"Still want to search me?"
Lin Que took a step forward, his lifeless fish-eyes fixed on the Deacon:
"If you don't mind, sir, the jar in my apprentice's arms contains freshly refined 'Human Oil.' Would you like to taste it and see if it's salty?"
"Get lost, get lost!!"
The Deacon was so disgusted his stomach churned; he had no mind left to search.
This freak was filled with Death Qi, and the Spirit Seeking Dogs were terrified of him. Clearly, he was one of those sinister Loose Cultivators who dealt with corpses and poisons year-round. Although such people only had Origin Opening Realm cultivation, they were covered in poison; anyone who touched them would be unlucky.
Moreover, Elder Li Lie had been beheaded with a single slash. The murderer's blood Qi was like a Dragon's. How could it be this sickly weakling, full of Death Qi and only playing with poison?
"Hurry up and get lost! Transport such things through the side gates in the future! Don't stink up the place here!" The Deacon waved his sleeve to shoo him away.
Lin Que said nothing.
He retied the sack, lifted the several-hundred-pound "treasure," and with the red-clothed one in tow, swaggered out of the city gate amidst everyone's disdainful glances and avoidance.
From beginning to end, his back never bent once.
Only after walking several li and entering the wilderness path leading to the "Black Marsh" did the Death Qi-filled "freak's" footsteps become light and quick.
Lin Que looked back at the distant, towering walls of Southern Commandery City.
"Kaiyuan Realm Perfection..."
He murmured to himself, his voice returning to its clear tone:
"If I had attacked just now, I was ninety percent confident I could have killed him in one move."
"But leaving him alive to report back to the Iron Sword Sect seems more amusing."
Lin Que patted the Little Snow Ferret in his embrace, his gaze turning toward the distant wasteland shrouded in black mist.
Black Marsh.
nine nether black lotus.
And the true secret within Li Lie's Storage Pouch.
"Let's go."
The withered wooden staff in Lin Que's hand transformed back into a pearl and vanished into his sleeve.
"Let the Iron Sword Sect keep sniffing around there. We're going to feast."