Chapter 18 Chaotic Night

"Nonsense! You acted too impulsively!"

"Even if you have some special intelligence that you can't explain, you should have reported it to Minister Yuan and me before taking action."

"Instead of acting on your own like this, arrogant and self-important. You've already gathered all the people before even notifying us!" Shi Huang slammed the table in anger, mirroring Yuan Shen's earlier behavior.

Looking at Shi Huang, who seemed to be blowing his beard and glaring, Ye Chuxiao outwardly lowered his head to admit his mistake, appearing harmless. In reality, he was very clear-headed.

If he hadn't brought Yan Po and the Dragon King Yuan Jia, along with the Dragon Queen Yuan Meng, Shi Huang wouldn't have paid him any attention.

From another perspective, even without the matter of Lu Baimei being about to be harmed, just for the sake of Yan Po and the two dragons, Shi Huang would have had to write a letter asking Lu Baimei to help entertain them.

Ye Chuxiao was leveraging power from both sides, acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

He relied on Yuan Shen and Shi Huang to coax the Dragon King and Dragon Queen, and then relied on the Dragon King, Dragon Queen, and Yan Po to stabilize Yuan Shen and Shi Huang.

Sure enough, seeing Ye Chuxiao behaving so 'honestly,' Shi Huang couldn't bring himself to criticize him too much.

After all, Ye Chuxiao's starting point was good.

The key was this network... to call in three Intent Realm experts as hired help in one go. This skill and these connections shocked Shi Huang.

His internal evaluation and estimation of Ye Chuxiao had already risen several levels.

Before this, in Shi Huang's mind, Ye Chuxiao was just a very capable Golden Chapter candidate who knew how to seize opportunities, worth cultivating vigorously. But the focus was on the future, not the present.

"Forget it! Since you've already invited the people, then I can't spoil the fun."

"There's no need to explain the details to Divine Catcher Lu in advance, so as not to startle the snake. I'll write a letter for you to take to Divine Catcher Lu. He will host you in my place." Shi Huang picked up his brush to write a letter.

Ye Chuxiao said softly, "Um... Minister Yuan had already given me a letter before."

Shi Huang paused his brush, then nodded and said, "Indeed, he is the Minister of Justice. From the perspective of his authority, he is more suitable to write this letter than I am."

"You being able to notice this detail is very good."

"Alright, I already know about this matter. You can proceed according to the plan."

Saying that, he took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Ye Chuxiao.

"This item not only contains three full-powered strikes from me, but once it is crushed, I will sense it and arrive immediately. If you really encounter a difficult opponent, you must prioritize protecting Divine Catcher Lu. Do not hesitate or waver," Shi Huang said.

It wasn't that Shi Huang didn't want to go to Lu Baimei's residence with Ye Chuxiao.

After all, with Yan Po and the two dragons present, even if Shi Huang took a day to accompany them, it would be completely worth it.

It was just that Shi Huang and Yuan Shen held important positions. Holding important positions not only meant high status and power, but also meant that their every move was watched by interested parties.

If someone really wanted to harm Lu Baimei, seeing that Shi Huang and Yuan Shen had taken action, they would also postpone their plans.

As for Yan Po and the two dragons, there was no direct connection between them and Lu Baimei. If they intentionally concealed their whereabouts and quietly entered the residence, the probability of attracting attention would be much smaller.

Ye Chuxiao accepted the jade pendant with both hands and solemnly put it in his arms.

In his arms, stacked together with the jade pendant, was a delicate paper figurine.

That was the 'confidence' given by Minister Yuan Shen.

After reporting everything properly, Ye Chuxiao carried a stack of official documents and went to Divine Catcher Lu Baimei's residence on orders.

Yan Po disguised himself as Ye Chuxiao's attendant, responsible for driving the carriage for him.

As for the two dragons, they transformed into two treasured swords behind Ye Chuxiao, carried on his back as a disguise.

Of the Five Great Divine Catchers of the Six Doors, Shi Huang was the actual chief constable, managing various affairs and having the most direct and close relationship with the imperial court. The other four Divine Catchers actually had additional identities.

For example, Jin Buyi was the head of the Jin family of Hedong, representing the power of the aristocratic families within the Six Doors.

As for Lu Baimei, he represented the sect cultivators.

Besides being a Divine Catcher of the Six Doors, Lu Baimei was also the Elder of Instruction in the Xuanxiao Sect.

Before Tang Su Tong devoted himself to promoting cultivation in the Great Heng Dynasty, cultivators almost exclusively came from the court, aristocratic families, and sects. Although there were also rogue cultivators, most of them were weak and lacked top-level combat power, a disorganized bunch not worth mentioning.

This led to the Six Doors, a violent department almost entirely composed of cultivators, simultaneously possessing the 'bloodlines' of the court, sects, and aristocratic families.

Bronze Chapter, Silver Chapter, Golden Chapter, Divine Catcher... Cultivators relied on their promotions within the Six Doors to gain the cultivation of their respective forces, and because of the cultivation of their respective forces, they obtained higher positions.

The two complemented each other.

Also, because of the 'bloodline' reasons, if one was not born into the orthodox direct line of the imperial court, upon reaching the position of Divine Catcher, one had to 'avoid suspicion' as much as possible.

Without conscription, they rarely took the initiative to intervene in court or Six Doors affairs.

Of course, this was only on the surface. Forming factions and dividing interests in secret was the norm.

Ye Chuxiao was a Golden Chapter candidate of the Six Doors. Visiting Divine Catcher Lu in the name of official business meant that he didn't need to wait outside for notification. The steward directly led him into the living room, served tea and snacks, and waited for Lu Baimei's appearance.

"Observing the feng shui and looking at the fortune, this Lu residence is in its prime. It doesn't look like it's about to suffer a calamity at all," Dragon King Yuan Jia said behind Ye Chuxiao.

The Dragon Queen said, "If there are people who can see, there are people who can hide. What's so strange about that!"

"Back then, when Prince Chen entered the palace alone, he asked Lai Shentong to read his fortune before leaving. It was clearly a scene of clouds dispersing and mist clearing, indicating that he was resolving the knot in his heart and burying the hatchet with that dog emperor."

"Unexpectedly, as soon as Prince Chen entered the palace, Lai Shentong's eyes burst open and he spat blood, dying on the spot. Before his death, he even smiled miserably, saying, 'The unfilial disciple has failed me, and harmed Prince Chen.'"

Ye Chuxiao heard another bit of news about Prince Chen's past and was about to ask for details.

But he saw a middle-aged man already walking into the living room.

The man's appearance was ordinary, slightly hunchbacked, with only a pair of white eyebrows flying into his temples, revealing an extraordinary demeanor, clearly not an ordinary person.

"Hidden is not always hidden, and revealed is not always revealed. His condition is not quite right. He should have old injuries that haven't healed," Dragon King Yuan Jia said.

At this time, before Ye Chuxiao could, Yan Po first walked out from Ye Chuxiao's side and took off the hat on his head.

"Divine Catcher Lu! Long time no see!" Yan Po said, placing the hat on the table.

Although he was dressed in coarse cloth short clothes, he looked far more imposing than this Divine Catcher Lu.

Lu Baimei looked at Yan Po in a daze, then smiled wryly and said, "Hero Yan! Are you still planning to kill me and seek justice for the seven members of the Xie family?"

Yan Po didn't answer this question, but just glanced at Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao immediately stepped forward and said, "Divine Catcher Lu, this is Minister Yuan's letter."

"Brother Yan is accompanying me on a case, and happened to be here, so he came to visit an old friend."

Lu Baimei opened Yuan Shen's letter, read it, and smiled. "So that's how it is! It's a great honor for the Six Doors to have a master like Hero Yan helping to solve cases. Although I haven't handled many official duties in recent years, it is my duty to entertain Hero Yan in place of Minister Yuan."

Then he summoned the steward and ordered him to prepare a banquet and invite a few courtesans from Pingliang Ward to sing and dance for entertainment.

"Wine and meat are enough, no need for songs and dances!" Yan Po refused.

Ye Chuxiao was a little disappointed.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, it's just that as a transmigrator, not being able to get a freebie from a courtesan was a loss.

It would be embarrassing to say it out loud.

It's just a pity that the Great Heng Dynasty is full of martial virtue, but not good at literary style.

Young ladies who can recite poetry are far less pleasing than courtesans who have cultivated exquisite cloud-and-rain techniques that can help with cultivation.

Even if Ye Chuxiao had a stomach full of famous poems, he had no place to use them... If he wanted to enter the house, he would have to spend real money.

Then there was no cost-effectiveness. To increase the same amount of cultivation, buying pills would be much cheaper.

"Alright! Since everyone is refined, we won't use vulgar music to offend your ears," Lu Baimei laughed.

"I happen to have some crabapple blossoms in good bloom in my residence. Why don't we set up the banquet in the garden? When the wine is flowing, we can ask the crabapple blossoms to perform a dance, and the stars and moon to play a tune!" Lu Baimei continued.

Lu Baimei's Xuanxiao Sect was extremely good at spells.

When spells were cultivated to a profound level, one could temporarily endow flowers, plants, trees, or even a ray of light, a wisp of air, or a memory with a spirit, giving them temporary spirituality, a form, and even the ability to display methods and abilities.

Therefore, ordinary spell cultivators were indeed very dangerous if someone got close to them.

But powerful spell cultivators didn't necessarily have weaknesses in close combat.

If you entered a spell cultivator's domain, you wouldn't even know what around you would suddenly strike and deliver a fatal blow.

The two dragons were still transformed into swords, carried on Ye Chuxiao's back, temporarily not appearing.

If there were real attackers, they could have an unexpected effect.

They chatted in the living room, and Lu Baimei casually flipped through the official documents that Ye Chuxiao had brought.

As night gradually fell, colorful lanterns were lit under the trees in the garden.

Under the tall Chinese parasol trees, clusters and trees of crabapple flowers were blooming beautifully.

The three people were seated separately. Although there were only three seats, the table was filled with rare delicacies from all over the place. The wine on the table was even tribute wine.

Various fragrances lingered and intertwined, attracting people's appetite.

"Come! Hero Yan! First, drink this cup with me to the brim."

"Back then, if you hadn't stopped me, I would have almost made a big mistake. The injustice of the seven members of the Xie family is still a thorn in my heart, making it difficult for me to sleep and eat."

"It's really hard to imagine how many tragedies like the Xie family would have happened because of my fault if it weren't for Hero Yan," Lu Baimei said, raising his glass. While speaking, he often sighed, his expression depressed, obviously not just empty talk.

Yan Po picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"Divine Catcher Lu! I've seen many officials. Even if they are only the head of a county, or even a village, the extermination of a family is common to them. Even if I catch them on the spot, they can grandly crown it with various strange names, and do the deeds of jackals and tigers in the name of the country."

"To them, the lives of ordinary people are just ants, not worth mentioning. For their so-called greater ambitions, the death or injury of hundreds or thousands of people is nothing more than that," Yan Po said after drinking a glass of wine, seeming to have a lot to say.

These words had been pent up in his stomach for a long time. It just so happened that he had two good objects to confide in at this time, Ye Chuxiao and Lu Baimei.

"So, I don't care about anything else, I just raise my knife and kill them!"

"If they want to transform into jackals and tigers in the name of the country, I will tear off their disguises, count out all the ugly things they have done, one by one, and make them public, so that they will stink for ten thousand years."

As Yan Po spoke, he directly threw away the wine glass and picked up the wine pot on the table to pour wine for himself.

Ye Chuxiao looked at his 'bold' demeanor and quietly pushed a plate of bitter oranges, which had a sobering effect, in Yan Po's direction.

This big brother, don't just talk happily and drink heartily, and then forget the main thing!

Yan Po's name as a knife hero was indeed accumulated from 'small things,' one by one.

And these so-called small things were actually big things related to the life and death of many ordinary people.

It's just that these 'big things' were infinitely reduced in the face of power, becoming insignificant.

Without magical skills, without divine weapons, without the chaos of overturning mountains and rivers, without the twists and turns of imperial power alternation, would these be considered big things to those high-ranking cultivators?

"You! Lu Baimei! You are the second official I have seen besides Brother Tang who cares about the people. The seven members of the Xie family... I sought justice from you for them, and you took a knife from me for this justice. That knife injured your internal organs, making it difficult for your cultivation to improve, and causing you to be ill for many years..."

Yan Po put down the wine pot, got up, and cupped his fists at Lu Baimei, saying, "You deserve to take a knife from me. You were incompetent, your law enforcement was wrong, and you killed people. Taking a knife from me... you are alive with remaining sins, and you deserve to die."

"But you also made me look at you with new eyes. In this world... there are not many officials like you who still treat the people as human beings, and it is even rarer to find cultivators like you who still treat the people as human beings."

"So I also admire you!"

"When my little brother said you were in trouble, I came, not fearing death!"

Lu Baimei heard this and stood up, cupping his fists at Yan Po, "You are too kind! You are too kind! I... what virtue and ability do I have!"

As he said that, he suddenly paused, then said, "Hero Yan, what do you mean by that?"

Ye Chuxiao looked at Yan Po, who had already pierced through the 'purpose,' and could only say, "Minister Yuan and Divine Catcher Shi received news that someone wants to harm Divine Catcher Lu tonight. It's just that they hold important positions after all, and one move affects the whole body, so it's not good to act rashly. Therefore, they arranged for me to invite Brother Yan to come and help Divine Catcher Lu."

Ye Chuxiao reversed the order again, and acting in the name of Yuan Shen and Shi Huang was much more legitimate.

Sure enough, Lu Baimei said after hearing this, "I have caused Minister Yuan and Lord Shi to worry."

Then he cupped his fists at Yan Po and Ye Chuxiao and said, "I am also grateful for Hero Yan's disregard for past grievances and coming to help, and for Little Brother Ye's help in running around."

Looking at Lu Baimei's state, Ye Chuxiao seemed to know something, so he asked, "Divine Catcher Lu! May I ask... do you have any clues as to who might come to kill you?"

Lu Baimei said, "If it weren't for the two of you mentioning it, I wouldn't have thought of it. Being in public service, I have made many enemies. It is common to die unexpectedly at any time. However... there is one thing that I am very concerned about."

"That is, before Divine Catcher Jin left the Divine Capital, he specially asked someone to bring me a brocade pouch, asking me to keep it close to my body, saying that if he was in trouble, he would let me open the brocade pouch to help him."

"After Divine Catcher Jin was imprisoned, I opened that brocade pouch, but that brocade pouch was empty."

Ye Chuxiao thought to himself, "It really is related to Jin Buyi."

"What did Jin Buyi do?" Because he didn't deliberately block it, Ying Shu's voice also came from the bottom of Ye Chuxiao's heart.

Ye Chuxiao ignored Ying Shu.

Ying Shu could view the world from his perspective and participate in some activities.

But Ying Shu would never be able to directly read Ye Chuxiao's consciousness and thoughts.

Thirty percent of the Mind Pill couldn't break the mental armor that the clown had transformed into.

"Could there be something invisible hidden inside? Such as a special memory, or a void spirit, etc.?" Ye Chuxiao asked Lu Baimei.

Lu Baimei shook his head and said, "If it were really these things, even though I am injured, I wouldn't be unable to detect them."

"Whatever it is, there will be an answer after tonight," Yan Po said, supporting his knife.

Ye Chuxiao said, "Not necessarily, now that we're here, it's hard to say whether the person who wants to deal with Divine Catcher Lu will come, after all..."

"They've already come!" Yan Po said.

After saying that, he stood up abruptly, supporting his knife.

A gust of wind suddenly blew from the lake in the distance. Then, a black carriage sped across the water, riding the wind as if it were real.

"Ghost cultivator?"

"No! It's vengeful spirits!" Ying Shu said in Ye Chuxiao's heart.

The carriage stopped by the flowers. The thin ghost horse, its eyes flickering with ghost fire, stared faintly at the three people at the banquet.

"Return my life!" A shrill, deep voice came from the carriage.

A man who looked honest and honest was now walking down the carriage with a face full of resentment.

Then, two old men, a woman, and three children got out of the carriage.

Their bodies were erratic, their eyes glowing with ghost fire, their faces blue. Vengeful energy surrounded them, gradually becoming stronger when they saw Lu Baimei.

"The seven members of the Xie family!" Lu Baimei's face changed when he saw these seven vengeful spirits.

And Yan Po, who was originally full of knife intent, was frozen in place.

He could have easily split these seven vengeful spirits with a single knife.

But at this moment, the knife in his hand was heavier than the Three Mountains and Five Peaks combined.

Ye Chuxiao already understood what method Jin Buyi used to kill Lu Baimei.

A gentleman can be deceived with righteousness.

Yan Po and Lu Baimei could both be called gentlemen.

Therefore, facing Jin Buyi's 'passing the buck,' perhaps Yan Po, who knew the 'truth,' chose to respond with silence.

And Lu Baimei, when facing the wronged souls of the seven members of the Xie family, was always unable to strike hard, and was eventually devoured by these seven wronged souls.

Jin Buyi used these seven wronged souls to plot the deaths of Yan Po and Lu Baimei.

"It's just, what exactly did Jin Buyi give to Lu Baimei that he had to use such a vicious method to kill him?" Ye Chuxiao wondered in his heart.

"Return my life!"

"Return my life!" The seven wronged souls stared at Lu Baimei, persistently making such sounds.

They were not the real souls of the seven members of the Xie family after their death, but the unscattered resentment and obsession of the seven members of the Xie family after their death, transformed into special wronged souls under the refinement of someone with ulterior motives.

If they were not aimed at Yan Po and Lu Baimei, even an ordinary Neng Realm cultivator could easily crush them.

Of course, Ye Chuxiao could easily disperse these seven wronged souls, but at this time, the invited Yan Po had become a constraint.

Therefore, Ye Chuxiao did not act rashly.

"Brother! They are not the seven members of the Xie family, but wronged souls refined by someone with ulterior motives. Allowing them to exist is a greater insult and harm to the seven members of the Xie family," Ye Chuxiao said to Yan Po.

Yan Po heard this, turned around, and did not look in the direction where the wronged souls were coming from.

Ye Chuxiao smiled.

Although Yan Po had persistence, he was not as pedantic as he thought.

"Let them come over!"

"I have suffered too much torment. Perhaps this is a relief."

"Although they are not the real seven members of the Xie family, they were born from the resentment of the seven members of the Xie family. Being killed by them may be my destination," Lu Baimei stopped Ye Chuxiao and said so.

Yan Po suddenly turned around and looked at Lu Baimei. "Brother Lu! Why... why do you have to do this?"

Lu Baimei gradually smiled and said, "Life and death are just trivial matters. Not having peace of mind is the big thing."

"If I am relieved from this and seek the next life, perhaps I can go further."

Ye Chuxiao stared at Lu Baimei, his instinct telling him that something was wrong.

Lu Baimei could be a righteous Divine Catcher who upheld justice, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Some officials were corrupt and despicable, but it could not be denied that some officials were indeed selfless and impartial.

However, Lu Baimei was a Divine Catcher, and this position... was not just based on cultivation.

He had also killed many criminals, and had fought bloody battles with his colleagues, experiencing life and death... How could his mentality be so... fragile?

"Unless his mind is incomplete."

"It's Jin Buyi! There's a problem with Jin Buyi's brocade pouch."

"What exactly did he put in that brocade pouch? To actually put a dignified Divine Catcher in such a state?" Ye Chuxiao thought.

This answer could only be known if Lu Baimei was alive.

Therefore, Ye Chuxiao did not hesitate and quickly said, "Dragon King! Dragon Queen! Please entangle Divine Catcher Lu, and I will take care of those wronged souls."

Lu Baimei and Yan Po felt guilty towards the seven members of the Xie family, but he, Ye Chuxiao, did not!

The two swords transformed by the Dragon King and Dragon Queen were 'unsheathed' from Ye Chuxiao's back with a whoosh, and then entangled Lu Baimei.

Ye Chuxiao had already pounced on the seven wronged souls of the Xie family.

To deal with wronged souls, Ye Chuxiao casually took out two Thunder Talismans and scattered them.

Thunder, with strong yang fire energy, struck the seven wronged souls to disperse them.

"Killing people! And destroying their souls! Making them disappear completely!"

"Lu Baimei! How cruel you are!"

"Yan Po... you falsely claim to be a knife hero, how hypocritical!" A voice that was sometimes near and sometimes far floated in the sky above the Lu residence, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.

At the same time, an invisible force came like ripples, blocking Ye Chuxiao's two Thunder Talismans.

Ye Chuxiao had no intention of entangling or testing with his own abilities. He directly took out the jade pendant given by Shi Huang, activated the first attack, and also sent a message to Shi Huang.

After all, within the Divine Capital, if the power of Shi Huang's jade pendant was activated, Ye Chuxiao didn't believe that Shi Huang wouldn't know, wouldn't notice.

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