Chapter 1 Moments Later

A moment later, the three incense sticks on the skull had completely burned, and the faint laughter disappeared with them. Song Tianming took a deep breath, bowed to the air-dried head of the virgin, and then reached out his hands, respectfully holding up the head.

Now, Ye Qiutang had also steadied her mind and walked over with unsteady steps. She saw that the red cloth under the head was stained with incense ash. The arrangement of these ashes was quite mysterious. Instead of the three incense sticks forming separate piles, they converged into one.

Ye Qiutang's eyes widened slightly. "Old Mr. Song, what does this mean?"

"Three incense converging at the top, harmony between the legitimate and the illegitimate." Song Tianming breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Ye Qiutang, and squeezed out a bit of a smile. "Miss, you can rest assured. Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui have no malice towards us. They are definitely not Southern Man spies."

"If it's not them, then Green Bamboo's death wasn't a bitter ruse. It seems there are still spies lurking among us." Ye Qiutang's expression was grave as she finished speaking, then suddenly stopped, raising her head abruptly to look at Song Tianming, somewhat belatedly realizing, "So... the words you said to Jiang Cheng and the others weren't spoken without a reason. You've already confirmed that there's a spy hidden among us."

Looking at the air-dried head again, Ye Qiutang already had a guess in her mind. "This isn't the first time you've used this method. You've already used it on those people in the room."

Seeing this, Song Tianming didn't hide anything and nodded. "Miss is wise. This morning, while the monks were chanting the Sutra of Rebirth, I used this method."

At that time, the room was chaotic, the monks' Sutra of Rebirth was recited to the point of headache, the incense smoke swirled, and there was the strangely dead body lying on the ground. For a time, no one noticed Song Tianming's comings and goings.

Hearing this, Ye Qiutang's breathing became rapid. "How was the incense ash arranged? Have you determined who the Southern Man spy is?"

"It's still three incense converging at the top," Song Tianming answered calmly.

This time, it was Ye Qiutang's turn to not understand. Just now, Song Tianming said that three incense converging at the top meant that the people involved were of one mind. Since everyone was united, how could there be a Southern Man spy?

"It's true that the three incense converged at the top, but that's because someone broke my art. The hexagram shown is not real, and I can be sure that this person is among the remaining few."

Song Tianming looked warily in the direction of the厢房 (xiāngfáng - wing room), and after seeing that the closed door was still without any movement, with a flip of his right hand, an ancient coin covered with copper rust appeared in the palm of his hand. "Fortunately, I made preparations in advance and buried this *Huo Quan*, otherwise I would have made a big mistake."

Ye Qiutang stared at the ancient coin, square inside and round outside, one side covered with copper rust, and the other side showing a strange dark red color. She was curious about the name of this ancient coin, "*Huo Quan*..." (Calamity Spring).

"That's right, this thing is called *Huo Quan*. It is a unique mother coin cast during the Nine Kings Rebellion. Because it was born in troubled times, it was contaminated with a body of calamity. This thing is a master-devourer. Almost all the people in history who briefly possessed it died tragically."

"Until this thing was obtained by the previous Grand Fangshi (master of occult arts) of my Fangshi sect, who set up an altar to start the spirit, burned incense to offer sacrifices, and sealed it with demon blood, it was able to stabilize. This thing has also become a treasure of my Fangshi sect, which can detect all kinds of *yanzhen* (魇镇 - a kind of curse/evil spell) evil arts."

Song Tianming spoke a lot with a bit of showing off, and then gently stroked the dark red side of the ancient coin with his hand. "This thing has a characteristic. Usually, no matter how it is placed, only the side with copper flowers faces up. However, once it detects that someone is secretly performing *yanzhen* evil arts, the demon blood will be stimulated and turn to face up with the demon blood side, which is really mysterious."

After patiently listening to so much, Ye Qiutang finally understood at this moment. "So, at the same time that you were performing the technique, the spy noticed it and used the *yanzhen* technique on you at the same time, forcibly changing the original hexagram."

"That's exactly it."

Ye Qiutang's face became ugly. "But why would that person be so vigilant? Clearly, only you and I were present during the discussion last night, could it be..."

Somewhat belatedly, Ye Qiutang shuddered and suddenly looked at Song Tianming's face. Song Tianming subconsciously wanted to avoid it. "Old Mr. Song, I wasn't accidentally drawn into the illusion just now. This was your test. You suspect that I have a problem, right?"

Having his thoughts guessed, Song Tianming chuckled a few times and respectfully cupped his hands towards Ye Qiutang. "Miss, you're worrying too much. You are of noble birth, and General Ye has done great kindness to my Fangshi sect. How dare I test you?"

Fortunately, Ye Qiutang was not a petty person. After exhaling, she waved her hand. "Forget it, Old Mr. Song has his own difficulties, and I can understand."

"However, since this person can break the techniques you set up, he must be a master in this field, so we must guard against him."

The suddenly appearing Southern Man spies made the already complicated situation even more confusing, and the remaining spy was also a master who was good at using *yanzhen* evil arts. How could Ye Qiutang not worry?

Moreover, thinking further, it seemed that the border would not be peaceful now. Those Southern Man barbarians who killed without batting an eye were probably going to make a big move.

Perhaps to reassure people, Song Tianyang took back the *Huo Quan* and said solemnly, "Miss, you can rest assured about this. The art of *yanzhen* originated from the Great Witch. Although it is sinister and evil, it takes the foolish path of exchanging life for life. Each *yanzhen* consumes a huge amount of energy, so it may be difficult to perform a second time in a short period of time."

"To put it bluntly, if this person's methods are higher than mine, he would not have taken such a risk in a situation where I am in the open and he is in the dark."

Ye Qiutang was thinking about the current situation on the border when a question suddenly surfaced in her mind. "Old Mr. Song, there is something I must ask clearly. Since you are investigating Southern Man spies, why did you think of testing me?"

Ye Qiutang's thinking was very simple. She was the daughter of Ye Ziling, the general guarding the border, and a thorn in the side of the Southern Man. No matter how much suspicion there was, there was no reason to suspect her, unless Song Tianming suspected that her father had secretly defected to the Southern Man, which Ye Qiutang could not tolerate under any circumstances.

Being stared at by Ye Qiutang's eyes, Song Tianming took a deep breath, and the look in his eyes towards Ye Qiutang also became strange. "Miss, I have never doubted General Ye's loyalty to the country. I am just dealing with the matter as it is. Since you asked, then I will tell you the truth. Don't you think that everyone has become different since coming to this Holding Vows Temple?"

"Ye Mansion is heavily guarded, and the people around you have been screened through layers. Is it really that easy for Southern Man spies to infiltrate?"

"One is fine, but two actually sneaked in. Do you really think that the Ye family's spy network is useless?"

"Old Mr. Song, you might as well speak frankly," Ye Qiutang frowned.

"Although Miss may find it absurd to say this, I feel that the problem this time lies with ourselves, we..." Song Tianming paused for a moment, "We seem to have been replaced by something."