Chapter 17: Trouble
"What exactly happened?" Li Qingfeng forced himself to remain calm, though his voice trembled with disbelief as he stared at Advisor Sun.
Even with a five-root qualifications, once someone became a cultivator, they wouldn’t die as easily as a mortal.
Advisor Sun’s expression flickered with hesitation.
The executioner’s blade suddenly descended, embedding itself into the desk right in front of him.
The impact startled Advisor Sun into another shudder, forcing out the words he had swallowed back.
"This matter started half a year ago."
"The governor’s only son returned from the battlefield severely injured, his foundation damaged."
"To treat Young Master Zhang Gui’s injuries, the governor somehow obtained a medicinal prescription that required the spiritual foundation of cultivators as an ingredient."
"This would restore Young Master Zhang Gui’s foundation and heal his wounds."
Hearing this, Li Qingfeng’s eyes filled with shock.
The governor had gone as far as using humans as medicine.
The thought of Meng Zhen being refined into a pill made Li Qingfeng’s hair stand on end, followed by a surge of fury that rushed to his head.
Using living humans as medicine, it was unheard of!
"But cultivators are elusive, rarely seen, let alone hunted for their spiritual foundations."
"So the governor decided to cultivate his own."
"Coincidentally, the rotation date for the stationed immortal master in the county was approaching. To avoid delaying Young Master Zhang Gui’s treatment, the governor even spent spiritual items to have the stationed immortal master conduct the aptitude test a month early."
Advisor Sun recounted the entire affair in detail.
"After the immortal master selected the candidates, there were naturally unqualified people who fell through the cracks."
"The governor ordered me to lure them to the governor’s residence with promises of cultivation techniques, then seize and imprison them."
"Once they successfully cultivated and formed their spiritual foundations, they would be cut open, their spiritual foundations extracted and used as medicine."
"That’s all I know." Advisor Sun spoke for the time it took an incense stick to burn, narrating everything from start to finish without missing a detail.
Li Qingfeng snapped out of his daze, falling into silence.
He also had a five-roots constitution. If he hadn’t obtained the Blood Fiend Grand Method and the Revered Soul Banner, would he have been targeted after failing the selection?
At that time, anyone would cling to the slightest hope.
Especially when the governor’s residence did provide cultivation techniques.
Meng Zhen must have seen the governor’s residence as his only chance.
No matter how poor one’s aptitude was, becoming a cultivator meant transcending mortality.
For anyone capable of cultivation, it was an irresistible temptation.
No one could resist.
It was the last straw for a drowning man.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t salvation. It was a vicious trap, a murderous scheme.
Tu Shanjun suddenly remembered why those black-armored soldiers had looked familiar.
Back then, a squad of black-armored cavalry had escorted a carriage speeding away.
He had lamented the missed opportunity, if they had noticed, the battlefield would have provided endless souls and baleful aura.
"Where is the body?"
After a long silence, Li Qingfeng raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Advisor Sun and demanded an answer.
Advisor Sun gritted his teeth, shrinking back.
"Used as medicine. Nothing is left."
Having said everything, Advisor Sun collapsed onto the floor, cautiously observing Li Qingfeng’s reaction.
Li Qingfeng’s face twisted uncontrollably with rage.
"Where is Zhang Wanlong?"
Advisor Sun seemed to suddenly realize something, staring at Li Qingfeng in horror. His barely calmed nerves erupted again: "You… what do you intend to do?"
"I asked you, where are Zhang Wanlong and his son?" Li Qingfeng snarled like a beast, his eyes blazing with fury.
Meng Zhen had been his friend for ten years. They had grown up together.
Now, Meng Zhen was dead.
Refined into medicine, eaten, leaving not even bones behind.
He couldn’t let this go.
When Li Qingfeng asked for Zhang Wanlong and his son’s whereabouts, Tu Shanjun knew exactly what he planned to do but he didn’t stop him.
An eye for an eye, a debt repaid in blood, this was the way of heaven.
To stop someone from seeking vengeance was to make an enemy of them.
In situations like this, few could remain calm. Persuasion was useless. Better to strike first.
Hoping for villains to repent and reform was a fantasy. The only solution was to send them to their next life.
When Zhao Shixian had cut him down, Tu Shanjun had learned this lesson well.
Evil men never laid down their blades willingly.
This time, it was Meng Zhen who had died. Who was to say Li Qingfeng wouldn’t be next?
Because he was also a Qi Refining cultivator, his body brimming with spiritual aura.
Tu Shanjun’s gaze darkened as he silently stood by.
"Governor Zhang lives in the small courtyard behind the government office, the one with bronze ring handles on the door."
"Zhang Gui also lives in the rear compound, just two courtyards away from the one with the bronze rings."
In the end, Advisor Sun pointed the way.
Even if Zhang Wanlong had shown him great favor, under the threat of the malevolent ghost, he had no choice but to yield.
More importantly, he needed to survive this encounter with the black-clad man.
"Immortal Master, I’ve told you everything. Please spare my life."
Li Qingfeng nodded at Tu Shanjun.
Mist swirled.
After Li Qingfeng vanished from the dream…
Tu Shanjun, still in the dream realm, raised the executioner’s blade without hesitation.
A clean, swift strike.
Advisor Sun was briefly puzzled by Li Qingfeng’s sudden disappearance then he felt his vision spin.
The world turned upside down.
His withered head rolled onto the desk.
His body twitched a few times before falling still.
Li Qingfeng awoke on the roof beam, touched the Soul Banner in his robe, then flipped away from the side hall.
Unaware that another soul had just joined the banner.
The night stretched endlessly.
Dark clouds swallowed the moon, blotting out even the faintest glow.
Yet most of the governor’s residence remained brightly lit.
Black-armored soldiers patrolled diligently.
An ordinary person would never make it past such tight security.
Li Qingfeng didn’t linger. A few leaps brought him to the rear compound.
There weren’t many courtyards here, and only one had bronze ring handles on its door.
Unlike the lion-headed knockers common in most households, this door’s handles resembled small clenched fists gripping the rings.
Perhaps, to the governor, this symbolized his iron grip on power.
With the emperor far away and heaven high above, Zhang Wanlong, as the highest authority in the county, truly held life and death in his hands.
The guards at the door didn’t notice Li Qingfeng’s intrusion.
Having located his target’s residence, the rest was straightforward.
Li Qingfeng crept along the wall into the inner courtyard.
He had expected Zhang Wanlong to be asleep, but the main room was still illuminated.
Pressing close to the window, he could hear murmurs from inside.
"The last one hasn’t developed spiritual aura yet. He can’t be used for medicine."
"Dispose of him tomorrow. Keeping him is too risky."
"The northern front is struggling, you’ll need to return soon."
Li Qingfeng recognized Zhang Wanlong’s voice.
"Father, I barely escaped the battlefield with my life."
"If not for that Foundation-Merging technique, my injuries would have left permanent damage."
"I have to say, the technique works remarkably well."
The young man didn’t elaborate, instead shifting the topic.
"Besides, from what I’ve seen, Great Liang keeps losing battles. If Sword Gate falls, the dynasty's fate might be sealed."
The voice was vigorous, showing no signs of injury.
Crouched outside, Li Qingfeng leaned against the wall, steadying his breathing as fury burned in his chest.
"Perfect. I was going to search for Zhang Gui, but now both father and son are here together. Heaven has eyes."
"They’ll pay for Meng Zhen’s life."
Gripping the Soul Banner, Li Qingfeng prepared to pull them into the dream as before.
"Who’s there?!"
The voices inside cut off abruptly, replaced by a cold shout.
Li Qingfeng’s eyes widened in shock.
He hadn’t expected the young man inside to be so perceptive.
He’d been detected.
There was no time to hesitate.
The rage of a common man spills blood within five steps.
He was a Qi Refining cultivator, armed with the Soul Banner. Dealing with two mortals should be effortless.
Li Qingfeng smashed through the window and struck without hesitation.
Spiritual power flared as his Spirit-Seer Eyes activated. But what he saw made him freeze, stunned, confused and disbelieving.
Not only was Zhang Gui completely healed, he was radiating spiritual aura, and it was far stronger than his own.
Inside the Soul Banner, Tu Shanjun’s expression darkened.
"We’re in trouble."
They had both overlooked one possibility, what if Zhang Wanlong or his son were cultivators?
Even if they weren’t, what if they had a cultivator serving them?
They had considered it initially, but Li Qingfeng had met Zhang Wanlong before, the man had no spiritual aura.
If Zhang Gui possessed the qualifications to cultivate, he would have long since left for an immortal sect. Why would he stay in the mortal world?
(Chapter End)