Chapter 47: Sinister Artifacts and the Amber Sphere (Please Bookmark and Keep Reading!)

Shanglu examined Jiao Er’s corpse, snapping a few branches from the bamboo nearby.

Ever since meeting Jiao Er, Shanglu had handed the bamboo pole to San Niang, since Jiao Er wasn’t afraid of heights and had no use for it. But now, the bamboo proved useful once more.

With a bamboo branch, Shanglu pried open Jiao Er’s mouth and carefully inspected his oral cavity. He refrained from using his hands directly, wary that Jiao Er might “come back to life” and bite him. He was also on guard in case something strange was hidden within Jiao Er’s body.

After a thorough check, Shanglu found that although Jiao Er’s mouth was smeared with blood, it was merely traces left from eating the monstrous snake’s flesh and blood—there was no actual injury. Throat, esophagus, and other internal passages were all perfectly normal.

Next, Shanglu examined Jiao Er’s nasal passages, ears, and every other orifice, but again found nothing unusual.

After some thought, Shanglu’s gaze shifted to the lower half of Jiao Er’s body. He walked over and pulled down the dead man’s trousers.

The scene was rather odd, but in this strange fog, there was no one around except Shanglu and San Niang. As for Jiao Er, even if he had any objections, he was dead. If he weren’t, who knows what kind of rumors would arise from this spectacle.

“There really is something wrong here.”

At Jiao Er’s anus, Shanglu discovered several fresh tears, as though something had forced its way in.

Jiao Er was a constable, not a treasury guard, and was never known for any peculiar proclivities. Besides, these tears looked recent.

Did this mean the evil entity that hollowed out Jiao Er’s innards had entered through his rectum?

This discovery sent a chill down Shanglu’s spine, and he instinctively clenched tightly. He was grateful he hadn’t encountered such a creature himself; otherwise, if taken unawares, his own dignity would have been at risk.

No, he resolved, once he returned home, he must find some way to protect his rear. He’d been lucky this time, but who’s to say he would be next time? One could never be too careful.

Having determined the cause of Jiao Er’s death, Shanglu used the bamboo to scoop the contents from Jiao Er’s abdomen.

Prior to encountering Shanglu, Jiao Er had eaten not only the foul meat and blood of the monstrous snake, but other things as well. Shanglu had already noticed this in his earlier inspection, and now wished to see exactly what Jiao Er had consumed, hoping to glean more about the mysterious fog and the hidden realm from the remnants.

After rummaging through, Shanglu found that once Jiao Er became a possessed fiend, he’d devoured all sorts of things—even bark, roots, and stones.

But what truly caught Shanglu’s interest was an ovoid, amber-colored bead.

No sooner had he unearthed the amber bead than San Niang helped by summoning a gentle breeze, sweeping away the filth and bloodstains from its surface.

Shanglu, with experience now, knew that when San Niang did this, it meant the amber bead was not only harmless but also valuable.

So, without hesitation, he picked up the amber bead.

This object was heavy in the hand, hard as iron or stone.

But what use was it? How should it be used? Was it meant to be swallowed like a snake gallbladder?

The amber bead was about the size of a hen’s egg. If he forced himself, he could probably swallow it whole. But what if it wasn’t meant to be eaten? If he couldn’t digest it, with its size, passing it would hardly be easy.

He couldn’t just leave it in his body to cultivate an internal elixir, after all—he wasn’t trying to make a stone.

Puzzled, Shanglu looked to the blood-hued figure nearby.

“San Niang, what is this? How do I use it?”

“Eat…”

San Niang’s voice was even more ethereal and indistinct in the thick fog.

So it was for eating, after all? Shanglu was surprised but didn’t doubt her. He swallowed a few times to moisten his throat, about to toss the bead into his mouth and try swallowing it.

But just as he opened his mouth, San Niang snatched the amber bead away.

Shanglu looked at her in confusion, hearing her say, “You can’t eat it yet… wait a bit longer.”

“All right,” Shanglu nodded obediently. He made a habit of listening to his wife, especially in matters like this—San Niang’s advice was always reliable.

San Niang handed the bead back after seeing him stow it in his pack, finally reassured.

Using Jiao Er’s knife, Shanglu dug a pit and buried the dried corpse. After all, as colleagues, he couldn’t simply leave him exposed to the wild.

Once everything was settled, Shanglu followed the path of the realgar powder back out of the strange fog.

This time, not only did he keep a wary eye on his surroundings, but he also paid particular attention to guarding his rear.

Fortunately, he encountered nothing strange on his way out.

Once free of the fog, Shanglu glanced around, feeling glad he’d spread the realgar powder in advance.

The area of the fog had expanded again. Not by much, but if he had waited until reaching the edge to scatter the powder, he might have been engulfed. Even being so close to the exit, escaping would have been difficult.

Originally, Shanglu had planned to find another spot to continue hunting the monstrous snake, but Jiao Er’s bizarre death gave him pause.

He decided to return to the county seat and make some preparations before coming back for a second round of exploration—lest he end up like Jiao Er.

Before leaving Yunhua Mountain, he circled the area but saw no trace of Shi Fan, Chu Xing, or the others. He wondered if they too had entered the fog to explore, or if they’d sensed something amiss and hurried back to report.

Taking to the official road, Shanglu sped back to Luoshui County, only to find the city in chaos, people and animals running wild.

The yamen constables were out arresting people left and right, all of them members of the Black Wind Gang.

Many of the Black Wind Gang’s businesses had also been seized.

It was as if overnight, Luoshui County had changed hands. The once domineering Black Wind Gang had fallen utterly.

Shanglu had expected that with Zhao Hai’s death, the Black Wind Gang would be finished, but he hadn’t thought it would happen so quickly.

After finding Du Feng and inquiring, he learned the whole story.

“Apparently, the county magistrate and the chief clerk discovered that the sixth clerk was falsifying accounts. They launched an investigation, which ultimately implicated Zhao Hai of the Black Wind Gang, and uncovered that Zhao Hai was using people to refine elixirs. Enraged, the magistrate and chief clerk personally led a team to eliminate Zhao Hai and his cronies, declared the Black Wind Gang a treasonous cult, and are determined to wipe them out completely…”

Shanglu understood.

The chief clerk had long wanted to clear himself of suspicion over the forged accounts. Now that Zhao Hai was dead, and his evil deeds involving human sacrifice for elixir-making had come to light, the clerk simply pinned the accounting crimes on him as well, declaring him the head of a heretical cult colluding with government clerks to control the region.

In this way, although the chief clerk would still bear some blame for negligence, it was far less than accounting fraud. Moreover, by uncovering and eradicating the Black Wind Gang’s treacherous, evil deeds, and sharing credit with the magistrate, as long as he maintained good relations with the prefecture, he could turn disaster into triumph. Perhaps he might even receive a promotion.

Shanglu admired the chief clerk’s decisiveness—no wonder he was able to sideline the magistrate.

This was for the best. The killing of Zhao Hai and his men was now entirely unrelated to him; no one would suspect him anymore.

Leaving Du Feng to continue his patrol, Shanglu went to the blacksmith and ordered a set of iron underpants.

The blacksmith was shocked by this request. Were constables’ duties so dangerous now that they needed iron underwear for protection?

After taking his measurements and paying a deposit, urging the smith to hurry, Shanglu finally returned home.

The seizure of the Black Wind Gang’s assets had nothing to do with him; Captain Ma had deliberately not assigned him to the task, clearly not wanting him to profit from it.

But that was fine—he’d already taken enough from Zhao Hai and was happy to be left alone, free to focus on his cultivation.

Without sufficient strength, both further exploration of the strange fog and the upcoming recruitment at the Witch Academy would be in vain.

And with greater cultivation, it would be easier, and safer, to eliminate Captain Ma when the time came.

Moreover, during his time in the fog, Shanglu had consumed more than thirty snake gallbladders. After being refined by his spleen spirit idol, these had been transformed into a vast reserve of vital energy, waiting to be absorbed.

Shanglu sensed that this time, he would finally disperse the mist shrouding his liver spirit idol!

What changes would come after awakening the liver spirit idol, he wondered?

With anticipation in his heart, Shanglu hurried home.