Chapter 28: Purging the City of Specters

"What? You're telling me that if I want to show interest in him, I have to meet him in person? This bastard—who does he think he is, and who am I? He actually has the audacity to tell me we need a face-to-face meeting? Hasn't that loser Peng Qingshan already met them? Once they arrive in Heishawa, tell Peng Qingshan to find him for me. I want to see this bastard with my own eyes! He even said he doesn't need my help to get a travel permit? I’d like to see what kind of ability he has to obtain a permit to enter the pass!"

While the defiant Pei Yunchu was flying into a rage in her private residence in Heishawa, Gu Liubai, who was still ten miles away from the city, was having his own horizons broadened.

There are many, many formidable figures and profound cultivation techniques in this world. Each has its own merits, and each excels in its own way. No matter how powerful you are, you must never look down on others. Gu Liubai had known these principles since he was a child and believed in them deeply, but knowing a principle is one thing—he hadn't seen many techniques yet, and some were beyond his imagination.

For instance, at this very moment, Yin Shiniang’s body suddenly emitted a sound like popping beans, as if every bone in her frame were cracking. His first instinct was anxiety, the thought crossing his mind that perhaps Yin Shiniang had suffered a cultivation deviation.

However, Yin Shiniang’s entire demeanor was one of relaxation, as if she were constantly shedding a heavy burden. Amidst the popping sounds, she rapidly grew shorter. She had been tall and lithe, but now she was roughly the height of an average woman. Her clothes suddenly appeared far too long. Even her long, equine face shortened. Although she still wore a veiled hat, it was clear that her face had become much more pleasant, with perfectly balanced proportions.

"What is this?"

"I don't like to draw attention to myself. I'll change my clothes before we enter."

"That certainly saves a lot of trouble." Seeing that it was as he had imagined, Gu Liubai praised, "Is this your true appearance? If Luo Qing had seen you like this, he probably wouldn't have died with such regret."

Yin Shiniang did not respond to his remark, simply saying calmly, "If you want to learn the Frost Sword, this technique itself is also something you must learn."

Gu Liubai was struck with a jolt. He was no fool; he understood instantly that Yin Shiniang had just shared a secret regarding the Frost Sword.

"Are you all pigs? Peng Qingshan said they definitely entered, yet you haven't even seen a shadow of them. Heishawa isn't Chang'an; how big can this place be? Even if others are hard to find, those two are far too conspicuous, aren't they?"

By evening, Pei Yunchu was once again in a towering rage, berating her precious confidants until they were cowering. Her subordinates were deeply frustrated. Heishawa wasn't large, but in Chang'an, they had vast resources and countless people to do their bidding. Here? There was hardly anyone they could command, and those who were available were useless hacks.

They had already exhausted themselves just to coordinate with the Pei family’s secret agents in the border garrison. On top of that, they had to cater to the young mistress's personal whims, keeping an eye on that fat man, Xu Tuibei, and investigating whether there was any connection between the merchant caravan mistress and him... They were severely understaffed.

At first, they suspected that Pei Yunchu and Peng Qingshan were wrong—that those people hadn't come to Heishawa at all. But Peng Qingshan was almost here, and he was certain they had already entered the city. This made the matter bizarre. Not to mention the others, a female swordsman of such tall stature and a hunchbacked old woman—with such obvious features, it should have been impossible to miss them. If they entered the city, they should have been spotted.

"You bunch of useless people, if you don't find them, how am I supposed to teach that bastard who wants a 'face-to-face' meeting a lesson?"

"If you can't find them, don't even think about leaving when I do; you can stay here and eat sand for two years!"

When the confidants exited the residence, their foreheads were drenched in cold sweat. They knew the young mistress was only trying to scare them, but the prospect of eating sand here for two years was truly terrifying.

"What do we do?" one asked in a low voice.

"Stop wasting so many people watching that fat man. He won't be burying that female corpse anytime soon... Split up, and even if we have to turn Heishawa upside down, we must find that boy!" one of them replied fiercely.

"Gu Fifteen, is it? You have indeed succeeded in piquing my interest." Inside the residence, Pei Yunchu narrowed her beautiful eyes and gnashed her teeth.

One could only say that Gu Liubai was truly unlike normal people. What kind of power did the Pei family wield? If Pei Yunchu offered something, who wouldn't be groveling with gratitude to accept it? Setting aside immediate benefits, just the fact that the Pei family’s second young mistress had taken a special interest in someone would ensure that even if that person had done what Xu Tuibei had done, they would never be in as miserable a state as he was now. She was not the type to easily show such favor to anyone.

Yet, this gravedigger from Mingbopo had flatly rejected her goodwill! Who gave him the guts to be so arrogant? Damn it, and that fat man Xu—he had people wash that female corpse and dress her in white fox fur, but why was he dragging his feet and failing to do anything provocative? It was so annoying!

Just as Pei Yunchu was thinking about finding an unlucky official to vent her frustration on, two officials from the Grand Astrological Bureau in the courtyard, sensing the danger, slipped away.

The frontier is vastly different from Chang'an. In Chang'an, the sky darkens slowly, and the crimson sunset lingers for a long time. In Heishawa, night descends abruptly. The sky might look bright for a long time, as if it could exhaust the patience of the astronomers, but in the very next instant, a magnificent night sky would suddenly emerge. Darkness would sweep across the firmament, and the brilliant, grand river of stars would press down heavily upon one's heart.

The two officials from the Grand Astrological Bureau understood well why those scholars and poets, who were timid and trembling in Chang'an, could often write magnificent, sweeping verses once they reached the frontier. The size and brightness of the stars were different here. Many stars that one could never see in a lifetime in Chang'an would rudely invade your vision, and from time to time, meteors like swords would slice across the horizon.

Soldiers in the city began hanging lanterns on the city walls. The two officials from the Grand Astrological Bureau widened their eyes, staring at the position where the ominous star had previously flashed. In the next instant, both of them opened their mouths wide, yet no sound could escape.

A hunchbacked old woman had swung past under a watchtower as if she were on a swing. She seemed to have swung out from some shadow on the city wall. But when they blinked and looked again, there was nothing there. Both men suspected they were suffering from the effects of the local environment and having hallucinations, but when they looked at each other, they saw the same strange expression on the other’s face.

"Did you see that?"

"You saw it too?"

"A hunchbacked old woman on a swing?"

"What kind of old woman can swing as high as a watchtower?"

"There are ghosts!"

...

"What is that noise outside?" Pei Yunchu had just finished dinner and was preparing to go out and stretch her limbs when she heard a commotion in the courtyard.

"Those two officials from the Grand Astrological Bureau are being unruly; they wanted to pitch two tents directly in your courtyard. And they claimed that while stargazing today, they discovered that the city is not at peace—that there are ghosts," someone responded solemnly from outside the door.

"Ghosts? What kind of ghosts?" Pei Yunchu frowned slightly. Could these two officials be so considerate that, knowing she was annoyed, they wanted to tell her ghost stories?

"They said there is a hunchbacked female ghost in the city, swinging between the watchtower and the city wall," the person outside replied.

"A hunchbacked female ghost?" Pei Yunchu was stunned, then immediately realized. "You bastards, are your brains made of pig fat? You haven't found a trace of them until now, yet these two have seen them, and you still can't find them! You are truly as stupid as pigs; you can't even connect such obvious characteristics!"

"So that's it..." her confidant immediately realized as well.

"Those two are at least somewhat clever. Fine, if they want to pitch their tents in the courtyard, let them!" Pei Yunchu’s mood instantly improved. At least it was finally confirmed that those people had entered Heishawa. Since they were in Heishawa, her guess hadn't been wrong, and she would be able to teach that bastard Gu Fifteen a lesson in person.

Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, she heard hurried footsteps. The confidant outside was startled again: "Li Xizhi, why have you returned? Has that fat man Xu Tuibei finally done something that enraged both gods and men?"

*Bang!*

Pei Yunchu kicked the door open in one stride. Li Xizhi was one of her confidants, but the most pressing thing was that he was the one watching Xu Tuibei.

"Found them!"

Li Xizhi was twenty-seven, with a square face and a very steady demeanor, but as he hurried over, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

"Are you that interested, too?" Pei Yunchu felt she needed to re-evaluate Li Xizhi.

Li Xizhi caught her gaze and knew the young mistress had misunderstood, but he understood her temperament well and didn't rush to explain, instead acting mysterious. "Young Mistress, while I was keeping a close eye on Xu Tuibei, I accidentally discovered a shocking secret. Do you know what it is?"

"Tell me!" Pei Yunchu’s interest was instantly piqued.

"This Xu Tuibei is a minor official with a sinecure, but as I watched him, I discovered an astonishing fact: many people in this city help him with his affairs. Many of them are perfunctory when it comes to their superiors' orders, but when he asks them to do something, they are remarkably diligent."

"Is that it? What does that have to do with the female ghost—no, what does that have to do with that female corpse?"

"As it happens, while watching him, I discovered he has ties to that young man from Mingbopo. I suspect he is working for that boy!"

"This..." Pei Yunchu’s beautiful eyes widened instantly. For a moment, her delicate nose could only inhale, not exhale. Her head was buzzing, and her face felt hot.

A tall woman’s corpse! And she was dressed in white fox fur! These characteristics were far too obvious! She had just called people pig-headed, but this damn fat man—had he prepared a corpse with a similar build to the owner of the Frost Sword to play a trick of faked death? How could she have only thought of weird fetishes when it was so easy to put together? What was wrong with her brain?

"Take me to find this fat pig!"

Pei Yunchu gritted her teeth. She didn't ask Li Xizhi for the details of how he discovered the connection between Xu Tuibei and Gu Fifteen. With murder in her heart, she stormed out the door.

"The young mistress is brilliant, knowing that this fat man must be involved!" Li Xizhi said earnestly as he led the way. The two confidants following Pei Yunchu glanced at each other. Li Xizhi, with his thick eyebrows and upright appearance—he didn't learn anything else, but his sycophancy had reached a state of perfection?