Chapter Ninety-Five: Bone-Deep Killing Intent

It was also at this moment that he learned the bodies of the two had already been found. The victims' family members, numbering several dozen, were kneeling outside the gates of the county office and refusing to leave, while witnesses testified to seeing the corpses being transported out of the Zhibin Pavilion. Fortunately, he had made the prudent move a step earlier to let Huang Qi and his companions leave the city. With no living witnesses left to confront him, Xi Yuanda was not afraid of what Gu Yun could possibly do to him.

Sure enough, upon arriving at the county office, Gu Yun treated him with utmost courtesy rather than the attitude reserved for a criminal. After briefly questioning him about the events of yesterday and mentioning the crowds outside crying out for justice—explaining that as the magistrate of Qiantang, he had no other choice—Gu Yun requested that Xi Yuanda refrain from leaving the city for the next few days, promising that he could depart once the case was investigated and his innocence cleared.

How could Xi Yuanda ever consent to being trapped in this place? He immediately invoked Du Jingzhi, stating that he had been summoned by the Daoist Master and dared not delay. If there were any matters related to the case that required questioning, he would naturally return to Qiantang in person to await disposition. This verbal sparring dragged on until noon. Gu Yun refused to relent, yet Xi Yuanda did not dare to genuinely flick his sleeves and storm off. Just past noon, Bao Xi suddenly rushed in to report that a white snake had appeared by the West Lake, that Lady Guo—Zhan Wenjun—was at the scene, and that the previously lost venison jerky had been recovered.

This trip to Qiantang had encountered obstacles at every turn, plunging him almost into a desperate abyss. The root cause of all this trouble was none other than this piece of sacred deer jerky. At this point, even if Xi Yuanda wanted to leave, it was entirely out of the question. Moreover, he also wished to see whether the white snake was real or false, so he followed Bao Xi to the West Lake. Halfway there, Zhan Ting and the chief plaintiff Dou Qi were brought along under the guard of Li Dingzhi, Du Sansheng, and several bailiffs. Xi Yuanda instantly felt an ominous foreboding, but riding a tiger was difficult to dismount; he had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

"Which spirit official is that?"

"Hark, right over there. It's Xi Yuanda, the calamity-dispelling spirit official of the Heavenly Master's Taoist administration in Yangzhou. I saw him once in Wu County. I heard that... hehe..."

"What did you hear? Don't keep me in suspense! I'll buy you a drink later!"

The man lowered his voice and said, "Word has it that this Xi Yuanda was raised on wolf's milk. He has no human heart and acts with ruthless cruelty..."

"Ah, and they still let him be a spirit official?"

"He's the adopted foster son of Libationer Du. Could he be like ordinary people?"

Xi Yuanda could not hear these murmurs, nor was he interested in the chatter of these lowly common people. He stared fixedly at the white snake beside Zhan Wenjun, seemingly intent on discovering some flaw.

No matter what, he absolutely refused to believe that there were white snakes in this world, and that one would happen to appear on the banks of the West Lake at this very moment and hour!

This was a trick!

Seeing him remain silent, Zhan Wenjun handed the venison jerky in her hand to Bao Xi and said, "Master Registrar Bao, please examine this. This was just found by my estate's retainers inside the white snake's cave."

More than half of the venison jerky was missing, yet it was completely free of dust and showed no signs of rot or spoilage, looking as fresh as the day it was first made. Bao Xi took it, handed it to Dou Qi, and said, "Master Dou, look closely. Is this the venison jerky you lost?"

Terrified out of his wits by the sudden appearance of the white snake, Dou Qi believed it to be a divine manifestation sent from the heavens, bound to bring retribution. Having committed numerous vile deeds and being deeply superstitious, he was now unable to complete a sentence. Faced with Bao Xi's profound gaze, his hands and limbs trembled uncontrollably as he stammered, "I, I... I don't know either..."

"Hmm?"

Bao Xi said coldly, "What a supreme honor it was for Libationer Du to bestow upon you the sacred deer's jerky, yet you cannot even clearly recall its appearance?"

Despite the freezing weather, sweat poured down Dou Qi like rain. He stole a glance at Xi Yuanda and said, "This, this..."

Du Sansheng shouted angrily, "When you're being spoken to, why are you looking at others! Speak quickly, or I'll punish you for the crime of disrespect first!" As the Qiantang County Sheriff in charge of investigating crimes and banditry, he was the natural nemesis of ruffians and vagrants like Dou Qi.

Dou Qi lost all color in his face, dropped to his knees, and stammered, "It is... No, it isn't..."

"Is it, or is it not?"

"The piece of jerky I had was... somewhat similar to this, but... but half of it was missing, and after more than a month has passed, I really, really cannot tell..."

Xi Yuanda suddenly spoke up. "There's no rush to determine the authenticity of the jerky. I'd rather ask Lady Guo first: is this white snake real or fake? I have heard that in places like Ningzhou and Yuezhou, there are people who smear white paint on a snake's body to pass off the false as genuine, fooling the common people and conveniently defrauding them of money. Perhaps this white snake is nothing more than that. Three gentlemen, why not step forward and examine it for yourselves?"

"This..." Du Sansheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "The white snake is a divine and wondrous creature that does not flee from people. If we rashly approach it, I fear it might be startled, bolt, and injure the surrounding crowd..."

"Since it is a divine object, naturally it will not harm the innocent!" Xi Yuanda snorted coldly and said, "If you gentlemen are unwilling, I shall do it myself." With a sudden motion so swift his movements were barely visible, he snatched a steel saber from the waist of a nearby bailiff, intending to cut the white snake down on the spot. This was the Xi Yuanda method of problem-solving: since all of Zhan Wenjun's schemes stemmed from this white snake, slaying the snake first would naturally render her completely helpless.

Simple, brutal, yet remarkably effective!

Bao Xi was greatly alarmed and cried out, "Spirit Official Xi, you must not act rashly!"

Zhan Wenjun smiled coldly as Wan Qi stepped forward to block the space between him and the white snake. Within the dense crowd, someone immediately shouted loudly, "They're going to kill the White Lady!"

"Kill the White Lady? Who dares? Who dares? I'll fight him to the death!"

"Xi Yuanda, the calamity-dispelling spirit official of the Heavenly Master's Taoist administration! He's holding a knife—ah, look everyone... he's going to kill the White Lady!"

"What an old hound! Storytellers really are right—Taoists are none of them good people!"

Those in the back could not see what was happening in the front, but taking a five-meter radius as a boundary, within every cluster of people, there was someone with an agitated expression declaring that Xi Yuanda was about to kill the white snake. This was then passed outward by those nearby to the surrounding areas. In less than a moment, the thousands of onlookers all knew about it. Instantly, public indignation flared up; people jeered, shouted, and shoved against one another until the scene grew nearly uncontrollable!

At this critical juncture, Bao Xi's quick wit came to the fore. He rebuked, "Spirit Official Xi, if you incite a riot, let alone yourself, even Libationer Du will find it hard to shirk the blame! Allowing your impatience to bring infamy upon Libationer Du—how can your conscience rest easy?"

Xi Yuanda had never regarded the common populace as anything of consequence; otherwise, he would not have attempted to slay the white snake right then and there. Yet when people numbered in the hundreds, they formed mountains and seas. Casting his gaze outward, all he could see were dense, dark heads stretching endlessly into the distance—a momentum and scale rarely witnessed. His heart faltered. Glancing sideways, he saw Zhu睿 mixed into the crowd in the front rows, gazing at him with cold detachment. That sense of powerlessness welling up from the depths of his soul was infuriating to the point of suffocation. The steel saber in his hand suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand jun, and he finally lowered it slowly.

Bao Xi let out a breath of relief and immediately dispatched bailiffs to pacify the crowd, coaxing them until the masses gradually regained their composure.

"Fine! We shall take the white snake to be real!"

Xi Yuanda cast the steel saber to the ground and said viciously, "The sacred deer's jerky was personally crafted by my master. Why don't you gentlemen come ask me about its authenticity?"

Li Dingzhi had not spoken until now. Looking aged and decrepit, struggling simply to catch his breath, he said, "Spirit Official, do not take offense. We merely wish to recover the jerky as soon as possible so that everyone can have peace of mind. Since the Spirit Official has spoken, I shall boldly ask for instruction: is this piece of jerky genuine or not?"

No matter what, Xi Yuanda could never admit that this was the real deer jerky; otherwise, all their scheming over these past days would become a laughingstock. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhan Wenjun take a few steps forward and say in a voice audible only to the two of them, "Spirit Official Xi, you had better think carefully. There are at least a dozen people who can testify that this white snake was originally a small, ordinary green snake that inhabited the banks of the West Lake for quite some time, and only turned pure white all over after stealing the deer jerky. If it weren't for the fact that it only ate half of it, it might very well have undergone transformation, ascended to immortality, and morphed into a human. When all is said and done, it is still a testament to Libationer Du's profound magical power—the deer jerky he crafted is such a supreme divine treasure that it even tempted a spirit snake to commit theft..."

Xi Yuanda instantly clamped his mouth shut. If he denied it, there were only seven pieces of the sacred deer's jerky in existence, each with its own designated destination; where else could they possibly find another piece of sacred deer jerky to turn a green snake white? In other words, wouldn't that mean admitting that Du Jingzhi was a fraud? Yet if he acknowledged it, the jerky being stolen by a white snake was a wondrous divine occurrence, a delightful tale of marvels, which could in no way be tied back to the Zhibin Pavilion. Without that, how could they use this incident to swallow up the vast fortunes of the Zhan family?

Caught in this dilemma, he had no choice but to weigh the pros and cons. As things stood today, the matter of the Zhan family could be set aside for the moment; finding another opportunity later was not out of the question. However, the immense reputation that Du Jingzhi had spent years cultivating in Jiangdong must not suffer even the slightest blemish, for this was the foundational pillar of their master-disciple standing. Xi Yuanda felt the fury in his gut burning ever more fiercely, desperately wanting to cast caution to the wind and engage in a bloody massacre. He clenched his fists so tightly that the veins bulged on the back of his hands, before slowly relaxing them. His gaze, sharp enough to tear Zhan Wenjun into ten thousand pieces, ground out syllable by syllable, "Correct! This is indeed the deer jerky lost in the Zhibin Pavilion. I am much obliged to Lady Guo for finding it, and I thank you on behalf of the Daoist Master!"

Zhan Wenjun smiled faintly and said, "Libationer Du brings blessings to all living beings, and I hold him in profound reverence. Being able to perform this small service is nothing for the Spirit Official to take to heart!"

Bao Xi stroked his beard and said, "Since the deer jerky has been recovered, perhaps later we can invite the Spirit Official to the county office to provide testimony, along with Master Zhan and Master Dou. Once you sign and press your fingerprints, the magistrate can close the case."

Xi Yuanda made no sound, taking it as tacit consent. Believing that Zhan Wenjun's stratagem stopped here and having no wish to complicate matters further, he harbored a single-minded determination to settle accounts after the autumn harvest. Zhan Ting and Dou Qi exchanged blank looks, finding nothing to say. They were merely chess pieces caught in the currents, stripped of agency and devoid of the power to choose or decide. Since even Xi Yuanda had conceded, what courage did the likes of them have to resist?

Yet none could have anticipated that using seven pieces of jerky to usurp the immense fortunes of seven aristocratic clans would see six proceed smoothly, while only the Qiantang Zhan family—whose deployment was the most meticulous, whose plan was foolproof, which had successively mobilized two spirit officials and consumed over two months of effort—would ultimately stumble over a white snake. What made it particularly speechless and infuriating was that the origin of this white snake remained entirely unknown, resulting in a defeat so inexplicable that one was left choking with bitter silence.

With the matter of the deer jerky concluded, the Heavenly Master's Taoism had suffered a crushing defeat in Qiantang. The fury raging in Xi Yuanda's heart can well be imagined. Just as he was about to turn on his heel toward the county office to sign the deposition and leave, a sudden sound of flute-playing echoed through the sky—lingering and continuous, ethereal and indistinct, yet persistently refusing to leave his ears. The white snake, which had been coiled motionlessly, suddenly stirred, darting out its red tongue as if answering the summons of a divine being. Winding its body along the grassy riverbank, it headed toward the west.

A commotion instantly rippled through the crowd. Fearing an accident, Bao Xi shouted at the top of his lungs, "County Sheriff Du, lead your bailiffs to form a single-file human wall to block the commoners! No one is permitted to approach; violators may be executed on the spot!"

Although Du Sansheng outranked Bao Xi in official position, everyone present understood the stakes, so he roared out his acknowledgment and relayed Bao Xi's order in a booming voice. All the bailiffs drew their steel sabers, which gleamed under the sunlight, reflecting an icy, bone-chilling intent to kill. Most ordinary folks valued their lives; even if they loved watching a spectacle, they were not foolish enough to be executed on the spot. Thus, the commotion was kept within an acceptable margin, preventing it from spiraling hopelessly out of control.

Zhan Wenjun immediately followed up with orders of her own, having all her retainers surround the white snake as they moved forward, preventing outsiders from approaching and harming the creature while also guarding against the snake slithering into the crowd and getting hurt. Strangely enough, influenced by some unknown force, the white snake moved strictly along the route of the riverbank. This chaotic situation lasted for less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before the white snake stopped in front of a residential estate, flickered, and vanished directly through a small, broken hole in the wall.

Xi Yuanda stood frozen for a moment. By the time he snapped back to senses, the white snake had already disappeared without a trace. Zhan Wenjun's voice drifted vaguely to his ears: "...The white snake is a divine creature of heaven and earth, it cannot be allowed to get lost... The owner of this estate surely will not mind... I shall offer a personal apology..." Then came Li Dingzhi's trembling voice: "This appears to be the former residence of Grand Master of Remonstrance Wei. Having lain abandoned for years, I fear no one resides here anymore..." Following that, Bao Xi made his executive decision: "In that case, we may break down the door first, find the white snake, and then come right back... Remember, do not damage any household objects; Guo's clan shall bear responsibility for any and all losses..."

Bang!

The courtyard gates were forcefully battered open by Zhan Wenjun's retainers. The crowd surged in as one. Before Xi Yuanda could stop them—and indeed, lacking any reason or excuse to obstruct them—a bone-chilling cold swept through his entire body. At that very instant, he finally understood what Zhan Wenjun was aiming to do!

The weather was as warm as spring, yet every single ray of sunlight felt like a razor-sharp blade of ice, carving tens of thousands of bloody gashes across Xi Yuanda's body,

penetrating his bones,

piercing his internal organs,

filled entirely with the intent to kill!