Chapter 253: Fat Rats

Li Yan had not expected the old Daoist to refuse to cooperate. But the rebuttal was not entirely wrong. The City God Temple was responsible for the safety of cities throughout the land, while Daoist temples occupying secret realms and blessed lands were indeed outside its chain of authority.

Gu Hanzi's original intention had also been for Li Yan to pose as a pilgrim, slip into the mountain temple, and investigate in secret. But now that things had reached this point, how could they possibly turn back?

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and glanced to the side.

Captain Zheng immediately understood. He stepped forward, took a token from his robes, and said coldly, "The Yichang Military Surveillance Department has been ordered to investigate the rebels of the Heavenly Saint Cult. Daoist, are you planning to obstruct us as well?"

The old Daoist's expression immediately turned ugly.

The Military Surveillance Department answered directly to the Great Xuan Emperor. It investigated officials above and supervised the jianghu below. Although the mystic path occupied a special position, it still fell within the scope of its oversight, especially when the matter involved evildoers from the Heavenly Saint Cult.

If he continued trying to stop them, it would no longer be appropriate.

The eyelids of the old Daoist Feng Huazi twitched slightly, and his expression turned cold. "In that case, please proceed."

With that, he flicked his wide sleeve and ignored everyone, walking directly back into the temple.

At the same time, he called out coldly, "Open every hall. Let these honored officials search properly and see what evildoers they can find!"

"Yes, Temple Master!"

The many disciples of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect were also filled with anger. Although most of the experts in the temple had already been transferred away and they themselves were mostly newly initiated disciples, both commoners and officials usually treated them with respect. They had never suffered such humiliation before.

"Hmph!" Li Yan gave a cold snort and strode into the temple.

He responded better to courtesy than coercion, and this old Daoist had probably grown muddleheaded from spending too long on the mountain. Despite such a major incident unfolding, he was still putting on airs.

This Daoist temple belonged to the True Martial Palace, so its main hall naturally enshrined the Xuantian True Martial, while the front hall enshrined Wang Lingguan. There was also a Sanfeng Hall dedicated to Master Sanfeng and a Xiaoxian Pavilion dedicated to Immortal Elder Ge.

Li Yan entered the main hall and looked up. A towering divine statue stood before him, clad in golden chainmail, its hair flowing loose. It stood upon a five-colored spirit tortoise, one hand resting upon a sword, its eyes flashing like lightning. At its sides stood the Tortoise and Serpent Generals, along with the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden.

This was Xuantian True Martial. The divine astral qi around it was majestic and oppressive, likewise suppressing Li Yan's divine ability and preventing him from using it.

Naturally, the Summoning Writ showed no reaction either. Li Yan had expected as much. As a living yin emissary, he merely handled affairs for the Underworld. When encountering lesser gods or mountain deities, he might occasionally be granted a divine audience.

However, a great deity of this level could not even be bothered to acknowledge him.

Li Yan did not care. He lit three sticks of incense, held them upright in both hands, and said with cupped hands, "Great Emperor, bear witness. I borrow this place today to investigate a case. May your divine might shine forth and leave all demons and evil spirits nowhere to hide."

"How dare you?!"

"You dare speak so disrespectfully!"

Several disciples of True Martial Palace immediately rebuked him angrily.

Li Yan ignored them. He carefully inserted the three incense sticks into the burner, bowed three times, then abruptly turned around and said solemnly, "What? Was anything I said wrong? Evil beings are running rampant throughout Dangyang County. You are responsible for protecting this region, yet you have failed in your duty and are obstructing the investigation. What are you feeling guilty about?!"

The disciples' faces immediately flushed red. Of course they knew what had been happening in Dangyang County. But there was no good way to answer him. The more urgently they tried to explain themselves, the guiltier they would appear.

One older Daoist among them remained relatively calm and said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist, there are other circumstances behind the events in Dangyang County. Besides, several of our disciples have also died. If you wish to investigate, we will cooperate. There is no need to rush into smearing us with accusations."

"Good!"

Li Yan retrieved a booklet from his robes, swept his gaze across the group, and asked, "Where is Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Lingzi was Gu Hanzi's close junior brother. It was precisely because he had secretly written to Gu Hanzi back then that Gu Hanzi had learned there was something wrong with that Daoist temple.

Sure enough, the expressions of the Daoists inside the hall changed the moment they heard Feng Lingzi's name.

It was still the older Daoist from before who spoke. "Why are you looking for Feng Lingzi?"

Li Yan became even more suspicious and snapped coldly, "Where is he?"

Inside the main hall, the Daoists exchanged glances, seemingly wanting to speak but hesitating.

Suddenly, an angry voice came from outside the hall. "That traitorous disciple has already fled!"

Temple Master Feng Huazi strode over with a dark expression. He looked at Li Yan and said solemnly, "Your name is Li Yan? The one who found the blood-jade cong?"

Earlier, he had been too busy being angry. Only just now had he remembered that the name Li Yan had sounded somewhat familiar.

Li Yan replied with a nod, "That's right.”

"Oh." Feng Huazi's expression softened slightly. "Mount Wudang sent word the day before yesterday, and only then did I learn of the matter. You have a fairly good relationship with my True Martial Palace. Why bring troops up the mountain and act so aggressively?"

Li Yan replied solemnly, "A great calamity is approaching. I had no choice but to be discourteous."

"A great calamity?" Feng Huazi's heart tightened, but he did not immediately ask about it. Instead, he said, "Feng Lingzi stole an artifact from the mountain and fled long ago. His whereabouts are unknown. How did you learn his name?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "Daoist Feng wrote a secret letter to the Yunyang City God Temple, reporting that people had been dying one after another in this temple, yet every death was reported as a natural one. He sensed something was wrong and began investigating in secret.

“How did he suddenly become a traitor? Senior, could you explain?"

Feng Huazi was stunned. "There was such a thing?"

He had calmed down as well. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Since Fellow Daoist Li has asked, there is no need for me to conceal it. Several disciples have indeed died in the temple in the last year, but all of them died of illness. There was nothing unusual about it. I worship Immortal Elder Ge, and know a little of medicine and Daoist healing arts. If there had been anything abnormal, how could I have failed to notice?"

Li Yan thought for a moment. "Then what happened with Feng Lingzi?"

Feng Huazi shook his head. "Some time ago, I entered seclusion to refine pills. I only learned what happened after emerging."

"Xiaoxian Pavilion originally enshrined the Rainbow Cloud Shoes, a treasured ritual artifact left behind by the Immortal Elder. They allow one to climb mountains and cross dangerous terrain as though walking on level ground. He stole that treasure and descended the mountain. I sent people to search every dock, but no one could find him.

"Feng Lingzi was my senior brother's disciple. He was fairly clever by nature. I had only hoped to find him before matters went too far and persuade him to turn back. But now that things have reached this point, there is no other choice. I was preparing to report him to the Enforcement Hall and have him placed on the wanted list."

"Oh?" The more Li Yan listened, the more suspicious he grew. "When he stole the artifact and fled down the mountain, did anyone actually see him?"

Feng Huazi turned around. "Feng Gangzi, you handled the matter. Explain the situation to Fellow Daoist Li."

"Yes, Master." The one who replied was precisely the older Daoist from earlier. He cupped his fists and said solemnly, "More than one person witnessed it. Feng Lingzi even injured several disciples who tried to stop him."

Several younger Daoists stepped forward.

"That's right! We saw it with our own eyes!"

One of them snapped indignantly, "Feng Lingzi was always difficult and strange. Because his martial arts were advanced, he often played tricks on us. When the southwestern war began and the more powerful senior brothers had just been transferred away, he made his move in the middle of the night. After we discovered him, he injured a few of us and fled."

Li Yan fell silent for a moment, then asked thoughtfully, "Before Feng Lingzi left, did he show any unusual behavior or say anything strange?"

One of the Daoists replied bitterly, "Who knows? He was always like that... Difficult, strange, secretive, and on poor terms with the other senior and junior brothers. He must have been harboring malicious intentions for a long time."

Several other Daoists immediately chimed in.

"Exactly! It's not strange at all that he would do something like this!"

"They might have joined an evil path long ago..."

Outside the main hall, a thin young Daoist listened with a face full of anger. Unable to endure it any longer, he gritted his teeth, rushed forward, and shouted, "Senior Brother Feng isn't that kind of person!"

One of the Daoists immediately cursed, "Jingkong, who gave you the right to speak here? Go sweep the floors!"

Seeing the mockery in Li Yan's eyes, Feng Huazi could no longer save face and reprimanded, "Shut up!"

Only then did the other Daoists fall silent.

He glared fiercely at several of them before sighing. "Forgive us for making a spectacle of ourselves."

Then he looked at the young Daoist and said gently, "Your name is Jingkong? Don't be afraid. Say whatever you have to say."

The young Daoist had clearly been holding back for a long time. He first sobbed a few times, then glared at the young Daoists and said indignantly, "Senior Brother Feng only played tricks on you because he couldn't stand seeing you bully people.

“You lot relied on having entered the sect earlier to order us around and bully us all the time. You never properly taught us martial arts either. If it weren't for Senior Brother Feng, we wouldn't even have learned the basic boxing forms properly..."

As the young Daoist accused them, the several younger Daoists immediately looked embarrassed, their gazes wandering. Feng Huazi's face, meanwhile, grew increasingly livid.

He had been obsessed with medicine and pill refinement, often entering seclusion at the slightest excuse, and had entrusted all matters large and small within the temple to several disciples. He had never expected the atmosphere to deteriorate into such a mess.

And now, they had even embarrassed him in front of outsiders...

The old Daoist turned to glare fiercely at the disciples behind him.

Li Yan had no interest in these petty matters and asked, "Jingkong, before Daoist Feng's incident, did he do anything unusual?"

"Yes." The young Daoist hurriedly nodded. "About a month before Senior Brother Feng got into trouble, he was already distracted when teaching us boxing. But whenever we asked what was wrong, he wouldn't say. Later, he stopped even having time to teach us. He often went to the scripture repository to look through old texts, sometimes even missing the morning and evening lessons.

"There was also one time when I saw him talking to empty air. He looked very frightened..."

"Hmm?" This time, even Temple Master Feng Huazi sensed something was wrong. He frowned and asked solemnly, "Did he ever say what he had discovered?"

"No." The young Daoist shook his head. "Senior Brother Feng never said. Oh, but that day, he suddenly said something strange."

Li Yan asked, "What did he say?"

"Senior Brother Feng said that no matter what, we must never go near Xiaoxian Pavilion at night. If we heard someone calling our name, we should pretend we hadn't heard it."

Li Yan immediately said solemnly, "Senior, I want to take a look at Xiaoxian Pavilion."

Feng Huazi's expression was also ugly as he strode ahead to lead the way. "Of course."

He was merely obsessed with pill refinement and medicine, not a fool. He had already realized something was wrong.

The group quickly arrived at the rear courtyard of the temple. A large hall stood in the center. Judging from its brickwork, wooden beams, and hip-and-gable roof, it was extremely old. The main doors had already been opened because of Feng Huazi's earlier order.

Inside, Immortal Elder Ge was prominently enshrined. Beside him were statues of three women and one man, presumably Liu Gang and his wife Lady Fan, together with the two daughters of the Qu Clan.

The hall had been swept very clean. The bluestone floor tiles were smooth, and the surrounding walls were covered in murals depicting the deeds of Immortal Elder Ge. Several shafts of sunlight slanted in through the carved windows, with dust motes drifting slowly within the beams of light. The offering table was piled with sacrificial gifts, while incense smoke curled upward.

Higher up were wooden boxes and jade bottles of various sizes, obviously medicines being preserved and empowered by borrowing Immortal Elder Ge's divine power. This hall likewise had restrictions in place, preventing the use of divine abilities.

At least at first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong.

Li Yan wasted no words and turned to Feng Huazi. "Senior, can you open the restriction?"

Feng Huazi naturally knew what he intended. He hesitated only briefly before ordering, "Go. Open the restriction."

Doing so was clearly somewhat disrespectful, but with something this serious happening, they had to investigate thoroughly.

"Yes, Master."

Several disciples immediately left. First, they returned to the main True Martial Hall and turned several bronze mirrors hanging from the main beam in different directions. Then they ran to other parts of the temple and pulled up the planted five-colored flags.

Dense incense energy mixed with the scent of medicine instantly rushed toward them, while the innate gang and baleful qi pressed down like a mountain, making it difficult for everyone to breathe.

This kind of restriction was not only meant to repel enemies, but also to protect the disciples. Otherwise, remaining in such an environment constantly would simply be too much for newly initiated disciples to endure.

Li Yan formed the Yang Seal and drew in a breath. His expression immediately changed.

Suddenly, Feng Huazi roared from beside him, sounding almost furious with embarrassment. "Monster! How dare you!"

He charged directly into the hall and flicked his hand. Four ancient-looking bamboo talismans shot out with a whistle and hung at the four corners of the hall. He was clearly setting up some kind of formation.

He was not the only one. The expressions of several other Daoists had changed as well. Even Li Yan found it somewhat absurd.

Whenever a divine statue was made, it had to undergo the ritual of filling its interior. The statue was usually hollow, with various ritual objects placed inside so that it could better manifest spiritual efficacy. Yet there were actually two foul, musky scents within the statues of the two Qu daughters.

From the smell, it seemed two rat demons had apparently crawled inside.

One young Daoist looked ugly as he muttered, "This... No wonder the offerings kept disappearing. I thought some senior brother was stealing them because he was greedy, so I ignored it. Turns out it was these two beasts."

The others were equally furious. The rat demons had hidden inside divine statues. This went far beyond merely stealing offerings. It meant that they had also been receiving the incense worship offered by the Daoists every day, which was far more beneficial than cultivating alone in the mountains. The statues had also been defiled and could obviously no longer be used.

Feng Huazi's eyes were filled with killing intent. With a clang, he drew his treasured sword and merely swept it lightly.

The two statues split cleanly down the middle. The True Martial Palace was famous for its martial methods. Although the old Daoist was more obsessed with medicine, he had still reached the Jin Transformation Realm. Combined with his martial techniques, he could actually unleash a power resembling sword qi.

Crack!

As the statues broke apart, two glossy, well-fed rats tumbled out. Trembling all over, they prostrated themselves on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed, clearly already possessing intelligence. They were obviously terrified and squeaked frantically.

"Monsters, die!"

Feng Gangzi, the older Daoist from earlier, had fury blazing in his eyes. Hidden force erupted beneath his feet, as he shot forward from the crowd with a whoosh. He had already drawn his longsword in midair, intending to cut down the two rat demons.

But at that moment, Li Yan suddenly shifted sideways. His arm flicked out beneath Feng Gangzi's arm, and with a leg-hooking throw, he sent the man flying.

Li Yan had not used lethal force. Feng Gangzi twisted his body in midair and landed steadily on the ground before shouting angrily, "What are you doing?"

"What are you in such a hurry for?" Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "These two rat demons may have committed a grave offense, but since they've been hiding inside the hall, they must have seen or learned something. Let's question them first."

"Question demons?" Feng Gangzi laughed. "Are you joking?"

Li Yan ignored him and instead looked toward Lu San. "Brother Lu, I'll trouble you."

Lu San nodded, stepped forward, and began making a series of clucking and clicking sounds with his mouth, communicating with the two rats.

"Spirit language?!"

Several Daoists immediately looked surprised. As for Feng Gangzi, suspicion and uncertainty flickered in his eyes...