Chapter 1473 - 798: Xiao Chen and Yi (Double Chapter) (2)

But earlier outside, he'd had to give her face, it wouldn't do to refute her on the spot.

He pondered briefly, decided it was still necessary to remind her a little, and said mildly, "I now bear the surname Chen, with a single given name: Wu."

The implication was obvious without needing to be spelled out.

Yin Weiyin heard this and slowly nodded. "Then, Xiao Chen, follow me to subdue demons and exorcise devils."

Xiao Chen has arrived…

Chen Yi quietly drew in a deep breath without changing expression.

Great Yin truly doesn't know the meaning of "stop when it's good enough." If Little Fox dared to call him that, he'd make sure her feet didn't touch the ground for a whole day.

Forget it, her birthday is in just a few days—second day of the second month, almost here. For that, he wouldn't quibble with her.

Off to the side, Donggong Ruoshu glanced left at Chen Yi's forbearant, silent posture, then right at Yin Weiyin's calm, unruffled demeanor, and blinked.

The two of them just standing there had its own kind of flavor.

But in this Zhang Mansion, what on earth had actually happened?

At last she couldn't suppress her curiosity, squeezed between the two, and lowered her voice to ask, "Hey, you two… what kind of charade are you playing? Have you spotted something wrong with this Zhang Mansion?"

Chen Yi and Yin Weiyin exchanged a look.

Yin Weiyin shifted her gaze to Donggong Ruoshu, her tone a shade more patient. "Miss Donggong, did you happen to notice, just now around the altar, aside from the incense smoke, was there any other scent?"

Donggong Ruoshu tilted her head, thinking back. "Another scent? It felt like… a faint metallic fishy smell? Very faint, mixed in with the incense. I thought it was some kind of special incense being burned."

Yin Weiyin lowered her eyes slightly, silently sighing that in matters of incense and offerings, this girl did have some sensitivity.

It was just a pity she didn't understand Taoist Skill. On the road she had checked: this stupid girl's aptitude clearly wasn't the issue, yet she couldn't stir even a trace of Primordial Qi, couldn't employ a single shred of Taoist Skill. Otherwise she'd have long since been able to become intangible, like a ghost.

"Not incense." Yin Weiyin shook her head. "It's the smell of earth, mixed with blood, not fresh soil, nor ordinary grave dirt, but blood-soaked earth dug up from extremely deep below. There's a hint of demon stench in it as well. This aura doesn't originate from the old master himself, but is entwined in the Earth Veins of this estate, drawn to him in his advanced age and frailty, turning into nightmare and disturbance."

Chen Yi nodded slightly. "Well said."

"Xiao Chen, you should elaborate, or how is anyone else supposed to understand?"

"…The Zhang family made its fortune in medicinal herbs. Huian Hall is a century-old brand, constantly dealing with mountains, plants, and the living breath of the Earth Veins. The household should be clear and peaceful, blessed and protected. For such rotten, blood-tainted miasma to appear is anything but coincidence. Either there's something buried under the foundation that shouldn't be there, recently disturbed; or… someone deliberately buried something unclean here."

Donggong Ruoshu's eyes slowly widened. "You mean… this might not be an accident? It's connected to what's beneath this house?"

"It's not certain yet," Yin Weiyin said. "So, if it's a mule or a horse, we lead it out and take it for a walk; if it's a ghost or a fiend, we draw it out and have a look."

The female crown said nothing more. She settled cross-legged on a stone bench in the courtyard, closed her eyes, and calmed her mind. This time, she did not take out the Eight Diagrams Plate; she merely traced lightly with her fingertips on her knees, silently intoning True Words, clear radiance flowing around her body.

Bamboo leaves rustled; the evening wind grew cooler.

After a moment she opened her eyes, her gaze bright, and looked straight toward the back of the guest courtyard, at that secluded corner so carefully tended, planted with a few late-blooming plum trees and strange rocks.

"There is an Array Hub," her voice was steady, "not elsewhere, but in the ground beneath the rear of this guest courtyard, not deep, about three zhang down. Its aura has been deliberately concealed, with a slight link to the Earth Veins, borrowing the auspicious life-breath of the entire mansion as a shell, while filth is hidden within."

Chen Yi followed her gaze. The ground there was level, no different from anywhere else in the estate, even more immaculate. He wasn't surprised; placing the Array Hub here was precisely because it was relatively independent and secluded, seldom disturbed. Using it to bury things one doesn't want others to know of was, indeed, fitting.

Yin Weiyin rose to her feet, straightened the sleeves of her Daoist robe, and said naturally:

"Xiao Chen, go. Deal with it."

The two words "Xiao Chen" were bitten out as if it were only right and proper.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Yi saw Donggong Ruoshu at the side covering her mouth, her shoulders suspiciously twitching twice. His expression did not change, but his facial muscles tightened for a brief instant.

Enough—he'd endure her for the moment.

He drew Hou Kang Sword, which had not seen use in some time, and struck forward with a single slash.

A strand of Sword Qi, honed to an extreme, icy cold to the bone, tore through the air and silently sank into that stretch of green-brick ground Yin Weiyin had indicated.

The next instant.

That patch of ground suddenly split open into a straight, profound fissure, only a few inches wide yet bottomless, its edges neat as if cut by a blade.

An indescribably chilling aura, like a poisoned spring long dammed, erupted from the crack, surging out in a rush, only to be shredded almost to dust by the remaining Sword Qi.

From deep within the fissure came a faint clinking sound, as though some Array Hub or sealing object buried below, under the onslaught of the surging Sword Intent, could no longer bear the strain and shattered completely.

The Sword Qi was deathly cold; the Sword Intent, torrential.

Though it was only a glimpse, the force within was enough to send a thread of cold creeping up under Yin Weiyin's feet.

She lifted her eyes to Chen Yi's profile. His expression remained indifferent, but she knew that within this sword, there was more than a little of the irritation that had failed to find vent at those repeated calls of "Xiao Chen."

Sword Intent followed the lines of the formation back in counterflow—whoever laid that array was in for a harsh lesson…

Yin Weiyin felt a lingering chill in her heart.

Right now he was letting her have her way, but knowing how petty he could be, who could say what he might do afterward.

The thought flickered past; then she turned it over and realized she'd already figured Chen Yi out long ago. She could make him so angry that one Buddha is born, two Buddhas ascend—and she could just as easily make him so happy he'd be like Zhu Bajie reveling in bliss…