Since the resurgence of Demon Energy, it has proven to be highly contagious and lethal to humans.
If contaminated and not treated promptly, there's a high chance of ending up dead.
However, "Demon Energy" also has its benefits.
When used properly, it can cure diseases or enhance cultivation.
Therefore, many commoners, Jianghu cultivators, and even vested interest groups sneak into the Ten Thousand Mountains to collect pure Demon Energy, causing significant trouble to the court.
Some cultivators have even decided to use "Demon Energy" instead of the sparse "Heavenly Vital Energy" for their cultivation, eventually becoming Demon Cultivators.
Leng Chaosong, the Lord of Tianqing Manor, is one such person.
The Dead Man Island, one of the eight major forces of the Demon Clan, consists of human cultivators who cultivate with Demon Energy too.
However, compared to the Demon Clan, the court's opposition to Demon Cultivators isn't as strong. For some Demon Cultivators, as long as they don't flaunt it too much, the authorities turn a blind eye.
Some even propose that the Demon Cultivators be integrated into the Liushan Division to use one demon to control another.
This suggestion, naturally, met with strong opposition from others.
Li Nanshuang took off the wine jug and took a swig, said discontentedly:
"Nonsense, if Jia were contaminated with Demon Energy, would we fail to notice? Would Zhang, with his divine hands, fail to see? Besides, Jia was just scratched by a demon, not bitten."
"Yes, yes, I'm just a bit worried about Jiang, that's all."
Lu Renjia chuckled awkwardly, "At the time, Jiang told us he might have been bitten, which gave us quite a scare."
Li Nanshuang shook her head and said, "It was just a misconception. Professionals have examined Jia's body top to bottom, and apart from two scratch wounds, there aren't any bite marks."
Listening to their conversation, Jiang Shouzhong reflected on that day.
He clearly remembered being bitten on the ankle, yet there wasn't a single bite mark upon examination, perhaps... it was because he possessed the ability "to converse with the dead"?
"Alright, you go on with your duties. Also, when we wrap up this case, I'll give you guys a few days off. Don't say I, as your leader, don't take care of my brothers. I'm not like other Hall Masters who squeeze you dry just for a promotion."
Li Nanshuang went to the doorway, then suddenly patted her smooth forehead, "Oh right, almost forgot something important. In a couple of days, we'll have a new member joining our Wind Thunder Hall."
"Male or female?"
Lu Renjia's eyes lit up.
Li Nanshuang gave him a sidelong glance with her almond-shaped eyes, her fair and delicate face showing a hint of mockery, "What do you think?"
With that, she stepped away.
The bright and hefty saber disappeared from sight along with the young girl's agile steps.
Lu Renjia stroked his small mustache and declared knowingly:
"Based on Jia's years of experience, the new member joining our Wind Thunder Hall is either a man or a woman."
Jiang Shouzhong walked alone up to the corpse, crouched down, and murmured softly, "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
The corpse lay silent and lifeless.
"If not, then never mind."
Jiang Shouzhong wasn't expecting every dead person to pop out like the lingering scholar Zhang Lang.
Besides, he does have methods to forcibly make the dead speak; however, the side effects are severe, and he prefers not to use them.
In summary, unless absolutely necessary, Jiang Shouzhong doesn't like to communicate with the dead.
It makes him feel like he's one of them.
Ominous.
…
Leaving Wufeng Temple, Li Nanshuang strolled leisurely on the streets, liking the ease of putting down her burden.
The young girl pondered whether to go home and sleep or find an old man on the street to play chess with. Fishing was out of the question, too much trouble in the dead of winter.
Passing by the entrance of Laoyanzi Street, she spotted some candied haws for sale and bought a stick on impulse, planning to have them with a drink.
Mr. Li didn't pay much attention to the demon cases.
Since the resurgence of Demon Energy, countless murder cases, big and small, had occurred.
Although Li Nanshuang sympathized with the innocent people killed by demons, if someone asked her to act like those Taoists from Zhenxuan Mountain, making it her mission to slay demons and to create a bright, peaceful world, she would absolutely refuse.
If she encountered it face to face, she would intervene.
But if it didn't happen under her nose, she couldn't be bothered.
How did her master put it: "Too idle of a life keeps one away from seizing it, while too busy a life hides one's true nature. Thus, gentlemen must not be without the worries of the mind and body, nor without the enjoyment of romantic interests."
Li Nanshuang didn't have a high opinion of her master, who reeked of sour Confucianism, but she occasionally agreed with some of the profound truths he spouted.
Even though her current actions were far from the state of mind her master described, daily activities like walking birds, playing chess, and fighting crickets were indeed pleasures of life. Cracking cases with her subordinates occasionally meant she wasn't idle either.
Therefore, Mr. Li was quite satisfied with his own slacker attitude.
Stepping out of Laoyanzi Street, Li Nanshuang decided to cut through the main street to Chaigou Alley to see if there were any old men to play chess against.
She hadn't trounced those old men in days and was itching to do so.
Just as she passed an intersection, Li Nanshuang abruptly stopped and then turned around.
"What's the matter? Have you, a little tiger, turned into a little mouse upon seeing me? But Ms. Li isn't a cat you know."
The woman's teasing voice sounded in the girl's ear.
Li Nanshuang's face scrunched up in frustration, baring her teeth, but then she forced a bright, beaming smile and looked at the elegantly poised woman nearby, sweetly saying, "Ms. Li, ah no, Sister Li... what a coincidence, when did you come to the Capital?"
"Aunt is aunt, why call me sister? Ms. Li isn't pretending to be young," said Li Guanshi as she beckoned the young girl closer.
Li Nanshuang reluctantly approached the woman, her smile ingratiating as she buttered her up:
"What aunt, you are definitely a sister! Sister Li is as beautiful as a goddess, with beauty that overturns nations, forever eighteen. No woman under the heavens is younger or prettier than Sister Li."
Li Guanshi touched the girl's head and chuckled, "You've become more timid, and your flattery has gotten sweeter. I remember when we first met, someone furiously called me an 'old hag'.
Oh right, I seem to have heard a nickname coined for me recently, 'Shi Xiuqiu'? Yes, I quite like this nickname. Ms. Li is very fond of it."
At that, Li Nanshuang's head felt as big as a bucket, and she retorted angrily:
"Who would say such a thing? That's too much! Sister Li, rest assured, no matter what others may say to malign you, in my heart, Li Nanshuang, you will always be a Goddess of the heavens, a fairy of the mortal world! Let me find that person, and they'll get a sound thrashing!"
If Lu Renjia were here, he would certainly give a thumbs up and admire: In the arts of thick-skinned flattery, the boss was not a bit less skilled than Jia himself.
Li Guanshi grinned and her gaze drifted to the snow-covered high tower of Wuchan Temple in the distance, her expression becoming distant.
Seeing that the woman wasn't speaking, Li Nanshuang dared not make a sound and simply waited obediently.
There weren't many people who could genuinely scare Mr. Li, whose nature was like a cauldron on a vigorous fire and who had courage in spades, but the woman beside her was definitely in the top three.
Calling her an "old hag" years ago had brought Li Nanshuang nothing but misery.
Even though she appeared all smiles now, when she turned her face, even the King of Hell would kneel and beg for mercy.
"How is your master doing?" Li Guanshi asked softly.
"He's fine, the master is still his bearish self, chopping wood in the mountains every day, occasionally playing music for the cows, chasing deer, drawing horses…"
At this point, Li Nanshuang's expression changed, and she asked anxiously, "Sister Li, you're not here to choose my master, are you?"