Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 196: Erniu’s Secret

Xu Qing’s words moved Xu Xiaohui more deeply than anything in months. She had not lied at all; everything she told him was true. The only things she had left out were the bitterness and pain she had experienced during the months in which she had personally investigated Zhou Qingpeng’s death. And she didn’t mention how she felt absolutely no sense of belonging in Seven Blood Eyes. She didn’t hate the sect. But she didn’t understand how a good person like Elder Brother Zhou could be killed so suddenly. In the end, she wanted to do everything she could to repay the kindness he had shown her.

Sometimes she had asked herself if everything she was doing was worth it.... All she knew was that if she gave up, it would mean abandoning what little bit of warmth remained in her heart. Ever since coming to Seven Blood Eyes, that little bit of warmth had been precious to her. She didn’t want to give it up.

Even though Xu Qing gently prevented her from kowtowing, she still remained in a kneeling position. From the look of it, to someone as weak as her, kneeling provided a sense of safety.

Inside, Xu Qing sighed deeply. Taking out his identity medallion, he found someone in his contacts and sent a voice message.

“Come see me.”

Shortly thereafter, an emaciated figure sped out of the night toward Xu Qing.

When Xu Xiaohui sensed this person’s presence, her pupils constricted. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a kid in a gray daoist robe, beneath which was a dog skin jerkin. The jerkin made the robe seem full and bulging. However, the kid’s eyes were cold, and he emanated a baleful aura that would make anyone who looked at him shiver. Xu Xiaohui inhaled sharply. She had heard about this person who liked to wear a dog skin jerkin under his daoist robe.

He was the Mute, and over the past half a year, had earned quite a reputation for himself. Similar to Xu Qing, he had risen to prominence in the Violent Crimes Division, and was known for his cruel and vicious methods. He had slaughtered a lot of criminals, and though he was only in the seventh level of Qi Condensation, he had felled quite a few cultivators from smaller organizations who were in the ninth level of Qi Condensation. And that was because the Mute was more willing to put his life on the line than any outlaw. It was as if, to him, risking his life wasn’t a big deal. Once he set his eyes on an enemy, either they died, or he died. That was his attitude.

Upon seeing the Mute running toward them, Xu Xiaohui immediately felt frightened.

The Mute glanced at Xu Xiaohui, then knelt in front of Xu Qing, his expression one of fanaticism and joy.

“Go look into the death of Zhou Qingpeng,” Xu Qing said. “If you need to know the details, ask her using a jade slip.” He pointed at Xu Xiaohui.

The Mute nodded firmly, then turned and left. He didn’t ask a single question of Xu Xiaohui. Apparently, he felt that asking others about the incident would make himself seem incompetent.

Xu Qing watched the Mute go, then stood there quietly, waiting.

Dusk had passed, and the lingering glow of sunset was replaced by inky blackness. The moon was hardly visible. Night had come.

Xu Qing had picked a special berth in the harbor. Regardless of whether it was daytime or nighttime, things were quiet.

The Mute didn’t keep Xu Qing waiting for long. His entire investigation only took about two incense sticks’ worth of time. Returning, he knelt and solemnly offered Xu Qing a jade slip.

Xu Xiaohui had spent months investigating this matter, and had paid an enormous price to do so. But the Mute took two incense sticks’ worth of time. Of course, it was a result of his place in Violent Crimes Division.

As Xu Xiaohui waited, trembling, Xu Qing examined the contents of the jade slip. It contained all of the details of Zhou Qingpeng’s death, including what led to it. Xu Qing didn’t care about that. He just wanted to know who the guilty party was.

The killer wasn’t from the Seventh Peak. His name was Li Zelin, and he was an Offpeak disciple from the First Peak. He was in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and he was a grim killer. According to the jade slip, he was implicated in the deaths of at least eleven other Offpeak disciples. However, he was careful. He always went into other districts of the city to kill other disciples, and was always very specific about who he targeted. Because of that, he never became the subject of investigation.

These sorts of things happened all the time in Seven Blood Eyes. As long as a disciple didn’t go too far, and as long as they didn’t attract the attention of any powerful experts, then the sect didn’t care and nothing would happen to them.

This situation with Zhou Qingpeng was a perfect example. If it wasn’t for Xu Qing owing him a favor, then he would have died and the matter would have ended.

The Mute had done a good job. In addition to all the details about the incident and the killer, he also had all the information about Li Zelin’s network of relationships.

“He was taken in as an attendant by Wu Jianwu from the First Peak. Just this evening, Wu Jianwu accepted an invitation from an unknown individual to meet at the Dreamsense Mansion. Li Zelin is currently standing guard outside there.” [1]

Nodding, Xu Qing handed the jade slip to the nervous Xu Xiaohui.

She accepted it and looked at the contents, then started breathing heavily. That was especially the case when she got to the end of the report. She looked up at Xu Qing, her face full of bitterness and hesitation.

“Sect Uncle Xu, this....”

Although the jade slip revealed the identity of the killer, given who Li Zelin was, Xu Xiaohui wasn’t sure if Xu Qing would continue to help.

“Let’s go,” Xu Qing said, his expression the same as ever.

The Mute led the way, and Xu Qing followed. Xu Xiaohui gaped as Xu Qing walked past her. Then she took a deep breath, calmed her heart, and followed.

***

Dreamsense Mansion was a restaurant.

In fact, it was one of the most famous restaurants in the Port District. It was very large, and usually drew big crowds. It was clearly on a higher level than the restaurants run by the Coastguard Division.

That became especially obvious when you looked at the menu. They specialized in spirit food. When you ate food like that, it would strengthen your fleshly body and help purge mutagen. Although such benefits were fractional, they were also incremental, and could lead to significant improvements over time.

On the second floor of Dreamsense Mansion, inside an extravagantly decorated private dining room, three people sat around a table.

If Xu Qing were present, he would recognize all of them.

The first was Wu Jianwu from the First Peak. Seated opposite him was the Captain, who looked a bit pale in the face. The Captain was no longer invisible, and was back in one piece. All of his injuries had been healed. The third person, who sat there heaving sighs, was none other than the innkeeper from Plankspring Way. [2]

Truth be told, those three weren’t the only ones present. There was also a snake. It was an anaconda, currently draping from the rafters. She swayed back and forth, almost as if bored and trying to amuse herself. Occasionally she would stick her tongue out at the Captain, or make a few cooing sounds as if to ask a question.

Grinning, the Captain looked at the anaconda and said, “Ling’er, are you thinking about a certain someone?”

“Coo. Coooo!”

“How about this,” the Captain said, looking very innocent. “Give me ten bottles of that mutagen mist you harvested. Do that, and I’ll call the little punk over here and have him spend a whole evening with you. That’s fair, right?”

The anaconda’s eyes lit up, but not before the old innkeeper jumped into the conversation.

“You’re pushing it, Chen Erniu! If you want to cheat me, fine. But don’t even think about cheating the girl!!”

Meanwhile, Wu Jianwu looked coldly at the Captain, picked up a jug of alcohol, and took a drink. Then he coolly said, “If the heart of the just fills with greed, the day shall come in which he bleeds!”

The Captain blinked a few times, then took an apple out and started eating it. Smiling enigmatically at Wu Jianwu, he said, “I know you just came out of seclusion, Little Jianjian, so you don’t know what’s been going on, and you have no idea how strong I’ve become. But let me tell you: if I was Sect Granduncle, I’d beat the living daylights out of you until you talked like a normal person.” [3]

Wu Jianwu’s eyebrows danced up and down as he replied, “Make eyes and wink, look mysterious; heavenly lightning strikes heroes delirious!”

Smiling broadly, the Captain said, “You can stop talking now. I promised Sect Granduncle that I’d stop beating his apprentices. So don’t worry, I won’t lay a hand on you.” [4]

The innkeeper face palmed. “Alright, enough. I invited the two of you here today for three reasons. Let me explain so I can leave. Just being around you two is annoying....

“First. Wu Jianwu, the time limit your Master promised me is almost up. Unfortunately, I can’t stick around in Seven Blood Eyes. So before I leave, I want the seals on the inn strengthened. Tell your Master to hurry up and send people to help. Otherwise, who knows what might happen.

“Second. Chen Erniu, I can strengthen your seals three more times. After that, you need to think of another suppression method. Ideally, something strong like godliness. Otherwise... if the thing comes to life, you might not be you any longer.” The innkeeper gave the Captain a very meaningful look.

The Captain looked back with his usual smile, as though he wasn’t worried about anything at all. That said, if Xu Qing was here, his familiarity with the Captain would allow him to instantly notice that, after hearing the innkeeper’s words, the Captain stopped eating his apple.

“Third. Like I said before, I need to leave for a time. Ling’er needs to reach Foundation Establishment. She’s a special girl, and thus, I need to take her to her ancestral land. I probably won’t be back for a few years.”

Shaking her head, the snake looked at the old innkeeper and said, “Coo, coooo!”

The innkeeper glared back at her. “You’re still stuck up on that Xu brat? Aren’t you worried at all that he might eat you?”

“Cooo!!” the snake said, glaring and not backing down an inch.

Seeing the snake like that, the old innkeeper sighed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.

The Captain cleared this throat and cast an encouraging glance at the snake. “That brat Xu Qing isn’t bad at all. He and Ling’er would make a good pair.”

Ling’er looked very happy, and began swaying back and forth. She even spat out a mist-filled bottle for the Captain.

Smiling, the Captain took the bottle and put it in the fold of his robe. “Definitely a good pair. In fact, I think that Xu Qing would make the perfect consort for Ling’er.”

“Cooo?” Ling’er said curiously, obviously not sure of what a ‘consort’ was.

The Captain was about to offer an explanation when Wu Jianwu’s eyes went wide. It happened when the Captain said ‘Xu Qing.’ At that moment, Wu Jianwu went from lounging in his chair to sitting very rigidly. Looking serious, he said, “Who under heaven could match the description; could it be that person from the past?”

The Captain and the innkeeper looked at each other.

“I don’t understand.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Wu Jianwu seemed to get even more anxious. Struggling to breathe steadily, he gritted his teeth and gushed, “You mentioned Xu Qing. Do you mean the same Xu Qing from the Seventh Peak who’s in Foundation Establishment and recently made a big stir? The one who’s extremely good-looking? Is that the person you mean?”

Yet again smiling enigmatically, the Captain said, “Yeah, that’s the one. Xu Qing. He’s one of my deputy directors. You know him?”

Wu Jianwu snorted and began, “Through the ancient ages, I know him not; heaven’s—”historical

“If you don’t know him, then fine,” the Captain interrupted. “Regardless, he’s back. Why don’t I call him over? You can meet him! Or I can take you over to his place.”

Wu Jianwu’s eyes went wide. Taking a deep breath, he got to his feet. “I have a pill brewing at home, how could I go; if we’re connected by destiny, we’ll meet one day.”

With that, he turned to leave. However, before he could, a shocking pressure suddenly weighed down on the private room, coming from the street.

The fluctuations caused Wu Jianwu’s face to fall and Ling’ers eyes to go wide. As one, they looked out the window to the street.

1. We last saw Wu Jianwu in chapter 148. ☜

2. It’s worth mentioning that we’ve known for a long time the innkeeper has connections both to the First Peak and the Captain. The first hint was in chapter 61, and it was also mentioned in chapter 97. ☜

3. In the nickname the Captain uses, “Jianjian” is a repetition of the “Jian” character in Wu Jianwu’s name, which means sword. However, another very common word with the exact same pronunciation means “slut” or “slutty.” Because of that, and also just because of how funny it sounds in general, the nickname Little Jianjian is very humorous. ☜

4. I think the context makes it fairly obvious, but the sect granducle mentioned here would, by implication, be the peaklord of the First Peak. ☜