Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 45 Watching the Play (Please Favorite)

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Watching the Play (Please Favorite)

Fufeng City, Document Library.

After showing his credentials, Zhong Shenxiu, without any pretense of politeness, called for all the records of "Loose Cultivators" above the Divine Power Realm from the Protector Mansion.

"White Bone Scholar, original name Xie Heze, place of birth unknown, rose to prominence in the seventh year of Shenwu, massacred a village in the eighth year of Shenwu to create the Hundred Bone Demon... later advanced to Divine Power, becoming a fugitive wanted by the court, escaping to Fufeng... whereabouts uncertain, cunning and ferocious in nature, repeated major offender, rewards of one thousand White Emperor Coins for information leading to his whereabouts, and additional reward for his capture..."

"Fei Luan, real name unknown, from the people of Fufeng Protectorate, once a famous courtesan in the brothel, later entered the Daoist path, together with Hua Ye known as the Fei Hua sisters, controlling Scattered Flower Mountain for cultivation, faction neutral, with no known record of wrongdoing..."

...

There was even his own.

"Young Master Shen Xiu, self-proclaimed Zhong Shenxiu, place of birth unknown, age unknown. Initially posing as an Innate Martial Practitioner, infiltrated the Black Mountain Small Meeting, killed Yellow Sand Saint, recognized as a Superpower Expert... Suspected of having cultivated two Divine Skills, one to dominate souls and the other to manipulate void. Reappeared later; after a brief conspiracy with White Bone Scholar and Fei Luan requires further investigation!"

The last sentence was not yet completely dry, obviously a recent addition.

Zhong Shenxiu read with a sense of trepidation, then reviewed the records of Poison Dragon Venerable and others.

In the end, he came upon Dragon and Tiger True Man.

"Dragon and Tiger True Man, real name Zhang Taiyi, a traitor from Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect, reason for defection unknown, whereabouts uncertain, Divine Skills astonishing. Rewards for providing clues and confirmation, one major merit!"

"This bounty is truly generous. A major merit from the Second Yan Han Empire can absolve a criminal, promote an official three ranks. Compared with the reward for White Bone Scholar, it’s nothing. Perhaps he harbors some secret?"

Zhong Shenxiu pondered to himself, feeling all the more that he shouldn’t get involved in this trouble.

From the dossiers alone, he could tell that Dragon and Tiger True Man was on a completely different level from White Bone Scholar.

In fact, due to differences in legacy, foundation, Daoist Skill, and Magic Artifact, the power gap in the Divine Power Realm was astoundingly vast.

This was also why White Bone Scholar did not dare seek out Dragon and Tiger True Man himself, continually looking for assistance.

’A White Bone Scholar could easily slaughter ten Feng Xixis!’

’And Dragon and Tiger True Man could probably slaughter ten White Bone Scholars!’

’This is a damn pitfall!’

Zhong Shenxiu exited the main gate, secretly deciding that at most he would contact that group of dead spirits, no need to even meet them.

To be self-aware is the essence of being human.

Even if he were to reveal all his moves, he might not be able to contend with a Divine Power Practitioner like White Bone Scholar, let alone someone at the level of Dragon and Tiger True Man.

Leaving the government office, he was on the busiest street in Fufeng City.

The street was crowded with people, lined with various stalls, and vendors hawking their goods.

"Candied hawthorn, candied hawthorn..."

The rhythmic chants caught his attention, causing Zhong Shenxiu to pause, suddenly remembering his cousin Su Wei loved to eat them. Taking some back would surely make her happy, so he followed the sound while reaching into his pocket for Black Emperor copper coins.

Not far away, he saw a crowd gathered in a circle, the stall owner selling candied hawthorn laughing happily, not bothering to move.

"Something happened?!"

Zhong Shenxiu, observing the crowd and lamenting the Great Heavenly Dynasty’s timeless tradition of onlookers, did not rush to buy the treat but looked through the throng to see what was going on.

Inside, it seemed to be a circle of performers, but at that moment, a corpse was lying on the ground, decapitated, yet no blood had flowed out.

An elderly man with white hair, who appeared to be the grandfather of the deceased, was kneeling on the ground, pleading desperately with a richly dressed noble across from him to spare his grandson.

The noble was a young master in his twenties, wearing a fine jade thumb ring, idly twirling it as he smiled and said, "I paid to be entertained, to see magic tricks. What good does pleading with me do? Go and change it yourself, bring your grandson back to life."

...

"Alas, these grandparents and grandchild, they are indeed pitiful."

Someone nearby sighed, telling his friend the whole story, and without even investigating, Zhong Shenxiu understood almost everything.

Turned out, this pair of grandfather and grandson, surnamed Qian, were from Yan State and made their living performing here.

The Qian family had a spell passed down from their ancestors called ’Flying Head Skill,’ which allowed them to separate their heads from their bodies and yet remain unharmed. Each performance was so astonishing that they received countless rewards.

But relying on this trick made them popular in the inland areas, and they forgot that although Fufeng Protectorate was remote, various supernatural arts were actually thriving there. This Flying Head Skill was only a minor art. Not only did it have many restrictions, such as not being able to eat donkey meat for life, not casting spells on specific days, and being vulnerable to lightning strikes, but it was also very easy to break.

Today, during their performance, they hit a snag.

The noble master did not do much, merely rewarded them with a coin.

However, it was a Red Emperor Coin!

Zhong Shenxiu immediately understood the situation.

Even yin evil techniques could be restrained by the blood of a black dog, the core of a peach tree, a female Red Dragon, and so on. This Red Emperor Coin, originally circulating from the Imperial Palace, naturally carried a certain nobility, serving the same purpose as black dog’s blood, akin to shining light on a magic artifact, adept at breaking spells.

Furthermore, looking at the young master, he was obviously either rich or noble—standing here, the combination of his presence and the coin restrained even the typical yin evil techniques.

Not to mention the grandson, who seemed to have not even reached the Gang Sha Realm!

The Flying Head Skill was easily broken, leading to severe backlash.

If they couldn’t reattach the head in a short period of time, the grandson would genuinely die.

Old Qian’s forehead was bruised and bloody from repeated knocking, and despite continuously forming hand seals and casting spells, he was unable to reattach his grandson’s head; despair was about to take hold.

His mana was weak, and the noble refused to take back the Red Emperor Coin to lift the suppression.

If this continued, there would be no returning from such a predicament, but he had only this one grandson! He couldn’t help but wail miserably, a tragic sight indeed.

Seeing his wretched state, there were indeed people who wanted to step forward to try and reason with the situation.

But they were immediately held back by their more discerning companions: "Don’t stick your neck out; haven’t you seen that even the officers don’t dare to interfere? He’s using a Red Emperor Coin!"

Red Emperor Coins were used only occasionally as a reward by the Imperial Family, representing nobility!

One could say that, within the entire Fufeng Protectorate, perhaps only the great Protector himself might have a few; even Feng Xixi wouldn’t qualify!

With such a background, this young master was indeed someone to be wary of, even the officers didn’t dare to meddle.

After all, this pair of grandfather and grandson performing magic on the street, wasn’t a crime big or small, and if caught could be labeled as charlatans, which would serve them right.

"Alas... who would have thought that my Old Qian family would face extinction today."

Old Qian was filled with regret, deeply realizing why his ancestors, despite mastering such a unique skill, only chose to mingle in the common marketplace and not deceive some officials or nobles.

It turns out that receiving too much reward money could kill a person too.