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Measure Heaven River.
Lu Zhou and the others approached the area from beyond the ravine and entered a crumbling courtyard.
Two of Ding Fanqiu’s disciples lifted their hands and sent out their energy to open the courtyard’s doors.
After that, all of them slowly walked in.
One of Ding Fangqiu’s disciples said, “Master, this is the rendezvous point. They won’t dare to be tardy since you personally came.”
Ding Fanqiu nodded.
The two disciples hastily found a chair in the simple and crude house before placing it in the middle of the courtyard.
When Little Yuan’er saw this, she said, “I’ll go and look a chair for you as well, grandfather.”
After Little Yuan’er left, Ding Fangqiu asked nonchalantly, “Do you know why I’m not giving you a hard time?”
“Oh?” Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said nothing.
Ding Fanqiu continued on, “If I did, that little girl would certainly hold a grudge against me.”
As expected, Ding Fangqiu coveted Little Yuan’er. Lu Zhou knew that something was off based on their conversation, but he continued to remain silent.
Upon seeing this, Ding Fangqiu turned away.
The other disciples thought Lu Zhou was shocked speechless. They shook their heads.
After Little Yuan’er found a chair, she wiped it clean before placing it behind Lu Zhou.
Shortly after Lu Zhou took a seat, footsteps could be heard approaching them from outside. It sounded like there was more than one person.
“They’re here.”
The door was pushed open as officers and soldiers filed into the courtyard. The officers carried a box in pairs. There were about six boxes in total. There was a strange stench from the boxes. It was the smell of rot.
After placing the boxes on the ground, the leading officer cupped his hands together and said, “This is our catch for the day…”
“Is this all?”
“The palace has ordered that the corpses we fished out from the river are not to be moved. Our deal will end tomorrow,” the leading officer said.
“It’s too late to end it now.” Ding Fanqiu waved his hand.
“How dare you?!”
“There’s nothing that the Evil Sky Pavilion is afraid to do!”
Ding Fangqiu’s three disciples quickly unsheathed their swords and moved through the soldiers’ ranks.
Lu Zhou calmly took a few steps back.
The three Divine Realm court cultivators were like wolves that were set loose on a herd of sheep. Their swords gleamed in the light as the officers and soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Not a single one was left alive.
After the killing, Ding Fanqiu stood up slowly with his hands on his back. When he saw Lu Zhou’s calm expression, he said, “Your courage is extraordinary, old householder. It seems like I’ve misjudged you.”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he looked at the boxes and corpses indifferently.
Little Yuan’er asked curiously, “What is in the boxes?”
“Bones… Human bones…”
Little Yuan’er took a step back with an expression of disgust on her face. She was not afraid of dead people, but these were fished out from the riverbed and put into the boxes. It was only natural for her to feel disgusted.
Ding Fangqiu walked up to one of the boxes. He waved his arm lightly, using his energy to destroy the lid of the box.
Lu Zhou looked inside the box. ‘These bones look strange. They’re slightly translucent, like impure glass or white jade with a muddy coloration…’ Soon after, realization dawned on him. ‘The Bai people?’ From his memories, he discovered the source of these bones. It was clear that the villagers from Fish Dragon Village had been dumped into the river. They were Ye Tianxin’s people! ‘In that case, why did the palace order people to fish the sunken corpses out?’
Ding Fanqiu and the others searched through the boxes and shook their heads. It seemed that they did not find what they wanted. It was apparent these bones from the Bai people were useless to them.
Lu Zhou asked indifferently, “What are these bones for?”
“Old householder, some things are better left unknown,” one of Ding Fanqiu’s disciples said.
Lu Zhou stroked his bead calmly and said, “Even the Evil Sky Pavilion is concern about these things?”
“This is how we’ve always done things.”
When Little Yuan’er heard this, she muttered, “I don’t know if this is how things are done. I only know it’s lame.”
The disciples were not happy to hear this.
Ding Fanqiu waved his hand and chided his three disciples, “Enough.”
After that, the three disciples no longer dared to quarrel with Little Yuan’er. They were confused as to why Ding Fangqiu seemed to be taking Little Yuan’er side.
Ding Fanqiu said, “Remove their paizas1.”
“Understood.”
When Lu Zhou saw the paizas, Lu Zhou stroked his beard calmly and said, “Should I tag along and widen my horizons?”
“Grandfather, I want to go…” Little Yuan’er said excitedly. She was interested in this matter after all.
It was only natural for Lu Zhou to bring Little Yuan’er with him. She was more than capable to deal with Divine Court realm cultivators should the occasion arise.
Ding Fanqiu looked at Lu Zhou and said, “There are many witchcraft traps near the place where the bodies are fished out. Aren’t you afraid?”
It was apparent this was not their first visit here. They were very familiar with this place.
“There’s nothing under the heavens that my grandfather is afraid of,” Little Yuan’er said with a wave of her fist.
Ding Fanqiu regarded Little Yuan’er with a look of satisfaction. ‘This is what I like. Nobody can blame me if something happens. It’s best if something happens.’
They took the paizas. After Ding Fangqiu’s two male disciples changed their clothes, they left the crumbling courtyard and walked toward the jetty where the corpses were being fished out from the river.
…
About 15 minutes later.
They saw the jetty. Apart from the ships that were there to fish out the corpses, there were no other commercial vessels. Officers and soldiers were patrolling the area as well.
Ding Fanqiu maneuvered the area with great familiarity. He walked calmly along the way.
At the entrance, two guards with spears in their hands barred their way.
“Authorized personnel only.”
Ding Fanqiu’s disciples produced the paizas.
“Those at the back…” One of the soldiers began to say.
“Please, make an exception.”
Some silver was exchanged, and everything proceeded smoothly.
If they were only fishing corpses for a day, the soldiers would not be able to make money through such means. However, these men had been doing this for a decade. They were unsure of what they were fishing out of the river themselves nor were they aware of the importance of the task they were carrying out. Rocks, rotten fishes, rotten shrimps, everything was taken away. After repeating the same routine day after day, they became apathetic toward their jobs.
Little Yuan’er muttered under her breath, “Why aren’t we killing our way in? This is so much more complicated.”
The girl whom Little Yuan’er defeated turned around to look at her said, “There are powerful witchcraft traps around here. Someone’s controlling them.”
“Oh,” Little Yuan’er replied, “I still don’t get it.”
They walked at a fast pace along the way. It was clear that this was not their first visit.
“The warehouse is up ahead…”
They easily avoided the guards. They passed several buildings before they prepared to enter the warehouse.
Ding Fanqiu raised his hand suddenly. His voice was deep and domineering as he said, “Stop.” It seemed like he had discovered something. He bent down and scrutinized the tracks on the ground. “There’s a witchcraft cultivator around.”
Lu Zhou looked at the lines on the ground as well. Indeed, the soil was fresh. Someone had planted a trap here.
In witchcraft, timing, location, and the people involved were important. The spellcaster would call upon the power from external structures to inflict harm or bestow blessings on the target.
Ding Fanqiu turned around to look at Lu Zhou and said, “Old householder, please take care of yourself.” Then, he turned his attention to Little Yuan’er and said, “Little girl, if you’re afraid, you can stay closer to me.”
Little Yuan’er hugged Lu Zhou’s arm and said, “I’m not afraid!”
“Let’s go.”
They walked around the trap and found themselves looking at the huge warehouse. It was impossible for the doors of the warehouse to stop a bunch of cultivators from entering.
With a slight movement of the hand, the lock was broken.
The instant the warehouse’s doors opened…
Lu Zhou frowned.
This warehouse was dozens of meters long. Rows of boxes were arranged neatly inside the warehouse. They were stacked on top of each other as well. On the other side, there was a mountain of bones.