Chapter 42: The Deceased Young Master...

"My lord, as you can see, everyone is here..."

Inside the Yuzhang Academy, the accompanying guards were all on high alert. The head educational official, a man of grave expression, felt the weight of the situation. When the founding emperor of the Great Jin swept across the land, he had uprooted numerous evil cults. Once the realm was stabilized, he integrated the pugilistic world and collaborated with sorcerer clans to maintain a precarious balance. He held zero tolerance for such cults. Throughout the history of the Great Jin, there had been only two recorded incidents involving the "Ghost Cult"—the last one occurring three hundred years ago.

Current clues suggested these were merely remnants of that era, but the fact that they had survived in the shadows for three centuries indicated that their lineage remained unbroken—a situation of extreme peril.

"Are they all here?" The official frowned as he surveyed the line of nervous students. His sorcerous name was "Divine Eagle," and his greatest talent was reading people. Having served as the Governor of the Capital Prefecture for ten years, he had spent three imperial examinations monitoring the children of reclusive clans for the court. In all those years, he had never missed a detail. The students before him were either so formidable that even his "Divine Eagle" perception could not detect them, or... they were simply ordinary mortals.

If a remnant of the cult could evade his scrutiny, then this Ghost Cult was far too terrifying.

"Er..." Zhao Changqing hesitated for a moment before saying, "There are two others who joined a year ago. However, because their foundations were solid and their writing style was steady, I recommended them to head to the capital for the metropolitan examination."

"I see. Then it seems we are a step too late." The official sighed. "According to intelligence, the Ghost Cult’s common tactic is to pose as fellow scholars to invite candidates to travel to the capital together, only to murder them midway. The court failed to react to this in previous years."

"This..." Zhao Changqing frowned upon hearing this. "If they choose their targets well, it is indeed difficult to notice. In this harsh northern climate, candidates die on the road to the capital every year—whether from bandits, wild beasts, or simply succumbing to a cold in a foreign land. There are so many such cases annually that it is hard to flag them as suspicious. But... surely these evil entities wouldn't have much interest in the frail bodies of us scholars?"

The official lowered his voice. "The things the Ghost Cult worships are quite different. In the previous dynasty, they were known by another name."

"Oh?" Zhao Changqing was suddenly curious. Records of evil entities were generally held only by sorcerer clans; ordinary scholars avoided them as bad omens and certainly wouldn't keep such records at home. Even a learned pedant like himself knew very little about this.

"In the past, we generally referred to them as 'Wild Gods'!"

***

"Wild Gods? Gods... immortals?" Old Man Zeng stuttered. Could such things really exist in this world?

"That is hard to say," Murong Yunjie said softly. "There are many legends about them. Some say they are just a peculiar type of evil entity, but others claim they are immortals whom no one remembers. Having lost all faith, they fell into the wilderness, becoming Wild Gods. Such beings usually usurp the worship of legitimate deities, establishing religions to seize a divine rank."

"Seize... a divine rank?" Old Man Zeng swallowed hard. It was the first time he had heard of such a thing. Could a divine rank be seized?

And if a divine rank could be seized, did that not mean... that real immortals truly existed in this world?

He felt lost. In a world crawling with evil entities, could there really be immortals? If so, why would they tolerate such a world? Why would they allow the clans who dance with evil to rule over humanity?

"It is only hearsay... I do not know if it is true," Murong Yunjie smiled, saying no more.

In the world she came from, there were indeed Qi practitioners who reached immortality, but she had never seen those immortals return. No matter how many cultivators ascended, the number of evil entities in the world remained unchanged.

However, one thing was quite interesting: many of the so-called ninety-six orthodox deities of this era’s Taoism seemed to be the very same Wild Gods from her time. Some were quite famous, having once provoked sieges by several major sects.

Had they now transformed into orthodox deities receiving the incense of ten thousand households?

Could it be that in this world, not only do the cultivators dance with evil, but the entire pantheon of gods and Buddhas does the same? Or had the Wild Gods of yesteryear successfully usurped all the thrones?

"Senior... what should we do now?"

"Wait..." Murong Yunjie looked faintly at the spot where the temple had vanished. "He is not so easily killed. Besides, I want to see what cards he has left to play without me."

***

"It looks like he contracted some kind of plague..."

Inside the temple, Zhang Rui looked at the bizarre corpse of the scholar surnamed Lin and lied through his teeth.

The group was startled. The bailiffs who had been planning to examine the body retreated in haste, terrified of contamination, and the scholars who had just been mourning also scurried back.

"Brother Lin Ye was in excellent health; he even practiced martial arts in his youth to strengthen his body. How could he have contracted any plague?" Yang Jie asked coldly. "I heard that you, my lord, were handling plague matters in the North Sea?"

At these words, the scholars’ expressions shifted. It was true; they had been fine until they met Magistrate Zhang. If Yang Jie’s words were true, could it really be him?

They had also heard that sorcerers carried evil entities with them, which often led to loss of control, which was why the court usually sent martial officers to monitor them.

The bailiffs looked at Zhang Rui with a strange light in their eyes.

Zhang Rui looked at Yang Jie and smiled faintly. "The North Sea incident is a top-secret matter of the court. The army sealed the city, and not a whisper leaked out. Even the Emperor has yet to inform the imperial court, and the officials of the Six Ministries are unaware of it. As a scholar who cannot even afford his tuition fees, where did you hear this?"

Yang Jie’s expression changed, but he sneered, "The North Sea city is so large, do you really think you can cover the sky with one hand?"

"Heh..." Zhang Rui couldn't be bothered to argue further. "Let us continue our journey. If you feel that being with me is inauspicious, then let us part ways. If you think I am the one who harmed this man surnamed Lin, you are free to go to the capital and report me. Lin Bao, let’s go."

"Yes, my lord!"

Behind them, the old lady watched this with a puzzled expression. The fourth daughter asked cautiously, "Why did Big Brother fall out with them?"

The old lady shook her head, signaling the girl to be silent. While she liked to manage everything at home, she never interfered in her son's affairs outside. She knew well that as a farm woman, she didn't understand such matters, and the less she said, the fewer mistakes she would make.

"Old Madam, the carriage is ready. Shall we go?" the bailiff surnamed Du asked after tidying up outside.

"Yes..." the old lady nodded, and Zhang Rui signaled the others to prepare for departure.

"My lord, wait..." Just as Zhang Rui and his party were walking out of the temple, Qi Xuan hurried out after them.

"What is it?" Zhang Rui frowned.

"I wish to travel with you, my lord, if I may?"

"Oh?" Zhang Rui looked at him, then at the group behind him. "Why not stay with your fellow students?"

"To be honest..." Qi Xuan stepped closer to Zhang Rui. "I suspect... that Yang Jie is problematic. Brother Lin's death is likely related to him."

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Rui looked at him with interest.

"He has been at Yuzhang Academy for less than a year, yet he is exceptionally skilled at socializing. In less than a year, he convinced a dozen scholars to travel to the capital with him. He was the one who led us to this place. Furthermore, his unprovoked provocation of you earlier, trying to set us against you, is far too suspicious."

"Interesting..." Zhang Rui laughed. "When Yang Jie mentioned my status as a sorcerer earlier, you all retreated in fear. Why aren't you suspicious that I am the culprit now?"

"You are so young, yet you have attained a position as a capital official. If you needed living sacrifices for an evil god, you would have plenty of resources; why harm a scholar with imperial recognition? Besides, there are martial officers here to record events. There is no need for it."

"What if it was simply because you offended me yesterday, and I am narrow-minded?"

"Lin Ye didn't say a word yesterday. If it were revenge, you would have prioritized Yang Jie."

"A clever man, indeed..." Zhang Rui’s tone was indifferent. "Follow if you wish."

He was quite smart, but Zhang Rui still didn't like him. When the man spoke of Zhang Rui needing human sacrifices, his tone was so casual, as if it were a trivial matter.

Had the scholars of this world become so numb to sorcerers killing people?

***

"That Qi Xuan, why did he follow that man who treats human life like grass?"

"Exactly! He truly has no backbone!"

Many watched as Qi Xuan joined Zhang Rui’s party, their tones filled with contempt. Even the chubby scholar who was close to Qi Xuan frowned deeply.

After passing the imperial examination, most would eventually try to curry favor with sorcerer officials because power and resources were in their hands. However, the integrity taught in the academy was not like this—especially since Lin Ye, who was close to Qi Xuan, had died without closure. To turn around and curry favor with the man who might be the murderer was truly despicable.

"Stop talking... to each his own..." Yang Jie looked faintly at the place where Qi Xuan had left, then turned and sighed. "That... you are the carriage driver for Brother Lin, right?"

"Yes, I am..." A tall, honest-looking man wore a bitter expression. He had been entrusted with escorting his young master to the exams, and now this had happened. How could he explain this upon returning?

"Then please take Brother Lin back," Yang Jie sighed. "We must hurry to the capital, so we cannot accompany you."

"Gentlemen scholars, you are too kind..." The man waved his hands quickly. "It is enough that you have the heart to care; leave the rest to me."

He moved to carry his young master's corpse, but upon approaching and seeing the bizarre state of the body, his heart went cold, and he hesitated to step forward.

"Let me help you," Yang Jie sighed, stepping forward to lift the deceased Lin Ye.

The others were both surprised and ashamed; if it were them, they would never touch Lin Ye in his current state.

Brother Yang was indeed a man of righteousness.

"Th-thank you, Master Yang..." The man turned, his tone full of gratitude. He really didn't dare to look at his young master.

"You are welcome..." Yang Jie smiled faintly and slowly placed Lin Ye’s corpse onto the man’s back.

The man’s body suddenly sank. He was shocked; the young master on his back was cold and heavy. Though he had been strong since childhood, he almost buckled under the weight. Yet, this scholar surnamed Yang looked so frail—how could he lift such a heavy body?

The shock lasted only a moment before fear began to creep in.

For some reason, from the moment the young master was placed on his back, he felt the young master moving. At first, he thought it was just the scholar helping him adjust, but then he noticed the scholar had already let go and was chatting with others. What was moving on his back?

In broad daylight, the man’s heart jumped into his throat.

Then, something even more hair-raising happened. The young master’s head, resting near his shoulder, was clearly turning. Although the man didn't turn his head, he could distinctly feel the young master behind him staring at his neck...

"Yang..." The man tried to call for help, but for some reason, his mouth opened, yet no sound came out. What was even more despairing was that his body was no longer under his control; stiffly, step by step, he began to walk toward the door.