I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 97 - 87: Half Jar (Part 2)

A finger pointed at the thing.

[Yes/No—Decompose ’Soul-Catching Demon’]

[Decomposition Success Rate 0.88%]

"Alive?" Seeing such a low success rate, Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but frown. The more alive a creature is, the lower the decomposition success rate.

To increase the success rate, one must severely injure the creature or take its life.

Qin Yuesheng swung the Evil-Subduing Saber at his own arm, but the crystalline shell of the Soul-Catching Demon was surprisingly hard. The Evil-Subduing Saber couldn’t even leave a mark.

Squeezing his hand, the thing clung to him yet showed no abnormal behavior, and the flexibility of his hand was not affected.

"Get down." Qin Yuesheng tapped the Soul-Catching Demon’s body with his knuckles and commanded.

As soon as he spoke, the Soul-Catching Demon turned back into a paste and flowed from Qin Yuesheng’s arm to the ground.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn’t expected the thing to understand him.

Swoosh!

Before Qin Yuesheng could finish his sigh, the Soul-Catching Demon leaped back onto his right arm, again forming the crystalline shell.

Qin Yuesheng: "..."

Damn, are you stuck on me?

"Get down."

The Soul-Catching Demon fell.

"Don’t stick to me anymore."

The Soul-Catching Demon coiled around Qin Yuesheng’s ankle, forming a circle like an anklet.

The thing seemed to feel comfortable only when attached to something.

After numerous tests, Qin Yuesheng concluded he had no good means to deal with it at present.

For some reason, although it’s a demon, the Evil-Subduing Saber didn’t repel it, and since it behaved fairly normally, Qin Yuesheng let it reside on his leg.

After all, he had no choice—he couldn’t kill it or decompose it. This clingy thing was the first of its kind Qin Yuesheng had encountered.

Returning to the place where he had just slain a half-crock, in just a short while, the half-crock had rotted into a pile of black mud, with nothing left behind.

"With this thing dead, Fuan Alley should no longer experience those strange events," Qin Yuesheng looked at the high walls on both sides of the alley.

"This terrain, if left, is still disadvantageous to Cyan Yang City. Tomorrow, I’ll suggest to Xun Sheng to have someone tear down this alley, eliminating future troubles."

Glancing around, he shook the Soul-Swaying Bell once more to ensure the area had returned to normal. Seeing no reaction, Qin Yuesheng finally turned and left Fuan Alley.

...

Since the Qin family’s cargo ship, carrying jade worth four thousand taels of gold, was destroyed, Qin Feng had been feeling depressed, leading to inevitable heartache over time.

Duan Hongjin suggested going to Cold Mountain Temple outside Cyan Yang City to relax. Cold Mountain Temple was always known for its elegant scenery, a summer retreat near Cyan Yang City.

Qin Feng thought it was a good idea and agreed, also wanting to take Qin Yuesheng and Qin Hai along.

But he was directly refused by Qin Yuesheng.

At the entrance of the Qin Mansion.

"Dad, Second Mother, these two bells are for you. I made them myself; you must carry them with you, don’t lose them." Qin Yuesheng handed two Soul-Swaying Bells to Qin Feng and Duan Hongjin.

Qin Yuesheng had never given his parents anything before, so Qin Feng was quite moved: "This is the best gift I’ve received in my whole life."

Qin Yuesheng warned seriously, "I really made these myself, you must carry them."

"For sure, for sure." Qin Feng smiled, eyes filled with comfort.

"Second Mother, you too."

Duan Hongjin took the bell and immediately attached it to her scented pouch, "Second Mother knows."

Watching them board the carriage and slowly disappear down the street, Qin Hai asked, "Cousin Yuesheng, why aren’t you going with them to Cold Mountain Temple?"

"Because I need to earn money," Qin Yuesheng glanced at him, "How did you do with those things I asked you to transcribe earlier?"

"I finished them all this morning; it’s much easier than memorizing books." Qin Hai stood proudly with hands on hips.

"Good, well done," Qin Yuesheng nodded.

The middle hall was partly demolished by Wang Meng that day, so recently, Housekeeper Qin had been hiring workers for reconstruction and repaving the surrounding grounds.

Qin Yuesheng didn’t linger in the Qin Mansion and took a carriage to the yamen to visit Bai Hao and tell Xun Sheng about settling the situation in Fuan Alley.

Arriving at the yamen, most assistant officers in Cyan Yang City’s yamen now knew Qin Yuesheng, making his entry smooth. Soon, led by an Official, he met Xun Sheng, who was reviewing documents.

"Lord Xun." Qin Yuesheng first saluted upon entering the room.

"You’re here. I already know about you and Lord Bai handling that mysterious matter. Well done. I am truly pleased to have such a promising talent in Cyan Yang City," Xun Sheng chuckled.

"You’re flattering me, my lord. It’s a trivial matter not worth mentioning, mainly credit to Lord Bai. Without him, we likely wouldn’t have survived that mysterious place."

"Regardless, you’ve eliminated a major threat to Cyan Yang City, and I should reward you well. Is there anything you need?"

"Uh..." Qin Yuesheng hesitated, "Nothing lacking, but I’m planning to sell serialized publications in all major bookstores citywide. If you have the time, please help spread the word."

"Of course, of course," Xun Sheng nodded repeatedly.

"Oh, and one other thing, my lord, I have something to report."

"Feel free to speak."

"Last night I went to Fuan Alley and dealt with the lurking ghost."

Xun Sheng’s eyes immediately lit up: "There’s such a thing! What exactly happened?"

Qin Yuesheng detailed his encounter the previous night.

"Half-crock?" Although Xun Sheng served as a city governor, his knowledge of ghosts and monsters wasn’t as extensive as Qin Yuesheng’s.

After all, each field has its experts, and he hadn’t read the Seven-Star Treasure Manual compiled by the Seven-Star Supervision.

"That human-porpoise was clearly malicious corpse refining, intending to create a major disaster in Cyan Yang City, causing local destruction if completed. My lord, when did the first incidents in Fuan Alley occur?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

"That I’m not sure, but we can ask the case supervisor," Xun Sheng then called out to the Official outside, instructing him to fetch the city’s case supervisor, Zhang Xun.

Shortly after, a man with a dark face entered the room.

"My lord, you called for me?" Zhang Xun asked.

Xun Sheng: "Zhang Xun, when did Fuan Alley start having incidents?"

"About more than three months ago," Zhang Xun replied.

Qin Yuesheng said: "My lord, it seems the signs had already appeared over three months ago. I suspect foreign agents may be involved."

Xun Sheng looked stern: "I will assign more people to thoroughly investigate this. Cyan Yang City’s years of peace must not be destroyed by foreign agents."

Qin Yuesheng nodded: "I’ll go see Lord Bai now."

"Oh, by the way, speaking of which," Xun Sheng pulled out a book from a pile on the desk, "This is an urgent document sent over from Chang’an by the Seven-Star Supervision, please also deliver it to Lord Bai."