Just A Daoist Who Occasionally Kicks Ass-Chapter 53: A Murder Case!

The young girl’s heart was stirred by love. The Chen family’s third young lady was naturally quite smitten by a handsome young hero like Li Yanchu.

And in no time at all, several other noble ladies who spotted Li Yanchu by the roadside came over with cheerful smiles to greet him.

Each of them was beautiful in her own way. Some were graceful,others elegant, flirtatious, or shy. It was as if, the moment Li Yanchu so much as nodded, they’d gleefully hop into a boat with him, drinking and laughing as they floated across the lake.

When it came to Bai Hongtu, these young noblewomen were all polite and proper, but that only made Bai Hongtu, who fancied himself a charming gentleman, feel even more disheartened. He gave Li Yanchu a resentful side-eye, regretting his decision deeply.

Why does this guy attract women like bees to honey? It almost felt like every noble lady in Wei City already knew him.

Li Yanchu, for his part, had little reaction to any of it; he certainly wasn’t enjoying himself. In fact, being surrounded by a group of chattering women felt... noisy.

If Bai Hongtu had known what Li Yanchu was thinking, he’d probably have activated a talisman on the spot and challenged him to a duel. How shameless!

Before long, the two slipped away from the temple under the reluctant gazes of the noble ladies.

Despite his appearance as a refined nobleman, Bai Hongtu was actually quite down-to-earth. He joined Li Yanchu in sampling food from several roadside stalls without any complaints or snobbishness, and in fact, he looked cheerful and full of energy. The blow to his ego from earlier seemed to have passed, and he was back to eating and chatting like his usual self.

“Yanchu,” Bai Hongtu said, gnawing on a pear like Li Yanchu often did, “what if that Elixir of Immortality is buried right under the Lady Qingyi Temple? Maybe that’s why those bastards wanted to blow the temple up?”

Li Yanchu glanced at him in surprise. “What made you think of that?”

Bai Hongtu gave a soft laugh. “Look, let’s assume it really was that paper effigy master behind the Five Lakes Gang. That guy’s ruthless, but he hid among them for at least a year. He must’ve been searching for the Elixir of Immortality.

“And I bet it was only recently that he discovered the elixir was somehow connected to the temple. Otherwise, why wait so long? If he’d known earlier, he would’ve blown it up ages ago.”

A flicker of realization crossed Li Yanchu’s face. “You mean... after he possessed Head Constable Zhao?”

Bai Hongtu nodded. “Exactly. After taking over Head Constable Zhao’s body, that paper effigy master likely uncovered some clue related to the temple. But something there must’ve been restricting him. So, he used the Five Lakes Gang as a tool to destroy it.”

Li Yanchu pondered aloud, “Because he couldn't take action directly?”

Bai Hongtu replied, “I was just thinking, what if Lady Qingyi has a Dharma body[1] or even her true body hidden beneath the temple? Otherwise, how could it be so spiritually effective?”

Li Yanchu considered this. “I’ve thought about that too... But if Lady Qingyi truly had divine awareness, how could she allow a paper effigy to possess a corpse and dwell within her temple?”

Bai Hongtu glanced at him, his expression meaningful. “What if this Lady Qingyi wasn’t a benevolent spirit to begin with?”

Li Yanchu was taken aback.

He had lived in Wei City for many years, and the legend of Lady Qingyi was deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. There had never been any rumors of evil doings, no tales of sinister rites or living sacrifices. On the contrary, Wei City had enjoyed fair weather, smooth river traffic, and a high rate of answered prayers.

His master, Daoist Master Xuancheng, had always scoffed at the Qingyi Temple. But even with his thunderous methods of demon-slaying, he had never treated it as a threat.

In Daoist circles, terms like “fringe cults” and “wild fox Zen” were derogatory, expressing disdain from orthodox cultivators toward those paths. But disdain didn’t necessarily mean those beings were evil or demonic.

So Li Yanchu had never questioned it deeply, at least not until now. Bai Hongtu’s suggestion had genuinely surprised him.

After Li Yanchu shared his original thoughts, Bai Hongtu smiled and said, “Just because things were fine in the past doesn’t mean they always will be. A spirit doesn’t need live sacrifices to harm mortals.”

Li Yanchu paused, then exhaled a slow, heavy breath. “You’re right.”

Bai Hongtu was sharp. Though the two followed different cultivation paths and had different temperaments, they often offered complementary perspectives.

Li Yanchu praised, “I didn’t expect it, but when you’re serious, you really do have insight.”

Bai Hongtu snorted, “Obviously. I didn’t come to Wei City just to fool around, I’m here to make a name for myself. To slay demons and uphold righteousness! If I didn’t have at least that much wit, wouldn’t I be a laughing stock”

Then he suddenly exclaimed, “Hey! That woman’s back... what a figure!”

Li Yanchu had just begun to think Bai Hongtu was finally acting a bit proper, only for the conversation to take an immediate detour toward women again.

Following Bai Hongtu’s gaze, Li Yanchu paused. That back looked very familiar.

As expected, the woman seemed to sense something and turned her head. Her face was coldly beautiful, her gaze sharp. But the moment she saw Li Yanchu, her eyes softened, and she said emotionally, “What are you doing here?”

It was none other than the tall and striking Fang Qinglan.

Though she worked for the constabulary, she usually didn’t wear an official uniform. Today, she was dressed in a light purple outfit, with a steel sword hanging at her waist. She looked every bit the gallant heroine of the jianghu: spirited, sharp, and free.

“I had nothing to do, so I came along with this guy to take a walk,” Li Yanchu said, gesturing at Bai Hongtu.

Bai Hongtu gave a cheerful greeting, “It’s been a while, Miss Qinglan. You’re looking even more radiant than ever.”

Fang Qinglan gave a slight nod, barely a greeting.

Bai Hongtu rubbed his nose awkwardly and muttered inwardly, Smiles for Li Yanchu, frost for me... guess I’m just background scenery here.

Suddenly remembering something, Fang Qinglan said directly, “There’s been a murder on Huangyang Street. The head of the household died under strange circumstances. Since we’ve run into each other, let’s go take a look together.”

Li Yanchu wasn’t particularly interested in such cases, but Bai Hongtu certainly was.

His eyes lit up. “Sure, Miss Qinglan! Let’s go.”

Hearing this, Fang Qinglan frowned and gave Bai Hongtu a glance, but said nothing. Meanwhile, Li Yanchu let out a quiet chuckle.

“Let’s go.”

***

By the time the three of them arrived at Huangyang Street, they found officers stationed outside a residence.

They passed through the front gate and crossed the courtyard, where several Wei City officers were questioning household members. The women of the family were red-eyed and weeping.

Fang Qinglan studied the beautiful woman at the head of the household and asked, “The deceased was your husband?”

The woman glanced at the respectful way the county constables treated Fang Qinglan and nodded obediently while dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Meanwhile, Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu couldn’t help but glance briefly at the alluring curves of her figure, then quickly looked away, exchanging a glance.

Fang Qinglan nodded and pushed past the crowd, leading the two men into the house.

It was a study, where the deceased lay slumped over the desk. There was no blood on the table, nor were there signs of a struggle anywhere in the room. The coroner had already examined the body earlier, but found nothing unusual.

1. The Dharma body is the formless, eternal essence of a Buddha, representing ultimate truth and enlightenment. It symbolizes absolute reality, the true essence of the Buddha that is beyond physical form and dualistic thinking. It is not visible, and does not appear in the world like a flesh-and-blood being. ☜