"What's the meaning of this, Fulai?" Hao Wen asked.

Hao Fulai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly replied, "I have no idea what he's talking about, Master! Don't fall for his tricks! He's just grasping at straws and making false accusations because he doesn't want to take the blame!"

"The employee from the broker agency is waiting outside," Chu Qiguang said. "I'm talking about the one who helped your nephew claim ownership of the property."

Hao Fulai's face turned deathly pale as the employee from the broker agency was brought into the room by Chen Gang. In front of everyone, he revealed everything and presented documents to support his claims.

Hao Wen immediately flew into a rage and ordered the guards to bring in Hao Fulai's nephew for questioning.

In despair, Hao Fulai collapsed to the ground, looking as if his soul had left his body.

Hao Wen strode over and kicked him hard in the chest.

He didn't hold back at all. As a third-state martial artist, the force of his kick sent Hao Fulai flying back over ten meters. When he hit the ground, Hao Fulai spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Traitorous dog!" Hao Wen roared. "How many benefits did He Wenyan give you, and what have you done for him in return?"

Hao Fulai trembled in horror and despair, but he remained tight-lipped as he knelt on the ground with his head lowered.

"How could you do this to me?!"

Hao Wen was so enraged that he was frothing at the mouth. He ordered the guards to drag Hao Fulai outside for a flogging.

Hao Fulai was thrown into the yard, tied up, and flogged mercilessly.

Initially, it seemed like he would continue to remain tight-lipped, but it didn't take long before he cracked. If the flogging went in any longer, he would be beaten to death. In the end, he begged for mercy and agreed to confess.

Only then was it revealed that He Wenyan had given Hao Fulai close to a thousand taels of silver in bribes. He had also promised to remove Hao Fulai's slave status so that he could become a normal resident of the county once the Hao Clan returned all of its land to the county office.

A servant like Hao Fulai was legally considered a slave. He had no rights or protection, and his descendants would never be allowed to take part in the imperial examinations.

Tempted by these promised benefits, Hao Fulai had agreed to help He Wenyan force the Wu and Hao Clans to return their land. He had also been secretly gathering information from both clans. In a rather interesting twist, it was revealed that he had been passing this information to the Ding Clan, which then relayed everything to He Wenyan. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

That was how He Wenyan had known Chu Qiguang was in the county office storehouse that night.

The Hao, Wu, and Ding Clans had frequent dealings with one another, so it wasn't unusual for Hao Fulai to communicate with servants of the Ding Clan. As a result, Hao Wen never realized his treachery.

Chu Qiguang had been directly obstructing He Wenyan's efforts to force the Wu and Hao Clans to return their land, which was why Hao Fulai had shown him open hostility.

Even so, Chu Qiguang was still able to thwart He Wenyan's plans. As a result, Hao Fulai had grown resentful and wanted to use this chance to make him a scapegoat.

After hearing Hao Fulai's confession, both Hao Wen and Wu Wei were stunned to learn that the Ding Clan was working with He Wenyan.

By then, Hao Fulai had already passed out from the pain of the flogging and was dragged away by the guards.

"Has the Ding Clan gone mad? How could they side with He Wenyan?" Hao Wen exclaimed in alarm.

Wu Wei was also beginning to panic. "The Ding Clan knows all the details of our plan!"

Chu Qiguang was very pleased with this outcome. He had finally dragged the Wu and Hao Clans into the same boat as himself, and now he could use them to target the Ding Clan and Ding Daoxiao.

"It doesn't matter even if they know everything," Chu Qiguang said. "They have no evidence, so they can't do anything as long as we deny their accusations. The main problem right now is still the Demon Vanquishing Department. They don't have allegiances to any of our clans, and if they're allowed to continue their investigation unchecked, then the outcome won't be good for any of us. If we can remove the Demon Vanquishing Department from the situation, the fiend tax riots can continue, and He Wenyan won't be able to do anything even with the Ding Clan's help."

It had already been revealed to Hao Wen and Wu Wei that Ding Daoxiao viewed Chu Qiguang as a threat and wanted him eliminated. On top of that, Chu Qiguang had been the one to come up with the fiend tax plan, and he had just exposed Hao Fulai as a mole. In light of all of this, Hao Wen and Wu Wei were forced to reevaluate his importance.

After hearing what Chu Qiguang had to say, both Wu Wei and Hao Wen felt much more settled and composed.

"Young Master Chu is right," Wu Wei said. "However, how are we supposed to make the Demon Vanquishing Department leave? No one but His Majesty has the authority to do that."

"The Demon Vanquishing Department came here to investigate Immortal Dao involvement in the fiend tax case, so all we have to do is find the culprit and hand them over," Chu Qiguang said. "Once we prove that the corpse reanimation case has nothing to do with the fiend tax case, the Demon Vanquishing Department will no longer have a reason to keep investigating it.

"Master Wu can then write a letter to the provincial governor, requesting that he impeach that thousand-man commander from the Demon Vanquishing Department. We can also get the people of the county to kick up a fuss and accuse the Demon Vanquishing Department of meddling with civil affairs and using excessive force in their investigation. Once we turn the people against them, they'll have no choice but to leave."

Wu Wei and Hao Wen were gradually infected with Chu Qiguang's confidence and composure, and the two of them began calmly devising a plan to capture the Immortal Dao cult member behind the corpse reanimation case.

Prior to leaving the Hao Manor, Chu Qiguang approached Hao Yongtai and asked, "What will become of Steward Hao? I think he should be spared. He worked for the Hao Clan for over ten years, so he at least deserves a second chance at life."

Hao Yongtai was very much taken aback to hear this. "You really are a kind and generous man, Brother Chu."

"I just don't want to see unnecessary bloodshed," Chu Qiguang sighed.

In the end, Hao Fulai was stripped of his martial arts cultivation base. His limbs were broken, his tongue was cut out, and all of his wealth and property seized before he was kicked out of the Hao Manor. At the very least, however, his life had been spared.

***

That night, a group of cat fiends dragged a large rucksack to the pier in the northern part of the city, then dumped it into the river.

"There goes another one!" White Rice said excitedly.

"That's what you get for messing with us cats! You're dead now!" Lulu gloated triumphantly.

"May you be a better man in your next life," Qiao Zhi sighed.

Chu Qiguang watched from afar. As the aggression in his chest faded, he could feel his mental state rise to a higher level.

He waited for a while longer, but the horrific creature in the river didn't surface, and he was struggling to recall what it looked like.

There's something strange about that thing...

Not long after Chu Qiguang left, countless hands and feet suddenly emerged from the depths of the river and tore Hao Fulai's body to shreds.

A head then broke through the surface and looked in the direction Chu Qiguang left.

***

After returning to his courtyard, Chu Qiguang asked Qiao Zhi some questions about the corpse reanimation case and the Immortal Dao. In particular, he asked how the case was ultimately solved and whether the Immortal Dao had any bases near Azure Sun County.

According to Qiao Zhi, the method that the Immortal Dao used to create reanimated corpses came from the Dao art, Elixir of Undying.

This Dao art involved consuming a type of medicine called the elixir of undying, which gave the consumer an extremely small chance of directly reaching the Dao Comprehension state and becoming an undying being.

After attaining this undead state, one would be able to instantly recover from any and all injuries as long as their brain suffered no damage. However, they would gradually lose their memories and emotions, and their physical form would become increasingly withered and hideous. In the end, they would be reduced to an unthinking, unfeeling husk with tremendous power.

However, the success rate was astronomically low. Even if several hundred thousand people took the pill, it was very possible that not a single one would successfully attain the undead state. Those who failed would gradually lose all of their senses, and their bodies would rot and decay until they became living corpses.