Chapter 291: Chapter 14: Three Corpses in Fury - Part 2
Feng Yunjie’s expression changed slightly.
With the little Daoist’s pace, it seemed that before he received the instructions and set off, Feng Yunjie and his disciple were still on the small boat.
At that time, it wasn’t certain whether they would enter the Iron Pillar Temple, or even where Feng Yunjie would choose to scale the wall. How could Jiang Li make such a judgment and have the little Daoist meet them?
A heavy feeling emerged in Feng Yunjie’s heart.
Before even meeting Jiang Li, he had already tensed up.
Gentle Breeze finished speaking and led the way ahead. Feng Yunjie and his disciple exchanged glances, then followed closely.
They walked along with Gentle Breeze and it took almost half a quarter hour to reach Baopu Hall.
This hall was used to entertain individuals, and behind it was a bamboo forest with a gentle breeze carrying bouts of freshness. A figure entered their line of sight in an abrupt manner.
He hadn’t been within their perception, or perhaps in their perception, that spot was supposed to be empty. However, when they shifted their gaze, they found a person, hands behind his back, standing there.
Jiang Li stood with his back to them, in front of him was a shadowy Compass that slowly rotated, transforming the trigram symbols.
From Feng Yunjie’s perspective, he could only see a corner of the Compass and couldn’t understand the meaning within, but when his gaze touched that corner, it felt as if he had been seen through.
It was as if there were no more secrets in front of the other person.
"Southern Heavenly Department," Jiang Li said indifferently, "yet, I am unaware of what business Southern Heavenly Department has seeking I, Jiang Li?"
Just by speaking, he had already determined that Feng Yunjie was there to see him.
A nervousness and fear arose within him, and even though Feng Yunjie was also of the Sixth Rank, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated by Jiang Li.
He forcibly suppressed the negative emotions inside him and with a fist salute, he said, "Southern Heavenly Department’s Feng Yunjie, along with my disciple Little Gao, pays respects. We are here today as an unofficial member of our department died mysteriously on Dragon Abyss Lake. I am ordered to investigate, and having noted your presence nearby, I came to inquire."
Feng Yunjie was quite polite. This wasn’t just because he felt intimidated in front of Jiang Li, but also because of the other party’s background.
Though a member of the fallen Jiang family, now connected with the Gongsun Family, Jiang Li was not a person to be trifled with, certainly not someone Feng Yunjie could bully.
Unfortunately, he also had unavoidable duties in the court, some matters are not avoidable merely by wishing to avoid them.
"Do you suspect me?" Jiang Li asked calmly.
"I dare not."
Feng Yunjie, holding his fists, bowed his head, "It is just an inquiry."
Words aside, if the other side knew he had directly gone into the Iron Pillar Temple seeking him, it would be clear that Feng Yunjie suspected Jiang Li.
"Just an inquiry... hmm."
Jiang Li turned around, extended his hand, and the ethereal Compass rotated in front of him.
"I was wondering why such a divination would appear; it turns out it should be at this place."
Pointing at the Compass, he said, "Then I shall tell you the cause of death you speak of involves a trigram that is Qian on top, Xun below, Heavenly Wind Gou, and this symbol, with the fourth line moving, changes to the Xun Trigram, which can be interpreted as a metal-wood combination. This fellow’s death was likely by sword."
"But if it is by sword, with your experience it’s not hard to tell, hence the cause of the death isn’t outwardly evident, but internal and difficult for ordinary people to detect, hence it can be deduced as a certain Soul-cutting Technique. However, although I am somewhat versed in swords, I am not an expert in this and could not accomplish such a deed. With this answer, are you satisfied?"
As he spoke, the Compass transformed, precisely into the Heavenly Wind Gou divination.
Though Jiang Li’s answer was mystically vague and hard to verify, given his identity and status, providing such an answer was already giving face to the Southern Heavenly Department.
"Many thanks, sir," Feng Yunjie bowed even lower, his forehead now quietly marked with sweat.
Everything about him seemed to be within the control of this Young Master of the Jiang family. Feng Yunjie had no control whatsoever and could only respond passively.
He could only agree.
"Then you may leave," Jiang Li waved his sleeve to see them off.
"Yes."
Feng Yunjie, somewhat awkwardly, began to leave with his disciple.
However, just as he turned around, he suddenly paused and asked, "There are outsiders disturbing the peace outside the Iron Pillar Temple, do you need me to send them away?"
Jiang Li was preparing for the first day of the ninth lunar month, meant to be in seclusion. Visitors would only disturb his tranquility and affect his condition.
But with Jiang Li intent on drawing the snakes out of their holes, he was naturally pleased to have someone stir up trouble, allowing him to discern those with ulterior motives by following the clues.
And these people should not have disturbed his mental state.
In theory, that should be the case, but as Feng Yunjie spoke, Jiang Li began to feel an irritation that made him want to expel all those annoying people outside the temple; he even felt an uncontrollable rage as if the Three Corpses within were about to revolt.
He lowered his gaze slightly, his voice turning cold, "This has nothing to do with you, get out!"
"Yes."
Feng Yunjie hastily took his disciple and left.
The two, just as they had come, scaled the wall and fled, speeding away until they finally stopped on a small boat.
"Master is kind-hearted, yet to be treated with such harsh words," Little Gao couldn’t help but complain, "Who does he think he is?"
"He is a powerful man capable of crushing you."
Feng Yunjie wiped the cold sweat from his brow and reprimanded, "Disasters come from careless talk, be careful with your words. That’s enough for today, let’s head back first, and look up information regarding sword and saber magics."
"Do you believe what he said, Master?" Little Gao asked in surprise.
"It’s a direction."
With that, Feng Yunjie gathered his energies again, directing the small boat to leave.
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Inside the Baopu Hall.
Jiang Li focused on his breathing control; his Pure Yang Dao Heart gradually eliminated the distractions in his mind. When he opened his eyes, his clarity had returned.
"It’s remarkable how subtly it could provoke my irritation, and if it were not for my Pure Yang Dao Heart, I might not have even noticed this surge of irritation."
With his Pure Yang Dao Heart, Jiang Li would never let negative emotions disturb his mental state. His mind always remained flawless, so any slight disturbance stood out like a sore thumb. Such sudden anger could be instantly detected by him.
If it were an ordinary person, they would likely not feel anything amiss as thoughts naturally arise from the heart and would let such irritation affect them.
If Jiang Li had not suppressed this irritation, he might have expelled the people outside the temple, and in case of conflict, he might even resort to force.
And those outside were not lacking in nobles or talented individuals. It’s better said that without some background or skills, one couldn’t easily come near the temple. Alternatively, they would be chased away by the Fourth Prince’s guards. If Jiang Li had injured them, it would have been advantageous only if he had struck his enemies, but if he had offended others with different allegiances, it would be like inviting trouble for no reason.
"Unexpectedly, my enemies possess such capabilities."
He pressed his hand on the compass phantom, and the divination subtly shifted from the Xun Trigram back to the Heavenly Wind Meeting Trigram.
Heavenly Wind Meeting, Qian atop Xun below, one Yin and five Yang, is the initial sequence trigram of Qian Palace. The Gou Trigram represents a Yin meeting Yang, softness dominating hardness, embodying the meaning of unexpected encounters.
Jiang Li certainly practiced divination, not for the cause of the death of the man in black but for the person behind him.
The Heavenly Wind Meeting’s unexpected encounter seems to have come to this place.
Feng Yunjie and the man in black were likely aligned; his visit to Jiang Li was both to suspect that Jiang Li had a hand in killing the man in black and to further set a trap for Jiang Li.
As for the changing divinations, if interpreted normally, it indeed could produce the theory of matching sets of metal and wood—the hilt of a sword being wood and the blade being metal, indeed fitting this hexagram. However, Jiang Li was a man of action; he was one to shoot first and draw the target later, fitting any applicable context into the situation.
To the uninformed, it might actually seem like Jiang Li was a Prophet, but in fact, it was entirely fabricated by him.
"Master, do you know of any Dao Fruit that can quietly provoke such malevolent thoughts in them? It doesn’t even require the use of Divine Sense," Jiang Li asked.
Spiritual secret techniques could indeed provoke malevolence in others, even fabricate illusions to control minds, but such magic couldn’t escape Jiang Li’s notice.
The technique used by the opponent was undoubtedly more sophisticated, devoid of any fluctuations in Divine Sense, naturally evoking thoughts in the heart. Only because of his Pure Yang Dao Heart, was Jiang Li able to detect and eliminate it immediately.
This was already difficult to describe with mere magic; Jiang Li suspected it was the Dao Fruit Divine Power.
"There are few such Dao Fruits, but they can still be found in the world."
Tianxuan’s voice also carried a hint of chill, "For example, in the Buddha Country, there is a Dao Fruit that can accomplish this; it is the Heavenly Son Demon among the Four Demons. Such Dao Fruits have been mostly gathered by the Fire House Buddha Hell since the emergence of Karma Tathagata, with basically all Heavenly Son Demons being people of the Fire House Buddha Hell."
"Within the Nine Provinces, such Dao Fruits are incredibly rare, as far as I know, only the Nine-tailed Fox on Huqi Mountain and the Three Corpses Gods, held by Yun County Jiang Family, exist."
"The Yun County Jiang Family?!" Jiang Li’s eyebrows raised, noticing a blind spot, "The Divine Capital Yun County?"
The Divine Capital Yun County Jiang family had been destroyed over three years ago, leaving only one orphan, that is, Jiang Luo.