Chapter 77 - 71: Rushing Towards Each Other?
Staring at the mangled, bloody remains before him, He Shuangying’s mind went blank.
The moment he came to his senses, he rolled into a corner of the room, drew his longsword, and held it defensively in front of him. A cold sweat dripped down his face, and he couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering.
An expert!
An absolute top-tier expert!
To have obliterated a fourth-rank Great Perfection Demon from a distance, reducing it to pulp in an instant without him even noticing...
A Cultivation Level like that was at least two or three major realms above his own!
Time passed, second by second.
The room was deathly silent, the air thick with the smell of blood.
After waiting for a long while, the second attack he expected never came.
He Shuangying finally mustered his courage and, trembling, used the wall to pull himself to his feet.
He hastily pulled on his pants, gripped his sword, and crept to the door like a thief to peer through the crack.
The sight made his scalp tingle.
Outside in the courtyard, all of Huang Dalang’s demon servants were scattered across the ground.
Without exception, they had all been blown to pieces.
"This... Who in the world was that...?"
He Shuangying swallowed hard, his legs feeling like jelly.
He didn’t dare to linger and prepared to flee.
But just as he opened the door and took a step, he froze.
’Wait! I haven’t gotten that shipment of goods yet.’
That shipment was crucial to the Divine Sword Sect. If he returned empty-handed, his father would never let him off easy.
He Shuangying grit his teeth, suppressed his nausea and fear, and turned back to Huang Dalang’s mangled torso.
A moment later, he pulled a wooden plaque from the corpse.
The plaque was carved with two words:
Rejuvenation Pharmacy.
「Rejuvenation Pharmacy, back courtyard storeroom.」
The storeroom’s four walls had been coated with lime to prevent moisture and pests, and a thick layer of dried mugwort covered the floor.
Dried medicinal herbs were sorted by category and hung on bamboo racks.
Those that hadn’t been unsealed yet were stacked neatly in wooden boxes against the wall, sealed with oil paper and tied securely with hemp rope.
The high ventilation window was even covered with a fine copper mesh.
"Here, this is it."
Chu Lingzhu pointed to a batch of well-sealed burlap sacks in the corner, her expression serious.
"I just feel like the smell is wrong. It’s supposed to be ’Ghost Orchid Grass’ from the Miasma Forest in the Southern Border, and herbs from that area are indeed more potent than usual, but the smell shouldn’t be this strange."
Chu Dahai stood to the side, looking helpless.
"Boss, there’s really no problem with this batch of herbs. That old friend of mine and I go back decades. He’s only storing them here temporarily because things are so chaotic right now. Even if there were a mistake, he’d never ask us for compensation."
"This isn’t a matter of compensation."
Jiang Mu’s fingertips brushed against the dry surface of a sack. "Herbs are a matter of life and death. When it’s something people ingest, we can’t afford to be the slightest bit careless."
"Exactly!"
Chu Lingzhu made a Ghost Face at her father.
Chu Dahai shook his head with a wry smile, but seeing his daughter’s serious and responsible demeanor, he felt a sense of pride.
For a physician, carelessness was the most frightening flaw.
He was relieved that his daughter was so cautious.
"Open a bag and let’s see."
Jiang Mu had great faith in Chu Lingzhu’s sharp nose.
If she said there was a problem, there almost certainly was.
Chu Dahai frowned. "Boss, this Ghost Orchid Grass is sealed to lock in its medicinal properties and preserve its Spiritual Qi. Once you open it, the Spiritual Qi will leak out, and its efficacy will be greatly diminished..."
"It’s fine. I’ll compensate him for whatever is lost," Jiang Mu said calmly.
Chu Lingzhu brought over a dagger and slit open the top of one of the burlap sacks.
The mouth of the bag fell open.
Inside were bundles of dark green leaves. Each leaf had seven lobes with faint purple veins, and they exuded a rich, medicinal aroma.
Jiang Mu took a sniff. He only detected a hint of a strange fragrance within the clean, bitter scent, but nothing seemed amiss.
"Huh? It really is Ghost Orchid Grass?"
Chu Lingzhu grabbed a handful, brought it to her nose, and sniffed. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she began to doubt herself.
Chu Dahai said irritably,
"I told you that you were just being paranoid. Are you satisfied now?"
"No, that’s not right!"
The young woman’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
She held the herbs up to the light, picked up her dagger, and sliced one of the leaves open down the middle.
A blackish-red liquid oozed from the cut.
The once-rich medicinal scent was immediately replaced by a putrid stench.
Chu Dahai’s face changed drastically. "This... This is..."
"This is ’Corpse Orchid’!"
Chu Lingzhu’s face went pale. "The *Annals of Strange Herbs of the Southern Border* records it: ’Fertilized with the bodies of the newly dead and planted in a place of extreme yin, it takes three years to mature.’
This herb can’t be used to save people at all! It’s only used for refining evil pills or raising demons. It can fuse the bloodlines of different Demon species to induce a bloodline mutation."
’Raising demons?’
Jiang Mu’s heart lurched.
Chu Lingzhu turned to her father, who was already pale with fright.
"Dad, this is a forbidden herb explicitly banned by the Court! Private possession and trade are punishable by beheading!"
Chu Dahai’s body went limp, and he started to slide down along the shelf. Jiang Mu, with his quick reflexes, caught him.
"Uncle Chu, don’t panic. First, tell me, where is that friend of yours now?"
"He... he already went back to Yan City..."
Chu Dahai was breaking out in a cold sweat, subconsciously clutching Jiang Mu’s sleeve. "Boss, quick! We have to burn these evil herbs! Or else... or else disaster will strike!"
"What’s there to panic about? I’m an officer of the Demon-slaying Bureau."
Jiang Mu helped him sit down and asked, "Did he say when he would come to pick up the goods?"
"He did... Within the next day or two. He said he would send someone with a token to pick them up and that I should just hand them over," Chu Dahai said, trembling.
Jiang Mu’s eyes flickered as his mind raced.
At first, he thought someone was trying to frame him by placing these forbidden herbs in a shop under his name, setting him up to be caught red-handed.
But on second thought, so many days had passed. If they wanted to frame him, they would have acted by now.
The fact that they hadn’t made a move meant they truly considered this place a safe, temporary transfer point.
’Hiding in plain sight?’
’They must be dumber than a bag of hammers.’
Seeing her father so terrified, Chu Lingzhu also started to feel a little flustered. She said timidly,
"Young Master, shouldn’t you report this to your superior? This is a huge deal. If it gets exposed later, you’ll be implicated."
"Of course I’ll report it."
Jiang Mu said after a moment of thought, "But we won’t destroy this shipment for now."
"Why not?"
"We’ll wait for the person who comes to pick it up."
Jiang Mu turned to Chu Dahai and his daughter, his expression serious.
"I will ask the Commander to secretly send men to Yan City to investigate and make arrests. Here, you two will act as if nothing has happened.
If someone comes to pick up the goods, notify me immediately. Don’t panic. Just stall them for a little while."
"You’re going to fish them out?" Chu Lingzhu’s eyes lit up.
Jiang Mu nodded.
Since someone had delivered the bait right to his mouth, how could he not take a bite?
Why did this shipment need to be transported to Hu State?
He had a faint premonition that this matter might be related to the hidden mole.
This could be a crucial clue.
After all, to completely clear his name, he needed to root out all the other moles one by one.
"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you catch the bad guys!"
Chu Lingzhu clenched her small fists.
"Catch them? Just notify me when the time comes, and I’ll do the catching."
Jiang Mu reached out and gently tweaked her small, elegant nose. "Don’t do anything foolish. Just handle the handover normally. Your safety is the most important thing, understand?"
The faint, ticklish sensation on her nose made Chu Lingzhu freeze for a moment. Then, a blush crept up her cheeks, and she shot him a glare that was more shy than angry.
Seeing this from the side, Chu Dahai’s expression turned strange.
’This...’
’Didn’t my daughter used to hate this profligate Boss of hers?’
’How come now...’
’Oh no. It looks like my precious little cabbage is about to be snatched up by a pig.’
Jiang Mu paid no attention to their reactions.
He gazed at the pile of burlap sacks, a sharp glint in his eyes, and thought to himself,
’I wonder what kind of fish I’ll catch.’
Speaking of fish, Jiang Mu was reminded of the fish demon he had slain, which in turn made him think of the Divine Sword Sect’s young master, He Shuangying.
Ever since their last conflict, the other party hadn’t come looking for trouble.
This frustrated Jiang Mu.
After all, his current main quest was to obtain a proper Star Position as soon as possible.
If the other party didn’t stir up trouble, it was difficult for him to make a move.
It wouldn’t be easy to just lead a team to search the Divine Sword Sect and cause problems; the Commander certainly wouldn’t support it.
Jiang Mu pondered this quietly.
’Hoping for him to come looking for trouble isn’t realistic. I’ll have to take the initiative.’