Immortalis

Corpse Demon I

"Young Master, are you truly planning to give away everything your father left you to others?"

Several days had passed since they left White Rainbow Tower.

Due to the recent turmoil, Zhou Huai feared being recognized while traveling through Jiangnan. Thus, the three of them had no choice but to avoid main roads and take small paths heading north.

Even after several days of recovery, the wound on Zhou Huai's head hadn't fully healed, temporarily marring his appearance.

Now he wore a bamboo hat and plain moon-white robes, having removed all the flashy sword tassels and hair ornaments. In just one month, he appeared noticeably thinner.

Hearing this, Zhou Huai sighed helplessly: "Those things were never truly mine to begin with. If I don't repay this debt, I'm afraid I'll never be able to establish myself in the martial world again. Miss Yang, there's a portion that belongs to you as well - I'll return it to you."

"Young Master, you..."

Having known him for so long, Yang Wujian understood that the young master was genuinely sincere. To repay Zhou Jinglei's debts, he was willing to put the entire White Rainbow Tower up for sale, and even planned to surrender all the silver Zhou Jinglei had left him to compensate the victims who died in the Dragon Locking Coffin.

However, thanks to the rumors that had spread overnight, businesses affiliated with White Rainbow Tower had either fled or closed down. Zhou Huai was no longer the wealthy young master he once was. If he gave away what little remained, he would likely face destitution.

Yang Wujian opened his mouth to persuade him further, but constrained by his false identity after acquiring the Crescent Moon Blade, many words remained unspoken.

"Letting people think you're easily bullied is no way to establish yourself."

At this moment, the previously silent Shen Qingshi suddenly spoke: "Among those who came to denounce you that day, many were merely rats taking advantage of your misfortune. If such people see an opportunity in you, they won't let you go easily. They might even collude with those so-called victims, making you bear your father's sins forever - an eternal sinner with endless debts to repay."

"You see how shrewd Young Master Shen is? Young Master, I won't refuse my share, as I still want to properly renovate my mother's new grave. But you saw those people who came that day - can you really distinguish how many were genuine relatives of the deceased heroes?"

Yang Wujian couldn't help but sigh. The young master's heart was pure, but unfortunately, he remained too naive.

Having lost the support of White Rainbow Tower, without wealth or connections, and possessing only martial skills - if he continued like this, he would soon be devoured by the martial world without leaving even bone fragments.

Yet mere reasoning seemed ineffective.

As Yang Wujian pondered how to make the young master see reality, Zhou Huai suddenly changed the subject: "Do you think that White-faced Fox we heard about earlier could actually be White-faced Guest?"

Not long ago, while trying to trace Yang Ye's movements during his final six months, Zhou Huai discovered that to avoid people who knew him, Yang Ye often visited brothels and gambling dens in the north under assumed names.

As one might expect, in those lawless regions far from central authority, many brothel owners were martial world figures operating outside conventional paths. Among them was someone called Young Master Guanhuo who never showed his face publicly. He controlled several gambling dens and brothels, making him arguably the "wealthiest" figure in those northern barbaric lands.Behind the brothels and gambling dens that Yang Ye frequented, there was always the shadow of Young Master Guanhuo. Zhou Huai had originally intended to investigate this person further, but upon making inquiries, he unexpectedly stumbled upon a bizarre incident.

It is said that in the south, there is Rouge Pavilion, and in the north, there is Handkerchief Lane.

In Yongyi County, a small northern town that Yang Ye often visited, there was a well-known Handkerchief Street. Here, one could not only encounter stunningly beautiful young prostitutes from beyond the frontier, draped in furs and little else, but also, if willing to pay a hefty price, even meet renowned courtesans who had been sold from the Imperial Entertainment Bureau to work as private prostitutes. It was a place of extreme chaos and complexity.

Six years ago, a strange incident occurred on Handkerchief Street—a White-faced Fox was said to have eaten people.

According to rumors, that year, a white-faced scholar, half-veiled, arrived at Handkerchief Lane. He appeared young and brought no attendants, yet he spent lavishly, lingering on Handkerchief Street for several consecutive days, sparking widespread discussion.

Many madams and pimps, seeing his extravagant spending, assumed he was a wealthy patron traveling incognito and rushed to present their girls to him. Unexpectedly, around this time, people began to disappear from Handkerchief Street.

For several days in a row, wherever the white-faced scholar went, girls from the brothels would vanish. In the end, even Full Spring Tower, the most famous establishment on Handkerchief Street, lost someone—none other than its star courtesan, Zhu'er.

When this happened, the madam of Full Spring Tower could no longer sit idle and reported the matter to its hidden owner, Young Master Guanhuo. An investigation revealed that, in just half a month, four people had already disappeared from Handkerchief Street.

It must be noted that the owners of the brothels on Handkerchief Street were no pushovers, especially Young Master Guanhuo.

Enraged at the loss of his cash cow, Zhu'er, he hired thugs from the Ghost Market to search every patron who had visited the brothels on Handkerchief Street during those days. They found that the white-faced scholar was the most suspicious.

Thus, dozens of men went to corner the scholar. Though the madam insisted he was still in his room, when they went upstairs, he had vanished, leaving behind only a veil and a bloody piece of flesh.

For several days afterward, Young Master Guanhuo sent people to hunt for him, but they found nothing.

And so, the tale spread of a White-faced Fox coming to Handkerchief Lane to eat people. When this story reached Zhou Huai's ears, it naturally took on a different meaning.

"Yang Ye was chosen by the White-faced Guest. After Zhou Jinglei's death, he must have made contact with the White-faced Guest in some way. I don't believe the White-faced Guest only wanted some sword manuals from him—there must be something else."

On the narrow path where it was inconvenient to ride, Yang Wujian led his horse slowly and said, "There are countless famous courtesans in the Jiangnan region, yet Yang Ye insisted on going all the way to the north instead. I suspect his visits to Handkerchief Street weren't just for a night of pleasure—someone must have been meeting him there."

"Six years ago was when the White Dog Case occurred. The White-faced Guest said that at the time, he wanted a voluntary Flesh Conduit for his death, but the White Dog ruined it. So, after donning Song Lan's face, he must have gone to Handkerchief Lane. That's why the scholar wore a veil. As for the Flesh Conduit, women in the pleasure quarters would do anything to buy their freedom... If we go there, we'll find out whether the White-faced Guest has been using it as a hiding place over the years."

Shen Qingshi had been very patient with Zhou Huai these days.

She knew full well that the sudden betrayal Zhou Huai suffered must have been Shen Xin's doing.With the Emperor's secret decree, although Shen Xin couldn't prevent the Bi'an Department from monopolizing the investigation of Longevity Palace, he could still create obstacles for them.

The Southern Zhao Ming Division had informants everywhere, practically omnipotent. Leaking some minor rumors was not difficult for him.

Shen Qingshi had never intended to harm Zhou Huai, yet she had still brought him to such a state. Feeling guilty, she could only do her best to assist him.

At this point, they were still at least two days away from Yongyi. Not taking the main road meant there were no inns available. After sunset, they had no choice but to light a fire in the woods.

"Young master, don't forget to apply medicine to your forehead. It wouldn't be worth it if it scars."

Once the bamboo hat was removed, the scar on Zhou Huai's forehead became clearly visible.

Although most of the stones and hidden weapons had been intercepted by him and Shen Qingshi that day, for some reason, this cut from the Flying Dagger hadn't healed for several days.

Yang Wujian smiled wryly: "When traveling the martial world, you must protect your face. Don't tell me you don't even understand such a basic principle, young master."

"I..."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai only hesitated, touching the scar thoughtfully before saying: "I actually haven't applied any medicine because I want to keep it."

"Keep it?"

Yang Wujian could tell what Zhou Huai was thinking just by looking at his expression. He rolled his eyes: "Young master, don't be foolish. Torturing yourself like this only hurts those who care about you and pleases your enemies. Besides, you've already lost money because of your father's past sins - must you also ruin your looks for him?"

"But no matter what, when my father made me learn those martial arts, I didn't stop him."

The wound had already scabbed over. As Yang Wujian said, it might leave a scar, but Zhou Huai didn't seem to care much.

He couldn't dig out those things he shouldn't have learned from his mind. All he could do was remind himself that these didn't belong to him.

Zhou Huai looked at his palm in the firelight: "My father had his own Inner Demon and was misled by evil paths. At that time, he only had me, but I couldn't stop him either. That's why he kept making mistakes. Even though I was young, this debt belongs to me, not to my father."

"Sigh... young master, you're truly foolish."

Yang Wujian hadn't expected Zhou Huai to be so stubborn. Helpless, he could only say: "Although the White-faced Guest was fanning the flames, your father chose to cooperate with him himself. He chose to have the White-faced Guest kill Qi Yanbai for him, remember? He had a choice back then, but you didn't, young master. I would hate your father, not you. But similarly, I don't want to watch you make excuses for him."

"I..."

Zhou Huai subconsciously clenched his fingers. These days, he had been dreaming of the White-faced Guest every night.

In those fragmented memories, the White-faced Guest had visited Zhou Jinglei many times, had even patted his head, squatting down to speak with him.

Such a madman - who would kill for a few sword manuals, who would throw living people into the Alchemy Furnace for immortality - could still become the master of Longevity Palace, and there were still people willing to conspire with him.

From this perspective, Longevity Palace was indeed a place only for madmen. And Zhou Jinglei was merely another one who had been deceived.At this thought, Zhou Huai gritted his teeth and said, "Perhaps those from the Longevity Palace are just skilled at manipulating minds? No wonder the martial world wants to eradicate the Longevity Palace. A place that would let such a madman become its master shouldn't exist in this world."

"Young Master..."

Hearing this, Yang Wujian could no longer hold back.

Zhou Huai had not originally been so prejudiced, but because of the sins committed by Zhou Jinglei, he had begun to lose perspective, just like others in the martial world.

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Wujian said, "Young Master, it's not that I'm defending the Longevity Palace, but along our journey, all we've seen is how the White-faced Guests behave, not how the Longevity Palace operates. Investigating cases and searching for people require a clear mind. Young Master, I feel that your mind is not very calm right now. If this continues, you'll only sink deeper into hatred and fail to see the truth."

"I..."

Zhou Huai's mind was filled with the image of Zhou Jinglei's withered corpse, and such a deep-seated vendetta had kept him awake night after night. Upon hearing this, he abruptly looked up and unexpectedly met Yang Wujian's rather disappointed gaze.

Zhou Huai's heart skipped a beat.

Why...

Why would she show such an expression?

Everything that had happened earlier in the White Rainbow Tower flashed vividly before his eyes, and Zhou Huai suddenly felt confused.

Why could Yang Wujian treat him so kindly—cleaning up after him, accompanying him to search for the corpse, and even comforting him now—when he was, after all, the son of the man who had killed her mother?

And now, why was she disappointed? Just because the Longevity Palace wasn't responsible for those previous cases, did that mean it was no longer her enemy?

"Miss Yang, I... I'm sorry, I need to take a walk nearby."

In a state of turmoil, Zhou Huai abruptly stood up and decided to go to the stream to wash his face and calm down. Only when his footsteps faded into the distance did Shen Qingshi, who had remained silent until then, speak softly.

"Zhou Huai isn't foolish. His breathing was very erratic just now—not a good sign. Yang Wujian, you left too many clues back in the White Rainbow Tower. If this continues, he will grow suspicious of your identity."