Tanxiang also realized something was amiss.
She quickly retrieved the letters from before, her brows tightly knitted as she looked at the various bizarre marks scrawled upon them.
"…Perhaps, it truly is Qi deviation."
Tanxiang analyzed calmly, "Xiang Tianlin accidentally killed his wife and daughters, thus losing his sanity, and then got involved with spies from an enemy nation."
"Regardless, this is all material evidence."
Yang Shifei gathered all the letter papers. "Hand all of this over to the authorities. Even if it's not enough to sentence Xiang Tianlin to death, it can at least restrict his movements until more evidence is uncovered."
Tanxiang nodded slightly, her gaze shifting to the black jade square box at the side.
She reached out and carefully opened the box, discovering a jet-black jade slip stored inside, its material unknown—
Tzzzz!
The jade slip abruptly emitted a piercing sound, and wisps of black smoke billowed from it!
"This is—"
The sudden change caused both their expressions to shift; they immediately slammed the box shut.
But the smoke dispersed with unbelievable speed, filling more than half the room in the blink of an eye.
"Don't breathe!"
Yang Shifei immediately clamped his face covering tightly, about to pull Tanxiang and quickly leave the premises.
But just as he was about to move, he found that large swathes of black smoke were actually surging towards Tanxiang. Her night-traveling clothes and face covering offered no resistance, and the smoke instantly entered her body.
"Tanxiang?!"
"Ngh…"
Tanxiang's delicate body trembled lightly, and she staggered back two steps.
Yang Shifei's face paled drastically. He quickly supported her swaying body. "Are you alright?!"
"D-don't be nervous."
But unexpectedly, after a brief moment of disorientation, Tanxiang quickly calmed down and shook her head. "I'm fine."
Yang Shifei said nervously, "That black smoke, isn't it poison?"
He was simultaneously rapidly recalling all the pharmacies and medical clinics in the city, trying to figure out where he could get help the fastest.
"I'm really fine. In fact…"
Tanxiang turned her head to look at him, and he met… a pair of scarlet eyes, like those of a malevolent spirit.
"—Right now, I've never felt better."
The instant their gazes met, Yang Shifei's breath hitched. He felt a heavy, immense force clutching his heart; it only eased slightly when the cold energy within him circulated.
Tanxiang blinked her scarlet eyes, quickly averted her gaze, and murmured, "I already know what happened to Xiang Tianlin, and I understand the full story behind this matter."
Yang Shifei rubbed his forehead to clear his head a little. "What exactly is going on?"
"That black energy just now is called 'Filth'."
Tanxiang pushed his hands away and swayed as she stood up. "This substance has the ability to affect the mind. If an ordinary person comes into contact with it carelessly, they will slowly go mad."
She picked up the black jade box that had fallen nearby. "This item should be the container used to seal the Filth. And Xiang Tianlin's changes were perhaps also due to this."
Yang Shifei's expression was grave. "Then you, right now…"
"I've already said, this substance affects 'ordinary people.' I happen not to be an ordinary person."
Tanxiang lowered her eyes and said softly, "To me, this Filth is more like a tonic."
"…Let's leave this place first." Yang Shifei quickly calmed down. "We'll take all the evidence we need. We can regroup with Chief Constable Tie after we get out."
Tanxiang stared at him for a moment, her clenched hands unconsciously relaxing.
But the moment she relaxed, she couldn't help but press her chest, an unusual flush appearing on her pretty face.
Yang Shifei was startled. "Didn't you say you were fine? What's wrong with you now?"
"I absorbed too much Filth; I'm losing some control." Cold sweat beaded on Tanxiang's forehead, and her voice trembled. "I might turn into an inhuman monster. You should leave here first."
"There's a shadow! Who's in the Sect Leader's room?!"
But just then, an alarmed shout suddenly echoed from all around.
Yang Shifei inwardly cursed; their movements had been too large and had attracted the attention of the patrolling disciples outside.
His mind raced. He decided to simply sweep Tanxiang up into a bridal carry, then crashed through the window and leaped into the corridor.
He glanced left and right and saw Ninefold Gate Sect members holding torches, rushing over from not far away, clearly intending to surround them.
"Quickly… let me go."
The scarlet in Tanxiang's eyes, held in his arms, grew brighter. She gritted her teeth. "Leave this… to me to cover our retreat!"
"Quiet!"
Yang Shifei, on the contrary, became even calmer. He shifted her onto his back, undid his belt, and tightly bound their waists together.
Although a soft, yielding sensation pressed against his back, like two small, bulging glutinous rice balls, now was not the time for stray thoughts.
He vaulted over the railing into the backyard and sprinted at full speed towards the courtyard wall.
But just as he was about to leap over the wall, a longsword suddenly thrust out from the side!
Clang!
The ring of a saber, the hum of a sword; from the other side came a bone-chilling killing intent.
Yang Shifei kicked off the wall, retreating explosively, and managed to avoid the pincer attack. He saw two young men, armed with a saber and a sword, standing on the wall, their gazes cold as they looked at him.
"To think some despicable thieves would dare trespass into the Ninefold Gate Sect. Truly courting death."
"Who are you? Could you be an enemy spy who has infiltrated East City?"
At the same time, two more Ninefold Gate disciples rushed over from the side, thrusting their swords.
Yang Shifei's expression was stern, cold energy radiating from him. He instantly spread his hands flat and caught the sharp swords tightly between his fingers.
"What the fuck—this—"
The two Ninefold Gate disciples were dumbfounded. Before they could react, they felt an immense force transmitted from their sword hilts.
With two cracking sounds, both longswords snapped in half.
This feat scared many of the disciples who were about to surround them into stopping in their tracks, their faces filled with alarm and fear.
This person looked so young, yet he could shatter gold and crack stone with his bare hands. What level of cultivation was this?
The two young men standing on the wall also wore grim expressions, sensing danger.
Yang Shifei casually tossed aside the broken swords, his gaze icy.
"They are the Ninefold Gate Sect Leader's direct disciples, named Xiang Zhao and Xiang Yu. They already possess the power of Essence Condensation internal cultivators. They won't be easy to deal with."
Tanxiang, lying prone on his back, had blood-red veins spreading from the corners of her eyes. She let out a soft, almost seductive moan. "Let me…"
"Don't move yet. Be careful you don't reveal your true form."
Yang Shifei didn't know what would happen then, but if Tanxiang's true form was indeed some terrifying demon or monster, once it was revealed before everyone…
Unless they killed everyone present, if even the slightest rumor leaked out, trouble would follow endlessly.
His mind was extremely calm at this moment. Instead of rushing, he spoke unhurriedly, "Everyone, please stop for a moment. I have something to ask you."
"What's there to say? Trespassing late at night—"
"Have you noticed that Sect Leader Xiang, Xiang Tianlin, has been very strange recently?"
"Nonsense." Xiang Zhao and Xiang Yu both frowned.
"Then let me ask again, have you seen your two Mistresses recently?"
"What rubbish are you spouting?" a disciple couldn't help but shout angrily. "Everyone knows the two Mistresses took Junior Sister out of the city for a spring outing! How could we possibly see them!"
At the same time, the sounds of a fierce battle came from the direction of the main hall. Perhaps Chief Constable Tie and Xiang Tianlin had started fighting.
Yang Shifei glanced in that direction, then spoke calmly again, "Why don't you go take a look inside Sect Leader Xiang's room? There's a mechanism under the bed that opens a secret room. Your Mistresses are inside."
"What… did you say?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding disciples were all filled with shock and suspicion.
Xiang Zhao, at the head, frowned even more tightly and looked sideways at one of the disciples. "Chuan Ying, go into the room and see."
"Alright."
The young disciple quickly ran into the room. After some fumbling, he opened the mechanism.
A moment later, a terrified scream came from inside the room. The disciples present all shouted urgently, "Chuan Ying, what's wrong?!"
"It's-it's not me! It's the Mistresses and Junior Sister! They… they're all dead!"
Chuan Ying ran out in a panic, his face deathly pale. "There really is a secret room! And there's a coffin inside it! They're lying inside!"
Once these words were spoken, the scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.
Yang Shifei scanned the surroundings and broke the silence at the opportune moment, "The secret room inside was not built in a few days; it definitely wasn't my doing. Moreover, to bypass all of your gazes and move such a heavy coffin into the secret room right under Sect Leader Xiang's nose, and even stuff the corpses of his wife and daughters into it…"
The faces of the Ninefold Gate disciples grew increasingly unsightly. The more they thought about it, the more uneasy they became.
And, a few days ago, when their Mistresses and Junior Sister went out for a spring outing, it seemed it was… their own Master who had personally escorted them out.
"We came here on this trip because Sect Leader Xiang attacked the government today. Only then were we ordered to infiltrate the Ninefold Gate Sect to investigate. We didn't expect to find even more evidence."
Yang Shifei narrowed his eyes, pressing them step by step, "It seems you didn't know that your Sect Leader Xiang went mad long ago?"