Chapter 211: Ghost Official Revealed

“Second Young Master Fang, could it be that you are toying with us?”

Hearing Fang Cun’s words, the Qi Refiners from the Seven Clans, along with the Lingwu Sect Leader and his Elders, were all flushed with anger.

Although Fang Cun looked earnest at the moment, they still felt a deep-seated resentment at being played. They had given precious gifts, spoken politely, yet now he was trying to dismiss them with just a “the Sect Leader refused”? Who didn’t know the current state of Shoushan Sect? If he truly intended to help, would that young Sect Leader really dare refuse? Especially Young Master Bai, who snapped his folding fan shut with a sharp “snap!” and frowned. “Second Young Master Fang, this conduct is excessive. Though our Seven Clans haven’t established grand sects, we have deep-rooted legacies. We are not playthings. Even considering your brother, the renowned Immortal Master Fang Chi, you should observe basic propriety when dealing with us. Otherwise…”

Fang Cun suddenly turned his head, his gaze fixed on Young Master Bai’s face. “Otherwise what?”

Facing Fang Cun’s piercing look, Young Master Bai’s heart jumped. The rest of his words stuck in his throat.

Fang Cun then swept his gaze over the others in the hall. “All of you came to me claiming our Shoushan Sect Leader was deliberately harassing you, framing you. You offered these rare treasures, asking me to intercede on your behalf. Did Fang Cun deliver on his promise? Yet little did we know, upon investigation, our Sect Leader found he wasn’t framing you. Solid evidence and witnesses surfaced! So now I must ask you: skulking in the shadows, coming here to deceive me… what exactly was your true purpose?”

“You…!”

The Seven Clans’ Qi Refiners were filled with shock and fury.

Deep down, they understood the situation perfectly, and they were sure Fang Cun did too. But the truth they grasped couldn’t be spoken aloud, and they had to endure being falsely accused in return! The feeling was unbearable, festering a raw urge to lash out in violence simply to vent their anger.

Yet, Fang Cun seemed calmly aware of their rage, merely regarding them with a faint, amused smile.

It was as if he knew, for certain, they dared not strike.

And they…

…truly did not dare! What could they do? This was the honored elder of Shoushan Sect! The brother of Immortal Master Fang Chi! The man who dared slay the wretched Demon Hound of Crow Mountain! Even knowing they’d been played, could they truly sever ties over pride?

“Second Young Master Fang’s tactics, impressive…” murmured the onlookers.

He Zhenzhang, Yu Qingli, Meng Qing’er, and others who had hurried over upon hearing the commotion understood immediately what had transpired. Their expressions odd, they exchanged awed whispers. That Second Young Master Fang hadn’t agreed to the Seven Clans’ demands wasn’t unexpected – what startled them was that the usually polished young gentleman had such a barefaced moment, conning these nobles without a shred of guilt. Seeing the utter fury Fang Cun had provoked in the Seven Clans now, their hearts couldn’t help but skip a beat. Mere days ago, they were esteemed guests at Lingwu Sect… but now?

“Hmph… Second Young Master Fang indeed wields clever tactics. Or perhaps… impressive nerve!”

Facing Fang Cun’s cool smile, the Seven Clans’ anger peaked. But knowing there was no turning back now, Second Master Hu, driven to extremity by fury, produced a cold laugh. “Our Seven Clans held goodwill towards the Six Sects of Qingjiang. Considering our shared roots along the Qingjiang River, we tried to avoid being overly harsh. But now it seems Shoushan Sect is hell-bent on pursuing us? Then we have no choice…”

Fang Cun smiled as he looked at Second Master Hu. “No choice but to what?”

“To do nothing so drastic!” Young Master Bai also offered a low chuckle. “We merely feel that Second Young Master Fang… perhaps underestimates our Seven Clans too much?”

“Hmm?”

Even Yu Qingli and He Zhenzhang sensed something off in the Seven Clans’ reaction and were instantly puzzled.

Just then, the flapping sound of robes echoed outside the hall. Lingwu Sect disciples rushed in frantically, alarm etched on their faces. “Sect Leader! Elders! Honored Seniors! Trouble! Trouble has struck Qingjiang Prefecture!”

The Lingwu Sect Leader frowned. “Compose yourselves! Report!”

“The Ghost Official… the Ghost Official has reappeared!” The disciple cried out, urgently offering a cloud communication talisman.

“Ghost Official?” He Zhenzhang and his companions started upon hearing the name.

Hailing from Willow Lake City and relatively new to sect cultivation, they had nonetheless heard of the Ghost Official. They knew it was a demonic figure, responsible for numerous bloody atrocities in Qingjiang. Both the Qingjiang Prefectural Office and the Six Sects were eager to execute this monster. Yet, at this crucial juncture, news of his reappearance surfaced?

“What atrocity has that fiend committed now?” Young Master Bai, in contrast to the disciples’ shock, seemed perfectly calm. “Tell us outright!”

“The report… just moments ago… the Ghost Official suddenly appeared! He stormed Qingjiang Prison! Unleashed a massacre! Every prisoner inside… slaughtered! Including those detained shopkeepers from the Seven Clans’ affiliated guilds… and the heads of those minor families seized! Even worse… he left a note claiming to ‘eliminate evil for the people’… then… then set fire and burned all the dossiers held within the prison archives!”

The stammered report instantly drained the color from everyone’s faces.

Storm Qingjiang Prison? Slaughter all inmates?

Then torch all the dossiers?

All Qi Refiners in Qingjiang knew of the demonic cultivator called the Ghost Official – reckless, brutal, erratic, and shrouded in mystery. For years, not only had he evaded capture, sightings of his true face were vanishingly rare. Some even whispered he wasn’t of this world, but hailed from the legendary netherworld, an incarnation of a Judge holding the Ledger of Life and Death, come to cleanse wickedness from the mortal realm…

But that was Qingjiang Prison! Above all else, this act placed him in direct opposition to the Great Xia imperial court!

How could he dare something so brazen?

Even more unsettling for He Zhenzhang and the others was this: the prison currently held all the key witnesses detained after the Crow Mountain affair – the guild managers. They were crucial for the imminent investigation meant to trace the illicit trade route with the Great Demon Sovereign of the Southern Borderlands. And now… wiped out? How could such timing be mere chance? Or… was it not coincidence at all?

Alarmed, they instinctively looked towards the Seven Clans’ Qi Refiners – just in time to catch their expressions upon hearing the news. They looked utterly composed, almost… sneering?

No great deduction was needed: the Ghost Official… was theirs?

The monstrous fiend plaguing Qingjiang for years, responsible for countless atrocities… belonged to the Seven Clans?

“Fine tactics… truly fine tactics…” Even Fang Cun, after hearing the disciple, couldn’t help but lightly clap. “All prisoners dead? Then the witnesses and lead vanish cleanly! The dossiers incinerated? Meaning anything potentially damning that got ‘mislaid’ is now untraceable! Swift response. Ruthless execution. This Ghost Official works… efficiently!”

“Second Young Master Fang speaks mysteriously…” Young Master Bai let a faint, triumphant smile touch the corners of his mouth, though his words were a sigh. “The Ghost Official is a monstrous cultivator plaguing our land, deserving execution by all. That he dared assault the prison, slaughter inmates, burn archives… his crimes are unforgivable. Don’t organizations like yours bear responsibility for safeguarding this region? That you’ve failed to capture him after all these years… tsk tsk… truly regrettable…”

He Zhenzhang and the others gritted their teeth in frustration.

They were the elite, rigorously selected from Willow Lake City. How could they not grasp this play?

Previously, the Seven Clans’ Qi Refiners, using Lingwu Sect’s premises, had beseeched Second Young Master Fang to rein in Shoushan Sect’s young leader. That had already seemed suspicious – Fang Cun had agreed too readily. Now, with the plot revealed, they understood. The “agreement” was a feint; it actually spurred the Shoushan Sect Leader into action. How he managed it – probably through loaded hints passed via Xiao Qingliu’s message. The Seven Clans had taken a solid blow. Shoushan Sect’s goal seemed achieved… Yet who could have predicted the Seven Clans’ ruthlessness? They orchestrated the Ghost Official to eliminate those key witnesses and figures. Every dossier, every piece of evidence pointing to them, went up in smoke. They had violently severed all clues! Unbelievable!

Moments ago, Second Young Master Fang feigned ignorance, infuriating the Seven Clans’ Qi Refiners.

Now, the favor was returned faster than anticipated. Young Master Bai might as well have written “I arranged this” on his forehead. And what could anyone say? What could anyone do?

As they stood grim-faced, Fang Cun remained remarkably composed.

“Trouble! More reports are coming!” Before anyone could react, another voice shouted urgently from outside the hall. Another Lingwu Sect disciple came rushing in.

Everyone stared as the disciple frantically offered a cloud talisman. “The Ghost Official reappeared! In western Qingjiang City! Slaughtered an entire merchant caravan! Left the Ghost Official’s demonic seal at the scene! The cargo chests on the merchant carts… forced open! Inside… inside were dossiers supposedly destroyed in the Qingjiang Prison fire!”

“What?” This pronouncement truly shocked the cultivators in the hall viscerally.

He Zhenzhang and the others felt their heads spin; they couldn’t comprehend this new layer. Young Master Bai and Second Master Hu, who had worn expressions of cool disdain when the Ghost Official’s prison raid was reported, now genuinely paled, looking as if they had seen… well… a ghost.

And He Zhenzhang and his companions were even more bewildered…

Had the Ghost Official… gone on a killing spree?