Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 11

“Protect yourself.”

The bailiff led the two to the shop on West Street, its door wide open.

Inside lay Zheng Juhe’s corpse. The bailiff hadn’t dared move it, only summoning a few people to guard the scene carefully. Those individuals, however, kept their distance outside the shop, unwilling to approach.

Even from afar before reaching the entrance, one could see a layer of black mist hovering around the body. It didn’t spread out but gathered closely over him, seemingly gnawing away at the little vitality left in his body. Zheng Juhe’s corpse had already swollen, displaying signs of bloating as if he had drowned, presenting a grotesque appearance.

A foul stench assaulted their senses.

Su Jin’an gazed calmly at the body before her, following Ji Weining’s steps forward.

“Would you like to wear a mask, Junior Sister?”

Ji Weining naturally couldn’t afford to lose her sense of smell, as it might mean missing crucial evidence.

Su Jin’an shook her head. “No need, Senior Sister, I can handle it.”

That familiar scent had returned to her. She couldn’t recall how long it had been since she last encountered such a peculiar odor, never expecting to experience it again.

“This smell is strange,” Su Jin’an stated with certainty, offering a reminder.

“Indeed.” The odor carried a fishy tinge, different from the typical stench of decay. Moreover, it wasn’t the kind that ordinary corpses would emit after just a few hours. Beneath the rot, there was also a faint, subtle floral fragrance.

Ji Weining swiftly set up a barrier with a wave of her hand; this scent was problematic.

“Everyone, stay back,” Ji Weining instructed, then produced a pair of transparent gloves made from sheep intestine, handing them to Su Jin’an. “Put these on.”

She then pulled up Su Jin’an’s hood, covering her thoroughly.

Given her state, it was hard for Ji Weining to feel at ease. She could see the shadowed darkness in Su Jin’an’s eyes, what was she hiding?

“Follow me inside.”

Her junior sister’s body, like her own, wouldn’t be corroded by demonic energy, a fact Ji Weining had verified. Having her assist was the best choice.

Before meeting her junior sister, she never imagined there would be another like herself. If there was a second, could there possibly be a third?

[There won’t be a third.]

Why?

There was no response for a long while. This divine oracle was always peculiarly enigmatic, mysteriously appearing today.

Asked but unanswered, what a bizarre divine oracle, or perhaps, a bizarre Heavenly Dao.

[Because…]

It seemed to be attempting to answer her question, but she couldn’t hear the words that followed, the words it spoke. Who was controlling it?

[Apologies, please focus on winning over your junior sister.]

What was the use of saying such things now? Ji Weining retrieved a needle case from her sleeve. Upon opening it, an array of silver and gold needles was revealed perfect for examinations like this.

“Have you studied forensic medicine, Junior Sister?”

“No, I was just often ill as a child and learned some acupoints on the human body.” Su Jin’an wasn’t lying; she truly only knew the basics.

“That’s enough. Would you like to give it a try?” Ji Weining gestured, pulling a silver needle from the case and handing it to her.

Su Jin’an took the needle and stood before Zheng Juhe, her expression composed.

“Start with the Baihui point. If there’s any other demonic energy, it’s highly likely to be concentrated there.”

Su Jin’an picked up the needle, thought for a moment, and looked around for a candle flame to sterilize it. Ji Weining raised a flame in her palm, and Su Jin’an went over to heat the silver needle briefly.

Ji Weining said, “Have you learned these techniques before, Junior Sister?”

Su Jin’an replied, “I once watched a physician perform acupuncture on me.”

“Good. Just insert it casually into the Baihui point.”

Hearing this, Su Jin’an was somewhat puzzled, but since the person before her was already dead, as long as she could detect something, it would suffice. A slight smile curled at the corner of her lips as she stood at Zheng Juhe’s head, pressed his forehead, and inserted the needle into the Baihui point.

She inserted the needle about two inches deep, twisted it two or three times, then pulled it out. A faint black energy clearly demonic qi, emanated from the needle.

In an instant, demonic qi surged out from his body, frantically spreading outward. It seemed she had struck the core where the demonic qi was devouring him.

“Junior Sister, use the fire spell. Quickly, ignite it and burn it away.” Seizing the opportunity to practice her junior sister’s spells, Ji Weining assigned the task to Su Jin’an.

Su Jin’an roughly understood her intention. “Alright.”

Su Jin’an swiftly traced the fire spell Ji Weining had taught her the day before, and flames instantly erupted within Zheng Juhe’s body.

Bang! Sparks exploded in an instant.

With a wave of her hand, Ji Weining extinguished the flames, and along with them, Zheng Juhe’s body turned to ashes. The demonic qi that had accumulated on him scattered in all directions but was trapped by the barrier Ji Weining had set up outside.

The constables outside widened their eyes in shock, no one had expected the corpse to vanish before their very eyes.

“Give me the needle,” Ji Weining said calmly, reaching out to take the silver needle from Su Jin’an.

Su Jin’an only knew a bit of mortal medical arts and had a superficial understanding of demonic qi, but she had a rough idea. “Did you discover anything?”

“His golden core was taken by someone, and this demonic qi was devouring the remaining organs in his body. Eventually, he would have turned into a demonic creature, like a walking corpse.”

“Demonic creature?” Su Jin’an asked, puzzled.

Ji Weining explained, “A batch of them appeared a hundred years ago. What we fear now is that they might make a comeback.”

Su Jin’an hadn’t been born a hundred years ago, so she naturally knew little about it. It would be good for her to learn more gradually.

“Now that the corpse is gone, where should we investigate?” Su Jin’an looked at her curiously, knowing that Ji Weining was surely not handling such matters for the first time, otherwise, she wouldn’t have had her burn the corpse so quickly.

“Let’s go check the other corpses first,” Ji Weining said, removing the protective barrier outside.

The constables rushed over anxiously. “Immortal Master, what about the corpse?”

Ji Weining replied indifferently, “The demonic qi was dispersing, so I disposed of it. Otherwise, the entire town would have suffered.”

“You can now inspect the shop. Look for any evidence,” Ji Weining instructed, though by now, any evidence inside had likely been removed or destroyed.

“Please take us to see the other corpses.”

“Alright.”

The other corpses only bore demonic patterns, with no residual demonic qi. All six bodies had been transported to the magistrate’s office and preserved intact. Since it involved the dreaded demonic qi, the coroner didn’t dare act recklessly and could only wait for the Qingheng Sect members to handle it.

Arriving at the magistrate’s office, the county magistrate hurriedly led Ji Weining to see the bodies. They were laid out in the mortuary, covered with white cloths, untouched by anyone.

The magistrate covered his nose upon smelling the odor and whispered, “Please, Immortal Master, take a look.”

Ji Weining asked, “Would you like to give it a try?”

Su Jin’an replied, “These are all ordinary people. I want to take a closer look.”

Judging by her demeanor, it was clear that Su Jin’an was not the type to be afraid of such things. Indeed, she was well-suited to studying medicine. After centuries of not taking on disciples, their master had finally accepted an excellent one.

“Go ahead and examine them.”

“Then I shall take my leave first,” the county magistrate said. He was not accustomed to handling such matters personally, usually relying on the coroner’s reports. Of course, the stench from these corpses was far stronger than usual, and it was unclear how they had been concealed before.

Su Jin’an put on the new gloves Ji Weining had given her and began inspecting the bodies. She would only use mortal methods, focusing primarily on identifying the corpses.

Ji Weining was not idle either. She joined in, examining the bodies carefully, paying the closest attention to the demonic patterns on them.

“There are six bodies in total five male and one female,” Su Jin’an stated her findings. She had some ability to discern skeletal structures. “Their ages are thirty-five, forty-eight, thirty-seven, twenty, and seventeen.”

Su Jin’an turned to her senior sister, who was observing intently, and asked, “Senior Sister, have you noticed anything else?”

“These demonic patterns, something’s off.” Ji Weining was deep in thought but couldn’t quite recall. She pointed it out to Su Jin’an: “Look at this female corpse. The demonic patterns are both similar and different from the male ones. Yet, in terms of the arrangement of yin-yang and the five elements, they are completely identical. These patterns hold special significance.”

The demonic patterns seemed to be arranged in a way that mimicked certain spiritual energy formations, constructing these designs. On the female corpse’s forehead, a black lotus formed the core of the pattern, spreading downward and covering her entire body like dark spots. The male corpses were entirely black, with only a few white areas, and from these white parts, the shape of a lotus could be discerned.

“When we return, I’ll look through some books. I think I have an idea of where to start.” Ji Weining had memorized the diagrams of these formations. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was a branch of the yin-yang five elements formation, infused with demonic energy, much like cultivating the five elemental spiritual forces.

Ji Weining felt she had seen these demonic patterns somewhere before but couldn’t for the life of her remember where.

“There’s a scent in the corpse stench that’s identical to what we smelled on Zheng Juhe earlier,” Ji Weining added.

“So you noticed it too, Senior Sister.” The scent was extremely faint, making it nearly impossible to identify, leaving them to speculate based on a few possibilities.

“It most resembles the scent of jasmine,” Ji Weining offered her deduction.

Su Jin’an, still holding Ji Weining’s acupuncture needle case, asked, “Shall we try needling?”

“Go ahead.”

“You do it, Senior Sister. I’ll observe.” Su Jin’an still felt a lingering fear from the last time she performed acupuncture, when she encountered something unusual. Besides, the demonic patterns on the corpses were tainted with something unclean, and she preferred not to touch them.

“Alright.”

The two of them divided the tasks clearly. Su Jin’an opened the needle case, waiting for Ji Weining to take action.

Ji Weining wasn’t fond of touching these things either. Using her spiritual energy to control the silver needles, she swiftly inserted them into the Baihui acupoints of the corpses.

“You’ll learn this object-manipulation technique in the future, Junior Sister.”

“I’ll follow your arrangements, Senior Sister. There’s no need to rush.”

After a while, Ji Weining withdrew the needles. There was no trace of demonic energy on them.

It seemed unrelated to Zheng Juhe in any discernible way.

Ji Weining had no choice but to put on gloves, pick up the knife, and begin cutting open the bodies of several individuals.

The magistrate’s panicked voice came from outside the door: “Master Immortal, there is another person here.”

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