Ma Shilong pondered for a moment, then said, “Alright, since the young master recommended you, I’ll trust you this once. What do you need me to do?”
Qiu Qianluo grinned menacingly and flipped out a piece of paper, handing it over. “Simple. Find me human imps whose birth dates match these criteria. I’ll handle the rest myself.”
Ma Shilong took the paper and examined it closely.
Lu Chen quickly moved behind him and caught a glimpse of its contents.
“Sure enough, these are the birth dates of the previous victims.”
So it turned out that the information on these human imps had been gathered by Ma Shilong for Qiu Qianluo.
…
Ma Shilong put the note away, still wary. “What exactly do you mean by ‘human imps’?”
“Seems Master Ma’s knowledge isn’t as broad as I assumed—you don’t even know what a human imp is.” Qiu Qianluo’s tone was mocking. “A human imp is someone burdened by the karma of speech, body, and mind. Don’t worry—these days they’re everywhere. Just search by these birth dates, and nine times out of ten, you’ll find one.”
Ma Shilong nodded. “Fine, I’ll leave it to you. And after they’re found?”
Qiu Qianluo produced a black jade pendant and handed it over. “Once they’re found, I’ll kill these human imps myself. You take this black jade back and place it in your father’s mouth—do not remove it. With each human imp killed, their karma will transfer to your father. Once five are killed and your father’s life is taken, the ritual will be complete.”
“What did you say? Take my father’s life?!” Ma Shilong flew into a rage, his mana surging violently around him.
“Master Ma, are you truly clueless, or just pretending? Your father wishes to cultivate as a ghost immortal—how can he become one without dying?”
This time, Qiu Qianluo made no effort to hide the contempt in his eyes.
Ma Shilong forced down his mana, his expression grim. “…Is it really that simple?”
“Simple? The Five Hells Immortality Method is no child’s play!
Enough. I can’t be bothered to explain further.
Take these transmission jade tokens.
The red ones are for communication between you and me.
The black ones are for communication between you and the young master.
Don’t meet so rashly in the future—we don’t want the authorities catching on.”
Oh, and I’m only giving you three days. You must deliver the list to me within three days.
Otherwise, find someone else for this job.”
Ma Shilong stored the jade tokens in his storage ring and said in a low voice, “You and the young master… why are you helping me?”
“Why ask so many questions? Didn’t the young master warn you not to pry into things you shouldn’t? Just focus on the results!”
Ma Shilong took a deep breath. “…Fine. Let’s leave it here for today. I’ll wait for your word.”
With that, he boarded his carriage and departed.
“Fool! He’s the perfect scapegoat.”
As the carriage disappeared into the distance, Qiu Qianluo sneered, then crushed a black jade token in his hand.
Lu Chen’s pupils contracted—
Was he about to contact that “young master”?
But in the next instant, the scene froze abruptly, completely still.
“Kitchen God, what’s going on?”
“The jade token has a secret art placed on it that conceals heavenly secrets.” The Kitchen God’s brows furrowed deeply. “It seems this ‘young master’ is no ordinary figure.”
“So the trail just goes cold?”
“Don’t worry, young friend. Let me see if there’s anything else suspicious about Qiu Qianluo and that man surnamed Ma in the past.”
The Kitchen God raised his hand, fingers together, and swept them across the air before his eyes.
A moment later, he said, “According to the Smoke and Fire Register, Qiu Qianluo and the man surnamed Ma had no direct contact afterward. They must have relied on these heaven-concealing transmission jade tokens—including with that young master.”
“So the real mastermind behind all this—that young master—can’t be identified?” Lu Chen suddenly thought of something. “If we can’t look forward, what about looking back? From what Ma Shilong said, he must have had contact with the young master before. Back then there were no transmission jade tokens, so there have to be clues. Same with Qiu Qianluo—he must have met this young master at least once, right?”
The Kitchen God nodded. “Indeed. Let me check.”
The surroundings shifted once more.
This time, the two stood among pavilions and towers. Qiu Qianluo was following a maidservant through a garden, heading toward a pavilion deep within.
“The young master is in that pavilion!”
Lu Chen rushed forward but was abruptly bounced back by an invisible barrier.
“What is this…?”
He had clearly seen Qiu Qianluo and the maidservant pass through without obstruction.
“This person behind the scenes is truly extremely cautious.” The Kitchen God’s expression was grave. “Young friend, the heavenly secrets here are also concealed—that’s why you cannot enter.”
“Would someone really be this cautious? Could they have been guarding against this from the very beginning?” Lu Chen’s face was dark as water. “It seems this so-called young master must hold even higher status and power than Ma Shilong. Who could it be? So hard to guess.”
A name suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The Zhao family’s young master—Zhao Wanliang.
For Ma Shilong to respectfully address someone as “young master,” it could only be a scion of a great clan in Jiangdu City.
And with Ma Shilong being a newly risen figure in the north of the city, plus the title “young master”…
Even if he couldn’t be certain it was Zhao Wanliang, there was at least a sixty percent chance.
“Kitchen God, what do we do now? Should we check on Ma Shilong’s side?”
“No need. Since they could set up this barrier, Ma Shilong’s side is likely the same.”
The Kitchen God mused, “Don’t worry, young friend. There’s no wall in this world that doesn’t let wind through. The more someone thinks they’ve been flawless, the more likely they’ve missed something. This person used heaven-concealing arts thinking it would solve everything once and for all—not realizing that very act is itself a massive flaw. Moreover, from the methods used, it’s clear they know about our authority as deities to monitor mortals.
They set this up specifically against us.
Little do they know, my Smoke and Fire Register has another ability—I can follow the vine to the melon, tracing back to the source!”
Lu Chen’s eyes lit up. “Please, Kitchen God, use your divine power!”
The Kitchen God nodded, tapped his finger lightly, and the Smoke and Fire Register appeared, its pages turning toward the pavilion.
A wisp of aura drifted out from the pavilion and was swallowed whole by the Register.
In an instant, the surroundings shifted again.
The two now stood ten thousand meters above Jiangdu. The Smoke and Fire Register released that wisp of aura, which—as if possessing intelligence—darted swiftly toward a certain location in the city.
“Let’s go!”
With a thought from the Kitchen God, he and Lu Chen followed the aura down to a villa.
On the plaque above the entrance were two large characters: Zhao Residence.
“Sure enough… it’s the Zhao family’s young master!” As his suspicion was confirmed, Lu Chen felt no surprise—only a cold smile formed on his lips.
“This person who cast the heavenly secret art thought concealing heavenly secrets would settle everything, but this technique really isn’t that advanced.
They probably calculated everything except that my Smoke and Fire Register is the number one tracking treasure in the mortal realm.
As long as I’m willing to sacrifice some spiritual essence, I can always find traces.
Right now, this Zhao Residence has the same heaven-concealing art in place.
Even though I can’t tell exactly what’s happening inside,
who the true culprit is has already become crystal clear.”
But the Kitchen God changed tack: “However, young friend… can this really count as evidence?”
Lu Chen pondered and said, “Kitchen God, let me ask you something first: can you identify the origin of this heaven-concealing art?”
“This is a common concealing divine ability from the Heavenly Court—indeed rare in a small city like Jiangdu.
If you ever go to the royal capital, you’ll find such arts everywhere, and even more sophisticated ones.
After all, mortal dignitaries don’t want to be constantly watched by deities.”
The Kitchen God paused briefly, then added, “As for those transmission jade tokens… they leave some traces. They don’t seem like mortal objects—more like…”
“Like what?”
“They carry a bit of the Underworld’s aura.”
“The Underworld?!”
