strictlysupreme Chapter 87 Blood Marrow Jade
Chapter 87 Blood Marrow Jade
Chapter 87 Blood Marrow Jade
Lin Fu is dead.
In the dungeon, Liang Cheng stared coldly at the blood-soaked corpse on the rack.
Liang Cheng didn't speak, but bent down and pried open Lin Fu's mouth. Sure enough, there was a tiny hole in the right molar, indicating that the venom sac had ruptured.
"search."
Li Mu led his men forward and conducted a thorough search.
Besides some loose silver and keys, Lin Fu also pulled out a palm-sized iron plaque from his inner pocket. The plaque was dark, with twisted flame patterns engraved on the front and a line of small characters on the back: Bingxu Seven.
"The seventh day of the Bingxu year —"
Liang Cheng took the iron plaque and traced the words on it with his fingertips.
"Move his body and the corpses of the other bandits to the colony for a thorough examination. Zhao Yuan, take some men to gather information. I need to know where they came from and where they usually hide."
"Yes."
Liang Cheng turned and walked out. "Li Mu, if the coroner finds out the source of the poison, you personally lead a team to investigate all the pharmacies in Dongshan Mine and find out the source."
"yes!"
"Captain Chen."
Liang Cheng stopped at the door. "Could you please come with me to Mine No. 3 and see what there is that's worth burning down?"
Chen Ping looked somewhat surprised, then bowed his head and said, "Your subordinate obeys."
Liang Cheng said no more, and with Chen Ping in tow, they flashed out of the garrison and headed straight for the mine.
He needed to see for himself what was hidden in Cave No. 3 that was worth such a huge fuss by the Zoroastrians, even at the cost of exposing their hidden forces, in order to set fire to cover it up.
The mine, entrance number three.
The fire had been extinguished, but the area around the cave entrance was charred and messy, and the pungent smell of smoke had not yet dissipated. Zhao Yuanzheng was directing people to clear away the rubble and burnt wood when he saw Liang Cheng return and quickly went to meet him.
"Senior brother, the obstacles at the cave entrance have been cleared. I sent people to explore thirty feet inside, and apart from the traces left by the arsonist, we haven't found anything else yet."
"I'll go in and take a look myself."
"what?"
Zhao Yuan was somewhat worried. No one knew the specifics of the situation inside, as it involved the Zoroastrianism and was very dangerous.
Liang Cheng patted him on the shoulder without saying a word, took a torch, and walked straight into the mine. Zhao Yuan quickly followed with two guards. The air inside the mine was murky, and the smoke and dust had not yet dissipated.
After walking about twenty paces, we saw the ruins of the artificially built fire wall.
Liang Cheng used his foot to push aside the charred wood, his gaze falling on the ground behind the wall of fire.
There were obvious drag marks on the ground, and some scattered pieces of wood that hadn't been completely burned. He squatted down, picked up a piece of wood, and brought it close to the torch for a closer look.
The cut surface of the wood was very fresh, indicating that it had been recently chopped. It was stained with some dark red dirt. Liang Cheng rubbed it between his fingers and then brought it to his nose to sniff.
"Blood."
"Blood?" Zhao Yuan was taken aback. "Injuries are common for miners, but in this location—"
"It wasn't splashed on, it was smeared on."
Liang Cheng stood up and walked deeper into the mine along the drag marks. "These pieces of wood were deliberately soaked in blood before being set on fire. They set this fire not just to obstruct us, but more like a ritual."
The further in you go, the narrower the mine tunnels become. Some tunnels have been abandoned and simply sealed off with wooden fences. The drag marks disappeared in front of one of the abandoned tunnels.
Liang Cheng pushed open the dilapidated wooden fence, and the scene inside the mine tunnel illuminated by the firelight made his pupils shrink slightly.
The mine tunnel was not long, ending at a rough rock wall. However, on the ground in front of the rock wall were dark red flame runes, each ten feet high, with an abstract multi-eyed symbol in the center.
Liang Cheng approached the pattern and carefully examined the rock wall. The surface of the rock wall looked normal, but when he reached out and pressed and tapped it inch by inch, a faint hollow sound came from the tapping when he got close to the upper right of the pattern.
He took two steps back, circulated his inner energy, and slammed his fist into the rock wall!
"Boom!"
The six-inch-thick rock wall crumbled, revealing a cave entrance just wide enough for one person to bend over and pass through. A cold, fishy wind rushed out of the cave.
Zhao Yuan gasped.
"The Zoroastrians have unearthed a secret passage!"
Holding a torch, Liang Cheng tested the air vents and then entered the secret passage first. The passage was very narrow, and the traces of human excavation were rough, with some rusted marks from mining picks visible.
After walking for about ten zhang, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a stone cave about three zhang square. In the center, there was a stone platform that was clearly built by human hands.
The stone platform was covered with a thick layer of dark red grime, emitting a strong smell of blood and burnt odor. Scattered around the stone platform were some white bones.
There were animal remains, as well as several fragments of bones that clearly belonged to humans.
On the rock face directly opposite the stone platform, there is a huge mural with rough lines: countless tiny figures kneeling and worshipping a rising flame, within which is a blurry multi-eyed outline.
"Cult altar —"
Zhao Yuan's voice was hoarse.
Liang Cheng's face was ashen. He walked to the stone platform and scraped off a bit of dirt with the tip of his knife. In the torchlight, the dirt appeared an unsettling dark reddish-brown.
"Human blood, mixed with mineral powder, repeatedly soaked and accumulated."
He looked around the grottoes and came to a conclusion.
"This has been used more than once."
"Senior brother, look here!"
Another guard from the martial arts academy shouted from a corner of the cave, where a sack had fallen. Liang Cheng walked over, used his knife to pry open the sack, and found a mineral he had never seen before. The mineral was deep black, but its surface was covered with dark red veins like blood vessels, and it was icy to the touch.
"What kind of mine is this?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely not ordinary iron ore. The Zoroastrians are probably lurking here for this stuff."
"Pack up these ores and take them back to the garrison. Carefully record all traces inside the cave. Also, keep this news under wraps for now, especially from the Lin family."
"yes!"
The garrison's study.
On the table were three items: the flaming iron plaque found on Lin Fu, the dark red ore sample brought back from the mysterious cave, and Li Mu's preliminary investigation report.
Liang Cheng read the report while listening to Li Mu's briefing.
"In the past month, in addition to his routine inspections of the Lin family's various mines, Lin Fu has also visited Old Chen's Tea Shop in the west of the town three times. The tea shop owner said that Lin Fu always went alone, sat in the inner room for half an hour, and then left. No one knows who he met."
"As for the investigation of the poison, the ingredients of the heart-corroding herb have been found, and the three pharmacies in the town have not made any abnormal purchases in the past three months."
"Heart-corroding herb?"
"Yes, it's a deadly poison. After ingestion, the heart and lungs will feel like they're burning, and death will occur within half a cup of tea, just like Lin Fu and those men in black."
Liang Cheng tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"What discoveries did Captain Chen make?"
Liang Cheng suddenly asked.
Zhao Yuan immediately replied: "Captain Chen and his men found traces of someone's recent presence in an abandoned adobe house in the back alley of West Street. They found several clean food bags and several empty water bags."
Additionally, along the path leading to the mine, there were fresh hoof prints, not from draft horses commonly used locally, but more like those from warhorses.
Warhorses?
Liang Cheng immediately made a decision.
"Li Mu, keep a close eye on the tea shop and pharmacy, see if there are any clues. Zhao Yuan, increase the manpower at the mine, especially at Cave No. 3. Guard it tightly. No one is allowed to enter without my authorization."
"What about the Lin family—"
Liang Cheng looked out the window at the darkening sky. "Let's not move for now and see if he'll come looking for us."
The study in the Lin family mansion.
Lin Yue sat in the armchair, listening to Lin Mao's trembling report below.
"Zhou Shou has taken direct control of all the mines and sent his men back to the Lin family. Patriarch, is he planning to turn against us?"
Lin Yue slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm and undisturbed: "Did they see what was in Mine No. 3?"
"As you instructed, the altar collapsed the entrance, and Liang Cheng got in faster than expected. He must have seen some traces."
"It's good that you saw it."
Lin Yue said calmly, "The Zoroastrians are a bunch of lunatics, they can't be controlled."
-
Lin Mao was taken aback, then understood: "What the patriarch means is—"
7
"Tomorrow morning, you go to the garrison yourself and deliver Lin Fu's clothes and supplies there. Don't let him suffer any injustice."
"Oh? Yes!"
After Lin Mao stepped down, a person emerged from behind the screen; it was Lin Chong.
"Father, why don't we tell Liang Cheng the truth? If this continues, Dongshan Mine will be in chaos."
Lin Yue looked at his son and said, "Even if we say it, who would believe us? Besides, I feel that this Liang Cheng is different from the previous garrison commander. Who knows, he might actually be able to solve the problem."
"Him?"
Lin Chong looked puzzled. Even the Lin family, as local bullies, had to bow their heads and turn a blind eye. Could Liang Cheng, a newcomer, really solve the problem?
Lin Yue did not answer, but looked out the window toward the dark mine, a deep sense of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
The things in that cave are not only wanted by the Zoroastrian Church; the City Lord's Mansion and the Martial Academy probably want Liang Cheng's sword to be used.
However, the sharper the knife, the easier it is to break.
It all depends on how steady the person holding the knife is.
The next morning, Lin Mao arrived at the garrison.
He was accompanied by two servants from the Lin family, carrying a small camphor wood chest containing several sets of brand-new cotton clothes and two quilts.
"Liang Zhenshou".
Lin Mao smiled obsequiously, bowing low. "When the patriarch heard that that wretched Lin Fu dared to collude with foreign bandits, he was both shocked and furious, and specially ordered me to send some daily necessities."
The patriarch said, "Lin Fu is, after all, a member of the Lin family. Please, the garrison commander, do not make things too difficult for him."
Lin Mao spoke eloquently and adopted a composed demeanor. Liang Cheng, sitting in the hall, didn't look at the box but instead focused his gaze on Lin Mao's face: "Manager Lin, you can take the things back. Lin Fu has committed suicide by poisoning."
"what?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Mao froze on the spot, at a loss for what to do.
Ignoring him, Liang Cheng suddenly asked, "By the way, what specific area does Lin Fu manage at the Lin family?"
Lin Mao then came to his senses: "Go back to the garrison. He mainly manages the warehouse's inflows and outflows, and the miners' monthly wages; they're all miscellaneous tasks."
"Miscellaneous tasks?"
Liang Cheng tapped the "Bingxu Seven" iron plaque on the table lightly with his finger.
"A mere steward in charge of miscellaneous tasks, with poison hidden in his teeth and a Zoroastrian token in his pocket, and a blood altar deep within Mine No. 3 right under the noses of your Lin family—is this Dongshan Mine really that chaotic?"
Lin Mao's forehead was covered in sweat: "This—"
7
Liang Cheng stood up, walked up to Lin Mao, and spoke in a low voice that made Lin Mao breathless. "Manager Lin, I'm a straightforward person. The Zoroastrian altar is right under the mine. I find it hard to believe that the Lin family didn't know about it."
He paused, staring at Lin Mao's pale face: "Go back and tell Lin Yue to conduct a thorough internal investigation of the Lin family. Some people he can't handle can be sent to the garrison."
Lin Mao's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down: "Governor, I dare not pass on these words!"
Liang Cheng sat back down, his tone indifferent. "I've sealed off Cave No. 3. No one is allowed to enter until the matter is cleared up. The Lin family has been running this business for three generations. Please send over a map of the mineral vein when the time comes. No, I won't."
Lin Maoru was granted a pardon and nodded repeatedly. He led his men to carry the boxes back. As for Lin Fu's corpse, he didn't care about that at the moment.
Li Mu and Zhao Yuan emerged from the back hall, frowning. "Senior brother, won't this pressure provoke the Lin family to take drastic measures?"
"It's alright."
"It all depends on their reaction. Anyway, if we want to find out what happened, we can't get around the Lin family. Lin Yue is a smart man and he won't stand up to them at this time."
He picked up the strange ore and weighed it in his hand: "However, this thing is probably the key to finding out what's going on."
"Zhao Yuan, send a trustworthy person, disguised, to deliver the sample back to the Martial Academy via a back road. Remember, no one except Elder Huang must know about it."
"Yes."
In the afternoon, Liang Cheng practiced meditation in the quiet room.
However, just as he was circulating his energy, he felt a warmth coming from his cuff. He frowned and stopped, looking at a small sample of black and red-veined ore placed in his cuff, which he had casually placed there after discussing it earlier.
He placed it in his palm, somewhat puzzled. He tried to slowly infuse it with a wisp of true energy, and the moment it touched the ore, a strange change occurred.
The blood-red veins on the surface of the ore seemed to come alive, suddenly emitting a dark red glow, and then a surge of blood energy flowed out.
Liang Cheng's eyes narrowed, and he immediately cut off the flow of true energy.
But in that brief moment, he already felt an effect similar to that of the Qi and Blood Pill, only even more strange, as it could actually be integrated into his true qi.
"The power of Qi and blood nourishes oneself?"
However, this would result in chaotic qi and blood, which might improve strength initially but could lead to internal conflicts later on, causing even more trouble.
The Zoroastrianism's collection of this ore, even at the cost of human lives in blood sacrifices, is probably not just for ritual purposes, but more likely to nourish these stones, allowing them to undergo some kind of transformation, acquiring the power of blood and qi to aid in some extreme cultivation.
He put away the ore and waited for news from Elder Huang, remaining inactive for the time being. He calmed his mind and continued his cultivation.
As long as you have enough strength, you can cope with any changes.
-
In the afternoon, Liang Cheng did not receive any visitors from the Lin family. Instead, Lu Ming, the steward of the Lu family, came to visit. Liang Cheng personally instructed Li Mu to bring him in.
Lu Ming cupped his hands and said, "I have heard that the garrison commander has been troubled by matters concerning the mine recently. I have been working in the mine for many years and may have some insights to share."
"You're too kind, Manager Lu."
Liang Cheng invited Lu Ming to sit down and had tea served. A thought struck Liang Cheng, and he took out a dark red ore from his sleeve, saying, "Manager Lu, you've been at the Dongshan Mine for many years; it was my oversight. You are very knowledgeable; have you ever seen this kind of ore before?"
Lu Ming took the ore, examined it carefully, and tapped it with his fingertips to listen to the sound, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.
"I've never seen this stone before," he said, handing the ore back with a serious expression. "But its texture and patterns remind me of an old story."
"This garrison commander is all ears."
"About ten years ago, my father went to Blackrock City in the north with a caravan. There, a strange stone called Blood Marrow Jade is produced. It is said that wearing it can calm the mind and nourish the spirit. However, mining it is extremely difficult, and strange things often happen deep in the mine. Miners often go crazy or disappear."
Later, Blackrock City suddenly closed its mines, officially stating that the veins had dried up, but rumors circulated that they had unearthed something they shouldn't have, attracting evil spirits.
Lu Ming lowered his voice: "The rumors at the time described something that shouldn't be dug up, including a kind of black stone with blood-red veins that felt icy to the touch and seemed to be able to absorb a person's life force."
Liang Cheng's heart skipped a beat: "Black Rock City? What happened to it afterward?"
"Shortly after the mine was closed, few people went there anymore, and no one in Blackrock City paid attention to it, so it gradually stopped being talked about."
Lu Ming shook his head at this moment, "Guardian, if this stone is really related to the Blood Marrow Jade, I'm afraid it's truly an ominous sign."
"Thank you for informing me, Manager Lu." Liang Cheng put away the ore. "Please keep this matter confidential for now."
"Rest assured in guarding the area."
After Lu Ming left, Liang Cheng frowned more and more. Black Rock City, Blood Marrow Jade, and the Fire Worship Cult—what secrets lay within them?
Blackrock City is in the north, which somewhat matches the clues about the warhorses of the outsiders. Could there be some connection between them?
Just as he was pondering this, Zhao Yuan suddenly came in with a grim expression. "Senior brother, something has happened again."
Liang Cheng followed Li Mu out. At the entrance of the garrison, several men dressed as miners looked terrified, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered around them.
Zhao Yuan immediately stepped forward and shouted, "The garrison is here; what is the cause of this commotion?"
The group of people trembled and quickly stepped back to make way for them.
One of the men, a scarred man on his face, knelt down with a thud and cried out, "Governor! You must do us justice! Wang Laosan was on night duty last night, and this morning he was found dead at the mine entrance, with a huge hole in his chest, just like those other officials who died before him!"
Liang Cheng's face darkened.
"Where is the body?"
Several people made way, revealing a stretcher covered with a white sheet.
"The case involves an autopsy."
The guards carried the body to the morgue, while Liang Cheng continued to question the miners.
"Tell me the specifics of what happened?"
"We were on night duty with him last night. It was almost dawn when it was his turn to go out. He was dozing off in the shed next door and didn't hear anything. We only found out that Wang Laosan was gone when we changed shifts."
"There's nothing unusual happening?"
"No!"
"Alright, you guys go back first. We'll let you know when there's a result."
"Could there really be evil spirits guarding this place?"
"It's alright, with me here, things won't get chaotic at Dongshan Mine."
In the evening, Lin Chong came to the garrison alone, carrying an old wooden box.
Liang Chenggang finished practicing his swordplay and entered the reception room: "Young Master Lin personally delivered the drawing?"
"This concerns the mineral vein, so we dare not entrust it to others."
-
Lin Chong placed the wooden box on the stone table. "This is a detailed map of the Dongshan mine and records of mining over the years. My father said that since the garrison wants to investigate, the Lin family should cooperate."
Liang Cheng opened the wooden box. The blueprints were yellowed and old. When he turned to the No. 3 mine area, the blueprints only went up to the middle of the main tunnel. The deeper part was blank, with only six small characters marked on it:
The old alley has collapsed and is off-limits.
"What's going on with this blank space?"
"Eight years ago, a landslide occurred there, killing dozens of people. The tunnel was sealed off, and no one dared to survey it anymore."
Lin Chong remained calm.
"But I happened to go in there the day before yesterday and didn't see any signs of collapse. Instead, I found some interesting things."
Lin Chong was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "My father asked me to tell the garrison commander that some old matters are best left unsaid. If the garrison commander really wants to investigate, he should investigate the present and leave the past alone."
Are you advising me to stop?
"I wouldn't dare."
Lin Chong lowered his head. "It's just a reminder. Everything is up to the garrison commander. Now that the map has been delivered, I have some matters to attend to at home, so I'll take my leave."
That night, Liang Cheng secretly set off alone, his destination—
No. 3 Mine Pit.