Chapter Forty-Six: Grinding Bones to Dust and Scattering the Ashes

In the blink of an eye, it landed before He Song.

He Song released a trace of his own aura, and the messenger paper crane immediately turned into a blank sheet of paper.

He unfolded it.

"Fellow Daoist, this matter was caused by me to begin with. Taking care of its aftermath for you is only my duty as well.

"I had thought to handle it after my shift was over, but I did not expect you to have already uncovered Chen Zhou’s background.

"That Chen Zhou is an ill-natured man, bullying the weak, extorting spirit stones, committing all sorts of evil—he is utterly beyond redemption, truly a blight among us.

"For you to expose his crimes is indeed a great service.

"I have already struck Chen Zhou’s name from the list of spirit herb cultivators and have petitioned for your commendation.

"Such merit will surely earn you a reward from the Hall of Spiritual Medicine. When the day comes, I will personally bring you your prize.

"Zhao Lin."

Nowhere in the letter did Zhao Lin mention anything about securing benefits for He Song or about He Song’s desire to eliminate Chen Zhou.

Instead, Zhao Lin not only erased Chen Zhou’s name from the list of spirit herb cultivators but also portrayed him as an unforgivable villain, and petitioned for He Song’s commendation for uncovering his crimes.

A truly classic maneuver.

He Song couldn’t help but chuckle when he finished reading.

Even Wei Fan, who had been fuming over Chen Zhou’s actions, couldn’t help but show a strange expression when he caught sight of the letter.

This Zhao Lin.

As long as he has the authority and it’s for the benefit of a friend, he really does dare to pull strings.

“This fellow Daoist is quite the character,” Wei Fan remarked with an odd look.

He himself had once tried to use his position to help He Song save some spirit stones, granting him a little benefit.

But he hadn’t expected Zhao Lin to go even further.

He had merely waived most of He Song’s rent for half a month.

Zhao Lin, on the other hand, not only helped He Song with matters of the spirit fields, but when He Song wanted to kill someone, he covered for him and even petitioned for a commendation.

This…

Clearly, it was a conflict between two parties, one seeking to eliminate the other to prevent future trouble.

But in Zhao Lin’s hands, it became a tale of He Song’s keen insight exposing Chen Zhou’s vile character and ridding the Hall of Spiritual Medicine of a cancer.

If not for being directly involved in these events himself, Wei Fan might have believed Zhao Lin’s story.

---

“This fellow Daoist has been acquainted with me for over three years—he was introduced to me by Old Meng before he left. When Old Meng returns, perhaps we can invite him as well and add another to our gatherings,” He Song explained, seeing that Wei Fan was interested in Zhao Lin and already considering bringing him into their small circle.

If a person is a friend to any one of three close friends, his character can be trusted. If he is a friend to two of the three, there’s no obstacle to joining the circle.

He Song, Wei Fan, and Meng Guan—

The three had known each other for many years and were familiar with each other’s temperament.

Anyone recognized by two of them would naturally be above reproach.

“But speaking of Old Meng, has he sent you any messenger paper cranes recently?” He Song suddenly recalled Meng Guan and quickly asked.

It had been a long time since He Song had seen Meng Guan.

Three years ago, Meng Guan had sent each of them a messenger paper crane and then vanished without a trace.

He Song and Wei Fan had tried to contact him, but every messenger crane they sent received no reply.

The two of them were anxious, but there was nothing they could do.

The Scarlet Spirit Gold Mine was too dangerous. With their cultivation levels, neither dared to go investigate.

All they could do was worry.

“Let’s wait until Old Meng returns before talking about adding new members. Besides, he hasn’t sent me any messenger cranes either. Anyway, give me a moment—I’ll have my people drive Chen Zhou out of the Immortal Market first,” Wei Fan replied, shaking his head as he released a messenger paper crane.

Wei Fan was not without power.

As a steward of the Department of Spiritual Construction and a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he wielded considerable authority.

The Department of Spiritual Construction was responsible for managing all buildings in the Immortal Market.

As an official in such a department, expelling a rogue cultivator was as simple as giving the order.

Now that Zhao Lin had removed Chen Zhou from the list of spirit herb cultivators, he was nothing more than a rogue cultivator.

The simplest way to deal with a rogue cultivator was to drive him out of the Immortal Market and then finish him off.

As a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who had greatly improved his combat prowess three years earlier, Wei Fan would have no difficulty facing someone at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Though Chen Zhou was a rogue cultivator, he had only just broken through to the mid-stage, fourth-level Qi Refining.

Against a late-stage cultivator with fine magical tools, ample talismans, and skilled spells, he would be nearly powerless to resist.

“Just wait a moment, fellow Daoist. I’ll bring back his head,” Wei Fan said with a slight smile to He Song as he released the messenger crane and quickly strode out of the courtyard.

From his eager manner, it seemed he hadn’t had a chance to act for quite some time and was itching for action.

But just as he was about to step out the gate, He Song’s voice sounded behind him.

---

“Wei, there’s no need for the head—just remember to burn the body and scatter the ashes!”

Wei Fan’s silhouette visibly paused, then he sped out of the courtyard even faster.

At the same time, his voice drifted back.

“Alright, I’ll bring you some ashes after I’m done burning him.”

With that, Wei Fan disappeared from the courtyard, heading toward Chen Zhou’s residence.

Inside the small courtyard—

Watching Wei Fan’s figure vanish from view, He Song felt speechless, but after a moment’s thought, he didn’t object.

Burning the body and scattering the ashes after the deed—

That should prevent any further trouble.

Even if Chen Zhou had friends outside, they would likely be unable to trace anything back to him.

Furthermore, burning the body and scattering the ashes would also prevent Chen Zhou from faking his death or escaping by feigning death.

Even should he die, he would not return as a zombie or some other sinister creature.

Once the body was burned and the ashes scattered, everything would dissipate.

Chen Zhou would vanish completely from this world.

Thinking it through, He Song forcibly suppressed the urge to join Wei Fan in destroying the evidence.

For He Song, venturing outside the Immortal Market was still too dangerous.

With only mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation and no offensive or defensive spells, his combat ability was next to nothing.

Should he encounter an enemy, he would be helpless except to hide behind Wei Fan.

This was not what He Song wanted.

“It’s best to wait until I’ve learned some attack and defense spells, equipped myself with proper magical tools, and prepared some high-quality talismans before leaving the Immortal Market.”

In Wei Fan’s courtyard, He Song silently reviewed what he needed to prepare.

At present, his cultivation had reached mid-stage Qi Refining, and he received at least ninety spirit stones a year—

Far wealthier than in his early Qi Refining days.

If he saved for a while, he was confident he could gather everything he needed.

After all, when it came to time—

He had always had it in abundance.