Chapter 109 : The Murderer's Figure Was Rather Petite
Chapter 109: The Murderer's Figure Was Rather Petite
When Fang Chang stepped outside, he was somewhat surprised.
Only Jiang Cheng stood outside the small courtyard.
The Enforcement Hall cultivators who had accompanied her earlier were nowhere to be seen.
Even the sword at her waist and the Enforcement Hall token had been removed.
There was no need to think about it.
She was making it clear that this meeting was in a private capacity.
"Junior Brother Fang, I'm afraid I've disturbed you again."
Jiang Cheng smiled and cupped her hands. Most of the coldness and sternness had faded from her pretty face, adding a touch of charm.
Fang Chang knew she had not come because of the murder case.
Returning the salute with a greeting, he fell silent and waited for her to speak.
Seeing the distance in his attitude, Jiang Cheng paid it no mind and smiled.
"I noticed that the formation protecting your residence possesses rather exquisite mysteries. May I ask whether it was set up by Junior Brother Fang?"
Seeing Fang Chang nod,
she was immediately overjoyed and praised him.
"To possess such exquisite attainments in formations at such a young age—this truly fills Senior Sister with admiration!"
Fang Chang smiled amiably.
"Fellow Daoist, why not speak plainly? Are you perhaps interested in purchasing my formation diagram?"
The formation protecting his residence was, in fact, the same formation used by the old man beside the Rift Abyss River.
Lower Immortal was, after all, a masterpiece of stitched-together systems.
Naturally, it included construction and housing systems.
If you belonged to one of the Orthodox Sects, that was one thing.
But if you were outside and still dared not set up even a simple protective formation...
With those honest and upright rogue cultivators roaming about, they'd blast open your front door in minutes and strip your home clean.
"I naturally wish to purchase the formation diagram, but I have an even better proposition."
"I'm listening."
"A senior in my family runs a small formation shop over in East Summer Courtyard. We just so happen to be lacking a disciple proficient in formations. What do you think..."
Fang Chang immediately lost interest and waved his hand dismissively.
Seeing him refuse so quickly, Jiang Cheng was rather surprised and hurriedly continued,
"The pay is generous. Of whatever you earn from each assignment, you may keep fifty percent! How about it?"
The remuneration was indeed generous.
Yet Fang Chang still shook his head, causing her to become anxious.
"We can negotiate, Junior Brother Fang."
Among the hundred arts of cultivation, every single one required Tai Sui Flesh.
That stuff was money.
This Fang Chang accepted outside jobs and missions, and he even lived behind Huangmei Courtyard where the Heaven-and-Earth Spiritual Light was somewhat lacking.
At first glance, he clearly looked like someone short on money.
He should not have refused so decisively...
As for that so-called "shop run by a senior family member"...
It was actually her own shop.
Only, because she already held a position in the Enforcement Hall, opening a shop under her own name would inevitably invite criticism and give others leverage against her.
Thus, she had asked an elder from her family to put their name on it instead.
Unfortunately, both of the shop's only formation diagram masters had recently been poached away.
Combined with the recent incident involving the sect's grand protective formation being breached, everyone's confidence in formations had declined.
The shop could no longer recruit anyone and had fallen into complete stagnation.
So the moment she discovered Fang Chang possessed impressive attainments,
she immediately wanted to recruit him.
Fang Chang still shook his head.
"Formations are merely a hobby of mine. I have no desire to make a profession out of them."
Seeing that he was about to send her away, Jiang Cheng immediately resorted to her trump card.
"The elder I mentioned is Elder Yue Han! She has a very good relationship with Junior Sister Cheng Hua!"
Fang Chang gave her a curious look.
He immediately realized she had investigated both his mission records and his entry records into the sect.
"So?"
"It wasn't my intention to investigate you, Junior Brother. It was merely part of my duties. The records simply happened to overlap."
Jiang Cheng looked rather embarrassed.
But for the sake of her little shop, she could only press on.
"I happened to meet the junior brothers and sisters who returned to the sect with you. While asking about your whereabouts, they happened to mention that you knew Junior Sister Cheng Hua."
"As for Junior Sister Cheng... she possesses a clear Dao Heart, along with beauty capable of sinking fish and causing geese to fall. Quite a number of junior and senior brothers... admire her."
"The elder I mentioned, Perfected Yue Han, has watched over Junior Sister Cheng ever since she entered the sect and is very close to her. Junior Brother, with your elegant bearing, you and Junior Sister Cheng are truly a perfect match. If I ask Perfected Yue Han to play matchmaker... although Junior Sister is detached from worldly desires, there may still be a chance, don't you think?"
Jiang Cheng's attitude was astonishingly humble.
She was clearly not accustomed to doing such things. Even her heroic face could not help but flush slightly.
Fang Chang paused for a moment.
"May I ask Fellow Daoist's name again?"
Jiang Cheng was taken aback.
"Jiang Cheng."
Jiang Cheng.
Fang Chang silently repeated the name several times.
Then he suddenly smiled and nodded.
"I can help. However, I always have my own affairs to attend to. I won't take on more than ten assignments a month."
These days I'd be thanking the heavens if I could even manage five.
Ever since the sect's grand protective formation had been breached, the overall environment within the sect had become rather poor.
Quite a number of formation shops had already gone out of business.
Yet this particular shop had consumed an enormous amount of Jiang Cheng's effort.
She simply could not bear to watch it fail.
Now that a glimmer of hope had appeared,
how could she not be overjoyed?
"It's a deal! I'll bring the contr... no, I'll go fetch it right now!"
"There's no need to rush."
"Ah... Right. Our shop doesn't currently offer a base salary..."
"That's fine."
Seeing that he did not mind, Jiang Cheng's opinion of him immediately improved considerably.
Then, as though she had suddenly realized something, an expression of I understand spread across her face.
She exclaimed excitedly,
"Rest assured, Junior Brother Fang! I'll immediately ask Elder Yue Han to introduce you! I'll definitely arrange for you and Junior Sister Cheng to meet more often! Make sure the two of you properly cultivate your relationship! If the day ever comes when you two become Dao companions, don't forget to invite Senior Sister to your wedding banquet!"
Fang Chang found it rather amusing.
He did not bother denying it and merely smiled without speaking.
After all,
whether right or wrong,
Jiang Cheng had successfully stuffed this enormous promise straight into Fang Chang's stomach.
In truth, even she felt somewhat embarrassed saying it.
Given Cheng Hua's cold and detached personality, she genuinely doubted the woman would ever fall for any man in this lifetime.
...
...
Jiang Cheng carefully folded the contract and tucked it into the front of her robes.
Unfortunately, her ample bosom pressed against the thin sheet of paper, slightly deforming it.
Completely unaware, Jiang Cheng merely held her robes tightly closed as her ponytail bounced cheerfully behind her while she hummed a tune on her way toward the Enforcement Hall.
Just then, she happened to run into a disciple rushing outside.
Recognizing the person as one of her subordinates, Jiang Cheng immediately grabbed her by the back of the neck, returning to her usual stern demeanor as she said coldly,
"What's with all this rushing around?! What sort of place do you think this is? Walk properly!"
Unexpectedly, rather than being frightened, the disciple was overjoyed.
"Deacon Jiang! I was just looking for you!"
"What is it?"
"Regarding the murder case at East Summer Courtyard—we have a witness!"
Jiang Cheng's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Take me there!"
The two hurried into the inner hall.
Not long afterward, they found a disciple who had been seated there as an honored guest.
Jiang Cheng cupped her hands and got straight to the point.
"Around midnight the night before last, at the alleyway leading to the entrance of East Summer Courtyard. Is that correct?"
The disciple nodded, lingering fear evident in his eyes.
"There were very few people on the street that night. A friend and I had been drinking, so I returned to my dormitory later than usual. At first I thought I had seen things, but now that I think about it, that was probably when the murder happened."
"Who was the murderer?"
"I couldn't make out the person's face. Perhaps she used some technique to blur her appearance. But I could tell she was wearing a skirt, and she was a woman who used a sword."
A woman?
A sword user?
Jiang Cheng recalled the wound on that Cui Family disciple's body.
—A huge hole had been melted through the area where his heart had been. That was the work of Five Elements Techniques.
There were no sword wounds anywhere on his body.
However, it could not be ruled out that he had first been stabbed to death before the wound was concealed with a Five Elements technique.
But why?
"Anything else? Did the murderer have any other distinguishing features?"
The disciple paused to think.
A moment later, he suddenly reacted.
"Oh! The murderer's figure was rather petite."