Roaring Dragon-Chapter 30: Destroying the Evidence?

Lin Wanyi had a dream.

In the dream, she knelt under a starlit sky in prayer, and a stunning celestial maiden descended from the heavens to touch her forehead with her own.

As a warm current flowed into her brow, the icy chill that gripped her body receded like the tide, her limbs and bones relaxing completely.

It was an indescribable, blissful sensation.

Like a perfect afternoon nap in spring — soothing, refreshing, filling her with vibrant energy — a pleasure so deep she never wanted to wake up.

But as that comfort faded, her consciousness gradually returned.

Why did I fall asleep...?

Just now...

She vaguely recalled collapsing in a corpse pit, right in front of Xie Jinhuan...

"Miss Lin..."

"Ah—!!"

A sharp scream echoed across the valley!

Xie Jinhuan had been about to check on her when the elegant beauty lying by the water suddenly jolted awake, her face twisting into mortified rage. Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes filled with panic and terror. She wiped her forehead — finding nothing — then swung her hand out for a slap!

Swish—

Xie Jinhuan hadn’t expected her to lash out the moment she woke. He leaned back to dodge, quickly catching her wrist:

"What are you doing?!"

"Let me go!"

Lin Wanyi struggled fiercely, even trying to kick him.

But soon, she realized something was wrong.

Her clothes were perfectly intact — no sign of violation.

Her body felt normal too — no discomfort, only a refreshing lightness, as if her health had been completely restored.

On the contrary, it was Xie Jinhuan whose face was ghost-pale, lips bloodless, looking thoroughly drained...

?

Lin Wanyi froze, her hysteria halting abruptly. The accusations caught in her throat, confusion filling her eyes.

Xie Jinhuan, knowing full well he'd used her body to forge evidence, didn’t blame her. He calmly held her wrist, channeling more true qi into her meridians:

"You fainted earlier — your breath was barely there. I had no silver needles, so I did what I could to save you. Are you feeling better?"

Lin Wanyi checked herself carefully. Indeed, there were no signs of offense — and her body was obviously much better than before, fully nourished and healed.

Sitting there, Xie Jinhuan had remained composed despite her beauty, exhausting his own strength to rescue her. She'd woken up and immediately slapped him — wasn’t that judging a gentleman by a villain’s heart?

Realizing this, Lin Wanyi blushed with embarrassment, shrinking her neck like a guilty cat:

"I... I must’ve been half-dreaming. I'm sorry. Um... I feel much better now. Thank you for your trouble."

As she spoke, she grabbed Xie Jinhuan’s wrist to check his condition.

But at one touch, her eyes widened in shock — his qi and blood were almost completely depleted, his life force dangerously thin.

Who knew how much of his essence he had burned away in such a short time?

Lin Wanyi was stunned, her face full of shock and confusion:

"What method did you use to save me? Why are you this drained?"

Xie Jinhuan gave a bitter smile, his voice calm:

"My master taught me a life-extending technique. It damages my own essence heavily, but at least you survived. How do you feel?"

Lin Wanyi honestly felt like a drought-ravaged land receiving rain.

Every pore seemed to breathe freely. She was refreshed and brimming with vitality — she could barely stop herself from craving another round.

But another round might squeeze Xie Jinhuan dry.

Realizing how much he had sacrificed to save her, Lin Wanyi blushed even deeper, hurriedly pulling out a blood-nourishing pill from her sash and holding it to his lips:

"Quick, take this — you mustn't injure yourself further... I don’t know what happened to me, maybe the corpse pit’s evil aura triggered an old illness."

Xie Jinhuan swallowed the pill. Bitter medicinal liquid exploded in his mouth, making his face crumple:

"Bleh, that’s bitter..."

"I’m sorry, but it’s necessary," Lin Wanyi said softly.

...

Supporting each other, the two began walking along the creek.

The atmosphere between them had grown slightly... ambiguous.

But before they could get far, the black hawk circling above let out two sharp cries:

"Goo—Goo—"

Xie Jinhuan's previously fragile demeanor vanished in an instant. He pulled his arm free from Lin Wanyi’s soft embrace, gripped his mace tightly, and his wandering gaze turned razor-sharp.

?

Lin Wanyi, puzzled, glanced up:

"What’s wrong with Meiqiu?"

"Someone’s coming."

"Ah?!"

——

The afternoon sun slanted westward, casting a golden glow over Rooster Crest Ridge.

The rugged creek trail was blanketed in brown leaves and pine needles. Squirrels flitted among the trees.

Above, a black bird circled like a hunter.

Four figures walked upstream, disguised as ordinary merchants. Among them, the sorcerer Luming glanced at the hawk overhead:

"That hawk looks pretty good. After we're done here, I should catch it as a gift for Young Master."

The so-called "Young Master," He Can, wore the guise of a rich young lord, a black umbrella at his waist, and a stormy expression between his brows:

"Things are already screwed up. You still have the mood to catch birds? You're over fifty, yet you spent the night drooling over erotic paintings, didn’t even notice the floodwaters washed the corpses downstream.

"Master worked hard to pin the East Warehouse mess on the Li family. The case was about to be wrapped up nicely — now it’s ruined."

Luming knew he’d messed up badly. He didn’t dare argue, only muttered:

"How the hell did Xie Jinhuan notice? He just showed up and immediately found the warehouse. The corpses were so rotten that even the Prince’s Pavilion experts couldn’t find anything. How did he sniff out corpse flies and Gu flowers?"

"Who knows."

He Can hopped over some rocks:

"Maybe it’s fate. The old saying goes, 'evil cannot suppress righteousness' and 'he who walks the crooked path will self-destruct.' Look at us — you think Heaven’s gonna bless scum like us?"

"Uh..."

Luming opened his mouth but couldn’t refute that gloomy thought. freēwēbnovel.com

He changed the subject:

"The cave's been sealed. Why are we still here?"

"The yamen will find the Mad Corpse Flower's trail within two days. If we clean this place first, even if they find it, there’ll be nothing left. Xie Jinhuan's claims will look like nonsense. They’ll still have to keep hammering the Li family, and we won’t be exposed."

"You’re brilliant, Young Master."

"Brilliant? Master planned everything perfectly. You and your idiot mistake ruined it. Now I’m here cleaning up after you..."

...

As they bickered, they arrived at the pond.

He Can stopped by the creek, frowning at the gaping hole left by the landslide:

"What the hell? Did the rotten pigs come back to life and bust out?"

Luming scanned the area with a scowl:

"Impossible. Probably just someone came by."

"Oh..."

The valley fell into tense silence.

He Can pulled up his scarf, drew his black umbrella, and scanned the silent woods:

"Think they’re still around?"

"Not sure. The corpse stench is still fresh. Whoever opened the pit was here less than half an hour ago."

He Can narrowed his eyes, scanning the rustling underbrush:

"You clean up the corpses. I’ll stand watch."

Luming nodded grimly, pulling tools from the cloaked figures they brought.

Meanwhile, hidden among the shrubs on the hillside—

Xie Jinhuan crouched, observing the four intruders intently.

Lin Wanyi pressed close behind him, her soft curves fitting against his back, yet she stayed perfectly still.

Seeing the two leaders glance around cautiously, Lin Wanyi frowned:

"Four against two... Can we win?"

Xie Jinhuan was analyzing them.

The older and younger men were obviously martial cultivators — mid-level at best.

But the two cloaked figures... they had no circulating qi at all.

"Those two under cloaks — they don’t seem alive. What's going on?"

"Not alive?"

Lin Wanyi’s face darkened:

"Maybe puppets... Corpse Sect puppets."

Xie Jinhuan had never seen one but had heard of them.

The Corpse Sect was infamous — their puppets were crafted from corpses through forbidden arts, nearly indestructible.

Such practitioners were feared and hunted across the realm.

Fighting them was tough — their puppets were brutal tanks, and the masters skilled in witchcraft, versatile and deadly.

The only upside:

Corpse practitioners made terrible allies and usually got beaten to death.

Xie Jinhuan, cautious as always, asked:

"Both of them corpse puppeteers?"

Lin Wanyi studied them, unsure.

Thankfully, the ever-reliable Ye Hongshang floated nearby and whispered:

"The old one’s a corpse witch. The young one’s a ghost witch. Their leader isn’t here.

The black umbrella is a magic tool — it holds a few ghosts. Use lightning on them and the Zhenglun Sword — you’ll crush them easily."

Hearing this, Xie Jinhuan’s heart stirred.

There was a chance to wipe them out.

But he needed them alive for now — to bear the blame.

If he killed them here, the Prince’s Mansion would have a free hand to come after him again.

Thus, he chose to bide his time, waiting for them to leave.

Yet soon he realized—

These people didn’t intend to leave alive!

One stood guard; the other took out a sack of something — probably to destroy the evidence.

Xie Jinhuan’s heart sank.

He had painstakingly faked the entire crime scene.

If they wiped it out, all his effort would be wasted!

His gaze sharpened.

He patted Lin Wanyi’s shoulder:

"They’re trying to destroy the evidence. Stay here. I’ll handle it."

"Ah?!"

Lin Wanyi was stunned.

She had seen him sacrifice his life force to save her, and now he was about to charge alone against four enemies to protect the truth for the yamen?!

Moved beyond words, she quickly pulled out a small blue pill from her sleeve and pressed ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) it into his hand:

"With puppets shielding them, you’ll have trouble getting close. I’ll release a poison mist to cover you. Just distract them and strike fast.

Kill the corpse witch first! Here, swallow the antidote first!"

Xie Jinhuan glanced at the pill, then popped it into his mouth.

Instantly, an overwhelming bitterness exploded across his tongue, making his cold face crumple:

"Damn, that’s bitter..."

"Shh..."