All Are Tools

Lin Mo merely snapped his fingers, and Jiang Yeqiu’s entire body was instantly immobilized. Even the strength to struggle vanished, leaving him kneeling there like a soulless clay statue.

“I was originally planning to deal with you and Zhafu later.” Lin Mo rose from his chair.

“But since you’ve delivered yourself to my door today, I might as well take care of it while I’m at it. Saves me the trouble.”

He raised a hand, and the white bone blade lying on the carpet silently rose into the air before settling firmly into his palm.

The moment the bone blade touched his hand, he could clearly sense the traces of power remaining upon it.

It followed a completely different path from Daoist arts. There was none of the harmonious circulation of spiritual energy—only a dense, fishy aura of death, as if the final struggle of something dying had been frozen within it.

It was a magical artifact primarily refined from the resentful energy and souls of living beings.

This was the path followed by the sorcerers of the Tibetan region. They did not focus on their own cultivation, but on accumulation and collection—turning death itself into a tool that could be used.

That was why a Tibetan sorcerer’s strength lay entirely in his magical artifacts. With one in hand, he was a powerful mage.

But without one, he would only be somewhat stronger than an ordinary person—at most, a brawny man who had trained for a few years.

Lin Mo did not crush the bone blade. Instead, he lightly ran a finger along it before placing it on the table.

If he crushed the bone blade, Zhafu would immediately know that something had gone wrong.

And Zhafu would probably flee at once.

In fact, long ago, Lin Mo had already fished Zhafu’s identity out of Vina’s memories.

Combined with the earlier incidents involving the vicious spirit and the bone ring, Lin Mo had essentially confirmed that Zhafu was the mastermind behind both cases.

The man was rather cautious, though.

He knew very well that killing people in this city would attract the attention of Yanhuang Awakening, so from the beginning, he had avoided crossing that line.

He had Jiang Yeqiu buy corpses—not steal them, but buy them. He purchased the bodies sent to funeral homes, spent some money to grease the right palms, and tampered with the cremation process so that the corpses disappeared from the official records without anyone noticing.

In a megacity, people died every day.

The numbers were enormous, but the process was orderly. Every link in the chain could be manipulated with money.

And so Zhafu had an endless supply of materials. He lived in the gray areas of the city like a parasite hiding in its cracks, growing fat off what he consumed.

As for resentful energy and baleful fiends, those were even easier to obtain.

With corpses, resentment, and baleful energy, everything was available to Zhafu’s artifact-refining hands.

Since Jiang Yeqiu had appeared before him today, Lin Mo might as well deal with him now—and then deal with Zhafu afterward. The man would happen to be useful.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang, its clear sound especially distinct in the somewhat gloomy living room.

Everyone turned toward the entrance in unison.

Lin Mo raised his head, his expression calm.

“Aunt Qiong, please answer the door. It’s someone I called for.”

“Yes, Young Master Lin.” Situ Qiong answered and immediately went to open the door.

“Who is it?” Jiang Yunlu could not contain her curiosity and looked at Lin Mo.

A moment later, Situ Qiong led someone inside.

It was Liu Zheng.

His gaze casually swept across the living room before landing on Jiang Yeqiu, who was kneeling on the floor. His brows immediately rose.

“Well, well, who’s this? Why is he kneeling here?”

“One of the masterminds behind the vicious spirit case and the bone ring case.”

At that, Liu Zheng’s eyes widened slightly. He strode forward and casually tossed a folder onto the coffee table.

Then he squatted down and carefully examined Jiang Yeqiu’s features. He extended a hand and made a probing gesture, sensing the energy surrounding him. A frown soon appeared on his face.

“That’s not right. He’s a completely ordinary person. There isn’t even a trace of special energy on him.”

His gaze swept across the three girls in the living room.

From Jiang Yunlu, he could sense a vigorous flow of qi and blood. She was clearly a martial artist, and her cultivation method was far from ordinary.

As for Xie Yuling and Chu Miaomiao, he could detect faint fluctuations of spiritual energy between their brows. They were well concealed, but they could not escape his notice.

There were only two ordinary people in the entire room: Jiang Chengshan and the man kneeling on the floor, Jiang Yeqiu.

“Don’t bother doubting it. He’s only one of them. The real culprit is someone else—a man named Zhafu, who came from the Tibetan region.” Lin Mo interrupted Liu Zheng’s inspection.

“A Tibetan sorcerer?”

Liu Zheng’s frown deepened.

“Those people are extremely rare these days, aren’t they? If I remember correctly, they have very complicated rules and rarely venture into the outside world. Unless absolutely necessary, they never leave the Tibetan region.”

Lin Mo nudged Jiang Yeqiu with his foot.

Jiang Yeqiu immediately understood and added while remaining on his knees, “Zhafu fled from the Tibetan region… He couldn’t stand cultivating in seclusion there. He hated being bound by their rules, so… so he left the Tibetan region.”

His voice was weak and uncertain, but the explanation was plausible enough.

Liu Zheng nodded and did not pursue the matter further, though his expression remained solemn.

“Fine. I’ll notify the bureau and ask Director Dongfang to organize a team.”

Lin Mo shook his head.

“No need. I’ll deal with Zhafu myself. He’ll be useful for what I’m planning next.”

Liu Zheng froze for a moment. Lin Mo’s “useful” should have meant exactly what it sounded like, shouldn’t it?

His gaze instinctively dropped to the folder he had just placed on the coffee table.

A more astonishing thought flashed through his mind.

“You’re planning to make a move on Liling Plaza?!”

He suddenly looked up. His voice rose with shock, filled with disbelief.

The moment those words were spoken, Xie Yuling’s eyes snapped toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo shrugged, his tone indifferent.

“The seal has loosened. The things beneath it will gradually begin to emerge. We can either reinforce the seal and maintain the status quo, though the hidden danger will remain, or we can resolve the problem once and for all.”

He remembered that, several years later, the strange deaths around Liling Plaza had indeed ceased. Yanhuang Awakening had probably gone to considerable lengths to reinforce the seal.

But that would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

After all, the thing Lin Mo hated most was apologizing after the fact.

“What seal? What exactly is sealed beneath it?” Doubt filled Xie Yuling’s heart, accompanied by an ominous premonition.

Jiang Yunlu was even more bewildered. She had no idea what they were talking about.

Lin Mo reached for the dossier on the coffee table, but Liu Zheng suddenly extended a hand and pressed down on one corner of it. His expression was grave.

“Lin Mo, matters concerning a seal are of immense importance. They often involve ancient history and dangerous taboos. If you insist on doing this, I must first report the details to Director Dongfang and obtain authorization.”

That was the rule.

It was also his responsibility.

“Fine, fine, go ahead. Don’t get in the way of my story.”

Lin Mo waved him off, not particularly concerned. He had expected Liu Zheng to be cautious.

Liu Zheng gave Lin Mo a long, profound look. Then he glanced at the Jiang couple, who were still completely confused, and at Jiang Yunlu, whose face was filled with curiosity. Without saying anything else, he quickly walked to the balcony at the other end of the living room and closed the glass door.

He pulled a specially designed encrypted phone from his pocket and dialed Director Dongfang’s number.