Chapter 30: Framing Liu Changlong, the Fire Crow Army

July 1st, overcast. Two days to go!

Keep a calm mind when facing great matters!

Luo Zhou prepared carefully. Once everything was ready, he set out before dawn, carrying four shoulder-height staves on his back.

He was early, but there were those even earlier than him!

Many breakfast stalls had already opened.

Luo Zhou ate five meat buns and a bowl of preserved egg and pork congee to fuel himself for the work ahead.

He arrived at a pavilion in a forest about two to three miles away from the Canal Gang.

This location had been specifically designed; from here, one could see the scenery of the Canal Gang, but the gang could not see this spot.

The Canal Gang was one of the five major gangs in Cuiling City. Though it appeared to be a gang, it was actually an affiliated organization of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect.

The Canal Gang was responsible for the transportation of grain for Ningze Prefecture and four other prefectures. Ten thousand people in Cuiling City relied on them for their livelihoods.

Essentially, the Canal Gang was not governed by Cuiling City; they operated independently.

The wealthy Canal Gang headquarters was located in the north of the city, spanning a full three miles in diameter, with high-built walls and countless pavilions and towers within.

In truth, the Canal Gang should have established their base near rivers or lakes.

However, they were not fools; they knew the terror of the Rain Night Demon and had likely lost many people in the past, so they chose the north of the city to avoid the waterways.

Luo Zhou had arrived early, but he actually loathed this place; if he could avoid it, he would.

Because there were too many Dead Nether Spirits here.

And they were all children—five or six years old, seven or eight years old—letting out endless wails every single day.

If one stayed here for too long, they would surely descend into melancholy!

But this time, as Luo Zhou waited silently, he responded softly to those endless wails.

"Everyone, it is almost over. Help me, and I will help you avenge yourselves!"

As if sensing Luo Zhou's response, the Dead Nether Spirits wailed even more frantically...

He waited in silence until the sun began to rise!

But as soon as it rose, it was obscured by dark clouds.

The sky was terrifyingly overcast today; it looked like it was about to rain!

Suddenly, an echo came from amidst the Dead Nether Spirits

"It has begun. A new partner is about to be born!"

Luo Zhou knew instantly: Liu Changlong's ritual had begun.

In truth, Liu Changlong was the most terrifying of the Dreg Demons.

On the first of every month, he would invariably kill three pairs of young boys and girls.

These children were either bought from other places or kidnapped; they had nothing to do with Cuiling City.

After the sacrifices, the bodies were disposed of so cleanly that no one, except for Luo Zhou, knew of their existence.

He was meticulous and left no loose ends, but the heavens have their cycles!

Knowing his opponent had started, Luo Zhou let out a cold sneer, then took out a talisman and began writing.

This was a Constable Communication Talisman obtained from Li Haitian.

Cuiling City was not small, and sometimes when major incidents occurred, relying on human messengers was too slow.

Thus, with this talisman, as long as a message was written, all constables could see it.

Only the twelve constables of Cuiling City possessed these talismans, and a special key was required to read or write information.

Yesterday, Luo Zhou had gone to the Spirit Market and bought this communication talisman for a single spirit stone.

The various constables of the government also bought theirs here.

How many spirit stones would it cost to commission someone to refine them specifically? They were merely constables of a small city; they took what they could and saved what they could.

However, buying a communication talisman was useless unless you had the special key to input and read information.

Li Haitian knew the key. Given the efficiency of these constables, they wouldn't be able to change to a new key until next year.

Now that he was dead, who would have thought a dead man would leak the key...

Luo Zhou opened the talisman, unlocked the key, and quietly wrote

"Canal Gang Leader Liu Changlong is a rebel of the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace lurking in Cuiling City. Having received support of three thousand spirit stones from the rebels, he has been ambushed and died in the second basement level of the Canal Gang's Cuiwei Hall..."

The message was sent.

Then, it was time for silent waiting.

After Li Haitian's death, someone had already been promoted to constable; there were still twelve constables in Cuiling City.

Instantly, everyone received the news.

"Who is this, talking nonsense? How is that possible?"

"Liu Changlong of the Canal Gang is an honest man; how could he be a Jellyfish Heavenly Palace rebel?"

"Three thousand spirit stones? Have you ever seen that much money? You'll say anything."

"Who is this? Do they not want to be a constable anymore?"

The bigger the incident, the better!

Ordinary people might not know about the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace rebels, but the constables did; they were the greatest traitors of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect. It was better to kill the wrong person than to let one go.

Thus, Luo Zhou had directly pinned that crime on him.

With a massive sum like three thousand spirit stones, someone was bound to be tempted.

Luo Zhou just had to wait!

Sure enough, in less than fifteen minutes—*Boom!*—a violent explosion erupted from within the Canal Gang headquarters.

Then, someone sent a message via talisman

"Everyone, come quickly! There is something wrong with Liu Changlong. He is sacrificing children; he has already killed three! Chi Yu was accidentally killed by him. Everyone, hurry!"

Luo Zhou had sent the message; although many cursed him, some still went to investigate.

Whether there was trouble or not, they went to take a look.

Even if nothing was happening, since they were already there, shouldn't they get a big "red envelope" (bribe) from Liu Changlong?

Thus, the nearby constables, Yan Ruoyi and Chi Yu, headed over.

Liu Changlong had prepared for everything regarding the child sacrifices.

He even had countermeasures for when constables arrived.

But he never expected the constables to know he was in the second basement level of Cuiwei Hall.

His subordinates attempted various responses, trying to brush off the demand for bribes.

But when the constables insisted on inspecting the second basement of Cuiwei Hall, they immediately denied its existence.

The two constables were no pushovers; they quickly found clues that pointed to the problem.

Once they found a discrepancy, even a toad would pee itself in fear.

Liu Changlong was in the middle of a sacrifice and could not escape. As the constables pressed in and there was no way to avoid them, a conflict erupted.

A massive fight broke out!

In the chaos, the constable Chi Yu was accidentally killed by the opponent.

Now the matter had escalated significantly. All the constables, leading their subordinates, charged toward the location.

Luo Zhou smiled, crushed the talisman to leave no trace, and waited silently.

This pavilion was actually an exit for a secret passage of the Canal Gang.

There were a total of three such secret passages.

But Luo Zhou was certain Liu Changlong would attempt to escape through here.

Because countless Dead Nether Spirits had transmitted this information.

The Dead Nether Spirits knew Liu Changlong best.

So, he only needed to wait here.

As the battle raged fiercely on the other side, someone suddenly roared

"Vast waters surge, Profound Origin grants longevity, Nine turns of the Milky Way, the Heavenly Mother is supreme!"

*Boom!* An explosion occurred there, sounding like a massive tsunami.

Luo Zhou was stunned. That was the divine ability "Turning the Rivers and Seas" which he was familiar with; how could someone use it?

"Vast waters surge, Profound Origin grants longevity, Nine turns of the Milky Way, the Heavenly Mother is supreme!"

Could this be the sect mantra of the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace?

Could it be that this Liu Changlong really was a remnant of the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace?

Luo Zhou didn't know what to say.

He had truly just been framing him randomly.

While he was hesitating, he heard a cry from the distance

"Fire Crows! Fire Crows! Fire Crows..."

Amidst an endless clamor, a cloud of fire appeared. Within the fiery clouds, hundreds of cultivators with wings on their backs and wearing Fire Crow masks converged in a swarm.

They soared toward the scene within the fire clouds.

This was the true combat power of Cuiling City: the eight-hundred-man Fire Crow Army.

They had been deployed to suppress the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace remnants.

At the Canal Gang headquarters—*Boom! Boom! Boom!*—three water giants, each ten feet tall, rose up abruptly.

Was this a sign of total defiance, intending to continue the fight?

As Luo Zhou watched, a figure suddenly emerged silently from the ground near the pavilion.

Spitting large mouthfuls of blood and clad in golden robes, it was none other than Liu Changlong of the Canal Gang!