Roaring Dragon-Chapter 45: Someone’s Framing Me

Xie Jinhuan stopped walking and turned to look at his own white-walled, blue-tiled courtyard. He even sniffed the air but caught no unusual scent, causing his brows to furrow.

Lin Wanyi, looking slightly confused, glanced around as well:

"What's wrong?"

"There seems to be blood fiend aura in the courtyard. Didn't you notice?"

Blood fiend aura usually arose from cruelly extracted blood and essence — wherever it appeared, nine times out of ten, it was related to demonic or wicked forces.

Lin Wanyi heard him and frowned, focusing carefully. After a moment, she said blankly:

"I don't sense anything."

Xie Jinhuan couldn’t sense it either, but if the big succubus Ye said there was, then it was definitely there. He gave a little shake to the maid clinging to his shoulder:

"Wake up and get to work."

"Guji?"

Coalball blinked open his big sleepy eyes, glanced around, then flapped his wings and soared into the sky for reconnaissance.

Xie Jinhuan, palm resting on his Tiangang Mace, listened carefully by the outer wall. After confirming there were no ambushes inside, he quietly leapt over.

Lin Wanyi followed closely behind, landing in the front yard. Everything seemed normal — only a few fallen leaves scattered about.

"Nothing special. Maybe the aura came from the Prince's Mansion?" she suggested.

At first, Xie Jinhuan thought so too. But by then the ghost bride had already appeared at his side. Following the trail of blood fiend aura, she led him quickly to his bedroom, pointing under the canopy bed:

"Here."

Xie Jinhuan approached, inspected briefly, then lifted the bare bedboard. Underneath was a small box.

Inside the box were several letters and a yellowed booklet. The booklet’s cover read Treatise on Human Pharmacopeia, describing the medicinal uses of various human organs.

There were also a few medicine bottles. One bottle’s cap seemed loose, leaking a blackish-red liquid.

Lin Wanyi leaned in to examine it and her expression shifted:

"Essence of Blood? Why do you have something like this?"

Essence of Blood was a forbidden product — the refined blood essence extracted from living beings through secret methods. Highly potent for medicinal use, but also an essential material for crafting high-grade demonization pills — something heavily banned by the court, only permitted in places like the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Xie Jinhuan’s brows furrowed tighter. He picked up the letters and read them — all were written in a familiar, affectionate tone, mentioning vague errands being run in Danyang...

"These aren’t mine. Someone’s planting evidence — framing me for colluding with demon fiends!"

"Huh?"

Lin Wanyi was baffled: "You, with those thick brows and big eyes, a demon spy? Who's got so much time to mess with you?"

Xie Jinhuan also pondered who might be behind it.

Maybe Bao Fei from Jinghua Manor seeking revenge...

Or the Li family, after he investigated them — they could get their hands on forbidden goods...

Or the demon cultists, angry he destroyed their corpse vault — using his own trick against him...

He couldn’t pinpoint it yet, but one thing was certain: after planting evidence like this, the yamen (magistrate office) would arrive soon.

If the officials found this stuff, it was mandatory to launch a full investigation inside and out, to clear suspicions.

So far, no one had doubted him only because Yang Dabiao had vouched for him with his life — plus Xie had been busy slaying villains without seeking reward.

But if they dug deeper into his background — his fake history about Fengling Valley, his unknown master — he couldn’t explain it.

He would instantly become the prime suspect. With the big demon from Zihui Mountain exposed, and the Li family and demon fiends falling into chaos, it would end with a phrase like ‘Young Master Xie died for righteousness’... and a few extra bundles of joss paper burned in his memory.

Realizing the situation was dire, Xie Jinhuan got up and said:

"Since it’s a setup, the yamen will be here any minute. We have to deal with this first."

Lin Wanyi, still unconvinced that Xie Jinhuan could be connected to demons, said hesitantly:

"If you’re [N O V E L I G H T] innocent, destroying the evidence will just make it look worse. I can testify for you..."

Xie Jinhuan was more clear-headed than whoever framed him:

"You’re a demon cultist yourself — afraid of exposure. How can you testify for me?"

Lin Wanyi realized he had a point:

"Then... should I leave first? If you’re innocent, even if they investigate, you’ll be fine."

Fine my ass. Xie Jinhuan said heavily:

"I don’t even know who's setting me up. If it’s someone from the court, they can slap any crime they want on me. No matter how clean I am, I’ll be skinned alive — and you’ll get dragged down too."

Lin Wanyi realized the danger and fretted: "Then what do we do? You can throw away the stuff, but you can’t hide the blood fiend aura. The yamen will sniff it out."

Xie Jinhuan knew the aura was troublesome. He didn’t know any Taoist magic to purify it either, so he glanced toward the ghostly figure nearby.

Ye Hongshang sat sideways on the bed, legs crossed, deep in thought. Soon, she offered a solution:

"Blood fiend aura comes from forcibly extracted blood essence. You can use the ‘reverse candle technique’ to fake blood loss, drive the blood essence out of your body. freёnovelkiss.com

"But just doing that won’t fully convince them. They’ll still investigate your background.

"Also, whoever framed you will definitely show up with the officials to ‘help’ — acting like a good citizen pointing the way.

"You’ll need to improvise, put on a little show. I’ll read their expressions and help you find the culprit."

...

Lin Wanyi noticed Xie Jinhuan suddenly zoning out, staring at the empty bed, and grew suspicious. She turned toward where Ye Hongshang was floating:

"Who are you looking at? Is there someone here?"

"How could there be? Just thinking."

Xie Jinhuan snapped back to reality and grabbed Lin Wanyi’s shoulders:

"Wanyi, we’re in this boat together. I need you to help me act out a scene later."

?

Lin Wanyi’s hands curled against her chest nervously as the man grabbed her shoulders:

"What do you want to do? If you’re thinking about faking a... defloration, it won’t work — blood fiend aura doesn’t come from that. The yamen won’t buy it."

Defloration?!

No wonder she’s a doctor — her way of thinking is truly... unique. Xie Jinhuan grimaced:

"Why would I need to break your... you know? It’s just a little performance. No need for any real sacrifice. Later..."

He leaned close and whispered in her ear.

Feeling his masculine breath tickling her ear, Lin Wanyi’s heart raced slightly. But soon her delicate brows knitted up:

"How can that work? Pretending to be your close confidante — if rumors spread, how would I ever get married? I still haven’t even explained properly about bathing in your room last time..."

Xie Jinhuan said seriously:

"I’ve already won the Dan Prince’s favor. Last night, I heard him discussing what kind of reward to grant me. I plan to rack up more achievements and ask for the Martial Dao Codex.

"Wanyi, you don’t want to ruin your own plans because of this mess, do you?"

"......"

Lin Wanyi stared at the ‘double-headed dragon’ so close she could feel his heat. Her robe pressed tight against her chest. She wanted to refuse, but after a long silence, she compromised — warning him coldly:

"I’m a demon witch. If you dare trick me, I’ll poison you. Believe it or not?"

"I believe, I believe."

Xie Jinhuan patted her fragrant shoulder:

"If I trick you, I’ll buy you ten sets of enchanted lingerie."

"Pfui~ Who wants you to buy that crap?! You have to get the Martial Dao Codex within a month — or this deal’s off!"

"I’ll do my best. Now hurry, clean up the evidence..."

...

Wencheng Street.

Li Jing led a horse at a slow pace, a three-foot sword hanging from the saddle, a wine gourd tied to his waist — looking more like a drunken wanderer.

This elderly man, an academic supervisor at the academy, had a genial personality. Many students of unknown background affectionately called him ‘Old Man Li.’

But anyone with a bit of experience knew: to serve as vice head of a Confucian academy — especially one at the top tier — required terrifying credentials.

Zhou He followed behind respectfully, not daring a hint of casualness, though a trace of urgency laced his voice:

"Sir, you and Lord Li come from the same Huayin Li clan — hundreds of years ago you were family. Now, working at the academy, the Li family has always respected you. Today, they're in trouble..."

The Huayin Li clan was one of Da Qian’s great aristocratic families, with descendants spread across the land.

Technically, Li Jing and Li Gongpu did share a common ancestor — but there were easily hundreds more with the same connection just within Dan Prefecture.

Li Jing’s tone remained easygoing:

"I’m a man of the rivers and lakes. I work at the academy only because of Master Mu’s request. The academy’s duty is teaching. Courtly politics are none of our concern."

Zhou He nodded repeatedly: "Of course, sir. But the Li family was framed by demon fiends. Young Master Li’s health is poor — he won’t survive heavy torture. Confucianism emphasizes 'virtue over punishment, mercy in sentencing.' If the yamen uses brutal methods, he might falsely confess. As a senior of the Confucian school, shouldn’t you step in..."

Li Jing didn’t buy it at all, cutting him off:

"Everyone knows Confucian sages are learned. But they forget: Confucians train in both civil and martial arts. Any sage whose name survives was no pushover.

"We study literature to reason with people — and martial arts to make the unreasonable sit down and listen.

"If the Li family truly speaks reason and is wronged, the academy won’t stand idly by. But if they’re lying to dodge blame, according to academy rules, we’ll beat them until they tell the truth."

In this world, there were many schools and sects. Confucians, Mohists, Militarists — they differed philosophically, but none based their factions purely on magical cultivation.

Confucians didn’t seek immortality through training but promoted ‘strengthen the body, civilize the soul.’ Many Confucian disciples practiced martial arts, and some even dabbled in Daoism.

Zhou He’s rhetoric was no match for these flexible, shameless Confucian martial scholars. He grew tongue-tied, trying to think of a new argument — when he suddenly frowned, pulling a palm-sized compass from his waist.

This was the Demon-Seeking Compass, able to detect changes in yin-yang energies and track demonic presences — a standard tool of the Chilin Guard.

Several needles hovered at the center. Now, two of them twitched faintly toward the roadside.

Li Jing frowned and stepped back, studying it carefully:

"Imbalance of the five elements — disaster’s coming. Water and yin stirring together... blood fiend signs."

He looked toward the Prince's Mansion.

Zhou He’s expression grew grim:

"Old Sir, could there be demon aura over there?"

Because the blood fiend aura was faint, even Li Jing struggled to sense it. He took the compass from Zhou He and traced the source.

Zhou He followed closely, barking orders at his subordinates:

"Something’s wrong here. Notify the yamen immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Chilin Guard officers received the command and sprinted off toward the yamen...