Chapter 78 - 72: Star-Crossed Lovers
After seeing to the arrangements for Chu Lingzhu and her father, Jiang Mu took some herb samples and headed for the Demon-slaying Bureau to report the matter.
Chu Lingzhu had a point.
If someone with ill intentions used this batch of herbs to frame him for "trafficking in nefarious medicines," it would be a huge headache.
Giving Ran Qingshan a heads-up beforehand was the prudent thing to do. Better safe than sorry.
However, halfway there, Jiang Mu’s pace began to slow.
A thought surfaced in his mind.
’Ran Qingshan is determined to root out the mole, but what if that old fox is the biggest mole of them all?’
’The classic "thief crying stop thief" routine wasn’t exactly unheard of, was it?’
The Pig Demon had previously mentioned that its "master" had planted more than one pawn in Hu State, and that they had played a key role during the fog demon invasion.
But Jiang Chen hadn’t actually been that useful; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been silenced.
’In that case, who was the real key player?’
’Come to think of it, that made everyone in the Demon-slaying Bureau, from top to bottom, a suspect.’
Jiang Mu hesitated.
’The problem was, was there anyone else in the city with enough authority who could be trusted?’
A cool, elegant figure suddenly surfaced in his mind.
’Yep, she was the safe bet!’
’Telling Ling Ye would be much safer than going to that old fox, Ran Qingshan.’
His mind made up, Jiang Mu decisively changed course and headed for the courier station.
He’d just rounded a corner two streets away when he ran into someone he knew.
Xu Fu was there with a squad of men, gathered in front of a courtyard and deep in a grave discussion.
"What’s wrong, Lao Xu?" Jiang Mu asked as he approached.
Xu Fu turned, saw Jiang Mu, and jutted his chin toward the courtyard. "We got a report. A bunch of demons dead in there. All weasels."
’Weasels?’
Jiang Mu’s heart leaped as he subconsciously made a connection.
He stepped into the courtyard.
The ground was littered with mangled limbs and shattered remains. Though it was hard to make out any complete bodies, the fur and claw shapes were unmistakably those of weasels.
As he drew closer, wisps of Demonic Qi streamed from the corpses and into his Demon Slot.
’Looks like these demons haven’t been dead for long.’
Jiang Mu felt a wave of satisfaction.
’My system was running low on juice, and this gave it a nice top-up.’
"Find out who did it?" Jiang Mu asked. "To be this vicious... they must be a real psycho."
Xu Fu shook his head.
"No idea. We’ve questioned the neighbors, and they all said they didn’t hear any fighting. That means the killer dispatched these demons in an incredibly short amount of time. Their Cultivation Level must be extremely high."
He paused, then added,
"Lord Patrol Envoy is here too. She’s in the back room investigating the scene right now."
’Ling Ye is here too?’
Delighted, Jiang Mu headed for the main house.
As he entered, he saw an elegant figure squatting before a mutilated corpse.
Her squatting posture stretched the black, form-fitting combat gear taut against her body, leaving nothing to spare. The fabric cinched sharply at her waist before flaring out again, cresting over her hips like a powerful wave.
’One glance was enough to make a man want to put a baby in her.’
"It’s Huang Dalang."
Ling Ye didn’t turn around; she had clearly heard his voice from the courtyard.
’So it really is her!’
Even though his suspicion was confirmed, Jiang Mu was still stunned.
One moment he was guarding against this demoness seeking revenge for her brother, and the next, she was lying dead before him.
’This twist was a little too sudden.’
He stepped forward. Only the upper half of Huang Dalang’s body remained, her Demon Pill wedged between the fragments of her sternum.
"The Demon Pill is still here..."
Jiang Mu frowned. "What was their motive? A revenge killing?"
If the killer was after wealth or treasure, there’d be no reason to leave behind such a valuable Demon Pill.
He instinctively pried the Demon Pill loose.
"This is the Seventh Hall’s territory."
Ling Ye glanced at him, her tone flat. "According to regulations, unclaimed demon corpses and their Demon Pills belong to the hall that oversees this district."
"I’m just taking a look."
After absorbing the Demonic Qi, Jiang Mu moved to put the Demon Pill back.
"You can pretend I didn’t see anything."
Ling Ye said.
’Ling Ye was cutting him some slack again...’ Jiang Mu smiled but still placed the Demon Pill back beside the corpse.
After all, he was on good terms with Lao Xu; he wouldn’t take advantage of him.
’If this had been that bastard Wen He’s jurisdiction, he wouldn’t have left so much as a strand of hair behind.’
Seeing this, Ling Ye didn’t comment, instead saying in a low voice,
"Definitely an expert. The residual killing intent is laced with some kind of causality art. Their Cultivation Level... is at least the Eighth Realm."
"The Eighth Realm!?"
Jiang Mu sucked in a sharp breath. "Besides General Shangguan, there’s someone like that in Hu State?"
Ling Ye shook her head. "I don’t know. Perhaps a reclusive master who was just passing through, or maybe a Great Demon of Tier Eight or higher. I’ll have Luo... I’ll have General Shangguan look into it later."
Only Luoxue could accurately sense a Demon of that level.
Jiang Mu was secretly alarmed.
’He’d been worried about Huang Dalang’s revenge, and now, just like that, the threat was gone.’
’Now all that was left was the Great Immortal Huang.’
’But Ran Qingshan had said that the old demon was severely wounded by the Yunzhou Director and wouldn’t dare show its face anytime soon.’
’Looks like I’m safe, then.’
"What are you doing here?" Ling Ye asked, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.
Jiang Mu glanced around, and once he was sure no one was eavesdropping, he quietly told her about the herbs, handing her a sample.
Ling Ye took the herb. Her expression turned grave after a single glance.
"Corpse Orchids are an extremely sinister ingredient. They’re typically only used to cultivate Demons or to refine forbidden, nefarious pills. If the quantity is truly as large as you say, this is no small matter."
"That’s why I plan to use it as bait and wait for whoever comes for the pickup to walk right into my trap."
A cunning glint appeared in Jiang Mu’s eyes.
"But I’m worried the mastermind will just send some lackey to test the waters. To avoid tipping them off, I’ll secretly tail the person first."
"Good. It’s best to be cautious."
After a moment’s thought, Ling Ye took a neatly folded, pure white silk handkerchief from within her robes and handed it to him.
"I have important matters to attend to for the next few days, so it might be hard for you to find me. If things go south, open this handkerchief."
"I’ll sense it immediately and come. Remember, do not open it unless it’s an emergency."
’So this handkerchief is a signaling device?’
Jiang Mu took it, puzzled. It was soft and dense to the touch, and still warm with her body heat.
He subconsciously brought it to his nose and took a light sniff.
Mmm...
’The scent of Xiang Nai’Er.’
Ling Ye caught his action out of the corner of her eye. Her cold composure instantly shattered, and she almost blew her top.
’What the hell are you sniffing?!’
’What is there to sniff?!’
’Should I just shove your head into my chest and let you get a good, long sniff?!’
She fought the urge to snatch the handkerchief back and snapped, "Remember! Unless it is an absolute emergency, do not open it!"
With that, she turned and strode away.
Outside the courtyard gate, Xu Fu was analyzing the case with his men.
When he saw Ling Ye emerge, he hurried over with an obsequious smile. "Lord Patrol Envoy, did you find the killer—"
"I don’t know! Find them yourselves!"
Ling Ye tossed the words out icily and stalked out of the gate.
The men fell silent, hastily clearing a path for her.
Xu Fu wore a helpless expression. "Our Lord Patrol Envoy is always like that. I’ve never seen her be gentle with anyone. A total block of ice."
Seeing Jiang Mu emerge from the house, Xu Fu felt a pang of sympathy for him.
’The poor guy was just in the same room as the Lord Patrol Envoy. It must have been rough.’
’Sigh. The poor kid.’
--
Across the bustling street.
He Shuangying looked up at the "Rejuvenation Pharmacy" sign, then glanced down at the wooden tablet in his hand and muttered to himself,
"This is the place."
"I just wonder if the shipment is here?"
His gaze swept over a charming and vivacious figure inside the shop, and his eyes lit up slightly.
’What a pretty girl.’
’Such a pure, spirited air is a rare sight among the usual painted floozies.’
’A pity.’
’He was only interested in bizarre little creatures.’
’He had no interest in normal women whatsoever.’
’I heard they’ve bred a new jade-eyed lizard back home. I can have a taste when I get back.’
’But even if he wasn’t interested, getting some information out of the girl should be child’s play for a man of his charm.’
He Shuangying straightened his collar, a confident, charming smile playing on his lips as he strode forward.
As he crossed the road, he nearly collided with a fisherman.
’How disgusting.’
He Shuangying frowned and brushed his sleeves, wary of the fishy smell, but his gaze couldn’t help but fall on the net in the fisherman’s hand.
A fish was gasping for its last breaths inside the net.
For some reason, He Shuangying thought of his own little fish.
He remembered how, in the throes of passion, he had once jokingly told it they would be a pair of star-crossed lovers, destined to live and die together.
Now, his little fish had been killed by Jiang Mu.
’So what about him?’