Chapter 380: Corpses

Jiang Zhe's expression darkened. He had not expected that the scrawny, decrepit old man before him was actually a member of the Filthy Blood Sect. Moreover, looking at the color of the blood threads squirming all over his body—so deep and rich a crimson—he feared the man's attainment in the Filthy Blood Divine Art was not low.

Duan Rong looked at Yang Zhen and said, "Lock him up with iron chains and throw him into the dungeon."

Seeing that he had been exposed, Xu Dongyang's resolve collapsed, and he slumped there like a pile of mud.

When he was captured by those armored cavalrymen outside the city, he had still held a sliver of hope in his heart. Because he had hidden himself quite well, and although this major case had been brought to light, it did not necessarily mean suspicion would fall on him.

But he had not expected that this fellow named Duan Rong before him seemed determined to have him.

Now that he was exposed, his end was undoubtedly certain death.

Yang Zhen fetched iron chains, bound Xu Dongyang tightly, and then shoved him toward the dungeon.

After Yang Zhen left, Duan Rong looked at Jiang Zhe and said, "Senior Brother, since your injuries are no longer a major concern, you should be the one to preside over this investigation."

Duan Rong had naturally noticed the slight displeasure that had flashed across Jiang Zhe's face just moments ago.

Recalling the matter with Xu Dongyang just now, Jiang Zhe smiled and said, "Junior Brother Duan, I think it is better if we do it together. After all, I am new to this place and do not have a deep understanding of many situations in Xiangu County. When handling cases, there are some areas where it is inevitable that I might make subjective judgments."

Duan Rong's heart stirred slightly. These words from Jiang Zhe were already a reflection on his own judgment of Xu Dongyang just now. This person was not the type to be arrogant and conceited.

Duan Rong said, "Alright then. I will act as your deputy, Senior Brother!"

Jiang Zhe patted Duan Rong on the shoulder and said, "Junior Brother Duan, you just said we should start from the County Government Office, right?"

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Correct. To kill a snake, you must strike at its seven inches; the County Government Office is the deepest den of filth!"

"Good! Then we shall start from the County Government Office." As Jiang Zhe spoke, he, Duan Rong, and Yuan Ye headed toward the County Government Office.

Bai Yuan and Lu Jin were still circulating their Qi to heal their wounds beside the large pit on the street, while Shen Mizhi and Liu Shushan were still waiting there on guard.

Ximen Kankan followed the crowd to the County Government Office to watch the excitement.

The entire County Government Office had been surrounded by heavy armored cavalry, leaving no way out.

Everyone in the County Government Office, including clerks, constables, yamen runners, maids, and miscellaneous servants, had all been detained in the open space in front of the main hall. A crowd of people was squeezed there, and under the glow of the fire, one could only see a dense mass of heads.

Jiang Zhe, Duan Rong, and Yuan Ye walked in through the main gate of the County Government Office.

Looking at the dense crowd there, Jiang Zhe said, "Junior Brother Duan, with so many people, how should we screen them? I wonder what thoughts you have, Junior Brother Duan?"

Duan Rong smiled slightly and suddenly began to walk along the dense crowd.

He walked to a certain spot, paused his steps, pointed at a person in the crowd, and said, "You, come out!"

That person was stunned for a moment, but still walked out of the crowd slowly and stood to one side.

This person who came out was none other than the clerk who had welcomed Wei Ziyang.

Duan Rong walked a few more steps and pointed out another person; this person was the County Government Office's Head Constable, Ding Xingxing, who was also a trusted aide Sun Qian had brought from the Prefecture City.

Previously, Sun Qian had let Ding Xingxing investigate the social connections of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, and he had once seen a portrait of Duan Rong; at this moment, he recognized Duan Rong at a glance.

But he truly had not expected that Sun Qian, Xu Dian, and Bai Rong had all died at the hands of this person. According to the information he had investigated, three years ago, this person had only been at the Inner Breath Realm Great Accomplishment. How could it be possible that in just three years, he possessed such terrifying strength?

Next, Duan Rong pointed out two more people.

At this time, there were already four people standing outside the crowd.

For the past few days, Duan Rong had been monitoring the County Government Office every day, and he suspected all four of these people.

Jiang Zhe and Yuan Ye both looked at the four people standing outside the crowd with strange expressions; neither of them understood why Duan Rong had pointed these four out as soon as he arrived.

Duan Rong, however, stood there, looked at the four, and said coldly, "I advise you all to confess yourselves! You might suffer less!"

All four lowered their heads and remained silent. Ding Xingxing's forehead even broke out in a cold sweat, but at this moment, the clerk raised his head, looked at Duan Rong, and said, "I do not know what the official wants us to confess?"

Duan Rong sneered. Among these four, he was most certain about this clerk; he had not expected that even now, this person was still putting on an act.

"Do you really think I don't know what you are?"

As soon as Duan Rong's voice fell, a cold light flashed; he had already drawn the Minghong Saber at his waist and slashed horizontally at the clerk's neck.

The cold light erupted! In his haste, the clerk had no time to react at all.

One could see the blood threads all over his body suddenly explode, squirming and gathering to meet the blade's edge.

The moment the gathered blood threads touched the blade, they all dissipated, and the blade slashed into the clerk's neck, shattering half of his neck!

Duan Rong's blade only tapped the clerk's neck before suddenly turning away; with a flash of light, it slashed toward Ding Xingxing beside the clerk.

In just an instant, light flashed in four directions; Duan Rong's blade had already swept across the four people before him!

One could see that half of the clerk's neck was shattered, but at the wound, dense blood threads were squirming and knotting, and the wound recovered to its original state within a few breaths at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was just that the clerk's face was deathly pale, and his eyes were filled with fear!

Of the remaining three, two were the same as the clerk, with blood threads squirming all over their bodies.

But there was also one person who collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck, blood gushing continuously from between his fingers; his eyes were filled with terror, and his body twitched uncontrollably.

This person was actually Ding Xingxing!

Duan Rong was slightly surprised; he had not expected that Ding Xingxing, who had followed Sun Qian since the Prefecture City, was actually not a member of the Filthy Blood Sect.

Duan Rong squatted beside Ding Xingxing and said, "Sorry, buddy, I misjudged! However, according to the secular laws of the Taiyi Sect, you are Sun Qian's trusted aide; when this case concludes, even if you are not a Filthy Blood Sect member, you would still be among those to be executed."

Ding Xingxing's lips moved, not knowing what he was saying, but his pupils had already begun to dilate, and soon he had no breath left.

Duan Rong used his hand to close Ding Xingxing's eyes and stood up.

Jiang Zhe said, "Junior Brother Duan, the priority is to clear out the Tainted Blood Remnants; accidentally killing one or two people is nothing, right? Besides, this person was already on the list to be executed."

Duan Rong did not speak. At this time, Yang Zhen had already finished locking Xu Dongyang in the dungeon and walked in from outside.

As soon as Yang Zhen entered, he saw Ding Xingxing slumped on the ground covered in blood, half of his neck shattered.

Yang Zhen's brows furrowed slightly; since Ding Xingxing had become Head Constable, he had treated him quite well.

Jiang Zhe's expression suddenly darkened, and he said coldly, "Commander Yuan, take these three and lock them in the main hall. I want to interrogate them personally."

"Yes!"

Yuan Ye immediately led men to take the three, including the clerk covered in blood threads, into the main hall.

Jiang Zhe stood in the center of the main hall, looking at the three who had been brought in with a face full of murderous intent.

"What other accomplices do you have? Speak early!" Jiang Zhe said, raising his hand to look at his own palm, and added, "Lest I have to pull your tendons and break your bones!"

The three of them had blood-filaments wriggling all over their bodies, yet no one spoke.

Jiang Zhe did not seem surprised; he had always known that people would not shed tears until they saw their own coffins. He walked slowly to one of them and suddenly slapped his palm onto the man's dantian.

This palm strike appeared plain and unremarkable, but those wriggling, gathered blood-filaments began to dissipate and vanish about an inch away from Jiang Zhe's palm.

Jiang Zhe's palm slapped gently onto the man's dantian, and the man clearly felt his dantian being crushed into rotten flesh in an instant.

The blood-filaments all over his body suddenly began to gather and intertwine toward his dantian, repairing the wound.

But Jiang Zhe suddenly grabbed his arm and twisted it several times, as if wringing a dough twist.

The blood-filaments on his arm wriggled and burst out, but the moment they encountered the surging Qi around Jiang Zhe's body, they instantly turned into fly ash.

Then, Jiang Zhe suddenly turned sideways, twisting the man's arm with one hand while thrusting his other hand into the man's back; with a flurry of movement, he actually ripped the man's entire spine out from his back.

On the blood-drenched white bone, dense blood-filaments were wriggling...

Then, Jiang Zhe threw this person onto the ground. The man kept twitching on the ground, and those blood-filaments were also coiling and intertwining, but he was too severely injured, and the Filthy Blood Divine Art could no longer heal him.

Jiang Zhe took out a handkerchief, wiped the bloodstains from his hands, threw the handkerchief away, looked at the other two, and said, "If you want to be like him, you can choose not to speak!"

The person next to the clerk felt his knees go weak, collapsed to the ground, and said, "I'll talk, I'll talk..."

Not long after, Yuanye walked out, looked at the crowd, and said coldly, "Who is Feng Xintian? Who is Jia Feng? Step out!"

No sooner had Yuanye finished speaking than two figures suddenly darted out from the crowd, attempting to rush out of the County Government Office gate!

But the movement techniques of these two were not very skillful; clearly, they had never practiced Lightness Skill!

Ximen Kankan had already flashed over, and with two strikes of his Splitting Sky Saber, he sent both of them flying backward.

While still in mid-air, the two spat out large mouthfuls of blood, and within the mist of blood, fragments of internal organs were clearly mixed in.

When they landed, the blood-filaments all over their bodies had already burst out, and they were escorted into the main hall by several armored soldiers.

Immediately after, blood-curdling screams rang out from the main hall once again!

Yuanye came out again!

The dense crowd was all as silent as cicadas in winter!

Yuanye said, "Who is Zhu Baogui? Come out!"

"Ah!" Zhu Baogui raised his head, his eyes filled with terror.

He immediately walked out of the crowd, prostrated himself on the ground, and cried, "My Lord, I am wronged!"

As Zhu Baogui shouted, he suddenly caught sight of Yang Zhen standing beside the crowd.

Zhu Baogui immediately crawled to Yang Zhen's feet and begged, "Yang Zhen, save me! I am not a Tainted Blood Demon!"

A look of awkwardness appeared on Yang Zhen's face. His status was low; what qualifications did he have to save anyone here?

At this moment, Duan Rong turned his head to look over. Yang Zhen recalled that although Zhu Baogui often had many unreliable behaviors, he had always treated him well.

Yang Zhen looked at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, he shouldn't be one!"

Duan Rong's brows furrowed slightly, and he projected his Divine Sense, piercing through Zhu Baogui's body.

Suddenly, a flash of blade light appeared; the Minghong Saber stabbed into Zhu Baogui's chest, the tip of the blade protruding from his back, piercing through Zhu Baogui's body.

Jiang Zhe and Yuanye, who were both standing at the entrance of the main hall at this time, also saw the tip of the blade poke out from Zhu Baogui's back, but no blood-filaments burst out from Zhu Baogui's entire body!

Clearly, he was not a member of the Filthy Blood Sect!

Jiang Zhe's expression turned extremely ugly in an instant. That clerk actually dared to lie to him?! Jiang Zhe turned around abruptly and strode into the main hall!

Over here, Duan Rong pulled his hand back and had already withdrawn the Minghong Saber!

Then he grabbed hold of Zhu Baogui and said expressionlessly, "It didn't hit any vital organs. If you lie in bed for two or three months, you should be fine."

Zhu Baogui bared his teeth; he felt pain in his wound with every breath, but he also knew it was not fatal. He looked at Duan Rong and said gratefully, "Many thanks!"

Duan Rong looked at Yang Zhen and said, "Yang Zhen, use the Golden Sore Medicine to treat his wound first."

Yang Zhen immediately took Zhu Baogui over, helped him to the side, and let him lie flat on the ground.

It was only for Yang Zhen's sake that Duan Rong had tested Zhu Baogui; just a moment ago, his blade had passed almost right against Zhu Baogui's heart.

If he were a Filthy Blood Sect member, blood-filaments would have definitely burst out at that moment!

When Jiang Zhe, Duan Rong, and Yuanye walked out of the County Government Office gate, looking exhausted, the sky was already bright.

After a night had passed, they had finally conducted a preliminary sweep of the Tainted Blood Remnants in the County Government Office! There were actually over twenty Filthy Blood Sect members in this County Government Office!

The maids and Miscellaneous Servants who took care of Sun Qian's daily needs were all of them!

Jiang Zhe glanced at Duan Rong; he felt that what Duan Rong said was very correct—this County Government Office was indeed a place that harbored filth and corruption.

Just as they walked out of the County Government Office, Duan Rong saw Xiao Yu walking over slowly from that direction.

Duan Rong immediately went to greet her.

Xiao Yu then said that they had sent Hu Huanhuan to Gu Suxiu's place last night, but she might have caught the night wind on the way; as soon as they arrived at the Medical Hall, Hu Huanhuan started running a high fever!

Physician Gu gave him acupuncture, and she and Xiao Qi decocted and fed medicine to Hu Huanhuan; it wasn't until dawn that the fever broke. Only then did she come out from the Medical Hall!

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu both had faces full of exhaustion, and they looked at each other with pained eyes.

Just at this moment, a troop of iron cavalry suddenly arrived at the gate of the County Government Office, escorting several people dressed as scholars.

Among those scholars, one person wore a square cap and had a slender build; he jumped off his horse, immediately cupped his hands, and said, "This subordinate, Wang Shuliang, is a Principal of the Yuanyang Surveillance Commissioner Office! The Yuanyang Prefecture received a secret order from the Sect, instructing the Yuanyang Surveillance Commissioner Office to dispatch a Principal to work in conjunction with Inner Sect Disciple Jiang Zhe and Outer Sect Disciple Duan Rong to handle this case."

Jiang Zhe's heart skipped a beat; this secret order had come so quickly, which meant that this matter had already been exposed within the Elder Council!

Jiang Zhe said, "Where is the secret order? Bring it here for me to see!"

"Here it is!" Wang Shuliang handed a secret order into Jiang Zhe's hands.

As soon as Jiang Zhe saw the wording and the signature on the secret order, he knew it was the handwriting of the History Supervisor of the Sect's Inner History Department. He folded the secret order, returned it to Wang Shuliang, and said, "Principal Wang, last night Duan Rong and I already screened the County Government Office and uncovered over twenty Tainted Blood Remnants! From now on, when the two of us investigate the case, you can follow along as well."

Wang Shuliang cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"

The Sect's secret order had listed the Surveillance Commissioner Office first, meaning that this case should be led by his Surveillance Commissioner Office, with the other two assisting. But listening to Jiang Zhe's tone now, he was merely being treated as a follower.

However, this Jiang Zhe was an Inner Sect Disciple; even the Prefecture Master would have to lower his head when meeting him, so how could he dare not to obey?

Seeing Wang Shuliang agree, Jiang Zhe was in a great mood; he looked at Duan Rong, who was standing with Xiao Yu, and asked, "Disciple Duan, where do you think we should screen next?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "Yuanshun Escort Agency!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he gently pulled down Xiao Yu's hand and said, "You come too!"

Xiao Yu nodded; she knew that Duan Rong was investigating the Yuanshun Escort Agency and would further question those Escorts to clarify matters regarding her father.

At the very least, her father was dead, but where were his remains?

(End of this chapter)