Chapter 381: The First Major Case

Jiang Zhe, Duan Rong, Wang Shu, and the others entered the Yuanshun Escort Agency together.

After a round of harsh interrogations, screams could be heard coming from within the Escort Agency from time to time.

Ruan Fengshan's wife and children, including Ma Chunying, Ma Wentao, and his only son Ruan Jing, were all locked up in the County Office jail.

About three hours later, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu walked out from the main gate of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, bringing with them a pale-faced Escort.

This Escort was named Zhang Xinping, and he had originally been part of the Fifth Escort Team.

That night, it was he who led men to haul the corpses of Xiao Zongting and a group of troublemaking Escorts to the Chaos Burial Mound.

As Xiao Yu walked out, she wiped away tears; the thought of her father's corpse being tossed in the Chaos Burial Mound for over half a month after his death made her heart feel as if it were being twisted by a knife.

They arrived at the city gate, which had already been taken over by a troop of Heavy Armored Cavalry.

"Who goes there?!"

The small squad leader guarding the gate saw Duan Rong and Xiao Yu approaching and immediately became vigilant.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu then both produced their Taiyi Orders.

"My lords!"

Upon seeing the Taiyi Orders, the small squad leader's expression stiffened, and he spoke respectfully. He had already heard that the case here had been uncovered by a few Outer Sect Disciples.

Duan Rong said, "Open the gate! We are taking this man out of the city for a trip!"

"This..."

A look of hesitation appeared on the small squad leader's face; the order he had received was not to let anyone leave the city.

Seeing the small squad leader's expression, Duan Rong knew why he was hesitant. After observing for a night, Duan Rong had already discovered that the Cavalry Commander named Yuanye governed his subordinates with extreme strictness and enforced strict military discipline.

Not wanting to make things difficult for the small squad leader before him, he said, "If you cannot decide, go and ask your Commander for instructions. He is inside the Yuanshun Escort Agency."

The small squad leader's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands to Duan Rong quite gratefully, saying, "I will trouble you to wait a moment, my lords, I will go at once!"

The small squad leader mounted a black steed, cracked his whip hard, and headed toward the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Before long, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves, the small squad leader came galloping back.

As soon as he reached the city gate, he pulled on the reins with a "Whoa!" and shouted, "Open the gate and let the two lords out of the city!"

As the gate opened, the small squad leader cupped his hands in salute at the gate, respectfully seeing Duan Rong and the others off as they walked out of the city.

Once outside the city gate, Duan Rong immediately unleashed his movement technique, grabbed Zhang Xinping by the shoulder with his right hand, and whistled through the wilderness.

Xiao Yu was using her full strength, but she was only barely managing to keep up behind them.

Both of their figures were as fast as ghosts, and in no time at all, they stopped at the edge of the Chaos Burial Mound.

Although it was afternoon, the winter sun was bleak. Along the way, the cold wind howled, and Zhang Xinping was already shivering, his nose running with clear mucus.

He sniffled and swallowed the mucus. Duan Rong turned his head, glanced at him, and asked with cold eyes, "Where is it?"

Zhang Xinping raised a hand and pointed, saying, "Right there at the edge."

Duan Rong grabbed Zhang Xinping, unleashed his movement technique, and flashed toward that spot.

To get from here to there, one had to cut diagonally across this Chaos Burial Mound.

Since the distance was short, Duan Rong no longer suppressed his speed to wait for Xiao Yu.

Over such a short distance, Xiao Yu was slower than Duan Rong by nearly half a breath's time. And this was while Duan Rong was carrying Zhang Xinping.

On the Chaos Burial Mound, there were withered bones and wild grass everywhere.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu whistled past, startling many birds and wild cats.

Duan Rong landed gracefully and looked at the pile of corpses before him, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

Although it was winter, a thick, foul stench of decay still rushed toward them; those corpses had already turned black and were covered in lividity, though they had not yet begun to rot.

The top layer of corpses clearly showed signs of having been gnawed on by wild cats.

Duan Rong looked at the clothing on the topmost corpses; it was precisely the attire of the Yuanshun Escort Agency Escorts.

Duan Rong looked at Zhang Xinping and asked, "Where is Old Master Xiao?"

Zhang Xinping trembled and said, "It was pitch black at the time, and we hauled two or three cartloads of bodies. How could I keep track of who was who?"

As Zhang Xinping spoke, he looked at the two of them with vigilant eyes, fearing that they might kill him in a fit of rage.

"Father! Your daughter is here!" Xiao Yu had already run to the pile of stinking corpses, crying, and began to rummage through them.

Watching Xiao Yu, a trace of pity welled up in Duan Rong's heart, but he could not stop her. A daughter searching for her father's corpse—what reason did he have to stop her?

Duan Rong walked forward a few steps, stood there, and suddenly released his Divine Sense, piercing through the pile of corpses.

Seeing that both of them had left him and gone to the pile of corpses, Zhang Xinping felt slightly relieved. At the very least, they wouldn't kill him for the moment. But he didn't dare to run; the Lightness Skill Duan Rong and Xiao Yu had displayed along the way had already extinguished any thoughts of escape he might have had.

Duan Rong's Divine Sense pierced through the pile of corpses, searching carefully.

Xiao Zongting's right leg was crippled, so Duan Rong focused his search there. The corpses had all turned black, and their features were impossible to recognize.

Soon, Duan Rong's gaze flickered.

He had already found Xiao Zongting.

Xiao Yu's eyes were filled with tears and her heart with sorrow; she seemed not to smell the thick stench of decay at all. "Father, where are you? Please show a sign and tell your daughter!"

"Xiao Yu! Over here!" Duan Rong called out to Xiao Yu and rushed to the other side of the corpse pile.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu immediately rushed over; she had an inexplicable confidence in Duan Rong's words.

Duan Rong was already standing by the corpse pile on that side, digging through it, tossing the corpses one by one to the sides!

Xiao Yu was still standing stunned at Duan Rong's side.

Duan Rong glanced at her and said, "Help me! He's right underneath here!"

Xiao Yu let out an "Oh" and immediately joined Duan Rong in tossing the corpses aside one by one.

Soon, a blackened corpse emerged from the middle of the pile.

Although the corpse had turned black and was covered in lividity, a tobacco pouch was still tucked into his waistband; with those clothes and that beard, who else could it be but Xiao Zongting?

Xiao Yu immediately threw herself over, cradling her father's stiff, blackened face in her hands, and murmured, "Father! Your daughter is unfilial; I have come too late!"

Once Xiao Yu's emotions had calmed slightly, the two of them lifted Xiao Zongting's stiff corpse out.

Duan Rong stood there, glanced at Zhang Xinping, and looked at Xiao Yu to ask, "Should this person be killed or released? You decide."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xinping's heart immediately jumped to his throat.

Xiao Yu straightened Xiao Zongting's disheveled clothes; Xiao Zongting had a shoe on one foot, but the shoe on the other foot had long since gone missing.

Xiao Yu gazed at her father's bare right foot; in her eyes, perhaps that missing shoe was more important than Zhang Xinping.

"Let him go," Xiao Yu said softly.

This faint remark sounded like a great bell tolling in Zhang Xinping's ears.

Zhang Xinping was overjoyed and looked at Duan Rong with expectant eyes. He knew that between the two of them, Duan Rong was the one who made the decisions.

Duan Rong said, "You may go."

Zhang Xinping felt as if he had snatched his life back from the gates of hell and immediately bowed, saying, "Many thanks to you both for the grace of not killing me." After he finished speaking, he immediately leaped away, fearing that the two might change their minds.

Zhang Xinping was merely a low-level Escort and not a person in charge; neither Duan Rong nor Xiao Yu were people who would kill indiscriminately without asking questions.

Xiao Zongting's death was primarily due to Ruan Fengshan, followed by the expert in black who assisted him that night, and then Sun Qian; these people had all been brought to justice.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu brought Xiao Zongting's corpse back into the city.

Subsequently, Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan went to a coffin shop and hauled back a large pine wood coffin.

But at this time, Xiangu County was under lockdown for investigations, and since Xiao Zongting had already been dead for over half a month, it was not appropriate to hold a funeral or a wake.

Xiao Yu changed Xiao Zongting into his burial clothes.

She and Zhu Xiaoqi also put on mourning attire.

After Xiao Zongting was changed into his burial clothes and placed in the coffin, Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan nailed the coffin shut.

That afternoon, the four of them—Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, Liu Shushan, and Yang Zhen—carried the coffin out of the Xiaojia courtyard.

Xiao Yu held the spirit tablet, and she and Zhu Xiaoqi wept all the way as they saw him off!

Shen Mizhi scattered paper money on the side; she and Xiao Yu had long shared a deep bond, and seeing Xiao Yu crying like a tear-stained person, her own heart ached in waves.

However, tied to the back of Xiao Yu's mourning clothes was a round, rolling object—it was Ruan Fengshan's head.

The group escorted Xiao Zongting's coffin to the Xiaojia ancestral graves.

When Xiao Yu saw the grave of her younger sister, Xiao Baijiao, her tears fell even more heavily.

It had only been three years, yet the close kin she had grown up with had all left her one after another!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yu wept bitterly again.

The few of them buried Xiao Zongting's coffin and erected a tombstone.

Everyone knelt before the grave.

Xiao Yu took off the tattered clothing tied to her waist, unwrapped it, and spread it out before the tombstone; Ruan Fengshan's deathly pale head was right there.

Xiao Yu kowtowed heavily and said, "Father, your revenge has been avenged! Go in peace. In the next life, Yu'er will be your daughter again!"

Xiao Yu prostrated herself and wailed, remaining there for a long time!

Seeing dusk approaching, the others helped the tear-stained Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi back into the city.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu did not return to the Xiaojia residence; for one, that residence was inside the Yuanshun Escort Agency and was surrounded by Heavy Armored Cavalry, making entry and exit inconvenient. Secondly, that residence had not been cleaned for over half a month and was in such a mess that it could not be occupied for the time being.

At Duan Rong's suggestion, Xiao Yu and the others all moved into the old Ximen Mansion.

The rooms in the Ximen Mansion were ready, and after a simple cleaning, they were fit for occupancy.

Ximen Kankan brought back a table of dishes from the Babao Building; everyone ate a few simple bites and then went to sleep.

The lockdown and investigation in Xiangu County took a full seven or eight days, and the number of Tainted Blood Remnant members uncovered reached over one hundred and eighty!

Such a number made this the largest case in history regarding the Filthy Blood Sect!

The participants in the investigation, Yuanye and Wang Shu, were increasingly shocked as they handled the case!

Initially, when Duan Rong asked Yuanye to lead men to seal off those many locations, he had his doubts. But after investigating over these past few days, he discovered that these places were actually all hideouts for the Filthy Blood Sect.

Moreover, they discovered a secret passage, and in a hidden chamber somewhere in the passage, they rescued over thirty young girls.

This day, at dawn, the case was basically concluded; at the East City Gate, Jiang Zhe and the others had decided to return to the Sect.

Duan Rong, Yuanye, and Wang Shu all came to see them off. There was also one person wearing the official robes of a county magistrate standing among those seeing them off.

This person was named Guo Xiangbao, the newly appointed Magistrate of Xiangu. He had only arrived from the Prefecture City two days ago.

The Cloud Ridge Mad Eagle was already waiting not far away, and Bai Yuan and Lu Jin were already standing beside the great eagle.

The great eagle was like a small mountain, and Bai Yuan and Lu Jin stood there like two black dots. Behind both Bai Yuan and Lu Jin, each carried an object.

What Bai Yuan carried was Wei Ziyang's crimson skeleton, which he intended to bring back to the Sect for study.

What Lu Jin carried was the wrapped half-corpse of Shen Qing.

Jiang Zhe stood at the city gate to bid farewell to everyone, and he looked deeply at Duan Rong.

Looking only at the number of people exterminated, this case was already the greatest case involving Tainted Blood!

And there were also the Total Altar Dharma Envoy and the Hall Master of Yuanyang—these two big fish!

And all of this started with Duan Rong!

With this single merit alone, he could steadily be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple!

And although the two big fish had become two dead fish, the responsibility for this did not lie with Duan Rong!

Jiang Zhe also knew that during the Divine Soul test within the Sect, Duan Rong had been one step away from stepping onto the Altar!

This child's future was truly limitless!

Jiang Zhe smiled at Duan Rong and said, "Disciple Duan Rong, meeting this time, I feel we are very compatible! After this parting, I do not know when we shall meet again?"

Duan Rong also smiled and said, "Indeed, Senior Brother Jiang Zhe, I feel the same! I only regret that I cannot drink heartily with you to express my feelings of parting."

Jiang Zhe said, "There is no help for that. The Sect is urging this matter, as urgent as a spark. This drinking must wait for another day."

Duan Rong said, "Very well! When we meet again, we shall drink together!"

Duan Rong thought that once these polite words were finished, Jiang Zhe would leave, but he did not expect Jiang Zhe to suddenly produce a Jade Pendant shimmering with a greenish-black hue, handing it toward Duan Rong and saying, "Disciple Duan Rong, this Jade Pendant has the miraculous effect of dispelling toxins and warming the body. I gift it to you as a small token of my sincerity; I hope you will not decline!"

Duan Rong was slightly stunned, not expecting Jiang Zhe to offer a parting gift.

At this moment, if he were to decline in public, it would be somewhat disrespectful to Jiang Zhe.

Duan Rong reached out and respectfully accepted it, saying, "I will never fail to live up to the kindness you have shown me, Senior Brother!" Although Duan Rong said this on his face, he muttered inwardly, this person is truly something; he could have just left, yet he had to give me a piece of jade. He just said it has some effect of dispelling toxins and warming the body, but who knows if it is true or false.

Seeing Duan Rong accept the Jade Pendant, Jiang Zhe could not help but feel a pang of heartache. This Jade Pendant was quite useful to him as well; its body-warming effect provided a slight boost to his cultivation.

But if he did not befriend Duan Rong at this time, it would be too late to try to curry favor once he entered the Elder Council.

However, upon hearing Duan Rong say later that he would never fail to live up to the kindness, a smile appeared on Jiang Zhe's face.

Only then did Jiang Zhe truly bid farewell and depart.

He pulled on an Iron Chain by the city wall and walked toward the Cloud-Feather Mad Eagle not far away.

Tied to that Iron Chain in succession were three people: the Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang, the clerk from the County Government Office, and another person who was the caretaker of Wei Yutian's old residence.

These three were all members of the Filthy Blood Sect, but at this moment, the Tainted Blood filaments around their bodies had already retracted into their bodies; however, all three of them were gaunt and deathly pale. They all knew that they would absolutely not survive this trip to the Taiyi Sect, and they would die a miserable death.

Although Wei Ziyang and Ge Qinglei had both become dead fish, Jiang Zhe pondered repeatedly and decided he could not return empty-handed; bringing these three back would at least count as an explanation.

These three were specifically selected by him after many days of interrogation. They were quite knowledgeable about the situation regarding the construction of the stronghold in Xiangu County. Although they did not know higher-level confidential information, they still had value in this regard.

Jiang Zhe and the others stood on the back of the Cloud-Feather Mad Eagle, and the great eagle spread its wings like a great cloud hanging from the sky, suddenly kicking up a cloud of sand and dust before slowly rising and climbing higher and higher!

At first, it was not fast, but after rising to a certain altitude, it suddenly accelerated, turning into a black dot and heading east!

(End of this chapter)