Chapter 460: Mutual Accusations

He explained that as the medicinal herb trade expanded nationwide, the water consumption in Zhitian Township grew increasingly large, so they hoped the upstream could increase the water flow. The porcupine demons, however, refused, because building a dam to increase the flow would destroy their territory. "Isn't this something that can be coordinated and compensated for?" He Lingchuan had also done coordination work in Dunyu.

A township notable couldn't help but sneer: "Although they are pigs, they like to open their mouths like lions."

It seemed the porcupines wanted more money, so the negotiations fell through.

He Lingchuan sipped his fine wine: "So, who benefits the most from the entire porcupine nest being wiped out?"

When the crowd heard the tone of the conversation was off, they hurriedly clarified: "My lord, it has nothing to do with us!"

"We just collect some medicinal herbs here to sell outside; we only earn errand money. How could we have the heart or the ability to harm anyone!"

He Lingchuan smiled: "Generally speaking, whoever profits the most is the suspect."

A wealthy merchant said indignantly: "My lord, you can't say it like that. We work diligently so that Zhitian Township can prosper; how did we become the biggest suspects instead? If it weren't for us, those herb farmers and tenant farmers, those..."

He originally wanted to say "monsters," but his companion poked him in the ribs, and he immediately changed his words: "... how could they have the good life they have now?"

"Yes, yes, the prosperity of Zhitian Township far exceeds other townships; we have all done our best."

The Bai Shi County Magistrate hurriedly said: "My lord, didn't you say this might be a monster causing trouble? And the victims are spread across Chiyan, so what could that have to do with these township worthies?"

He Lingchuan's gaze swept across everyone's faces: "Which of you has dealt with the porcupine demons face-to-face?"

Everyone fell silent.

Jiao Yu looked at the Bai Shi County Magistrate: "You should at least know, right?"

The Bai Shi County Magistrate had no choice but to bite the bullet and point them out to He Lingchuan one by one.

The three wealthy merchants here had all dealt with the porcupine demons and even had grudges against them; their surnames were Wang, Li, and Tu, respectively.

The three of them defended themselves one after another, claiming they had absolutely no intention of harming anyone.

General Ling scraped his hooves impatiently.

He Lingchuan sized them up for a long time, watching until the three of them felt their hearts go numb, before he sighed: "I was just asking as a matter of routine; don't take it to heart, everyone."

Wealthy Merchant Li asked cautiously: "If the culprit is really caught, what crime will they be charged with?"

"Conspiring to murder a Lingxu messenger is at least a capital offense."

General Ling added from the side: "Extermination of the three clans."

As soon as he spoke, it was filled with murderous intent, and everyone choked, not knowing how to respond.

This meal ended quickly.

Returning to the inn, He Lingchuan washed his hands and face.

It was midsummer in July, and the night didn't feel cool at all; even the cicadas were chirping non-stop until now.

General Ling had his own guards open a room next door.

There was a large water vat in the courtyard, filled to the brim with clear water. The fierce tiger simply jumped into the water to cool off, while asking He Lingchuan: "Do you really think the case is related to these few wealthy merchants?"

The Bai Shi County Magistrate made sense; the culprit was committing crimes nationwide, so what did it have to do with the local wealthy merchants?

These wealthy merchants were all ordinary humans; there wasn't even a single cultivator among them.

"We obtained the information on Fu Shanjie. Basically, in every case, there were only two or three victims—one or two people, or one or two monsters. Even those sheep thieves who came to steal my argali only targeted that one goal," He Lingchuan said. "This is a clever approach; it's not easy to attract attention."

"But the Drill-Wind Beast case broke the routine; there were over twenty victims all at once."

"If we can confirm tomorrow that the porcupine clan was also wiped out by our culprit, then a year ago, its appetite was even larger, directly killing over a hundred victims."

He Lingchuan said slowly: "These two anomalies occurred only thirty or forty miles apart. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but if I'm not mistaken, what is the reason for the culprit's mass killing?"

Jiao Yu didn't know how to answer either.

Killing one or two people or two or three monsters could still be excused as being for food.

But over a hundred at once?

This purpose didn't look simple at all.

"It wasn't simple to begin with," He Lingchuan said seriously. "Don't forget, the messengers specially dispatched by Lingxu City all died at their hands. Usually, no one dares to lay a hand on a messenger, right?"

Jiao Yu was moved: "According to you, Zhitian Township is hiding spies from an outside race?"

"That can only be determined once the culprit is found." He Lingchuan suddenly said something irrelevant: "I originally thought Beijia was truly a utopia for monsters. Now it seems that might not be the case."

Jiao Yu didn't respond.

It wasn't raining tonight, and He Lingchuan had no desire to sleep, so he simply drew his Soaring Dragon Spear and practiced spear techniques for half an hour.

He had practiced diligently since redeeming the spear technique from the Panlong Dream, and the duration had exceeded that of his saber techniques.

This spear technique only had sixteen lines of oral formulas, even more concise than his saber techniques.

The spear is the king of all weapons, and the difficulty of practicing it is much greater than saber techniques. Fortunately, martial arts emphasize that if one path is mastered, all paths are mastered; his own realm had been raised, so his spear practice wasn't bad either.

Moreover, he had seen General Hong, Xiao Maoliang, and Hong Chenglue make their moves, all of which could be called thunderous strikes; he often pondered them in his heart and also gained something.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed. He practiced smoothly and didn't feel tired at all. With a slight surge of wine, he couldn't help but let out a long whistle, the tip of his spear swaying slightly, striking the trunk of a tree.

This crape myrtle tree was instantly showered with falling blossoms.

He Lingchuan expanded his spiritual sense, his spear striking like a needle, pinning all the petals onto the spear tip.

This spear weighed thirty-nine jin and was seven feet long. He was gripping it with one hand, and if the tail of the spear moved slightly, the tip would tremble wildly, making it very difficult to control. To pin through petals that were thin, soft, and weightless was truly difficult.

The crows on the tree only saw the spear shadows as dense and murderous, and they were so frightened that all their feathers stood on end, hurriedly flapping their wings to fly outside.

In the middle of the night, wouldn't they let the birds rest? He Lingchuan wanted to practice killing techniques, but the scene was very beautiful.

After this shower of flowers fell, there were only a few petals left on the ground.

The rest were all hanging on the spear tip.

Jiao Yu had been dozing on the steps, but was now awakened by the murderous aura.

Seeing him finally retract the spear like pressing a tiger, a cheer came from the side: "Good!"

It turned out to be General Ling, who didn't know when he had climbed onto the courtyard wall to watch the fun. When he stood half-upright, he was over a zhang tall, his skull higher than the wall.

He was also a veteran of many battles. Although this young man's spear technique couldn't be compared to the old monarch of Chiyan, his strikes were like a mad snake spitting its tongue, and his retractions were like a cunning rabbit returning to its nest. To be so brave and know how to conserve strength was already stronger than the average martial general.

This kid really had some ability.

He Lingchuan let out a long breath, wiping the slight sweat from his forehead.

This "Plum Blossom Pin" move had finally reached a small level of success.

Just at this moment, there was a sound of knocking on the courtyard gate.

He Lingchuan had already heard footsteps outside coming and going. He opened the door to look, and there was only a letter left on the ground.

This was a whistle-blowing letter, exposing the grudge between Wealthy Merchant Tu and the porcupine demons.

It turned out that the two sides had long been at odds to the point of being irreconcilable; Wealthy Merchant Tu's grandson was even shot in the calf by a porcupine quill, causing the wound to fester to the bone, nearly resulting in amputation, and it took more than three months of treatment before he gradually recovered.

Half an hour later, there was movement outside the house again.

Someone approached stealthily, but how could their footsteps escape He Lingchuan? This person bent down, just about to stuff a note under the door crack, when the courtyard gate creaked open. He Lingchuan stood at the doorway, smiling at him: "Since you're here, why not speak face-to-face? Who is your master, and who do you want to report?"

"Ah..." This person was caught in the act, his face turning green.

He Lingchuan grabbed the note from his hand, read it on the spot, and then said: "Oh, so you wanted to report the Li family. Does your master's surname start with Wang or Tu?"

This person didn't dare to make a sound; the note wasn't signed.

"I hope your master's surname isn't Tu." He Lingchuan took out a letter and waved it in front of him: "Someone already came to report him a long time ago."

"Ah?"

Fifteen miles away, in Shuanglu Town of Zhitian Township, inside a large mansion.

A night owl flapped its wings and landed on a large tree beside the main house, hooting a few times.

The window opened, letting the night owl fly in.

The person in the room closed the window again, and there was only one person and one bird left in the room.

He casually set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping before saying to the night owl: "What message is there from the capital?"

"The Lingxu City messenger disappearance case has been handed over to Fu Shanyue by the monarch."

This person said 'oh': "Even Fu Shanjie couldn't investigate it, and Fu Shanyue, this reckless man..."

He stood up, paced a few steps, and added: "However, Fu Shanyue wants to win the monarch's favor right now, so he should spend a lot of effort. Hmm, he still has a few capable people under his command. Who did he send to handle this?"

"It's not clear yet."

This person's footsteps paused: "Not clear?"

"The officials under him all have other duties," the night owl said. "Only the Baishan Middle General Jiao Yu left the capital a few days ago, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Jiao Da's son?" This person wondered, "Would Fu Shanyue send him alone to handle this?"

The night owl couldn't answer this question.

It ate meat and drank water here, then closed one eye and went to sleep.

In the second half of the night, another person who looked like a steward came to the door.

"My master asked me to come over overnight to report," the steward said, having entered through the back door. "The Crown Prince sent a special envoy to Youtian Town to investigate the Lingxu City messenger case."

"Oh?" This person asked urgently, "Who was sent?"

"The special envoy is named He Xiao, holding the Crown Prince's letter of authority, and there is also a fierce tiger named Jiao Yu, who seems to be Baili something..."

"Baishan Middle General?"

"Yes, yes!" The steward nodded repeatedly. "And there is a goshawk, who I heard is also a palace guard."

"He Xiao?" This person thought for a long time, "Never heard of him."

"The county invited him to dinner, but he did well; he suspected the township worthies of killing the porcupine nest on Mount Yulun."

This person sat up straight immediately: "Is there evidence?"

"No, he didn't even go to look; he was just talking nonsense."

"It might not be nonsense; perhaps he wants to bluff you all," this person asked. "Anything else?"

"He is going to see the porcupine nest tomorrow."

"What about the items used by the one surnamed He?"

The steward took a cloth bundle from his bosom and opened it; inside was a wine cup.

"They were dining at Xihong Tower, and He Xiao used this wine cup."

"Alright, go back and tell your master to put his heart back in his stomach," this person took the wine cup. "They won't be able to trace it to him!"

"Yes."

After the steward left, this person sat in the room, deep in thought for a long time, before suddenly getting up and walking to the courtyard.

The tree shadows were swaying, and there was a corner in the courtyard that even the moonlight couldn't penetrate.

This person seemed to crush something, then scooped up a ladle of clear water and poured it into this corner.

Very quickly, something moved in the shadows of the corner.

"Assign a new target: He Xiao," this person lowered his voice, placing the cup on the ground. "He is now in Youtian Town and will go to the porcupine nest on Mount Yulun tomorrow. You know what to do."

Last day of January, asking for monthly tickets~ Also asking for next month's base, will vote for "Immortal" on 2.1, thank you!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 461 =====