Chapter 437: [Naleka's Short Octopus Spirit-Seeking Technique]

"Are you sure it's here?"

The drizzle fell, and the black broken hair was soaked by the rain.

Xia Nan looked at the cramped and dark alley in front, and asked the little brother of Jieli beside him, whose right hand was wrapped in bandages.

Earlier today, Xia Nan and Haian, who were on their way back to the tavern after coming out of the Adventurer Association, did not kill the "Blood-Nosed Rat" directly after asking the other party.

Although both were adventurers and had countless blood on their hands, one side was a Druid who respected nature and cherished living things, and the other side was a traveler from modern society with good values.

Although Jieli looked a bit short, he was not a Goblin after all, and he had some vision.

He let the kid go, only snapping the arms of the other party's two little brothers as a lesson.

But what he didn't expect was that in such a large Shoal Bay, in such a vast Saltwater District, they could still have a chance to meet on the same day.

And the timing was quite subtle, stuck at the time when Xia Nan and others' mission progress was lagging, and Alton, who was the God-Favored of the Goddess of Luck, was saying "let nature take its course."

Such a coincidence, even if this person didn't know anything, they had to go up and ask.

And after interrogation, unexpectedly, a few people really squeezed something out of this bottom-layer little hoodlum who didn't even need a name.

The other party's boss, the kid nicknamed "Blood-Nosed Rat" Jieli, not long ago, took his two little brothers, including the little hoodlum in front of him, back to the Manyu Xiang where he lived, saying he wanted to get money for the two to go to the clinic for treatment.

But what was strange was that the two waited for a long time outside the alley and didn't see Jieli come out, and then when they went in again, "Blood-Nosed Rat" had already had his throat slit, turning into a corpse gradually cooling in the rain.

"J-just inside, sir!" The little hoodlum's tone was filled with flattery and fear, shrinking his head and replying, "We two were scared at the time, we didn't even move the corpse, and ran out quickly."

"Now Boss Jieli... should still be lying there."

"Stop talking nonsense, lead the way!" Leien, the older brother of the twin warriors, stood beside him, and just the shadow cast by his tall and strong body was enough to cover the little hoodlum's body.

A large hand grabbed the back of the other party's neck like catching a chicken, and the little hoodlum, who was scared to a sudden shiver, was lifted to the front of the team by Leien to lead the way.

Perhaps in front of Xia Nan and Haian, who were professionals, this pair of twins appeared silent, not speaking much, and looking wooden.

But facing this kind of street hoodlum, they naturally couldn't give any good face, appearing exceptionally strong.

The group of five squeezed into the alley following the hoodlum.

It is worth mentioning that even though all five were professional-level adventurers, and it was not the wild with dangerous monsters right now, they still maintained relative caution.

Leien's standing position was relatively forward, just following behind the little hoodlum, ensuring that he could react to the other party's abnormal behavior at any time.

Xia Nan fell two steps behind, and behind him was the spellcaster Haian who was protected in the middle of the team.

Alton's standing position was relatively backward, and the end was Gedeng, the younger brother of the twin warriors responsible for the rear.

With such a formation, unless there was a special situation, basically no one in the Saltwater District would take the initiative to come up and find trouble.

And in fact, since entering Manyu Xiang, although Xia Nan occasionally felt a few gazes from the dark corners around, no one really blocked the way.

Before long, they arrived at the residence of "Blood-Nosed Rat" Jieli.

The corpse was still lying there motionless, but compared to the scene the little hoodlum saw earlier, there were many more footprints on the ground around, leading to the shed with the door wide open at the back.

The Saltwater District is like this.

The speed at which the greedy smell rotting meat is faster than those cockroaches and flies.

They might not dare to move Jieli on the ground, fearing to bring trouble, so the clothes on the corpse remained intact.

But for those ownerless things in the house, they didn't have the reason to turn a blind eye.

"Sir, this wasn't done by me." Seeing the messy shed that had been looted, the little hoodlum explained in panic, "It was fine when I came before."

Just a glance, he judged that these footprints were of different sizes and did not match the hoodlum in front of him, likely coming from other residents in the alley, so he didn't say much.

Xia Nan's gaze turned to Jieli's corpse on the ground.

Although he had the nickname "Blood-Nosed Rat," Jieli was still at the bottom of the pyramid of Shoal Bay, to some extent, and there was no essential difference between him and his two little brothers.

Just dying silently in the alley like this, with no family, and the drinking friends he associated with couldn't come to collect his corpse, rotting quietly in the corner, making his last contribution to the maggots in Shoal Bay with his own flesh and blood.

No one cares about the ending of such a street hoodlum.

Even in the best case, it would just be some neighbor living nearby who couldn't bear the stench of Jieli's corpse and the large number of mosquitoes and insects it attracted, informing the corpse collector in the town, and being transported out of the city in some cold and deserted late night, thrown into the sea.

Of course, before all this, he could still provide his last bit of value for Xia Nan and the others during the limited time before he rotted.

"The fatal wound came from the throat, um... judging from the struggle marks around and the posture of the corpse, it should have been someone covering his mouth and slitting his throat from behind."

"The wound is not too deep, or it can be said to be just right. Judging from the details of the wound, the weapon used by the murderer should be a short blade like a dagger."

Everyone on the field, even the Halfling Alton, who looked incomparably kind and had a child-like face, were experienced senior adventurers.

For this type of corpse, just a glance was enough to analyze one or two things.

Related to Baron Faluo's daughter, as well as his own future work in Shoal Bay, Haian was very active in taking the initiative to step forward and check the corpse.

Thanks to the excellent perception ability far exceeding professionals of the same level, Xia Nan already knew what the other party mentioned the moment he saw the corpse.

Right now, what he was observing were those more subtle things hidden deep in the shadows.

Jieli had not been dead for long, at most a few hours, not even half a day.

And although it was raining now, the rain was far from the degree of destroying everything.

Xia Nan noticed the slightly chaotic magic particles in the air that hadn't had time to return to their original state, and smelled the transcendental energy that was lingering in the depths of the shadows and hadn't dissipated.

Combined with the clean and neat wound on Jieli's corpse, the image of the murderer took shape:

——A powerhouse who was experienced in combat, or rather, assassination, walking on the professional path, and even very likely to have already obtained a professional level.

But thinking from another perspective, if he put himself in the murderer's position, what reason did he have to kill such a bottom-layer little hoodlum?

For money?

The money earned from such a trip might not be as much as killing a few Goblins, which was completely not cost-effective.

On a whim?

In an area with high population density like Manyu Xiang in the Saltwater District, if he really had the idea of slaughter, there was no reason to choose only Jieli.

Could it be a vendetta?

Xia Nan frowned slightly, called over the little hoodlum who was shrinking his head like a quail, his body shivering in the rain, not daring to speak, and asked:

"Did this boss of yours offend anyone?"

"That's too many, sir!" The little hoodlum answered immediately, "Every vendor on the nearby street probably looks at us like enemies."

Just after finishing, he seemed to realize the reason why Xia Nan asked this question, and hurriedly added. ===== CHAPTER 438 =====