Chapter 321

The "Beast God" organization!

Only those who affiliate with the "Beast God" organization can obtain the demonic pill that turns one into a half-human, half-beast.

Is the Liang family a subordinate force of the "Beast God"?

Or did Liang Zhongshi join the "Beast God" as one of its Beast Servants?

"..."

Chen Mu's thoughts raced, his gaze sharp as a blade; he spoke again, "Before Liang Zhongshi transformed, did he ingest any special pill? Or come into contact with any unusual object?"

"This..."

The Xiantian Siwei strained to recall the details he'd heard, uncertainly saying, "It doesn't seem so. I heard Grandmaster Liang had merely drunk a cup of longevity wine, and then... then he suddenly collapsed!"

"Only drank wine?"

Chen Mu frowned slightly, set down his teacup, and rose abruptly, "Where is Liang Zhongshi's corpse now?"

Before the Siwei could answer, he had already stepped forward, his official robe stirring a faint breeze.

"Forget it—I'll go to the Liang residence myself and see for myself!"

As his words faded, his form blurred, slipping out of the hall like a phantom, then lightly tapping the ground as he shot skyward like a great roc, becoming a streak of light racing toward Liang Fu, leaving the Xiantian Siwei frozen in place, still mid-report.

Within a few breaths, Chen Mu had arrived by air, descending above Liang Fu.

His gaze swept the scene; even with his unshakable will, his eyes sharpened.

The once bustling, vibrant Liang residence now lay transformed into a slaughterhouse.

Shrill wails, agonized moans, and panicked screams mingled everywhere.

From the front courtyard to the middle courtyard, even onto the street outside the main gate, corpses lay scattered, mangled and incomplete; blood soaked the blue stone slabs, pooling into trickling streams, the air thick with a nauseating stench of gore.

Chen Mu descended from the air.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

Moving swiftly, he collected card after card.

During the process, Chen Mu's nostrils flared slightly; beyond the stench of blood, he sharply detected a strange odor of burnt matter.

At the smell, his expression changed instantly; his form flickered, appearing as if teleported to an open patch of ground at the street corner.

A crowd had gathered there—some Town Martial Corps guards, wounded and still shaken, but mostly martial artists from all walks, watching from a distance and pointing.

In the center of the open space, a pile of firewood burned, flames leaping, radiating waves of heat.

Standing before the fire was He Xiaoming, Chief of the Town Martial Corps.

He was channeling his true energy, condensing a blazing flame in his palm, continuously scorching a charred, deformed corpse that still vaguely retained the shape of a wolf.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

"Who gave you permission to burn the corpse?!"

With the card now in hand, Chen Mu's face was as cold as stone, his voice icy as winter ice, cutting through the chaos instantly.

Fortunately, he arrived in time to collect the card.

"Who?"

He Xiaoming startled at the sudden voice, his palm flame flickering.

He spun around, saw Chen Mu's frost-covered face, a flicker of unease crossing his features; he quickly withdrew his true energy and bowed deeply.

"Your Lordship!"

The other Town Martial Corps guards, shaken from their surprise, all bowed in unison.

"Your Lordship!"

Chen Mu waved his hand casually, but his gaze, like twin blades, locked onto He Xiaoming, repeating his question, colder now.

"I ask you again—who authorized you to burn the corpse?"

"..."

He Xiaoming felt the weight of that tangible gaze, his throat bobbing involuntarily; he forced calm as he explained, "R-Return, Your Lordship: Liang Zhongshi suddenly transformed into a monster and went berserk, slaughtering hundreds. The situation was bizarre. I... I feared his corpse retained demonic residue, risking further calamity, so I sought to destroy it swiftly for safety."

"Is that so?"

Chen Mu's lips curled into a cold arc, his gaze deep as a well, as if piercing straight into the soul, "You feared problems, so you rushed to burn it?"

You wanted to destroy the evidence!

The words swirled on Chen Mu's tongue, but he never spoke them aloud.

To expose him now would be like alerting a sleeping snake.

Yet He Xiaoming's frantic act of burning the corpse was as clear as fireflies in the dark—undeniably revealing his guilt.

Clearly, this Town Martial Corps Chief, like Du Yuansheng, had dirty hands!

With these two consecutively implicated, Tang Ji likely could not escape blame either—and perhaps even deeper ties.

【The upper echelons of the Weizhou Town Martial Corps are probably rotten to the core.】

Chen Mu thought inwardly, 【The sudden transfer of the previous chief was likely no accident.】

On the surface, he showed no reaction, merely gazing coldly at He Xiaoming.

"Y-Yes, Your Lordship."

He Xiaoming gritted his teeth, dared not meet Chen Mu's eyes, and replied with a faintly dry voice, "Liang Zhongshi's sudden transformation is too suspicious. I suspect he secretly practiced some evil cultivation art, suffered qi deviation, lost control, and caused today's tragedy. His corpse..."

"Enough."

Chen Mu raised his hand, cutting off his explanation. "Since Administrator He is so 'concerned' about this case, the matter of Liang Zhongshi transforming into a monster and slaughtering civilians will be placed entirely under your authority!"

Chen Mu's gaze burned like torches as he stared at He Xiaoming's instantly stiffened face. "This official gives you three days! Within three days, you must find out exactly how Liang Zhongshi became that half-man, half-wolf monster, and trace it to its source!"

"Th-this..."

He Xiaoming's face went pale, fine beads of cold sweat instantly seeping from his forehead. Clearly he had not expected Chen Mu to slam this hot potato straight into his hands. He stammered, trying to wriggle out of it. "My lord, I... I'm afraid my abilities are limited, and I'm not equal to the task. Just now I only managed to kill the monster by exerting all my strength. As for its true origin, I really..."

"Can't do it?"

Chen Mu cut him off coldly, his voice suddenly rising, carrying a biting killing intent. "If you can't do it, then take off that Quelling Martial Bureau uniform yourself and get out of Weizhou!"

The bone-chilling words were like ice spikes, stabbing into He Xiaoming and making his whole body tremble. They also made the hearts of all the surrounding Quelling Martial Bureau guards who were pricking up their ears to listen pound wildly. One after another, they buried their heads even lower, not daring to so much as breathe.

Chen Mu sneered inwardly.

The martial artists who died at Liang Zhongshi's birthday banquet numbered fewer than a hundred; most of the dead were innocent ordinary guests.

No matter by what means he had transformed into that half-man, half-wolf monster, Du Yuansheng and He Xiaoming were most likely not free of involvement!

Even if they were not core "Beast Servants" of that mysterious "Beast God" organization, they must certainly be its claws or collaborators, and had long been unfit to wear that official robe!

For people like these, Chen Mu no longer had the slightest courtesy.

He had originally wanted to play along and see what exactly was hidden behind the scenes, but the prerequisite was that innocent civilians must not be implicated.

Since Du Yuansheng, He Xiaoming, and the others were acting with increasing recklessness, treating human lives like weeds, then he had no need to hold back any longer!