Chapter 240

The Medicine Garden is remote and quiet, yet it is permeated with the fragrance of flowers and plants, and it is the place where the Fang Family's True Qi is most abundant.

The garden keeper lies on a recliner, rocking back and forth with a creaking sound; the wooden hut where he stays is built inside the Medicine Garden, so he does not need to deliberately practice breathing—with every inhalation and exhalation, True Qi enters his body on its own, refreshing his heart and spirit.

A beam of light shines through the window into the wooden hut, landing just right on the garden keeper's face.

The garden keeper, surnamed Gong, opens his bright, piercing eyes and catches sight of the figure standing on the roof.

"Creak!"

The recliner rocks violently once, but the person on it has vanished without a trace.

The figure on the roof disappears in the instant the garden keeper flashes over, leaving behind only a trail of rapid movement.

The garden keeper does not stop for a moment, chasing after that trail of light.

Watching the garden keeper head off into the distance, Chen Che and the other two, who had been hiding in the shadows, reveal themselves.

"What is that thing?"

Chen Che asks.

"It's something researched by the Equipment Department of the Justice Inspection Division, specifically used to lure targets; I don't know the exact principle, but it is indeed practical."

Tang Ying puts away an object in her hand that looks remarkably like a remote control and raises her eyebrows at Chen Che with a smile.

Without saying more, the three of them immediately flash into the Medicine Garden.

The Medicine Garden is mysterious and tranquil; the three of them walk slowly through it, carefully and cautiously observing every spot.

The moonlight is like water, gently spilling over every leaf in the garden, plating them with a faint silver glow. The air is filled with the fragrance of various medicinal herbs, mixed with the fresh scent of soil and dew, making one feel relaxed and happy.

In the grass, the chirping of insects can be heard occasionally; their songs sound exceptionally clear in the quiet night, like the most wonderful movement of nature.

The plants in the Medicine Garden appear even more mysterious in the night; their leaves sway gently in the breeze, as if telling ancient secrets.

Under the illumination of the moonlight, some night-blooming flowers at the edge of the garden bloom quietly; their colors appear exceptionally vivid in the night, like scattered stars dotting the black canopy of the sky. The fragrance emitted by these flowers is even richer, intertwining with the fresh scent of the medicinal herbs to form a unique nocturnal atmosphere.

It is not just Lao Jin; even Chen Che and Tang Ying, who are Martial Artists, cannot help but linger and forget to return.

This abundant and pure True Qi is simply too tempting! It makes one unable to help but lose themselves in it; for a moment, Chen Che even envies the garden keeper for being able to stay here year-round.

Three minutes later, Chen Che and Tang Ying finish their round and rendezvous.

"Did you find anything?"

Chen Che asks.

Tang Ying shakes her head and says, "I didn't find anything, but the soil here itself is problematic."

Chen Che frowns; clearly, he has noticed it too.

"I studied knowledge about Spirit Grass at the Justice Inspection Division; to grow plants with such abundant True Qi, the land itself must be a geomantic treasure land!"

Tang Ying says, "The Fang Family occupies hundreds of acres; even if there were soil that is hard to come by in a thousand years, it couldn't be such a uniform patch!"

Chen Che nods and says, "You think the same as I do; this Medicine Garden was clearly laid out by the Fang Family specifically to cultivate plants, and the soil here has definitely undergone special treatment."

"What kind of treatment could it be to turn ordinary, unremarkable soil into such a treasure land?"

Tang Ying asks with a furrowed brow.

Chen Che clearly cannot figure it out either and shakes his head.

"Oh my, my mother!"

Just then, Lao Jin, not far away, trips and falls onto his backside; just as he is about to stand up, he suddenly lets out a startled cry.

Tang Ying immediately darts over and covers his mouth: "Shh! Don't shout!"

Lao Jin points at his feet with a face full of terror; Tang Ying looks over in the direction of Lao Jin's finger and suddenly widens her eyes.

Chen Che notices the abnormality of the two and immediately walks over to check the situation.

Unexpectedly, when he sees clearly what tripped Lao Jin, he cannot help but be startled as well.

It is a Black Skull!

Chen Che and Tang Ying look at each other, their eyes equally filled with horror.

A flash of inspiration strikes Chen Che; he scans the ethereal, fairy-like Medicine Garden once more, and a heart-wrenching guess wells up.

"Snap!"

Chen Che forms a seal with both hands, slams a palm onto the ground, and shouts in a low voice: "Thick Earth Split!"

The ground of the entire Medicine Garden trembles slightly, and gullies and cracks spread out; in no time at all, the soil of the entire Medicine Garden is turned over as if it had been plowed.

At the same time, the secrets buried in the dark soil are exposed before the eyes of the three.

Corpses, withered bones...

One corpse after another comes into the view of the three; the entire underground of the Medicine Garden is filled with corpses.

Some bodies are still intact, having passed away not long ago; others have already begun to rot; and still others have already turned into cold, white bones!

Even Chen Che is stunned on the spot by this shocking scene!

Tang Ying's eyes are even wider, unable to believe that this outrageous scene is happening right before her eyes!

After a brief moment of horror, Lao Jin lets out a heart-rending scream.

"Ah! Wife! Daughter!"

Lao Jin lunges toward a patch of cracked ground where there are two female corpses; they look to be about forty-something and sixteen or seventeen years old, respectively—they are indeed Lao Jin's wife and daughter.

Chen Che and Tang Ying also rush over in a hurry; Tang Ying covers Lao Jin's mouth tightly, but she still cannot block his grief-stricken wails.

Chen Che carefully examines the two female corpses that have not yet begun to rot; as someone who is proficient in Medicine and is also a Martial Artist, he can easily see that Lao Jin's wife and daughter indeed possessed special constitutions.

But at this moment, the mother and daughter are completely naked, with blue and purple bruises on their bodies; clearly, they suffered inhuman treatment before they died.

The energy contained within their special constitutions has also been nearly exhausted, having been sucked dry by someone.

"Wife, daughter... my home is gone... how can I live without you... how can I live..."

Lao Jin's tears flow like a spring; this honest man's long-repressed emotions erupt completely at this moment, and at this moment, he loses all hope and any lingering chance.

Tang Ying bites her lip, her face streaming with tears, yet she has to work even harder to keep covering Lao Jin's mouth.

Secrets of the Medicine Garden

Chen Che clenched his fists tightly; at this moment, he understood all his questions.

The Fang Family selected people with special constitutions through various means, then unscrupulously drained the energy from within their bodies, finally burying the corpses in the Medicine Garden to nourish the soil with their extraordinary flesh and cultivate Spirit Grass!

No wonder only this patch of land possessed the conditions to cultivate Spirit Grass, and no wonder the True Qi contained within these Spirit Grass was so abundant!

No wonder!

No wonder!!

No wonder!!!

"Trespassing into the forbidden grounds of the Fang Family is not something a guest should do."

A slightly aged voice drifted over; the garden keeper had returned, his figure drifting over gracefully.

Seeing the situation inside the Medicine Garden, the garden keeper's originally calm expression changed abruptly; he widened his eyes in disbelief and demanded, "You actually destroyed the Fang Family Medicine Garden? How dare you? How could you dare?!"

Chen Che did not choose to flee immediately; the garden keeper possessed the strength of a peak Postnatal Grandmaster, making escape difficult, and furthermore, he did not want to run anymore.

"The Fang Family Medicine Garden is truly a land of auspicious geomancy, yet this precious land is actually buried with the lives of so many people!"

Chen Che faced the garden keeper, his face livid and his fury soaring, "Despicable, shameless, insidious, cunning, filthy, and base—this is the Fang Family, this is the leader of the Jinling Martial Dao families!"

"The lives of ants are cheap; being able to sacrifice everything for the Fang Family is their honor!"

The garden keeper let out a cold, disdainful snort: "As for you lot, since you have destroyed the Medicine Garden, then leave your lives behind!"

The garden keeper's aura surged instantly as he shot toward Chen Che.

Chen Che immediately formed hand seals with both hands, firing at full power; a large snake soared into the sky, then dove down to pounce.

The garden keeper's expression froze, and he quickly reined in his aura to retreat; the large snake missed its target and dissipated in an instant.

Chen Che changed his hand seals and took a step forward; an Array Diagram emerged and expanded across the entire Medicine Garden.

The garden keeper's retreating footsteps faltered, firmly restrained within the suction of the Array Diagram.

"This is an Artisan Technique! How could you possibly know an Artisan Technique?!"

The garden keeper was stunned by the scene before him, shouting in disbelief.

Chen Che moved his hands, changing the seals; a profound cyan light flashed at his fingertips, and the Array Diagram rotated along with it, revealing mysterious characters.

"You old bastard, since you say the lives of ants are cheap, then I will bury you in this Medicine Garden today!"

As Chen Che's voice fell, the characters on the Array Diagram flickered in alternation, and strange phenomena emerged!

………