Chapter 233: Lord Black's Decision

One could imagine how complicated Lang Wu's feelings were when he saw Captain Fire's corpse.

Colleagues of many years, dead just like that in the village.

"Since we've confirmed the anomaly is in the village, why not run the ancient formation at full power and wipe it out? Mo Cun's formation should be able to cover the entire village."

"..."

Chief Captain Lang Wu was silent. He looked at Fang Yue for a while before slowly saying.

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because the ancient formation is already severely damaged. If we run it at full power to cover the entire village, it would only take a short while before the whole formation completely collapses. By then, Mo Cun will lose the barrier it depends on for survival, and everything will be over."

How could that be...

Fang Yue was stunned.

He suddenly understood why Chief Captain Lang Wu would make such a heavy promise.

Almost at the cost of Gu Yue Cun's affiliated villages, he still wanted to throw in his lot with Lord Han.

It turned out that the problem with Mo Cun's formation wasn't just severe wear and tear — it was already nearing the end of its lifespan.

"A long time ago, our Mo Cun ancient formation was already running at extremely low power. No matter how many resources we poured in, we couldn't slow the rate of wear. All I could do was delay the formation's complete collapse and search for a new way out for Mo Cun. If I unleash all the formation's remaining energy now, Mo Cun is finished."

Fang Yue frowned slightly: "... It won't be finished."

"What?"

"Mo Cun won't be finished, even without the formation. So many villages survive without formation protection — so many villages that rely only on their captains and Guard Teams to keep going. Mo Cun can do the same! Even without the formation, your starting point is already far higher than any other village."

Chief Captain Lang Wu's expression darkened at those words.

"It's not the same... Without the formation, Mo Cun will lose every advantage. Casualties will spike. Most of our village's Guard Team actually rarely faces anomalies head-on anymore — they just patrol the village and handle daily public order. If we throw them back into a world full of dangers, they'll die for sure."

"That's their problem."

"... Enough. I won't let Mo Cun lose the ancient formation! At least until Lord Han agrees to shelter Mo Cun, I'll stake my life to keep the formation running."

Chief Captain Lang Wu's attitude was firm, but Fang Yue shook his head.

"Then what about the anomaly in the village that killed Captain Fire? It killed a Second-rate Realm post-Heaven strongman in such an uncanny way — you should understand how dangerous it is. If we don't activate the formation, are we just going to let it run free?"

"I'll keep the formation running at low efficiency to make sure the anomaly can't escape the village and no other anomaly can sneak in. As for the one inside, we'll catch it in a jar. Once we find out which district it's hiding in, I'll immediately spike the formation's intensity in that area and kill the anomaly at the smallest cost!

If the anomaly isn't strong, we'll take it out ourselves. Captain Night, don't think that just because Captain Fire died without a sound, those anomalies are something special. Sometimes even a mid Black Grade anomaly can instant-kill its own rank. But run into a post-Heaven First-rate Realm strongman like me, and it'll regret it."

Chief Captain Lang Wu's attitude was very firm, and Fang Yue understood immediately.

Chief Captain Lang Wu had come this time only to inform him and hope he would help — not truly to discuss countermeasures with him.

"Your way will get a lot of people killed," Fang Yue said, frowning.

"Without the ancient formation, even more will die," Chief Captain Lang Wu refused to back down.

Fang Yue stared at Chief Captain Lang Wu for a while, then finally shrugged.

"You're Mo Cun's Chief Captain, you call the shots. What do you want me to do?"

"Captain Fire is dead. I need a strongman to assist Captain Martial, to suppress public opinion and lead the search for that anomaly. As for the outside story... I'll announce that Captain Fire died of poison, and the killer was human. The 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 you mentioned earlier would work perfectly. Go get some and smear it on Captain Fire's corpse."

As he said this, Chief Captain Lang Wu was watching Fang Yue closely, observing every reaction.

After a silence, Fang Yue said: "Are you testing me?"

"No."

"... During the day, I heard a rumor that someone wanted to use 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 to poison Captain Fire, so at first I assumed she'd been poisoned to death."

Chief Captain Lang Wu frowned, thought for a moment, sighed, and said: "... I can roughly guess who's behind the rumor. Once this is handled, I'll go have a talk with them."

After that, Fang Yue and Chief Captain Lang Wu discussed a few more details. Soon Captain Martial burst in through the door in a panic.

"Captain Fire is dead? What happened!"

He was the last to hear the news. Fang Yue and Chief Captain Lang Wu exchanged a glance, briefly told Captain Martial what happened, and the three of them continued their discussion.

The fall of a captain was a huge blow, especially to Mo Cun, which prided itself on safety.

Fortunately, the story of being killed by an outsider was more reassuring than being killed by an anomaly.

The brief discussion ended quickly.

Fang Yue thought for a moment and asked: "Does either of you have 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】?"

"【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】?"

Captain Martial looked a bit lost; his eyes were still blood-red.

Although he and Captain Fire hadn't been on good terms, they'd been colleagues for so many years — feelings were still there.

Chief Captain Lang Wu said.

"There's some in my estate's warehouse. I'll have the butler bring it to you in a bit, but you'll need to keep it discreet."

"I'll handle it. Also, how many people know about Captain Fire's death right now?"

"Very few — only the people of Lang Fu. I gave strict orders to seal the news; no one will leak it. At the same time, I had all villagers return to their homes for a temporary curfew."

After discussing a while longer, Fang Yue got the 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 from the butler, took Chief Captain Lang Wu's token, and left Lang Fu.

He headed straight for the scene, and soon Fang Yue arrived.

Using Chief Captain Lang Wu's token to clear the way, the Guard Team members on duty stepped aside to let him through.

Fang Yue first observed Captain Fire's corpse for a good while.

That exquisite face was forever frozen in a look of shock and terror, both eyes wide open, as if she'd seen something utterly horrifying in her final moments.

With his back to the others, when no one was paying attention, Fang Yue used a hand wrapped in inner force to shove the 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 straight into Captain Fire's mouth.

【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 is actually a kind of thin crushed ice — from the outside you can't tell it carries any fierce toxicity. It only takes effect when it touches skin or is lit with fire.

When lit with fire, 【Qi Cold Corpse Poison】 doesn't melt like ordinary crushed ice; it vaporizes directly into smoke, which can be blended with other fragrances for use.

But right now, there was no need for that.

After all, contact with the skin is more toxic and faster-acting than normal dispersion.

The crushed ice melted in Captain Huo's mouth.

Before long, a thin layer of frost appeared on Captain Huo's body, her skin turned paler, showing signs of poisoning, which grew worse and worse, until she was fully poisoned.

At this point, the pretense of death by poisoning was complete.

While Fang Yue was dealing with the corpse, Captain Wu had already led people to begin a house-to-house search.

In name, they were looking for the killer; in fact, they were searching for the hidden Advent.

When Captain Wu arrived at Wei Liang's residence, her pupils contracted at once.

"What?! Captain Huo is dead?!"

First shock, then great joy.

She hurriedly pressed for details of how she died, and only then learned… Captain Huo had died of Qi Cold Corpse Poison!

How could that be?!

Wei Liang's expression shifted slightly.

Besides me, someone else has Qi Cold Corpse Poison? And both were used on Captain Huo?

Who did it? Who killed Captain Huo?

Although Captain Huo was dead and her plan had, inexplicably, been carried out smoothly, Wei Liang still felt a vague unease in her heart.

One night passed quickly.

The next day, everyone in the village knew the news of Captain Huo's death—killed by human hands, poisoned!

"How could this be… Captain Huo… Captain Huo… Wu Wuwu…"

"Who is it! Which heartless bastard killed Captain Huo! I must find them and avenge Captain Huo!"

Although Captain Huo was usually harsh toward the merchants, she was utterly devoted to the common folk, and the people's hearts were steady.

So many people were righteously indignant, wanting to do their part.

The matter began to grow more and more heated. Wei Liang, on one hand, seized every opportunity to arrange her own people to probe the issue of the next captain's appointment, and on the other sent people to investigate Captain Huo's cause of death.

The result… she really had died of Qi Cold Corpse Poison!

What on earth is going on?

Wei Liang was both excited and worried.

She quickly thought of a person.

Half an hour later, she sat face to face with that person in a room.

Wei Liang's very first words went straight to the point.

"Captain Huo… did you kill her?"

Fang Yue raised his head with a look of surprise on the surface.

Ah, this…

Fang Yue was about to shake his head when his heart suddenly stirred. He slowly stood up, looked down at her, and gave a slow nod.

"That's right, I killed her."

"Just as I thought!"

Wei Liang was startled, but also greatly relieved.

"But why… you were so against it before, why kill her so suddenly?

And why not work with me? She was a Second-rate Realm powerhouse after all. If I had first lured her onto the carriage, used the fragrance of spices to mask the smell of Qi Cold Corpse Poison, waited for the poison to enter her body, and then you struck, everything would have been much simpler.

I could even arrange the aftermath for you, making it look like an accident, instead of the uproar it is now."

Fang Yue didn't know how to respond to that, so he turned his face aside. "…Are you telling me how to do my job?"

Wei Liang:?!!

Wh-what, how did this guy suddenly become so manly?

"Uh… if you don't want to say, forget it. But where did you get the Qi Cold Corpse Poison? And why did you kill her? What are your plans going forward?"

"…"

"Forget it if you won't say. Since you killed her, the reward we discussed earlier—5 Fire-Through Leaves and 5 Black Stones—I'll have someone deliver them to your residence. Also, about the matter of Mo Cun's captain, have you changed your mind?"

When Wei Liang said this, she slightly emphasized her tone, carrying a veiled threat.

She seemed to want to use Fang Yue's killing of Captain Huo to force him to cooperate with her.

But…

Fang Yue glanced at her: "I'll keep the things. And don't do anything unnecessary."

"…I know my limits. The future is long, no rush."

Wei Liang revealed a self-satisfied mysterious smile, feeling everything was under her control.

Fang Yue ignored her, left Wei Liang's residence, and headed out.

"Damn! I thought this woman suddenly had something important to tell me, some intel on the Advent, but this is it?"

Still, having freeloaded a wave of benefits from her, Fang Yue didn't have the heart to badmouth her.

As the news of Captain Huo's death spread, the atmosphere in the village grew heavier and heavier, and at the same time, outsiders like Fang Yue were increasingly met with hostility.

The Gu Yue Cun craftsmen's original material procurement plans were all affected.

Fang Yue and Captain Wu continued searching the village, but after an entire day, still not a single trace of the Advent.

Night fell.

The three gathered together to exchange information.

"How can there not be a single trace?"

"I don't know, it's too strange… such terrifying concealment ability, I really can't imagine the sight of them moving in and out of the village at will."

What should we do now? Keep searching?

Yes.

Captain Lang Wu and Captain Wu were speaking, but Fang Yue suddenly interrupted.

Captain Wu, besides the anomaly, have you found any information on the two black-robed individuals I asked you to investigate?

No. According to the Black Crow Merchant Group, those black robes are strange—no matter the wearer's true form, once put on, they transform into the shape of black mist, hiding their identity.

According to your account, the last people Fire Captain saw were those two. Either one of them is the anomaly, or Fire Captain was interrogating them before being killed by the anomaly.

I know how important these two are, and I've instructed my subordinates to stay alert, but once they take off their robes, we can't recognize them—we have no way to trace them.

They're here… They must be in the village. Find them, and we'll uncover the cause of Fire Captain's death.

As the three were speaking, the door was suddenly smashed open.

Chief Captain Lang Wu! The black-robed ones have been found!!

What?!

All three rose to their feet at once.

Lead the way!

Captain Wu grabbed the man and rushed him out. As Lang Wu was about to follow, Fang Yue suddenly seized his arm.

Chief Captain Lang Wu, return to the array's core, oversee everything, and activate the Regional High-Efficiency Array on signal.

…Fine. Be careful.

After a moment's hesitation, Chief Captain Lang Wu nodded and departed in another direction.

Only then did Fang Yue head toward the direction Captain Wu had gone.

…

Time, rewind to a few minutes earlier.

In the dark wooden house, Hei Da sat silently, gazing through the narrow crack at the night sky outside.

…We can't get out.

He turned to look at Ma Ling'er'er, who was growing impatient beside him.

The young royal had not yet realized they were trapped in Mo Cun.

Unlike the previous array's strength, though only partially increased, the current array's power had reached a level they could not break through by their own strength.

The longer we wait, the greater the uncertainty.

Soul-Hosting Jade Pendant… Royal One…

From Hei Da's pitch-black misty face, two deep eye sockets emerged.

…Royal One.

What?

Ma Ling'er'er walked over impatiently.

Hei Da pulled out the Soul-Hosting Jade Pendant and gently placed it in Ma Ling'er'er's hands.

…Take the Sacred Object back to Wu Yu Clan.

We can't get out! Besides, I don't even know where Wu Yu Clan is.

…I'll tell you everything. Follow my instructions, then leave this place.

…

(End of Chapter)