Chapter 1593: Origin

So, if Cao Wendao wants to experiment with demons, it's best not to do it in Beijia.

Dong Rui became impatient: "What kind of experiments are you conducting?"

Yang Chi hesitated again.

Wanqi Liang twirled his knife, swiftly shaving off both of Yang Chi's eyebrows. Yang Chi felt a cold glint before his eyes and could only say, "Ghoul Beasts! My master is researching Ghoul Beasts!"

"How far along is the research?" Having finally met someone similar, Dong Rui's eyes lit up. "What's the main focus?"

Yang Chi's mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish out of water: "I-I don't know either! Only my master knows the core secrets! He has a locked experimental room in the Red Lodge, and he never allows anyone inside. The Ghoul Beasts and demon puppets we create are sometimes sold to surrounding powers and armies. If they don't know how to control them, my master sends us to do it for them."

"Your customer service is quite good." A powerful weapon sold, but the buyer doesn't know how to use it, so the master of the Red Lodge has to send people to guide them?

"Uh, it's... it's alright."

He Lingchuan also understood: "You also take contracts for assassinations, right?"

"Yes. My master always complains about insufficient funds and has to procure them himself."

Money is never enough for the demon puppeteers.

"Who hired you to kill Situ Yu, and how much did they pay?"

Yang Chi answered truthfully: "Bixia. It was about four or five hundred thousand taels, I think?"

"That's certainly not expensive." Buying the life of an allied army leader is a bargain.

He Lingchuan then asked, "Who funds your master's research here?"

Whether researching demon puppets or Ghoul Beasts, these are expensive projects. Dong Rui casually researching anything starts at fifty thousand taels.

If Cao Wendao wasn't funded, even taking contracts to kill ten allied army leaders wouldn't be enough to accumulate the necessary funds.

The carriage wheel hit a stone, making the vehicle jolt. The corpse on the ground swayed, its head rolling onto Yang Chi's foot, making him tremble again in fright: "Ling... Lingxu City. But I don't know the exact source."

They were already outside the city, traveling on the main road with few passing vehicles or pedestrians. Wanqi Liang put away the corpse, then opened the carriage curtain to let air circulate.

He Lingchuan continued to ask, "Besides insect puppets, what else do you research?"

"Insect puppets are the most common, then apes and monkeys, and sometimes humans."

Dong Rui's eyes gleamed: "Did you raise a Child Demon Hound?"

"Ah, yes." Yang Chi nodded repeatedly. "My master raised a litter of five Child Demon Hounds, and only one was successfully transformed."

"Xiao An?"

"Yes, her name is 'Xiao An'."

"But Xiao An is a real person." He Lingchuan was also curious. "We investigated her background."

"That was a child's soul, embedded in the body of a Child Demon Hound," Yang Chi said quickly. "My master came to the Shanjing Plain and spent several years capturing that litter of Child Demon Hounds. I happened to be right there when he collected that little girl's soul!"

"Oh?" Dong Rui asked him, "Did he kill Xiao An?"

"No, not at all." Yang Chi waved his hand. "Before that, we tried hundreds of times to infuse ordinary souls into the bodies of Child Demon Hounds, but without exception, they all failed. Finally, my master concluded that it required a powerful yet innocent soul, because a Child Demon Hound itself is not an ordinary demon."

Powerful, but innocent. He Lingchuan scratched his head upon hearing this. Powerful souls are often far from innocent.

That's truly contradictory.

"One day, we passed by a small village that had just been attacked by bandits; everyone in the village was dead. In the back mountains, we found a mother and daughter who were also beyond saving, but the little girl's soul was remarkably resilient. We estimated the bandits had left ten to twelve hours prior, but when we found her, she had just drawn her last breath. My master believed that this soul was exceptionally powerful, even to the extent of delaying the death of her body."

Yang Chi licked his lips: "My master collected this soul and brought it back to the Red Lodge, and it immediately adapted. We had tried over a hundred other souls before, but none fit as perfectly as this one."

"She doesn't know she's a Child Demon Hound?"

"There was a slight problem during the soul infusion process," Yang Chi said softly. "The Child Demon Hound's original soul wasn't completely removed, but it was usually suppressed by her. Only when Xiao An's emotions fluctuated too much would the Child Demon Hound emerge, and at those times, it would lose all reason and go on a killing spree!"

"My master had no choice but to deceive the little girl, telling her she was his own daughter. But Xiao An's memories were incomplete and sometimes confused." Yang Chi sighed. "Regardless, we can't summon the Child Demon Hound's power when she is calm."

He Lingchuan pondered: "A few months ago, the Princess of Yao and a large number of commoners were killed. Yao Kingdom attributed it to a Three-Tailed Fox Demon and even sent General Chongwu to intercept and kill the Three-Tailed Fox."

"Xiao An did that," Yang Chi clarified. "My senior apprentice brother inadvertently mentioned an event from twenty years ago, which deeply agitated Xiao An. She transformed into the Child Demon Hound, burst out of the Red Lodge, and went on a rampage outside! Many people died in that incident."

"Went on a rampage? Wait a minute, is the Red Lodge located near Yao Kingdom?"

"West of Yao territory."

This location... He Lingchuan immediately understood: "The case of Princess Ya's murder?"

"Uh, yes, yes."

"So it was your doing after all."

A few months ago, Princess Ya, beloved by King Yao, was inexplicably murdered in her villa near the border, and over a thousand commoners also perished. The case caused a sensation, enraging the king, who then ordered General Chongwu to hunt down the Three-Tailed Fox Demon.

In the end, the Three-Tailed Fox took the blame for the true culprits.

Yang Chi gave a bitter smile: "Since then, my master has forbidden us from agitating her further. But Xiao An kept clamoring to go home, refusing to listen to my master or return to the Red Lodge. She became increasingly agitated and no longer recognized people. We went out several times but couldn't capture her and bring her back."

Xiao An's village was long gone; even if she could return, she wouldn't find her family.

"Chen Family Village, Greenery Villa?"

"Yes, my master can only track the Child Demon Hound when Xiao An's emotions are agitated. That's why the incidents at Chen Family Village and Greenery Villa occurred." Yang Chi scratched his head. "Once the half-insect puppets are released and taste blood, they're not so easy to control."

He Lingchuan then asked him, "Why did Cao Wendao come to Tianshui City?"

"My master said he had a mission in Tianshui City this time: to kill someone very difficult to kill — the master of Yangshan Islands."

Dong Rui quickly asked, "Who paid? How much did they pay?"

"I-I don't know."

Wanqi Liang's eyes widened, and the bloody dagger pressed against Yang Chi's ribs: "Speak!"

"I really don't know, I truly don't know!" Yang Chi exclaimed. "For such secrets, we only follow orders. My master would never tell us in advance! Besides, my master has gone out alone several times, and we don't know where he went or whom he met."

He Lingchuan laughed: "What's so hard to guess about that? They are Beijia people."

Qingyang is also a Beijia person.

Dong Rui glanced at him: "I think their targets might not just be those who have offended Beijia."