Chapter 1612: Association

A pungent heat lingered in the air, the immense residual warmth of the explosion still palpable. Just by looking at the scene, he knew the recent battle could no longer be described as merely intense; it was horrific.

He had long anticipated that the battle between these two master demon puppeteers would be exceedingly perilous. Just now, he had overheard the conversation between Dong Rui and Cao Wendao through the eyeball spider, including Dong Rui's two loud cries, indicating he had been struck.

In Qingyang's presence, He Lingchuan was helpless; this was Dong Rui's own choice.

Everyone instinctively looked at Qingyang. Among those present, she was the oldest and most experienced. But Qingyang shook her head, saying, "I haven't seen it."

She wasn't lying. Although Cao Wendao occasionally contacted her, he never reported to her the number or types of demon puppets he controlled. Yet this mysteriously appearing fat-headed fish, by all accounts, must have belonged to Cao Wendao. If Old Cao's fish were all killed, could he himself still be unharmed? Qingyang's heart felt heavy. It seemed she had only managed to stop He Xiao, but failed to intercept other powerful, malevolent figures.

Everyone searched around again, but found no trace of Cao Wendao. Instead, they discovered more and more grotesque corpses, resembling… mutated monsters. It was a veritable charnel house: bodies lay everywhere, and blood flowed across the ground. Standing there, everyone felt the evening breeze heavy with the stench of blood. Why had these monsters died here? Had they slaughtered each other?

Zhao Song whispered to He Lingchuan, "Island Master He, look at this?" He Xiao had mentioned earlier that there were assassins near Yongquan Villa, but Zhao Song had never anticipated encountering such a massive scene!

"I don't understand either," He Lingchuan said, shaking his head, puzzled. "There are so many dead monsters, yet not a single human corpse." He then whispered, "Didn't we capture two people alive? Brother Zhao, should we go back and interrogate them?"

Zhao Song nodded. Qingyang, who was not far away, had overheard their entire conversation. She then looked at the two unconscious captives. Zhao Song immediately dispatched men to collect clues, so they could be reported to the King at dawn. This took more than half an hour.

During this time, Qingyang also personally inspected the scene. The signs of battle here were shocking, indicating that Cao Wendao's demon puppets must have been among the combatants. So, who was his opponent? He Xiao's recent words had reminded her: there wasn't a single human corpse here, apart from Cao Wendao's two disciples. Did the enemies who attacked him carry away their fallen comrades, or were the attackers not human at all?

Following this line of thought, and examining the wounds on the demon puppets at the scene, they didn't resemble injuries from weapons like swords, spears, or halberds. In fact, two thick-skinned, tough-fleshed demon puppets had broken bones and torn muscles, indicating death by heavy, blunt force trauma.

At this thought, Qingyang instinctively glanced back at He Lingchuan. Cao Wendao had been certain that He Lingchuan had a demon puppeteer with him, and had mentioned Wei Yishan several times. From what she knew of Cao Wendao, he was probably more interested in Wei Yishan than in He Xiao. He Xiao was indeed held back by her, but he still had secret accomplices, didn't he? So, did Cao Wendao engage Wei Yishan in a major battle?

He Lingchuan noticed her searching gaze. "Madam Regent, have you found anything?"

"Nothing," Qingyang said, looking down at the giant fish in the ground. "I just feel that events are unpredictable, and destiny is truly remarkable."

At this moment, Zhao Song also walked over. "The scene investigation is complete; there are no clues regarding any living persons."

He Lingchuan, still pondering Qingyang's words, nodded upon hearing this. "Then I'll return to the villa first."

"Rest well when you get back. After dawn, the authorities might send people to question you and take your statement."

He Lingchuan smiled. "Alright, that's to be expected."

Zhao Song was so accommodating because his interlocutor was He Lingchuan. Anyone else encountering such events would have been rushed to the authorities to give a statement and wouldn't be released for an hour or two of interrogation.

"It seems the assassins got away again," He Lingchuan sighed, turning to Qingyang. "Madam Regent, shall we part ways here?"

Qingyang had no reason to stop him. "Alright, see you in a few days."

Preferably not seeing each other, He Lingchuan thought. He gestured, and everyone turned to follow him, heading back to the villa. As for the carriage and bodies by the stream, designated personnel would stay behind to handle them and report to the authorities. Qingyang also led her people away. Before disappearing into the darkness, He Lingchuan looked back at her retreating figure, lost in thought.

Back at Yongquan Villa, the incident of the vagrants attacking the estate was largely coming to an end. Several ringleaders had been captured, while the rest were beaten and thrown out. The villa's staff were diligently busy tidying up and documenting losses. He Lingchuan had already instructed that after dawn, the cooks should prepare meals as usual, the servants should clean as usual, and the guards should patrol as usual. Everything was to proceed as normal.

But soon, an unexpected event occurred: The two captives Zhao Song had brought back from Peach Stream had died. These two had remained unconscious until death. The imperial guards watching them weren't even sure when they had stopped breathing. They already had multiple injuries; who could tell which one had been newly inflicted?

He Lingchuan's face was solemn. "No one survived, what a pity." But he knew in his heart that this was ninety percent Qingyang's doing, carried out right by Peach Stream. Wouldn't it be easy for her to kill these two without anyone knowing? Looking at Zhao Song's expression, it seemed he thought so too. With the two eyewitnesses eliminated, no one would know what had happened by the stream, and naturally, Cao Wendao would not be implicated.

However, Qingyang didn't know that Cao Wendao's second disciple, Yang Chi, had already been captured. Zhao Song immediately requested to interrogate the prisoner Yang Chi. The Yangshan guards hadn't beaten or abused him; they had provided him with food and drink, keeping him alone in a dark room.

On the way back to the villa, He Lingchuan had briefly explained the gist of it, so Zhao Song's first question was: "The one who wanted to take Island Master He's life—was it your master?"

Yang Chi, now subdued and cooperative, replied, "Yes."

"What's his name?"

"Cao Wendao."

"What does he usually do?"

"A demon puppeteer."

Zhao Song didn't understand. "A demon puppeteer? What are demon puppets?" Demon puppetry was an obscure and rare profession; most people had never even heard of it.

Yang Chi explained, and Zhao Song was visibly surprised. "The monster corpses strewn by Peach Stream—are those demon puppets?"

This time it was Yang Chi's turn to be surprised. "What?"

"Those strange-looking monsters—were they modified demon puppets?" Zhao Song immediately made a connection. "Hold on, two strange demonic beasts appeared in Xiaotao Villa: one with a tiger's body and a scissor-like tail, and another, a wild boar covered in sharp spikes. Do you know their origins?"

General Xue's death had shocked the court and the public. He had heard details about it.

Yang Chi stammered, "Yes, they were… modified by my master's sect."

Zhao Song's expression turned serious. This was significant progress in General Xue's case! But Yang Chi immediately added, "But they were taken away by the Black Armored Army at Lvyi Villa. We also don't know why they appeared in Xiaotao Villa. My… my master also came to investigate this matter."