Chapter 472: Transfer Warehouse

After inspecting Wan Song's residence, everyone withdrew.

They didn't search through his belongings, so Wan Song wouldn't become suspicious if he returned home.

The next location was Wan Song's warehouse.

The Bailiff of Baishi County also sent two constables, instructing them to follow the Special Envoy's orders throughout. These two had been working locally for nearly twenty years, knew everyone and everything within a ten-mile radius, and had seen all sorts of strange occurrences; they were true local experts. This showed the Bailiff's full cooperation.

He Lingchuan directly asked the two constables, "Do you recognize Wan Song?"

"Of course, we do," replied one constable named Xu Dayou. "When he was chosen to join the Baiqi Sect, Wealthy Elder Wan held a banquet to celebrate for his nephew, and I even attended. What a pity he didn't amount to anything and was eventually kicked out. If I had known this scoundrel was secretly killing demons, I would have cut him down myself!"

"You couldn't beat him," the other constable, Wu Huang, stated plainly. "He's a tough one to deal with. We should have realized this kid was trouble early on; he never respected village rules as a child and grew into a reckless desperado."

Youtian Town was small; it took less than thirty minutes to cross from east to west.

Wan Song's warehouse was located right next to his medicinal fields, bordering a small road, which made transportation very convenient.

Wan Song's medicinal fields cultivated numerous valuable herbs, such as Mahuang Teng and Jiegu Cao. Surprisingly, he even employed a family of weasels with beady eyes to guard them.

However, there was no Selfheal in his fields. General Ling grinned at He Lingchuan, "He doesn't even grow it himself. Do you ever make mistakes?"

"Is that so?" He Lingchuan replied nonchalantly. "We'll see about that."

The two constables stepped forward and spoke a few words, and the weasels no longer dared to prevent the group from opening the warehouse.

Local influence proved effective.

Half of the warehouse space was already occupied by stacked bags of herbs of all kinds.

There were countless such warehouses in Zhitian Township.

He Lingchuan drew his knife and randomly chose a bag of herbs to open.

Fleeceflower Root.

Selfheal.

Notoginseng.

Selfheal.

Selfheal.

He opened over a dozen bags; only two contained other herbs, while the rest were all Selfheal!

Jiao Yu glanced at General Ling and asked, "What do you think now?"

General Ling simply reached out and picked a few stalks to satisfy his craving, chewing as he said, "Tastes good, quite fresh. Hmm, what exactly does this fellow need Selfheal for?"

He Lingchuan had already resolved his earlier confusion on the way here. He now picked up a handful of Selfheal and stated:

"This is feed, the monster's feed. It's likely also why Wan Song is stationed in Zhitian Township."

Everyone was greatly surprised: "Doesn't that monster feed on demons?"

"Its diet is probably not limited," He Lingchuan said, gazing at the leaves in his hand. "This creature is unusual; I might have met its creator."

Yes, he remembered.

The last person to mention Selfheal to him was Dong Rui.

When Dong Rui was developing medicine for Zhu Erniang in the Demonic Lair Swamp, he casually mentioned that he had created a demonic puppet, designated Number Thirty-One, for someone in Beijia.

Because it was made too hastily, this demonic puppet had a flaw and frequently needed to consume Selfheal.

"Otherwise, it couldn't sustain itself," those were Dong Rui's exact words.

"Who is it?"

"Have you heard the name Dong Rui?"

General Ling shook his head, while Jiao Yu replied, "He's rumored to be a notorious demonic puppet master, wanted by our entire Beijia nation."

He was somewhat surprised: "What's the connection with this fellow? Oh, are you saying this monster is a demonic puppet he created?"

"Quite possibly."

Dong Rui's creations were peculiar but shared one characteristic:

Practicality.

When used correctly, their power was considerable.

"A mere demonic puppet master, whose puppets can swallow over a hundred Quillboar demons in one go?" General Ling scoffed, unconvinced. "If he had such abilities, would he need to flee like a homeless dog?"

"You're right," He Lingchuan was not in a hurry to contradict him. "Dong Rui's demonic puppets aren't that outrageous."

He had battled Dong Rui's ape-ghouls, strange birds, and werewolves before. Their combat strength was decent, but silently killing over a hundred demons was far beyond their capabilities.

Moreover, Dong Rui had admitted that Number Thirty-One was made too hastily, so its sophistication certainly couldn't match the ape-ghouls or werewolves he kept with him.

So, where did things go wrong?

Jiao Yu sniffed around the warehouse floor. "There's a monster's scent everywhere."

He Lingchuan wiped a hand across the warehouse wall. "There are also traces of dried slime."

He walked out and beckoned to the family of weasels, asking, "How often does the owner of this warehouse come here?"

The weasels looked at everyone with their beady black eyes and chittered, "We can't remember."

Jiao Yu said coldly, "The Crown Prince's Special Envoy is investigating a murder case. If you dare to withhold information or conceal anything, you'll be considered accomplices!"

Under his intimidating gaze, the weasels hunched their bodies, preparing to burrow into the ground.

He Lingchuan quickly interjected, "The owner of this warehouse specializes in hunting mountain demons and wild monsters, stripping their hides and refining their bones. This is a grave offense. If you have any leads, you must help us apprehend him!"

Beijia was a demon nation; anyone who dared to hunt demons for a living there would indeed be considered extremely wicked.

The weasels exchanged glances and seemed to waver. Although they weren't "mountain demons or wild monsters," they were still vulnerable creatures and couldn't help but feel fear.

Most importantly, He Lingchuan took out a bag of small dried meat strips and offered it to them. "Want something to chew on?"

The weasels immediately extended their paws, took the bag, weighed it, and chittered, "He sometimes comes every seven or eight days, sometimes every half month."

"When was the last time?"

"About six days ago."

"No, five days ago!" another weasel retorted. "The moon was full that night."

General Ling couldn't help but say, "Then the next time will be soon."

He Lingchuan observed that the Selfheal in the warehouse was half-full, which matched the weasels' timeline.

"Who transports herbs to this warehouse?"

"A few local herbalists," the weasels replied. "They live within a ten-mile radius." They then named several individuals.

Constable Xu Dayou immediately said, "I know where those people live."

He Lingchuan nodded to him, then asked the weasels, "While guarding the fields here, have you noticed anything unusual in the warehouse?"

"Yes," another weasel replied. "Every time Wan Song comes, we feel a strange chill in the warehouse, as if something odd and terrifying has appeared. No one wants to go near it."

Their demonic power wasn't strong, but their spiritual perception was keen; they were born with the unique alertness of small animals.

He Lingchuan obtained the information he needed, thanked them, and stood up.

Back in the warehouse, Jiao Yu quietly asked, "What does that mean? Can Wan Song summon this monster at will?"

"Likely," He Lingchuan replied. "I've seen several of Dong Rui's demonic puppets; they can change size and even possess their own spiritual consciousness."

"If it has its own spiritual consciousness, is it still a puppet?" he wondered. The very definition of a "puppet" implied it only moved when commanded, like a marionette.

General Ling looked at the Selfheal occupying most of the warehouse space. "As long as we don't tip him off, Wan Song is very likely to return with the demonic puppet to feed it."

"No," He Lingchuan shook his head. "Wealthy Elder Wan wasn't aware of how Wan Song and the demonic puppet operated, which suggests they were directly controlled by Mr. Mai. Mr. Mai's early escape indicates he knew of Elder Wan's capture, and Wan Song likely knows as well."

"With Elder Wan arrested, Wan Song's assets entrusted to him are no longer safe, and that includes this warehouse. If he's smart, he shouldn't risk coming for the Selfheal." He Lingchuan continued, "However, we should still take a chance. What if he is that foolish? Constable Wu, please arrange for these Selfheal herbs to be moved and then set a trap."

After experiencing so much, he well understood the old saying: "It takes all sorts."

Never underestimate others' foolishness.

Wu Huang acknowledged and departed.

He Lingchuan then asked Xu Dayou, "Where else in Zhitian Township is Selfheal often stored, especially in large quantities?"

"Large quantities?" Xu Dayou pondered. "Perhaps Luocang?"

He added, "It's a transfer station for five towns, with many large warehouses containing all kinds of herbs. Selfheal isn't particularly valuable in Zhitian Township, so if there's a consolidated supply, it would likely be there."

General Ling asked He Lingchuan, "Should we go to Luocang now?"

"First, let's make some arrangements."

Next, He Lingchuan instructed Xu Dayou to collect all the Selfheal from nearby herbalists — about eight hundred catties — and, along with all the herbs from Wan Song's warehouse, gather them in an open field and burn them completely.

The good news was that these herbalists hadn't seen Wan Song recently.

He Lingchuan also discussed something with the Bailiff of Baishi County, who readily agreed.

Additionally, the authorities located Qing Gu, Wan Song's mistress in Hongguan Lane, and questioned her thoroughly.

According to Qing Gu, Wan Song was generous and always had a few friends around him.

But it was always the same few.

A few days prior, Wan Song had come to drink and was gloomy throughout. When Qing Gu asked, she learned that two of his friends had met with misfortune outside.

She also revealed that Wan Song now only had two companions left.

Once, when the three of them had too much to drink, a plump, dark-skinned man named Lai said he had already established a business in Baiying Mountain and was planning to take over a stable, having agreed on the price. Wan Song, on the other hand, complained that he had three mistresses in Zhitian Township, but none of them had given him any children.

The plump man then said it was probably because those women were old and useless.

Wan Song also planned to go to Wan'an Town in the autumn to buy some pretty young girls, hoping to have children next year.

After hearing all this, He Lingchuan gathered a few demons and two or three dozen plainclothes constables and headed for Luocang.

Zhitian Township was responsible for one-third of Chiyan's herbal revenue. The larger the industry scale, the more comprehensive the facilities, procedures, and processes became, and the more specialized the division of labor.

Here, even specialized transit warehouses emerged, and there was even a town dedicated solely to the warehousing business.

This town was called Luocang.

When He Lingchuan arrived, he saw wide, straight roads, warehouses and freight stations everywhere, and goods being transferred very busily.

There was a constant flow of carriages and horses, and people came and went.

Everyone was hurrying, as if they had an endless amount of work to do.

"How wonderful it would be if such a scene were to unfold in Yuan Country," He Lingchuan softly sighed, thinking of the guards and carriage drivers outside Dunyu's large granaries, who were so idle they could almost catch fleas.