Chapter 15: An Entire Spring

Tangshe Town lay to the north of Maple Forest City, one of the seven towns under the governance of Wei Quji. It was also the smallest and most remote among them. Nestled against the sprawling Qichang Mountain Range, the townsfolk eked out a living from the mountains, mostly as hunters.

Walking through Tangshe Town, one saw weathered houses and sparse行人. Those few who passed by did so with hurried steps and troubled brows. Compared to Maple Forest City, or even Fengxi Town where Jiang Wang was born, this place was far less prosperous.

"The villages near Tangshe Town are scattered along the Qichang Mountain Range. The people here rely on hunting for their livelihood and usually only gather in town on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. Since it's not a market day, the streets are sparse."

Having done considerable research before their arrival, Jiang Wang was able to offer some explanations to Zhang Linchuan.

Although this journey was arranged by the Dean, with the senior disciple looking after the junior, Jiang Wang knew better than to rely on others for everything. He dared not slacken.

Zhang Linchuan had maintained a polite, distant smile throughout their journey, neither overly familiar nor aloof, his emotions largely unreadable.

Upon hearing Jiang Wang's explanation, he merely nodded and proceeded towards the house where the massacre had occurred.

Though they were here representing the independent will of the Daoist Academy, it wouldn't do to not inform the local authorities. Tang Dun, the constable of Tangshe Town, was waiting for them at the entrance of the house.

"Tang Daniu and his wife were both from Tangshe Town. Daniu and I used to fight all the time when we were kids…" The dark-skinned, rough-mannered man was clearly distraught. His eyes, like ox bells, were bloodshot. He stood there, rambling incessantly, repeating, "Those damn demon spawn are too hateful! Damn them! Damn them all!"

Zhang Linchuan glanced at his constable uniform. "Why are you the only one here? Where's your head constable?"

"Our head constable is busy with other matters," Tang Dun said, seemingly oblivious to Zhang Linchuan's displeasure. He continued, "You will all become important officials in the future. Please, you must uphold justice for us!"

"Interesting. In a small place like Tangshe Town, is there anything more important than this massacre?" Zhang Linchuan smiled faintly, a hint of contempt in his tone. However, he didn't press the matter further. He simply waved a hand, cutting off Tang Dun's rambling. "Cut to the chase. What clues have you uncovered from your investigation? And what did the people from the Investigation and Punishment Directorate say?"

Dong A dispatching someone independently to investigate clearly indicated his distrust of Wei Quji. Correspondingly, the Investigation and Punishment Directorate avoiding them and the local Tangshe Town authorities only sending an insignificant constable to greet them was understandable.

Tang Dun scratched his head. "We... we didn't find any clues. And those lords from the Investigation and Punishment Directorate didn't tell us anything they found either..."

Zhang Linchuan was almost exasperated. If they found nothing, what had he been rambling about for so long?

But his cultivation was high, and he suppressed his displeasure. "Alright, let's go in and take a look."

Tang Dun quickly tore off the seal on the main door and took out a key to unlock the large padlock. Only then did he push open the wooden door.

Jiang Wang noticed that the seal wasn't simple; it was inscribed with a talisman to ward off evil. Clearly, the cultivators from the Investigation and Punishment Directorate had intentionally protected the scene.

As the seal was removed and the door opened, a wave of decay, filth, and stench rushed out.

Jiang Wang forced himself to endure the discomfort and surveyed the small courtyard. There were things commonly used by hunters: hunting knives, traps, bows and arrows, as well as some animal hides and smoked meat, all scattered haphazardly in the courtyard.

A hunting dog was reduced to a skeleton, sprawled by the main entrance. Judging by its posture, it had likely been the first to discover the intruders but was dealt with in an instant.

Jiang Wang turned back. Zhang Linchuan was already covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief embroidered with orchids, his brows furrowed.

Seeing Jiang Wang's questioning gaze, Zhang Linchuan slightly tilted his chin forward, his voice muffled by the handkerchief. "It's fine, let's go in."

At this moment, Tang Dun stood to the side of the doorway, somewhat hesitant. "I... I won't go in, will I? It's... eerie in there..."

He was just a mortal, after all. Jiang Wang certainly wouldn't force him. He nodded. "Very well."

He then took the lead and stepped into the courtyard.

A dense and powerful corpse aura instantly enveloped them, overwhelming their sense of smell. This level of corpse aura could not be generated by merely killing a few people or summoning a few living corpses; it felt more like a connection to some evil entity.

Zhang Linchuan glanced at Jiang Wang's hand resting on his sword hilt. Those long, pale finger bones looked clean and strong.

"Junior Brother Jiang is skilled in swordsmanship?" he asked.

Jiang Wang observed his surroundings without turning his head. "Senior Brother Zhang is too kind. My Dao Whirlpool is not yet formed, and I haven't been able to cultivate Dao Arts. I can only rely on swordsmanship for self-defense."

"When the outer courtyard was attacked, I heard that Junior Brother Jiang was one of the victims, yet you managed to escape calmly. That shows your extraordinary ability."

"It was quite a close call, actually. That demon was far stronger than me. I was only able to escape by alerting my fellow disciples."

There was a makeshift doghouse made of wooden planks beside the courtyard, now empty, of course. Jiang Wang's gaze swept across the entire courtyard, but he couldn't see any traces of blood.

"The situation here is somewhat unfavorable. Be careful, Junior Brother," Zhang Linchuan said.

"I understand, Senior Brother."

This small courtyard had three rooms. Facing the courtyard gate was the main hall, its door open. A corpse lay sprawled on the threshold, also devoid of flesh and blood, only a skeleton remaining. Judging by the clothes, it was likely the male owner of the house, the hunter Tang Daniu.

Jiang Wang carefully stepped over the skeleton and entered the main hall.

The four walls of the main hall were bare with no decorations. However, there was an Eight Immortals table in the center with four benches. On the table were some leftover dishes covered with a bamboo woven lid.

Under the bench on the left lay the female owner of the house, her rough cloth dress serving as proof.

However... the dishes were not spoiled, yet the bodies were reduced to mere bones.

An inexplicable chill pricked at his tailbone, and a vague sense of dread emerged from who knew where. Jiang Wang almost drew his sword. But having experienced numerous life-and-death battles, he suppressed his instinct and avoided making a fool of himself in front of Zhang Linchuan.

"This flesh and blood were not devoured; it's the work of some evil art," Zhang Linchuan said, covering his mouth with the handkerchief and casually observing his surroundings. It was clear he felt only disgust, not fear. "These two people haven't been dead for long, but their flesh and blood are completely gone, which means many clues have been lost. You encountered the demon who attacked the outer courtyard. Is there anything familiar about this?"

Jiang Wang shook his head. "I've only seen two skeletons so far, I can't judge. But the pervasive corpse aura..."

"What about it?"

"I was attacked by corpses controlled by the enemy at that time and was poisoned by corpse toxins. It was Master Dong who dispelled it."

Zhang Linchuan nodded, his hand still covering his mouth with the handkerchief. He walked straight towards the room on the right side of the main hall. "Let's split up and take a look. Inform me immediately if you find anything."

"Understood, Senior Brother."

Zhang Linchuan was a cultivator who had entered the ranks. His Dao Whirlpool in the Heavenly Passage revolved, generating his own Dao Yuan. Jiang Wang naturally wasn't worried about him. He immediately walked towards the room on the left, his hand on his sword hilt.

...

This room...

It was very small.

Upon entering, one could see a wooden horse standing silently on the ground. The wooden horse was exceptionally exquisite and smooth, clearly the result of considerable effort from its maker.

Not far from the wooden horse was a low table, on which were scattered small items like a slingshot and a rattle drum.

And on the wall beside the low table, Jiang Wang saw the only decoration since entering this courtyard.

It was a small piece of canvas, on which were drawn three small figures with childish strokes.

Two slightly larger figures held the hand of a smaller one, running through a field of flowers.

Behind the figures followed a small dog, its head shaking.

This was originally a complete family. An entire spring had once blossomed here.

Jiang Wang forced himself to walk further in, until he saw scattered floral cloth clothes by the low bed.

Looking up, he naturally saw the last skeleton in this family.

A small, slender, fragile, lonely, and helpless skeleton.

It was all that remained of a little girl who had been cherished by her parents.

He felt anger.

Uncontrollable, incredibly violent, anger.