Chapter 701 Hunting The Corpse Refiner.
Shi Lang and the two reached the periphery of the small village known as Plum Village. The village was settled at the base of a mountain and had a river stream flowing from the side.
The place was very scenic, but when Shi Lang and the other two landed, they found a gloomy aura surrounding it. They exchanged glances and walked over. Shi Lang did not reveal his aura and wanted the enemy to think he was a weaker cultivator. If the enemy took the bait, he would come after him.
The three walked through the entrance, and Yun Xue said, "This place is covered in demonic aura."
She revealed a small stone tied to her wrist. Shi Lang raised his brow, and the lady replied, "This is the Xena stone. An ancient array master invented it. The stone looks like a normal ornamental stone in normal situations, but as soon as it comes into contact with demonic energy, it starts glowing, like right now."
Shi Lang thought about something and asked, "Is the array used to inscribe this stone public knowledge?"
Yun Xue nodded and asked, "Why do you ask?"
The terran replied, "The frame of the spiritual communicators is made of stone, so they can be engraved with a similar array to act as a demon detection compass."
The lady smiled faintly and said, "You sure know how to milk money from other people."
Shi Lang smiled back as they walked deep inside the village. Bo Qingtan remarked, "This place seems a bit too fishy."
The terran replied, "I can sense gazes from the window cracks. They do not dare to come out and talk to us."
Bo Qingtan nodded, and Yun Xue said, "Everyone, we are here to help. You do not have to fear us."
Her voice echoed in the village, and a few heads popped out of the windows. However, soon, these heads vanished. Shi Lang shook his head and said, "Let us not waste time on the people here. Let's find the leader of the village and find the details of the five victims."
Bo Qingtan asked, "Why are you calling them victims?"
Shi Lang looked at him and asked, "Do you know what corpse refiners do?"
The latter nodded, and the terran asked, "Do you still think there is a chance that any of the people have a chance of survival?"
Bo Qingtan clenched his fist around the hilt of his sword, and Yun Xue said, "We still need to find this guy to make sure that no one else suffers like this."
The three of them soon found the biggest house in the village. It was not a mansion, but the courtyard size was bigger. Shi Lang wanted to enter when Yun Xue asked, "How do you know this is the village chief's house?"
Before Shi Lang could reply, Bo Qingtan said, "Even if it is not the village chief's house, it must belong to the richest man in the village. Such people often have a lot of valuable information."
Yun Xue nodded, and Shi Lang pushed open the courtyard gate and walked inside. They looked around and found that the place was in order. Shi Lang said, "Yun Xue, check for any arrays or involvement with the demonic forces."
The girl was surprised, but then she nodded and began to look around. Shi Lang was not wrong to suspect a native of the village. As they stood in the courtyard's center, an old man with a bulging belly walked out from the side.
The man asked vigilantly, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Shi Lang saw the man holding a sword behind his back, and he said, "I am a head hunter. I accepted the task of looking for the demonic cultivator who was responsible for the tragedy in this village. Can you shed some light on the issue?"
The old man did a double take on the three people and saw them standing in their place without any movement. He asked, "Can you help us?"
Shi Lang noticed something and replied, "Only if you can provide me with the information I need."
The old man said, "Please, come inside."
Bo Qingtan checked the door behind them and closed it slowly before following Shi Lang and Yun Xue inside the house. They sat on the couch in the living room, and the old man waved his hand.
A seven-year-old boy came out from the side room and served the three people tea. The old man said, "Exalted ones, I apologize, but this is all I can offer you now. That demon, not only did he take away the people from our village, but he even robbed all of the fortune we had."
Yun Xue asked with narrowed eyes, "Sir, first introduce yourself. Then tell us what happened."
The old man nodded and said, "My name is Ding Shu. I am a merchant. This is my grandson. His father is out of the village at the moment for trade, and his mother, well, my daughter-in-law, was taken away by that demon."
Bo Qingtan asked, "Elaborate, how did that demon manage to do all this?"
Ding Shu nodded and said, "Sir, I do not know how he did it. However, that demon lived among us for several months. He gained the villagers' trust and helped us in many things. We all thought he was a good person, and he suggested we set up a combined business.
The villagers all agreed and poured out their fortune to them. Initially, the profit was high, and we agreed to let him manage it. A few people were cautious, so we let the people from our families work with him.
He meticulously delegated important tasks to our people and sent them out of the village. We all relaxed but did not realize that this demon had charmed the women in our houses. He coaxed them, and then they all ran away with the money.
This was not all exalted ones, but the young children that had been taken away were their children. Those women took away those innocent children."
Shi Lang asked, "The women are reported to be pregnant. Why would they run?"
Ding Shu shook his head and said, "I have no idea, Sir. We only managed to gather whatever we had and post a task in the head hunter hall a few days ago. The people there were kind and assured us to get justice. They investigated to confirm that the action was taken by a demonic cultivator and not some normal human."
Ding Shu suddenly knelt on his knees and said, "Exalted ones, I beg you to save those people. You can take everything I have, but please save those children."
Shi Lang tilted his head and asked, "The other people did not even come out to speak with us, but here you are, serving us tea and even kneeling for help. Mister Ding, I will promise you one thing. I will find those people, as for their lives, that is up to fate. It has already been a week since they left, I think.
However, if I discovered that anyone from your village is involved in this issue, I will make them suffer in a manner you cannot imagine."
He was squeezing the old man for more information. If people in the village were in the mix, they would be alerted, and eventually, they would make a mistake. Shi Lang was not leaving anyone out of suspicion. Yun Xue and Bo Qingtan were surprised but did not say anything.
Shi Lang was the leader, and they were sure he must have his reasons behind such words. Ding Shu was shocked but then folded his hands and said, "Sir, I swear in the name of my son and grandson. I have not done any such thing. The only fault I made was to allow that demonic cultivator to stay in the village when he had just come."
Bo Qingtan asked, "Why do you say so? Did you notice something about him that you should have told the people?"
Ding Shu looked at his grandson and then nodded with great effort. Shi Lang leaned forward and waved his hand. He cast a barrier of spirit energy around them and lifted the old man from the ground. He asked, "Tell me, what was it you saw?"
Ding Shu took a deep breath and looked at his grandson again. Bo Qingtan said, "The child cannot hear anything. Speak what you must."
The old man sighed and said, "Sire, on the night of the full moon, that guy would go out for a stroll in the mountain. One time, I found him eating some raw meat from the carcass of a bull. It was a scary sight, and I hurriedly left the place. Then, to confirm my conjecture, I followed him and found the same thing again.?I have no idea what to do and decided to put things back in my head because of the steady profit flow in the coffers."
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)