Tangshe Town lies to the north of Fenglin City and is one of the seven towns under the jurisdiction of Wei Quji. It is also the smallest and most remote of them. Backed by the Qichang Mountain Range, which stretches for dozens of miles, the townsfolk live off the mountains, primarily as hunters.
Walking through Tangshe Town, one sees old and dilapidated houses with few pedestrians. Those who pass by do so hurriedly, their brows furrowed with worry. Compared not only to Fenglin City but even to Fengxi Town, where Jiang Wang was born, this place falls far short.
"The villages around Tangshe Town are scattered along the Qichang Mountain Range. The people here live by hunting and only gather in town on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. Since it's not market day now, there are very few people around," Jiang Wang explained to Zhang Linchuan, having done his research beforehand.
Even though this trip was arranged by the dean for the seniors to look after the juniors, Jiang Wang knew better than to rely on others for everything and did not dare to slack off.
Throughout the journey, Zhang Linchuan maintained a faint smile, neither distant nor overly familiar, showing little emotion.
Upon hearing this, he simply nodded and continued towards the house where the massacre had occurred.
Although their visit represented the independent will of the Daoist academy, it would not do to ignore the local authorities entirely. Tang Dun, a constable from Tangshe Town, was waiting for them at the entrance of the house.
"Both Tang Da Niu and his wife were locals from Tangshe Town. I used to fight with Da Niu all the time when we were kids..." It was evident that the rough-looking man with dark skin and a straightforward face was quite upset. His eyes, as big as oxen's bells, were bloodshot, and he kept muttering, "Those damn demons are too hateful! Damn them! Damn them!"
Zhang Linchuan glanced at the constable's uniform and asked, "Why are you the only one here? Where's your chief?"
"Our chief is busy with other matters," Tang Dun replied, oblivious to Zhang Linchuan's dissatisfaction. "You guys are going to be big officials in the future. You have to stand up for us!"
"Interesting. In such a small town as Tangshe, could there be something more important than this massacre case?" Zhang Linchuan sneered with contempt but did not press further. He simply waved his hand to cut Tang Dun off, "Get to the point. What clues have you found? What did the people from the Judicial Department say?"
Dong A had sent someone independently to investigate, clearly not trusting Wei Quji. Correspondingly, the people from the Judicial Department avoided meeting them, and the local authorities of Tangshe Town only sent a low-ranking constable to receive them. This was an understandable situation.
Tang Dun scratched his head, "We... don't have many clues. The officials from the Judicial Department didn't tell us what they found either..."
Zhang Linchuan was almost amused by his frustration. If there were no clues, then what was the point of him prattling on for so long!
But he had considerable self-restraint and suppressed his irritation, saying, "Alright, let's go inside and take a look."
Tang Dun nimbly tore off the seal on the door, took out a key, and unlocked the large general lock. He then pushed open the wooden door.
Jiang Wang noticed that the seal was not ordinary; it was inscribed with talismans to ward off evil. Clearly, the cultivators from the Judicial Department had taken care to preserve the scene.
As the seal was removed and the door opened, a mixture of decay, filth, and foul odors rushed out.
Jiang Wang forced himself to endure the discomfort and surveyed the small courtyard. It was filled with items commonly used by hunters, such as hunting knives, traps, and bows and arrows. There were also animal skins and smoked meats, all scattered haphazardly around the yard.
A hunting dog, now only a skeleton, lay at the entrance. Judging by its posture, it had likely been the first to detect the intruder but was dealt with in an instant.
Turning back, Jiang Wang saw that Zhang Linchuan had already covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief embroidered with orchids, his brows furrowed in disgust.
Noticing Jiang Wang's inquiring look, Zhang Linchuan slightly tilted his chin forward and spoke from behind the handkerchief, "It's fine, go ahead and enter."
At that moment, Tang Dun stood aside at the entrance, hesitating, "I'll... just stay outside. This place, it's eerie..."
He was, after all, just a mortal, and Jiang Wang certainly would not force him, so he nodded, "Alright."
Then he took the lead and stepped into the courtyard.
A dense and intense miasma of corpse qi instantly enveloped him, overwhelming his senses. This level of corpse qi was not something that could be generated by merely killing a few people or summoning a few zombies; it seemed more like a connection to some malevolent entity.
Zhang Linchuan glanced at Jiang Wang's hand on his sword, noting the slender, pale, and clean yet strong fingers.
"Junior Jiang is proficient in swordsmanship?" he asked.
Jiang Wang, still observing the surroundings without turning back, replied, "Senior Zhang, you flatter me. I have yet to complete my Daoist rotation and am unable to practice Daoist techniques. I can only rely on swordsmanship for self-defense."
"I heard that during the Outer Court attack, Junior Jiang was one of the targets but managed to escape calmly. That's quite remarkable."
"It was actually very dangerous. The demon's strength far exceeded mine. I only managed to escape after alerting my fellow disciples."
Next to the courtyard was a wooden doghouse, now of course empty. Jiang Wang's gaze swept over it, and he saw no bloodstains anywhere in the yard.
"The situation here is a bit off. Junior, be careful," Zhang Linchuan said.
"I understand, Senior Zhang."
The small courtyard had three rooms. Directly facing the courtyard entrance was the main hall, with its door wide open. A skeleton lay sprawled across the threshold, stripped of flesh and reduced to bones. Judging by the clothing, it must have been the male head of the household, the hunter Tang Da Niu.
Jiang Wang carefully stepped over the skeleton and entered the main hall.
The walls of the hall were bare, with no decorations. In the center stood an Eight Immortals table with four benches. Some leftover food was still on the table, covered with a bamboo lid.
Under the bench on the left lay the female head of the household, her coarse cloth dress serving as evidence.
However... the food had not spoiled, yet the bodies were reduced to skeletons.
An inexplicable chill pierced his spine, and an vague sense of dread welled up within him. Jiang Wang almost drew his sword. But having experienced many life-and-death struggles, he restrained his instinct, avoiding embarrassment in front of Zhang Linchuan.
"These flesh and blood were not gnawed off but were the result of some evil spell," Zhang Linchuan observed casually, covering his mouth with a handkerchief. It was clear that he felt only disgust and no fear. "The time of death for these two was not long ago, but with their flesh gone, many clues are lost. You have fought the demon who attacked the Outer Court. Is there anything familiar?"
Jiang Wang shook his head. "I can't tell just by looking at these skeletons. But this pervasive corpse qi..."
"What about it?"
"I was attacked by corpses manipulated by the enemy and was poisoned by necrotic toxins. It was Teacher Dong who cured me."
Zhang Linchuan nodded, never relaxing his handkerchief over his mouth, and walked towards the room on the right side of the hall. "Let's split up and look around. Notify me immediately if you find anything."
"Okay."
Zhang Linchuan was a cultivator of high quality, with the Daoist wheel turning and the Daoist essence generated within the Palace of Penetrating Heaven. Jiang Wang was not worried about him and immediately walked towards the room on the left with his sword in hand.
...
This room...
...was very small.
As soon as you entered, you could see a rocking horse standing silently on the ground. This rocking horse was particularly exquisite and smooth, clearly the result of the maker's considerable effort.
Not far from the rocking horse was a low table, scattered with slingshots, rattles, and other small toys.
On the wall next to the low table, Jiang Wang saw the only decoration in this courtyard.
It was a small canvas, on which three little figures were painted with naive strokes.
Two slightly larger ones were holding hands with a smaller one, running through a sea of flowers.
Behind the little figures, there was a little dog wagging its tail.
This was once a complete family, an entire spring, all in full bloom here.
Jiang Wang forced himself to continue walking inside, until in front of the low bed, he saw the scattered floral cloth clothes.
Looking up, he naturally saw the last set of white bones in this family.
Small, delicate, fragile, lonely, and helpless skeleton.
It was a little girl who had once been treasured by her parents, the only thing left of her in this world.
He felt anger.
Uncontrollable, extremely violent, anger.