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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 24: [A Major Case]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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Under the faint night sky, towering mountains stood side by side, their snow-covered forests glistening in the moonlight.
Strange birds circled low overhead, and the sounds of Mountain Beasts echoed through the nearby valleys.
Letting the icy snowflakes settle on his hair, Qin Ming felt a deep satisfaction.
Although today's journey into the mountains had been fraught with danger, the rewards far exceeded his expectations.
The "resources" he had gathered for his Second Awakening were more than sufficient, promising a significant boost to his strength.
Qin Ming stood in the wind and snow, gazing at the forest floor stained crimson with blood.
He hadn't wanted to do this, but the other party had left him no choice.
Since they had bestowed such a generous gift, he had to give them a proper burial.
"May the deceased rest in peace; they shouldn't have to wear cold armor in death."
He stripped off the Black Gold Armor and thoroughly searched the body from head to toe.
Then, he placed the corpse deep within the dense forest, where Mountain Beasts would serve as mourners.
"What a fine sword!" Qin Ming ran his hand along the sword blade, which shimmered like a clear spring.
He gently drew it through the night air, and a brilliant arc of light flashed across the sky.
Yet, he couldn't take the sword out of the mountains, a fact that filled him with regret.
This sword was far superior to Fu Entao's long sword.
After he had cleaved through the Blood Serpent, the long sword was riddled with nicks.
But when the man with the ashen complexion used this sword to slay the serpent, the blade remained as sharp and mirror-smooth as ever.
Qin Ming quickly cleared the battlefield, burying the corpses and disposing of the remains.
These men were from Chi Xia City, and he had to leave no trace.
Both the long sword and its owner's Black Gold Armor were the finest weapons and armor he had encountered so far, but he could only leave them in the mountains.
"I'll dig them up when I need them," he decided.
Clearly, the weapons left behind by Fu Entao, Feng Yi'an, and the others were now obsolete, having been severely damaged during the battle with the Blood Serpent.
Each of the men carried Night Silver, and the strongest among them had thirteen Day Gold coins.
"Indeed, one doesn't get rich without unexpected gains, just as a horse doesn't fatten without night graze," Qin Ming mused.
But these Day Gold coins were stained with blood, and he didn't want to linger on the matter.
Unfortunately, the meditation technique and Intent Qi Cultivation Techniques he valued most were nowhere to be found.
He supposed it made sense — who would carry scriptures and secret manuals when venturing into the mountains?
Qin Ming began his journey home.
Along the way, he hunted a massive wild bull.
After cleaning its internal organs, he stuffed the Blood Serpent inside and stitched up its belly.
The journey passed without incident, and he arrived home safely.
"Fu Entao, Feng Yi'an, and the others have been dead for two days now. Why hasn't the news broken yet?" Qin Ming mused.
He figured it wouldn't be long.
After all, the Mountain Patrolmen who had gone to deal with the Blood Serpent had sent scouts to Fu Entao's base, only to find the wooden cabins had vanished.
In fact, the day after Fu Entao and the others disappeared, someone noticed something amiss.
The catalyst solution liquid needed for the Black Moon Medicine Herb planted in the Fire Spring had been prepared, but when the time came, the Mountain Patrol Group leader hadn't come to collect it.
When Fu Entao failed to appear for two consecutive days, and Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and the others didn't show up in Yinteng (Silver Vine) Town, those involved realized something might have gone wrong.
After lunch, Qin Ming began practicing his sword stances in earnest.
Standing in the courtyard, he swung his long-handled Black Gold Hammer, gradually stirring up snowflakes that filled the air.
He deliberately created a blizzard of goose-down flakes, the hammer whistling through the air with faint echoes of thunder.
Only after his body burned with heat and he unleashed his most powerful Hammer Sword Strike, shattering the swirling snow into a blinding explosion, did he finally lower his hammer.
Standing drenched in sweat in the courtyard, he felt utterly exhilarated.
Qin Ming gained new insights into the combat sword stances recorded in the sword manual.
He stood motionless for a long time, capturing the sensations and carefully contemplating them.
Then he resumed his study of "Harmonizing With the World," visualizing the Tranquil Void, concealing his life force, and dimming his spiritual energy.
As he delved deeper, his understanding grew more profound.
As the final moments of the shallow night approached, Xu Yueping returned from outside with a grave expression.
He summoned all the Awakeners in the village.
"Something terrible has happened!" he announced in a few terse words, immediately making everyone tense.
"What's going on?" someone asked.
"Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and the others... they were likely wiped out by a Mountain Monster!" Xu Yueping couldn't hold back his laughter at the end.
He quickly composed himself, realizing he couldn't show too much amusement. If word got out, it could cause trouble.
But his eyes and brows relaxed, and even his movements while brewing the black ant tea became lighter.
"Really?" Yang Yongqing leaped to his feet, this was a major event.
Xu Yueping nodded. "They've been missing for two days. I'm afraid the worst has already happened."
Old Liu, being advanced in years, cared little for such things.
He blurted out, "Hiss, the mountains are truly terrifying! Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and that whole pack of dogs are dead? That Mountain Monster is probably on its way to becoming a Mountain God!"
"How did Uncle Xu find out?" Qin Ming asked, unable to remain too calm as someone who had personally experienced the events.
He genuinely wanted to know the latest developments.
Xu Yueping replied, "Not long ago, a large group of Mountain Patrolmen — dozens of them — swarmed into Qingsang Village, looking for Xu Kong, Er Bingze's distant relative."
"Why were they looking for him?"
"Because Qingsang Village was the only village that didn't plant the Black Moon Medicine Herb. And Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and the others had visited Xu Kong there the day before their disappearance."
Qin Ming fell into a daze upon hearing this.
...
In Qingsang Village, Xu Kong was utterly bewildered.
What kind of nonsense was this?
How had he become a suspect?
That day, Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and others had all paid him a polite visit. Even if those people had been given twice their courage, they wouldn't have dared threaten him. There could never be a deadly feud between them, as they operated on entirely different levels.
But now, the Mountain Patrol Group had mobilized in full force, clad in armor and armed with weapons, their iron arrows nocked and ready.
Several high-ranking experts had personally arrived, leading sixty or seventy Mountain Patrolmen to surround the area.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Patrol Group that had previously attacked the Blood Bamboo Forest was also under scrutiny.
Their leader, Liu Huaishan, found himself surrounded by several group leaders of equal rank.
"What are you all doing?" Liu Huaishan said quickly. "Even though I can't stand Fu Entao and his ilk, I wouldn't directly kill them and put myself in mortal danger."
Someone replied in a deep voice, "Then explain why your group has lost several members, why you've recently requisitioned twelve sets of Black Gold Armor, and why you've purchased a large quantity of poison. Are you still denying it?"
"I... I've been framed!" Liu Huaishan cried, sweat pouring down his face. "We requisitioned the armor and purchased the poison to hunt spiritual creatures in the Blood Bamboo Forest!"
An old man roared, "That's it! The Blood Bamboo Forest falls within Fu Entao's jurisdiction. His Mountain Patrol Group has been trying to hunt the Blood Serpent. When you crossed into their territory, you must have clashed with them, resulting in bloodshed. There's an even more sinister possibility: while they were locked in a deadly struggle with the Blood Serpent, you secretly attacked them, finishing them off. Isn't that right?"
"I..." Liu Huaishan nearly vomited blood.
Even to his own ears, the pieces seemed to fit together perfectly, making the accusation sound disturbingly plausible.
"You have nothing to say?!"
Liu Huaishan frantically shook his head, urgently shouting, "Elder, please don't act rashly! Fellow Mountain Patrolmen, please listen to me! We truly didn't commit this atrocity."
"However, I think I know who did. We saw a man with a ghastly ashen complexion, wielding a longsword, single-handedly slaying a Blood Serpent."
"In that area these past few days, he's likely the only one with such power..."
His expression turning grave, he added, "More importantly, we genuinely felt his intense hostility toward us Mountain Patrolmen. He once drew his sword and advanced on us, intending to kill us!"
"Take them all away for thorough interrogation!" an elderly man ordered sternly.
Several senior elders with profound cultivation levels wore grim expressions.
How many years had it been since such a serious incident had occurred?
An entire Mountain Patrol Group wiped out in one fell swoop — if this was deliberate, it would undoubtedly be a major case.
Mountain Patrol Groups from across the region mobilized, each splitting up to investigate.
One group arrived at Twin Tree Village, summoning Awakeners like Xu Yueping and Qin Ming for questioning while also detaining several idle villagers.
"Has anyone here had conflicts with the Mountain Patrol Group? For example, have any of the Awakeners in your village clashed with Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, or others?"
A Mountain Patrolman questioned the villagers sternly, including Ma Yang, Wang Youping, and Hu Yong — the three who had tried to ambush Qin Ming for his prey outside the village gate when he was recovering from his illness.
"What are you staring at? I'm asking you a question! Answer honestly!" The Mountain Patrolman had no patience for them.
"Uncle Xu has always been kind, and Old Man Liu's legs are already weak..." Ma Yang replied.
From afar, Old Liu heard these words and his beard bristled with fury.
He wanted nothing more than to roll up his sleeves and go give the man a beating.
"Qin Ming? Brother Qin may have beaten us before, but I can't falsely accuse him. He's the least likely suspect. He's only been a awakener for a short time, and he's incredibly kind and gentle. He's given away most of the prey he brought back from the mountains to the villagers, and he even shared meat with us despite our past conflict."
Ma Yang, Wang Youping, and Hu Yong all spoke in turn, saying that the Awakeners in their village were all good people who had never been involved in any conflicts or disputes.
The Mountain Patrolmen turned and left without lingering.
Their group was only performing a routine check and had to move on to the next village.
That night, Liu Huaishan and his few surviving subordinates, despite their lack of artistic talent, forced themselves to sketch.
They redrew and corrected their work repeatedly until they finally captured Wang Nianzhu's heroic pose as he slashed down the Blood Serpent with his sword.
A stack of Wang Nianzhu's portraits was dispatched immediately and quickly distributed to every town.
That night, Qin Ming and Xu Yueping leisurely sipped Old Liu's decade-old wine, unearthed from under his bed.
The three men drank together, all in high spirits.
"Hey, Xiao Qin was cursing up a storm last time, rattling off all those 'what ifs.' It actually came true — they really were dragged away by the Mountain Monster!" Xu Yueping said, his mood soaring.
The wine hadn't even begun to intoxicate him; just a few cups had already left him giddy.
"I told you, even the heavens would grow tired of them. Trouble was bound to strike sooner or later," Qin Ming replied, his face calm and unblushing, using "the heavens" as a stand-in for himself.
He was in excellent spirits, preparing for his Second Awakening.
He suddenly found the taste of the aged wine quite pleasant.
Old Liu clutched his chest, his heart aching.
"Ah, this was my prized ten-year-old wine. Just one jar left, and now there's not a drop of alcohol left in the house."
"Uncle Liu, don't fret. I'll treat you to ten jars later. Let's talk about the Second Awakening. I've been having some new sensations lately — my body feels like it's burning up."
"What the... are you a monster?!"
...
Late at night, Qin Ming brought out the Blood Serpents at home.
The wound on the second large serpent was deep.
Qin Ming judged that besides the sharpness of the longsword wielded by the man with the ashen-black face, the man's strength must also be formidable, likely surpassing his own.
Adding to that the man's superior speed, if they were to meet in a narrow alley and fight to the death, Qin Ming might truly be in danger.
A shadow of unease crossed Qin Ming's mind.
The mountain was becoming increasingly dangerous, with all sorts of demons and monsters emerging.
But when he recalled that the ashen-faced man had already undergone Second Awakening, his mood calmed.
With his current strength, his arms could lift a thousand jin.
If he were to undergo Second Awakening, he could potentially lift two thousand jin — far surpassing the records of even the most gifted individuals in Chi Xia City.
At least in the past few centuries, Chi Xia City had never recorded such a terrifying feat.
"Everything is ready. It's time for my Second Awakening..."
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END OF CHAPTER
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