Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 216 (Part 1, 2, and 3)

The white folding fan in Huang Zi'ang's hand is not just a simple fan.

That fan was specially made by a master craftsman hired by Huangshan Junhua at great expense. The fan ribs are made of black iron, which is dense and hard. The fan surface is made of gold wire and has inscriptions by famous calligraphers, making it very valuable.

Most importantly, its fan ribs are hollow, concealing countless fine poison needles. These needles are specifically designed to counter armor, and even the protective strength of a martial arts master is difficult to withstand them. They are also coated with a potent poison, and once they enter the body and draw blood, the poisoned person will die within a short time!

'When I gave this folding fan to Zi'ang, I warned him that a weapon is a martial artist's second life; the fan is the life, the fan is the death. Zi'ang cherished this fan; he was always very obedient to me, never letting it out of his hand, even while eating or sleeping…' But now…

Huang Shanjun stared blankly at the broken fan in his hand, his heart filled with bitterness. Although he had a bad feeling when he arrived at Peach Blossom Village and saw the charred bones all over the ground.

But at that time, he had at least not seen any concrete evidence, and he still held a glimmer of hope.

But now, all hope has been shattered!

Huang Shanjun remained silent, but strangely, there was no trace of sadness on his face. Instead, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and he looked neither smiling nor crying, which was extremely bizarre.

"hiss…..."

While searching for clues, Di Yuan glanced up and caught a glimpse of Huang Shanjun's expression. He gasped and then lowered his head again.

Huang Shanjun, nicknamed "Killer Gun," is a man who kills with a mere nod and turns his head in the blink of an eye.

This person's temperament is completely different from that of ordinary people. When ordinary people are angry, their faces are full of rage, but when he is angry, he squints his eyes and smiles, as if he doesn't care about anything.

But those who know him well know that this is when Huang Shanjun's anger is at its most intense.

Di Yuan remained silent and continued searching for clues. Soon, he discovered a large number of broken spears, forks, and swords. He showed them to Huang Shanjun, and as expected, these were the weapons that the group of people often used.

"It seems that the famous Iron-Breaking Formation of my Huang family was indeed destroyed here..." Huang Shanjun stood there blankly, lost in thought, his face expressionless, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Di Yuan, not daring to utter a sound, could only step out of the house and walk around the yard, hoping to find important clues as soon as possible, solve the case, get the silver, and get away from this mess.

"Huh?" he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Di Yuan, what important discovery have you made?" Huang Shanjun appeared out of the house without anyone noticing, watching his every move.

Di Yuan felt a chill run down his spine and quickly replied, "Chief Constable, from what I've observed, the ground here is a bit unusual..."

Although he wasn't particularly skilled in combat, his eyesight, sense of smell, and hearing were far more acute than the average person.

"The soil here is an unusual color; it's clear someone has been digging here recently." Di Yuan bent down, staring intently at the ground, and said, "The surface soil in Peach Blossom Village is mostly grayish-white, but the fertile soil underneath is black. The soil here is clearly different from the surrounding area..."

As he spoke, he picked up a black clod of earth from the ground, held it up to his eyes, and examined it carefully.

This is the stable, where carriages and goods are stored. Han Yi dug a pit here and buried all of the Huang family's armor in the ground.

“There’s no mistake, this clod of earth is definitely black soil from deep within the soil!” As he spoke, Di Yuan opened his mouth and bit off a small piece of the black clod in his hand.

Ok?

Di Yuan's expression froze instantly. The clod of earth in his hand was indeed black soil, but for some reason, it smelled like horse manure!

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" He spat several times on the ground.

"Start digging!" Huang Shanjun walked over, his face grim. Now, he would investigate any clue he could find.

Di Yuan looked at Huang Shanjun, then at himself, and helplessly took an iron shovel off his back.

For this kind of backbreaking work like digging and excavating, the supervisor would definitely watch and not lift a finger; he'd have to do it himself...

Fortunately, Di Yuan was a martial artist to some extent, so digging was a simple task that he could do with ease.

Soon after, he quickly dug up the soil with an iron shovel, discarded it, and piled it aside.

Gradually, the objects in the pit became clearer; they appeared to be pieces of metal…

"call!?"

Di Yuan took a few deep breaths. Under the sunlight, the smooth black face armor, helmet, shoulder armor, skirt armor... were neatly stacked together. In the pit, there were dozens of sets of black armor!

Armor is a genuinely prohibited item!

Although the Huang family controlled the security of Anyan City, most of their constables and patrol soldiers were only equipped with leather armor and iron swords.

Such full-body iron armor, which can protect the entire body, is not something that constables or ordinary patrols can wear; only truly elite troops are qualified to be equipped with it.

In Anyan City, only the county magistrate's heavy cavalry unit possessed such imposing and imposing iron armor! These armors, in principle, could only be reviewed and allocated by special personnel of the imperial court, each piece of armor with a unique number, and strictly managed. Even with Huang Shanjun's status, he had no right to interfere!

And now, the Huang family's convoy actually contains such a large quantity of contraband...

Di Yuan immediately lowered his eyes and looked straight ahead, pretending not to see anything. He was indeed a seasoned veteran, knowing when to play dumb and when to show off.

"Ahem, this mission is a secret mission specifically assigned to me by my superiors..." Huang Shanjun coughed lightly and explained.

He naturally had to say some polite words to ease the atmosphere for the time being. He wasn't worried that Di Yuan would be too talkative and leak these things out.

Because in his eyes, Di Yuan was already a dead man...

Having learned of his family's missing convoy, seen the armor, and uncovered so many of his secrets, Di Yuan was truly in a precarious position...

However, this matter is not yet resolved. Once the murderer is found, the perpetrator and Di Yuan will be dealt with together!

Huang Shanjun made his decision, but his tone remained gentle as he said, "The most urgent task now is to find the murderer. Di Yuan, do you have any ideas?"

"That's not difficult, let me think about it first..." Di Yuan hesitated for a while. He didn't believe a word of Huang Shanjun's secret mission. But he was just a detective. As long as he got the thousand taels of silver for solving the case, what did it have to do with him if Huang Shanjun wanted to rebel and kill people?

After a while, Di Yuan spoke, confidently saying, "The person who could wipe out the entire Huang family caravan and burn down an entire village is no ordinary person. However, since so many people are involved, the perpetrator must have left some clues..."

Based on his years of experience in solving cases, the more enclosed and sealed a space is, the more difficult it is to solve a case, because with limited space, the murderer can easily erase their traces. Conversely, the larger the space and the more people involved, the easier it is to solve such cases, as the murderer will more or less leave some clues behind.

Di Yuan carefully investigated and soon found several clues in the small hut next to the stable.

The blood-stained gauze that Bai Sanren had changed out of, and the tattered clothes that Han Yi and Qianxue had changed out of, although they were all blackened by smoke, their original features could still be seen upon close inspection.

"Based on the evidence collected so far, there are two to three perpetrators, which is consistent with my previous deduction. One of them was seriously injured, one may be a woman, and the last one may be a young man, or possibly the main perpetrator among the murderers!"

Moreover, this young man was dressed in all black, was tall, and possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary people; his weapon was likely a heavy weapon such as a broadsword or longsword…”

Di Yuan used a wooden stick to pry open the items on the ground, constantly analyzing them. He deduced Han Yi's height and build from the remaining clothes Han Yi had thrown away, and guessed Han Yi's weapon from the damage caused.

Putting aside his character, Di Yuan is indeed a talented person. In just half a day, he analyzed the matter quite thoroughly.

"Can we find these people?"

Huang Shanjun's face was filled with murderous intent. Although the goods that the lord wanted had not been lost, he, known as the "killer gun," was still unable to remain calm under the stimulation of the pain of losing his son.

“The main road leads to Peach Blossom Village. If we can identify the groups of people traveling on the main road based on the time the Huang family's caravan disappeared, especially those consisting of women, and check them one by one in that direction, we will likely find the perpetrator,” Di Yuan replied.

Upon hearing this, Huang Shanjun frowned: "But how many people would we need to check? There are so many people coming and going on the road, how can we check them all?"

Even if we could barely trace the source based on entry and exit records from city gates, post stations, and official roads, such a long time has passed that it's practically impossible.

"Actually, it wasn't as many as you might think." Di Yuan smiled confidently. "That period coincided with the New Year holidays, when it was freezing cold and families were reuniting. Very few people went out. And as I suspect, the number of martial artists traveling in groups of two or three from the city must have been very small..."

“Wait a minute…” Huang Shanjun interrupted Di Yuan, “Even if we can check the entry and exit records of Anyan City, what if the perpetrator wasn’t in the city but was lying in ambush here all along? Wouldn’t that be a waste of time?”

"Chief Constable, please calm down..." Di Yuan said confidently, "Therefore, this is the worst possible plan..."

As the chief constable said, if someone has been lying in ambush outside all along, then it is indeed impossible to investigate based solely on entry and exit records. But chief constable, think about it: why was the Huang family's caravan not ambushed elsewhere, but only near Anyan City? If the perpetrators knew the exact number of people, their location, and their strength in the caravan, and specifically chose to act near Anyan City, then it means that the perpetrators must be from a force within the city that is at odds with the Huang family!

Therefore, to avoid falling into the trap, the chief constable needs to personally investigate what unusual movements the forces hostile to the Huang family have made recently!

Of course, the unusual activity I'm referring to is not the movement of ordinary martial artists. Now that we know the perpetrator has the strength of a martial arts master, whether it's the few martial arts masters in the city who are openly present or the few martial arts masters in the shadows, if they make a move, it will inevitably expose some flaws!

Therefore, by combining the inferior and middle strategies, something will inevitably be discovered!

“That’s right, that makes sense, that makes sense!” Huang Shanjun nodded.

Di Yuan continued, "If we still can't find the perpetrator after all this planning, then we'll have to use the best plan, which is also my most recommended plan..." He deliberately paused here, revealing his tendency to be a know-it-all and show off in front of others.

But when he saw the gentle expression on Huang Shanjun's face, he shuddered and quickly said, "The best strategy is to wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump!"

"These armors were definitely originally on the carriage. The fact that someone took them down and deliberately buried them instead of destroying them suggests that this person still has designs on them. Perhaps they plan to retrieve them later..."

There is no other way to get here except through this main road at the foot of the mountain. As long as the chief constable arranges one or two people to keep watch, and combines this with the physical characteristics I just deduced, we can find the tallest person who is using heavy weapons, then look at his companions and accomplices, and finally have the chief constable interrogate them to determine the approximate culprit!

These three strategies—superior, middle, and inferior—must be implemented simultaneously, gradually and systematically. I believe the Chief Constable will surely reap rewards!

"Officer Di is indeed a talented man!" Huang Shanjun suddenly felt enlightened. With this calculation, it wouldn't take much effort to find the murderer who killed his caravan and his son!

However, neither of them seemed to have considered the possibility of accidentally killing someone if they happened to encounter someone similar.

"You flatter me, Chief Constable." Di Yuan smiled modestly, but then he added, "However, I would like to say something. If that person runs away immediately after the attack and never returns, or if he has cultivated some rare martial arts techniques to avoid being seen, then all my speculations here may be in vain. So if we can't find him, I hope the Chief Constable will not blame me!"

"Hahaha!"

"Officer Di is too modest. Even if we can't find the person, these analyses and deductions are enough to earn us the thousand taels of silver!" Huang Shanjun said with delight.

The two looked at each other, both beaming with joy.

----------------------------------------------

Shadow Assassin Pavilion base.

boom!

With a loud bang, a huge rock blocking the entrance to the cave completely shattered, and dust and gravel formed a ring of white ash that spread outwards.