After traveling for two hours in the forest, they eventually reached the village. Allen and Lin Xue were greatly welcomed by the village chief after learning that they were the adventurers who took the quest.
He explained to them everything he knew about the mark on the faces of the victims, the details of the families of victims, and the timings of their deaths.
Village chief Lian Zhong further told them that the people of the village believe that it is a work of a demon, although he opinions that it might be the work of the 'Crushing giants' gang who usually controls all the markets in the surrounding villages. He then lamented that the Prefects (police) don't even try to investigate the gang.
Lin Xue furrowed her brows in displeasure upon hearing that. She asked, "What kind of backing this gang has?"
Lian Zhong bitterly smiled as he answered, "The lord of this Qing Province, Qing Chun."
"But, what does the Qing Clan has anything to do with the lives of harmless retired soldiers? Do they have a grudge in the past or is it something else?" asked Lin Xue.
Lian Zhong looked at him and shook his head, "I'm sorry but I cannot say anything further without acquiring a strong piece of evidence. It will pose danger to not only me and my family but also to my fellow villagers."
Lin Xue was slightly annoyed by this village chief's response. He wanted justice for his kin and friends; he had the guts to speak out the name of a suspect with a strong background but doesn't want to reveal the reason why he thinks so.
So, he wanted the adventurers to take the risks of offending the Qing family just based on his speculation?
As the heiress of the Lin Clan is pondering on whether she should reveal to him that she was aware of the existence of red sandalwood or not, Allen spoke to the village chief, "How about showing us the places where the corpses are left? Maybe, we can hunt for the clues."
Lin Xue returned to reality upon hearing Allen's words and she nodded in agreement right away. "Alright, we'll just do that."
She turned toward the village chief and told him to show them the locations. However, Lian Zhong refused it and only gave them the map of the forest with spots on several places, "I apologize but those places are too dangerous for low-ranked Spirit Warriors like us."
Lin Xue felt frustrated once again. She suddenly felt the urge to beat him and ask him why he even bothered to live in a village that is inside the forest when he was too afraid to go inside it.
And this forest isn't even the Bloodhill forest to worry about the monsters. Of course, he was referring to something else but Lin Xue was too angry at the moment that she didn't want to ask him the reasons.
Telling him that they will go on their own, she snatched the map from the village chief and ventured into the forest to check whether any clues were left behind by the culprits.
While they were walking alone, Lin Xue spoke her thoughts to Allen regarding her theory of illegal smuggling of red sandalwood.
In response, Allen shook his head and voiced his opinion, "Sister Lin, I think I will take back my first impressions on the case. Based on what he told us about the 16 victims, all of them were close relatives of the retired soldiers belonging to the unit named Yellow tiger, and they were killed on a random date without any pattern. It means that this isn't simple serial killing."
Allen's words made Lin Xue suddenly realize something important. She added to his statement, "Surely, all of you might have belonged to the same division under the Western General but I think the culprit has a grudge against his unit. I believe we should investigate Lian Zhong's unit instead of this gang."
"I too think the same, Sister Lin." Allen agreed with her words as it is logically possible.
To confirm their theory, both of them started visiting the spots marked on the map.
For the first few sites, everything was normal. Maybe, due to the rainfall during the past few days, the area was filled with muddy waters, forcing Lin Xue to depend on Allen's enhanced vision.
Following her request, Allen scanned the place as soon as they went to the spot where the victims were either killed or dumped away.
After facing six failures, they were going to the seventh spot. However, on the way, Allen suddenly sensed the presence of five assassins hiding at the place where they were going and immediately notified the Lin clan's heiress.
"Really?" Lin Xue's eyes lit up as soon as she heard that the assassins were only in the 4-circle realm. She felt like they would be the ticket to the answer she was searching for. She intended to interrogate them and find out the identity of the mastermind.
She asked her companion, "Allen, I need you to knock them out and we capture them. Can you do it?"
Allen nodded and both of them continued to maintain the same pace as if they have no idea about the trap, which lies ahead.
And once they neared the spot where there were a lot of thick bushes around, one of the five assassins suddenly jumped from a bush and reached Lin Xue within a fraction of a second, aiming for her throat.
Unfortunately for him, their positions were already revealed to their supposed prey and both of them were well prepared.
Lin Xue easily evaded the attack by dodging to the side and Allen worked together with her and kicked him in the back with great force.
"Argh."
The masked assassin let out a painful groan as he crashed into one of the bushes and disappeared.
In the next second, two assassins from different directions came out of the bushes and attacked each of them.
"Careful," Allen warned as he dodged the attack aimed at his chest and grabbed the assailant's collar, slamming him onto the ground with great force. Following the plan, Allen unleashed the laser eyes and completely burnt the thighs of his respective enemy.
"Arghhhh…" The assassin screamed in pain before losing consciousness.
Meanwhile, Lin Xue summoned her precious semi-divine grade sword and imbued the lightning attribute power into its blade before clashing it with the dagger aimed at her throat.
As the two weapons collided, the lightning attribute from Lin Xue's sword passed through the dagger and struck the assassin that attacked her. The electrical current not only inflicted heavy damage upon him but he was also paralyzed on the spot, falling onto the ground.
"Two down and three more to go," said Lin Xue as she glanced at her 2 o'clock.
Allen then scanned his surroundings once again and informed their new positions. As his voice wasn't that low, the three of them heard him and they unanimously chose him as their prime target despite the fact that Lin Xue has a powerful sword in her hands
The three of them took out advancement pills from their respective storage rings and swallowed them at the same time, increasing their realm by one level. Now, with their 5-circle realm cultivation, they were confident in taking out these two and saving their comrades at the same time.
After traveling for two hours in the forest, they eventually reached the village. Allen and Lin Xue were greatly welcomed by the village chief after learning that they were the adventurers who took the quest.
He explained to them everything he knew about the mark on the faces of the victims, the details of the families of victims, and the timings of their deaths.
Village chief Lian Zhong further told them that the people of the village believe that it is a work of a demon, although he opinions that it might be the work of the 'Crushing giants' gang who usually controls all the markets in the surrounding villages. He then lamented that the Prefects (police) don't even try to investigate the gang.
Lin Xue furrowed her brows in displeasure upon hearing that. She asked, "What kind of backing this gang has?"
Lian Zhong bitterly smiled as he answered, "The lord of this Qing Province, Qing Chun."
"But, what does the Qing Clan has anything to do with the lives of harmless retired soldiers? Do they have a grudge in the past or is it something else?" asked Lin Xue.
Lian Zhong looked at him and shook his head, "I'm sorry but I cannot say anything further without acquiring a strong piece of evidence. It will pose danger to not only me and my family but also to my fellow villagers."
Lin Xue was slightly annoyed by this village chief's response. He wanted justice for his kin and friends; he had the guts to speak out the name of a suspect with a strong background but doesn't want to reveal the reason why he thinks so.
So, he wanted the adventurers to take the risks of offending the Qing family just based on his speculation?
As the heiress of the Lin Clan is pondering on whether she should reveal to him that she was aware of the existence of red sandalwood or not, Allen spoke to the village chief, "How about showing us the places where the corpses are left? Maybe, we can hunt for the clues."
Lin Xue returned to reality upon hearing Allen's words and she nodded in agreement right away. "Alright, we'll just do that."
She turned toward the village chief and told him to show them the locations. However, Lian Zhong refused it and only gave them the map of the forest with spots on several places, "I apologize but those places are too dangerous for low-ranked Spirit Warriors like us."
Lin Xue felt frustrated once again. She suddenly felt the urge to beat him and ask him why he even bothered to live in a village that is inside the forest when he was too afraid to go inside it.
And this forest isn't even the Bloodhill forest to worry about the monsters. Of course, he was referring to something else but Lin Xue was too angry at the moment that she didn't want to ask him the reasons.
Telling him that they will go on their own, she snatched the map from the village chief and ventured into the forest to check whether any clues were left behind by the culprits.
While they were walking alone, Lin Xue spoke her thoughts to Allen regarding her theory of illegal smuggling of red sandalwood.
In response, Allen shook his head and voiced his opinion, "Sister Lin, I think I will take back my first impressions on the case. Based on what he told us about the 16 victims, all of them were close relatives of the retired soldiers belonging to the unit named Yellow tiger, and they were killed on a random date without any pattern. It means that this isn't simple serial killing."
Allen's words made Lin Xue suddenly realize something important. She added to his statement, "Surely, all of you might have belonged to the same division under the Western General but I think the culprit has a grudge against his unit. I believe we should investigate Lian Zhong's unit instead of this gang."
"I too think the same, Sister Lin." Allen agreed with her words as it is logically possible.
To confirm their theory, both of them started visiting the spots marked on the map.
For the first few sites, everything was normal. Maybe, due to the rainfall during the past few days, the area was filled with muddy waters, forcing Lin Xue to depend on Allen's enhanced vision.
Following her request, Allen scanned the place as soon as they went to the spot where the victims were either killed or dumped away.
After facing six failures, they were going to the seventh spot. However, on the way, Allen suddenly sensed the presence of five assassins hiding at the place where they were going and immediately notified the Lin clan's heiress.
"Really?" Lin Xue's eyes lit up as soon as she heard that the assassins were only in the 4-circle realm. She felt like they would be the ticket to the answer she was searching for. She intended to interrogate them and find out the identity of the mastermind.
She asked her companion, "Allen, I need you to knock them out and we capture them. Can you do it?"
Allen nodded and both of them continued to maintain the same pace as if they have no idea about the trap, which lies ahead.
And once they neared the spot where there were a lot of thick bushes around, one of the five assassins suddenly jumped from a bush and reached Lin Xue within a fraction of a second, aiming for her throat.
Unfortunately for him, their positions were already revealed to their supposed prey and both of them were well prepared.
Lin Xue easily evaded the attack by dodging to the side and Allen worked together with her and kicked him in the back with great force.
"Argh."
The masked assassin let out a painful groan as he crashed into one of the bushes and disappeared.
In the next second, two assassins from different directions came out of the bushes and attacked each of them.
"Careful," Allen warned as he dodged the attack aimed at his chest and grabbed the assailant's collar, slamming him onto the ground with great force. Following the plan, Allen unleashed the laser eyes and completely burnt the thighs of his respective enemy.
"Arghhhh…" The assassin screamed in pain before losing consciousness.
Meanwhile, Lin Xue summoned her precious semi-divine grade sword and imbued the lightning attribute power into its blade before clashing it with the dagger aimed at her throat.
As the two weapons collided, the lightning attribute from Lin Xue's sword passed through the dagger and struck the assassin that attacked her. The electrical current not only inflicted heavy damage upon him but he was also paralyzed on the spot, falling onto the ground.
"Two down and three more to go," said Lin Xue as she glanced at her 2 o'clock.
Allen then scanned his surroundings once again and informed their new positions. As his voice wasn't that low, the three of them heard him and they unanimously chose him as their prime target despite the fact that Lin Xue has a powerful sword in her hands
The three of them took out advancement pills from their respective storage rings and swallowed them at the same time, increasing their realm by one level. Now, with their 5-circle realm cultivation, they were confident in taking out these two and saving their comrades at the same time.
