After ending the assassin's life with one strike to the neck, Lin Xue rose to her feet and dismissed the lightning energy threads that bound the remaining assassins who were unconscious and then started walking away in silence. Allen followed her, leaving the others alive.
A while later, she ended the silence between her and the android with a question calmly, "Allen, you aren't talking for a while. Do you dislike this side of mine?"
"No, I don't think much of it." Allen shook his head in response and further said, "It is just that I remembered Big shoppingmode Brother Lu. Whether it's your way of talking or actions, you resemble him, a lot. Actually, I should say that you appear like a lady version of my master."
"Is that the reason you are comfortable with me?" asked Lin Xue, not liking to be a replacement for someone else, to which, Allen replied, "I'm not sure. Maybe, after receiving the upgrade and gaining a certain amount of individuality like Alina, I might be able to tell the answer."
Lin Xue halted her footsteps and turned around to look at him in wonder, "Upgrade? Individuality like Alina? What do you mean?" She didn't understand his words properly.
Allen went stiff for a second, realizing the blunder he made by almost spilling the truth. If there is one thing that the android cannot handle, it is a disappointment from Mark.
Hence, he quickly thought of something to cover it up and explained, "I meant that I have yet to know the world like my sister. My vocabulary is a bit different from the people from the mainland."
Like the rest of the citizens of Imperial City, Lin Xue was also under the opinion that Allen and Alina might be from a faraway island. She believed him and then changed the topic, "Anyway, what should we do about the problem? Should we clean it up the organization by ourselves or should we only report it to the Imperial Palace?"
Allen analyzed what he knew so far and then reminded her something, "Sister Lin, you forgot to ask him about the serial killings of the family members of the soldiers. Our quest wasn't solved yet."
"Hmm? Wasn't the "Crushing giants" organization behind the serial killings?" Lin Xue looked at him in surprise, not expecting her friend to miss such a straight connection.
"It is clear. They want to hide the red sandalwood smuggling. So, they were just killing all people who ventured into the forest so far.
Since the village is in the forest, it is obvious that villagers roam around and they were killed because they discovered the red sandalwood trees. Every member of the village was related to some retired soldier anyway."
"Yes, that is true but isn't it strange that those kins of the soldiers all happened to be belonging to the same unit when there are retired soldiers of other units who also lived in the village?" Allen reminded her about the key point in the matter that they discussed a while ago.
Realization dawned upon Lin Xue. "You are correct. The serial killings might not have anything to do with the red sandalwood smuggling. That also means that the "Crushing giants" organization might know a thing or two about the matter."
When she said that, Allen saw a rare smile appear on Lin Xue's face. What happened? He wondered.
As he asked her whether she remembered something of a good memory, the heiress of the Lin Clan answered that she got an idea and turned around before starting to walk in the direction they just came from.
Allen followed her.
Soon, they reached the place where the unconscious assassins were left earlier. She walked toward one of the remaining alive enemies.
Allen patted her shoulder and pointed at the dead guy, "Wait, Sister Lin. You promised him that you will free his teammates."
"Of course, I fulfilled my promise." Lin Xue nodded in response before adding, "But, I never promised that you won't interrogate them. And don't worry. We won't kill them no matter what their answer is."
Allen stared at her in a daze, seeing the shadow of Mark behind her once again. He shook his head and removed his thoughts, focusing on the present.
Reaching an unconscious assassin, she asked Allen to drag him to a different location, away from the others. The remaining ones were also separated from each other.
About 20-25 minutes later;
"This is everything I know. I'm willing to leave the organization and work honestly if you leave me alive." A terrified assassin pleaded for mercy after experiencing near-death more than sixteen times in a row. Not everyone has the same amount of willpower.
Luckily for Lin Xue and Allen, they gained a piece of key information regarding the quest. Hence, they didn't interrogate the others and went on their way to the village.
After reaching the village, both of them visited the families of the victims and enquired whether the head of their families had done anything bad to someone or someone's family when they were in the regiment.
Lin Xue didn't hesitate to use her clan name and threats to find out the truth.
In the end, both of them learned that more than two decades ago, during a dungeon break, these soldiers didn't evacuate a village as they were too drunk and the captain framed his lieutenant and everyone else also testified against him due to the fear of getting punished.
As a result, the lieutenant named Yan Xuo was executed for forcing his subordinates to get drunk and his family members committed suicide after a few days, not bearing the insults from society.
From there, it became easier for Lin Xue to guess the rest of the story.
After speculating that these serial killings were probably the work of a family member of Yan Xuo, the heiress of the Lin Clan confronted the village chief at his house, the next day morning.
The village chief was shocked when he learned that these two adventurers found out his secret and also felt devastated that this isn't the work of Crushing giant but a mission of revenge.
Knowing well that he doesn't have the power to go against them, Lian Zhong fell onto his knees, begging them for mercy.
Looking coldly at him, Lin Xue said, "I'm not giving you an option, Village chief Lian. I'm telling you to come with us and surrender yourself to the authorities after we capture the real culprit. If you want to run away, then, you can. However, we will drop this quest right away and return. Your late daughter will not get her justice from us. The rest is your wish."
After giving him a stern warning, Lin Xue left his house and Allen followed her. They started visiting each house with the portrait of Yan Xuo's younger brother, the likely suspect as he is the not only other male in the family but also a Spirit Warrior.
The only problem was that the portrait is of a teenager and he will be in his 30s by now. It is very difficult to identify him, but as Allen showed his confidence, Lin Xue trusted him.
She thought that it won't take very long for her to solve this quest and will soon return to the Imperial city and reveal the illegal smuggling of red sandalwood but she didn't know that fate has different plans for her.
After ending the assassin's life with one strike to the neck, Lin Xue rose to her feet and dismissed the lightning energy threads that bound the remaining assassins who were unconscious and then started walking away in silence. Allen followed her, leaving the others alive.
A while later, she ended the silence between her and the android with a question calmly, "Allen, you aren't talking for a while. Do you dislike this side of mine?"
"No, I don't think much of it." Allen shook his head in response and further said, "It is just that I remembered Big shoppingmode Brother Lu. Whether it's your way of talking or actions, you resemble him, a lot. Actually, I should say that you appear like a lady version of my master."
"Is that the reason you are comfortable with me?" asked Lin Xue, not liking to be a replacement for someone else, to which, Allen replied, "I'm not sure. Maybe, after receiving the upgrade and gaining a certain amount of individuality like Alina, I might be able to tell the answer."
Lin Xue halted her footsteps and turned around to look at him in wonder, "Upgrade? Individuality like Alina? What do you mean?" She didn't understand his words properly.
Allen went stiff for a second, realizing the blunder he made by almost spilling the truth. If there is one thing that the android cannot handle, it is a disappointment from Mark.
Hence, he quickly thought of something to cover it up and explained, "I meant that I have yet to know the world like my sister. My vocabulary is a bit different from the people from the mainland."
Like the rest of the citizens of Imperial City, Lin Xue was also under the opinion that Allen and Alina might be from a faraway island. She believed him and then changed the topic, "Anyway, what should we do about the problem? Should we clean it up the organization by ourselves or should we only report it to the Imperial Palace?"
Allen analyzed what he knew so far and then reminded her something, "Sister Lin, you forgot to ask him about the serial killings of the family members of the soldiers. Our quest wasn't solved yet."
"Hmm? Wasn't the "Crushing giants" organization behind the serial killings?" Lin Xue looked at him in surprise, not expecting her friend to miss such a straight connection.
"It is clear. They want to hide the red sandalwood smuggling. So, they were just killing all people who ventured into the forest so far.
Since the village is in the forest, it is obvious that villagers roam around and they were killed because they discovered the red sandalwood trees. Every member of the village was related to some retired soldier anyway."
"Yes, that is true but isn't it strange that those kins of the soldiers all happened to be belonging to the same unit when there are retired soldiers of other units who also lived in the village?" Allen reminded her about the key point in the matter that they discussed a while ago.
Realization dawned upon Lin Xue. "You are correct. The serial killings might not have anything to do with the red sandalwood smuggling. That also means that the "Crushing giants" organization might know a thing or two about the matter."
When she said that, Allen saw a rare smile appear on Lin Xue's face. What happened? He wondered.
As he asked her whether she remembered something of a good memory, the heiress of the Lin Clan answered that she got an idea and turned around before starting to walk in the direction they just came from.
Allen followed her.
Soon, they reached the place where the unconscious assassins were left earlier. She walked toward one of the remaining alive enemies.
Allen patted her shoulder and pointed at the dead guy, "Wait, Sister Lin. You promised him that you will free his teammates."
"Of course, I fulfilled my promise." Lin Xue nodded in response before adding, "But, I never promised that you won't interrogate them. And don't worry. We won't kill them no matter what their answer is."
Allen stared at her in a daze, seeing the shadow of Mark behind her once again. He shook his head and removed his thoughts, focusing on the present.
Reaching an unconscious assassin, she asked Allen to drag him to a different location, away from the others. The remaining ones were also separated from each other.
About 20-25 minutes later;
"This is everything I know. I'm willing to leave the organization and work honestly if you leave me alive." A terrified assassin pleaded for mercy after experiencing near-death more than sixteen times in a row. Not everyone has the same amount of willpower.
Luckily for Lin Xue and Allen, they gained a piece of key information regarding the quest. Hence, they didn't interrogate the others and went on their way to the village.
After reaching the village, both of them visited the families of the victims and enquired whether the head of their families had done anything bad to someone or someone's family when they were in the regiment.
Lin Xue didn't hesitate to use her clan name and threats to find out the truth.
In the end, both of them learned that more than two decades ago, during a dungeon break, these soldiers didn't evacuate a village as they were too drunk and the captain framed his lieutenant and everyone else also testified against him due to the fear of getting punished.
As a result, the lieutenant named Yan Xuo was executed for forcing his subordinates to get drunk and his family members committed suicide after a few days, not bearing the insults from society.
From there, it became easier for Lin Xue to guess the rest of the story.
After speculating that these serial killings were probably the work of a family member of Yan Xuo, the heiress of the Lin Clan confronted the village chief at his house, the next day morning.
The village chief was shocked when he learned that these two adventurers found out his secret and also felt devastated that this isn't the work of Crushing giant but a mission of revenge.
Knowing well that he doesn't have the power to go against them, Lian Zhong fell onto his knees, begging them for mercy.
Looking coldly at him, Lin Xue said, "I'm not giving you an option, Village chief Lian. I'm telling you to come with us and surrender yourself to the authorities after we capture the real culprit. If you want to run away, then, you can. However, we will drop this quest right away and return. Your late daughter will not get her justice from us. The rest is your wish."
After giving him a stern warning, Lin Xue left his house and Allen followed her. They started visiting each house with the portrait of Yan Xuo's younger brother, the likely suspect as he is the not only other male in the family but also a Spirit Warrior.
The only problem was that the portrait is of a teenager and he will be in his 30s by now. It is very difficult to identify him, but as Allen showed his confidence, Lin Xue trusted him.
She thought that it won't take very long for her to solve this quest and will soon return to the Imperial city and reveal the illegal smuggling of red sandalwood but she didn't know that fate has different plans for her.
