Chapter 15: An Entire Spring

Tangshe Town is located north of Maple Forest City, one of the seven towns under Wei Quji's rule, and also the smallest and most remote. It is backed by the Qichang Mountains, which stretch for several miles, and the townspeople rely on the mountains for their livelihood, with most being hunters.

Walking in Tangshe Town, the houses are old and dilapidated, and there are few pedestrians. Those who do pass by are in a hurry, with worried expressions. Not to mention comparing it to Maple Forest City, it is far inferior to Fengxi Town, where Jiang Wang was born.

"The villages near Tangshe Town are scattered along the Qichang Mountains. The people here live by hunting and only gather in the town on the first and fifteenth of each month. It's not market day now, so there are few pedestrians."

Having done a lot of research before coming, Jiang Wang was able to offer some explanation to Zhang Linchuan.

Even though this trip was arranged by the Dean for his senior to take care of his junior, Jiang Wang knew that he shouldn't expect to be prompted on everything and didn't dare to slack off.

Zhang Linchuan had maintained a faint smile throughout the journey, neither distant nor familiar, revealing little emotion.

Upon hearing this, he simply nodded and went to the house where the massacre had occurred.

Although their trip represented the independent will of the Taoist Academy, they couldn't ignore the local government. Tang Dun, the constable of Tangshe Town, was waiting for them in front of the house.

"Tang Daniu and his wife were both locals of Tangshe Town. I used to fight with Daniu when we were kids..." It was clear that this rough man with dark skin and a blunt face was very sad. His eyes, as big as cowbells, were bloodshot, and he kept muttering, repeating, "Those damn demonic sorcerers are hateful! Damn them! Damn them!"

Zhang Linchuan glanced at the constable uniform on him, "Why are you the only one here? Where's your captain?"

"Our captain is busy with other matters." Tang Dun didn't notice Zhang Linchuan's dissatisfaction and continued, "You'll all be high officials in the future, you must help us seek justice!"

"Interesting, a small Tangshe Town has something more important than this massacre?" Zhang Linchuan smiled contemptuously, but didn't pursue it further. He simply waved his hand to interrupt Tang Dun, "Get to the point, what clues have you investigated? What did the people from the Jixingsi (Judicial Department) say when they came?"

Dong A sent people to investigate separately, clearly distrusting Wei Quji. Correspondingly, the people from the Jixingsi avoided meeting them, and the local government of Tangshe Town only sent an insignificant constable to receive them. This was also to be expected.

Tang Dun scratched his head, "We... don't have any clues. Those adults from the Jixingsi didn't tell us what they found..."

Zhang Linchuan almost laughed in anger. If there were no clues, what had he been talking about for so long!

But he was, after all, quite cultured, suppressing his displeasure, "Alright, let's go in and take a look."

Tang Dun deftly tore off the seal on the door and took out the key to open the large general lock. Only then did he push open the wooden door.

Jiang Wang noticed that the seal was not simple, with evil-suppressing spells drawn on it. Obviously, the practitioners of the Jixingsi had intentionally protected the scene.

As the seal was removed and the door opened, a smell that combined decay, filth, and stench rushed out.

Jiang Wang endured the discomfort and surveyed the small courtyard. It was full of things commonly used by hunters, such as hunting knives, traps, bows, and arrows. There were also some animal skins and smoked meat scattered haphazardly in the yard.

The skeleton of a hunting dog lay at the main entrance. Judging from its posture, it was probably the first to discover the intruders, but it was dealt with in an instant.

Jiang Wang turned his head, and Zhang Linchuan was already covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief embroidered with orchids, his eyebrows furrowed.

Seeing Jiang Wang's questioning gaze, Zhang Linchuan raised his chin slightly, making a sound from under the handkerchief, "It's alright, let's go in."

At this time, Tang Dun stood to the side of the door, hesitant, "I... won't go in. This place is... strange..."

He was, after all, just a mortal. Jiang Wang certainly wouldn't force him, so he nodded, "Alright."

Then, he took the lead and stepped into the courtyard.

A rich and intense corpse aura immediately enveloped him, filling his olfactory organs. This level of corpse aura could not be produced by killing a few people or summoning a few zombies. It was more like communicating with some evil existence.

Zhang Linchuan glanced at Jiang Wang's hand on his sword from behind. His slender, fair fingers looked clean and powerful.

"Junior Brother Jiang excels in swordsmanship?" he asked.

Jiang Wang observed the surroundings, not turning his head, and said, "Senior Brother Zhang is laughing. Junior Brother's Taoist core has not yet formed, and I have not yet been able to cultivate Taoist arts. I can only rely on swordsmanship for self-defense."

"When the outer sect was attacked, I heard that Junior Brother Jiang was also one of the people attacked, but was able to escape calmly, which shows that you are extraordinary."

"Actually, it was also very dangerous. That demonic sorcerer was much stronger than me. I alerted my fellow disciples and was able to escape."

There was a dog house built of wooden planks next to the courtyard, which was of course empty now. Jiang Wang's eyes swept over it, and he couldn't see any bloodstains in the entire courtyard.

"The situation here is a bit bad, Junior Brother be careful." Zhang Linchuan said.

"Junior Brother understands."

This small courtyard had three rooms. The main hall faced the courtyard door, and the door was open. A skeleton lay on the threshold, with no flesh or blood, only bones. Judging from the clothes on its body, it should be the male owner of the house, the hunter Tang Daniu.

Jiang Wang carefully stepped over the skeleton and walked into the main hall.

The four walls of the main hall were empty and without any decorations. There was an Eight Immortals table in the middle, with four benches. There were some leftovers on the table, covered with a bamboo-woven cover.

Under the bench on the left lay the female owner of the house, as evidenced by the coarse cloth dress.

However... the food had not deteriorated, but the corpse was only bones.

A strange chill pierced his tailbone, and an invisible fear arose. Jiang Wang almost drew his sword. But having experienced many life-and-death battles, he suppressed his instinct and avoided embarrassing himself in front of Zhang Linchuan.

"This flesh and blood was not eaten away, but rather the result of some kind of evil magic." Zhang Linchuan covered his mouth with a handkerchief, casually observing the surroundings, showing only disgust and no fear. "These two people have not been dead for long, but their flesh and blood are gone, and many clues have been lost. You fought with the demonic sorcerer who attacked the outer courtyard, do you recognize anything?"

Jiang Wang shook his head, "I only see two skeletons now and cannot judge. It's just this corpse aura that permeates the surroundings..."

"What is it?"

"I was attacked by the opponent's manipulated corpses and contracted corpse poison, which was resolved by Senior Brother Dong."

Zhang Linchuan nodded, never letting go of the handkerchief covering his mouth, and walked straight to the room on the right side of the main hall, "Let's take a look separately, and notify me immediately if there is a situation."

"Okay."

Zhang Linchuan was an initiated cultivator, with a Taoist core rotating in his Tongtian Palace, generating Taoist essence on its own. Jiang Wang would not worry about him, so he pressed his sword and walked towards the left room.

……

This room…

Was very small.

Upon entering, one could see a wooden horse, standing silently on the ground. The wooden horse was particularly exquisite and smooth, obviously the result of the maker's painstaking effort.

Not far from the wooden horse was a low table, on which were scattered small toys such as slingshots and rattles.

And on the wall to the side of the low table, Jiang Wang saw the only decoration he had seen since entering this courtyard.

It was a small canvas, on which were drawn three small figures with childlike strokes.

Two slightly larger figures were holding a smaller one, running in a sea of flowers.

Behind the figures, there was also a small dog wagging its head and tail.

This was once a complete family, and an entire spring had blossomed here.

Jiang Wang struggled to continue walking inside, until he saw the scattered floral cloth clothes in front of the short bed.

Looking up, he naturally saw the last skeleton in this family.

A small, slender, fragile, lonely, and helpless skeleton.

It was the only remaining trace of a little girl who had been cherished by her parents.

He felt anger.

Uncontrollable, extremely violent anger.