In a dark, secret chamber.

"The Flying Eagle Guard has already sent people over."

"What are you going to do about it?"

A somewhat deep, hoarse voice spoke.

"They’re just the Flying Eagle Guard, not Demon Exterminators. If they really find something, we’ll just have to strike again."

A sharp, raspy voice responded.

"Strike again? Are you trying to alarm the Observatory and have them send those Demon Exterminators over?!"

The deep, hoarse voice said, somewhat angered.

"That’s just the worst-case scenario."

"We’ve destroyed all the evidence. Those Flying Eagle Guards won’t be able to find anything."

"They’ll probably stay here for a few days, then go back and report," the raspy voice said.

"It’s not that simple."

"I can tell these Flying Eagle Guards mean business."

"You’d better lay low for a while. Don’t let them find any loose ends."

The deep, hoarse voice said coldly.

"Don’t worry, those Flying Eagle Guards won’t trace it back to us."

"This case is destined to be a cold case."

The sharp voice chuckled.

"You can still laugh? If you hadn’t been so sloppy and let that Huang Bei notice something, we wouldn’t have had to kill those two."

The deep, hoarse voice snorted coldly.

The sharp voice fell silent. After a long moment, it said, "I didn’t expect them to trace it that far."

...

「Late at night.」

Han Yuan, Huang Xian’Er, and Xu Feng snuck out of the inn, darting swiftly through the dark streets.

They finally arrived before a charred ruin.

"This must be the location of Huang’s Liquor Shop..."

"I didn’t expect them to be so thorough. They were afraid Huang Bei might have left some information behind, so they just burned the whole place down."

Han Yuan said softly.

Afterward, the three of them went to Huang Bei’s home.

The result was, of course, the same.

Like Huang’s Liquor Shop, it had been burned to ashes.

At this point, Huang Kai and Zhao Lu had mysteriously disappeared, and both the liquor shop and the residence had been burned to the ground.

It was obvious that a hidden hand was trying to erase something.

And from the looks of it, they had done a very clean job.

Even Han Yuan felt he had no leads.

Of course, this was only their first day in Wushan County, and they hadn’t started any in-depth investigation yet.

"Let’s go back... We’ll make more inquiries tomorrow."

Han Yuan said softly.

The trio could only return empty-handed.

Just as they were turning into an alley, Huang Xian’Er suddenly spun around.

SWISH~

Her longsword was suddenly pressed against someone’s neck.

It was a slender man in black with his face covered.

"You’ve been following us this whole time... Who sent you?"

With the longsword at his neck, the black-clothed man’s eyes showed no hint of panic. Instead, he let out a strange laugh.

The next second.

The man suddenly jerked his neck against the blade.

SQUELCH!

Huang Xian’Er was caught completely off guard and couldn’t pull her sword back in time.

Her sword was, of course, one of those fine Weapons, sharp enough to slice a falling hair, and it easily slit the masked man’s throat, sending blood spraying everywhere.

"GURGLE~~"

The masked man fell to the ground.

If he were an ordinary person, he would have been clutching his throat, struggling desperately.

But he was utterly calm. He leaned back against the wall, letting blood pour from his throat, his eyes fixed on Han Yuan’s group. He even managed a smile.

In the dead of night, at the moment of his death, that smile sent a chill down even Huang Xian’Er’s spine.

It was absurd, bloody, and bizarre.

A few breaths later.

The masked man in black went completely still.

Seeing this, Xu Feng stepped forward and pulled off his mask.

He looked like an ordinary, middle-aged man.

He then searched the body but found nothing.

Clearly, the man had been prepared to be discovered. He carried nothing on him, afraid that Han Yuan’s group might find something.

"Have the County Yamen find out who this person is."

Han Yuan said in a low voice.

Xu Feng nodded and hurried off to the Wushan County Yamen to get someone.

"Han Yuan, something’s not right with this man..." Huang Xian’Er whispered.

’No matter how you look at it, his behavior wasn’t normal.’

’Who in this world isn’t afraid of death?’

’Even a highly-trained Death Warrior probably couldn’t have acted like he just did.’

A single word popped into Han Yuan’s mind.

’Zealot.’

’Only that kind of person could be so unnervingly calm in the face of death.’

Of course, the specific circumstances still needed investigation.

Soon, a constable arrived with several Government Officials and carried the body away.

Han Yuan and the others returned to the inn to rest.

「The night passed.」

Han Yuan, Huang Xian’Er, and Xu Feng were eating breakfast in the inn’s main hall.

"Xu Feng, go to the County Yamen later. Tell them to hurry up and identify the man from last night for me."

Han Yuan said softly, sipping his millet congee.

"Understood," Xu Feng nodded, his mouth full of a steamed bun.

"Miss Huang, you and I will split up to gather information in the city," Han Yuan added.

Huang Xian’Er never acted like a spoiled young lady in front of Han Yuan. She nodded and said, "Alright. Wait for my good news."

After finishing breakfast, the three of them parted ways at the inn.

Han Yuan took special care to check that he wasn’t being followed before disappearing into the streets.

Even in broad daylight, the streets of Wushan County were deserted.

Even the shops were mostly closed.

The few pedestrians he saw kept their distance, their faces hurried as they moved away.

’It seems the plague in Wushan County is quite serious,’ Han Yuan thought to himself.

Just then, he suddenly heard angry shouting from a side alley.

He turned to look.

He saw a figure in a Daoist Robe being shoved out by several people.

"If I hadn’t trusted you, you Daoist, my son’s illness would never have gotten worse!" a brutish man said viciously.

"Exactly! The third son of the Huang Family next door asked for talismanic water, and he’s getting better every day!" an old woman nagged incessantly.

Behind them were two old men, also cursing.

Despite facing all the harsh words, the Daoist’s expression remained calm. He tried to explain, "Your esteemed son’s condition is actually improving. In a few more days, you should see the effects."

"You look like a fraud to me!"

"Get lost!"

The brutish man didn’t believe the Daoist at all. He raised his hand to slap him.

A large hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the brutish man’s wrist.

"AHHH!!!"

The brutish man screamed in pain.

He felt his wrist being crushed by an immense force, as if the bones were about to be shattered.

"It hurts!"

"Please, let go!"

The brutish man begged for mercy.

Only then did Han Yuan let go. He said coolly, "Scram."

The brutish man took one look at Han Yuan’s tall, strong build and was too frightened to say another word. He pulled his wife and parents back into the house.

"Han Yuan... what are you doing here?"

The young Daoist was surprised to see Han Yuan.

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"What are you doing here?"

Han Yuan also broke into a smile.

Zhang Cang smiled. "I’m a Wandering Daoist. I roam the world, so it’s not strange for me to appear anywhere."