Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Chapter 15: A whole spring

Tang She Town is located north of Fenglin City, one of the seven towns under the rule of Wei Quji, and also the smallest and most remote town. It is backed by the Qi Chang Mountains, which stretch for several miles, and the townspeople rely on hunting as their main source of food.

Walking through Tang She Town, one can see old buildings and few pedestrians. Those who do pass by are in a hurry and look gloomy. Compared to Fengxi Town where Jiang Wang was born, it is far inferior.

"The villages near Tang She Town are scattered along the Qi Chang Mountains. The people here rely on hunting for a living, and they only gather in the town on the first and fifteenth of every month. Since it's not the time for the market, there are few pedestrians."

Jiang Wang did his homework before coming here, so he could explain to Zhang Linchuan.

Even though this trip was arranged by the dean for the senior brother to take care of the junior brother, Jiang Wang knew that there was no reason for someone to be taught everything and did not dare to slack off.

Zhang Linchuan smiled faintly throughout the journey, neither distant nor intimate, showing little emotion.

Upon hearing this, he just nodded and walked towards the house where the massacre occurred.

Although this trip represented the independent will of the Dao Academy, it was not good to ignore the local authorities. Tang Dun, the catcher of Tang She Town, was waiting for them at the door of the house.

"Tang Daniu and his wife are both locals of Tang She Town. I used to fight with Daniu when we were young..." It can be seen that this rough man with dark skin and a straight face is somewhat upset. His bull-like eyes were bloodshot, and he kept talking, repeatedly saying, "The damn demon is too hateful! Damn it! Damn it!"

Zhang Linchuan glanced at his catcher's uniform and asked, "Why are you the only one here? Where are the other catchers?"

"Our catcher is busy with other things." Tang Dun did not notice Zhang Linchuan's displeasure and said to himself, "You will all become officials in the future, but you must help us!"

"Interesting, is there anything more important than this massacre in a small Tang She Town?" Zhang Linchuan sneered, but did not continue to pursue it, just waved his hand to interrupt Tang Dun's words, "Get to the point. What clues have you found in your investigation? What did the people from the Criminal Investigation Department say?"

Dong Adan sent someone to investigate alone, making it clear that he did not trust Wei Quji. Correspondingly, the people from the Criminal Investigation Department avoided them, and the local government of Tang She Town only sent an insignificant catcher to receive them, which was also imaginable.

Tang Dun scratched his head, "We... haven't found any clues. The people from the Criminal Investigation Department didn't tell us anything they found..."

Zhang Linchuan was almost amused by him, "If you haven't found any clues, why are you talking so much?"

But he had a good temperament and suppressed his displeasure, saying, "Okay, let's go in and take a look."

Tang Dun quickly tore off the seal on the door, took out the key, and opened the door.

Jiang Wang noticed that the seal was not simple, with a town evil charm drawn on it. Obviously, the practitioners of the Criminal Investigation Department were deliberately protecting the scene.

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

Jiang Wang resisted the discomfort and looked at the small courtyard. There were only things commonly used by hunters, such as hunting knives, traps, bows and arrows, as well as some animal skins and smoked meat, all scattered around the yard.

A hunting dog was reduced to a skeleton and scattered at the front door. From its posture, it was probably the first to discover the intruder, but was dealt with in an instant.Jiang Wang turned around and saw Zhang Linchuan covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief embroidered with orchids, his eyebrows furrowed.

Seeing Jiang Wang's inquiring gaze, Zhang Linchuan lifted his chin slightly and spoke from under the handkerchief, "It's okay, go in."

At this point, Tang Dun was standing at the door, stuttering, "I...I won't go in. It's...it's too strange here..."

As a mortal, Jiang Wang wouldn't force him, so he nodded, "Alright."

Then he took the lead and stepped into the courtyard.

The thick and intense smell of corpses instantly surrounded them, filling their senses. This level of corpse qi couldn't have been produced by just killing a few people or raising 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 long and fair fingers looking clean and powerful.

"Is Junior Brother Jiang skilled in swordsmanship?" he asked.

Jiang Wang looked around the environment and didn't turn around, saying, "I'm afraid I'm not as good as Senior Brother Zhang thinks. I haven't mastered any Dao techniques yet, so 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 who were attacked, but he was able to escape calmly, which shows that he's not ordinary."

"It was actually quite dangerous. The demon was much stronger than me. I only managed to escape by alerting my fellow disciples."

Beside the courtyard was a doghouse made of wooden boards, which was now empty. Jiang Wang's gaze swept over it, but he couldn't see any bloodstains in the entire courtyard.

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

"I understand."

There were three rooms in this small courtyard, with the main hall facing the door and the door open. A skeleton lay on the doorstep, with no flesh or blood left, only bones. Judging from the clothes on the body, it should be the male owner of this place, Tang Daniu.

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

The walls of the main hall were empty, with no decorations, but there was a Eight Immortals table in the middle, four stools, and some leftover food on the table, covered with a bamboo basket.

Under the stool on the left side, lay the female owner of this household, her rough cloth dress serving as evidence.

However...the food had not spoiled, but the body had turned into bones.

A nameless chill ran down his spine, and a vague fear crept up, making Jiang Wang almost draw his sword. But he had experienced many life and death battles, and he suppressed his instincts to avoid embarrassing himself in front of Zhang Linchuan.

"These flesh and blood were not eaten, but were affected by some kind of evil magic," Zhang Linchuan said, observing the surroundings with disgust but no fear while covering his mouth with a handkerchief, "These two people have not been dead for long, but their flesh and blood have disappeared, which has also lost many clues. Have you ever encountered anything familiar with the demon who attacked the outer sect?"

Jiang Wang shook his head, "I only see two corpses now, so I can't judge. But the corpse qi that permeates the surroundings..."

"What about it?"

"I was controlled by the opponent's corpse to attack me, and I was poisoned by the corpse. It was Master Dong who helped me get rid of it."

Zhang Linchuan nodded, still not letting go of the handkerchief covering his mouth, and walked straight to the room on the right side of the main hall, "Let's split up and take a look. If there's anything unusual, notify me immediately."

"Okay."

Zhang Linchuan was a first-class cultivator, and the Dao Yuan was self-generated in the Tongtian Palace. Jiang Wang wasn't worried about him, so he walked towards the room on the left with his hand on his sword.

...

This room...

was very small.As soon as he entered, Jiang Wang saw a wooden horse standing silently on the ground. The wooden horse was exceptionally exquisite and smooth, obviously reflecting the creator's hard work.

Not far from the wooden horse was a low table, scattered with small toys such as slingshots and tambourines.

And on the wall next to the low table, Jiang Wang saw the only decoration in the courtyard since he entered.

It was a small canvas, with three little people drawn on it in a childish style.

Two slightly larger ones were leading a smaller one, running in a sea of flowers.

Behind the little people, there was also a small dog wagging its tail.

This was once a complete home, and a whole spring had bloomed here.

Jiang Wang continued to walk inside with difficulty until he saw the scattered flower cloth clothes in front of the small bed, and then he looked up and naturally saw the last pair of white bones in this family.

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

She was a little girl who had been cherished by her parents and was the only one left in this world.

He felt angry.

Uncontrollable and extremely violent anger.