Joint Investigation

Deep within the Evil Extermination Bureau stood a solemn building.

A lean, refined middle-aged man in official robes smiled and bowed. "I am Xie Wenxi, Chief of the Evil Extermination Division. Lord Chen was unable to come today, so I shall welcome you both in his stead."

"How could such a small matter trouble Lord Chen? We shall follow Chief Xie's instructions today," a woman in white returned the bow.

In this somewhat plain room, two ice beds stood at the very center, cold air seeping thickly from them. A corpse lay upon each bed: a burly man and a beautiful woman. They were Yu Wenlong and Phoenix Butterfly.

Two more people stood beside the corpses.

One was a woman in a silver-white robe, her long black hair falling straight to her waist. Her skin was white as snow, her gaze ethereal. She held a round white jade mirror the size of a platter, clearly no ordinary object. It was impossible to tell her age; merely standing there, she gave off an air of transcending the mortal world.

The other was a burly old man in Ministry of Justice robes, his skin rough as black iron and his gaze incomparably sharp.

The middle-aged chief named Xie Wenxi introduced them one by one. "This is the Jade Mirror Divine Official of the Heavenly Questioning Tower. She is greatly valued by the Great Divine Official, and her willingness to assist us today truly honors our Evil Extermination Division."

The white-robed woman holding the mirror replied, "Since Lord Chen invited me, I could not refuse."

Xie Wenxi continued, "This is Divine Blade Coroner Old Mister Wang, the Ministry of Justice's chief coroner. Over the past forty years, he has solved countless major cases and earned a formidable reputation!"

"I dare not accept such praise." The old man showed a trace of modesty, though the pride between his brows showed that he was quite pleased.

Across from the two ice beds stood three young people from the Evil Extermination Division.

One was tall and broad-faced: Shang Yunhai.

Another was a fair and delicate-looking woman dressed in a black tasseled skirt, a white gauze shawl draped over her shoulders. A black ribbon wound around her waist, and a white jade flower adorned her hair. She stood there looking somewhat timid.

The last was a woman in white, without a trace of makeup. She simply stood there quietly, yet it seemed as though ten thousand rays of splendor had gathered upon her. She was Wen Yifan.

Xie Wenxi introduced the three youths as well. "This is Shang Yunhai of the Mystic Sect's Dragon Transformation Branch, and Wen Yifan of the Sword Control Branch. They are the two Traveling Officials of the Evil Extermination Division handling this case. This is Wei Ping'er, inheritor of the Pill Cauldron Branch. Ninth Miss Wei is deeply versed in pharmacology, so we invited her along as well."

The timid woman did not dare raise her head, as though she were terribly afraid of people. Yet when she lowered her gaze toward the corpses, she showed no reaction at all.

"We invited you both here today because our Evil Extermination Division has encountered a thorny case." Xie Wenxi finally pointed at the two corpses. "These are a Nine Yang spy who had infiltrated our forces and a brothel woman close to him. Both were killed by the same deadly poison. We do not know whether Nine Yang spies have infiltrated our Evil Extermination Division as well, or whether some other method was used to poison them. We ask you all to examine them and see whether you can find any clues."

Next, Shang Yunhai gave a rough account of the case so that the three outside assistants could understand the situation.

The most important matter was determining whether the Evil Extermination Division truly had a Nine Yang insider.

The Evil Extermination Bureau consisted of Chen Su and Mystic Sect Disciples from the Eight Mystic Sect Veins whom he had invited, along with veteran Ministry of War soldiers who had fought in the Battle of Heavenly Gorge and had been assigned here. It was meant to be an absolutely clean blade, forged specifically to deal with Nine Yang spies.

If trouble had arisen even within such a force, then Nine Yang's power of infiltration was truly terrifying, and the matter would become grave. In a sense, determining how Yu Wenlong had died might be even more important than digging more clues out of him.

That was why they had joined forces to investigate the case today.

Under normal circumstances, the Evil Extermination Division would not lightly seek help from outsiders.

After hearing the full account, the Jade Mirror Divine Official was the first to speak. "I can try first and see whether I can call back their Divine Souls. But they have both been dead for some time, so I cannot say how much I can gather back together."

"Please try freely, Jade Mirror Divine Official. Do not concern yourself with the outcome," Xie Wenxi said at once.

The Great Divine Official Bei Luoshimen was one of the world's three great Immortal Realm experts. She presided over the Heavenly Questioning Tower and rarely showed herself. The divine officials under her were all accomplished Mystic Art Masters, holding status beyond measure in the Yin Dynasty. Even an institution like the Evil Extermination Division, which stood above all other bureaus, had to show them extra respect.

The divine official held up her white jade mirror and shone it upon Yu Wenlong. Ancient words murmured from her lips, and the air around them began to hum, as though something were answering her call.

The sound swiftly swelled into the low roar of wind, and a murky strand of aura gathered before the corpse's chest.

She had made contact!

Within the mirror appeared a deep, whirlpool-like current, and Yu Wenlong's face could faintly be seen within it, his eyes tightly shut.

"Hoo..." The Jade Mirror Divine Official closed her eyes, as though communicating with the person inside the mirror.

After a moment, she slowly withdrew her divine art.

"Before his death, he felt unwillingness and rage, but overall he was still relatively calm." The Jade Mirror Divine Official spoke in a distant, hollow voice. "He may have committed suicide, or willingly accepted his death."

Immediately afterward, she used her divine art again, reaching out to Phoenix Butterfly's Divine Soul.

Whoosh—

The wind curled up, and the same scene unfolded as before. This time, Phoenix Butterfly's face appeared in the jade mirror, but it was even blurrier than Yu Wenlong's had been.

Once the divine art subsided, the Jade Mirror Divine Official opened her eyes and shook her head. "Though she died more recently, she was only a mortal, and her Divine Soul was too weak. I could only sense that she felt great sorrow before her death."

"This allows us to draw conclusions about the circumstances surrounding their deaths," Shang Yunhai said from the side.

"The Jade Mirror Divine Official has searched for clues through their Divine Souls. I shall search through their bodies." Seeing that the Jade Mirror Divine Official had uncovered few clues, Wang Shendao flicked up his robe hem and stepped forward. From beneath it, he drew out a leather roll. When he spread it open, blades, hooks, needles, scissors, and other tools of every size hung inside...

Their cold gleam was enough to strike fear into anyone who saw them.

"They both died of poisoning, correct?" He sounded more than a little eager as he took out a long silver needle, pierced it into Yu Wenlong's chest, then pulled it back out.

Then came a sight that shocked everyone: Wang Shendao directly stuck out his tongue and licked the needle's tip, even smacking his lips as he tasted it.

"Hey! That's Heart-Destroying Gu..." Ninth Miss Wei raised a hand in alarm.

"Don't be afraid, girl." Wang Shendao smiled unconcernedly and rolled up his sleeve. "Look at this."

On his arm was a lump of raised golden flesh, rising and falling along his forearm. It seemed like part of his body, yet also like a bloodsucking leech.

"Ah..." Wei Ping'er finally calmed down again.

Seeing this, Xie Wenxi said, "In ancient times, Chu Saint ascended and cleaved down Illusion God Peak. Along with it fell the Ten Great Immortal Seeds. One of them was called Tai Sui Root. If nourished with the essence of sun and moon, it became immortal. Eating its flesh could cure all poisons, restore flesh to white bones, and prolong life. If nourished with the flesh and blood of living beings, it became demonic. Eating its flesh could strengthen one's vital blood, increase cultivation, and make evil thoughts blaze ever fiercer. This piece of yours, Divine Blade Coroner, could it be the legendary Immortal Tai Sui?"

"As expected of someone from the Mystic Sect." Wang Shendao nodded. "I paid a tremendous price to acquire this piece of Immortal Tai Sui back then. I have fed it for more than ten years. Without it, I would have died dozens of times already."

As he spoke, he stabbed Phoenix Butterfly's chest as well, then smacked his lips over the taste again.

Then he told the others, "The Heart-Destroying Gu in these two bodies tastes different. They should not have been poisoned by the same person."

"You can taste the flavor of Heart-Destroying Gu?" Wei Ping'er asked softly, somewhat unable to believe it.

"You don't know this, but gu poison is the easiest thing to distinguish. Gu insects raised by different people all have different flavors." Wang Shendao said, "Around six or seven people in Nine Yang can raise Heart-Destroying Gu. I have tasted the gu of half of them. The gu in these two bodies definitely did not come from the same source."

"In other words, the person who killed Yu Wenlong was not the person who killed Phoenix Butterfly. At the very least, the sources of the gu poison were different," Xie Wenxi summarized.

"However, regardless of who raises Heart-Destroying Gu, once it is swallowed, it takes effect extremely quickly. That will not change. Therefore, the source must have been food or a person the deceased came into contact with shortly beforehand." Wang Shendao continued, "From the details of the case you described just now, I say the Knife Clerks in the Evil Extermination Division who came into contact with this man, as well as those in Mystic Sound Pavilion who came into contact with this woman, should all be arrested and tortured severely. You will certainly gain something."

"Old Mister Wang, we cannot use torture when we do not have even a shred of evidence," Xie Wenxi said helplessly.

Wang Shendao glared. "What more evidence do you need? This poison is the evidence! When dealing with Nine Yang spies, I say it is better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip through the net! Why tie your own hands and feet while investigating a case?"

Was this the thunderous method of an old Ministry of Justice man?

Everyone present could only smile.

Though the Evil Extermination Bureau had done many ruthless things in the two-plus years since its founding, and its ferocity had shocked even those in court, that was mainly because it feared no one and would investigate whoever needed investigating. Yet in the specific methods of handling cases, Chen Su, who headed the Evil Extermination Division, still upheld principles and would not blindly abuse torture.

If he truly acted without scruple, those Mystic Sect Disciples who drifted like idle clouds and wild cranes would not have continued helping him.

"If you ask me, this case of yours will be difficult." The Divine Blade Coroner shook his head. "If you truly want to solve it, I have only one idea."