The Dragon Burial Mound Case

Chapter 29: The Dragon Burial Mound Case

Su Yun's expression was grave. While Jiao Shuao was indeed saved by the Dragon Spirit, what he took from the Dragon Burial Mound might not have been the Dragon Spirit itself.

It was highly possible that the Strange Object had impersonated the Dragon Spirit, deceiving Jiao Shuao into taking it away.

"The Whole Village Eats is heading to Shuofang City, saying we might meet again in Shuofang. Shuofang is a large city, full of people. If this Strange Object causes trouble..."

Su Yun relaxed. "Then it's as good as dead."

In his mind, Shuofang City was an extraordinary place, home to figures like Mister Shuijing, teeming with powerful individuals.

After resting for a while, Su Yun tossed the Immortal Rope, and he and the four Fox Demons slid down the cliff along the rope.

In the darkness, under the beautiful moonlight, Su Yun and the four Fox Demons traveled through the mountains and forests. As they passed Niu Family Village, they saw that a funeral was being held, with a grand feast.

Su Yun only heard the bustling sounds of people, thinking they were guests attending the funeral. He didn't realize the banquet was filled with dancing demons.

Some demons, after eating and drinking their fill, bid farewell to their hosts and left arm in arm, reeking of alcohol. They made loud noises and caused a commotion on the road, a lively scene.

Su Yun and his group were not lonely on their journey. Hu Buping and Li Xiaofan even snuck into the Niu Family Village vegetable patch at night to steal some produce.

However, when the accompanying demons saw them entering Tianmen Town, those who were drunk shivered involuntarily. Their drunkenness vanished, and they bowed twice in the direction of Tianmen Town, or cursed a few times, before hurrying away.

In the eyes of the demons in the no-man's-land of Tianshiyuan, Tianmen Town was an evil and unlucky place.

The lights in Tianmen Town were sparse, indicating that many townsfolk had already gone to sleep. Only the barking of dogs, startled by Su Yun and his group's arrival, could be heard.

They quietly returned to their courtyard, lit oil lamps, and Su Yun, along with the three little foxes, prepared dinner. Flower Fox, under the lamplight, held a book and read.

"This book says that they saw traces of battle and deduced that the Strange Object that descended with the dragon was likely the dragon's enemy. It was a mutually destructive battle, and the Strange Object also died in the fight. Thus, they attempted to summon the dragon's spirit to ask what had happened."

Flower Fox explained the contents of the book to Su Yun and the others as he flipped through its pages.

"After they summoned the dragon's spirit, a Scholar named Ying, who had an extraordinary perception of spirits, sensed something amiss. She said that while summoning the dragon's spirit, they might have also summoned another spirit."

This was a thrilling story.

After the Scholars from Tiandao Academy summoned the dragon's spirit, strange things began to happen.

Ying warned everyone that the spirit was filled with evil and that the one who might have perished with the dragon was a Human Demon. When the dragon and the Human Demon perished together, they might have banished their spirits and the Human Demon's spirit to another world, but now they had been summoned.

However, few people believed Ying's words.

It was a snowy day, and the weather in Shuofang had become strange. Such heavy snow was unusual. The thick snow sealed the mountains, reaching several feet deep in some places, bottomless in others, cutting off their contact with the outside world.

The next morning, the Scholars of Tiandao Academy discovered Ying's body.

The leading Scholar was very nervous. He immediately gathered everyone, and together they set up the Spirit Prison Cage, trapping the Dragon Spirit and the Human Demon's spirit within the Dragon Burial Mound, preventing them from leaving.

If the Human Demon's spirit were to escape, it would cause immense slaughter, devastating the land, and countless people would be devoured by the Human Demon!

By the stove, the lamplight flickered. Su Yun and the three little foxes listened nervously as Flower Fox recounted the story that had happened 150 years ago on a snowy day. The three little foxes trembled, hugging their tails.

"Spirit Prison Cage?"

Su Yun suddenly asked, startling the three little foxes. They jumped up, huddled together in a corner, filled with terror.

Flower Fox flipped through the book. "Based on the context, it should be the stone tablets we saw when we first entered the valley. After the leading Scholar set up the Spirit Prison Cage, he gathered the Scholars, and they summarized the characteristics of the Human Demon that they knew."

He continued reading.

The Human Demon's spirit was adept at possession, able to attach itself to others and imitate them.

The Human Demon's spirit was not inherently strong, but after possessing someone, it would become very powerful. It would always choose someone with a weak personality to possess, control, and ultimately devour.

As long as the mind showed the slightest crack, the Human Demon's spirit could exploit the opening and take control!

Even more terrifying was that after possession, the Human Demon's body became adept at transformation, capable of appearing as anyone!

Not only that, but the Human Demon could even transform its body into the shape of a weapon!

The more people it devoured, the stronger it became!

In this snow-bound valley, battles of humanity and intellect began.

The Scholars, who had once been close friends, gradually began to suspect and distrust each other. People eventually divided into two factions, one residing at the dragon's head and the other at the dragon's tail.

The pure white of the snow only amplified the despair. When the snow was stained red with blood, this despair turned into the distortion of human nature.

More people died. Bodies were found in the dragon's belly. Both sides suspected the other, believing the Human Demon was among them.

Then came a third death, and a fourth.

The shadow of death loomed over the entire valley, finally driving people to their breaking point. The factions at the dragon's head and tail almost simultaneously thought of one solution: eliminate the other side!

Because, once they were sure the Human Demon wasn't among their own, they didn't care which person on the other side it was – by eliminating the other side, they could eliminate the Human Demon!

With both sides holding this belief, a bloody battle was inevitable.

Ultimately, the Scholars of the dragon's head faction emerged victorious. The leading Scholar was among them.

They returned to the houses at the dragon's head and waited for the snow to melt before leaving.

They lit bonfires and sat around them, the atmosphere heavy. They discussed how they would explain what happened here to the outside world after they left, and how they would care for the parents of the deceased Scholars in the future.

Flower Fox flipped through the book. "Later, they returned to their rooms to sleep. The next morning, they discovered that one of the stone tablets of the Spirit Prison Cage had been destroyed."

Su Yun shivered suddenly. "The Human Demon didn't die, and it's still hiding among them!"

Flower Fox's expression was strange. He flipped through the last two pages back and forth several times, seemingly unable to understand them. After a moment, he organized the content of the last two pages before continuing.

The scholars returned to the room at the dragon's head. Everyone fell into their own suspicions again, extremely wary of everyone else.

At this moment, the leading scholar found the scholar who had written this scroll and said to him, "Since we cannot find the Human Demon among us, there is only one way: kill everyone."

He said, "The Human Demon cannot destroy the Spirit Prison Cage by its own power; it can only bewitch others and use their hands to destroy the Spirit Prison Cage. Anyone who is alive could become a target for the Human Demon to exploit."

"If the Human Demon escapes, it will absolutely throw the world into chaos, and countless lives will be lost."

"They could only sacrifice themselves, dying here, to ensure the Human Demon would not escape."

"Then, how can I be sure you are not the Human Demon?" the scholar who wrote the book asked.

The leading scholar said, "Han Jun, after killing everyone else, only you and I will remain. If I am the Human Demon, I must bewitch you to destroy the Spirit Prison Cage. You only need to commit suicide, and you can trap me here to die. If you are the Human Demon, and I commit suicide, then you will be trapped here to die."

He agreed.

The slaughter began.

The first to act was the leader.

His arm transformed into a giant weapon, shredding his companion's limbs. The scholar who wrote the book watched this scene in horror. He watched the leader, as if possessed by an evil god, slay the other scholars. He was terrified and fled.

"The leader is the Human Demon!" he wrote in the book.

In the snow, he left footprints, and eventually, the leader found him.

In the room at the dragon's tail, he looked out the window and saw the leader's limbs transformed into the form of giant weapons, crawling on all fours in the snow with a bizarre posture.

"Junior brother, only you and I are left!"

The leader's voice came from outside: "I still haven't found the Human Demon!"

He furiously wielded his brush in the room, recording the leader's form. This would be an excellent note for future generations to study the Human Demon.

"Senior brother, aren't you the Human Demon?" he roared out the window as he wrote.

"I am not the Human Demon. I am borrowing the dragon's spirit to strengthen my body, to dragonize my body and increase my strength," the leader outside explained to him as he approached.

He looked out the window and indeed saw the leader's limbs transformed into dragon claws. Only then did he realize he had wronged his senior brother.

"Since Senior brother is not the Human Demon, then who is the Human Demon?"

Flower Fox's expression grew even stranger as he read the last passage: "My consciousness gradually blurred, darkness invaded my mind, and in a daze, I seemed to see my left arm slowly transforming into a giant weapon... Hmm, it's gone."

Flower Fox closed the book.

Su Yun and the three little foxes were listening intently. Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but become anxious: "What do you mean, it's gone? This story has no beginning or end!"

Hu Buping scratched his ears and asked, "What about the rest? What happened next? He was the Human Demon, right? Who won the battle between him and Senior Brother Leader?"

Flower Fox said helplessly, "The records in the book only go this far. It doesn't say what happened afterward. And this isn't a story I wrote; it's something that actually happened during a heavy snowfall 150 years ago."

The little foxes were dissatisfied and insisted that he give the story a proper ending.

Flower Fox said helplessly, "He and Senior Brother Leader died together..."

"That ending is terrible!"

Qingqiu Yue quickly said, "The Human Demon won, killing Senior Brother Leader, but he couldn't get out of the Spirit Prison Cage. In the end, he grew old and died in the Dragon Burial Mound until The Whole Village Eats arrived! This ending is better!"

Li Xiaofan quickly said, "The Human Demon died at the hands of Senior Brother Leader, but at the last moment, Senior Brother Leader couldn't be sure if he was possessed by the Human Demon, so he chose to grow old and die alone in the Dragon Burial Mound. I think this ending is better!"

Hu Buping raised his paw and said, "Perhaps after Senior Brother Leader killed the Human Demon, he left the Dragon Burial Mound! This is a perfect ending!"

The little foxes bickered, each with their own ending.

Flower Fox put the book aside. He saw that Su Yun was lost in thought and not participating in the discussion, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Xiao Yun, what are you thinking about?"

Su Yun was dazed and suddenly said, "I'm thinking, that night, did the Dragon Spirit really rescue The Whole Village Eats?"