Investigation of the Strange Incident

A spacious courtyard.

Pavilions rose high.

Left Guardian Guo Linyu stood in a pavilion at one corner, holding a handful of fish food and scattering it into the river, drawing swarms of brightly colored red carp scrambling to feed.

Two men, one tall and one short, approached from afar. They were Hu Biao and Fan Hu, who had volunteered not long ago to investigate the mysterious incident with Jiang Dao.

The two came behind Guo Linyu and cupped their fists. "Greetings, Left Guardian!"

"Mhm, you're here."

Guo Linyu scattered the last handful of fish food into the lake, lightly dusted his hands, then turned around and said evenly, "If you handle this trip to Greenstone Town well, I'll find a way to get you an internal cultivation manual."

The two men's eyes gleamed as they cupped their fists again. "Many thanks, Protector!"

Left Guardian nodded lightly, patted the tall man's shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Neither of you is weak. You have always been my hidden trusted aides. When I become gang leader in the future, you will both be my right-hand men. You'll have to continue enduring hardship for a while longer."

"Rest assured, Protector. We will certainly give it our all!"

The two said in low voices.

"A cautious sailor can sail for ten thousand years. I have a bottle of Golden Wave Poison Mist here. When the time comes, just open it slightly. As long as Jiang Dao inhales a trace of it, the poison will flare up and kill him. Besides the Golden Wave Poison Mist, there are also two antidotes. One for each of you, in case of emergencies!"

Left Guardian took out two porcelain bottles.

One was black, the other red. He handed both to the tall man.

The tall man, Hu Biao, tucked them all into his robes and said coldly, "He's merely a junior. No matter how capable he is, how capable can he be?"

"There must not be the slightest mishap. Make sure to destroy the corpse and erase all traces."

Guo Linyu said.

The two nodded solemnly again and left.

On his way back, Jiang Dao frowned inwardly, constantly pondering Fang Tianba's words.

Did Fang Tianba truly think so highly of him?

Knowing full well that he and Guo Linyu were enemies, Fang Tianba had still agreed to Guo Linyu's suggestion. Was he not afraid Guo Linyu would tamper with things in secret?

Wasn't that obviously suspicious?

And Hu Biao clearly bore hostility toward him!

Could it be that the gang leader doesn't trust me either and wants to see us fight?

He pondered inwardly.

But regardless of what schemes lay ahead, if those two who accompanied him dared show any abnormality, he would strike first and crush them to death.

He opened the panel and looked at the three martial arts before him.

Wind Thunder Palm (Beginner) Can be modified.

Gale Wind Saber Technique (Beginner) Can be modified.

Golden Bell Body Protection Divine Art (Beginner) Can be modified.

Jiang Dao immediately focused his mind and pressed the buttons behind them.

Whoosh!

The three martial arts immediately began changing rapidly.

The words behind them blurred, then rose swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, all three martial arts came to a halt.

Wind Thunder Palm (Sixty Years Later) Cannot be modified.

Gale Wind Saber Technique (Sixty Years Later) Cannot be modified.

Golden Bell Body Protection Divine Art (Sixty Years Later) Cannot be modified.

At the same time, the values on the panel began rising once more.

Strength: 4.2

Speed: 3.4

Spirit: 1.4

"Just as I guessed, low-level martial arts can be modified straight to sixty years, while high-level martial arts can only be modified to thirty years."

Jiang Dao's gaze flickered.

His mind was instantly flooded with countless dense fragments of information, as though he had practiced each martial art for sixty years. Every technique and profound principle came readily to hand, while his body and palms began changing as well.

His skin and fascia grew thicker and harder. The muscles and blood vessels beneath his skin extended.

Even the joints on his palms swelled by a full size.

Jiang Dao tensed his body, immediately feeling enormous strength fill every inch of him.

He believed that if he struck with all his strength, the muscles across his body would instantly bulge out, making him taller and larger than before.

Jiang Dao looked at his palm.

His palm was broad, his fingers long, as if tempered through years of hard practice, brimming with force.

"So I've mastered Wind Thunder Palm just like that?"

Jiang Dao muttered.

With sixty years of mastery in Wind Thunder Palm, who could withstand a full-force blow?

Crash!

With a casual sweep of his hand, the gale shattered apart, producing a piercing sound like rolling thunder, terrifying to hear.

Not long after, Jiang Dao returned to his Flying Eagle Hall. After giving everyone their instructions, he began waiting outside the entrance. About half an hour later, a group of riders came galloping from the distance.

There were more than ten of them, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, weapons at their waists and coldness in their eyes as they raced through the streets.

The two leading them were Hu Biao and Fan Hu. One was thin and tall like a bamboo pole, dressed in a hemp robe; the other was short and fat, around forty years old, wearing a black gown.

Their auras were clearly somewhat different from those of the others around them.

"Hall Master Jiang, can we depart?"

The thin, tall Hu Biao stared at Jiang Dao, his voice hoarse.

He did not even dismount, merely gazing down at Jiang Dao with an indifferent expression.

Jiang Dao sized him up and said, "Let's go!"

He signaled for his men to bring the horses, then mounted directly. The group set off in grand procession toward the city gates.

They spoke not a word along the way. Since they had departed in the afternoon, by the time they hurried all the way to Greenstone Town, dusk was already approaching.

The sun sank behind the western hills, and the dim light made most of Greenstone Town appear gloomy and shadowed.

The town was sparsely populated, deathly still, and desolate.

An occasional gale swept through, scattering large amounts of funeral paper. A faint stench of decay lingered in the air.

The doors of many homes were tightly shut.

Jiang Dao's expression darkened.

An incomparably familiar feeling instantly rose in his heart.

How similar was Hengzhou City of the past to this small town before him?

"Where is the branch headquarters here?"

Jiang Dao asked casually.

No one behind him spoke.

The tall and short figures remained calm, completely ignoring Jiang Dao as their gazes slowly swept in every direction.

Jiang Dao frowned. "What? Are you all deaf?"

The short, fat Fan Hu gave a strange laugh. "What's the rush? Isn't it right up ahead?"

He urged his fast horse toward the depths of town.

The others followed after him.

Jiang Dao looked around without saying a word. A faint killing intent appeared in his eyes as he urged his horse and followed directly behind.

Not long afterward.

The group passed through two streets in succession. Finally, a relatively large courtyard wall appeared ahead of them, its white plaster stretching for dozens of meters, with a vermilion gate in the middle.

Four men dressed in black stood at the gate, though white cloth was wrapped around each of their waists.

Several white mourning banners had also been planted before the gate.

"Whoa!"

The group pulled their horses to a stop. Hu Biao said hoarsely, "Where is your steward? Tell him to come out!"

When the men outside saw people from headquarters, their expressions immediately changed. They hurried into the courtyard.

Before long, a middle-aged man in steward's clothing rushed out with a group of people behind him. His face was panicked as he quickly cupped his fists. "This lowly one is Lü An. Greetings, Hall Master Hu, Hall Master Fan. Forgive me for failing to welcome you from afar!"

"Rise. This is Hall Master Jiang!"

Hu Biao nodded and introduced Jiang Dao.

Lü An's expression changed again. He hurriedly bowed once more. "This lowly one greets Hall Master Jiang!"

"Tell me how those people vanished, and where they vanished."

Jiang Dao dismounted and asked.

After he got down, Hu Biao and Fan Hu behind him remained seated on horseback, unmoved.

Jiang Dao frowned and turned back. "You two aren't getting down?"

Hu Biao sat high on horseback without saying a word.

Fan Hu forced out a smile. "Hall Master Jiang, we are only assisting you with the investigation. You have no authority to restrain us."

Jiang Dao gave the two a deep look but said nothing more.

"Replying to Hall Master Jiang, the matter is strange. It should date back to one month ago..."

Lü An's face turned pale. He shuddered and said in horror, "A month ago, the two deacons stationed here suddenly became obsessed with worshipping Buddha for some unknown reason. At first, they were still normal. They merely placed Buddha statues in their rooms and recited scriptures every morning and evening, kneeling three times and bowing nine times.

"But as the days passed, the two deacons became increasingly abnormal. They no longer merely recited scriptures morning and evening. They often stayed awake all night, and scripture chanting could be heard from their rooms the entire night. But the crucial thing was that the sound was demonic and sinister. It held none of the serenity or compassion of Buddhist scriptures. Instead, it sounded like evil ghosts chanting sutras..."

His body trembled, and his eyes were filled with terror as he said,

"This lowly one often gets up at night to relieve himself. More than once, I heard that sound. Every time I heard it, my hair stood on end, as if some strange thing behind me were watching me...

"But that was not even the worst of it. Gradually, the two deacons went further and further. They made the other gang members worship Buddha with them as well, staying awake all night to chant scriptures together in their rooms... The scene was simply strange beyond measure...

"And it continued until three days ago.

"On the night three days ago, this lowly one got up again. That night, I clearly heard waves of strange Buddhist chanting. But when I came out of the latrine, the chanting suddenly vanished completely!

"This lowly one thought the two deacons and all the brothers had grown tired from chanting and wanted to rest. But the next day, their doors were still tightly shut, locked from within. Only then did this lowly one realize something had happened.

"After I had people smash open the doors, we discovered that all the deacons and core members who had been chanting scriptures in the rooms had vanished completely!"