Monsters in Hun City

When Jiang Wang returned to the marquis manor, the Old Butler was waiting at the gate.

He noticed that the Old Butler's gaze had become very strange.

There was an indescribable feeling to it.

After having Xiaoyu return to the manor first, Jiang Wang looked at the Old Butler and asked doubtfully, "Uncle Tong, are you all right?"

The Old Butler smiled and said, "Young Master, the meal is ready."

Looking at Jiang Wang's bewildered expression.

The Old Butler felt somewhat gratified. The young master had finally grown up.

Thinking of the young master's reason for hiding his abilities, perhaps Jiang Wang had realized that the Marquis's affairs were very dangerous. Before getting to the bottom of it all, he had deliberately pretended to be useless.

Although it was true that Jiang Wang was ill.

But who said someone with an illness could not be powerful?

For now, the Old Butler had no intention of telling Jiang Wang everything.

Because he felt that the young master surely had some sort of plan. It would not be too late for him to speak once the young master laid everything bare.

And if Jiang Wang knew what the Old Butler was thinking at this moment, he would definitely have been speechless.

Could you stop making wild guesses when there was nothing wrong? Couldn't you just say what you meant?

Qixia Street was deathly quiet late at night.

Mist hung in the air.

Du Zicheng staggered along the road home.

Thinking of how his father lavished praise on that Su fellow while beating and berating him, his mood turned utterly foul.

Then his foot slipped, and he fell, prompting a stream of curses.

Afterward, he sat down on a stone to catch his breath.

His eyes hazy, he soon fell straight asleep.

Before long, a loud commotion woke him.

Squinting blearily, he saw faint glimmers flashing in the dim street. The crisp clang of metal striking metal rang out, while the smell of blood drifted over, growing ever stronger.

Du Zicheng instantly sobered up.

Just as he wanted to flee, a streak of sword light suddenly stabbed toward him, and then he knew nothing more.

When Du Zicheng woke again, he was already in the Garrison Headquarters' prison.

It was because several murder cases had occurred in Hun City last night.

One cultivator had even died in East Market.

One of the cases had taken place at the intersection of Qixia Street.

When the constables from the Garrison Headquarters arrived, Du Zicheng was lying there beside a broken sword, his body stained with blood that did not belong to him. Naturally, he became a suspect.

The intersection of Qixia Street was sealed off at once, and no one was allowed near it.

Hun City's foremost Divine Constable reported to the Garrison Commander, "According to this subordinate's inspection, there is a deep slash mark at the intersection of Qixia Street and Pinglan Street. It appears to be at least three feet deep. No ordinary person could have left such a mark."

The Garrison Commander understood what that meant.

Because Du Zicheng was merely a First Realm martial artist. In essence, he was not much different from an ordinary person.

But this put him in a difficult position.

Cultivators had indeed appeared in Hun City these past few days, but every one of them was beyond his power to offend.

If it were merely a conflict between martial artists or cultivators, matters would be much simpler. After all, they were beyond his authority to control.

But now ordinary citizens had been killed, and a cultivator had died in Hun City as well. He was caught in a terrible dilemma.

Jiang Wang learned of the matter at the hour of the Snake.

Looking at the Green-robed Cultivator and White-robed Cultivator before him, his brows twitched incessantly.

If one wanted to find an exceptionally handsome person in Hun City, it truly would not be difficult at all.

Yet he remained fairly calm.

Because neither of them had shown any hostility for the time being.

After all, the Young Marquis of the Xunyang Marquis Manor and a disciple of the Sword Pavilion were not conflicting identities.

Although Jiang Wang had no idea that he had somehow acquired the identity of a Sword Pavilion disciple, the Green-robed Cultivator and the White-robed Cultivator thought exactly that at this moment.

"Mr. Jiang, we believe you have already heard of the murder cases in Hun City. Although East Market is far from Qixia Street, as far as we know, aside from you, there is no one else in Hun City who could easily kill a Cave Nether Realm cultivator."

Jiang Wang was no longer quite so calm.

Only two of Moonlit West Tower's three cultivators had come. The matter was already obvious enough.

But what was the meaning of those words?

Was he being suspected?

He was just about to explain.

When the Green-robed Cultivator spoke again. "But if an expert is hiding in Hun City, that would be another matter."

Jiang Wang opened his mouth.

Before he could say anything.

The Green-robed Cultivator immediately continued, "Right now, only Mr. Jiang can help us. So long as you can help us find the murderer hiding in Hun City, my brother and I are willing to follow your lead in all things."

Once he finished speaking, he and the White-robed Cultivator bowed deeply to Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang was utterly speechless.

He had not even been given a chance to speak before the two of them had already placed him on a pedestal.

Just as he was considering how to refuse.

Seemingly to demonstrate their sincerity, the Green-robed Cultivator and the White-robed Cultivator directly knelt down. "If Mr. Jiang does not agree, we will remain kneeling forever."

Jiang Wang: "..."

Though I would like to agree, where am I supposed to find the murderer?

You are making things difficult for this Young Marquis!

"Actually, you have misunderstood." Jiang Wang felt it necessary to tell them the truth. "Back then, in Broken Alley, I did not do anything at all. That mass of azure qi vanished on its own. Although some unusual things have indeed happened to me recently, the truth is not what you think."

The White-robed Cultivator raised his head and looked at Jiang Wang earnestly. "Mr. Jiang, I understand."

Jiang Wang smiled. "It is good that you understand."

The White-robed Cultivator said, "We are merely ascetic cultivators of Moonlit West Tower. In the eyes of ordinary people and common martial artists, we may seem lofty and untouchable, but in the eyes of someone like Mr. Jiang, we are merely slightly stronger ants. For strangers met by chance to ask Mr. Jiang to risk offending some great cultivator, we truly were pushing our luck."

Understand my ass!

Jiang Wang nearly choked himself on his own saliva.

Could you two please stop overthinking things?

The Green-robed Cultivator immediately added, "We do not ask Mr. Jiang to personally take action. We only ask that you find the murderer. Our lives and deaths will then have nothing to do with you. If we are fortunate enough to survive, we will still devote the rest of our lives to Mr. Jiang. After all, that is the most valuable thing we possess."

Jiang Wang felt a little tired.

He waved his hand and said flatly, "I will help you find the murderer, but I cannot guarantee that I will succeed."

The Green-robed Cultivator and White-robed Cultivator said excitedly, "Thank you, Mr. Jiang!"

Although Jiang Wang felt exhausted, a promise was a promise, and he had to do something about it.

He had the Old Butler go thirty li outside the city to mobilize the Black Flame Army.

This was the first time the Black Flame Army had entered Hun City again since the marquis manor had supposedly begun to decline.

The Black Flame Army's soldiers and horses were clad in armor, their faces like blue-skinned fanged demons, bright silver spears in hand. They kicked up billowing clouds of dust and advanced with magnificent momentum, making Hun City's guards feel as if they faced a great enemy.

Had they not promptly recognized the black flame banner raised by the leader, they would already have panicked and sounded the war horn.

The Garrison Commander learned of the matter at once.

Upon finding out that the Young Marquis was searching for the murderer behind Hun City's cases, he could only sigh. "The Young Marquis truly has the bearing of his father. Admirable indeed."

The reason he remained courteous toward Jiang Wang was ultimately the existence of the Black Flame Army.

The Black Flame Army belonged to the Xunyang Marquis and presently obeyed only the Young Marquis. It was the largest force in Hun City.

Though everyone said that the Xunyang Marquis Manor had fallen into ruin, the Garrison Commander knew best that so long as the Black Flame Army remained, the marquis manor was still the same marquis manor it had always been.

Jiang Wang's direct deployment of the Black Flame Army to search the entire city might have been somewhat rash, but it was ultimately an act born of justice.

Using the simplest method, the Black Flame Army bulldozed straight through every obstacle that troubled the Garrison Commander, greatly speeding up the investigation.

The Garrison Commander was deeply moved.

When facing suspects whom the Garrison Headquarters could not possibly afford to offend, taking a hard line would surely come at a great cost. Yet the Young Marquis had been so understanding, taking every danger upon himself.

This allowed the Garrison Headquarters to thoroughly investigate the Hun City murder cases without restraint.

He had even begun considering how he should thank the Young Marquis afterward.

Meanwhile, Jiang Wang, who was in the Xunyang Marquis Manor, naturally knew nothing about any of this.

He had merely told the Old Butler to convey his wishes to the Black Flame Army. As for how the Black Flame Army would act, he had not given it any thought at all.

But the Black Flame Army truly was fast. By evening, Deputy Commander Shan Qiyu had arrived at the Xunyang Marquis Manor.

Standing before Jiang Wang, he bowed and said, "Young Marquis."

Jiang Wang stayed in his room, poured himself a cup of tea, and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Shan Qiyu handed a list to Jiang Wang and said, "This is a list of all cultivators and martial artists who have entered the city recently."

Jiang Wang asked doubtfully, "A cultivator died. Why are you investigating martial artists?"

Shan Qiyu paused, then said, "The one who died in East Market was a Cave Nether Realm cultivator, but cultivators are not the only ones capable of killing cultivators. Aside from Monsters with profound cultivation, certain martial artists can also do it."

This was somewhat beyond Jiang Wang's understanding.

He had always believed martial artists were merely jianghu folk who knew some fist and kicking techniques.

"Throughout Kutan, martial artists are everywhere, while cultivators are hard to find. The cultivators who most often enter the mortal world tend to be of relatively low realms, but to martial artists below the Fourth Realm, they remain terrifying beings who are difficult to oppose."

Shan Qiyu said very seriously, "But once a martial artist enters the Fourth Realm, he possesses the strength to battle a cultivator. A martial artist at the Grandmaster realm can even easily blast apart a Cave Nether Realm cultivator."

Jiang Wang once again gained a deep understanding that this world was indeed dangerous.

He took a sip of tea and asked, "Then what did you find?"

Shan Qiyu pointed at the final name on the list and said, "At present, this man is the most suspicious."

"There are only a few cultivators currently in Hun City. Either they are like Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo of Fish Abyss Academy, who have not truly entered the Cave Nether Realm yet, or they are the two cultivators from Moonlit West Tower..."

"Only this man named Feng Linghuai is a martial artist at the peak of the Fourth Realm. So long as the conditions allowed it, he could absolutely kill a cultivator in an instant."

"But at present, I have found no grudge between Feng Linghuai and that dead cultivator. What deserves even greater attention is that, during our investigation, we discovered traces of Monsters appearing in Hun City."

Jiang Wang lowered his head to look at the list, then said in surprise, "There are Monsters again?"

Hun City was about to become a den of Monsters.

Thinking that several murder cases had occurred in Hun City, and that they had basically all happened at the same time, the possibility of Monsters committing the crimes was greater than Feng Linghuai being responsible.

He had Shan Qiyu continue investigating and asked for the precise locations where the Monsters had appeared, deciding to completely take control of that power this time.