Who Was the Villain?

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"That wisp of smoke was the manifestation of the reason why the Daoist Priest Qinghe priest Qinghe's spell failed."

Qin Yi sipped his wine alone, listening to the analysis from the Liusu in the ring.

"If I'm not mistaken, there's likely an Ancient Corpse deep within the earth's veins, which is causing the drought."

Qin Yi asked curiously, "It's still raining today, and there's groundwater underground, so where does this talk of Drought Demon come from?"

"Drought Demon? No." Liusu said, "Rain falls from the sky because of the interaction of Yin and Yang energies between heaven and earth. If Drought Demon can cause drought, then its cultivation is already extremely high. This one hasn't reached that level yet; it's just an Ancient Corpse that possessed a certain level of cultivation in its previous life... Of course, if it continues to develop, it might become a Drought Demon."

"Then why haven't we heard of any problems with other people's well water? Why is it only the Wang Family's well water that's being targeted?"

"It's related to that flash of lightning. Someone drew the desiccation power of the Ancient Corpse to the Wang Family, which caused the ground to dry up and even the ditches to run dry."

Qin Yi subconsciously looked at the Fat Shopkeeper behind the counter.

A monster, electrified, and the Wang Family are all clues that are too clear to be ignored. The truth is already obvious; there's no need for Conan to solve the case.

The Fat Shopkeeper was leisurely pouring himself a drink, his small eyes squinting as if he were thoroughly enjoying his wine. Seemingly sensing Qin Yi's gaze, he turned to look at Qin Yi, his chubby smile surprisingly endearing.

"Shopkeeper," Qin Yi raised his glass in a toast, "It's really hard work of you to keep the shop open during the Spring Festival, even to watch the Spring Festival Gala."

"What's the Spring Festival Gala?" The Fat Shopkeeper smiled and said, "Running a restaurant, you know, it's like this: many regular customers are used to having a few drinks in the evening, and once everyone leaves, we close up shop. It's the customers who aren't locals, they're the ones who are working hard, especially during the Spring Festival."

"Seeing how hard I'm working, could this meal be on the house for free?"

"You're too kind, sir. It's just a small business..."

"Then it's my treat," Qin Yi said with a smile. "Want to have a drink?"

By this time, the last customer in the tavern had paid his bill and left. The Fat Shopkeeper didn't say anything, slowly tidying up the tables and chairs, and then slowly closing the door. After closing the last door panel, he seemed a little out of breath, behaving no differently from an ordinary fat man.

Qin Yi looked at him with great interest.

After closing the shop completely, the Fat Shopkeeper took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, swayed over, and plopped down in front of Qin Yi, lamenting, "Being fat is inconvenient. Unlike you, sir, who is in good health, you're only wearing a blue robe in this chilly spring weather."

Qin Yi laughed and said, "It's good that you're a little chubby; you'll match Miss Wang Family better."

The Fat Shopkeeper said with great enthusiasm, "Let me tell you, that Miss Wang Family looks like she's very fertile. If I marry her, she could have a whole litter..."

"Is it a litter of piglets or a litter of mice?"

"Uh..." The Fat Shopkeeper winked, "They're pretty much the same."

Qin Yi couldn't help but laugh, "What's your surname, shopkeeper? You wouldn't happen to be Pi, would you?"

"You're the one being cheeky." The Fat Shopkeeper didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "Did you find anything at the Wang Family's place today, sir? Did you see Miss Wang Family?"

Qin Yi twitched his cheek. "Then you should give the young lady to Your Excellency."

"Could it be that the guest really went there to dredge the well?"

"That's right, I'm a professional drain cleaner," Qin Yi said. "Since you keep an eye on Miss Wang Family, do you know anything about the well drying up?"

"I know a little." The Fat Shopkeeper took a satisfying sip of his wine, then suddenly became wary. "You promised to treat me, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's my treat. The more detailed your knowledge of the well water, the more I can hire you."

"That's good." The Fat Shopkeeper sipped his wine leisurely and said slowly, "Actually, this well dried up once three years ago. At that time, the Daoist priests from the mountain performed a ritual to bring water back into the well. It relapsed three years later, Wang Yuanwai was reluctant to spend the Daoist priests' so-called Law Artifact —he said they were free, but those Law Artifact cost money."

"So you posted a notice asking someone else to help you?"

"Yes, the notices have been posted at the county and prefecture levels. After half a year of effort, many so-called skilled workers have come to check, but none of them have been able to solve it. I heard that there's a small country in the Southern Border region that has had three kings, and they still can't fix this simple well. They're just watching helplessly as the New Year goes by..."

Qin Yi glared at him. "If you're going to talk about wells, then talk about wells. If you bring up that Southern Border Kingdom again, I'm not treating you to dinner!"

"Oh, oh." The Fat Shopkeeper picked up another piece of beef, ate it with relish, and then sighed, "This Daoist Priest Qinghe came on his own; Wang Yuanwai didn't invite him at all."

"You've come uninvited?" Qin Yi asked curiously. "Could it really be for the sake of peace and tranquility in the village?"

"Perhaps." The Fat Shopkeeper blinked. "The Wang Family has no water, so they send others to fetch water from a great distance for them. It's causing a lot of complaints. Maybe the Immortal couldn't stand it anymore."

Qin Yi looked at him without saying a word.

It was obvious that the Fat Shopkeeper had dried up the well himself. Qin Yi asked him, naturally wanting to test his reasons for doing so, but it seemed that he wanted to steer the matter towards the Daoist Temple on the mountain.

The shopkeeper chuckled, "If Daoist Priest Qinghe can't resolve this matter, I wonder if the Qingxu Daoist Priest lives to be 250, will personally step in. It's something to look forward to."

Qin Yi pondered for a moment, then asked, "What if Qingxu Daoist Priest really takes action personally?"

The shopkeeper grinned so hard his eyes narrowed into a smile, "That's great, it'll be perfect for everyone to see if he really is a fool."

"..."

"It's getting late, thank you for your hospitality." The innkeeper stood up unsteadily. "I'm going to spy on Miss Wang Family now. Would you like to come along?"

"You should go by yourself."

The shopkeeper didn't say anything more and quietly slipped out through the side door.

Qin Yi stared speechlessly at his retreating figure. Was this guy basically offering to let him stay in his tavern for free? The attitude was blatantly obvious; he was deliberately trying to pique Qin Yi's curiosity by making him follow him and spy on the Wang Family's young lady...

"At this time of year, dressed in a thin blue robe, anyone with a brain can tell you're a cultivator, not an ordinary person," Liusu said. "That fat rat's words were loaded with meaning; it meant for you to follow and see."

Qin Yi nodded and followed.

Before long, Qin Yi saw the Fat Shopkeeper with his butt sticking out, peering through the crack in the side gate of the Wang Family. Speechless, Qin Yi went around to the other side, lightly climbed over the courtyard wall, and hid behind a tree.

This is the Wang Family's backyard. There are many water vats in the yard, which look like they were recently brought here from elsewhere for use. At first glance, the densely packed water vats reflect countless moons under the moonlight. It's quite eerie for those with trypophobia, turning an ordinary scene into something resembling a horror movie.

Before Qin Yi could even complain, he saw the Daoist Priest Qinghe sneak into the courtyard.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, looked around at the water vats, and suddenly a ferocious look appeared on his otherwise Immortal Qi face. He began to form hand Method Formula and chant incantations.

Soon, countless green lights emerged from his hands and fell into all the water tanks.

Daoist Priest Qinghe gave a cold laugh and then turned to leave.

"Toxins..." Qin Yi, being a pharmacist by profession, recognized the scent after a careful sniff. "It's actually corpse poison?"

Regardless of the reason, it's one thing to use other poisons, but the fact that something like corpse poison came from the hands of a Daoist priest with an air of otherworldly refinement was so jarring that it sent chills down Qin Yi.

The next moment, Qin Yi saw the Fat Shopkeeper release an electric current through the crack in the door, which accurately bounced through all the water tanks. Qin Yi clearly felt that the toxins were completely neutralized by this single electric shock.

Is the Daoist priest poisoning someone, while the demon is secretly helping them detoxify?

I initially thought this fat rat was the villain, but it seems we're not so sure who the real villain is after all.

An ordinary well has dried up, and the things behind it seem to be getting more and more unusual...