Detective

Bai Yujun stopped others from entering and went into the room alone.

In her previous life, she wouldn't have dared to enter this gloomy, terrifying room with two corpses on the bed. Naturally, the owner wouldn't live in a shady room. The room reeked of damp mold, with the added smell of corpses that had died less than a day ago.

Having eaten so many wild beasts before, she wasn't afraid of mere corpses. She calmly stepped forward to carefully examine and analyze the smells in the room.

Not long after, Bai Yujun walked out of the room and stood in the sunlight, killing the bacteria on her body with the sun's rays.

"Yujun, did you find anything?"

Yang Mu was very curious, and Xu Ling's eyes widened even more.

"Hiss, not sure yet, let me take a look at the rest of the bodies."

Suddenly, a large yellow dog barked ferociously at Bai Yujun...

She turned to look at the big yellow dog. The dog was tied to a chain in the corner of the yard. For some reason, it strained the chain, making a clattering sound, and barked at Bai Yujun with all its might. A loyal dog guarding the house, it had merely smelled the snake on Bai Yujun.

Bai Yujun stared at the barking yellow dog.

It was normal that it hadn't barked before. The dog didn't know what had happened in the house and just stayed in its own den. The yellow dog would actually guard the house depending on the situation. If a stranger entered, the dog would definitely bark to guard the house. If a group of people entered, the dog would quietly stay in its den. This was why it hadn't barked when so many outsiders had entered before. If a fierce beast entered, the dog would definitely become agitated.

The constables stepped forward and led the dog away. Bai Yujun was deep in thought.

Then she went to inspect the other rooms and corpses. All the corpses had greenish faces and blood holes in their necks. They should have died in their sleep. Only demons could kill people silently. Moreover, animal fur was also found.

Yang Mu held up the animal fur and examined it carefully under the sun.

"It should be a wildcat demon."

The nearby constable nodded.

"That's right, we also thought so. There's a large mountain about twenty miles from here. Hunters have seen wildcat demons injuring people. We ask the three immortal masters to eliminate this menace for the people."

There were basically no more problems with the matter. Yang Mu and Xu Ling actually had less experience with such things than these constables who had been handling cases for many years. Seeing that the conclusion was almost reached, they prepared to eliminate the demon. If it were a great demon, they naturally wouldn't dare to touch it. That wildcat demon had not yet undergone form transformation and was just a small spirit monster. With so many constables plus Yang Mu and Xu Ling, eliminating the demon was more than enough.

Bai Yujun did not speak. She found a small knife and made an incision on the corpse. Immediately, a foul, fishy odor emanated.

Fortunately, this scene was not seen by the local people. The body and skin are gifts from one's parents. Touching them carelessly would inevitably cause disputes.

Seeing that everyone was about to leave, Bai Yujun stated her opinion.

"Don't rush, it... it wasn't a demon that killed them."

Everyone was stunned, thinking how this beautiful girl was a stutterer. Yang Mu frowned. He thought Bai Yujun was a demon and was deliberately making excuses for the demon. Only the straightforward Xu Ling didn't think so.

"What do you mean?"

Bai Yujun slowly took out the small knife.

"The corpses were not bitten to death... by a demon, but... died of poisoning. If you don't believe me, you can... use tools to test for poison. Constable, please check if the corpses... are poisoned."

The constable was stunned and then nodded in agreement.

Some constables brought silver needles and other poison testing tools and pricked several corpses. They pulled out the silver needles, and the needle tips were black.

Yang Mu felt very awkward realizing he had misunderstood Bai Yujun. Fortunately, his stoic face covered his expression, preventing him from making a fool of himself.

A group of constables looked at each other.

"This... we felt it was too strange here, and there were also traces of wild animal gnawing. We were scared and didn't check carefully. But what about those blood holes and animal fur?"

Yang Mu also wanted to know. Xu Ling's curiosity was even more piqued as she stared at Bai Yujun.

"The blood holes were... artificially made after the deceased was poisoned. It was a false impression made by piercing the deceased with... animal teeth. These people were not... eaten or had their blood drained. Their death was peaceful, and it didn't seem like their souls were taken away. Moreover, if their souls were taken, why... why bother to stab them with animal teeth? It's an unnecessary step."

Everyone nodded, thinking it made sense, but it was tiring to listen to this stutterer.

Bai Yujun reached out and took the clump of animal fur, squeezing it.

"The animal fur was merely... placed in the yard deliberately. You... also know that birds and beasts with fur shed their down in spring to keep warm during winter... The down is very fine and provides warmth in winter. It's easy to find in the mountains."

Bai Yujun was correct about this. For example, every spring, people with goats in their homes would be busy. Goat cashmere is very expensive. When the weather warms up in spring, the goats shed their winter down. Every household would keep their goats in pens and brush the cashmere one by one. If the goats were released onto the mountain, branches would scrape off their down as they walked through the bushes.

It was common for wild beasts to shed their fur in spring. Animal fur was often seen on rocks or branches in the mountains.

They summoned the hunters from the town. After inquiring, the hunters admitted that they often saw animal fur in the mountains. When they got excited, the hunters even said that they had personally seen an old hawk use its beak to pull out its own claws and feathers from its wings to regenerate.

The situation was clear. If Bai Yujun hadn't come today, the wildcat demon would have been blamed for someone else's actions.

The constables had interesting expressions. They hadn't investigated further because they were scared. They didn't expect that after spending their lives chasing eagles, they would end up being pecked by an eagle, and they even troubled the Chunyang immortal master to make a trip.

Xu Ling's contemptuous gaze was undisguised, although she had almost been fooled just now.

Bai Yujun walked to the well in the corner of the yard.

"More than a dozen people in the yard were... poisoned. There is only one possibility: the food or water... the water source was poisoned. Food can be ruled out first. How could the landlord eat the same thing as... the maids? So, it must be poisoning of the water source."

She brought the poison testing tools and put them into the well water. When she took them out again, they had indeed turned black.

A group of constables gritted their teeth in hatred, vowing to catch the murderer and throw them into prison to be tortured with various methods. They swore they wouldn't stop until all the torture instruments had been used.

Bai Yujun had no expression. The flaws were so obvious. One should know how hard wild beasts in the mountains worked to fill their stomachs. In the animal kingdom, wasting food was the stupidest behavior. It was impossible to kill prey and not eat it. Humans had not experienced such a survival-of-the-fittest environment, so they didn't understand animal feeding habits.

The constable bowed respectfully.

"May I ask if the immortal master knows the killer's characteristics?"

This question was asked to the right person. Others didn't have Bai Yujun's keen sense of smell.

"I found a medicinal herb scent in the room in addition to the smell of the deceased. No one in the Cheng family is sick, nor do they do business with medicinal herbs. I think you can investigate this."

The constables were delighted. When they questioned locals, they indeed found a clue.

"Yujun, you're truly amazing~"

Xu Ling offered her praise without reservation. In her eyes, Bai Yujun had become a master detective. The only pity was that she hadn't found a reason to fight; eliminating the Wolf Demon last time had been quite exhilarating.

"We're done here. Let's go back."

The two, along with a snake, mounted their horses and returned to the Chunyang outpost in Ducheng. Their shadows stretched long in the setting sun.

In Chengjia Town, a young man with a black iron staff in his hand searched everywhere with a compass, his brow furrowed as he gazed into the distance