"There's no conclusive evidence." He spoke to Ling Zhao, with a hint of irritation in his voice that even he hadn't noticed. "We've investigated everyone who handled the maps. From drafting and surveying to distribution, there were no problems with the process. Everyone has an alibi."
Ling Zhao still looked half-mad and half-stupid, curled up in the corner and completely unresponsive to him.
Wei Yan stared at him, growing more and more frustrated.
He felt as though he were chasing a shadow. He could sense it was there, but no matter what he did, he couldn't catch it.
Ling Zhao's ravings, Wang Xiao Yi's "accidental" eavesdropping, and Elder Qin's obsessive research into the demonic sword... Everything seemed strange, yet there was no solid evidence pointing to a conspiracy.
Maybe... it really was just a coincidence?
Was he just being too suspicious?
Just as Wei Yan began to waver, Ling Zhao, curled up in the corner, suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing.
"Cough... cough, cough!"
He coughed so violently it seemed as though he would hack up his organs.
Wei Yan stepped forward, about to check on him.
Ling Zhao suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. Mixed in with it were some dark red... particles of dirt?
The moment the dirt touched the air, it sizzled and gave off a faint wisp of black smoke, releasing a foul stench of sulfur and blood.
Wei Yan's pupils contracted sharply!
These were signs of Demonic Contamination!
And the color of the dirt... He recognized it! It was Crimson Refined Earth, a kind found only in Black Tide Canyon!
How could there be dirt from that place in Ling Zhao's lungs?!
Unless... he'd been lying on the ground at the time and inhaled a great deal of dust while taking