The Murderer
At these words, Bi Fan immediately sensed trouble. If the old man refused to talk, wouldn't all the effort they'd gone to have been wasted?
His thoughts raced as he searched for a solution. A moment later, he put on a regretful expression and sighed. "I see. What a pity. I was hoping to find an herb shop and buy a large quantity."
"Uncle, would you mind telling me where the herb shop owner lives? I'll go talk to him and see. I came here with a task to fulfill, too. If I can't buy enough, I'm afraid I'll have to visit a few more towns!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Shi'an put on an exhausted look, as if he'd been traveling for days. He coughed twice.
The old man seemed to soften a little. With a sigh, he said, "I suppose I can tell you, but the herb shop owner probably won't want to see you. Sigh, what happened back then was just too terrible."
Bi Fan pressed his advantage. "Uncle, what exactly happened?"
The old man sighed, his voice tinged with sorrow. "The herb shop owner's only son was murdered, his face mutilated beyond recognition! It's just too awful to accept!"
"Murdered?" Both men were startled. Bi Fan pressed him for details. "By whom? Why?"
"The killer was named Xu Lie. He was a cultivator, one of those people with much greater fighting strength than ordinary folk. As for why, everyone guessed Xu Lie had a grudge against the herb shop owner, so he'd struck such a vicious blow. Xu Lie was truly ruthless. The scene was gruesome and bloody!"
The two men's expressions grew even more serious. The partner they'd been looking for was a murderer?
Bi Fan paused, then asked softly, "Uncle,