Butterfly Hunt

Liu Ruyan lowered her eyes, glanced at Sun Daoming, then shifted her gaze to Yu Yuhan as she emerged from the room and gave a slight nod.

Sensing that the two were hiding something from everyone, Jiang Shuo looked at Yu Yuhan curiously. He saw that she held three bamboo tubes in her arms, though he had no idea what they were for.

Yu Yuhan stepped before the group, holding out the bamboo tubes for everyone to see. "There are three Highland Cold Butterflies inside. Their sense of smell is keen, and they are extremely sensitive to Bitter Marigold Honey. Earlier, Miss Liu struck the man in black with Bitter Marigold Honey. With these three cold butterflies, we can track him down."

Jiang Shuo suddenly understood. "Miss Liu, so you deliberately let him go just now?"

"Correct." Liu Ruyan nodded. "If we pressed him too hard, there was no guarantee he would not kill himself like the others before him. Then we would gain no information at all. Better to cast a long line for a big fish and find their nest through him."

"No wonder he was able to infiltrate Dream Red Pavilion's secret location so easily. Miss Liu, you deliberately let him in." It seemed Liu Ruyan and Yu Yuhan had expected the murderer to come and silence witnesses, so they had discussed their countermeasures beforehand. They had kept him and Sun Daoming in the dark, likely for fear of giving themselves away.

Although Yu Yuhan had prepared many means of protecting herself in advance, the danger of putting herself at risk was impossible to predict. Jiang Shuo gave Yu Yuhan a deep look and could not help admiring her courage.

"Yes." Liu Ruyan accepted a bamboo tube from Yu Yuhan and addressed the group. "Yulin City is a mixed bag, and interference is unavoidable. If he gets too far away, even the Highland Cold Butterflies will be unable to track him. There is no time to lose. We will split into three groups, each taking one Highland Cold Butterfly to pursue him."

Under Liu Ruyan's arrangements, Sun Daoming and Jiang Shuo formed one group, she herself led another, and an outstanding disciple led several dozen people as the third group.

"Remember, the man in black is definitely connected to the murderer. No matter where he flees, that place will be a dragon's pool and tiger's den. If you find anything, return at once and inform me. Do not act rashly," Liu Ruyan warned.

Jiang Shuo nodded in understanding. After all, judging by the previous incidents, whether it was the murderer or the murderer's companions, their Martial Arts were all formidable—opponents who could not be faced head-on. He took the bamboo tube Liu Ruyan handed him and pulled out its stopper. Perched on a dead branch inside was a brilliantly colored butterfly, motionless as if asleep.

"Once it catches the scent of Bitter Marigold Honey, it will naturally fly out. As long as you get close to where the man in black is, you will definitely find him," Yu Yuhan reminded him.

Jiang Shuo committed her words firmly to memory. Seeing that Yu Yuhan remained where she was, with no sign of setting out with the others, he immediately asked curiously, "Yu Yuhan, aren't you going?"

Yu Yuhan shook her head. "In three shichen at most, I can determine what poison the corpse was afflicted with before death. Only a few major sects in Yulin possess poisons with such effects. As long as we can identify the type, we will have evidence—enough to prove which sect the murderer came from."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan gave an order. "Green Willow, stay behind and protect Miss Yu." The enemy already knew the location of Dream Red Pavilion's Forbidden Ground. There was no guarantee they would not return.

"Yes." A beautiful woman stepped out from the crowd and answered.

With the arrangements complete, they set out in three directions with Dream Red Pavilion as their center.

Jiang Shuo, Sun Daoming, and a group of Dream Red Pavilion disciples headed toward the center of Yulin City. The county yamen and the Hundred Flowers Sect were both in that direction. Ordinary residents made up the majority there, and there were fewer Martial Arts Sects. Liu Ruyan had likely arranged it this way with the two men's Martial Arts in mind. Sun Daoming's shoulder had been dislocated, but after treatment, it no longer affected him much.

As for Liu Ruyan's group, the strongest of the three, they headed straight east. For one, that was the direction the man in black had fled; for another, the Mad Saber Sect, whose behavior was suspicious, was located there.

"Damn it, there's bound to be nothing to find in this direction. I wanted to follow this lead all the way to the murderer's nest." Along the way, Sun Daoming constantly grumbled, venting his frustration and anger over the man in black injuring Yu Yuhan. Earlier, to show his concern for Yu Yuhan, he had even pounded his chest and sworn that he would definitely catch the murderer.

How could Jiang Shuo fail to see that Sun Daoming was putting on a show for him, trying to prove how deep his affection for Yu Yuhan was?

Jiang Shuo found his behavior incomparably childish. He merely gave him an indifferent glance, then devoted all his attention to the search.

Even with the Highland Cold Butterfly's help, Yulin City was still far too vast for their group of barely more than ten people. To avoid overlooking anything, they had to conduct a carpet search, but they had only one Highland Cold Butterfly, which undoubtedly made the search much more difficult.

The dozen or so people searched for a full shichen. Jiang Shuo checked the bamboo tube every few steps, but the Highland Cold Butterfly never reacted. He even began to suspect it was dead.

This direction had always been the least likely to yield anything. After such a long and fruitless search, even Jiang Shuo could not help feeling somewhat discouraged.