Hooves thundered along the official road. Seven days later, the Seventh Squad, led by Li Yifan, reached Fishery Salt Town on the edge of the Black Swamp.
The small town was shrouded in hot, damp mist. The air was thick with a salty, fishy smell and a faint trace of decay. It was not large, and its mostly wood-and-stone houses looked rather dilapidated. Few people walked the streets, and most wore worried expressions as they hurried along. An oppressive unease hung over the entire town.
After Li Yifan identified himself, the Old Town Chief seized on them like a drowning man clutching a lifeline and ushered them into the town hall.
"Honored Xuntian Envoys, you've finally arrived!" the Old Town Chief said, his voice trembling. "Eight strapping young men have vanished from town in the past half month! Every one of them went to bed at home as usual, then disappeared without a trace the next morning. The doors and windows were intact, and no one heard a thing! This—this has to be the work of some evil spirit!"
Li Yifan asked gravely, "Is there any pattern to the disappearances? Were the victims connected in any way? Were any traces left at the scenes?"
The Old Town Chief tried hard to remember. "A pattern... It seems they all vanished around the nights of the dark moon—the moonless nights. They were all strong, healthy young men, brimming with vitality, but I can't think of any particular connection between them. As for the scenes... The Inspection Division investigated. They said there was an extremely faint, cold, fishy stench, but it faded quickly. They couldn't find any footprints or other traces."
Nights of the dark moon, young men full of vitality, a cold, fishy stench... Li Yifan compared these clues with the corpse aura in Linshan County. They did seem similar, but this aura was more elusive and sinister.
"Take us to the most recent scene," Li Yifan ordered.
The Old Town Chief led them to a home at the western end of town. The courtyard was bare, the furnishings inside simple, and there were no signs of a struggle. Li Yifan activated his Investigation skill and searched the scene carefully. The faint, cold, fishy stench in the air had almost completely dissipated, but his keen senses still caught the faintest trace of it. He also spotted a barely perceptible mark on the ground, like a smear of dried mucus.
[Skill: Investigation Proficiency +10! Noticed minute traces and detected residual aura.]
"Not a direct abduction by a Corpse Puppet..." Li Yifan mused. "It seems more like they were lured or knocked unconscious by something before being taken away. These traces... Could they be secretions from some kind of slippery creature?"
He sent Qian Xiaoliu to scout the town's outskirts, Zhao Xiong and Sun Shi to question the townsfolk, and Chen Feng and Zhang Tie to help the Inspection Division sort through its case files. Then, taking Qian Xiaoliu, whose senses were keen to auras, he followed the faint traces of evil energy toward the Black Swamp beyond town.
The closer they got to the swamp, the thicker the mist became, and the cold, fishy stench grew faintly discernible. Dense vegetation crowded the swamp's edge, the ground was a sea of mud, and the air was saturated with deadly poisonous miasma. Li Yifan had everyone take a Detoxification Pill before they proceeded cautiously.
After tracking for several miles, the traces of evil energy grew clearer beside a pool of water—then abruptly stopped, as if they had vanished into thin air. The pool was murky, and broken scales and a few strands of dark green fur were scattered nearby.
"Captain, look here!" Qian Xiaoliu pointed to a blurry drag mark in the mud by the water. "It looks like something heavy was dragged into the water!"
Li Yifan crouched to examine it. The edge of the mark bore the same traces of mucus. He wondered, Could a Monster Beast in the swamp be behind this? But how do I explain the evil energy?
Just then, Sun Shi, standing guard on the flank, suddenly called out in a low voice, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Everyone sprang to attention! Several figures flickered in the dense mist ahead. They moved without a sound, as though they had become one with the swamp.
The figures drew closer. They were three men in crude leather armor, their faces painted with colorful patterns of mud. They carried bone spears or poisoned blowpipes, their eyes wary and cold. A wild aura clung to them, blending with the swamp around them. The leader's cultivation had astonishingly reached early Muscle Tempering!
"The Swamp Witch Clan!" Zhao Xiong murmured, his tone grave.
Li Yifan's heart tightened as he recalled Commander Wang's warning. He stepped forward and clasped his hands. "We're Xuntian Guards investigating a case. We followed a trail of evil spirits here and mean no offense to your tribe."
The Witch Clan leader sized Li Yifan up, then paused to look at the Xuntian Guard badge at his waist. In stiff official speech, he said, "Xuntian Guards? This is the Black Water Tribe's hunting ground. The 'evil spirit' you're tracking—is it foul-smelling and does it only abduct the living?"
Li Yifan's heart stirred. "That's right! Do you know what it is?"
The Witch Clan leader snorted. "It's the Water Ghost Hags from the Rotten Mud Pool! They've been corrupted by evil energy and turned bloodthirsty. On nights of the dark moon, they come ashore to seize people. We're hunting them, too."
Water Ghost Hags? Corrupted by evil energy? Li Yifan seized on the crucial detail. "Corrupted by evil energy? Where did it come from?"
The leader's eyes flickered. He seemed unwilling to say more. "What happens in the depths of the swamp is none of your outsiders' business. The Water Ghost Hags' lair is dangerous. If you don't want to die, leave at once." With that, he made a hand signal. The three Witch Clan warriors quickly retreated into the mist and vanished.
"Captain, can we trust them?" Qian Xiaoliu asked.
Li Yifan thought for a moment. "The Swamp Witch Clan has lived here for generations. They know this place far better than we do. Their account of the Water Ghost Hags fits the clues, but they seem to be hiding something important about the source of the evil energy." He looked toward the depths of the swamp. "The Rotten Mud Pool... It seems we'll have to meet these Water Ghost Hags ourselves."
Following the Witch Clan's directions and their own tracking, the squad determined the approximate location of the Rotten Mud Pool. It was a dangerous region deep in the Black Swamp, where the poisonous miasma grew thicker and Monster Beasts roamed.
After making thorough preparations, the squad ventured into the swamp again. The deeper they went, the harsher the terrain became. Quicksand pits riddled the ground, poisonous insects swarmed, and dense miasma obstructed their vision. Fortunately, they had Detoxification Pills and Miasma-Repelling Talismans, and the squad worked seamlessly together, allowing them to press on with difficulty.
Along the way, they were attacked by several groups of swamp Monster Beasts. Poisonous crocodiles lurked in the muddy water, their hides thick and tough and their ambushes swift. Ghost-faced spiders clung to dead trees, able to spray paralyzing venom. And packs of Rottenfang Jackals were ravenous for blood. Most of these beasts had been affected by their surroundings and carried a savage, violent air.
Li Yifan's Bone Forging Late cultivation and the defense of his Iron Bone Technique, at Minor Accomplishment, proved their worth. When poisonous crocodiles lunged at him, he no longer relied solely on evasion. Sometimes he even endured their impact with his formidable bones and sinews before counterattacking with the fierce Burning Wood Saber Technique. Its scorching saber energy also countered the beasts. Zhao Xiong and Sun Shi held the line, Qian Xiaoliu provided precise ranged support, and Chen Feng and Zhang Tie covered the flanks, allowing the squad to steadily advance.
[Encountered swamp Monster Beasts; honed combat skills. Iron Bone Technique Proficiency +5! Burning Wood Saber Technique Proficiency +8! Squad coordination improved!]
After more than a day of arduous travel, they finally neared the Rotten Mud Pool. The air reeked of foul decay and evil energy. Bubbles gurgled up through the mud, releasing poisonous gas. An eerie silence hung over the area, and even the Monster Beasts had grown scarce.
"Stay alert. We're almost there." Li Yifan lowered his voice and signaled everyone to conceal their auras and move forward under cover of the dense vegetation.
Soon, a vast mud pool appeared before them, its surface gleaming with an oily, black-green sheen. White bones and scraps of tattered clothing lay around its edge, sending a chill down their spines. In the middle of the pool, several strange mounds rose from the muck, formed from mud and dead branches.
Night gradually fell. It was a moonless night, with neither stars nor moon to light the pitch-black surroundings. Only the occasional pop of a bubble from the pool and the shrill cries of unknown insects broke the silence.
Suddenly, the nests in the middle of the pool stirred! Several hunched, slick figures slowly crawled out. They were roughly humanoid, but their skin was dark green and coated in slime. Webbing stretched between their fingers and toes; their heads were narrow and pointed, and their eyes were murky as a dead fish's. Foul-smelling drool dripped from their mouths—these were the Water Ghost Hags the Witch Clan had told them about!
There were five or six of them, their auras cold and sinister. Their strength was roughly equivalent to warriors at the Skin Refining to Body Refining stages. They crawled ashore and seemed to be waiting for something.
Just then, Li Yifan keenly sensed an even purer, more sinister energy silently spreading from deeper in the swamp, shrouding the area. The Water Ghost Hags felt it and grew restless. They let out low, rasping growls and began edging toward Fishery Salt Town.
"There really is a mastermind controlling them!" Li Yifan's heart tightened. This evil energy was far purer than theirs—more sinister even than the Evil Cultivator's in Linshan County!
"Prepare for battle!" Li Yifan barked. "Take out the Water Ghost Hags first and force the one behind this to reveal themselves! Zhao Xiong, Sun Shi, hold them at the front. Qian Xiaoliu, provide ranged support. Chen Feng, Zhang Tie, harass them from the flanks. I'll lead the attack! Watch out for interference from the evil energy!"
The squad held its breath. Swords slid from their sheaths, and arrows were nocked. A fierce battle around the Rotten Mud Pool was about to erupt. And the Evil Cultivator hidden deep in the swamp had finally shown the tip of the iceberg.
Before you continue