Ink Fragrance? Young Master!

"Instructor Fang, it's the organs!"

Fang Xiao turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw several severely rotted organs stuck to the floor; they had clearly been left there for some time.

He took a glance, then shifted his gaze to the corpse.

The face was contorted in terror, with bloodstains at the corners of the mouth... and rotting flesh!

Fang Xiao's eyes narrowed as he continued his examination.

The chest cavity was sunken, the ribs were mostly shattered, and the internal organs had been pulverized.

A single strike had killed him!

He picked up a wooden block from nearby, snapped off a piece, and pried open Yuan Chengji's mouth.

Inside the oral cavity, the throat, and even the nasal passages, there were pulverized internal organs and chewed-up rotting flesh.

It could be confirmed that before Yuan Chengji died, he had consumed rotting organs.

Shao Pengshu finished inspecting the hidden pit and searched the rest of the room.

"Instructor Fang, the room has been tossed. Aside from the corpse and the organs mentioned in the note, no other usable evidence was found."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiao nodded slightly: "This is Yuan Chengji's residence. The rotting organs have been in the pit for quite a while, and he has chewed rotting flesh in his mouth and stomach... It is possible that Yuan Chengji is the mole we were trying to lure out."

He and Shao Pengshu had long suspected there was a mole in the Catching Yamen, so they had set a trap in secret.

When a mysterious person suddenly appeared, he naturally wouldn't trust them, which was why he had brought Shao Pengshu to investigate.

Based on the current evidence, the mysterious person's message was very likely true.

"Consuming organs," Shao Pengshu's pupils constricted as he also saw the contents of the corpse's mouth, "and rotting ones at that. What a vile habit!"

"It may not be a habit; it looks like it was done to cultivate some kind of technique."

"What technique requires human organs... the Blood Refining technique mentioned on the mysterious person's paper?!" He suddenly thought of something.

"It is not impossible." Fang Xiao used the wooden strip to push back the sleeve on Yuan Chengji's arm. "This man was clearly just a bailiff, yet he had already condensed his blood energy, and the color of his blood vessels is dark and dull."

"Does Officer Shao find this normal?"

Shao Pengshu laughed softly: "As expected of Instructor Fang, your observation is meticulous."

"I am old and useless now." Fang Xiao sighed while continuing to pry open the clothing along Yuan Chengji's arm to inspect it.

When he lifted the clothing over the sunken chest cavity, his eyes suddenly contracted.

Shao Pengshu did not notice Fang Xiao's abnormality and continued to speak to himself: "If Instructor Fang is old, then what am I? A living corpse? A Blood Activation Realm expert who has condensed ten strands of blood energy could kill me with a single slap..."

"It is a palm technique." Fang Xiao mused.

"Ah?" Shao Pengshu was stunned for a moment. "A palm technique? Instructor Fang, please don't—I was just talking nonsense. With my small frame, I wouldn't be able to withstand your palm technique."

He thought Fang Xiao was going to use a palm technique on him, rather than just a slap.

Fang Xiao, however, acted as if he hadn't heard, his eyes fixed like a hawk on the palm print on Yuan Chengji's chest.

Palm technique, martial skill, the scent of ink... Young Master!

Subconsciously, he thought of the wooden stake Chu Ming had split apart, as well as the palm technique with astonishing power he had been practicing recently.

"The size of the palm print is the same, and the damage caused by the technique is also very similar..."

Fang Xiao recalled Chu Ming's palm technique in his mind and compared it to the print on the corpse; a fact he was forced to believe emerged in his heart.

Similar palm technique, the familiar scent of ink...

One coincidence could be an accident, but when two coincidences appear at the same time, it is no longer a coincidence!

Young Master is the mysterious person!

Fang Xiao's heart surged with shock.

Immediately following this, several points of doubt automatically flashed through his mind.

Although the Young Master has astonishing talent and condensed four strands of blood energy in a short time, and even comprehended a palm technique on his own, to kill this man with one palm...

And the movement technique and stealth skills of that mysterious person were so high that he could not only see my hiding spot but also shake off my pursuit. Does the Young Master have such ability?

Furthermore, the handwriting on the paper is not the Young Master's.

While lost in thought, he suddenly recalled the tea stall owner of unknown strength and the young girl referred to as the Young Mistress mentioned on the paper.

But soon, worry surfaced in his heart.

The Young Master has only condensed four strands of blood energy. If he really is the mysterious person, then his actions are far too reckless.

At this moment, Shao Pengshu also saw the fatal palm print and squatted down: "Is the palm technique Instructor Fang mentioned the one that killed Yuan Chengji?"

"Yes." Fang Xiao stood up. "Collect the evidence and wait for me at Wheat Valley Alley."

"Instructor Fang?"

"I will be back in one hour."

Fang Xiao's footsteps were light; he left Shao Pengshu behind and departed immediately.

He had to go back and see.

Willow Town, West Street.

Xiao Shan was washing bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen when she suddenly heard the courtyard gate open.

"Who is it?" The young master was still reading and could not be disturbed, so Xiao Shan gathered her courage and went out.

"It is Old Fang." Fang Xiao walked into the courtyard, first taking off his coat, and said to Xiao Shan, "Is there any food left?"

"Yes, I saved some for Old Fang."

Seeing that it was Fang Xiao who had returned, Xiao Shan happily ran back to the kitchen and brought out the meal that had been kept warm in the pot.

She did not know when Old Fang would return, so she could only keep a portion of food warm for him.

Fang Xiao took the large bowl and sat on the stone bench in the courtyard to eat, though his gaze swept toward Chu Ming's room intentionally or otherwise.

The dim yellow candlelight cast the shadow of Chu Ming and the high stacks of books onto the paper window.

After a few bites, he softly asked Xiao Shan, "Why hasn't the young master gone to sleep yet?"

Xiao Shan shook her head, "I cannot concern myself with the young master's affairs."

Why did that sound a bit aggrieved?

Fang Xiao's brows twitched, and he continued to ask, "Did the young master go out today?"

"He went out for a while."

The hand holding the bowl and chopsticks stiffened, and Fang Xiao asked with a hint of urgency, "When did he leave, and when did he return?"

"He went out shortly after lunch, and as for his return... it was an hour before Old Fang," Xiao Shan replied truthfully.

The timing matched as well!

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiao's expression shifted repeatedly.

The timing, the scent of ink, the palm technique—three coincidences... no, these were not coincidences.

It was highly likely that the young master was the mysterious person!

After a brief surge of emotion, he shoveled a few more mouthfuls of rice and slowly calmed down, "Xiao Shan, Old Fang is full now; you go wash the dishes."

"Alright." Xiao Shan obediently retreated.

Fang Xiao sat on the stone bench, his gaze fixed on the door of Chu Ming's room.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up and walked to the door, "Young master, are you asleep?"

Inside the room, Chu Ming looked up with a sense of helplessness.

His perception was extraordinary; he had heard every word of the conversation between Xiao Shan and Steward Fang.

The fact that this steward had suddenly returned in the middle of the night to ask if he had gone out today meant he had likely guessed something.

He glanced at the books on the desk and slowly closed them. As the lamplight flickered, the words Blood Fiend Body-Forging Technique were revealed on the cover.

This book was the first half of the blood-refining technique he had obtained from Yuan Chengji.

He had only flipped through a few pages, yet he was shocked by the contents of the manual.

Unlike the Tiger Python Body-Forging Technique, which used medicinal baths to polish the physical body, the Blood Fiend Body-Forging Technique was an extremely sinister art that actually required the consumption of organs to enhance one's cultivation.

Chu Ming lifted the heavy Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy and placed the Blood Fiend Body-Forging Technique at the very bottom before standing up to open the door, "Is something the matter, Steward Fang?"

"Did the young master go out today?" Fang Xiao asked directly.

"Yes."

"Were you injured?" Fang Xiao looked Chu Ming up and down with concern.

"I just went out for a walk to clear my head; how could I be injured?" Chu Ming replied calmly.

"That is good." Fang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief; he truly could not see any injuries on Chu Ming, "Thank you, young master."

"I am tired. Steward Fang, get some rest early."

The door closed, and Chu Ming sat back down at the desk, his gaze deep.

He knew what the steward meant by "thank you."

But some things were understood by both parties without the need to speak them aloud.

Fang Xiao stood at the door for a moment in deep thought before entering his own room, changing into clean clothes, and after giving Xiao Shan a few instructions, he hurried toward Wheat Valley Alley.