Investigating the Terrain, Phantom of the Case

"Elder Huang enjoys a drink, and the Pear Blossom Brew from the Yellow Flower Pavilion is his favorite."

Li Qing smiled. "Understood, I'll keep that in mind."

The Water Transport Councilor Mansion of the Li family was located on Eight Treasures Street in Jade City, an area primarily inhabited by the city's official families.

In the middle of the day, Li Qing arrived on the street without making a sound.

High gates and grand residences lined both sides of the street, their doors tightly shut, with virtually no idlers wandering about.

Li Qing arrived at the Water Transport Councilor Mansion; the main gate was already damaged, and a pitch-black void greeted him from within.

Everything was marked by charred remains.

Li Qing stepped inside and observed in silence.

He possessed the minor technique of Clear Six Senses, a passive physical ability.

Within a radius of three zhang, any movement, no matter how slight, would be easily detected by him.

"According to the records in the files, the crying mostly occurs at night."

"Daytime is usually safe."

"Then, I shall examine the environment here first."

Li Qing was very cautious; as this was his first mission, he did not want to capsize in a gutter.

Clutching the Spirit Summoning Tablet in his left hand, he already knew this object was likely a magical artifact.

A magical artifact capable of directly attacking the spirit and soul could be considered top-tier among such items.

I wonder what that old man I encountered last time really was, he thought, recalling the mysterious old man's disappearance.

The battle between Flood Dragons that had flashed across the sky left him deep in contemplation.

Monsters existed in this world; they also cultivated by absorbing essence and energy, and possessed their own internal lineages.

Li Qing carefully circled the ruined mansion, a process that took about half an hour.

The residence was divided into a front courtyard and a back courtyard.

The front courtyard was primarily for receiving guests, while the back courtyard was where the women and the master of the house lived.

There were at least seven or eight rooms in total, and in the back courtyard, there was a small building and a small pond.

Most of these structures were reduced to broken walls and ruins, with the wooden frames almost entirely burned away.

Having surveyed the general layout, Li Qing shook his head slightly.

"These people were truly extravagant; for a sixth-rank councilor, life was so luxurious."

Thinking of the refugees he had seen outside the city, Li Qing shook his head again.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and left the premises.

The terrain had been scouted well enough; now, it was a matter of waiting for the situation at night.

Clang, clang, clang.

The sound of the night watchman's gong rang out.

It was already the Hour of the Rat, and almost everyone had fallen asleep.

Dressed in a night-traveling suit, Li Qing stood alone, a waist token hanging on his left and a Hundred-Forged Steel Blade on his right.

Like a ghost shrouded in the dark shadows, he arrived silently before the gates of the Water Transport Councilor Mansion.

A look of contemplation crossed his face as he stood quietly outside, not entering immediately.

He had already deactivated his Shadow Art, standing in the shadows of the mansion opposite the gate.

He stood like a cold door god, waiting in silence.

Time ticked by second by second; the Ghost Sound did not occur every night.

Sometimes it appeared, and sometimes it left no trace at all; it was a matter of luck.

After about half an hour, a strange, eerie crying suddenly echoed from the mansion across the way.

"Wuwuwu."

"Wuwuwu... wuwu."

The sound was low and faint, the voice of a woman.

Li Qing gripped the hilt of his Hundred-Segment Steel Blade with his right hand, his expression turning slightly solemn.

"It appeared so quickly."

He quietly activated his Shadow Art, and his entire body was enveloped in a shroud of darkness.

He stepped toward the opposite side and soon arrived at the main gate.

Inside was pitch black, though the moonlight falling on the ground allowed him to vaguely make out some outlines.

With one step forward, the Ghost Sound became clearer, circling constantly around his ears.

His expression tightened slightly as Li Qing walked toward the inner courtyard, where the fire damage was most severe and where the bodies had been discovered.

The entire family of thirty-two was placed in a single room and burned.

Halfway there, a strange, eerie breeze suddenly swept through the mansion.

The next instant, a clamor of voices erupted.

"Young Miss, that young master who came to visit the Master today was truly handsome."

"He was quite handsome indeed."

"Do you like him, Young Miss?"

"Impudent, you deserve a beating."

The chirping, bird-like voices rang out.

Li Qing glanced slightly toward the direction from which the sounds originated.

A group of people appeared in his line of sight.

At this moment, he was standing on a small path leading to the inner courtyard.

At the end of the path was an open door, and inside were several brightly dressed figures.

Two maids in green were surrounding a woman dressed in white.

Li Qing walked over silently. The woman in white had a beautiful face, skin as fair as snow, and features as delicate as a painting; she exuded an air of refinement and grace.

At this moment, a smile played on the woman's lips, and her eyes seemed to hold a hint of anticipation.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she playfully scolded the two maids, her expression tinged with a subtle longing.

"Ah, what are you doing?"

"Help, ah..."

The harmonious and beautiful scene in the small courtyard was suddenly shattered by a shrill, piercing scream.

The young lady and the maids were instantly struck with bewilderment.

The scream was so piercingly clear that it could be heard distinctly throughout the courtyard.

Bang.

With a violent thud, the gate connecting the small courtyard to the front yard was kicked open.

Several figures flew out from within.

Upon hitting the ground, they were revealed to be corpses covered in gore.

A young man with glowing red eyes and a face full of malevolence walked in.

He held a heart in each hand, bringing them to his lips to lick them with an eerie relish.

This horrific scene terrified the three women in the courtyard, causing them to collapse to the ground.

The terrifying sight made their skirts wet with fear.

Terror seeped into their very marrow, and the three women trembled uncontrollably.

Those corpses had been hollowed out, their opened body cavities clearly visible.

The bodies were withered, as if every drop of blood had been drained from them.

The anomalous young man looked at the three women with a crooked, mocking smile.

"Hehehe, three more beauties."

Despair filled the eyes of the woman in white as she recognized one of the figures.

It was her father, the Water Transport Counselor, Li Guangliang.

"Father, no!" Dujuan cried out, her voice a shrill, blood-curdling shriek.

A flicker of impatience crossed the malevolent man's face. "Noise."

His figure flashed violently, appearing instantly before the woman in white.

His palm, suffused with a bloody glow, descended silently onto the top of her head.

The woman in white's eyes bulged, her vision rolled back, and her whole body shuddered as red essence and vitality surged from her, drawn into the man's hand.

She withered visibly to the naked eye, eventually collapsing to the ground as a silent, dried-up husk.

By now, the other female residents in the courtyard had heard the commotion and were opening their doors one by one to step out.

What they saw was a scene straight out of hell.

The malevolent man wore a crazed grin. "Die, you two-legged lambs."

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