The Vengeful Weasel?

The county yamen constable quickly reported the case file.

But after Xu Ye listened, he merely shook his head.

What the man said was not much different from what Xu Ye already knew. There was no key information at all.

Xu Ye immediately asked, "I heard there was still one survivor from this family?"

The county yamen constable nodded slightly. "Reporting to you, sir, there is indeed one."

"Where is she? I want to question her," Xu Ye said.

"Yes! I'll have someone bring her here at once," the county yamen constable promptly replied.

Xu Ye nodded slightly.

The constable went to find her.

Xu Ye led Lin Yuyan and the others into the blacksmith shop.

The bodies inside had already been dealt with by the county yamen.

Only bloodstains covered the ground, all of them dried by now.

Yet the bloodiness of the place was still plain to see.

From time to time, they could even spot fragments of human organs.

Fortunately, Xu Ye and the others had all seen slaughter before. Xu Ye in particular had killed people himself.

Thus, none of them showed any particular discomfort at such a sight.

After a brief investigation, Xu Ye, Lin Yuyan, and the others found nothing unusual.

They only discovered some yellow fur at the scene. Besides the pungent stench of blood, there was also a faint foul odor in the air.

That smell was enough to make one retch.

"It seems the Demon-Suppression Bureau's judgment was correct. The demon causing trouble should indeed be a weasel," Xu Ye said calmly.

Lin Yuyan and Zhao Heng said nothing.

Just then, the county yamen constable returned.

"Sir, the person has been brought."

Xu Ye nodded and immediately walked outside.

The place was so bloody that he naturally would not bring the victim inside for questioning.

The moment he stepped out, Xu Ye saw that the constable had brought a young girl in plain clothes.

She looked seventeen or eighteen.

"Xiaohan!" Seeing the girl, Xu Ye drew a breath and softly called her name.

He knew everyone in the blacksmith's family.

The girl before him was the blacksmith shop owner's daughter, Zhang Xiaohan.

When Zhang Xiaohan looked up and saw Xu Ye, she immediately burst into tears. "Brother Xu Ye!"

They lived on the same street and knew each other well.

Moreover, she and Xu Zhizhi got along well.

They were even more familiar with each other.

Zhang Xiaohan's entire family had died, leaving only her behind.

Now that she had seen someone she knew, she could no longer keep up her brave facade, and tears of grievance streamed down her face.

Xu Ye stepped forward and patted Zhang Xiaohan in consolation.

After a while, Zhang Xiaohan calmed down. Only then did she notice Xu Ye's clothing, and her expression abruptly changed.

"Brother Xu Ye, you... you're the Demon-Suppression Guard lord who wants to question me?"

When the county yamen constable had brought her here, he had said that a Demon-Suppression Guard lord wanted to question her.

When she first saw Xu Ye, she had not paid attention to that.

Now that she had calmed down, she was stunned.

Xu Ye had actually become a Demon-Suppression Guard?

Xu Ye nodded slightly. "This matter has been handed over entirely to us. So whatever you know, you must tell me."

Upon hearing that, Zhang Xiaohan did not hesitate in the slightest. She dropped to her knees and began kowtowing.

"Brother Xu Ye! Lord Xu, you must avenge my parents! They died so horribly!"

Zhang Xiaohan wept as she spoke, consumed by grief.

Clearly, she had already seen her parents' bodies.

Xu Ye hurriedly helped her up. "What are you doing? Your parents were harmed by demons. Avenging them is only right and proper for us. Get up."

"Thank you, Brother Xu Ye!" Only then did Zhang Xiaohan rise.

"Enough with all this nonsense. Hurry up and tell us everything you know," Zhao Heng said from the side, somewhat impatient.

Lin Yuyan shot Zhao Heng a fierce glare. How could this fellow have so little sympathy?

She immediately turned to Zhang Xiaohan and said, "Since we are here, we will definitely see justice done for you. Now tell us everything you know, understand?"

With tears in her eyes, Zhang Xiaohan looked toward Xu Ye. Xu Ye nodded slightly.

Only then did Zhang Xiaohan begin to speak softly, recounting what she knew.

It turned out that just last night, their family had finished forging a batch of ironware for Squire Ma's household in the south of the city, and Squire Ma had pressed them urgently for it.

Late at night, Zhang Xiaohan's father arranged for someone to deliver the goods to Squire Ma's home overnight.

Zhang Xiaohan followed along to deliver the goods and settle the accounts, so she was not at home.

When she returned, their home had already been sealed off by county yamen officials.

Her parents and two older brothers had all died miserable deaths. Only because she was absent had she become the sole survivor.

She knew nothing else.

When Zhang Xiaohan finished, Xu Ye and the others fell silent.

There was absolutely no useful information!

Xu Ye immediately asked, "Xiaohan, before this happened, did anything strange occur to your family, or to anyone in your family?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohan thought for a moment before shaking her head slightly. "Our family honestly runs a business. Nothing strange ever happened..."

At this point, she paused slightly, then said, "Right! Something did happen to my second brother, but I don't know whether it has anything to do with this."

"What was it?" Xu Ye asked.

Zhang Xiaohan hurriedly replied, "Three days ago, after my brother delivered a batch of ironware to Li Family Town outside the city, he encountered an injured weasel on the road back. My second brother said that the weasel kept clinging to him. He thought it was bad luck, so he beat it to death."

"After he came back, my second brother specifically mentioned it."

Xu Ye's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

A weasel?

Didn't that fit perfectly?

Weasels were creatures that held grudges more than anything.

Once they latched onto someone, trouble was bound to follow without end.

Not to mention a weasel that had become a demon?

It had only been injured at the time. Perhaps when it saw Zhang Xiaohan's second brother, it had wanted him to save it.

Who would have thought that he would consider it bad luck and beat it to death on the spot?

Killing an ordinary weasel would have been one thing.

But it was a weasel connected to demons. That changed everything.

Weasels lived in groups, and they held grudges.

It would have been stranger if they had not sought revenge.

No wonder they had killed the Zhang family and eaten all their internal organs, carrying out such cruelty.

It seemed the Zhang family's tragic deaths had been vengeance from demons.

With that thought, Xu Ye voiced his analysis.

It immediately made Lin Yuyan see him in a new light.

He had so simply pieced together the connection between cause and effect. Xu Ye had some skill after all.

She could not help glancing at Zhao Heng beside her.

This fellow had his face wrapped in a veil, looking dull and foolish. What sort of person was he supposed to be?

"How could this happen?" Upon hearing Xu Ye's words, Zhang Xiaohan immediately wept like rain beating pear blossoms.

She never could have imagined that her entire family had died miserable deaths.

All because her second brother had beaten to death a weasel that had clung to him.

"Alas!" Xu Ye sighed softly.

Who could have imagined that such a thing would happen to the Zhang family?

"Brother Xu Ye, you have to see justice done for us!" Zhang Xiaohan looked at Xu Ye through tear-filled eyes.

She was only an ordinary person. Facing demons, she could do nothing. She could only place her hopes on Xu Ye.