In a small tavern in the east of the city.
Night deepened. Three Red-Robed Plague Gods sat around a table. The tavern's customers had long since fled, leaving only a trembling waiter carrying dishes and wine.
An oil lamp sat on the table, beside gold-thread gauze hats and sabers.
Zhou He held his rice bowl, leisurely picking up food, while his two subordinates spoke quietly beside him:
"The Li Household finally managed to get blood essence from the Alchemy Medicine Institute. How could it vanish without a trace for no reason?"
"Xie Jinhuan must have hidden it. We had no evidence before, but now we have ironclad proof. Once we find the blood essence, he won't be able to argue his way out with a hundred mouths..."
As a Hundred-Household Commander in the Scarlet Qilin Guard, Zhou He had handled so many cases that he knew better than even the Demon Bandits of the martial world how to escape suspicion. He interjected:
"He must have put it in the Commandery Princess's Manor. We can't search there. But he knew he was being framed, yet instead of openly reporting it to the authorities, he went to great lengths to hide the evidence. There must be more to this."
The Scarlet Qilin Guard on his left poured him wine. "You mean Xie Jinhuan really does have something to hide, sir?"
Zhou He could tell that Xie Jinhuan's actions were suspicious, but could not work out the reason behind them:
"What do you two think he's hiding that makes him fear an official search?"
"Hmm... There have only been two things happening in Danyang lately-the Demon Bandits with the mad corpse flowers, and the demonic aura soaring into the sky from Purple Emblem Mountain. Xie Jinhuan found a key clue pointing toward