Although they were convinced by Li Xingkong's ideas, they were clearly still physically uncomfortable. At least, looking at such a strange person made their body hair tremble.
Fortunately, as Inspection Department, they had seen all sorts of situations and adapted after a short while.
The more important thing now is to conduct a simple interrogation of this person and find out the source of this evil practice.
The man had originally been determined to die, but he failed to die and ended up in this state. Now, he couldn't even think about dying anymore. Besides, after that period of intense feeling, he didn't want to die anymore.
It is easy to die generously, but difficult to die calmly. This principle applies to everyone.
Once he got rid of that thought, his mind opened up, and he said what he wanted to say naturally, without needing any interrogation.
Tang Cheng and his group refocused their attention on the man and began questioning him.
"Name."
" Zhang San "
"Age"
"25"
"Gender"
"Is that even a question?"
Clearly, his height alone couldn't stop his naturally talkative nature.
"Stop nagging, just answer the questions."
Where are you from?
"From Zhang Family Village."
"Who taught you this evil skill?"
After asking a few basic questions, Tang Cheng began to ask the crucial questions.
"Have no idea."
"You do not know?"
Tang Cheng clearly felt that he was not cooperating yet.
"I really don't know. They spent a long time selecting people in the village before finally choosing a dozen or so. Then they locked us in a small, dark room and gave us a martial arts manual to practice."
"And what about your Bone Tempering technique?"
The practice of using white phosphorus to Bone Tempering is also highly questionable.
"What's wrong with the Bone Tempering method? That's how we train where I'm from. The villagers say we have a lot of phosphorus there, so it's faster to train."
"Who assigned you to collect taxes here?"
"Anyway, all I know is that the village chief told me to do it this way, and after I finished collecting the Magic Power every day, I had to hand it over to the village chief."
This guy keeps talking about the village; it seems like everything he does revolves around this so-called village.
"So you're going to give back all this Magic Power you've gained?"
Tang Cheng continued to ask, "It shouldn't be like this, someone who practiced evil arts should return to it."
"There's no other way. Our whole family's ancestors came from the village. Where can we run off to? Even if we don't acknowledge our ancestors, we still have to acknowledge our parents."
Zhang San replied.
"Also, when I came out, I think I was pricked with a needle. They said it was some kind of Gu poison, and I would die if I didn't go back."
Tang Cheng looked at Li Xingkong, Li Xingkong shook his head. What kind of Gu poison? He hadn't found anything when he looked at the person just now. Apart from being burned, there was nothing else wrong with the person's body.
No matter how Tang Cheng asked, the man's answers always revolved around his village. Tang Cheng asked him many more questions afterward, but the man didn't know much.
This was the first time he had used a method that would result in mutual destruction; he had never tried it before. When the village taught him, they only said it was a powerful spell that could kill or injure oneself, but he never expected that using it would result in his own self-destruction.
After questioning the man for over half an hour, Tang Cheng finally stopped, having extracted all the information he needed from him.
For reasons of secrecy, this person could not receive treatment here. Tang Cheng specially sent someone to take him back to the Imperial Capital, and he would never show his face again until the matter was settled.
" Zhang Family Hamlet..."
They had found a lead, but it pointed to a village. Tang Cheng was at a loss. Judging from this person's methods, the people in that village were likely to use similar self-destruction tactics, and there were definitely a lot of people in the village. It was certainly not something that he, with just a few people, could handle.
To truly ascertain its capabilities, we need to proceed with careful planning.
Although Li Xingkong was with them and watched the whole thing unfold, Li Xingkong wasn't one of their Inspection Department, so they couldn't take him into account when deciding on a plan. If Li Xingkong wanted to take action, what would they need to do? They would just have to do odd jobs and clean up the mess.
But this was clearly not what Li Xingkong wanted. He couldn't do everything himself. He preferred to be a backup plan, but before it was his turn to take action, he hoped that Tang Cheng and the others could handle the matter themselves.
Tang Cheng naturally shared the same thought. It wouldn't be right for the Inspection Department, which had developed for so many years, to come to Li Xingkong for help every time it encountered a problem.
This matter is within the scope of our capabilities, so naturally it should be handled by the Inspection Department.
He pondered for a while and quickly came up with an idea.
His operation was somewhat rushed, and he only came directly from the Imperial Capital because Li Xingkong order. This was not in accordance with the proper procedures. Moreover, there are many people and things to do in the Imperial Capital, and the manpower support they can provide is limited.
To gather a force capable of investigating the village, the assistance of the local Inspection Department is still indispensable.
Since that's the case, why not go through the formal process and get the local Inspection Department to cooperate with them to find out the details of this village?
Tang Cheng had considered directly deploying the cultivator army, but the situation was clearly still under investigation. Sending the army to level the village would undoubtedly alert the enemy.
Moreover, the people in this village are, after all, Divine Land People. If the problem can be solved peacefully, then there is no need to resort to force.
" Brother Li, what's your plan? We're going to seek assistance from the Dragon City Inspection Department to handle this matter together."
Having finalized his plan, Tang Cheng asked Li Xingkong for his opinion. After all, Li Xingkong wasn't part of the plan; he was more like a free agent in this whole affair.
"Then you two go and negotiate. I'll just go home and check on things."
Li Xingkong's purpose in returning this time was to see his parents. It seems that it will be quite some time before he can investigate the village, so he might as well go back home and have a look around first.
"Okay, Brother Li, see you in Dragon City in a few days."
Tang Cheng and his group did not rush to leave. There were still many things to investigate at the scene. Zhang San's one-sided account was not enough; a lot of physical evidence was needed to determine whether what he said was true.
As for Li Xingkong, the matter here is over, and there are no more enemies. He is now preparing to go to Dragon City.
Emerging from the formation, Li Xingkong spotted Brother Erniu secretly watching from afar and immediately walked towards Erniu.
"Holy crap, what's going on inside? Why did they suddenly start fighting?"
"That tax collector was problematic. From now on, we won't need to pay the Magic Power Tax anymore. Remember to contact me if you encounter this situation again."
"Really? That's great! The tax itself is fine, but I always feel uneasy for days after it's collected. You've really helped me out."
Brother Erniu happy he almost jumped for joy.
"These guys are something else, daring to impersonate official personnel. Next time I see them, I'll give them a good beating."