Being a Saint since the Age of Myth

"What do you mean?" Walter of Canes Venatici raised an eyebrow slightly, but he had no intention of giving up his attack and quickly took an offensive stance.

"I'm a member of Sanctuary too. I trained in Jamir and only recently came down the mountain. I was ordered here to help investigate the priestess's death!"

Wuxin shrugged and continued, "You don't know me, but you should at least recognize the technique I'm using, shouldn't you?"

"This is the best proof of my identity!"

As he spoke, he released two more silver streams of energy from his right fingertips, sending them circling the battlefield.

"Is that... Sekishiki?"

Walter of Canes Venatici froze for a moment, but he still recognized the two silver streams of energy.

It was the technique that the Cancer Gold Saint of the Twelve Golden Temples excelled at.

Although he had never seen Wuxin in Sanctuary, with this technique as proof of identity, he could be certain that Wuxin had a deep connection to Cancer and was indeed one of their own.

"I'm truly sorry. We were too hasty and caused a misunderstanding!" Walter dropped his offensive stance and offered a polite apology.

Not far away, Ursa Major Mike dared not delay and immediately apologized as well.

"I'm very sorry. I was too rash!"

"It's all right. We're all doing this for Sanctuary and the goddess!"

Wuxin let the matter drop and looked at the ghost he had bound. "I arrived a little earlier and happened to uncover a few things. Come listen, both of you!"

Having witnessed the exchange between two Saints, even if it had only been a single move, the old man was already badly frightened.

He dared not conceal anything and immediately revealed, "The tragedy happened around one in the morning the night before last."

"I saw three people rush into the temple with my own eyes. They forcibly dragged out the priestess stationed there and handed her over to a man waiting outside."

"Then, with the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed, that man raped the priestess right outside the temple gates, then tortured her to death with extremely cruel methods!"

At this point, the old man could not help wiping the nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead, his face filled with terror.

Even though he had now become a ghost, whenever he recalled the scene of that man torturing the priestess that night, he still felt cold sweat breaking out all over him.

Hearing this, the hotheaded Ursa Major immediately pressed him. "Do you know those villains who blasphemed against the gods? Can you help us find them?"

The old man thought for a moment before answering earnestly, "The leader seemed to be shrouded in black mist from head to toe. I couldn't see his face at all."

"I only felt that he was extraordinarily terrifying. Even hearing his laughter made me tremble all over!"

"As for the other three, they're all locals: One-Eyed Zack, Six-Fingered Neil, and Laus, the tavern owner."

"They gather at the tavern every day. You should be able to find them there!"

"Thank you for your help, sir!" Wuxin was overjoyed.

With the clues the old man had provided, investigating the priestess's death further would be much easier.

"Then let's get going! I can barely contain my anger. I want to tear those bastards who desecrated the goddess to pieces right now!" Ursa Major Mike said impatiently.

"Hold on!"

Walter of Canes Venatici stopped him and added, "Let's look inside the temple first. We might find some more useful clues!"

Although Wuxin had already provided a lead, they had only just arrived and had not even entered the scene yet. There was no need to rush just yet.

"All right, then!" Mike dared not object.

Meanwhile, Wuxin smiled at the old man. "Thank you for your help, sir. I'll send you to Yomotsu now!"

As he spoke, he released two streams of Sekishiki, opening a passage to Yomotsu Hirasaka directly before him.

"Follow the call of the Underworld and keep walking forward. You'll enter the Underworld and set out on the path to reincarnation!" He gave the old man further directions, then dispersed the Sekishiki, releasing him completely.

"Thank you, thank you!"

The old man nodded, then eagerly slipped into the dimensional passage.

"I'll go back into the temple with you too!" Closing the passage, Wuxin turned and gestured to the two Saints.

Canes Venatici nodded without refusing.

Then, led by Wuxin, the three entered the temple and saw the priestess's horribly mutilated corpse.

"Outrageous! Bastards! This is unforgivable!!!"

The two Saints' anger flared once more. The already impatient Ursa Major, in particular, had gone red-eyed, with blood vessels visibly covering his eyes.

Wuxin could not help wondering whether another provocation might make his eyeballs explode with rage.

Then the two held back their anger and carefully examined the temple.

Unfortunately, just like Wuxin before them, they found no valuable clues beyond the bodily fluids left on the corpse.

"I think we should go to the tavern and find those three accomplices first! With them, we should be able to discover the fourth person's identity!" Wuxin suggested to the two.

"There's no rush. Perhaps I can find that man directly!"

Canes Venatici shook his head, then unhurriedly collected some of the bodily fluids the killer had left behind and said confidently, "Once someone leaves a scent, no one can escape a hound's pursuit!"

"Scent Tracking!"

As he spoke, he burned his Cosmo and activated his signature technique.

An enormous phantom hound appeared and carefully sniffed the traces on his fingertips.

Chapter 24: Capturing the Three

However, Walter of Canes Venatici's expression immediately changed again.

"How is that possible!"

Even after using his signature technique, he still could not detect any scent from the bodily fluids left by the killer.

Clearly, the man had been prepared, which was why he had deliberately left such clues for them.

Guessing that the tracking had failed, Wuxin sighed helplessly. "It looks like the tavern is our only remaining lead!"

Walter looked grim and nodded. "Let's go together!"

After making some inquiries, the three soon found the tavern where their three targets gathered.

Unfortunately, only Laus, the tavern owner, was inside. The other two were absent.

To avoid alerting their targets, Wuxin and the others did not act rashly. Instead, they concealed themselves and waited.

Only after night had fallen, past ten o'clock, when nearly all the tavern's customers had left, did two furtive figures enter through the back door, one after the other.

"All three targets are confirmed to be here. Should we move in and arrest them now?" Ursa Major Mike asked eagerly.

"Let's wait a little longer and see whether the hidden fourth person comes! I have a feeling he should be a big fish!" Walter of Canes Venatici said very seriously.

"I agree that we should wait!"

Wuxin voiced his agreement, then added, "I've roughly gauged the strength of the first three. They're all only at Bronze level, utterly unable to withstand a single blow."

"But we still know nothing about that hidden fourth person."

"If we act rashly and prompt him to ambush us from hiding, we'll be at a disadvantage!"

"Or if we happen to scare him off, that would be troublesome too!"

"Exactly. Until we confirm the fourth person's identity, we'd better not act!" Canes Venatici stressed once more.

With the two Silver Level Saints in agreement, Ursa Major dared not object and could only continue waiting patiently.

They waited nearly another two hours, until midnight. Eight-Finger and One-Eye were both thoroughly drunk and ready to leave the tavern, yet the hidden fourth person still had not appeared.

"It looks like that fellow won't be showing up today!" Wuxin shook his head.

"In that case, let's move!" Walter of Canes Venatici made his decision.

"I'll deal with Laus, the tavern owner!"

Having chosen his target, Wuxin leaped up and slipped through an open window on the tavern's second floor.

As for the remaining two, he left them to Canes Venatici and his companion.

Descending the stairs to the first floor, Wuxin immediately spotted Laus, the tavern owner, who was about to blow out the candles and head upstairs to rest.

Hearing his footsteps coming down the stairs, Laus turned in surprise and asked tentatively, "Honored guest, it's so late. Do you still want a drink?"

He had mistaken Wuxin for a traveler staying at the inn who had come downstairs for a drink.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not here to drink, Mr. Laus!" Wuxin found himself a stool and sat down, speaking at his leisure.

"Not here to drink? Then what would you like to do, sir?" Laus was somewhat puzzled.

For some reason, though, the young man before him looked unfamiliar. There did not seem to be a guest like him staying at the inn.

"I'm from Sanctuary..."

Before Wuxin could finish, the mere mention of "Sanctuary" made Laus's expression change drastically. As though realizing something, he lunged toward the door without looking back.

"Running? Do you think you can escape?"

Wuxin sneered and raised his right index finger.

"Sekishiki Meikai Ha!"

Two silver streams of energy shot from his fingertip, streaking toward Laus like a pair of nimble silver snakes.

Poor Laus was only at the level of an early-stage Bronze Saint. With the enormous gap in their strength, he had barely taken two steps before the Sekishiki pierced his chest from behind.

A half-translucent soul was pulled from Laus's body by Wuxin, while his soulless body toppled stiffly to the floor, unable to move again.

"You... you..."

His soul and body had been separated in a single move, leaving Laus's soul too shocked to speak.

By then, the battle outside had also ended. Walter of Canes Venatici and Ursa Major Mike entered the tavern with their two targets, closing the door behind them.

However, as Ursa Major Mike's opponent, One-Eyed Zack had suffered the worst luck.

The enraged Mike had not held back. He had broken all four of Zack's limbs and dragged him inside like a heap of sludge.

Walter of Canes Venatici threw the severely injured Six-Fingered Neil straight onto the floor and said sternly, "You evil wretches who desecrated the goddess, tell me exactly who that man who raped the temple priestess the night before last was, and where he is now!"

"As long as you give me what I want, I guarantee you a quick death. I won't torture you!"

Although Sanctuary represented justice, that did not mean it would not use torture.