A Tower of Severed Heads
Ye Pinglin isn't actually a loud and boisterous person.
After experiencing such a great upheaval as the destruction of his family, this young man once again shouldered the burden of his father and grandfather, becoming the youngest head of the Ye Household to date.
He always possesses a maturity and sophistication that belies his age.
If something can scare him like this, then it must be something serious.
Kang Dabao wasn't in a hurry. He guided Ye Pinglin to calm down first. The young man took a sip of cold tea and then calmly explained the situation in a Three Words.
After listening carefully, Kang Dabao thought for a while before frowning and saying, "Come on, take me to see it."
Before leaving, he also called on the Lu Household and Xue Household who were in charge of things in the market. The group had only walked less than half a mile from Chongming Market when Kang Dabao saw a group of people gathered together on the only road leading to the market, as if they were discussing something.
After leading the group for only a few dozen steps, the surrounding discussions began to reach the ears of Sect Leader Kang Da.
"Having heard that Chongming Market wouldn't charge stall fees, Huang Erlang traveled such a long way from White Sand County to come here. Unexpectedly, he didn't earn many Spirit Stones, and instead was harmed by Evil Cultivator here."
"Old Zhao did the same. To get some medicinal herbs to help his grandson Drawing Spirit into the Body, he endured the wind and sun in the market for half a month, not even daring to drink a bowl of spiritual tea during that time. And what did he do? He lost his head here. Poor thing."
"And this Young Brother Jiao, I heard he came out to visit his father."
Most of the onlookers were Rogue Cultivator, and most of those being watched were also independent cultivators.
Upon seeing Kang Dabao arrive, the onlookers, considering the prestige of the market magistrate of Chongming Market and the head of the Chongming Sect, made way for him to pass.
"Tsk." Kang Dabao's face darkened after seeing the scene before him.
The six heads were cleaned thoroughly and then neatly arranged into a three-tiered tower, each with its eyes wide open, staring straight at the entrance of Chongming Market.
The instigator clearly had nothing urgent to do, as he had the leisure to apply makeup and give the six heads a makeover.
Among those who lost their heads were men, women, young and old, from Haibei. They all had one thing in common: they were all rogue Rogue Cultivator who had been to Chongming Market.
"No wonder, they probably resent the Daoist priest for 'killing their parents'," Kang Dabao thought to himself.
The onlookers didn't look too good when they saw Kang Dabao. While not everyone among cultivators was exceptionally intelligent, there were certainly few fools among them.
Even in large, celestial cities like Xuanwei City and Han City, it was not uncommon for rogue Rogue Cultivator to be killed by Evil Cultivator as soon as they left the city.
However, Evil Cultivator who harm others usually only destroy the evidence after robbing the body; they don't bother to build a mound of corpses to frighten people.
Why scare people, and who is being frightened?
If anyone can understand these two key points, it won't be hard to guess why this Evil Cultivator was killing people.
People feel sorry for their own kind. Don't underestimate these Rogue Cultivators who seem as insignificant as weeds. The Chongming Market is able to make a living because of them.
If this incident really scares them so much that they dare not come again, then the market that Sect Leader Kang Da spent so much effort to set up will probably be shut down the very next day!
"Fellow Daoists, please rest assured, I, Kang, will definitely give you an explanation for this matter." Kang Dabao clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the crowd.
The other Rogue Cultivator remained indifferent upon hearing this, showing no faith in Sect Leader Kang Da's promise.
In this world, everyone has heard plenty of nice words.
With just empty words, who can you fool? Do you really think we Rogue Cultivator are some foolish men who don't eat cake?
Seeing everyone's reaction, Kang Dabao became anxious and frowned.
Aside from having people help collect the remains of the murdered Rogue Cultivator and sending more people to gather information, he had no other good solutions in the face of such a predicament.
Fortunately, he at least knew where he could get reliable information.
Over the next ten days, business at the market declined more and more each day.
Not to mention that fewer and fewer Rogue Cultivator dare to come to the market, even those who urgently need Spirit Stone and are reluctant to leave are always frowning, as if a cold knife is hanging behind each of their necks.
Kang Dabao had even heard warnings from outsiders, such as "Remember to take a detour when passing through Chongming Market."
Whether such words were deliberately spread by some people, spontaneously advised by independent Rogue Cultivator, or a combination of both, it doesn't matter.
The key issue is how to restore the reputation of Chongming Market as quickly as possible.
This matter not only worried the four local businesses on Cold Crow Mountain, but also the other merchants in the market.
The forces behind everyone have poured in glittering Spirit Stone; if they all perish here, it certainly won't be good for anyone's future.
The Kuai Household was the most anxious, and Kuai Wu, the head of the Kuai Household, rushed over from Tanggu County overnight upon hearing the news.
The Kuai Household wasn't exactly wealthy, and after being bewitched by the man surnamed Kang, Kuai Wu invested most of his fortune in the Chongming Market. How could he not be anxious?
Kuai Wu has been here for eight days, and he has held eight large and small meetings with the stewards of various households.
Kuai Wu frantically pressured each household to send people, forming a patrol team that caused quite a stir in the neighborhood.
In just a few days, they searched through several dense forests in the surrounding mountains multiple times, almost like they were conducting a thorough search of the mountains and seas.
Although Kuai Wu was very enthusiastic, and the patrol teams composed of cultivators from various sects were indeed working hard, the Evil Cultivator were not fools.
At this critical moment, not only those who have harmed others know to hide, but even those who haven't yet had a chance to harm anyone know to endure it and keep their heads down for the time being.
So after all this trouble and effort, the patrol team still couldn't find the culprit, let alone any easy target Evil Cultivator.
All talk and no action
Amidst their tension, the Rogue Cultivator still making a living in Chongming Market began to laugh at the patrol team again.
It seems that they feel genuinely happy whenever they see others doing useless work or suffering bad luck.
Even if the Evil Cultivator who could threaten his personal safety were still at large, and even if the steel knife hanging over the back of his neck was still gleaming coldly, it was as if they had nothing to do with him.
That's how they are—sometimes shrewd, sometimes foolish; sometimes cunning, sometimes kind.
Or rather, most people in this world are like that.
Just when the search for the real culprit had made no progress, and the people in the market were filled with fear, causing all the businesses to decline.
The news that Sect Leader Kang Da had sent someone to inquire about finally arrived.
Thank you to the user "A Dream of Cultivating Immortality" for the 200 coins, and thank you to the users "Lingyun Jushi" and "Outsider" for the 100 coins each.
Thank you to Nakano July and Albert_Newton for their Extended Net Moon, and thank you to JianV, Book Friend 20221105004927702, Chaohu Daxia, Jianghu Yiren Fan Xiaosi, Xingyao Sifang, and Guying Mufeng for their Extended Net Moon.
Thank you everyone!