It was quite skilled, managing to fly backward even under these circumstances.
Annoyed, He Lingchuan flicked his wrist and sent three flying daggers whistling through the air.
The crow leader dodged nimbly, avoiding two of them, but the third pierced its wing, pinning it to the wall with a solid thud!
Outside the window, a clamor of cawing erupted as more than a dozen crows tried to crash through the pane to rescue their leader.
However, a vigorous silhouette vaulted over the wall outside, snapping its wings wide as steel talons struck straight toward the flock.
Their natural predator had arrived.
Terrified, the crows scattered in all directions.
He Lingchuan reopened the window. Folding its wings in a neat midair roll, the goshawk slipped lightly inside beneath the frame.
It perched on the shelving rack, merely a foot away from the crow leader. A single thrust of its steel beak could bore right through the crow's head.
And it looked more than willing to do so.
Ignoring the noisy racket from the crows outside, He Lingchuan simply said to the crow leader, "Now, why don't you try naming your price again?"
"No need, no need!" However reluctant the crow leader was, the sight of the hawk's beak right beside it made its heart quiver in fear. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"
It let out two caws, and the crows outside quieted down, alighting in the trees and ceasing their commotion.
From start to finish, dealing with this murder of crows had taken He Lingchuan less than a dozen breaths—crisp and clean.
"About five or six days ago, my children found a lot of remains in the mountain forest. Some were human, some were beast," the crow leader said. "Or rather, likely demons."
"As you know, finding human or demon remains on their own isn't strange, but finding them mixed together is bizarre," it continued. "Among them were several wind-boring beasts."
"Where?"
"Zhitian Township, thirty-two li away." The crow leader tilted its head. "They were originally buried, but wild dogs seemed to have dug them back up. There were dog paw prints in the dirt nearby."
"Can you lead the way?"
"I can."
He Lingchuan pulled out the flying dagger and asked, "Since you had this lead, why didn't you report it to the authorities instead of sitting back and watching Wang Mazi wait for death?"
"Meat practically in our mouths—who'd push that away?" The crow leader flapped its wings, finding it could still fly. "Besides, the government... heh!"
It let out a cold sneer. "Half a year ago, Xiao Qi disappeared too. We reported it to the authorities, but the xianfu hasn't given us a reply to this day. They only work for humans; they never care whether we live or die!"
In the county seats of Beijia Kingdom, there was a special official post known as the xianfu, dedicated to handling demon affairs, including complaints, accusations, and the like.
The xianfu was held by a demon so that they could empathize with their own kind.
"You had a companion disappear half a year ago as well?" He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. "Had it turned into a demon?"
"Already turned," the crow boss answered truthfully. "It was blessed by that burst of Emperor's Flowing Dew late last year."
"The Emperor's Flowing Dew became a death warrant instead." He Lingchuan gave an understanding hum. "These bastards specifically hunt demons. Until they are rooted out, every one of you remains in danger."
This was a kingdom of demons, yet someone was brazen enough to capture demons right under their noses?
Once exposed, death nine times over would not atone for it.
"Specifically hunt demons?" The crow leader flapped its wings. "Don't try to fool me. Didn't they eat humans too?"
This fellow was not so easily duped. Not bothering to argue, He Lingchuan changed the subject: "Lead the way for me, and serve as my eyes and ears. As payment, you can collect a hundred jin of fresh beef and mutton and thirty Baoling Pills every month, continuously supplied for a year."
Had he said this before they came to blows, the crow leader would only have scoffed at his delusions. But now, it found the terms quite appealing. Having fresh beef and mutton to eat in winter when food was scarce—spared from digging through snow for scraps, pecking at unripe berries, or searching all over for frozen corpses—seemed blissful enough...
"Deal!" It handed He Lingchuan the feather struck down by the dagger as a token of pledge.
Ever since the incident at Three Hearts Plain, He Lingchuan had held no fond opinion of crows; they were truly greedy, snobbish opportunists. Yet he had to admit that their eyes and ears were everywhere.
He had even heard that Lingxu City possessed a Celestial Crow Legion dedicated solely to gathering intelligence.
With this flock of feather-brained guides secured, He Lingchuan set off immediately for Zhitian Township.
...
Zhitian Township lay thirty li northwest of Shuangyi Town.
As He Lingchuan traveled along the road, he noticed fewer and fewer grain fields by the wayside, replaced instead by diverse crops and... medicinal herbs.
"Eh?" He pointed toward the roadside plots. "Is that lingzhi?"
Didn't lingzhi mushrooms normally grow at the base of tree trunks? Why were they growing along field ridges here like wheat?
"This is Zhitian Township, after all." Jiao Yu the tiger was also seated inside the carriage, admiring the scenery while explaining to He Lingchuan. "They use cut timber logs to cultivate lingzhi."
Indeed, Zhitian Township was renowned across north-central Chiyan for cultivating spirit herbs, as could be gleaned from its very name.
"The earth energy here is exceptionally suited for growing spirit herbs. Thirty percent of all conventional medicinal herbs in Chiyan come from this place." Jiao Yu dug his paws into the floor and stretched lazily; the cramped carriage interior was hardly enough for him to extend his limbs.
He Lingchuan simply leaned against the tiger, treating him as a tiger-skin armchair. Ah, so comfortable! Self-heating and vibrating, too.
"Especially around certain thermal springs, the herbs grown there are one-of-a-kind throughout Chiyan."
Supplying thirty percent of Chiyan's medicinal herbs was an immense market share.
As they spoke, the carriage passed what looked to He Lingchuan like a series of greenhouses—sheds framed with bamboo and timber, covered in hemp cloth, and sealed with putty to trap heat.
The Yuan Kingdom had no such technique; Beijia truly had plenty of novel things.
"What are those?" he asked, unashamed to seek knowledge.
"Shedhouses," Jiao Yu answered. "Broiling stones are placed inside to keep the herbs warm."
So-called broiling stones were rocks that generated heat on their own. Pile them in a corner and splash a few ladles of water over them, and the place was guaranteed to become as hot as a sauna.
He Lingchuan chuckled. "It's the height of summer right now. With all that added heat, aren't they afraid of dehydrating the herbs?"
"Spirit herbs like Firecloud Pearls and Dragonflame Catalpas naturally grow around volcanic craters; transplanting them to flat ground requires keeping them warm." They wouldn't survive without a steady temperature above fifty degrees. "Though you're right—these shedhouses are also used to dehydrate and cure herbs."
He Lingchuan smiled. "Lord Jiao, you know all this like the back of your hand?"
Jiao Yu spoke without hesitation: "I served for a few years in the neighboring county. I know these parts and all the surrounding villages very well."
He held the rank of General of the Household of the Left, having gained practical experience here for a time prior to his promotion.
He Lingchuan nodded in understanding. That fellow Fu Shan had truly sent him a great helper—not only formidable in combat, but also well-versed in local affairs and customs, making it easy to liaise with local authorities.
Sure enough, none who could become crown prince was an easy mark—or rather, none of them was truly a reckless brute.
The goshawk perched atop the carriage roof. Terrified of it, the crow could only resign itself to riding on the horse's back, directing the coachman.
He Lingchuan had not expected General Ling to tag along again, though this time the general brought only a few guards.
Weren't big shots supposed to prefer sitting back at headquarters, sending subordinates out to gather intel? Why was this one doing the exact opposite? Still, looking at the countless scars covering General Ling, the beast clearly liked charging at the forefront of battle. It was probably just his nature.
The carriage soon veered off the main road and headed into the wilderness.
Zhitian Township was mountainous, featuring rolling hills, treacherous peaks, rift valleys, and stone forests—a living encyclopedia of geology.
The carriage wound through the towering mountains, the crow occasionally having to take to the sky and circle twice before confirming their bearings.
An hour later, the trail gave out, and the carriage could go no further.
He Lingchuan switched to riding his rock sheep, flanked by the tiger and the wind-boring beasts.
This was far faster than riding in a carriage, yet it still took more than two hours to reach the dumping ground the crow had mentioned.
It was a dense forest at the foot of the mountain, where sunlight could not penetrate at all.
A thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves covered the ground; stepping onto it sank down to the ankle, kicking up rotten leaves and black humus.
A heavy mustiness intertwined with damp air, forming an unpleasant, peculiar stench.
The large crow flew onto a stout branch and flapped its wings.
"We're here! This is the place!"
This was already on the shaded side of the mountain. The rocks were blanketed with moss, perpetually clammy to the touch.
He Lingchuan spotted a large pit at the base of tree roots, filled with a jumble of tangled remains.
The crow was right: this had originally been buried by someone, only to be dug up by wild dogs. Loose soil lay strewn about, covered in dog paw prints.
He leaned over to look down. The pit appeared only half-excavated, with many bones still buried beneath the earth.
This place was already a paradise for flies and mosquitoes; the moment they drew near, a buzzing cloud erupted into the air.
Of course, no insects dared approach He Lingchuan, as he wore the insect-repelling sachet gifted by Zhu Xiu'er. Even so, the subterranean air here was cold and damp, causing the corpses to decompose rapidly, giving off a particularly foul odor.
Had he not been baptized by scent buns, the Demon Nest, and various beast dens, He Lingchuan would likely have vomited on the spot from the stench.
Yet the tiger, goshawk, and crow did not care about the stench of rotting flesh. Jiao Yu even hopped down into the pit to keep digging, stopping only after uncovering two or three complete animal skeletons.
General Ling took a couple of looks and said sorrowfully,
"They truly are my boys."
Human skeletons offered little to identify, but General Ling recognized the remains of the wind-boring beasts at a glance.
"These lads served under me from early on. To think they didn't end up dying on the battlefield," but rather had their bones buried in the desolate wilderness without explanation.
He Lingchuan also hopped down into the pit to investigate, even reaching out to touch and pick through them. "Though there are signs of wild dogs gnawing on them, these remains look as if... uh..."
The goshawk perched nearby. "Digested?"
He Lingchuan snapped his fingers. "Exactly!"
Though buried under dirt for days, the surface of the remains was still somewhat sticky. The flesh and blood were completely gone, leaving only bones, fur, and hair compressed into crumpled wads.
Even wild dogs scavenging remains could never pick them so clean, not to mention that several corpses deeply buried and untouched by dogs were in the exact same state.
The goshawk had described it so accurately because the pellets regurgitated or excreted by raptors after digestion looked roughly like this.
Furious, General Ling swung his head, his massive horns snapping a sapling in half. "When I find the culprit, I will trample him into paste!"
"So our target is a demon with a monstrous appetite, capable of swallowing over a dozen humans and seven or eight wethers in one go. And then it traveled thirty or forty li just to find a toilet?" He Lingchuan asked the goshawk, "Among birds of prey, is there any glutton like that?"
Chapter 448