Wined and Dined

Mobility this exceptional seemed like something only fliers could achieve. The goshawk immediately dismissed the thought. "There are some, but none would do such a thing." "Oh?" He Lingchuan's curiosity was piqued. "Are you referring to some demon king?" "The Ruler of Shanyu is a red-crested giant eagle who once set a record by consuming an entire elephant, though even he didn't swallow it whole. In addition, National Preceptor Mianbing, who presides over the Winter Palace, is a snow luan, and supposedly can manifest a colossal form," said the goshawk. "Beyond those two, I can't think of a third." Though those two possessed such power, their exalted status made it practically impossible for them to slip into Chiyan Kingdom just to commit murder. The goshawk continued, "Spiritual energy is thin these days; it is difficult for avian tribes to produce giants anymore." The larger a demonic beast's body was, the denser the spiritual energy required to sustain it. Present conditions fell far short; this was no longer the era of colossal demons from antiquity or the early Middle Ancient era. Even the Ruler of Shanyu and National Preceptor Mianbing relied on the nourishment of immense origin power to sustain such forms. "Then it must be a land-bound demon." Jiao Yu chimed in with his thoughts. "And it might not be just one." "True," He Lingchuan mused. "They committed the crime at Mount Niutou, so why go out of their way to dump the cargo here?" "Remains left deep in the wilderness are hard to detect," Jiao Yu replied. "Besides, this is already within the boundaries of Baishi County. Even if the bones were discovered, the county has no reported missing persons, so they most likely wouldn't bother investigating thoroughly." Outsiders and passing demons who died in the wilderness were left unheeded by anyone. This was true not only in Beijia, but across every kingdom under heaven. Aside from local officials being reluctant to care, it was objectively difficult to trace. Information between prefectures and counties moved slowly and sparsely; how could they easily coordinate cross-jurisdictional investigations? The culprit understood this very well, which was why they exploited the loophole to dump the corpses across county borders. "Just for that?" He Lingchuan agreed with the logic, yet doubts lingered. "This spot is already quite far from the county border. Deep mountains and old forests are everywhere, so why venture this deep just to dump the bodies?" "In your view?" He Lingchuan stood up and looked around. "This place sees no sunlight year-round, the earth energy is damp, and the rocks are dripping wet. It's likely an environment the killer favors. Don't forget, its previous appearances all took place on rainy nights." "Even if this creature commits crimes all over the place, it must have a regular lair, wouldn't it?" "You mean its lair is nearby?" "Otherwise, why would it come all the way here to excrete?" He Lingchuan said. "If you lived on the east side of the county, would you run all the way to the west side just to take a dump?" "...I don't have that hobby." Jiao Yu tilted his head and sniffed the air, looking around. "Beneath the stench of rotting corpses, there's also a faint, rank fishiness." "Pity you weren't there the day the sheep thief stole the rock sheep." He Lingchuan jumped back up to level ground, fetched a waterskin to wash his hands, and deliberately scrubbed them several times with scented soap, lest the stench of death cling to his skin. "By the way, whose sense of smell is sharper—yours or Fu Shanyue's?" Jiao Yu paused, thought for a moment, and said, "The Young Master should still have the edge." He Lingchuan then took the slime-coated branch from his storage ring. "Give it a sniff. Is it this scent?" The tiger stepped forward and took a careful sniff, his snout nearly brushing the wood. He Lingchuan believed his words; from this posture alone, it was clear that a ba's sense of smell was even sharper. Finally, the tiger confirmed with certainty, "Yes, that's it!" He Lingchuan let out a long breath. Well then, so the killer was the true sheep thief after all. Official duties and personal grudges could indeed be settled in one stroke, and Fu Shanyue hadn't entrusted the wrong man. After a brief contemplation, he said, "Since we're already here, I want to take a look at that porcupine den." "Mount Yulun?" Jiao Yu had been present during Wang Mazi's interrogation, so he knew what He Lingchuan meant. "It's on the other side of Zhitian Township. It's getting dark—should we find lodging in the township for the night?" "Yes." So far, they had gathered plenty of information, but He Lingchuan knew all too well that their investigation lacked the single most vital element: A breakthrough. The culprit acted with immense stealth. Though clues had been left behind, they were not enough to track it down. Why was this demon roaming all across Chiyan, devouring humans and demons alike? Was it merely to fill its belly? ... The revenue of Zhitian Township alone accounted for two-thirds of all Baishi County. Consequently, the county yamen of Baishi County was established directly in Youtian Town within Zhitian Township to facilitate administrative affairs. Dusk had already fallen when He Lingchuan entered the town. The streets and alleys of Youtian Town were noticeably more orderly than those of Shuangyi Town, with lanterns hanging beneath roadside trees to illuminate the way for night travelers. Lanterns glowed in every household. As He Lingchuan walked down the street, the rich aroma of food constantly drifted past, accompanied by the chatter of people in the lanes. Large manors were numerous here, some occupying impressive expanses of land, with smooth exterior walls and finely crafted eaves tiles—clearly home to wealthy families. The tiger, Jiao Yu, explained to him, "Most of the townsfolk grow medicinal herbs. A few prominent families who struck it rich in the herb trade bought land and built these manors." A town's ecosystem was simple: some planted, some gathered and bought, and some transported outward. That was how wealth and goods circulated. Yet He Lingchuan asked: "Where do the demons live?" "Most reside in the mountain forests bordering the town," Jiao Yu answered. "Demons who partner with humans to cultivate herbs live inside these estates as well." There were several inns in town. Now that He Lingchuan could expense his travel costs, he naturally picked the largest and most expensive one. The guest rooms had a distinctive layout, designed as self-contained little courtyards. Inside the lightwell stood an old tree stump overgrown with purple ganoderma and white spirit mushrooms. How could the crow dare compete with the goshawk for the stump? It had no choice but to settle into a tree in the yard. Once checked in, He Lingchuan said to Jiao Yu, "I'll have to trouble Lord Jiao to make a trip to the county yamen and notify the authorities of the case we're handling." Jiao Yu nodded. "You're right. These cases are tricky, and cooperation from the local magistrates is indispensable." He was gone for half an hour. When Jiao Yu returned, however, he brought back an invitation: The County Magistrate of Baishi was hosting a banquet for the special envoy and General Ling, earnestly requesting the honor of their presence. He Lingchuan rubbed his belly, stood up at once, and readily agreed. "Great. It just so happens I haven't had dinner yet." Night had fallen long ago, yet he hadn't ordered a bite; Jiao Yu suspected he had been holding out for this very meal. The feast was held at the town's finest restaurant, Xihong Tower. The Baishi magistrate stood waiting at the entrance with seven or eight men. Seeing He Lingchuan and the others arrive, he immediately hurried forward to receive them. "This must be the Crown Prince's special envoy! Greetings, General Ling, Lord Jiao, and Lord Wu!" "Lord Wu" referred to the goshawk. When it came to social formalities, He Lingchuan was exceptionally seasoned. Greeting each other like old friends who hadn't met in years, they exchanged polite pleasantries before heading upstairs to take their seats. After toasting He Lingchuan with a cup of wine, the Baishi magistrate introduced the men beside him. "These gentlemen are local luminaries of Zhitian Township. Hearing that the envoy and General Ling had graced us with your presence, they all wished to pay their respects." Whenever he mentioned the envoy, he made sure to include General Ling as well, showing proper deference to the old sheep. General Ling merely grunted, lowering his head to drink while paying little heed to anyone else. The cups used by humans were too small, so he insisted on large sea bowls; with a single dip of his snout, he could lap up half a bowl of wine. The magistrate seemed thoroughly accustomed to his demeanor, introducing each guest to He Lingchuan one by one as they raised their cups in turn. These so-called "local luminaries" were simply the wealthy landowners and prominent merchants of Zhitian Township. Needless to say, they were the ones footing the bill for this feast. They represented the pinnacle of Zhitian Township's financial might. He Lingchuan looked around the table—every single one was human. Cups clinked in festive toasts as dishes were served in an endless stream. The restaurants here also showcased Zhitian Township's specialties, famed for their medicinal cuisine: blood vine stewed with aged crab, eucommia stir-fried with sheep kidney, fleeceflower-root flash-fried liver slices, crispy deep-fried earth ginseng... He Lingchuan suspected that if an ordinary person ate their way through this entire table of medicinal tonic dishes, their nose would bleed from the sheer heat. Fortunately, the drink served at the banquet was a sweet rice wine rather than medicinal liquor—warm, mellow, smooth going down, and soothing the internal fire. Jiao Yu had already relayed the details of the case to the Baishi magistrate earlier. At this point, the magistrate turned to He Lingchuan and said, "To report to the envoy: this official has already ordered the wind-boring beast case to be logged into the records, and we are cross-referencing past dossiers to see if any new leads turn up." The local gentry all chimed in, "None of us imagined such a dreadful thing could happen in Zhitian Township." "That demon is truly audacious, arrogant to the extreme!" He Lingchuan asked the crowd, "Has Zhitian Township never reported any missing persons?" Everyone shook their heads. "Not in recent years." "No abnormalities in daily life either?" Looking at one another, they shook their heads again. "Farming in the fields and countryside has gone on as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary at all." He Lingchuan then said to the Baishi magistrate, "Tomorrow, I would like to visit the porcupine den at the foot of Mount Yulun." "The porcupine den?" The magistrate was visibly surprised. "No one has set foot there in a very long time. Could that matter have some connection to the missing couriers?" "If there were no connection, I wouldn't be here." He Lingchuan's calm remark sent a chill down the magistrate's spine. "I hear that last year, an entire den of porcupines died in their underground burrow, a rather bizarre affair," General Ling said, his tone blunt and unfriendly. "Was there no thorough investigation into that?" "Heavy snow had sealed the mountains back then, and the villagers only discovered them the following spring. The demon den had been crushed by falling boulders from above, which was presumed to be the cause of death," the magistrate explained. "All of this is recorded in the archives; the envoy is welcome to examine them." "What do you mean by 'presumed'?" General Ling said displeasedly. "Either it was or it wasn't! Did you not dispatch a coroner at the time?" "We did, we did! I sent the best coroner in the county," the magistrate replied hurriedly, desperate to deflect any blame. "But an entire winter and spring had passed, and the remains were already rotted to bone. Truly nothing else could be determined." He sighed softly. "Just a den of porcupines... how could they possibly be tied to Lingxu City?" He Lingchuan didn't answer, asking instead, "I hear these porcupines were quite unpopular in the township?" "Mm, they were indeed not well-liked," one of the local gentry spoke up. "Two water sources in Zhitian Township flow through their territory first before reaching our fields. Those porcupines were always making up excuses to cut off our water." "Did it ever come to blows?" The men exchanged glances once more before another member of the gentry said slowly, "They were local tyrants. They injured quite a few people, were hauled into court, and ended up paying compensation, but none of us could truly do anything about them. The xianfu mediated for us many times, and in the end, it was always us who made concessions." General Ling sneered. "Concessions? If you ask me, the ones suffering the quiet losses were definitely those porcupines. You humans are slicker than monkeys." The merchant parted his lips to argue, but someone beside him tugged at his sleeve, silencing him. Why argue with a formidable demon? He Lingchuan asked again, "What was the root cause of the conflict?" This time, the gentry remained silent. The Baishi magistrate cleared his throat with a dry cough. "Still the water sources."