CHAPTER 57: INVESTIGATION

Pine Town was a small settlement, barely qualified to be labeled as a town. Everybody knew everybody and their ancestors. So the few frequent disappearances had raised quite a storm.

Some people even wanted to leave the town and come back after the problem was solved. The town chief was definitely not in his best mood, which was apparent from the conversation Han Xuhan had with him.

Mu Ran didn’t seem to think that he needed the help of mortals to catch the demonic cultivators. So he had sent Han Xuhan on behalf of the sect to meet with the authority figures of the town while he went to visit the places where the recent disappearances had taken place.

From the town chief’s account, Han Xuhan learned that most of the disappearances had happened on a route near the town that went through a medium-sized, dense stretch of woods. At this point, going near that place by themselves was synonymous with a suicidal move for the townsfolk.

At the end of their discussion, the town chief called for someone from inside his house upon hearing that Han Xuhan planned to visit the route immediately.

"This is my nephew, Shen Kai. He’s very familiar with the town’s layout and has cultivated a bit too. So he’ll be a great help to your investigation."

The slightly older youth who came out from the town chief’s house looked rather unassuming, with reverence bursting out from his gaze. His eyes were glued to the badge of the Crimson Snow sect on Han Xuhan’s robe.

"Fellow cultivator, I’m an admirer of the crimson snow sect!" He opened the conversation in an enthusiastic tone.

"I wanted to be a cultivator so badly that even when I was thrown out of the recruitment process due to having little talent, I sold half of my assets and bought one of the cultivation techniques sold in an auction run by the sect.

"Despite the lack of my talent, I’ve done my best to cultivate and reached the fourth layer of that technique last month. If I may ask, what is the level of your cultivation?"

"Ah, that certainly is an encouraging story. Not bad, not bad at all!"

Nodding like a senior evaluating a child’s academic performance, Han Xuhan fixed the flattest glare he could muster at him.

It instantly squashed the enthusiasm of the young man. Perhaps he realized that he had made a wrong move, because he immediately pretended that the last ten seconds hadn’t happened and started speaking again, very respectfully.

"Fellow cultivator, It’s such an honor to be able to assist the Crimson Snow Sect in squashing those demonic cultivators! With you here, I don’t believe those criminals can get away! Let’s set off and catch those bastards, shall we?"

Han Xuhan couldn’t help but praise this fellow cultivator’s quick thoughts. What a smart lad!

The two of them first met up with Mu Ran outside the town, who looked a bit impatient for some reason. After the introduction was over, Shen Kai led them toward the main site of crime. While trailing behind him, Han Xuhan found a suitable chance to interrogate Mu Ran without being overheard.

"Did you discover anything? Any clues?"

"Not exactly. There were no hints of evil rituals around the places I visited. But there is this odd feeling I’ve been experiencing for a while now. It’s like someone has been watching us since we’ve entered the town. I think, we’re being followed..."

Han Xuhan couldn’t think of anyone who might have any motive to follow them, except for the malicious forces plaguing the town.

So Mu Ran’s vague answer boosted his vigilance to the maximum.

He was mentally prepared for some sort of conflict to take place, but his inexperience was something he couldn’t deny. Never having been in real mortal danger where the enemy was unknown made his heart beat incredibly fast. His limbs kept twitching from nervousness.

Taking a few deep breaths, he started planning for unforeseeable circumstances in the near future.

After walking for nearly an hour at a moderate pace through the desolate woods, Han Xuhan realized that they had made a rookie mistake. The sun was about to set. The night would be a dangerous time to go sniffing around for clues of their enemies.

Neither he nor Mu Ran was familiar with the terrain here. And Shen Kai had no strong obligation to help them fight off demonic cultivators if they were ambushed in the dark.

He immediately raised his concern to Mu Ran. Mu Ran awkwardly patted him on his back and seemed to have made a resolve in his mind.

"Underling Xuhan, if things take a turn for the worst in the jungle, you should run."

"But boss, we can just walk back right now and return tomorrow..."

"We could. But think about it, underling. When is the best time to catch these evildoers? After the whole town has been informed of our arrival? Under bright daylight? You don’t really think they’d reveal themselves in front of everybody, right?

"This is a sacrifice we have to make in order to bait them out and catch them off guard. We must seize the initiative! Right now, we may appear to be the prey, but we can very well be the predator!"

Han Xuhan distinctly felt that Mu Ran’s logic was a bit off. He had been rushing everything ever since learning about this mission, disregarding even the basic cautionary steps. Did Mu Ran know something that he hadn’t told him?

But he decided not to complicate things by starting an argument right now. Moreover, just because Mu Ran was boasting about fighting the enemy, it didn’t mean Han Xuhan was obliged to participate if a fight really broke out. He was prepared fully to sprint away at the first sign of trouble.

Han Xuhan moved toward Shen Kai, their guide. Shen Kai looked slightly confused at his sudden approach.

"Fellow cultivator Shen Kai, let’s discuss some strategies and the clues in our hands."

He nodded immediately, seeming eager.

"According to the town chief, there is no particular pattern to the disappearances, except that quite a few of the victims were not very well-liked in the town, right?

"He told me that among the first few incidents of disappearance, almost all of them were despised due to their characters and misconduct. Some had a history of cruelty, some were known for harming their relatives and neighbors, and one guy was an infamous lecher."

Of course, this wasn’t exactly a major clue that could help them find the trails of the evildoers. This was the town chief’s personal opinion.

The chief seemed to have kept his opinion a secret from his own nephew as well, judging by the surprised look on the young man’s face. In fact, he didn’t just look surprised, he became indignant on behalf of the people.

"Representative Han, the chief really said such a thing? This... I really don’t know what to say now. The insinuation is terrible.

"The victims might have been disliked by many townsfolk. But that doesn’t mean anyone would hate them so much as to kidnap or kill them in secret. Almost everyone here has a family. The small disagreements between folks wouldn’t ever reach the point of such cruelty."

Shen Kai’s answer was quite the eye-opener. He didn’t seem to have an iota of suspicion toward the townsfolk regarding these incidents.

Han Xuhan also couldn’t think of any particular motive that could fuel the townsfolk’s hatred toward the victims either.

Feeling vexed, Han Xuhan continued to converse with Shen Kai, discussing smaller clues found around the disappearance sites.

There was another important clue that had been discovered by a rogue cultivator who was passing through the town a few days ago.

One of the victims was a rich merchant who had hired three cultivators as his bodyguards. His carriage had been found empty just outside the town where he was planning to build a villa.

Hearing the news, the rogue cultivator had come to take a look. She had found signs of a battle between low-level cultivators, marked by the trace of a technique that didn’t match any orthodox Mystic Arts. After informing the town chief about this, she had left in a hurry, clearly fearful.

This clue gave birth to the popular opinion that behind this incident was the hand of some demonic cultivators.