The moonlight was like water on this night.
Fang Yuan walked on the empty street, his footsteps slightly heavy but filled with determination.
He simply repeated his interaction with Tie Xue Leng earlier.
The purpose was to give Tie Xue Leng the impression that he had a 'demonic nature' and to let him plant a hidden tracking Gu on him as well.
"Now is a race against time. But, Mo faction's recruitment, I can make good use of it." Not long ago in the Mo faction pavilion, Fang Yuan had given absurd demands. In return for marrying Mo Yan, he wanted a hundred thousand primeval stones, ten rare Gu worms and each at least Rank three.
This enraged Gu Yue Mo Chen.
He was already marrying off his treasured granddaughter, yet Fang Yuan kept demanding more.
Such brazen greed was the final straw.
The talk broke down, and he drove Fang Yuan out.
Fang Yuan left without hesitation.
He understood Mo Chen's motives and knew he would eventually give in. These outrageous demands were just tactics to bargain—offering little when buying and asking much when selling.
"But I can also sell some information to the Mo faction, although this will definitely cause changes and shift the timeline, possibly triggering an internal faction war within the clan. I am willing to take that risk, as this place will soon cease to exist, and I will gain more benefit one last time from the clan or more specifically, from the Mo faction themselves." A cold gleam flickered in Fang Yuan's eyes, he was ready to use everyone around him.
Gu Yue village's politics had shifted.
The clan leader remained strong. Among the two main elders, Gu Yue Chi Lian had died, but the Chi faction still survived through Chi Cheng and Elder Chi Zhong.
Meanwhile, the Mo faction had lost its heir, and Mo Chen, now crippled at Rank two, couldn't even hold onto his elder status.
Both once-powerful factions were in decline.
In contrast, the medicine faction, made up mostly of healing Gu Masters, had suffered few losses and retained most of its strength. They were ready to rise.
Though the medicine faction was originally tied to the clan leader, it now had enough power to stand on its own. Whether Gu Yue Yao Ji chose independence or allegiance, to grow stronger, they had to seize territory and resources.
The weakened Chi and Mo factions were perfect targets.
If they didn't act now, it would be far harder once those factions recovered and reorganized.
The next day.
"What? You said that the person who murdered Jia Jin Sheng had already been found and was killed already?" Tie Ruo Nan felt extremely perturbed.
This morning, she had woken up early and officially started to solve the case. But to think that the first information she got, was that the killer had already been sentenced.
"That's right, the killer is a demonic Gu Master. He once assassinated our clan's rising star and tried to kill the genius, thus he was killed on the spot." A clan elder provided the information.
"Is that really so? Did he admit personally that he was Jia Jing Sheng's killer?" Tie Ruo Nan frowned deeply. Beside her, Tie Xue Leng wore a copper mask as he stood like a statue.
"He didn't. But, if it's not him, who else could it be?" The clan elder shrugged.
Tie Ruo Nan thought internally, "This is all an assumption, there is no real proof. But whether it is the truth or not, this demonic Gu Master has to be investigated clearly. Most likely, this is a lead that will bring us to the truth!"
Thinking of this, Tie Ruo Nan raised her head abruptly, "Where is he buried? I want to inspect the corpse!"
Inside a simple, battered coffin lay a corpse.
The stench was overwhelming, driving the clan servants and Gu Masters to flee in disgust.
The Tie father and daughter remained unbothered. Tie Ruo Nan's eyes lit up as she eagerly reached out to examine the body.
A corpse held countless clues—sometimes a single wound could expose the killer.
This one had many injuries, but the face was still recognizable, and the clothes were intact.
Tie Ruo Nan inspected it for a long time before finally standing, still intrigued.
"Anything?" Tie Xue Leng asked lightly, testing her secretly.
"Gu Yue clan thinks this person is Jia Jin Sheng's killer, thus they kept the corpse well. There's a huge problem in this corpse," Tie Ruo Nan answered.
"He's a middle-aged man, right arm thicker than the left; both his hands have a thick callus. Seeing how his callus is distributed, they are uneven. There are many injuries on his body, numerous fatal wounds, showing the intense battle he had before death. But on his body there are also a lot of hidden injuries, especially his left foot having three less toes, this is left behind from many years ago."
Saying so, she continued deducing, "He was most likely a hunter. There are many evidences – his disproportional left and right side and the callus on his hands shows that he's an experienced bowman. There are many injures made by wild beasts on his body, like claw marks and bites, showing he often fought against beasts. His clothes are not the traditional Gu Master clothes, and his shoes are even more interesting, weaved from bamboo hemp grass. This kind of grass only grows near Qing Mao bamboo, and Qing Mao mountain only produces Qing Mao bamboo; other than that, in the surrounding mountains, there is no bamboo hemp grass.
"So what are you getting at?" Tie Xue Leng pursued.
"Before this person became a demonic Gu Master, he was a hunter. From his clothes, he was most likely a resident hunter on Qing Mao mountain," Tie Ruo Nan's eyes shone brightly.
"Why do you think he is a resident here? If it is the grass shoes, he could've killed the villagers here and worn them," Tie Xue Leng rebuked.
"That's not it. The most special part of his clothes is the shoes, because if they were taken by force, most would not fit his size perfectly. But look at this, two disproportionate legs and yet the shoes fit nicely, this is made just for him. He has three less toes on his left foot, thus the left grass shoe is shorter. His stump is very cleanly cut and sharp. I assume it is most likely due to stepping on a trap by mistake," Tie Ruo Nan said.
Tie Xue Leng did not deny it nor confirm it, and did not even give any criticism. Like what he said earlier, he left it to Tie Ruo Nan to solve the case.
Tie Ruo Nan continued saying, "With this conjecture, we can go to the surrounding hamlets and investigate. We might find more clues… wait!"
Just as she was about to speak, the girl's expression froze.
She suddenly recalled that Qing Mao mountain had suffered a wolf tide disaster. Even the villages were devastated, let alone the hamlets.
She realized there was little chance of learning the man's identity this way.
"But even if the chances are slim, as long as there is a possibility for success, I must try!" It was the young girl's first individual case, and she was full of drive.
But half a day passed, and she returned empty-handed. This wolf tide was the largest and most horrifying one yet. So many hamlets had zero survivors, and this brought great trouble to her investigations.
"This lead is gone. What are you going to do next?" Tie Xue Leng asked at an appropriate time.
The young girl gritted her teeth, and in her tone there was stubbornness and tenacity, "No, it is not over yet. Father, you said it yourself, the true lead is often hidden more deeply, and as long as we continue to excavate, it will appear."
"This demonic Gu Master's death is strange. Firstly, why did he assault Fang Zheng? What did Fang Zheng do to offend him, causing him to assassinate him with his life, under the situation which was basically an assured death? Moreover, he is a local, but after his death, why did no one recognise him?"
Hearing her words, Tie Xue Leng was a little surprised.
"Child, you have truly grown up," the divine investigator sighed, and in his tone there was contentment and gratification.
Next the duo, went and look for Fang Zheng .
"You're asking me why that Gu Master came to kill me? How would I know!" Facing Tie Ruo Nan's questioning, Fang Zheng blinked innocently.
"If you have done something, I hope you won't conceal the truth. Because your words, even though they might seem insignificant, can have great help towards solving the case," the young girl said sincerely.
Fang Zheng shook his head. "I'm very perplexed too. During that period, I was cultivating non-stop, so how could I attract any assassinations? But afterwards, the people around me realized that this demonic Gu Master could have been hired by the other two clans, to kill a rising star like myself. You also know the rivalry between us and the Bai clan and Xiong clan. Especially the Xiong clan, they are the greatest suspects as they had once recruited demonic Gu Masters into their clan."
"Xiong clan huh…" Tie Ruo Nan became a little discouraged after hearing this, since the Xiong clan had already been eliminated by the wolf tide. It seems that this lead is lost as well.
Suddenly, murmurs came from outside the room.
"Quick, look there, isn't that people from the Xiong clan?"
"I thought the Xiong clan was exterminated, how can there be any envoys coming here?!"
Xiong clan envoy's appearance caused a vivid discussion among the village, as people talked with one another.
Soon, news came from the clan leader pavilion.
"Xiong clan still has a large number of survivors."
"They retreated on their own, using a Gu that their ancestor left behind, concealing many people at the same time, cheating death!"
"These scumbags, retreating and avoiding battle, causing the wolf tide to come to us."
"Hmph, these Xiong clan people may look rough and large, but their hearts are devious on the inside. Wanting to borrow the power of the wolf tide to weaken us, they are too despicable!"