Chapter 422 - 256: Questioning (2)

Chapter 422: Chapter 256: Questioning (2)

"Of course, of course," Liu De said earnestly. "If the Immortal Master wishes to investigate, please, by all means. I will wait here for you all day."

"Alright."

"I’ll be taking my leave, then."

With that, Su Xing departed for the destination Liu De had described. The Purple Bamboo Forest was indeed a mystical place. It was filled with dense thickets of purple bamboo, giving it an atmosphere entirely different from anywhere else.

Soon, Su Xing arrived at a clearing.

’This must be the place Liu De was talking about.’

’This place is large, but there’s only one path in and out. It’s clearly an isolated spot. A good place for a murder, indeed.’

Su Xing surveyed his surroundings, his mind already at work. He replayed the details of Liu De’s account, mentally organizing the clues. It seemed almost certain that Tong Yinyin had killed Elder Lou with her own hands.

’And yet...’

As Su Xing thought it over, he noticed some inconsistencies. First, there was the large flock of crows. Perhaps they were used as a distraction, killing Elder Lou before he could even react. This would also ensure the body remained intact. But this raised a question.

How did these crows follow Tong Yinyin to the Purple Bamboo Forest? The villagers of Tianming Village weren’t blind or deaf. As for spatial teleportation...

Su Xing knew very well...

Spatial teleportation could only transport oneself.

Creatures like crows, even if turned into puppets by Tong Yinyin, would likely disintegrate upon contact with the void.

Therefore, there was only one way the crows could have gotten here: they were already lying in wait in the Purple Bamboo Forest before Elder Lou arrived, setting the stage for his assassination.

But to set up an ambush in advance, even with Tong Yinyin and Li Ye’s Extraordinary skills, they would have needed sufficient intelligence. At the very least, they had to know when Elder Lou would come to the Purple Bamboo Forest in Tianming Village. But...

Elder Lou was an elder of the Cyan Cloud Sect. How could Tong Yinyin possibly know his whereabouts? ’Could it be that Elder Lou came to Tianming Village often? Is there some kind of pattern to his visits?’

Su Xing thought it through in detail. He didn’t jump to conclusions. Instead, he looked around the area once more, then decided to return to Tianming Village and ask Liu De if there was any pattern to Elder Lou’s visits.

With this in mind, Su Xing immediately left the Purple Bamboo Forest and returned to Tianming Village. Perhaps because Su Xing had left and returned so quickly, Liu De was still standing in the exact same spot.

"Immortal Master, you’ve returned," Liu De said immediately upon seeing Su Xing.

"When Elder Lou came to Tianming Village every month to collect the purple bamboo, was there any sort of routine?"

Su Xing asked. After a moment’s thought, he added, "For example, any habits regarding the time of his arrival? Or did he come to Tianming Village after doing something specific?"

"Well... although Elder Lou came to Tianming Village every month to collect purple bamboo, there wasn’t really any pattern to when he would show up."

"..."

Hearing this, an idea popped into Su Xing’s head, but he didn’t act on it just yet. He just continued to ask:

"If that’s the case, is there anyone who would know Elder Lou’s schedule?"

"Immortal Master... How would a mortal like me know the affairs of you Immortal Masters? That’s something you should ask other Immortal Masters," Liu De said subserviently.

"Hmm... Since you knew long ago that Elder Lou died here, why is the Cyan Cloud Sect only finding out about it now?"

Su Xing asked sternly. As his expression hardened, his previously gentle tone became as sharp as a blade, frightening Liu De so much that he stumbled back two steps. He stammered:

"Im-Immortal Master, I’m just a country farmer! I’ve never seen anything like this! What happened that day scared me half to death! How could I have the courage to just tell anyone about it?"

"Wh-what if..."

"What if I’d told someone, and the evil demon that killed the Immortal Master came for my life? What was I supposed to do?"

"If the Cyan Cloud Sect hadn’t sent people these past few days to ask about it specifically, I really wouldn’t have dared to say a word."

He paused here, glanced cautiously at Su Xing, and then offered a fawning smile.

"I already explained it once to an Immortal Master from the Cyan Cloud Sect before you arrived. You Immortal Masters wouldn’t settle scores with a simple farmer like me, would you?"

"..."

Su Xing shook his head but remained silent, pondering Liu De’s words. ’It’s understandable that a simple farmer would keep quiet to protect himself after witnessing something like that. But an Elder of the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Qi Sect has been missing for so long... has no one really come to investigate?’

Besides... according to Liu De, there was no pattern to Elder Lou’s movements, at least not one that an outsider could discern. So how did Tong Yinyin and Li Ye know to be here?

’Perhaps...’

’There’s something fishy going on within the Cyan Cloud Sect.’

At this thought, Su Xing felt the matter was becoming more and more troublesome. He didn’t know what Tong Yinyin and Li Ye were trying to do, but he still remembered the task Li Longxuan had given him. Therefore, he had to see this through.

There were no more leads in Tianming Village. Steward Gong had been in charge of this case before; he must know more than Su Xing did. Perhaps it was time to go back and find him.

Having made his decision, Su Xing no longer hesitated. He immediately thanked the man before him. "Thank you for your help. I must be leaving now."

"Alright..."

Liu De nodded.

In truth, he wanted no part in these matters. Whether it was Immortal Masters or anyone else, to him, they were all lofty beings, and he didn’t much care for the feeling.

Su Xing turned and took a few steps, just about to use spatial teleportation to leave, when someone behind him suddenly called out, shouting:

"Immortal Master, please wait!"

"What is it?"

Su Xing turned to look at him.

"I am Zhao Yuan. I’m the one in this village responsible for managing the cultivation of the purple bamboo."

"Cultivating purple bamboo? Why did you stop me?"

Su Xing heard the man’s introduction and sensed that, just like Liu De, he was an ordinary person with no Extraordinary power. He was puzzled as to why this man would call out to him; they were from completely different worlds.

"I saw the Immortal Master has been in Tianming Village for some time, so I took the liberty of coming to ask: are you investigating the death of Lou Fuzhao?"

Zhao Yuan’s voice was calm, but his words piqued Su Xing’s curiosity. He looked at the slightly heavyset, middle-aged man before him and asked, "I am. You know him?"

"Heh, of course I know him. This Elder Lou was quite famous among the villages that manage purple bamboo!"

"From your tone, it sounds like you weren’t very fond of this Elder Lou," Su Xing asked, curious.

"To be frank, if I hadn’t noticed your accent isn’t quite local—which makes me think you’re not from the Cyan Cloud Sect—I would never dare to speak of these things to an Immortal Master."

"This purple bamboo... you might see a lot of it in the Purple Bamboo Forest, but the amount that can be sustainably harvested each year isn’t very large."

"The yield of purple bamboo is low, so it’s not just made into weapons, but also used to craft valuable items. That makes this stuff extremely worthwhile."

"Logically, with a Purple Bamboo Forest, our village should have many villagers who can enter the Cyan Cloud Sect, and our lives should be very prosperous. But our village is no different from any other ordinary village."

"I see."

Su Xing nodded. "And this is all related to that Elder Lou?"

"That’s right. The reason for this is that Elder Lou would always skim most of the harvest, under the pretext of handing it over to the Cyan Cloud Sect on our behalf. That’s why our village can only maintain its current state."

"The problem was all Lou Fuzhao!"