novelraw Chapter 241 - 109: Gu Poison [Second Update]
Chapter 241 - 109: Gu Poison [Second Update]
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, a group of people emerged from the City Lord Mansion.The leading man was about fifty years old, of medium height, dressed in a dark purple brocade robe. His figure was somewhat plump, and combined with the smile on his face, he looked a bit like a statue of a Buddha in a temple, of course, if you ignored the black vertical line on his forehead, identical to the guards from before, even his complexion had a slight dark hue.
The guard who had previously entered accompanied him, and upon seeing Yue Zhao and the others, pointed them out to the man.
The guard at the door straightened up immediately upon seeing the man and respectfully saluted him when he approached.
"This is City Lord Qian of our Canghui City," the earlier guard introduced the man to Yue Zhao and the others, "City Lord, these are the disciples from the White Tiger Sacred Land."
"Greetings, City Lord Qian. We have come by our master’s command to resolve the issues in Canghui City." Yue Zhao spoke with a gentle smile, embodying the demeanor of an elegant gentleman.
"You young masters are too kind, we’ve been eagerly waiting for you." City Lord Qian looked at Yue Zhao and the others with a very excited expression, almost as if he was moved to tears, like someone who has been walking in a desert for a long time finally seeing an oasis, "Please, young masters, come inside."
Yue Zhao and the others followed City Lord Qian into the City Lord Mansion.
The previous day when exploring the City Lord Mansion, Yue Zhao had already familiarized himself with the layout somewhat, though it was filled with arrays at the time, requiring all his concentration to navigate through, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the surroundings.
Now, following City Lord Qian, he observed the state of the City Lord Mansion.
During the day, none of the arrays in the City Lord Mansion were active. Although the mansion’s decor was not overly luxurious, it was quite grand, clearly showing that the City Lord was a man of particular taste, with a commendable aesthetic sense, evident from the details that reflected his careful attention to the mansion.
Unlike the desolate appearance outside, the atmosphere within the City Lord Mansion was quite pleasant. The servants were all dutifully performing their tasks without any sense of timidity. Yue Zhao and the others exchanged a glance before continuing to follow the City Lord inside.
The City Lord led them to the main hall, warmly inviting them to sit and ordered servants to prepare spiritual tea for them.
"We only arrived in Canghui City today and are not very familiar with its situation. Could you please give us an introduction, City Lord?" Yue Zhao’s smile was flawless, his demeanor courteous, the kind that easily engendered goodwill.
City Lord Qian’s smile disappeared instantly, replaced by an inescapable sorrow, "To be honest, it was out of desperation that I sought help from the White Tiger Sacred Land. The city’s situation is quite dire; several more people have died recently, each with an organ removed but no other injuries or signs of poisoning. I just can’t discover who is killing them, and the city has been in a state of panic because of this, even I am very frightened."
"Does the murderer have no discernible pattern? Like the time of killings, or perhaps the birth dates of the victims?" Nan Hua asked curiously, fanning himself.
City Lord Qian shook his head with a bitter expression, "No, apart from each victim having an organ removed, there is no pattern in the killings."
Upon hearing this, the faces of Yue Zhao and his companions also showed signs of distress.
"City Lord Qian, does the murderer usually kill during the day, or at night, and has there been any unusual activity in the city recently?" Yue Zhao set down his tea cup, noticing a twitch in City Lord Qian’s face, but acted as if he hadn’t seen it, smiling as he asked.
"The murders mostly occur at night, and as for the city, no one dares to go out because of this incident, so nothing unusual has happened." City Lord Qian’s eyes fell on the teacup on the table beside Yue Zhao, suddenly speaking up, "Is the tea not to your liking, young master? If so, I can have the servants change it for you."
The gaze of Yue Zhao and his companions followed the City Lord’s line of sight to the cup.
Yue Zhao’s eyes flickered slightly, "It’s not that, I’m just not very thirsty right now."
City Lord Qian smiled at Yue Zhao and said no more.
"City Lord Qian, I’m quite interested in the scenery of the City Lord Mansion, would it be possible for me to have a look around?" Mu Chen suddenly asked City Lord Qian.
City Lord Qian was obviously not expecting this request from Mu Chen, and was momentarily stunned, then nodded with a smile, "Of course," he gestured to the door, and the maidservant standing there immediately ran over, "Show this young master around the mansion."
The maidservant complied and led Mu Chen away.
Yue Zhao and Nan Hua continued to discuss the murderer with City Lord Qian. They tried to extract information from City Lord Qian from various angles, but unfortunately, City Lord Qian was either clueless or wore a troubled expression, hoping Yue Zhao and the others could quickly help them find the culprit.
Mu Chen had been out wandering for more than half an hour before returning to the main hall. Yue Zhao and the others were drinking tea with City Lord Qian. As soon as Mu Chen returned, Yue Zhao and the others expressed their intention to leave.
"Are the three young masters not staying at the City Lord Mansion?" City Lord Qian seemed surprised by their departure, asking with a bewildered expression.
"There’s no need, City Lord Qian, we found a place outside to stay, so we won’t trouble you." Yue Zhao politely declined, and with his level of skill, even his refusals didn’t make people uncomfortable.
City Lord Qian’s face twitched slightly, but he could only smile and nod, not insisting further on their stay.
He escorted the three of them out of the City Lord Mansion, watching them leave before returning to the mansion with a stiff expression.
Yue Zhao and the others did not return directly to the inn where they were staying but instead walked along the main street, as if searching for clues. Shortly after leaving the City Lord Mansion, they sensed a malicious gaze upon them. Unmoved, they headed toward the East District, with that gaze constantly following them.
Nan Hua withdrew a small mirror from the Qiankun Ring, holding it as if tidying his hair. In truth, he was adjusting the angle to search for what was tracking them. After switching through four or five angles, he saw a Black Feather Crow perched on a nearby rooftop.
Pretending to fiddle with his hair twice, he put the mirror away. When Yue Zhao and Mu Chen looked over, he discreetly nodded, Yue Zhao’s eyes glinted, and Mu Chen curved a faint smile.
"Second senior brother, should we deal with that Black Feather Crow?" Nan Hua transmitted his voice to Yue Zhao, asking. The gaze from the Black Feather Crow was thoroughly unsettling, and he didn’t want to be watched by it.
Yue Zhao pondered for a moment and nodded.
With Yue Zhao’s permission, Nan Hua immediately turned around, sending the Glazed Frost Flower Fan flying toward the Black Feather Crow. Under his control, it struck like lightning, severing the crow’s head before it could react, its body dropping to the ground.
With the crow’s demise, the malicious surveillance vanished completely, allowing Yue Zhao and the others to feel somewhat relieved.
"Second senior brother, that Black Feather Crow was obviously sent by the other party to monitor us. Killing it would surely alert them that we’ve noticed something amiss, right?" Mu Chen turned to Yue Zhao, asking.
"Our goal today is precisely to make the other party aware that we’ve gleaned some information. This way, they’ll attempt to eliminate us, enabling us to locate them. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know how long we’d have to wait." Yue Zhao said, wearing a leisurely smile.
Mu Chen suddenly understood Yue Zhao’s intentions.
"Did you discover anything new at the City Lord Mansion earlier?" Yue Zhao turned to ask Mu Chen. The plan for Mu Chen to explore the mansion was something they had agreed upon beforehand, with the aim of openly familiarizing themselves with its layout and possibly discovering something.
"The maid took me through the mansion’s garden. I intentionally led her toward the City Lord’s study, but was intercepted near the study. Nonetheless, I caught a faint scent of blood nearby, and I noticed a black vertical line on the foreheads of everyone in the mansion, their faces subtly darkened, indicating they were under someone’s control." Mu Chen slowly shared his observations.
"Would using poison be enough to control so many people? Besides, these people don’t appear to be under any control in their actions." Yue Zhao pondered aloud, questioning Mu Chen.
Regarding medicine and toxins, Mu Chen is undeniably an authority, and Yue Zhao trusted his judgment greatly.
Mu Chen thought a bit and shook his head, "While poison might control many people, it wouldn’t mimic the City Lord Mansion occupants, who seem unaware of being controlled, thinking like normal individuals. Only the City Lord appears unusual; drugs couldn’t achieve this."
"If it were puppetry technique, the reactions of these people should be more robotic, their movements stiff with little independent thought; it’s not puppetry technique," Yue Zhao frowned slightly, a bit troubled, "What could it be?"
"Gu Poison!" Mu Chen stated definitively, "Gu Poison is prevalent near the Dark Swamp area, where people are skilled at breeding, crafting, and using Gu to control others. The Black Feather Crow is indeed a product of the Dark Swamp, leading me to suspect the mastermind is linked with tribes or settlements from that region."
Mu Chen knows more about this than most. The Dark Swamp, due to its geographical and environmental conditions, is generally isolated, sparingly interacting with outsiders. Consequently, few people are aware of the situation there or have encountered Gu Poison; however, Mu Chen had heard about it before.
"The Dark Swamp is quite far from Canghui City. Why would someone come all this way to cause trouble? Why not just plague the cities near the Dark Swamp?" Nan Hua fanned himself, expressing frustration.