novelraw Chapter 947: More Corpses
Chapter 947: More Corpses
Han Yu’s eyes sharpened slightly.
Eats frost.
Exactly as expected.
"What is it used for?"
The shopkeeper looked surprised.
"Young master isn’t local then."
Han Yu simply smiled.
The old man continued.
"Snow Biter Fungus is medicinal. Good for frost injuries and frostbite. Some physicians use it to ease damage caused by Frost Qi entering the body. It absorbs the lingering cold."
Han Yu frowned internally.
That answer confused him.
The fungus should oppose frost.
Then why had it appeared inside frozen corpses?
He asked further.
"Anything else?"
The shopkeeper shook his head.
"The fungus itself is weak. It has little value beyond that."
Han Yu fell silent.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
He changed topics.
"What about hallucinogens? Ones that cause laughter or smiling."
The answer came immediately.
"Nectar of Smile Flower."
Han Yu looked up.
The old man pointed toward another shelf.
A small sealed bottle sat there.
"Popular ingredient. Used in wines and euphoric brews. Illegal in many settlements."
He chuckled.
"Fortunately this town isn’t strict."
Han Yu examined it briefly.
The scent matched.
That explained the third layer.
He did not ask about sugar or the paralytic poison. Those were simple enough and could be obtained anywhere.
Instead he asked the important question.
"Has anyone bought them recently?"
The shopkeeper thought.
"Smile Nectar? Yes."
"Snow Biter?"
He shook his head.
"Very few buyers."
Han Yu understood immediately.
The killer likely gathered it personally.
Someone strong enough to freeze bodies from inside would never need to buy common materials.
He left the store.
Night had fully descended.
Spirit lamps illuminated the town streets while taverns became louder.
Han Yu returned to his inn.
His room remained exactly as he had left it.
He sat by the window and poured himself tea.
Then he waited.
The rat network had already spread through Palm Hand Lu’s estate.
Sooner or later something would appear.
About two hours later the connection activated.
Chitterfang’s excited voice arrived.
"Master!"
Han Yu opened his eyes.
"What happened?"
"One of the children followed people leaving the mansion."
Han Yu straightened.
"How many?"
"Three."
"Where did they go?"
A pause followed.
Then Chitterfang spoke slowly.
"They went north."
Han Yu narrowed his eyes.
North.
The frozen side.
"The children followed them to the snow border," Chitterfang continued. "There is a cave there."
Han Yu’s fingers tapped the table.
"A cave?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
The rat’s voice lowered.
"Master... there are smiles inside."
Han Yu’s expression changed immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"The children saw corpses."
Silence filled the room.
"Many corpses." Chitterfang finished quietly.
Han Yu left the inn almost immediately after receiving Chitterfang’s report.
The town behind him gradually disappeared while the terrain shifted northward. The tropical greenery slowly thinned and the air became colder. Trees changed first. Broad leafed plants disappeared while frost began gathering upon trunks and stones.
The frontier truly was strange.
There was no gradual transition.
It simply changed.
One moment there were vines and humid air.
The next there was frost and snow.
Han Yu moved through the darkness silently while remaining hidden beneath the illusion talisman. The night sky above was clear and pale moonlight reflected from patches of snow scattered across the land.
He reached the place after nearly an hour.
It was not truly a cave in the ordinary sense.
Rather, it was a crack formed into a frozen cliffside. Snow had accumulated around the entrance while frost hung from the ceiling like crystal teeth.
Three men stood outside.
Han Yu recognized them immediately.
Palm Hand Lu’s subordinates.
He stopped several hundred meters away and concealed himself.
"Chitterfang, report." Han Yu spoke mentally.
"The children stayed nearby, master." Chitterfang replied proudly. "They watched everything."
"What happened?"
"The three entered earlier. They checked the inside then came out. One of them used a communication jade slip after that."
Han Yu nodded.
"Did the children hear anything?"
"No master. They only used the jade slips."
Han Yu looked at the cave again.
He already had a guess.
The person contacted was probably Palm Hand Lu himself. Or at least someone directly under him.
Thus Han Yu waited.
Half an hour later movement finally appeared. Several figures approached through the snowy woods. Han Yu’s gaze sharpened.
At the center walked a large man. He stood nearly two meters tall and had broad shoulders. His arms were especially strange. His hands were enormous and flattened, looking almost like palm leaves or giant fronds.
Han Yu finally understood.
’No wonder he’s called Palm Hand Lu.’
The man looked rough and sturdy. Thick robes covered his body while a curved blade hung at his waist.
Palm Hand Lu stopped before the cave.
"Where are the corpses?" he asked immediately.
"One cave deeper inside, my lord." the subordinate replied respectfully. "Thirty bodies."
Palm Hand Lu visibly paused.
"Thirty?"
His surprise looked genuine.
Han Yu narrowed his eyes.
That reaction confused him.
He had increasingly suspected Palm Hand Lu’s involvement.
The man controlled the bodies.
His mansion held the earlier victims.
The cave lay close to his territory.
Yet now he looked truly shocked.
"Any we recognize?" Palm Hand Lu asked.
The subordinate shook his head.
"No my lord. Their clothing is different. Northern villages perhaps. They do not belong to the tropical settlements."
Palm Hand Lu grunted and entered.
Han Yu moved at the same time.
He slipped behind the group and entered under the cover of the illusion talisman.
The cave interior was cold.
Very cold.
Even ordinary cultivators would struggle here. Frost coated the walls while strange ice veins spread through the stone. The deeper they walked, the stronger the cold became. Han Yu remained unconcerned.
The Freezing Abyss Glacial Art circulated naturally.
If anything, this place felt pleasant to him.
Soon they reached the inner chamber.
Han Yu finally saw them.
Thirty corpses.
All frozen.
All smiling.
But unlike the earlier victims, these smiles were bigger and had been widened artificially.
The corners of their lips had been cut open.
The expressions looked grotesque.
Han Yu immediately felt something was wrong.
The earlier victims had smiled naturally.
These looked forced.