After assigning the tasks, Lu Sangjiu reminded them, "When you act, your personal safety comes first. Partners should try not to separate. Once you’ve completed the tasks I’ve assigned, if there’s still time, you can investigate other things as you see fit."
"But everyone, keep an eye on the time. If you’re not back by nightfall and don’t respond to your Communication Talisman, the rest of us will assume you’re in trouble and come looking for you."
With the matter settled, everyone quietly returned to their own rooms.
Shen Yuzhao, meanwhile, returned to his room through the tunnel he had dug. Before he left, he thoughtfully helped Lu Sangjiu reinstall the floorboard and added a word of caution, "I won’t fill the tunnel in just yet. Little Junior Sister, be careful not to step on this spot and fall through."
Lu Sangjiu nodded, then asked with some curiosity, "Where did all the dirt go?"
Shen Yuzhao smiled shyly. "I have plenty of storage bags. I just filled one with the dirt. I’ll find a place to dump it all later."
Lu Sangjiu was at a loss for words.
’Oh, well. A storage bag probably never dreamed it would be used to carry dirt. A novel experience for it, I suppose.’
After breakfast the next morning, Yan Zui had a maid take her to pay a visit to the City Lord’s Wife.
Gu Jue remained in his room, waiting for her to return so the two of them could move out together.
The rest of the group left the mansion together as planned the day before, then went their separate ways to begin their tasks.
As they were leaving, those maids offered to accompany them, but they were, of course, flatly refused.
The excuse Lu Sangjiu gave was perfectly noble-sounding. "You ladies are as delicate as flowers. How could we bear to let you suffer alongside us? Besides, this investigation is dangerous. It would be terrible if we ran into bad people and couldn’t protect you in time, right?"
The maid, Little Green, was still insistent. "We’re not afraid of hardship..."
Xie Ningyuan chimed in with a faint smile. "Oh? Are you not afraid of dying, then?"
As he spoke, his gaze on Little Green was particularly pointed.
A chill ran down Little Green’s spine under his stare. She had a feeling his words weren’t a show of concern, but rather, a threat...
The smile on her face stiffened. After a moment of silence, she managed to force another one. "I suddenly feel that what the Immortal said makes a lot of sense. We’d better not go and drag you down. Please, be careful on the road."
Lu Sangjiu, maintaining her persona as a sweet and naive girl, gave Little Green a bright, radiant smile. "Okay! We’ll be on our way then!"
Only after the group was far in the distance did the other maids speak up in worried whispers. "We’re just letting them go like that? What about the City Lord..."
Little Green shot her a warning glance. "Just tell him they insisted on going alone and we couldn’t stop them. The worst that can happen if the City Lord gets angry is we get a small punishment."
"But those people..." She frowned, her voice tinged with fear. "I have a gut feeling that if we had insisted on following them, they might have found a secluded spot to kill us and blame it on Demon Cultivators."
At her words, the other maids all flinched in fear and didn’t dare to say another word.
Although Lu Sangjiu and the others were far away, their Divine Sense was still monitoring the maids. Upon hearing what Little Green said, she couldn’t help but stifle a laugh and give Xie Ningyuan a thumbs-up. "Nice coordination!"
Xie Ningyuan just snorted without a word, but his puffed-out chest and raised chin were the very picture of smugness.
After leaving the City Lord Mansion, the four of them parted ways.
Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan headed for the city gates, conversing via voice transmission as they walked.
’We’re being followed,’ Xie Ningyuan sent.
’I noticed,’ Lu Sangjiu replied. ’About seven or eight of them.’
’Should we lose them?’ he asked.
Lu Sangjiu thought for a moment. ’Forget it. They already know we’re heading for the woods outside the city. There’s not much point in shaking them now. Let’s deal with them on our way back.’
So the two of them didn’t bother to hide, simply strolling brazenly out of the city.
According to the case files, the body disposal site was a few dozen li west of the city.
Although the remains had all been taken by family and friends for burial, a place where bodies have been stored tends to be shrouded in yin energy that doesn’t dissipate quickly.
So the pair flew at a low altitude, extending their Divine Sense, and quickly located the dumping ground.
It was a large, natural pit surrounded by piled rocks, a little over two meters deep.
The bottom was fairly spacious, so Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan jumped right in.
The bodies were gone, but they could still see stray hairs, fragments of clothing, and the like scattered on the ground.
They searched around the pit but found nothing else out of the ordinary.
Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but frown. "How strange. Logically, it would be a simple matter for a Cultivator to completely destroy a body. Why would the killer insist on dumping them all here?"
And it wasn’t just at the beginning. The case files state that even after this place was discovered, the killer persisted in dumping the bodies here.
The City Lord even sent people to stake out the location, and Miao Miaomiao’s group did the same.
But every time, regardless of whether the person on watch was at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core Stage, they would inexplicably fall asleep. By the time they woke up, another body would be at the bottom of the pit.
Strangely, none of the watchers died or were even slightly injured.
Later, the exasperated City Lord personally stood guard for a few days, but after he had waited for several days straight, the culprit never showed their face.
He was too busy with his duties to stand guard every day, and as soon as he left, the bodies started appearing again.
Xie Ningyuan considered this. "Could the killer and the person dumping the bodies be two different people? I even think the one dumping the bodies might be intentionally opposing the killer."
Lu Sangjiu nodded. "That’s possible. But we can’t rule out that it’s just a misdirection tactic."
After a pause, she tilted her head to look at Xie Ningyuan. "I remember the City Lord saying yesterday was the fifth day. It’s about time for the killer to strike again, isn’t it?"
Xie Ningyuan immediately understood her implication. "A stakeout here tonight?"
Lu Sangjiu nodded. "We look like a pair of ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivators. The culprit has dared to move against Golden Core experts before, so if we wait here, we might just catch our fish."
If the killer walked right into their net, everything would be much simpler.
Xie Ningyuan had no objections. "We’ll stay outside the city. Who knows, maybe the City Lord himself won’t be able to resist making a move on us."
After all, their location was far more convenient for an assassination than for the others operating inside the city.
Besides, whatever the killer’s motive, one thing was certain: they only targeted Female Cultivators. Lu Sangjiu was a Female Cultivator, so there was a good chance the killer wouldn’t be able to resist making a move on her.
’It’s the perfect setup for a sting operation.’
However, the yin energy at the bottom of the pit was too dense. Not planning to wait down there, they both leaped out.
The moment she was out, Lu Sangjiu pulled a large, plush cushion from her storage bag and spread it on the ground. She then set out a small tea table and an assortment of snacks.
Finally, she took out another soft cushion, leaned back comfortably, and looked at the motionless Xie Ningyuan. "Don’t be a stranger, come and have a seat!"
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