26: Chapter 26: Who did Yu Xiu kill? Should Yu Xiu be the one to investigate?

Guiping County, County Office.

Guo Boyan sat at the head of the table, frowning: "Has it still not been determined which faction of Yin Demon is causing chaos behind the scenes in Guiping County?"

He appeared to be middle-aged, his expression weary.

Someone below replied: "Yu Shang has been investigating this matter, and I hear he has already made some progress."

Guo Boyan nodded: "Yu Shang's work is indeed reassuring."

"However, Yin Demon disturbances in the same area should have been reported to the Sect together and issued as tasks. Yet, as of now, only the Yin Demon in Lushui Town has been confirmed..."

At this point, Guo Boyan paused: "Have any fellow Disciples from the Sect gone to Lushui Town to eliminate the demon?"

The person below replied: "We haven't seen any Senior Brothers from the Inner Courtyard come to the County Office to check information, nor have they come to hand over the task."

"Hmm?" Guo Boyan was surprised, then a thought struck him: "Could something have gone wrong?"

In the past, once a Yin Demon threat was reported to the Sect, it would quickly be posted as a task and accepted by Disciples; the entire process would take no more than a day.

By the timeline, the fellow Disciples from the Sect should have arrived long ago!

...

Lushui Town.

A young man with a well-proportioned, upright figure and rather distinguished looks stepped lightly into the town.

The town, which had previously been devoid of people, now had a few pedestrians.

"The Yin Demon here, has it been resolved?" Yu Shang wondered.

If the Yin Demon had not been resolved, the people in the town would mostly keep their doors tightly shut, with few venturing outside.

He silently took out the 'Demon-Seeking Bead', captured a faint trace of demonic aura, and headed straight east.

Before long, a thatched cottage came into Yu Shang's view. His gaze swept over it, and he crouched outside the cottage, touching the marks on the ground with his hand: "Such powerful Sword Qi."

If it were not for practitioners, ordinary people who stepped on these sword marks would likely be injured by the residual Sword Qi.

"Two different types of Sword Qi. One is sharper and purer; while the latter is also formidable, it is far inferior to the former." His heart tightened: "Internal strife among fellow Disciples?"

The Qingwei Sword Sect is the heaven of Yan Province and the strongest Sword Cultivator Sect in Yan Province. Such Sword Qi, barring any accidents, must belong to fellow Disciples of the Sword Sect.

He slowed his pace, walked into the thatched cottage, and saw bloodstains on the ground, as well as subtle remnants of Sword Qi and the increasingly faint demonic aura.

"The Yin Demon has been slain! The fellow Disciples have also been slain!" He sensed the trouble of the matter.

His gaze finally rested on the floor of the main room. He drew his sword and slashed open the loose ground.

"Hiss!" He gasped, seeing several fellow Disciples dead underground.

"This is bad!"

Not long after, Guo Boyan and the others from the County Office arrived in a hurry. Looking at the nine corpses laid out side by side in the thatched cottage, they all fell into silence.

Fellow Disciples! All of them are Disciples of the Inner Courtyard!

Guo Boyan looked at the clerk who handled liaisons with the Sect: "How many people from the Sect accepted the task of eliminating the Yin Demon in Lushui Town, and who were they?"

The clerk, who looked to be nearing fifty, thought carefully for a moment: "Only four Inner Courtyard Disciples accepted this task."

He walked to the nine corpses laid out, identified them carefully, and pointed to Qin Shu, Zhao Zheng, Ruan Fei, and Zhang Yun: "Not one is missing; they are all here."

Guo Boyan and Yu Shang exchanged glances.

Four people accepted the task, but nine arrived, and there was another formidable person who had already killed them and left!

These nine Inner Courtyard Disciples must have been involved in something unclean. Who was the one who killed them and left?

"Report this to the Sect immediately, with every detail." Guo Boyan's expression was grave.

Nine Inner Courtyard Disciples dead at once, and within the territory of Yan Province—how could the Sect not investigate?

He rubbed his temples and looked at Yu Shang again: "Have you found out which demonic entity is causing chaos behind the scenes in Guiping County?"

Yu Shang: "Disciple tracked it all the way, and finally stopped before Tiantan Lake."

"Stopped at Tiantan Lake?" Guo Boyan: "Is it dangerous?"

Yu Shang: "There should be Yin Demons there that have surpassed the Four Stages of Ascending Dragon and touched upon the Great Four Passes. The number is unknown, but there is definitely more than one!"

Guo Boyan took a deep breath: "In that case, I fear experts from the Main Sect will need to come!"

...

Qingwei Sword Sect, Cuizhu Mountain, Inner Courtyard, Law Enforcement Hall.

A Disciple hurried into the hall and handed a 'Sound-Image Stone' to the Hall Master behind the desk, Hall Master Su Wenjin: "Hall Master, urgent report from Guiping County!"

Hall Master Su Wenjin, middle-aged, with a short beard, possessed deep authority and was stern. Ordinary people would feel fear just by glancing at him.

'Guiping County?' Hall Master Su Wenjin took the Sound-Image Stone and activated it.

Images were projected out.

Lushui Town, thatched cottage, corpses, Inner Courtyard Disciples, sword marks!

"The identities of these nine Disciples have already been verified." The Disciple stepped forward at the right moment and recited the names of Fang Jiming and the others one by one.

"In a tiny place like Lushui Town, nine Inner Courtyard Disciples died!" Evil Qi flashed in Hall Master Su Wenjin's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure: "Why did Qin Shu and Zhao Zheng of the Feiyan Association get mixed up with Fang Jiming, Song Yue, and the others of the Fengxiang Association? Explain in detail."

The Disciple replied: "Qin Shu, Zhao Zheng, and the other two from the Feiyan Association accepted the task of exterminating the demon in Lushui Town and appeared there, which is not a problem.

"Yuan Shu, Song Yue, and the other two from the Fengxiang Association accepted the task of slaying demons in Donghe Prefecture and Baishou Prefecture. Fang Jiming was not among them; they should not have appeared in Lushui Town.

"Additionally, I checked the records of the flying boat that Qin Shu, Zhao Zheng, and the others took that day, and there was a fifth person: Yu Xiu.

"However, there is no registration of Yu Xiu's name in the Lushui Town demon-extermination task, and Yu Xiu is not among the dead."

"Yu Xiu!" Hall Master Su Wenjin's heart stirred: "Fang Jiming's younger brother, Fang Jibai, broke through his realm using evil methods back then—it was Yu Xiu who exposed him, correct?"

The Disciple nodded: "Exactly."

Hall Master Su Wenjin suddenly understood: "What is Yu Xiu's strength?"

The Disciple replied: "On the surface, he is at the first stage of the Qi Sea, and he has only been in the Inner Courtyard for two months."

"On the surface?" Hall Master Su Wenjin said: "Have you checked the Scripture Pavilion?"

"Yes. Around the twentieth day after Yu Xiu entered the Inner Courtyard, he broke through the third stage of Ascending Dragon, the Qi Sea, and entered the fourth stage, the Life Spring. He also selected a Cultivation Technique and sword manual for the Life Spring Realm in the Scripture Pavilion.

"Additionally, the Library Elder once kept Yu Xiu by his side to cultivate for a night and was shocked by Yu Xiu's astonishing Comprehension Ability.

"According to the Library Elder, a month has passed; with Yu Xiu's Comprehension Ability, he must have already broken through the Life Spring and entered the first stage of the Great Four Passes."

Hall Master Su Wenjin was shocked: "In less than two months, he broke through the third stage of Qi Sea and the fourth stage of Life Spring consecutively?!"

With such Comprehension Ability, it has probably been decades since we have seen anything like it in the Inner Courtyard!"

The Disciple was silent for a moment: "Hall Master, should we investigate this?"

Hall Master Su Wenjin pondered for a long time: "When Yu Xiu returns to the Sect, designate him to investigate the deaths of Fang Jiming and the other eight. It can serve as his task for promotion to the Main Sect. There must be a result."

'Asking Yu Xiu to investigate the people Yu Xiu killed?' The Disciple was stunned, then quickly reacted.

Fang Jiming and the others had ulterior motives and deserved to die anyway.

"Disciple will go handle it immediately." He accepted the order and withdrew.

In the Law Enforcement Hall, only Hall Master Su Wenjin remained, seemingly lost in thought, his fingers tapping the desk unconsciously, though the rhythm was somewhat chaotic.

"Within two months, breaking through the third stage of Qi Sea and the fourth stage of Life Spring consecutively...

"What a Yu Xiu!" The lingering voice echoed in the empty hall.

Fang Jiming did not die in vain!"