92: mask

After returning to Beishan City, the Stone Statue left immediately, returning to the entrance of the Beast Tamer Association on its own.

As long as he was within Beishan City, the statue could reach Su Ze instantly if he encountered danger, so there wouldn't be any issues.

Su Ze returned to White Tree Street, where he had previously parted ways with Sun Hao and the others.

He was almost certain that the person trying to scheme against him this time was that old scoundrel Jiang Liu of the Jiang Family.

However, by beating him at his own game, Su Ze had instead caused him to suffer a great loss.

But there was still no physical evidence to prove it was him; only by capturing those few people and interrogating them for useful information...

...could he report it to the Corps headquarters to take down Jiang Sheng, thereby removing a hidden threat for Su Ze.

Otherwise, if he were allowed to remain in Beishan City as a captain, Su Ze feared he wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly at night.

But when Su Ze returned to White Tree Street, he found that everyone's expressions were somewhat grim.

Su Ze immediately had a bad premonition and asked, "What happened?"

Sun Hao replied, "Captain, it's our fault for being useless. You told us to leave them alive, but in the end, they all died."

"Dead?" Su Ze frowned; Sun Hao and the others shouldn't have been so heavy-handed.

"Tell me exactly what happened just now!"

Sun Hao immediately told him everything that had occurred after Su Ze left to pursue the target, in full detail.

At first, everything went smoothly, although those people fought with increasing frenzy, as if they never felt fatigue.

But they couldn't withstand the superior numbers; as soon as someone overexerted themselves or suffered a minor injury, someone else would immediately step in to take their place.

The masked men's strength continued to rise in their madness, and just as the group felt they were about to lose control of the situation...

...several of them suddenly spat out blood simultaneously and then all dropped dead.

Even the stubborn fellow who had been knocked unconscious by Su Ze earlier did not escape, dying directly in his sleep.

"It sounds like they obtained combat power by burning their life force, but it doesn't seem like it was voluntary..."

Su Ze looked at the crimson eyes behind the masks; they were wide open, as if they had died with grievances unaddressed.

Sun Hao answered, "We've already performed a simple autopsy. What drove them into a frenzy was actually a type of toxin."

"This toxin slowly erodes their sanity. That's why when they first started destroying things on the street, they were somewhat restrained, only damaging many buildings but not harming people."

"But this time, their sanity was completely eroded, and they began to cause many casualties."

Su Ze pointlessly thought of Jiang Sheng's beast; that large black snake's primary method of attack seemed to be toxins, and it had even tried to use a special toxin to melt his internal organs. He wondered if the toxin in these people was also his handiwork.

Su Ze said, feeling a bit strange, "Since they're all dead and you've done an autopsy, why didn't you pull off the masks to see if you could identify them?"

Sun Hao said with a grimace, "Captain, you should go see for yourself..."

Feeling slightly curious upon hearing this, Su Ze bent down, intending to remove the mask from one of the faces.

However, even when he used enough force to lift the corpse, he didn't succeed; the mask was welded onto their face.

Whether the mask was removed or not, the face underneath was already mangled beyond recognition.

And since this world hadn't developed identity authentication methods like DNA and fingerprints, it seemed confirming their identities would be exceptionally difficult.

Su Ze looked at the mask welded to the face, thinking about how they were poisoned and unable to control themselves, and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder at the beginning, he said seeing me was a form of relief."

"I'm afraid that after drawing me out, regardless of whether the subsequent plan succeeded or not, they were destined to die. That way, they would be free."

After his lament, Su Ze instructed, "Check if they have any distinctive marks on their bodies, like tattoos or birthmarks. Take photos and send them out to see if any family members come to claim them."

"If we really can't find anyone... then just bury them. After all, everyone knows in their hearts who did this."

Sun Hao nodded and passed down the order.

Then he asked, "Captain, the person you went to chase probably wasn't simple, right? Are you injured?"

Su Ze shook his head and said, "You should be worried about him. The feeling of being pierced by the azure dragon halberd is not pleasant."

...Meanwhile, inside Jiang Sheng's tent, Jiang Liu returned with a staggering gait and removed the mask from his face.

"Father! How did you get injured like this? Are you okay?"

Jiang Liu glared at him and said irritably, "Do I look like I'm okay?"

"I still underestimated Xiao Sheng, thinking it would be fine outside the city."

"As a result, before I even had a chance to act, I was heavily injured by one strike from his Stone Statue."

As Jiang Liu said this, he felt a surge of anger and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Sheng hurriedly had his beast help him heal.

Although his Black Spirit Snake Emperor was violently toxic and excelled at using various poisons...

...poison and medicine are interconnected. Since he was a master of toxicity, he also understood healing.

As the snake's tongue licked over the wound, Jiang Liu's injuries were eased as a result.

But it only stopped the bleeding; it was far from being cured.

Seeing this, Jiang Liu said, "My injuries are too severe, and I'm old so my recovery ability is insufficient. I must go back and ask the Ancestor for help to recover from these wounds."

Hearing this, Jiang Sheng said with some anxiety, "Father, then what about Su Ze? Are we just going to let Tianlong's death go like this?"

Jiang Liu rebuked him, "Of course we can't let it go, but in my current state, I'm afraid I'll finish myself off before I can even avenge Tianlong."

"We must plan our move against him carefully and not be reckless again. At the very least, we must ensure the boy is not within the protection range of the Stone Statue before we act."

"Don't provoke him for the time being until I return from healing my wounds. I will call your brother over to keep an eye on you, and you two brothers can look out for each other."

Jiang Sheng had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Then Jiang Liu asked again, "By the way, those people you arranged won't expose us, will they?"

"We can't let this kid get any leverage on us first, otherwise he will definitely use it as an excuse. It wouldn't be good if the Eastern Corps headquarters gets serious; after all, this isn't the Imperial Capital, it's not our territory."

Jiang Sheng smiled and said, "Father, don't worry. These people are all orphans I raised from childhood, imitating the Ancestor's methods; they have no relatives. Plus, their faces are now destroyed, so no one will recognize them."

"That's good then..." Jiang Liu nodded in approval.

"Then I'll head back to heal first. Your brother will arrive in two days. Remember, do not provoke Su Ze while I am away!"

"No problem, Father!"

Only after Jiang Liu's figure had completely disappeared did Jiang Sheng say silently, "The culprits who killed my son aren't just this kid. Since Father won't let me touch him... then there are still those guys from Fusang and that old bastard Guo Linshan!"

After the recent purge, the Fusang Dark Guards had already closed their borders and no longer left their island.

So now, there was only one choice left!