51: Chapter 51 Divine Power Transformation Potion

"You all may leave for now. I will dispatch the Evil-Suppressing Guards to assist you in investigating this matter. We must not allow such a tragedy to happen again." Chen Yuanba paused, signaling the others to depart.

After everyone had left, Chen Yuanba fell back into silence.

"I cannot let this continue. I must find him before his injuries are fully healed. But to track his movements, I need to know his next step, which is a bit difficult to manage."

"Forget it, let's see if there are any other clues first."

Chen Yuanba casually opened a map of Wuyang County, marking the locations of the eight villages in sequence and noting the times they were attacked.

After some analysis, Chen Yuanba discovered that there was very little connection between the eight villages.

Ling Ziwen was committing these crimes randomly.

This gave Chen Yuanba a massive headache.

Suddenly.

His eyes lit up. "No, while the eight villages seem unrelated, each belongs to a different jurisdiction. If we follow Ling Ziwen's pattern of action, then his next target is very likely... Kaiheng Town."

Thinking of this, he wished he could fly directly to Kaiheng Town.

But he quickly calmed down.

All of this was merely his deduction and wasn't necessarily accurate.

Currently, of the Evil-Suppressing Guards under his command, a portion had to guard various towns, while another portion was needed to purge Demons. The number of people he could actually mobilize was not many.

The area of a single town was not small, and if one included the surrounding villages, this handful of men was definitely not enough.

Just as Chen Yuanba was feeling overwhelmed, his personal guard walked in.

"Reporting, Director, the Ancestor of the Pei family has arrived."

"Quick, quick, please invite him in." Chen Yuanba felt a surge of joy; it was as if someone had brought him a pillow just as he was falling asleep.

...

Entering the main hall of the Evil Suppression Bureau, Pei Qingyun noticed Chen Yuanba in the main seat. He cupped his hands slightly and said, "Director Chen, you were so anxious to find me first thing in the morning, has something happened?"

"In the past two days, eight villages have been slaughtered. I suspect Ling Ziwen did it. These are the reports just submitted by the various Evil-Suppressing Guards." Chen Yuanba pointed at a table full of letters, speaking indignantly.

"Director Chen, do you mind if I take a look?" Pei Qingyun asked.

"These aren't secrets; please, feel free."

After saying that, Chen Yuanba looked at the personal guard beside him and ordered, "Take these reports and show them to Ancestor Pei."

"Yes." The guard nodded, promptly organized the letters on the table, and handed them all to Pei Qingyun.

Pei Qingyun took the letters and browsed through them carefully.

Chen Yuanba did not disturb him, quietly waiting for Pei Qingyun to finish reading.

A quarter of an hour later, Pei Qingyun had a general understanding of the situation in the eight villages.

He expressed his agreement with Chen Yuanba's judgment.

If bandits had done it, it would be impossible for them to ignore wealth or even kill the livestock. As for it being the work of Demons, that was even more unlikely.

When Demons attack, the bodies of all victims turn into withered bones; such characteristics are far too obvious.

"If you have any suggestions, please feel free to raise them," Chen Yuanba said once he saw Pei Qingyun was finished.

"Director Chen, you should speak first," Pei Qingyun demurred.

Chen Yuanba: "Alright then, I'll talk about my plan first. If you have any differing views, Ancestor Pei, please speak plainly."

Immediately after, Chen Yuanba explained his plan to deploy troops to Kaiheng Town in detail.

"Director Chen, I have a different view on this matter. I believe the possibility of Ling Ziwen's next move being in Kaiheng Town is not high. Instead, the possibility of him going to Nanling Town is higher," Pei Qingyun said.

Hearing Pei Qingyun's insight, Chen Yuanba was somewhat surprised. He asked curiously, "Ancestor Pei, why do you think his next move will be in Nanling Town?"

"Director Chen, please look." As he spoke, Pei Qingyun pointed to the map on the wall and began to explain.

"I imagine Director Chen has also noticed the distribution of the eight villages. By a strange coincidence, each village corresponds exactly to one town's territory. Aside from Yuyang Town, which has already been destroyed, the only one that hasn't suffered an attack is Kaiheng Town."

"On the surface, it does seem like Ling Ziwen might attack a village in Kaiheng Town. But I believe this is merely Ling Ziwen setting up a smokescreen."

"The slaughter of eight villages is indeed appalling. But has Director Chen considered that most of the people left in those villages are ordinary folk? These commoners do not practice martial arts; their bodies are weak, and the Qi and blood within them are extremely shallow. Even if Ling Ziwen sacrificed everyone in those eight villages, it would be far from enough to heal his injuries."

"Yet he did it anyway. From what I know, Ling Ziwen is a person with a very strong sense of vengeance and purpose. Furthermore, he never does things by the book. The reason he caused such a massive disturbance this time must be because he has a much larger scheme."

"This scheme must both achieve his goal and exact his revenge. There is only one way to do that, and that is to destroy another town."

Hearing this, a cold sweat unconsciously broke out on Chen Yuanba's forehead.

Kaiheng Town was a full fifty miles away from Nanling Town; a round trip would take half an hour. But that wasn't the most lethal part. The most lethal part was that to go directly from Kaiheng Town to Nanling Town, one had to pass through the Hundred Thousand Monster Mountains.

The Hundred Thousand Monster Mountains were teeming with Yao Beasts, and third-rank Yao Beasts were everywhere. With Chen Yuanba's strength, even he could not guarantee his own safety.

But if he chose to take a detour, the distance would double.

Consequently, the travel time would also double.

If it were truly as Pei Qingyun said, and he placed all his focus on Kaiheng Town...

Once Nanling Town was attacked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, he also had doubts. Why would Ling Ziwen dare to do such a thing?

One must remember that Ling Ziwen's strength was no longer at its Peak. Taking down an entire town was no simple task.

"The situation Ancestor Pei described is indeed possible. But we cannot act based on deduction alone." Chen Yuanba steadied himself and reorganized his thoughts.

"Indeed, we cannot act based on deduction alone. Therefore, whether it is Kaiheng Town or Nanling Town, we must arrange for personnel to monitor them." Pei Qingyun had long expected Chen Yuanba to say this, so he immediately voiced his own view.

However.

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed a look of difficulty appear on Chen Yuanba's face.

This made him somewhat confused; could it be that the other party did not agree with his proposed plan?

But in the next second, Chen Yuanba cleared up his confusion.

"What Ancestor Pei suggests is indeed a good method. It's just that my Evil Suppression Bureau is currently short-handed and cannot mobilize enough people in a short time."

"Regarding manpower, my Pei family can make arrangements, but I also have one condition," Pei Qingyun said.

"Ancestor Pei, feel free to state your condition. If it is within my power, I will not refuse," Chen Yuanba responded.

Pei Qingyun: "I need five portions of divine power transformation potion."