Chapter 254 Bloodstain Mystery

Chen Mu's heart stirred, and he immediately asked, "Where is Li Tiezui now?"

The middle-aged man caught his breath and quickly said,

"He was brought back, and he is now at his own home. Wan Chongshan carried him back and hired the village doctor to treat him."

"It's just... the wounds look terrifying, and the bleeding won't stop. The doctor also said... said it's likely..."

Chen Mu didn't say anything more. He vaulted onto his horse, kicked its belly, and the jujube-red horse let out a long whinny before galloping toward the west side of the village.

Shen Suning, Feng Qing, Ling Xiaoning, and Captain Ding and his two men followed closely behind. The sound of hooves startled the villagers by the roadside, causing them to scatter and make way.

The group rode through the streets and soon arrived at the small, isolated courtyard at the west end of the village. The gate was wide open, and a dozen villagers were either squatting or standing inside. They all looked disheveled and covered in soot, their clothes scorched. Seeing Chen Mu and his group galloping in, they quickly made way.

Chen Mu dismounted and strode through the courtyard gate.

The courtyard was still the same. The water vat was overturned on the ground, the water long since dried up, leaving only a dark stain on the ground. Scattered firewood lay helter-skelter, with no one to clear it away, and the shards of that chipped coarse porcelain bowl still lay scattered beneath the steps, ignored by all.

The scent of blood was even stronger than yesterday.

Wan Chongshan was pacing anxiously in the courtyard. His face was so blackened by smoke and fire that his original features were unrecognizable. He kept rubbing his hands together, muttering something under his breath. Hearing footsteps, he suddenly looked up. Seeing it was Chen Mu, a look of relief finally appeared on his tense face, and he hurried to the doorway in a few strides.

"Brother Chen, you've finally come!"

His voice was hoarse, his eyes red-rimmed. He grabbed Chen Mu's arm with surprising strength, his voice raspy.

"He is inside. The doctor said... said it's no use; the bleeding won't stop, and no medicine can staunch it... Please, go in and take a look."

Chen Mu patted his shoulder without a word and strode straight into the main room.

The room was dim. A person lay on a wooden bed against the wall. An old man with white hair and beard, the only doctor in the village, was squatting by the bed, frantically trying to apply medicine to the person on the bed. But as soon as the medicine was applied, it was soaked through by the seeping blood.

Chen Mu walked to the bedside and looked down. The half-blind fortune-teller was covered in blood. His wizened face was devoid of color, his lips cracked and pale. His eyes were half-open, pupils unfocused, and it was unclear whether he was conscious or unconscious.

His body was covered in wounds—neck, arms, chest, waist, and abdomen—dense and numerous, as if bitten by something. The flesh was torn and curled outward, still seeping blood.

Most horrifying of all was that the blood from those wounds would not stop flowing. The bed boards beneath him were soaked through, a dark, blood-red mess, and the air was thick with the heavy stench of blood.

The doctor was frantically smearing something onto the wounds. Chen Mu looked closely and saw it was incense ash, commonly used by ordinary families to stop bleeding. The substance was applied, only to be quickly washed away by the blood, trickling down the skin and mixing with it to create a messy, gory sludge.

Hearing the footsteps, the doctor turned and saw Chen Mu's group, especially the black official uniform. He hurriedly stood up, rubbing his hands together in agitation.

"Officers... officers, you have come just in time! This... this person's wounds, I have truly... truly never seen anything like them. No medicine can stop it. Incense ash, stove-heart soil, Bletilla powder—I've tried it all, and it's useless. If the blood continues to flow like this, I fear he won't last another hour..."

As he spoke, he shook his head repeatedly, clearly at his wit's end.

Shen Suning stepped forward quickly and crouched by the bed. Her eyes swept rapidly over the wounds, her brows knitting tighter and tighter. After a long while, she looked up at the doctor.

"Elder, may I take over?"

The doctor, desperate for someone to take this hot potato off his hands, quickly stepped aside.

"Certainly, certainly! Please, Miss, I am truly... helpless..."

Shen Suning said no more. She took a small cloth bundle from her robes, unfolded it to reveal several gold needles, and first reached out to take Li Tiezui's pulse. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment, her expression growing increasingly grave.

Chen Mu asked in a low voice, "Miss Shen, how is it?"

Shen Suning opened her eyes and shook her head.

"He has lost too much blood. His Qi and blood are exhausted, and his internal organs are failing. The chances of saving him are extremely slim."

She paused, her gaze landing on the wounds smeared with incense ash, her brows furrowed.

"The wounds are covered in this stuff. It's hard for hemostatic powder to penetrate and take effect now. I can only use gold needles to seal his acupoints and forcibly stop the bleeding, then feed him a Clearing Heart Pill. If he can regain consciousness for a moment, perhaps..."

Perhaps they could ask him something useful.

Chen Mu nodded. "Do your best."

Shen Suning did not hesitate. She picked up a gold needle and skillfully inserted it into several vital acupoints on Li Tiezui's body. Her movements were fast and steady. With each needle, the seeping blood from Li Tiezui's wounds slowed down a fraction.

A moment later, although the dense wounds were still seeping blood, the flow had clearly slowed.

The old doctor stood by, dumbfounded, forgetting to put down the jar of incense ash he was clutching.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Shen Suning's forehead, but her hands remained as steady as a rock. After inserting the last gold needle, she slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. She then took a small porcelain bottle from her robes, poured out a pill the size of a dragon's eye, pried open Li Tiezui's mouth, and fed it to him. She took the water bag handed to her by Ling Xiaoning and carefully fed him a few sips.

Li Tiezui made a gurgling sound in his throat, barely managing to swallow the pill.

"The Clearing Heart Pill can protect his heart pulse. It might allow him to regain consciousness for a moment, but also..."

She didn't finish, but everyone understood what she meant.

It would only be for a moment.

The room fell into a brief silence, broken only by Li Tiezui's faint breathing and the low murmurs of the villagers outside the window.

Chen Mu stood quietly by the bedside, his gaze fixed on Li Tiezui's paper-white face. This half-blind fortune-teller was now on the verge of death, hanging by a thread.

Why had he appeared in the burning mountain ravine? Why was he clutching a fire starter? Why did he want to burn that mountain? Were the wounds on his body left by blood-sucking bats?

Countless questions swirled in Chen Mu's mind.

At that moment, Wan Chongshan quietly tugged at Chen Mu's sleeve, signaling with his eyes for him to come outside. Chen Mu understood and turned to follow Wan Chongshan out of the main room to a quiet corner in the courtyard.

Wan Chongshan lowered his voice, his tone urgent.

"Brother Chen, I feel that something is wrong—very wrong."

Chen Mu looked at him. "Speak."

Wan Chongshan took a deep breath, as if organizing his thoughts, and then said quickly.

"Everyone thought Li Tiezui had gone mad, crying and laughing while holding his daughter's corpse, and then disappearing into the mountains. But think about it: how would a madman go off to set fire to the mountain?"

"And look at his wounds—dense with tiny tooth marks, the bleeding won't stop, his whole body is stiff and unable to move. It's exactly the same symptoms as after Xiao Ning was bitten. This was definitely done by that beast!"

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"So I think he didn't go to burn the mountain because he was mad. He did it on purpose. He knew where that bat's lair was, and he went to burn the beast's nest!"