Chapter 036: The Tragedy

But it was not without its price.

Plans are always overtaken by changes.

Originally, he still had nearly six hundred taels of silver on him—enough to cover more than a month’s worth of food and expenses—but in the past three days, his expenditures had multiplied, especially for food, which had skyrocketed several times over. What was supposed to last him over a month now seemed unlikely to last even half that time.

He had to start thinking about the future now; if a man does not plan ahead, he will soon be in trouble.

With this thought, he left the cultivation chamber and made his way into the government office, looking for Old Wang. He wanted to see if there were any bounties with generous rewards that were still within his abilities. He needed to earn some extra money or else he would soon be bankrupt.

As he entered the yamen, he saw Old Wang with a dark expression, eyes fixed intently on the documents in his hands, apparently busy with official business. As for Chen Can, he was nowhere to be seen—perhaps out on patrol.

Since Chen Wu’s death, Chen Can had become even more distant and respectful toward Yao Qian, leaving immediately whenever he saw him from afar, as if afraid of crossing paths.

Yao Qian suspected this might have something to do with Chen Shanqi. After all, he was the first to suggest pinning the ghoul case on Chen Shanqi, not knowing he would hit a steel wall and end up costing the man’s brother his life.

These thoughts flitted through his mind and were quickly dispelled. A smile returned to his face as he asked,

“Uncle Wang, has something happened lately? You don’t look well.”

Hearing the voice, Old Wang finally looked up and, seeing it was Yao Qian, his expression softened a bit. He had been so absorbed just now that he hadn’t even noticed someone entering.

“See for yourself.”

He handed over a thick stack of documents. Yao Qian stepped forward quickly to receive them and sat down to read.

The first document was from Shunxi Town, which was under Pingyang’s jurisdiction. It bore two flame seals, marking it as an urgent report. Yao Qian’s face unconsciously grew serious as he read.

His eyes swept swiftly over the page, absorbing its contents in moments. He now understood what had happened.

Four nights ago, Shunxi Town had been the site of a bizarre and gruesome case. Nearly fifty people had died in a single night, their corpses left as withered husks.

According to the coroner, apart from some bodies too far gone to examine, the rest had not a drop of blood left in them, as if it had simply evaporated from within.

Seeing this case, his mind immediately leapt to the similar ghoul case that had occurred in the city.

Since Chen Shanqi was eliminated, however, no such cases had recurred, and he had pushed it out of mind. But now it had reappeared in Shunxi Town, and with almost fifty dead in one blow.

He set aside the Shunxi report and opened another.

This one was from Nanyan Town, also an urgent document. After reading, Yao Qian’s face darkened further.

Three days ago, in broad daylight, a village in Nanyan Town suddenly lost contact. When the magistrate’s constables arrived, they found every villager slaughtered—men, women, even children and the elderly, all killed, their deaths identical to those in Shunxi but even more horrific.

He continued reading the other reports: Shanmen Town, Fengwo Town, Hexi Town...

Every urgent dispatch told the same story—bizarre murders in the jurisdiction, the victims drained of blood and left as desiccated corpses, their deaths terrifying in the extreme.

Yao Qian placed all the documents on the table and closed his eyes in thought. In just four days, over three hundred people had died so miserably, stirring widespread panic and prompting a flood of petitions to the Pingyang prefecture office.

He reopened his eyes, now calm, and pushed the documents toward Old Wang.

“This is ultimately a matter for the counties under Pingyang’s rule. It doesn’t concern us much. Uncle Wang, you just need to have the prefect send a dispatch urging them to find the culprit. There’s no need to worry yourself so.”

As time went on and he grew to understand this world better, his heart had inevitably hardened.

Old Wang glanced at him, then walked over to the map of Pingyang’s mountains and rivers. “Yuanzhen, come have a look yourself.”

Yao Qian stepped forward and studied the map, tracing with his finger the counties mentioned in the reports.

After a few seconds, his face darkened as he understood Old Wang’s concern.

The incidents, when plotted in chronological order, formed a path that led straight to Pingyang City.

Based on the timing of the latest case and the report’s arrival, Yao Qian quickly calculated that, at most, there were two days before the killer—or killers—reached Pingyang. Judging from their methods along the way, they would certainly not spare the people of this city.

And their office would bear the brunt of the pressure, with the constables facing the greatest danger.

Just thinking about it made Yao Qian feel a chill to his very core.

Nor was that all. He had a growing sense of foreboding, as if something truly terrible was about to happen.

Thud, thud, thud...

Outside the office doors, the prefect himself squeezed in, round as a ball and as frantic as an ant on a hot griddle. His face was pale, his whole body trembling. Only when he saw Old Wang and Yao Qian did he relax a little, hurrying over and grabbing Old Wang’s arm.

“How is it? Those murderers aren’t really heading for Pingyang, are they?”

The prefect still wore lavish clothes, as if he’d just come from a banquet. The faint scents of rouge and wine clung to him. In his haste, he hadn’t even noticed the tears in his garments.

Yao Qian’s eyes swept over the ripped fabric at the prefect’s knees, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in a swirl of thoughts.

As for those ruthless and mysterious murderers, he had no intention of facing them head-on, nor would he foolishly risk his life to protect the common folk—he was hardly so selfless.

Just from these county reports, it was clear the culprits were no ordinary experts; whether they were even human was questionable.

He was sure Old Wang saw it too: this killer, or group of killers, seemed to have a clear goal. If their only aim was senseless slaughter, why move from place to place?

Perhaps, he mused, these cases were just appetizers—the real course had yet to be served.

With that thought, he was even less inclined to throw himself into danger. Whatever the prefect said, he didn’t even care to listen.

By the time he came back to himself, the prefect had calmed down—Old Wang must have promised him something.

Once the bumbling prefect had finally been seen off, Old Wang sighed, his expression full of sorrow and compassion.

“A storm is brewing; the wind fills the tower before the rain.”

Yao Qian reflected that this was indeed so. Lately, it seemed trouble was brewing everywhere.

Seeing Old Wang in such a state, Yao Qian was momentarily taken aback.

“Uncle Wang, what do we do next? Surely we’re not expected to stand in the way ourselves?”