Chapter 642 - 462: Letting You Investigate Freely_

"But they can’t be sure the person died here. So along the way, they investigated several places before coming here, which is why it took so long."

Zheng Yi nodded in realization, "So that’s it."

He had been wondering why the Zhao Family took so long to start their investigation here.

Turns out, it’s because they didn’t know where the person died, so they had to investigate step by step.

"So, those young masters passing by here might just be coincidental during their travels, rather than dealing with some business." Zheng Yi mused, stroking his chin.

Zhao Tianming also felt a shiver run down his spine.

He had suffered losses at Zheng Yi’s hand and knew how terrifying this person could be.

But now it seemed he had underestimated him. Just one sentence, and Zheng Yi could deduce so much.

"Is there any other important information? If not, hurry back so you aren’t gone too long and raise suspicion with that special commissioner."

"Well..." Zhao Tianming hesitated.

"Don’t worry, the traces those people left have long been erased by my men."

"If they came to investigate half a month earlier, they might have found something. But now, heh..."

With Zheng Yi’s reassurance, Zhao Tianming felt inexplicably relieved, "That’s good, that’s good."

Now he was in the same boat as Zheng Yi, naturally hoping that nothing would go wrong.

Zhou Kunshan was still kept by that person, and his specific purpose remained unknown.

Naturally, Zheng Yi couldn’t do anything that would go against his current identity by investigating Zhou Kunshan’s whereabouts without permission.

Though feeling a bit uneasy, he could only return with the people from Riverbend Village.

That night, Zheng Yi, who was sound asleep, was suddenly awakened by a barely audible sound.

The intruder was a master, at least possessing Crystal Stage cultivation.

The other villagers would definitely be unaware of the intruder’s presence.

This person was highly skilled at concealing their presence.

Even Zheng Yi only noticed the intruder because they made an unintended noise.

"Did they come straight to the door? Could it be that Zhou Kunshan left some clues?"

"That doesn’t seem likely. If that were the case, it wouldn’t just be one or two people coming."

"Or could it be that Zhou Kunshan betrayed me directly?"

"Wait... that doesn’t quite add up either."

With too little information in hand, even Zheng Yi couldn’t guess the intruder’s intentions out of thin air.

He simply pretended not to notice the intruder’s presence.

He continued to feign sleep with his eyes half-closed.

Appearing defenseless, he was fully tensed, ready to launch a fierce counterattack at any moment.

He wanted to see what this sneaky fellow was up to.

Click!

The sound of the door latch being softly moved by Spiritual Qi echoed.

The intruder had even deliberately suppressed the sound so that it was almost inaudible even in the dead of night.

At this point, Zheng Yi could rule out the possibility of Zhou Kunshan being a problem.

If Zhou Kunshan had leaked any details or betrayed him.

The intruder would hardly resort to such a method to sneak in.

This person, though adept at concealing their aura, was clearly a novice otherwise. Any properly trained cultivator wouldn’t be fooled by the movements just now.

Evidently, this person also mistook him for an ordinary villager from Riverbend Village.

Zheng Yi deliberately turned over, slyly narrowing his eyes to a slit, looking toward the door.

The intruder, hearing the sound of his movement, immediately froze.

After a while, presumably assuring themselves there was no activity inside, they cautiously pushed open the door.

Creak!

The sound from the wooden door was well-muffled. Unfortunately, Zheng Yi still heard it clearly.

A slight figure slowly entered the room.

The intruder, oblivious to Zheng Yi’s gaze, began searching silently.

Instead of rummaging through things, they took out a jade pendant and quickly circled the room.

Seeing no reaction from the jade pendant, the intruder silently retreated, closing the door behind them.

It seemed the jade pendant could detect something.

Zheng Yi speculated that it might react with certain items possessed by the Zhao Family.

Fortunately, after dealing with the Zhao Family, he hadn’t kept any of their possessions.

After all, they were cultivators, and who knew what items might be used to track them?

To be safe, he had burned what could be burned.

And what couldn’t be burned, Zheng Yi instructed Fengg Haitao and others to discard far away in the mountains under the cover of night.

He guessed it would take the Zhao Family a considerable amount of time to find their belongings.

Zheng Yi dared to do this thanks to the two Zhao Family members looking for Zhao Mingtang.

Their arrival revealed too much information to Zheng Yi.

For instance, when it came to searching.

If the Zhao Family really had items that allowed them to easily locate their people from afar, those two wouldn’t have gotten lost in the mountains around Riverbend Village.

So, aside from confirming their people’s life or death, even if they had a way to search, it wouldn’t cover a wide area.

Now, he could fully confirm his theory.

Once the searchers had left, Zheng Yi cautiously got out of bed, sticking close to the wall and looking outside through the window.

"As expected, not too many people."

Four figures gathered in the village center, indicating they had searched most of the village.

Besides, they had found nothing.

They whispered among themselves and quickly left the village.

Clearly, they were headed to the next village to continue their search.

To be cautious, Zheng Yi didn’t follow. He couldn’t be sure if they left someone behind to monitor him.

Given his current cultivation, he might not sense those well-hidden individuals.

Earlier, if not for the noise, he wouldn’t have noticed someone entering the village.

"Better to avoid trouble."

Since they hadn’t found anything in the village, Zheng Yi decided to leave well enough alone.

In the following days, the mining area was tranquil.

The special commissioner seemed to have put the search for people aside, spending his days either in Zhao Tianming’s house chatting over tea or wandering around the mining area with him.

He appeared to care more about the mining operations than the search for people.

Zhao Tianming was also unsure what the commissioner was really up to, playing along with him patiently.

"Damn it, what is this guy up to?" Zhao Tianming complained to Zheng Yi when the commissioner wasn’t around.

This sly character was clearly putting Zhao Tianming under significant pressure.

Zheng Yi chuckled lightly, "What’s he up to? Clearly, he suspects you."

"Three Zhao Family members died so silently. If you were in his position, wouldn’t you think the local forces had something to do with it?"

"After all, there’s been no sign of any rebel forces here this year."

"Who else but them could have silently taken out so many Zhao Family members?"

"Knowing their impressive abilities and powerful guards, not just anyone could kill them despite their small numbers."

"Most crucially, after killing them, there’s been no information leak, not a single survivor left."

The more Zheng Yi explained, the darker Zhao Tianming’s face became, "Damn it, this has nothing to do with me at all, okay?"