Chapter 18: A Single Oversight

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: A Single Oversight

"Erhu, knife!"

Lv Yuan leaned close to the ox’s corpse, reaching out his hand as he called out. Next to him, Wang Erhu hurriedly handed over a sharp dagger. Taking it, Lv Yuan gently sliced open the ox’s hide, revealing the stark white skeleton beneath.

He pinched a rib with his fingers, lightly crushing it. Slowly standing up, he walked over to Yun Wan and cupped his hands in respect. "The ox’s flesh and bone marrow have been entirely sucked dry. This is the work of Gu Masters among the Dusk Cloud Wizards."

Yun Wan said nothing. Above her thin veil, her beautiful eyes remained fixed on a scorched, blackened lump on a nearby tray that still retained a faint golden gleam.

SHING!

She slowly drew her sword, used the tip to pick up the scorched object, and gave it a gentle shake. A hint of surprise immediately appeared on her face.

"Glowing Gold Embroidery..." she murmured. "These are Uncle Tianhe’s shoes!"

Fang Xu had never expected that the Glowing Gold Embroidery technique of the Huangzhou Yun Family actually possessed fire-resistant properties. A massive fire had completely incinerated the corpse, yet that ruined pair of boots had somehow survived.

However, it made sense upon careful thought. A pair of Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots was worth a hundred pieces of gold. It would be unjustifiable if they didn’t have some special properties.

"Where was this item found!?" With her longsword still holding up the Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots, Yun Wan shot a sharp glare at Liao Yunfeng.

"To answer Miss Yun, it was found at the Yizhuang outside the town!" Liao Yunfeng did not dare to hesitate and quickly replied.

"The Yizhuang?" Yun Wan was puzzled.

Standing to the side, Zheng Ming of the Qinghe County Prison Department hurriedly cupped his hands. "After Wang Ergou’s corpse was discovered, he was transported to the Yizhuang by the Si Ji of Fenglin Town for temporary storage. However, some days ago, Wang Ergou’s widow from the Wang Family went to the Yizhuang to pay her respects. She burned some joss paper and accidentally started a fire, reducing the entire Yizhuang to ashes."

Hearing this, Yun Wan’s expression turned slightly cold. She thought to herself, "It seems Uncle Tianhe must already be dead, and his body was completely incinerated in that fire, leaving only this pair of Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots. In that case... where did that item go?"

Two months ago, Uncle Tianhe—Yun Tianhe—had received news that someone discovered an ancient ruin deep within Tilan Mountain. Observations suggested the ruin was incredibly old, seemingly the resting place of a mighty Martial Dao expert.

After secretly executing all those who knew about it, Yun Tianhe personally led a team to investigate. He later sent back a secret letter stating that he had obtained a mysterious Cultivation Technique within the ruin. He also clearly mentioned in the letter that they had encountered Dusk Cloud Wizards from the Dusk Cloud Kingdom, along with some powerful, mysterious individuals inside Tilan Mountain, and requested the family to send reinforcements.

To avoid attracting the attention of other factions, the Yun Family dispatched multiple teams to enter Tilan Mountain from various directions, but ultimately failed to find any trace of Yun Tianhe and his men.

Yun Wan had traveled from Huangzhou to Qinghe County this time partly because she needed to gain practical experience after reaching the Ninth Realm as a Martial Master, and partly to try her luck in finding Yun Tianhe.

"Investigate immediately and find out who delivered my Uncle Tianhe’s remains to the Yizhuang," Yun Wan ordered coldly, shooting a glance at the Fenglin Town Mayor, Huang Dechuan.

Huang Dechuan shuddered upon hearing this. As he instructed his subordinates to look into it, he complained endlessly in his heart. He wondered, "How could someone as noble as Mr. Yun end up dead right in the territory under Fenglin Town’s jurisdiction? This is an absolute disaster!"

Staring at the pair of ruined boots hanging from Yun Wan’s longsword, Lv Yuan also wore a solemn expression.

He thought, "Mr. Yun of the Yun Family is actually dead! And he died right here in Fenglin Town! Is this related to the wizard who killed Wang Ergou? If it’s the same person, then this matter is beyond my ability to resolve. After all, Mr. Yun’s cultivation base was far superior to mine."

"Miss Yun, I’m afraid this matter has become somewhat thorny. Should we request the Inspectorate to..."

"There’s no need," Yun Wan said, raising her hand to interrupt Lv Yuan. Sweeping her gaze over everyone present, she spoke coldly. "No one is to spread word of this. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy."

Although Tilan Mountain was within the borders of Great Yu, it was primarily located in Huangzhou Prefecture. The Yun Family dominated Huangzhou Prefecture, and while they nominally still respected the royal family, they absolutely could not let the royals know about the ruin. If the Inspectorate intervened, the royal family would undoubtedly seize the entire ruin for themselves, leaving the Yun Family with nothing but scraps.

"Understood!" Everyone cupped their hands and complied upon hearing her warning.

"Where does the widow from the Wang Family live?" Yun Wan asked slowly after pondering for a moment.

Inside the hall, Wang Erhu’s expression shifted slightly. After a brief silence, he finally braced himself and cupped his hands. "To answer Miss Yun, the woman from the Wang Family is my brother’s widow."

Yun Wan cast a glance at him and said indifferently, "Take me to her."

Under Wang Erhu’s guidance, Yun Wan soon arrived in front of the small courtyard where the woman from the Wang Family lived.

"After you, Miss Yun." Wang Erhu pushed open the courtyard gate and respectfully invited Yun Wan inside.

At this time, the widow from the Wang Family was washing clothes. Suddenly seeing Erhu leading a noble lady inside, she hurriedly approached and asked in a low voice, "Erhu, who is this lady..."

Wang Erhu quickly introduced her. "Ms. Wang, this is Miss Yun."

"Miss... Miss Yun!" The widow from the Wang Family looked at Yun Wan in shock, then bowed in a somewhat flustered manner. "Greetings, Miss Yun."

Yun Wan nodded slightly. "There’s no need for formalities. I came here because I have a matter to ask you about."

The widow from the Wang Family nodded nervously. "Please... please speak, Miss Yun."

It was already common knowledge that Yun Wan had publicly tortured Zhang Mingliang to death and forced Zhang Hong to commit suicide. Combined with her noble status and aloof aura, simply facing her made the widow from the Wang Family feel suffocated by an invisible pressure.

"Before the Yizhuang caught fire, did you encounter anyone else going there?"

The widow from the Wang Family blanked for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I did not. By the time Fang and I arrived at the Yizhuang that day, it was already late. That place is gloomy and terrifying; no one usually goes near it."

"Fang... who is that?" Yun Wan frowned.

Standing to the side, Wang Erhu hurriedly cupped his hands and spoke up. "To answer Miss Yun, she means Fang Xu. He lives not far from the west side of town."

The widow from the Wang Family also hastily added, "Fang once guided the way for you, Miss Yun."

Yun Wan suddenly understood, recalling the young man who had led her to the Zhang Family’s home that day.

"Go fetch him. I have some questions for him."

Hearing this, the widow from the Wang Family was momentarily stunned before quickly agreeing.

Back in the small courtyard a short while later, Fang Xu slightly cupped his hands toward Yun Wan. "Miss Yun."

He wondered why Yun Wan had come to the Wang Family’s residence at this time and why she had instructed the widow to call him over.

"Before the Yizhuang caught fire that day, you went there with her?" Yun Wan asked.

Fang Xu’s heart skipped a beat, but he did his best to control his expression as he cupped his hands. "That is correct."

"Did the two of you see anyone else when you went to the Yizhuang?" Yun Wan asked again.

Fang Xu’s expression shifted slightly as he shook his head. "We didn’t see anyone else. We didn’t even see the person guarding the Yizhuang."

The person guarding the Yizhuang...

Yun Wan’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. Suddenly, a possibility seemed to dawn on her.

She had already examined the Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots. The hidden compartment in the soles had been opened. That definitely meant Uncle Tianhe had stuffed the item into the hidden compartment of the Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots right before he died. The existence of a hidden compartment in the Glowing Gold Embroidered Boots was a secret of the Yun Family. Uncle Tianhe would only have chosen to hide the item inside if he knew his safety was compromised.

This meant that the people who killed her Uncle Tianhe most likely did not obtain that Cultivation Technique. Now that the Cultivation Technique was gone, there were only two people who were most likely to have taken it: the first was the person who discovered the corpse, and the second was the person guarding the Yizhuang.

"Miss Yun, the person who discovered Mr. Yun’s corpse has been found!"

At this moment, Huang Dechuan and a group of Si Ji walked in from outside the courtyard, shoving two figures—one old and one young—ahead of them.