For such a long time, the white fox could only express itself through gestures and writing simple numbers.
Now, after eating a skink's gall bladder, it can speak?
Although it's not too difficult for demonic creatures to speak, this is a Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox!
It seems this gall bladder is not only non-toxic but also highly nourishing.
Xie An was overjoyed and carefully examined the white fox, "What did you call me just now?"
The white fox was naturally very happy to discover that it could speak human language and didn't think much about it. "Big brother."
Xie An found the voice soft, clear, and extremely pleasant, so he wanted to hear it again, "Say it again."
The white fox glanced at Xie An, clearly a little speechless, as if unwilling.
Pa!
Xie An flicked the white fox's head hard, causing the white fox to feel a buzzing in its head, and its whole body went numb. Finally, it seemed to straighten its position and reluctantly called out, "Big brother."
Xie An felt very comfortable in his heart after hearing it.
Was he one step closer to poaching Huang Shifu's talent?
Putting away his thoughts, Xie An asked, "How did you think of eating the gall bladder?"
He didn't even know what kind of species the skink was, but Little White could identify it at a glance. This was very surprising.
Little White scratched its head in confusion, "I don't know either, I just felt the gall bladder was extremely precious."
Seeing Little White's serious look, it didn't seem to be pretending.
Xie An didn't continue to ask, but based on his experience, he solemnly reminded the white fox not to eat strange things in the future.
Seemingly aware of the concern from its big brother, the white fox was touched and nodded heavily to indicate it understood.
Seeing it being well-behaved, and probably understanding the seriousness of the matter, Xie An stopped there. But the thoughts in his mind were racing: if the white fox eats treasured bones, treasured medicines, and treasured gall bladders, will it constantly evolve and transform? Could it even awaken its intelligence?
If he continues to feed it treasured medicines and treasures, what will it become?
Will it reach a certain stage and develop spiritual energy within its body?
Xie An took a deep look at the white fox before putting away his thoughts.
【Detected 400 strands of demon essence】
Without thinking, Xie An directly absorbed it.
Absorbing 400 strands of demon essence at once would not cause much discomfort to the body. It would just sting slightly and then pass.
【Current available undead qi: 7600 strands.】
After absorbing it, Xie An carefully examined the huge skink in front of him. Because its internal organs and intestines were scattered all over the ground, the surrounding space was filled with a nauseating stench.
Xie An covered his nose and used his eyesight to examine it carefully.
It resembled a crocodile and a giant lizard, but not quite.
A species he had never seen before.
Although the Demon Suppression Division was an organization set up to slay demons and eliminate evil, large demons rarely appeared in Qingwu County, and Xie An had seen few of them. It was normal not to recognize it.
"These scales seem to be very hard... Is it a treasure?"
Xie An had long wanted to forge a suit of armor with excellent defensive capabilities for himself, so that he could have more chances to save his life when encountering strong enemies. He had also been to the Demon Suppression Division's armory, but the quality was generally average, and they were mostly some armor similar to what soldiers wore. Defending against low-level martial artists was no problem, but defending against the attacks of martial arts grandmasters... it was far from enough.
Although this skink was only at the eighth level of martial artist, some demonic beasts might develop treasured bones or treasured scales that surpassed their own strength?
Xie An jumped onto the skink's head, pried off a few scales, and then used the Demon Suppression Blade to cut and test the hardness and toughness.
As a result, without much effort, the scales were easily cut open.
"No good..."
With Xie An's current strength, only martial arts grandmasters could threaten him.
The treasured armor he wanted to make was naturally to deal with martial arts grandmasters.
Xie An pried off a few more scales from the skink's back to test, but they were all no good.
Finally, Xie An focused his attention on the scales on its abdomen.
The hardest scales on a snake's body are located on its abdomen. This is because the abdomen needs to withstand more friction and pressure.
After some testing, the scales on the abdomen were also easily cut open by the Demon Suppression Blade.
Xie An had no choice but to give up the idea of using its scales to make treasured armor and began to ponder the reason for the skink's village massacre.
"This thing would run ashore to massacre a village?"
If it were a dog demon or a demonic beast that lived in the mountains all year round, it would be understandable to go ashore to massacre a village. But this skink's four claws are very short, similar to a crocodile, even shorter than a giant lizard's legs. It looks like it's suitable for living in water. Running ashore is very inconvenient.
Demonic beasts all have intelligence and wouldn't do something so far-fetched. They know how to use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
Xie An always felt that something was wrong.
Xie An went to the vicinity of the gully to investigate and found a very large cave inside.
Judging from the size of the cave, it should be the skink's lair.
Gusts of cold wind blew out from the cave, slapping on the face, making it feel chilly.
It didn't feel right.
Xie An threw a few stones inside, but there was no reaction.
Still not feeling at ease, he found a pile of dry firewood, lit it, and threw it into the cave.
As thick smoke poured into the cave, even if there was a demon hiding inside, it would definitely be unable to withstand the smoke.
But after the dry firewood was burned out, there was still no movement inside.
Only then did Xie An completely relax and turn to look at Little White.
Little White quickly took two steps back, shaking its head like a rattle drum, indicating that it could not go exploring first again.
Xie An felt very speechless, thinking to himself that Little White was really afraid of death.
"Come on my shoulder."
Little White happily jumped onto Xie An's shoulder.
Xie An gripped the Demon Suppression Blade tightly, opened his five senses to cover a distance of twenty meters, and walked inside step by step.
The cave was very shallow. After walking forward five or six meters, it came to an end. It was a very large stone chamber.
Relying on the charcoal that had not completely extinguished, Xie An barely saw the surrounding scene.
In addition to some rotten flesh and blood, there was also a stone platform. On the stone platform was placed an incense burner and a basin. The basin contained a special green liquid that smelled very pungent. However, Xie An smelled the scent of medicinal herbs.
This was definitely not a medicinal herb that the skink could concoct.
Although some top-level great demons have the ability to concoct medicine, this skink definitely hasn't reached that level.
"How does it feel like someone is raising this skink?"
A beast tamer?
Does a beast tamer need to give medicine to a demonic beast?
Xie An didn't understand the methods of beast tamers and couldn't make a judgment.
"First, take the incense burner and the liquid in this basin back. Find a professional pharmacist to identify them."
Xie An took the incense burner and the basin back to the sampan and continued south with the nanmu bamboo pole.
Not far ahead was the place that had been massacred this time—Baishi Village, Daze Township.
Snowflakes fluttered and the cold wind howled.
Xie An looked out and saw a small village on the distant shore, and on the other side of the Huai River, a huge lake appeared, stretching as far as the eye could see, like a monstrous beast lying on the water in the falling snow.
...
Daze Township.
Baishi Village.
Snowflakes filled the sky, and the courtyard of the ancestral hall was piled with bloody corpses.
A group of Demon Suppression Guards in dark blue uniforms were carrying corpses. A strong and pungent bloody smell permeated the surroundings, making people want to vomit.
"Hey, this is really unlucky. I came here from Nanyang Prefecture to work, originally wanting to gain experience, but I didn't expect to encounter a demonic beast massacring a village as soon as I arrived. I'm afraid my future is gone."
"Why am I not unlucky? I tried so hard to improve, but in the end, an accident ruined my future."
"Stop complaining. Princess Zhao Qing'er bears the greatest responsibility this time."
"That's right, Princess Zhao is also having a hard time. After she came to Qingwu County, she has been diligent and dedicated, wholeheartedly slaying demons and eliminating evil. I didn't expect such a big accident to happen..."
Lights were on in the ancestral hall, and shadows flickered.
Ye Luo bandaged Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er's wounds, splinted the broken bones in their arms, and then said to Chen Tie, who was standing aside, "Master Chen, the conditions here are simple, so I can only do a simple treatment.
Fortunately, Young Master Wei and Princess Zhao were not injured internally. The broken bones and torn ligaments can be recovered after a period of recuperation."
Hearing this, Chen Tie finally breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his fist at Ye Luo, "Thank you, Master Ye. Please go outside and see if there are any injured villagers, I beg you."
"It's my duty. If there's anything, call me at any time." Ye Luo cupped his fist and left.
Wei Haoran's right hand was hanging with a bandage, and his head was also wrapped in gauze, but he "whooshed" and jumped off the bed, "Damn skink, it actually massacred the village. If its scales weren't too hard, I would have stabbed it to death long ago."
Zhao Qing'er's situation was no better than Wei Haoran's. She also climbed out of bed, "Senior Brother Chen, this is my jurisdiction, and I bear the primary responsibility for the incident. Since Senior Brother Chen is here, let's go to Reed Island again and stab that evil creature. To avenge the villagers here!"
But Chen Tie shook his head helplessly.
My ancestors...
It's a blessing that the two of you are okay.
Otherwise, how would I, Chen Tie, explain to Duke Wei and Prince Bao?
However, Chen Tie also knew that the two of them hated evil like an enemy and didn't discourage their enthusiasm, "Chief Xie has already gone to Reed Island. Let's wait for Chief Xie to come back before we talk about it."
Zhao Qing'er was shocked, "Although Chief Xie is cautious, his strength is not much higher than mine. If he takes more people with him, it's not impossible to win."
Chen Tie shook his head, "Chief Xie went alone. Even Liu Chun was sent back by him."
Zhao Qing'er was horrified, "Alone? That's too dangerous."
Wei Haoran also said, "Isn't that right? Chief Xie was clearly on leave, but suddenly such a thing happened, which is equivalent to cleaning up our mess. It's not righteous to let him go alone. I'll go help."
After speaking, Wei Haoran walked out to help with crutches and a knife, limping.
Chen Tie looked unsteady on his feet, leaving him utterly speechless. "Alright. In your condition, you'd be more of a hindrance than a help. Liu Chun also suggested that Chief Xie take more people, but Chief Xie said that too many people would be a burden, and he went alone."
Wei Haoran, deeply ashamed, threw down his blade and sat back in his seat, frustrated. "Ah, if only I had practiced harder usually, the Chief wouldn't have to clean up our mess."
Zhao Qing'er also lowered her head in frustration. "This isn't your fault; it's my problem. After such a big incident, I certainly can't continue as a Deputy Chief. I've surely disappointed Father. Ah…"
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Speaking of which, Zhao Qing'er sighed deeply, her eyes red-rimmed.
This time, Prince Bao had high hopes for her training. He hoped she could assist the Eldest Princess in making great achievements, return to the capital in glory, and bring honor to Prince Bao.
Zhao Qing'er had always worked very hard.
Unexpectedly… she still disappointed her father.
Ah.
Zhao Qing'er sighed again, and most of her energy and spirit dissipated, leaving her deeply depressed and lost.
Despite being Prince Bao's daughter, the competition among the second-generation nobles in the capital was fierce.
She didn't want to fall behind, and she especially didn't want people to say she relied solely on her father, Prince Bao.
In the end… she still couldn't achieve it.
Just then, a familiar voice came from outside the door.
"Princess Zhao need not be so discouraged."
The three people in the room looked up and saw Xie An walking in, covered in dust, holding a censer and a washbasin, emitting a pungent medicinal smell.
Zhao Qing'er was very excited. "Chief Xie, what's the situation on Reed Isle?"
Xie An said casually, "That four-legged snake has already been killed by me."
Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er, who were sitting, were so shocked by these words that they stood up abruptly, looking at Xie An in disbelief.
The two of them had led fifteen elite Demon Guards to Reed Isle to encircle and suppress the four-legged snake, and they had personally experienced the horror of the four-legged snake. Yet, Xie An had taken it down single-handedly?
This…
Wasn't he the one who went to the Demon Guard's pharmacy to collect Sevenfold Inner Strength Pills a while ago?
How did he do it?
At this time, Little White, perched on Xie An's shoulder, said faintly, "What's so great about that little snake? My Big Brother killed it with one strike."
A talking spirit fox?
And killed it with one strike?
The successive news left everyone's minds reeling.
After a moment, Chen Tie was the first to speak. "Chief Xie is indeed someone recommended by the Eldest Princess; you truly have hidden talents.
When it dawns, I will have someone go to Reed Isle to bring back the body of the four-legged snake, so that we can have an explanation.
However, after all, such a tragic massacre occurred in the village, and we will inevitably be questioned and punished. With Li Hao fanning the flames, the punishment will probably be more severe than usual.
Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran will at least be dismissed and investigated. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my position as Deputy Chief either. I will have let down the Eldest Princess's expectations."
Xie An shook his head. "Not necessarily. Look at the green liquid in this washbasin."
Everyone's attention then fell on the washbasin, and the three of them went over to smell it.
Chen Tie said, "It's medicinal liquid. Where did this washbasin come from?"
Xie An truthfully recounted the situation in the four-legged snake's cave in detail, and finally stated his analysis: "I saw the legs of that four-legged snake; they were very short and not suitable for land. The village massacre itself is strange. Adding this medicine and the censer… I suspect that someone is artificially raising the four-legged snake and deliberately creating the village massacre."
As soon as these words came out, everyone agreed.
If it was a man-made disaster, then… things might still have a turning point.
Xie An said, "Deputy Chief Zhao, Deputy Chief Chen, you are both from the capital and have seen a lot. Do you know if beast tamers have methods to control demonic beasts with medicinal liquids?"
Zhao Qing'er shook her head. "Beast tamers mostly have the ability to communicate with demons, coupled with professional training, using tools and so on to achieve the effect of taming beasts. The method of controlling demonic beasts with medicinal liquids is extremely rare. After all, for a beast tamer, the demonic beast is another self, and they cherish it extremely. They would not use drugs to control the demonic beast, so as not to affect the demonic beast's development and growth."
Not a beast tamer?
Chen Tie said, "I have heard that some powerful apothecaries and some witches from southwestern Miaojiang use drugs and witchcraft to control drugs."
The information was complicated, and Xie An couldn't make a judgment, so he said, "Deputy Chief Chen, please find a professional apothecary to look at the specific ingredients in the medicinal liquid, so that we will know a lot more."
Chen Tie suddenly woke up. "I will have someone call Master Ye over."
Soon, Ye Luo came over and was greatly shocked after learning that Xie An had killed the four-legged snake that massacred the village. After all, in Ye Luo's mind, he had always felt that Xie An's strength was not as good as Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er, and that he relied on connections to become Chief.
Unexpectedly, this Chief Xie was hiding so deeply.
After a slight daze, Ye Luo squatted down and carefully checked the medicinal liquid in the washbasin and the ashes in the censer.
After a while, Ye Luo said, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring enough tools and equipment. I have to take these two things back to the Demon Guard's pharmacy to extract these medicinal liquids and ashes to identify the medicinal ingredients."
Chen Tie immediately shouted outside the door: "Call Liu Chun over, and let Liu Chun quickly take Ye Luo back to the Demon Guard's office.
Master Ye, if there are any results, please report back here immediately."
"It should be so." Ye Luo picked up the washbasin and censer and was about to leave.
Xie An suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."
Ye Luo was stunned. "Chief Xie, what else do you want to say?"
Xie An said: "For the sake of prudence, please write down the required equipment and tools on paper and let Liu Chun bring them over. It is better to extract and test them here. After all, there are other factions in the Demon Guard, which can easily ruin things."
Everyone looked at Xie An, and they couldn't help but admire Xie An's meticulousness.
Chen Tie had overlooked it, and immediately echoed, "Chief Xie is so careful; it should be so."
Ye Luo went to the next room to write down the equipment and tools, while Chen Tie took the opportunity to ask Xie An, "Chief Xie, are you worried about Zhou Xuan and his group?"
Xie An always felt that this incident was sudden and probably not a coincidence.
And in Qingwu County, besides the Eldest Princess, the only one who could stir up trouble was Li Hao.
Of course, because there was no evidence, Xie An would not say these suspicions, but only said: "It's always right to be cautious. If the news is leaked, we will be even more passive."
Everyone admired him greatly. Because of Xie An's arrival and arrangements, everyone felt much more at ease.
Immediately, Xie An asked his subordinates to bring over a booklet and pen and ink, sat in the room, and asked Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran in detail about what happened, and made detailed records.
Although Xie An was mainly an official for his own sake, he also had to do his job well, otherwise, wouldn't this official position be for nothing?
Previously, Liu Chun had roughly described the process, but the information was inevitably missed, so he had to record it in detail and then make a screening analysis.
Time, place, specific changes…
After all the records were made.
The whole picture emerged:
Half a month ago, four Tanka people found the Demon Guards patrolling in Daze Township and reported that they had found a huge shadow in the Huai River outside Baishi Village, which overturned the Tanka people's fishing boats and swallowed their fish.
The Demon Guards didn't take it seriously, but just stayed by the Huai River for a day. When they found nothing unusual, they left and told the Tanka people not to be alarmed.
In the following days, because the end of the year was approaching, the villagers who went out to make a living returned to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year, and Baishi Village became lively. Two children went to the Huai River to play in the water and disappeared inexplicably, leaving only broken hands.
At that time, Zhao Qing'er realized the seriousness of the problem and took Wei Haoran to stay in Daze Township day and night, increasing the night patrol force on the Huai River.
Yesterday, on New Year's Eve.
Baishi Village invited a circus to perform in the square by the river, and then the village was massacred. When Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran arrived, no one was alive. The four Tanka people said the lair of the black shadow.
Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er, who were furious, led people to the island to encircle and suppress the evil beast, but were severely injured.
Each event has a relatively specific time.
Xie An looked at the records on the booklet, analyzed them word by word, and finally looked at Zhao Qing'er: "Those four Tanka people learned that Baishi Village was going to hold a circus performance by the river, and they strongly opposed it?"
Zhao Qing'er said: "The four Tanka people have lived on the islands of Hongze Lake for generations and know the situation of Hongze Lake very well. The leader is called Chen Asi, and that's what he said. When we boarded the island by boat, Chen Asi led the way."
Xie An said, "Where are they now?"
Zhao Qing'er said: "They are waiting for orders in the temporary camp of the Demon Guards at the entrance of the village."
Xie An pondered for a moment, then wrote a line at the end of the booklet: It is very likely that Li Hao did it.
Then, Xie An closed the booklet, called Liu Chun's confidant Xiaohu, handed him the booklet, "Send it to Xie Mansion overnight and give it to Yu He. Remember, deliver it to Yu He personally."
Xiaohu nodded and said yes, solemnly took the booklet and left.
Xie An was naturally not for Yu He, but to report to Su Yuqing.
Xie An had lived with Su Yuqing for many years and had long known that the Prince of Huainan was going to rebel. And Li Hao was a pawn on the front line.
The reason for the judgment is also very simple: this time, Chen Tie, Zhao Qing'er, and Wei Haoran will be dismissed and investigated, and Xie An, the Chief, may also be removed. The biggest beneficiary is Li Hao. He can take over the Qingwu Demon Guard alone!
Don't underestimate the small yamen of the Qingwu Demon Guard. Now this yamen is a nail set by the imperial court on the front line. If this nail is removed, the court will become blind to the Prince of Huainan and the Five Old Demons.
For this level of confrontation, Xie An naturally needed to rely on the power of the Eldest Princess, so he had to let Su Yuqing know as soon as possible.
And Xie An knew very well what he had to do next: find the culprit of the man-made disaster and catch him. In addition, with the operation of the Eldest Princess in the officialdom, this crisis can be resolved.
After confirming his thoughts, Xie An stood up, "Deputy Chief Chen, take me to see those four Tanka people."
