Chapter 114: Stir-fried Centipedes? Braised Spiders?

While Ye Feng was being chased by a swarm of magical beasts across the mountains in the cultivation realm, the reinforcements on Long Tian’s side finally arrived.
As the local lord of City H and possessing powerful Yuan Ying stage strength, Long Tian, despite his relatively short experience, naturally became one of the decision-makers for this operation. Moreover, as one of the first to arrive at the Ghost Market, the information he provided proved crucial in tracking down the murderer.
Among the seven or eight people around the round table, aside from Long Tian and Daoist Kongxu, only the tall, bald middle-aged man in a neat Zhongshan suit was at the Yuan Ying stage. The scar on his head clearly indicated that he was not bald due to hair loss but was a genuine monk. However, his inherently fierce appearance made him seem more like a gang boss.
The rest were only at the Jin Dan stage, with two even at the mid-Jin Dan stage, which left Long Tian somewhat speechless. He hadn’t expected that, aside from Shaolin and Wudang, none of the sect leaders had reached the Yuan Ying stage.
Mu Rong, sitting next to Li Qing, didn’t seem concerned. She glanced around before speaking up first, “Where is Ye Feng?”
Since someone had raised the question, Long Tian couldn’t ignore it. He replied vaguely, “He has some personal matters to attend to and has been busy these past few days. He’ll return once he’s done!”
Although Mu Rong was dissatisfied with this seemingly perfunctory answer, she didn’t press further. If it truly were a personal matter, it might involve privacy. She nodded wisely, though her expression clearly showed reluctance.
“Regarding the massacre at the Ghost Market, I believe everyone has already received relevant information from the Long Group. Moreover, before gathering here, everyone also inspected the crime scene. I wonder if anyone has found any clues?” Seeing that everyone remained silent again, Daoist Kongxu took the initiative to start the conversation.

“I went to check. The so-called demonic aura you mentioned has completely disappeared due to the passage of time. Only a faint trace can be detected in the air, indicating that demons were there. As for other clues, those corpses have been completely burned, and in most cases, it’s even impossible to determine the cause of death. However, from the few identifiable corpses, we can see that in addition to claw marks, tooth marks, and wounds from violent tearing, there are also cases of fatal injuries from sharp weapons. It’s certain that besides the demons, at least one human was involved in this massacre.” The bald middle-aged man had a serious expression, his scalp faintly reflecting the light above everyone’s heads.

Mu Rong stared at his head in fascination…

“What about Hu Die’s corpse? Did you check it?” Long Tian felt somewhat heavy-hearted when thinking of Hu Die, while Li Qing nearby lowered his head, looking very upset.

“We did. It’s clearly the work of a human, and their strength is above the Yuan Ying stage,” the bald middle-aged man nodded. “To be honest, as an experienced demon cultivator, Hu Die is known to most of the powerful figures in the country. Her strength was at the peak of the Jin Dan stage, so in a real fight, she might not have been able to defeat those at the later stages of Jin Dan. But killing her wasn’t something that could be done easily. Although her offensive power wasn’t strong and her defense was weak, her movement style was quite remarkable. That movement style called ‘Flowers Amongst’—I’ve seen it before, and it’s indeed a praiseworthy technique. If it were the first time someone saw her use it, it would be absolutely impossible to find its weakness and kill her within ten minutes!”

“You mean it’s possible the killer was someone she knew? Someone who killed her when she wasn’t on guard?” Long Tian immediately asked. It was the first time he had heard of the ‘Flowers Amongst’ movement style, but after what the monk said, he immediately understood.

“I’m just saying this possibility can’t be ruled out…” The bald middle-aged man didn’t deny it.

“Wudao, are you sure her ‘Flowers Amongst’ movement style has such effects?” Daoist Kongxu apparently had only heard of it and had never seen Hu Die’s technique.

“That’s right. At least among the many movement styles I’ve seen so far, ‘Flowers Amongst’ ranks among the top three…” The bald middle-aged man wasn’t shy about his praise.

“There are only a few powerful figures at the Yuan Ying stage in the country. It seems that both you and I could be under serious suspicion.” Daoist Kongxu shook his head helplessly and turned to the others. “Has anyone else found anything?”

Everyone shook their heads in silence.

“It seems there are no other clues. We can only follow the method I mentioned to Long Tian before—starting with that monster,” said Empty Taoist, pulling out a long black thread as fine as hair from his sleeve.
“This is… a demon breath?” Wu Dao recognized it at a glance.
“That’s right. It’s something I materialized and sealed away. I want to use your experience and talent to help us find that monster!” Empty nodded and handed the black thread to Wu Dao.
Wu Dao took the thread, played with it for a while, then put it away. “Let’s rest and regain our strength tonight. Early tomorrow morning, I’ll have Empty lift the seal, and with this, I’ll locate that monster. Then we can subdue it in one go and get information about the real culprit from it.”
After the meeting, Empty pulled Long Tian aside. “Ye Feng didn’t come. Is it because of what I said?”
“I’m not sure. He just said he has some matters to attend to first and will try to return as soon as possible,” Long Tian replied indifferently, shaking his head to show he didn’t know.
“Oh, I see…” Empty narrowed his eyes slightly. Though he doubted the truth of Long Tian’s answer, after a brief silence, he turned and left.
When Long Tian returned to the apartment, Kelly and the other goddesses greeted him with strange expressions.
“What’s wrong with you all?” Long Tian found their behavior puzzling.
“Do you know where Ye Feng went?” Long Yue frowned. “We haven’t seen him all day today.”
“He’s been out handling some matters these past few days… He’ll be back soon!” Long Tian reassured them.
“Is nothing wrong with him?” Kelly pressed further.
“Don’t worry. That kid is very careful!” Long Tian said with a smile, shaking his head.
“Hmph! He left without saying a word. We had lunch outside, and the food was already bought but no one cooked it…” Zhuge Ling’er pouted and snorted.
“I’ll cook dinner tonight! I can at least do a little,” Pearl volunteered to take on the task of preparing dinner.
“I’ll do it myself. The stir-fried centipedes and braised spiders you cooked at lunch were really…” Zhuge Ling’er and the other two women waved their hands repeatedly…