Immortal of the Nine Realms

On their way up the mountain, there was a guard to be seen every ten steps.

A group of Valiant Defenders stood at attention at the entrance of the Heavensword Mountain Villa. Upon seeing Jue Panshi, Fang Chen, and the others, they quickly bowed.

“War God Fang, this incident is particularly vile. It has been many years since such a tragedy befell our South Immortal Commandery, so I ordered my men to lock off this area and strictly forbid anyone else from approaching the area,” Jue Panshi explained.

“You made the right call.” Fang Chen nodded.

He glanced at Abbess Clearlotus and saw that the latter’s face was pale, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. He quietly asked, “Is there… a ruckus inside?”

Jue Panshi thought that Fang Chen was talking to him and was confused. What ruckus could there be inside? There are only corpses in there…

“Mm.” Abbess Clearlotus nervously nodded.

“Let’s enter.” Fang Chen took the lead in entering the Heavensword Mountain Villa.

This was not Huangfu Jie’s first time here; he had already seen the terrible scene left in the wake of the massacre. Even so, his heart still lurched when he saw it once more, and his face visibly paled.

Before his eyes were dried corpses scattered around the villa. These corpses hadn’t been moved since they were killed. Their sunken faces looked hideous, and their emaciated bodies were distorted in unnatural angles.

Yuan Zhuang and the rectifiers had seen their fair share of tragedies while working on cases, but most of them were still shaken up by the sight before them. Their eyes swam around the place, and their bodies trembled ever so slightly.

Yuan Yu and the other constables didn’t fare as well. Some of them averted their eyes, and some even retched at the sight.

More dried corpses appeared as they ventured deeper into the villa. It was as if there was no end to the casualties.

In particular, there was one scene that caught their attention. It was a woman holding two children in her embrace; one was still an infant, whereas the other was around eight years old. All of them had been reduced to dried corpses.

Beside the woman was another dried corpse with many injuries on his body. He seemed to have undergone quite a bit of torture before he was killed.

“She… is the young madam of the Heavensword Mountain Villa. The tortured man beside her is young master Qian Xuejun. In her arms are their two children,” Huangfu Jie explained. “Brother Xuejun had reached early Ki Control before his death. The opponent must have been strong, or else he would have at least been able to escape with his wife and sons.”

Yuan Zhuang and the others couldn’t believe that an early Ki Control martial artist could be reduced to such a state. Who in the world could have done this?

They were suddenly reminded of a recent case in the capital. Master Xu Hui had also hidden dried corpses inside a well in the Compassion Hall. Could these two cases be related?

The thought of that prompted the rectifiers to turn to Fang Chen. They knew that Fang Chen had a hand in the case even though You Longchang was the one who officially concluded it. Otherwise, Vice Minister Qin would still have remained beyond the reach of law.

Abbess Clearlotus’ complexion turned increasingly pale. She saw countless souls howling in agony around her, as they re-enacted their final moments.

“Don’t be scared. Father and mother are here. Take a nap. It’ll be over by then,” a beautiful woman gently consoled the children in her arms, but she kept repeating the same words over and over again.

Abbess Clearlotus couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. She chanted a sutra, and a golden light fell on the souls. Their warped expressions loosened, as if they had been granted a moment of peace.

“Did War God Fang bring her here to help the dead move on?” Jue Panshi wondered.

“Abbess Clearlotus, ask them for the culprit’s appearance. It’ll be best if you can draw them out,” Fang Chen said.

Abbess Clearlotus stopped her sutra. She walked up to the female corpse, squatted down, and began murmuring under her breath.

This eerie scene rattled even Jade Fairy.

The crowd exchanged nervous looks.

Jue Panshi alternated his gaze between Abbess Clearlotus and Fang Chen, and he couldn’t help but wonder if War God Fang was off his rockers.

“Do you have anyone who’s good at composite drawing?” Fang Chen asked Jue Panshi.

Jue Panshi was startled by the question, but before he could answer, Yuan Zhuang stepped forward and said, “War God Fang, Rectifier Chen is skilled at composite drawing.”

“Prepare some brush and ink,” Fang Chen ordered.

A moment later, Rectifier Chen squatted down beside Abbess Clearlotus and began drawing. From time to time, he would give a small nod. It took roughly fifteen minutes for the portrait to be completed.

“Chen Da, do you have any impression of this person?” Fang Chen took the painting and showed it to Chen Da.

Chen Da looked at the painting and frowned in uncertainty. “The person in the painting looks familiar to me, but I was too far away to confirm whether it’s really him or not.”

Jue Panshi belatedly realized that Chen Da was a witness. I searched for days but to no avail, but Fang Chen found a witness as soon as he reached the South Immortal Commandery?

Fang Chen nodded. He stowed away the portrait, not showing it to anyone else.

Abbess Clearlotus continued chanting to send the deceased off.

Fang Chen looked at the woman who died embracing her two children and muttered, “Many of our good men have died protecting our Great Xia from other countries who covet our resources. These men are the pillars of their families, and they joined the battlefield so that their families could live peaceful lives.

“107 men from the Heavensword Mountain Villa fought under me back when I was still the marshall, and all of them died on the Three Realms Mountain. Yet, harm still befell their families. Does this mean that their sacrifices had been in vain?”

The crowd was rendered speechless. Many of them clenched their fists as hatred flickered across their eyes.

“War God Fang, may I have a look at the portrait?” Jue Panshi solemnly said. “I’ll do everything I can to find the culprit so as to appease the souls of the brutally murdered Qian Clansmen!”

“You and your Valiant Defenders aren’t a match for that person. Our young master is the only one who has the means to deal with him,” Abbess Clearlotus said as she stood up.

The crowd was startled. Only Fang Chen could deal with the culprit? Does this mean that the culprit is a Ki Manifestation martial artist?

Jue Panshi was taken aback.

Their Valiant Defenders would be out of their league if the culprit was a Ki Manifestation martial artist, but even so, Ki Manifestation martial artists weren’t infallible. The culprit wouldn’t be able to escape if they encircled him with their soldiers.

“Have you sent them off?” Fang Chen asked Abbess Clearlotus.

Abbess Clearlotus nodded. Just then, a surge of spirit ki flowed into her body, manifesting her third immortal vein. She had reached third stage Ki Refinement!

Only a cultivator could sense the surge in spirit ki, so no one else noticed her breakthrough.

Abbess Clearlotus wasn’t delighted by her breakthrough. Instead, she murmured in resignation, “I think I finally understand why my master told me that those in our lineage become colder as we advance our attainment.”

Fang Chen pondered for a moment before he turned to Jue Panshi and instructed, “You may bury the corpses now.”

“But War God Fang, we haven’t caught the culprit yet…” Jue Panshi was startled.

“We won’t be putting him on trial even if we capture him. I’ll personally send him off, so we won’t need these corpses as evidence,” Fang Chen replied.

“Yes, young master…” Jue Panshi was perplexed, but he ordered his subordinate to bury the corpses anyway.

“Tidy up some of the rooms. We’ll be staying here tonight,” Fang Chen instructed Yuan Zhuang and the others.

The hearts of Yuan Zhuang and the others lurched. Wait, we’re going to sleep here tonight?!

—

Composite drawings are police sketches done based on eye-witness’ descriptions.