Chapter 229: Lu Xiao’s Divine Skill
Chapter 229: Lu Xiao’s Divine Skill
The commotion southwest of the Lingwu Sect lasted the entire night.
Without even trying to find out, Fang Cun heard many astonishing stories that made people gasp in wonder.
It was said that the Divine Eye Young Master read through all the County Mansion’s dossiers on the Ghost Official case in a single night, especially focusing on those about the two major crimes the Ghost Official had recently committed in Qingjiang City, including everything related to all the victims, witnesses, and everyone implicated, among other things.
Of course, the County Mansion had worked very hard on it, investigating countless pieces of information in a short time.
After one night, the Divine Eye Young Master had become the person who understood the Ghost Official matters best.
The entire Lingwu Sect was already amazed by the Divine Eye Young Master’s incredible skills, as that kind of terrifying talent seemed almost godlike to ordinary people; it was easy to imagine that after this, the Divine Eye Young Master’s fame would surely spread once more across Qingjiang Prefecture, and if he could actually uncover the Ghost Official’s tracks through this incident alone, his fame might even reach Zhaoge!
Fang Cun slept peacefully all night, got up the next day, washed himself, had breakfast, and only then came over surrounded by everyone.
At that moment, inside the Lingwu Sect’s main hall, the atmosphere was still quite lively, with many people staying awake all night to watch the Divine Eye Young Master flipping through the dossiers on the divine platform; they showed no sign of tiredness now, instead seeming excited, loudly discussing the Divine Eye Young Master’s miracles and guessing who the Ghost Official really was, whether he could be among them.
As for the Divine Eye Young Master, he had not shown up yet, still resting in a side hall.
It seemed he had spent the whole night examining the dossiers like that; though it was almost miraculous, the toll it took wasn’t small.
Fang Cun came and sat in the hall, quietly sipping tea, while He Zhenzhang and Meng Qing’er nearby sneaked worried glances at him; but Second Young Master Fang was calm and unhurried, as if he had woken early to enjoy the show!
After the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, the Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao came out escorted by three elders from the Nine Immortals Sect.
He bowed one by one to those present: the Lingwu Sect Leader, various elders, Second Young Master Fang, Magistrate Xue from Qingjiang City with various Divine Generals and Secretaries, Young Master Bai Huaiyu who came from the Seven Clans’ Bai family, the recently arrived Fifth Master Xue, Lord Baili the Huang family son-in-law, and others; only then did he sit among everyone, straightening his clothes and posture, and softly said: “After last night of examining them, I have gained a bit of insight.”
Hearing this, everyone in the hall felt a shock and sat up straighter.
Especially some ominous stares turning toward Fang Cun’s direction; these were Qi Refiners from the Seven Clans.
Fang Cun laughed and said: “Yesterday, I heard of Young Lu’s amazing skills; I’m ready to listen carefully!”
The Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao nodded lightly toward Fang Cun, then sat upright and softly said: “Since four years ago, when the Ghost Official appeared in Qingjiang, until today, he has committed one hundred fifty-two major and minor cases, involving four hundred seventy-six lives, slaughtering four families, killing seventeen women and children, stealing gold, silver, and treasures; over ten thousand and seven hundred pieces of gold are documented by the County Mansion, plus many priceless secret manuals and rare charms.”
“Ahem…”
Hearing this, everyone in the hall was shocked.
It wasn’t because of what the Ghost Official did; the shock was that the Divine Eye Young Master could describe it so precisely.
Had he truly memorized every part of the dossiers after just one night?
Then Lu Xiao nodded gently to everyone and added: “But in my shallow view, of those one hundred fifty-two cases, less than seven out of ten were truly done by the Ghost Official, and at least half of those may be hard to verify for now.”
“Uh…”
The hall became eerily silent.
On the other hand, Fang Cun’s expression showed a slight smile, as if very pleased.
“Many dossiers are too old, and due to the earlier fire, incomplete; thus, at a rough guess, most weren’t the Ghost Official’s work but can’t be fully investigated. Those connected to the Ghost Official cases now are only the recent three bloody incidents. After examining the dossiers closely, I judge that among these three bloody incidents, only…”
He paused slightly before continuing: “The last one might really be the Ghost Official’s doing!”
“Wow…”
Upon hearing this, many in the hall showed amazement.
That included those who already knew, like the Seven Clans’ people, and Second Young Master Fang, who looked surprised.
He Zhenzhang and Meng Qing’er beside him could barely stand to watch.
“The first of the two bloody incidents involved four Golden Core and four Foundation Establishment Refiners. When the guards of Qingjiang Prison weren’t present, they used poison gas to sneak in, killed all forty-one sinful cultivators locked in the fourth layer, plus some common criminals on the third floor. At the same time, one Golden Core Qi Refiner and two disciples, using sleep-inducing methods, snuck into the County Mansion’s archive for important case dossiers in Qingjiang City, set a big fire, destroyed two out of four vast archive areas, and stole several dossiers mixed among them.”
“It was those who stole the dossiers, while hiding in a merchant convoy to sneak them out of the city, that were ambushed by the second group of Ghost Officials about thirty miles west of Qingjiang City’s west gate on Black Ox Ridge. The attackers were at least three Golden Core Realm Qi Refiners who acted fast; they started at 7:15 AM and finished everything in less than tea-drinking time, leaving a Decapitation Order before departing.”
“…”
“…”
Everyone in the hall listened as if to a divine tale, looking utterly stunned.
Each word was spoken so finely and exhaustively; could he really have seen all that in one night?
Fang Cun laughed and clapped: “Young Lu’s skills are awe-inspiring indeed, but all this we already knew!”
The implied meaning was naturally wanting to hear what he didn’t know.
The Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao nodded lightly: “The clever bit is here; I looked closely at the dossier, and the second group of attackers were very smooth and cautious—they burned bodies to cover their tracks, erased shadow and sword marks, summoned a wind to sweep away dust and dirt, and even used Spirit-calling Charms to mess up the magical power traces left, so clues couldn’t be spotted…”
“Oh my…”
Fang Cun was slightly startled inside, secretly praising Lin Jiyi in his heart.
Then, the Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao went on: “That’s why I’m surer this case wasn’t the Ghost Official’s doing; when he kills, he doesn’t hide signs; instead, he leaves his own seals on purpose because he believes his magic and skills are unique to anyone else, so he isn’t worried about being tracked—in fact, it serves as a threat to him.”
Fang Cun thought privately: “That Lin fellow’s talents aren’t all that…”
“But fakes are fakes; no matter how careful they are, traces always remain!”
Lu Xiao spoke softly, spreading his sleeves a little: “This is scene imagery remembered by the County Mansion’s investigators using their Magical Power sharpening their sight afterwards; the most valuable part is a stone behind a tree, bearing some fire scars likely from the fighting. Its hidden location kept it from being destroyed in time.”
“This is also one of the biggest clues for tracking the Ghost Official!”
People around the hall looked up to see a phantom image of a stone he conjured before him; near the base, there were finger-sized burned marks. With no other traces nearby, it was clear magical spells caused it, making people stare at each other bewilderedly…
What could that fire scar prove?
Billions of Qi Refiners know fire spells; which one doesn’t grasp flame arts?
If you talk about fire scars, I could burn a flower shape for you to see in minutes…
…
…
“A fire scar alone proves nothing much!”
The Divine Eye Young Master Lu Xiao said softly: “However, flames leave distinct traces due to differences in magical techniques; mostly similar, upon close look, variations show. This fire scar scorched the stone’s surface, but frost formed inside, suggesting it was something like ghostly fire. This alone rules out most sect spells. I also identified the dead at the scene—that Golden Core Refiner was an Elder Mentor in Green Locust County’s Academy, the two Foundation Establishment men were his disciples, and others were simple guards.”
“Their files, once closely checked by County Mansion staff with origins and training documented, showed no one skilled in ghostly fire. Therefore, the culprit should be the one who left this eerie fire scar. By identifying which sect or sect branch has such spells that create ghostly fire scars, we could find out where this acting Ghost Official came from!”
Hearing this, people in the hall were already somewhat stunned, instinctively widening their eyes.
“Clap, clap.”
Someone clapped inside the hall, drawing everyone’s attention; it was Second Young Master Fang, who said with a laugh: “So, have you figured it out?”
The Divine Eye Young Master met Fang Cun’s gaze and nodded gently: “Among numerous arts in Qingjiang’s Six Sects, plus Seven Clans and County Mansion, I dare not claim I’ve mastered all; but from spells I know and have studied, only three belong to ghostly fire paths. One is from the County Mansion, Forbidden Netherflame, not easily cast by outsiders.”
“And the other two…”
He paused suddenly, turning to look at Fang Cun, and said softly: “…come from Shoushan Sect!”
Instantly, many in the hall widened their eyes sharply, all looking toward Fang Cun’s face.
Lu Xiao met Fang Cun’s eyes and gently added: “The ghostly fire path is rarely practiced; Shoushan Sect has the Divine Nether Scriptures, which I once knew roughly. The two techniques that could leave such marks should be among them.”
“Soul-forging Lotus Fire…”
“And Nine Lands Heart-burning Seal!”
“…”
“…”
By the end, he slightly lifted his chin, staring at Fang Cun, saying: “Elder Fang, am I right?”
“If there are doubts, you can have someone cast them to compare; it would be clear then!”