Murong Xue was greatly shocked. She had initially thought these people had dug up someone's ancestral tomb, only to meet man-eating insects that caused their deaths.
However, Li Yang's explanation now made her instantly suspicious.
Li Yang carefully examined the iron nails on the ground and quickly concluded that this soul-fixing technique was not the work of Zhao Long and Zhao Hu.
To master such an evil art, one needed to subsist on yin insects for a long time. Such a person should be filled with malevolent energy, and their presence would cause the surrounding yin energy to become vigorous.
But when Li Yang had met Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and the others, he hadn't detected any malevolent energy on them.
Therefore, Li Yang was certain that this was not their doing.
The killer was someone else entirely.
"Indeed, the way these people died was extremely brutal. They must have seen something strange at the time, but their strength was too mismatched, causing them to die at the hands of the opponent before they could even make a move."
Li Yang picked up the nails on the ground, brought them to his nose to smell, and continued, "These nails entered the bodies before they transformed into insects, and they still carry a trace of the scent of blood."
"Once the nails enter the body, they merge with the flesh and blood, rapidly giving birth to white insects that begin to gnaw ferociously within the body, ultimately leading to this result for the victim."
"How cruel! Is there such a bizarre technique in the world?"
Upon hearing this, Murong Xue couldn't help but get goosebumps.
Having learned the truth, her primary concern now was to find the murderer.
She collected herself and looked at everyone present, saying, "Listen up, everyone. Search the vicinity carefully and see if there are any other clues besides these corpses."
"Understood, Captain."
The deputy captain agreed and immediately led his subordinates to search the mountain meticulously.
Li Yang, however, shook his head at this point and said, "It's unlikely your men will find any clues. Since these people chose to kill in this manner, it means they were concerned about their tracks being discovered."
"This technique can be cast from a hundred meters away, and the caster must be a top expert. It's incredibly easy for them to leave no trace at the scene."
"Then what should we do? This is the only crime scene. If we can't find any clues here, won't we have no chance of finding the killer?" Murong Xue asked, turning back.
"That's not necessarily true. Very few people in Jiangcheng know this technique. As long as we search carefully, it won't be difficult to find them."
Li Yang stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then smiled at Murong Xue, saying, "Jiangcheng has been so chaotic recently. I suppose you've been too busy to look for these killers, haven't you?"
"Why don't you give me some benefits, and I'll help you find them."
"Benefits? What kind of benefits do you want?" Murong Xue asked with some curiosity.
"I haven't been back to Jiangcheng for so long. Don't you miss me? When you have time, come to my place, and we can have a romantic time." Li Yang said with a playful smile.
"Shameless! I can agree to that, but you have to help me find the killer first. I've encountered a bit of trouble recently and urgently need to make a contribution. If I don't earn any merit, I might not be able to keep my position." Murong Xue said seriously.
"Oh? Could the position of the beautiful Murong be threatened? Who has such capability?"
Li Yang asked, deeply curious.
In his opinion, Murong Xue was a rising star in the security team, and it would be a loss to security if she were to leave.
However, only Murong Xue knew that her situation was actually quite precarious.
Jiangcheng's security team had undergone a major reshuffle recently. Not only had many high-ranking officials been replaced, but even some security personnel who usually had no merit but were diligent had been swapped out.
She had managed to retain her position so far entirely because she was a captain and had a significant number of subordinates.
The higher-ups had clearly given her a mission to achieve a major accomplishment to secure her position; otherwise, someone else would be appointed.
She had no other recourse and had to ask Li Yang for help.
Upon hearing about their security team's affairs, Li Yang curled his lips and said, "I didn't expect your security team to have so many rules. Given how much your mother thinks of me, wanting me to give her grandchildren, I'll help you with this."
"Grandchildren, my foot! Don't push your luck!" Murong Xue poked Li Yang's nose with her finger.
"Heh heh, who's pushing their luck? I'm talking about a realistic issue. We don't use any protection every time we... you know. It's not impossible that one day your mother's wish will come true." Li Yang leaned closer to her and whispered.
"You..."
Murong Xue was furious and kicked his thigh hard. Then, she glanced at him and said, "If you don't use protection next time, see how I teach you a lesson."
"Hey, don't rush off. Aren't you going to send people to look for clues? It's so dark in this mountain, it'll be hard for you to get down with them alone."
Li Yang saw that she was ignoring him and was about to turn back to lead the team down the mountain, so he quickly called out to her.
Although Murong Xue argued with Li Yang verbally, she didn't dare to defy him in reality. She knew that in this foggy weather, it was easy to get lost relying on intuition.
Her phone had no signal. Without Li Yang, the guiding light, everyone would get lost in here.
Helpless, after completing the headcount, she had to return to find Li Yang and ask him to lead them down the mountain.
The search for clues here could only be temporarily suspended. They would bring people back to inspect the area again during the day tomorrow.
If this large tomb truly was an ancient one, they would have the archaeology team cordon it off and conduct excavation work.
"Help! Help!"
As Li Yang was leading the large team out of the mountain, a faint cry for help suddenly came from a distant direction.
The sound was intermittent, but it reached everyone's ears. Everyone stopped in their tracks at that moment.
"What was that? Did you all hear that cry for help?" Murong Xue stopped and asked curiously at the people around her.
"I heard it, and the voice sounds a bit familiar, like one of the people who came up the mountain with us earlier," said Deputy Captain Wang Jun.
"You mean Qian Long?"
Murong Xue was greatly shocked. She suddenly remembered that Qian Long hadn't been seen since they started climbing the mountain.
He had clearly been with them when they entered the mountain.
Upon hearing Qian Long's name, Li Yang also suddenly realized. When did this Qian Long get lost?
He hadn't seen him on the mountain earlier. Could he be in danger?
"Wait for me here. I'll be right back."
Without a word, Li Yang immediately ran towards the direction where the cry for help had come from.
Murong Xue also wanted to follow Li Yang, but the deputy captain stopped her at a critical moment: "Captain, you need to remain calm. If you follow Mr. Li into the mountain, you'll only be a burden to him."