Chapter 19 The Complicated Lang Wu

One can imagine how complicated Lang Wu's mood was when he saw Fire Captain's corpse.

A colleague of many years had died just like that in the village.

"Now that it's confirmed that the strange creature is in the village, why not fully activate the ancient formation to kill it? The Mo Village formation should be able to cover the entire village."

"..."

Chief Lang Wu was silent. He looked at Fang Yue for a long time before slowly saying,

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because the ancient formation is already severely damaged. If we operate the formation with full power, covering the entire village, the entire formation will collapse completely in just a short while. Then Mo Village will lose its protective barrier for survival, and everything will be over."

How could it be...

Fang Yue was stunned.

He suddenly understood why Chief Lang Wu would make such a heavy promise.

Almost at the cost of becoming a subsidiary village of Gu Yue Village, they wanted to rely on Lord Han.

It turned out that the problem with their Mo Village's formation wasn't just severe damage, but that it was nearing the end of its lifespan.

"A long time ago, our Mo Village's ancient formation was already operating at extremely low power. Even if we invested more resources, we couldn't reduce the speed of the formation's damage. All I can do is delay the time when the formation completely collapses and find a new way out for Mo Village. If I were to unleash all the formation's remaining energy now, Mo Village would be finished."

Fang Yue frowned. "...It won't be finished."

"What?"

"Mo Village won't be finished, even without the formation. So many villages don't have formation protection. So many villages survive solely on the protection of their captains and guard teams. Your Mo Village can naturally do the same! Even without the formation, your starting point is already much higher than all other villages."

Chief Lang Wu's expression turned ugly upon hearing this.

"It's different... Without the formation, Mo Village will lose all its advantages, and casualties will increase dramatically. Most of our village's guard team rarely face strange creatures directly anymore; they only patrol the village to maintain daily security. If they have to face the crisis-ridden world again, they will surely die."

"That's their problem."

"...Stop talking. I won't let Mo Village lose its ancient formation! At least until Lord Han agrees to protect Mo Village, I'll keep the formation running even if it costs me my life."

Chief Lang Wu's attitude was firm, but Fang Yue shook his head.

"Then what about the strange creature in the village that killed Fire Captain? To be able to kill a Houtian second-rate realm expert in such a bizarre way, you should understand the danger of this strange creature. If you don't activate the formation, are you just going to let it roam free?"

"I will continue to maintain the low-efficiency operation of the formation to ensure that the strange creature cannot escape the village and to ensure that no more strange creatures can sneak into the village. As for the strange creature in the village, we'll trap it like a turtle in a jar. As soon as we find out where the strange creature is hiding, I'll immediately increase the formation intensity in that area to kill it at the lowest cost!

If that strange creature isn't strong, then we'll take action to kill it. Night Captain, don't think too highly of those strange creatures just because Fire Captain died silently. Sometimes, even black-level intermediate-stage strange creatures can achieve instant kills against opponents of the same level. But when they encounter me, a Houtian first-rate realm expert, they'll suffer."

Chief Lang Wu's attitude was very firm, and Fang Yue immediately understood.

Chief Lang Wu came this time just to inform him and hoped that he could assist him; he wasn't really here to discuss countermeasures with him.

"Your method will kill a lot of people," Fang Yue frowned.

"Without the ancient formation, even more people will die," Chief Lang Wu didn't back down.

Fang Yue stared at Chief Lang Wu for a while, and finally shrugged.

"You're the chief captain of Mo Village; you have the final say. How do you want me to help you?"

"Fire Captain is dead. I need a strong person to assist Captain Wu, to suppress public opinion, and to lead the team in searching for the whereabouts of that strange creature. As for the outside world... I'll announce that Fire Captain died of poisoning and that the murderer is human. The [Qi Cold Corpse Poison] you mentioned before would be perfect. Go get some and apply it to Fire Captain's corpse."

As he said this, Chief Lang Wu was staring closely at Fang Yue, observing his every reaction.

After a moment of silence, Fang Yue said, "You're testing me?"

"No."

"...During the day, I heard a rumor that someone wanted to poison Fire Captain with [Qi Cold Corpse Poison], so at first, I thought she was poisoned."

Chief Lang Wu frowned, pondered for a moment, sighed, and said, "...I can probably guess who spread the rumor. After this matter is resolved, I'll talk to them."

Next, Fang Yue and Chief Lang Wu discussed the details, and soon Captain Wu also pushed the door open in a panic.

"Fire Captain is dead? What happened!"

He was the last to hear the news. Fang Yue and Chief Lang Wu exchanged a look and simply told Captain Wu what had happened. The three of them continued their discussion.

The fall of a captain had a huge impact, especially in Mo Village, which was known for its safety.

Fortunately, the idea of being killed by an outsider was more reassuring than being killed by a strange creature.

The brief discussion quickly ended.

Fang Yue thought for a moment and asked, "Do any of you have [Qi Cold Corpse Poison]?"

"[Qi Cold Corpse Poison]?"

Captain Wu was a little dazed; his eyes were still bloodshot.

Although he didn't have a good relationship with Fire Captain, they had been colleagues for so many years, and there was still some affection between them.

Chief Lang Wu said,

"I have some in the warehouse of my mansion. I'll have the steward get it for you later, but you have to be discreet."

"I'll handle it. Also, how many people know about Fire Captain's death now?"

"Very few. Only the people in my Lang mansion know. I gave a death order to block the news, and no one will leak it to the outside. At the same time, I ordered all the villagers to return to their homes for a temporary curfew."

After discussing for a while, Fang Yue got the [Qi Cold Corpse Poison] from the steward and left the Lang mansion with Chief Lang Wu's token.

He went straight to the scene of the incident, and soon Fang Yue sensed the place.

Using Chief Lang Wu's token to clear the way, the guard team members stationed there all made way for him.

Fang Yue first observed Fire Captain's body for a long time.

That exquisite face was forever frozen in an expression of bewilderment and horror. Her eyes were wide open, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying before her death.

With his back to the crowd, Fang Yue, when no one was paying attention, directly stuffed the [Qi Cold Corpse Poison] into Fire Captain's mouth with a hand wrapped in inner force.

[Qi Cold Corpse Poison] is actually a thin piece of crushed ice. Its fierce toxicity cannot be seen from the outside; it only exerts its toxicity when it comes into contact with the skin or is ignited with fire.

When ignited with fire, the [Qi Cold Corpse Poison] does not melt like ordinary crushed ice, but instead vaporizes directly, turning into smoke that can be combined with other spices for use.

But now, there was no need for that.

After all, the method of contact with the skin was more toxic and faster than normal volatilization.

The crushed ice melted in Fire Captain's mouth.

Before long, Fire Captain's body developed some frost, and her skin became paler, showing signs of poisoning, which intensified until it presented a complete poisoning phenomenon.

At this point, the disguise of death by poisoning was complete.

While Fang Yue was dealing with the body, Captain Wu had already begun searching house by house with his men.

In name, it was to find the murderer, but in reality, it was to find the hidden strange creature.

When Captain Wu found Wei Liang's mansion, her pupils suddenly shrank.

"What?! Fire Captain is dead?!"

First shocked, then overjoyed.

She quickly asked how she died, and only then did she learn... that Fire Captain died from [Qi Cold Corpse Poison]!

How could it be?!

Wei Liang's expression changed slightly.

Besides me, someone else has [Qi Cold Corpse Poison]? And it was all used on Fire Captain?

Who did it? Who killed Fire Captain?

Although Fire Captain was dead and her plan had been inexplicably completed smoothly, Wei Liang still had some hidden worries in her heart.

One night quickly passed.

The next day, everyone in the village knew about Fire Captain's death, that she had died at the hands of a human, that she had been poisoned!

"How could it be... Fire Captain... Fire Captain... Waaah..."

"Who is it! Which heartless bastard killed Fire Captain! I must find them and avenge Fire Captain!"

Although Fire Captain usually had a bad attitude towards merchants, she was dedicated to serving the common people and maintaining public order.

Therefore, many people were indignant and wanted to do their part to help.

Things began to escalate. Wei Liang took the opportunity to arrange for her own people to probe the issue of the next captain's appointment, while sending people to investigate the cause of Fire Captain's death.

The result... was that she really died from [Qi Cold Corpse Poison]!

What, what exactly is going on?

Wei Liang was both excited and worried.

She quickly thought of someone.

Half an hour later, she was sitting face to face with that person in her room.

Wei Liang's first sentence went straight to the point.

"Fire Captain... did you kill her?"

Fang Yue raised his head in feigned surprise.

Ah, this...

Fang Yue was just about to shake his head when he suddenly had a thought, slowly stood up, looked down at her, and slowly nodded.

"That's right, I killed her."

"As I expected!"

Wei Liang was shocked but also greatly relieved.

"But why... you were so resistant before, but now you suddenly killed her?

And why didn't you cooperate with me? She was a Houtian second-rate realm expert after all. If I had lured her into the carriage first, covered the scent of the [Qi Cold Corpse Poison] with spices, and waited for the poison to enter her body, then you could have taken action. Everything would have been much simpler.

I could have even arranged for the aftermath to be handled, disguised as an accident, instead of making such a big commotion like now."

Fang Yue didn't know how to respond to this, so he turned his face away. "...Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Wei Liang: ?!!

What, why is this guy suddenly so manly?

"Uh... never mind if you don't want to talk about it. But where did you get the [Qi Cold Corpse Poison]? And why did you kill her? What are your plans next?"

"..."

"Never mind if you don't want to say. Since you killed her, I'll have someone deliver the reward we agreed upon earlier, 5 fire-permeated leaves and 5 black stones, to your mansion. Also, have you changed your mind about the Mo Village captain position?"

When Wei Liang said this, she slightly emphasized her tone, implying a threat.

It seemed she wanted to use Fang Yue's killing of Fire Captain to force Fang Yue to assist her.

But...

Fang Yue glanced at her. "I'll accept the things. Also, don't do anything unnecessary."

"...I have my limits. There's plenty of time. No need to rush."

Wei Liang gave a smug, mysterious smile, feeling that everything was under control.

Fang Yue ignored her and walked out of the Wei Liang mansion.

"Damn it! I thought this woman suddenly said she had something important to tell me because she had information about strange creatures. But that's it?"

But after all, he had suddenly freeloaded some benefits from her, so Fang Yue was too embarrassed to slander her.

As the news of Fire Captain's death spread, the atmosphere in the village became increasingly heavy, and the villagers became more and more hostile towards outsiders like Fang Yue.

The original material procurement plans of the Gu Yue Village craftsmen were also affected.

Fang Yue and Captain Wu continued to search the village, but after searching for a day, there was still no trace of the strange creature.

Night fell.

The three gathered together to exchange information.

"How can we not find any traces at all?"

"I don't know. It's too strange... With such terrifying stealth abilities, I can't imagine them freely entering and leaving the village."

"What should we do now? Keep searching?"

"Keep going."

Chief Lang Wu and Captain Wu were talking, but Fang Yue suddenly interrupted.

"Captain Wu, apart from the strange creature, have you found any information about the two black-robed men I asked you to investigate?"

"No. According to the Black Crow Merchant Guild, those black robes are very strange. No matter what the body is, as long as you put on the black robe, you can turn into a black mist man and hide your identity.

According to your statement, the last people Fire Captain saw should be those two. Either one of them is a strange creature, or Fire Captain was killed by the strange creature after questioning them.

I know the importance of these two people, and I've also notified the people below to pay attention, but as long as they take off their black robes, we can't recognize them, so we can't investigate at all."

"They're here... they must be in the village. Find them, and we can find the cause of Fire Captain's death."

Just as the three were saying this, the door was suddenly smashed open.

"Chief Lang Wu! The black-robed men have been found!!"

What?!

The three almost stood up at the same time.

"Lead the way!"

Captain Wu grabbed the man and rushed out. Chief Lang Wu was about to follow when Fang Yue suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Chief Lang Wu, you go back to the formation eye, preside over the overall situation, and be ready to activate the [Regional Enhanced Formation] at any time, based on the signal."

"...Okay! Then be careful!"

After hesitating, Chief Lang Wu nodded and left in the other direction.

Only then did Fang Yue rush in the direction where Captain Wu had left.

...

Time, back to a few minutes ago.

In the dark wooden house, Hei Da silently looked out at the night sky through the only crack.

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...We can't get out.

He turned to look at Ma Ling'er, who was next to him and was a little impatient.

The young royal adult had not yet realized that they were trapped in Mo Village.

Unlike the previous formation intensity, although it was only a partial increase in intensity, the current formation intensity had indeed reached a level that they could not break through with their own strength.

The longer the time, the greater the variables.

Soul-Nurturing Jade... Royal Adult...

In Hei Da's dark, black mist face, two deep eye sockets appeared.

"...Royal Adult."

"What?"

Ma Ling'er walked over impatiently.

Hei Da took out the Soul-Nurturing Jade and gently handed it to Ma Ling'er.

"...Take the sacred object and return to the Wu Yu Clan."

"We can't get out! Besides, I don't even know where the Wu Yu Clan is."

"...I will tell you everything. Listen to my arrangements, and then leave here."

...