Arc 3(15)

Xu was confused by the situation and was certain that it had nothing to do with the fact that the Snake clan was having a confrontation with the enemy.

These were unusual cases, and the causes behind them were unclear.

If the enemies were not found, he could not proceed and continue his investigation.

Suddenly, something struck him.

'My Lord had always had a hunch about his follower.'

He thought and asked a colleague the question,

"Hua, has there been anyone near our clan lately? I want to go and ask a few citizens."

"Someone, no, nothing. Is your majesty going somewhere?", Hua asked, raising his eyebrows, intrigued and curious, and not suspecting the intention behind his lord's intentions.

"I would like to investigate."

Xu smirked, "Let's go and ask the people if they ever saw someone suspicious."

"Now?", Hua wondered, and asked him, "Alright, alright. I'll help. Should we separate and work separately, or should we cooperate with each other?"

"Cooperation. I would like to walk around and get information."

"Okay, okay. What are we looking for?"

Xu mused on, "Actually, the culprit is probably not from the city. For now, let's just try and understand the situation, the surrounding environment.."

---------

They would look for clues and wait. They had investigated, searching far and wide. Their examination was deep and meticulous, leaving no detail.

It was strange. There were no signs, clues, or traces of the suspect.

But just before they lost their hope, the last sub-beast who was being questioned, claimed that there had been a stranger lurking around nearby, the path leading to the snake clan. But it was not rare to find a new person in the clan, because it could be someone who newly immigrated to the clan and hadn't yet fully entered the clan's culture.

In an instant, the people's questioning continued, and a short period of time passed, a large quantity of reports was collected.

Although there were numerous amounts of details, no suspects or strong evidence were discovered, but every clue pointed towards the location, further up north, outside the cliff.

They continued to look for a week, before finally finding the murderer.

Xu was skeptical.

"Rabbit clan. Just an ordinary rabbit."

"Why was the killer from Rabbit clan?", asked Xu, taken aback.

The main feature of the rabbit's character was, that they were timid, not daring to act brazenly, and were willing to cower and shrink, quietly and gently. Although the murder was wrong, the victims and reasons behind the crime were completely opposite of their own race's typical character.

"Could it be that the actual perpetrator is not a member of the Rabbit clan but is part of a hidden faction, waiting to trap us?"

"We should not underestimate the victim, though", an analysis suggested.

"Dumb and arrogant fools can be killed and taken advantage of anytime and anywhere.", countered a peer.

"Sending troops is not necessary. Killing a rabbit is effortless but we should not.", an optimistic conclusion stated.

"And another reason, Majesty's mate is actually from the Rabbit clan and is favored and could have had influence and authority over the clan.", noted.

Xu frowned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Is a similar issue not going on in the Rabbit clan or a higher-level clan might interfere."

"At that time, we will either have an ally or an enemy."

"What kind of mess are they trying to involve us in?", wondered aloud.

Everyone else sighed and were still astonished and had no idea, a simple sub-beast had caused such a headache.

----

It was almost night, when they returned the clan, exhausted and dead tired. The problem was solved and it was no longer a thorn in their eyes.

Feng Li heard their result after the investigation, but he couldn't believe it. He even looked as if he were stupid, and was quiet.

----

Two beasts sat facing each other at the table.

The person, Xu, took a deep breath and looked towards Feng Li and gave a serious gaze.

Feng Ming had known that this could not be resolved as simply, and a quarrel, along with a war, was inevitable.

Feng Ming kept his eyes down, and his head hung low. Feng Li couldn't say or do anything for him.

Feng Li's mind was on other things but tried to talk to his brother about Hei Lang. It was extremely depressing and bleak, but a heavy cloud of dread, in his gut, kept creeping inside of him.

If someone died and had his body taken, then that person was the main one being targeted.

'The culprit definitely had a deeper motive in his plan and for targeting him, rather than some light reason.'

'What's more surprising, why would the Rabbit Clan do this?', questioned Feng Li.

Feng Li held a discussion, in private, with Yu Xin and Xu. The four people were worried and depressed and had no idea what to do with the matter, because things didn't make much sense.

Yu Xin was disheartened. "I can't think of someone who would deliberately provoke us, in the Rabbit Clan. Not a lot of rabbits dare to have connections with the snake clan and there are only very few people, not a huge amount, who know the rules and conditions of this place, so there might be something more profound here. Those people do not know or see clearly. Some might even doubt me, but that is the truth."

Yu Xin's anxiety was evident.

Feng Li made up his mind and vowed, "Yu Xin, leave the worrying to me. Calm yourself first and then we'll start to find a way to end this. And if there is something you notice, let me know."

Yu Xin made an effort not to cry, so he nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating on his feelings and emotions. After the situation calmed down a little and the three of them, except for Feng Li, felt the tension rise. Feng Ming didn't say a single word the whole time. He wasn't willing to think about it or think of anything, but his heart was too distraught and the images were too vivid and fresh, leaving him no room to think. His mood became sullen, and his emotions turned jumbled, and messy.

Feng Li noticed how this was affecting Feng Ming's mental condition, and couldn't allow his brother to be broken and fall into depression and have his temper be hurt and unstable. Feng Li sighed, "Ming, the rest of the things are to be discussed, tomorrow. You should calm yourself down first and get some sleep. As for anything, you don't need to care and just sleep for now."

He wanted Feng Ming, to be able to change the situation and maybe consider things more thoughtfully. However, it was hard, and it wouldn't be so soon, but it wasn't impossible. The fact was that even though a death had occurred, the most important thing at the moment was, if it was true.

It was better not to jump to conclusions or guess the results beforehand.

As the thoughts whirled around Feng Li's head, Xu asked him.

"So, Your Majesty, have you made a final decision?"

"Do not rush, no need to worry.", replied Feng Li.

"Tell your companion to rest. As you're doing his business for him, he can handle other stuff later."

"Don't disturb my brother and help me resolve other issues, as we still have a lot of business to deal with."