Chapter 26 : plant evidence

Shang Wenshu's heart shuddered violently. Immediately, he forced himself to remain calm, turned around, and patiently reported, "Here's what happened, my lord..."

"A man - eating demon?" After listening to Shang Wenshu's report, Zhao Shuanghe still had no expression on his face. He snorted and said, "It must be Fang Yuan. He was originally a simpleton. After falling into the demonic path, he went on a wild rampage. Killing people wasn't enough, and now he's started eating people!"

Shang Wenshu cursed inwardly. This old scoundrel clearly wanted to pin this blame on Fang Yuan! The real culprit was right in his room at this moment! The yamen runner beside him, who didn't know the truth, however, thought there was some truth to these words. After all, Fang Yuan's appearance was too strange. When combined with the terrifying scene of him forcefully pulling out the crossbow bolt from his head yesterday... he really was no different from a demon!

"Go and post a notice to make public Fang Yuan's evil act of man - eating, and tell the common people to be more careful!" Zhao Shuanghe then gave an order.

"Yes!" Shang Wenshu agreed. Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he didn't dare to show the slightest disobedience on the surface.

"Um..." Zhao Shuanghe nodded and turned to leave. As if suddenly remembering something, he asked, "You just said that the old beggar's grandson was eaten until only the bones were left?"

"Yes, my lord. The way that child died... was extremely tragic." The yamen runner beside him nodded. Even though he had handled quite a few homicide cases, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine at this moment.

"Good. Display that skeleton as well, so that the common people can truly see the horror of Fang Yuan!" Zhao Shuanghe added.

"This..."

"Didn't you understand?"

"Your humble servant will obey the order!"

"Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan. Let's see who dares to take you in now?" Zhao Shuanghe thought maliciously in his heart and turned to re - enter the study. He left behind Shang Wenshu, who had a bitter expression and blood still dripping from his head, and the yamen runner who was completely in the dark.

...

"You two must have heard what was said outside, right?"

As soon as he entered the study, Zhao Shuanghe cast an inquiring look at the two cat demons in front of him.

"We heard it." The female cat demon spoke first. Her voice was gentle and pleasant. "It should be my daughter who did it. I've spoiled her too much on weekdays. This child is a bit naughty. When she first came here, she probably couldn't resist and had a taste of human flesh." She looked as normal as ever. There was even a hint of a smile on her face, as if she was just helplessly smiling at her daughter's naughtiness. In her opinion, this was just a trivial matter not worth mentioning.

"What? Just because my daughter ate one person in your county, you're going to make a big deal out of it?" The male cat demon also spoke up. His face showed a bit of dissatisfaction as he stared closely at Zhao Shuanghe.

Zhao Shuanghe didn't dwell on this matter too much. He just said, "As long as you two help me catch that Fang Yuan, you can eat as many people as you want."

The cat demon couple's eyes lit up immediately.

"The people sent by Jianghai Palace will take at least two days to reach Changqing County. You must catch him within these two days!" Zhao Shuanghe added another sentence. Shang Wenshu was right. After his son died, his heart was in chaos. He no longer did things with his usual meticulousness and was left with only a kind of desperate madness. Zhao Shuanghe wished he could cut Fang Yuan into a thousand pieces immediately.

"Lord Zhao, don't worry. Our kind has a very keen sense of smell." The female cat demon said, "Just give me something he has used, and we can catch him today and bring him to you."

"Don't be careless, you two. According to my subordinates' reports, that Fang Yuan is rather strange. He didn't die even when his head was pierced by a crossbow!" Zhao Shuanghe said in a deep voice.

"Hehe..." The male cat demon sneered when he heard this. "It's just a trick to deceive the eyes. It can deceive those ignorant common people, but it can't deceive us!" What, not dying even when the head is pierced by a crossbow? Even among their demon race, there's no one with such abnormal vitality. Of course, there are people in this world who can do such a thing, but they must at least be high - level powerful beings. If there really was such a powerful person, probably no one in the entire Jianghai Prefecture could do anything to him. Would he still be wanted by the government of a small county? The only explanation was a trick to deceive the eyes.

"Um..." Zhao Shuanghe nodded. Apparently, he thought the same way. The soldiers in the county were just some mediocre martial artists. Any simple trick to deceive the eyes could fool them. If a shower of arrows had been launched at that time, Fang Yuan would surely have died without a burial place. Unfortunately, his subordinates were too stupid. But anyway, Fang Yuan had killed three martial artists in the second realm. His battle achievements were there, and his strength couldn't be underestimated. So, for the sake of safety, Zhao Shuanghe didn't hesitate to invite the demon race he had been secretly in contact with. These two cat demons were both genuine demons in the third realm!

"However, Lord Zhao, why do you insist that we take action?" At this time, the male cat demon asked, "After all, the people from Jianghai Palace will come to deal with this matter in two days. If you do this, you might expose yourself..." Colluding with the demon race was a serious crime in the Yan Kingdom, a crime that would lead to the execution of the entire nine - generation family.

"You don't understand." Zhao Shuanghe shook his head. "The lord of Jianghai Palace is famous for cherishing talents. His Jianghai Palace is an academy built by gathering all kinds of martial arts geniuses in the prefecture. This Fang Yuan is just a young lad, but he has killed so many martial artists in the second realm, which is enough to prove that his cultivation talent is extremely high. I'm worried... that he will be recruited by the higher - ups." Once he was recruited, then the deep hatred of his son's death would probably never be avenged.

...

At the entrance of the yamen, the old beggar was covered in blood and dirt, tightly holding the skeleton of Gouwa in his arms. He wasn't allowed to enter and could only wait outside. After a while, a group of yamen runners came out.

The old beggar quickly stepped forward, identified the leader, and cried out, "Officers, you must uphold justice for me. You must catch the murderer!!"

The middle - aged head constable in the lead looked disgusted and took a few steps back. He coldly said, "Uphold justice? That demon not only ate your grandson but also killed our county lieutenant and the magistrate's son. It's not that easy to deal with!"

The old beggar was stunned. From what he heard, it seemed that the other party already knew who the murderer was, and this murderer was actually so cruel, having killed so many people?

"That's him!" Just as he was puzzled, the middle - aged head constable pointed his finger. The old beggar followed the direction of his finger and looked at the notice board at the entrance of the yamen. There was a wanted poster posted there. On the wanted poster was a picture of a handsome young man, and below were a few lines of words: "The suspect, Fang Yuan, is about fifteen years old. This scoundrel has brutally killed dozens of people in the city and is extremely heinous. If anyone has any information, report it to the government immediately. A reward of five hundred taels of silver and ten mu of good farmland will be given. Those who harbor the criminal will be punished the same as the criminal."

The old beggar was stunned all of a sudden because the young man in the portrait looked familiar to him...

"Impossible, it can't be him!" The old beggar suddenly shouted. He remembered that just yesterday, this young man had rewarded him with two ingots of silver and had kindly reminded him to take care of his health... How could such a kind - hearted person eat people!

"Who else could it be if not him!" Just as he was thinking, a yamen runner snorted, stepped forward, and added a few more words to Fang Yuan's wanted poster: [He has a craving for human flesh, is insane, and is no different from a beast]

"Sir, could there be a mistake?" The old beggar couldn't help but ask.

"There's no mistake." The middle - aged head constable said firmly. Looking at the old beggar, he said, "By the way, leave your grandson's skeleton here and place it right below the notice board."

"Why?" The old beggar's heart tightened, and he quickly hugged the skeleton in his arms even tighter. Gouwa's fate had already been so tragic. Now he just wanted to let the child be laid to rest and give Gouwa the final peace.

"This is evidence of Fang Yuan's man - eating. Of course, it has to be left!" The middle - aged head constable snorted, gave a wink, and several yamen runners beside him surrounded the old beggar.

"Please, sirs, have mercy..." The old beggar quickly took out two ingots of silver and handed them over. This was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

"Hey, this old beggar is quite rich!" The middle - aged head constable looked at the old beggar in surprise and snatched the silver. When the old beggar saw that the other party had taken the silver, he let out a sigh of relief. After taking the money, they should do something, right? But then, he heard the middle - aged head constable say, shaking his head:

"However... the magistrate's order cannot be disobeyed!"

"Snatch that broken skeleton from him!"