Chapter 559 - 555: Discovery

Chapter 559: Chapter 555: Discovery

WHOOSH!

Fang Han sped north along the main road. Using the Wind God Step, his green-robed figure was like a wisp of invisible wind, silently sweeping across the autumn wilderness.

Smoke curled up from cooking fires in the distant villages, and the faint sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard.

Occasionally, a few sparrows, startled from the withered grass, would flutter their wings and fly toward the gray-blue sky.

He didn’t push his speed to the absolute limit, instead maintaining a pace that allowed for swift progress without missing any trace of the aura.

HUMMM—

He kept the Thousand-Mile Soul Lock active, firmly locking onto Zhang Yuanheng’s aura.

The aura extended from the city gate, winding north along the main road. It grew stronger and weaker with the blowing wind.

Fang Han followed this aura, heading straight north.

「An hour later.」

The view ahead suddenly opened up, and a cluster of buildings built against a mountain appeared on the horizon.

They had gray tiles and white walls, with courtyards enclosed by bluestone. A stone stele stood before the gate, inscribed with the four words: "Zhang Family Medicinal Field."

Fang Han slowed his pace and stopped before the medicinal field’s gate.

He didn’t enter. He simply stood outside the gate, pushing his Thousand-Mile Soul Lock to its full potential as he carefully sensed the auras in the air.

Zhang Yuanheng’s aura was a bit clearer here.

He had been here, lingering inside the medicinal field for a moment before leaving.

Fang Han didn’t enter the medicinal field to ask questions. He turned and continued speeding north.

「A little over two hours later.」

Ahead, a cluster of buildings constructed by the water came into view.

The buildings had white walls and dark tiles. In the courtyards, the leaves of several old pagoda trees rustled in the autumn wind.

A narrow stream flowed in front of the gate. Its clear water babbled over a riverbed strewn with pebbles.

This was one of the Zhang Family’s properties—the Blood Rice Manor.

Zhang Yuanheng’s aura had also lingered here for a moment, just as it had at the gate of the medicinal field.

He had come, and then he had left.

Fang Han took off again, continuing his northward dash.

「More than three hours later, it was now afternoon.」

"Hm?"

Fang Han’s steps suddenly halted.

His nostrils flared slightly, and his expression abruptly turned grim.

There was a scent of blood in the air.

That bloody scent was mixed with Zhang Yuanheng’s aura. It was highly likely the smell of Zhang Yuanheng’s blood.

HUMMM—

Fang Han carefully sensed the source of the bloody scent.

It was just ahead, about a few hundred yards away.

Without delay, his figure flickered, and he shot forward.

He covered the few hundred yards in a matter of moments.

Before him was a winding main road.

The road was paved with gravel, flanked by withered yellow grass and sparse woods. Farther in the distance were rolling hills.

And on this main road, there was a large, dark brown stain.

It was blood.

Dried blood.

Fang Han crouched down, his fingertips gently touching the dark brown bloodstain.

The blood was completely dry. Judging by its state, several days must have passed.

’Zhang Yuanheng must have been injured here.’

’It’s a blade mark!’

Fang Han’s gaze fell upon a spot not far from the bloodstain. There was a deep gash from a blade.

The gash was about ten yards long, over a foot wide, and roughly a meter deep.

It cut deep into the main road’s hard gravel surface, churning up the earth and shattering stones at its edges.

’Judging from the traces left at the scene, the attacker was extremely powerful. They must have heavily wounded Zhang Yuanheng with a single strike.’

’Zhang Yuanheng was a Second Grade Martial Artist. To wound him so severely with one strike, the attacker’s combat prowess had to be at least comparable to that of a First Grade Martial Artist.’

’The blood trail extends into the woods beside the road.’

Fang Han stood up, his gaze sweeping toward the forest on one side of the road.

The blood trail started at the gash and extended into the woods beside the road.

A drop here, a drop there, intermittent and broken.

Fang Han followed the blood trail into the woods.

Since it was autumn, the branches and leaves in the forest were sparse. An unknown amount of rotten leaves had accumulated on the ground, making his footsteps soft and silent.

The blood trail wound over the decaying leaves, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden.

At times, it was a large patch splattered across the withered leaves, staining them dark red.

At others, it was just a few specks, scattered on tree roots or pebbles, almost unnoticeable without a close look.

Following these traces, Fang Han ventured step by step deeper into the dense forest.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the woods ahead suddenly thinned, and a relatively open clearing appeared in his view.

In the center of the clearing was a large, blackened, and corroded patch of ground.

’What kind of mark is this?’

Fang Han stopped in his tracks.

He crouched down, his gaze fixed on the blackened and corroded patch.

The ground, which should have been covered in weeds and fallen leaves, was now completely bare.

The soil had an unnatural, charred black color and was covered by a hard crust, as if it had been soaked in some terrifyingly corrosive liquid.

At the edge of this area, a few withered yellow weeds drooped, their leaves scorched and curled. They crumbled at the slightest touch.

Fang Han reached out, gently pinched a small piece of the charred soil, and brought it to his nose to sniff.

A pungent odor, a mixture of acidic rot and a scorching smell, assailed his nostrils.

"Corpse-Dissolving Water?"

Fang Han whispered those three words, his expression growing grave.

He had read about this substance in the miscellaneous records of the Sect—Corpse-Dissolving Water. It was an extremely potent and vicious medicinal liquid, refined from a mixture of many virulent poisons. It could completely corrode flesh and bone in a very short time, leaving behind only a blackened stain.

After a murder, using Corpse-Dissolving Water to destroy the body and erase all traces was so effective that not even bones would remain. It was even more useful than the tung oil he had prepared in his Storage Ring.

Some assassin organizations always kept this substance on hand.

The Qingxuan Sect did not have Corpse-Dissolving Water. He had only ever read about it in miscellaneous books and had never seen it with his own eyes.

’To think I’d see it today.’

’Zhang Yuanheng’s body must have completely dissolved. Not even a complete corpse was left.’

’No wonder not a single body of the missing experts from the major powers has been found. Their remains were dissolved by Corpse-Dissolving Water all along.’

’Such professional methods. Just who is the killer?’

Fang Han stood up, his gaze sweeping over the blackened area.

’The attacker is not only extremely powerful but also meticulous, leaving no clues behind.’

HUMMM—

Fang Han pushed his Thousand-Mile Soul Lock to its full power.

The Tracking Secret Technique, at the Realm of Perfection, was unleashed without reservation. His perception spread out in all directions like a tide.

Within a ten-li radius, the auras of all things entered his senses.

He filtered out all the irrelevant miscellaneous scents—the fresh fragrance of plants, the earthy smell of the soil, the musty odor of decaying leaves, the vapor from the distant stream. His mind highly focused, he began to capture the auras belonging to "people" from the vast sea of scents.

One.

Two.

Three.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

The main road was nearby. While not exactly bustling with traffic, at least several groups of people passed by each day.

Over the course of a month, at least a thousand people would have passed through the vicinity.

’And the killer is hidden among these thousands.’

’A full thousand people... investigating them one by one isn’t realistic!’

Fang Han frowned slightly. ’Investigating a thousand people one by one would take several months at least. Never mind that I can’t possibly waste so much time on this mission; even if I were willing, it wouldn’t be practical. I can only smell auras that have lingered for up to a month. After that, the trails they leave behind will dissipate. Once the auras along the trail disappear, I won’t be able to track them even if I want to. So, I have to filter through the auras of these thousand people.’

"The killer must meet one condition," Fang Han muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the charred soil.

’Zhang Yuanheng was a Second Grade Martial Artist. Even if he was ambushed, to be heavily wounded by a single strike... even being generous, the attacker must be an Upper Three Grades Martial Artist at minimum.’

’All I have to do is filter through these thousand-plus auras and pick out the ones belonging to Upper Three Grades Martial Artists.’

As a Martial Artist’s cultivation improved, their qi and blood would grow more vigorous, their Life Force would become stronger, and their aura would in turn become more potent and distinct.

This change was an inevitable result of a leap in the level of life itself.

This was also why powerful Martial Artists could intimidate wild beasts with their aura alone, even causing some perceptually keen Demon Beasts to flee at the mere scent of them.

An ordinary person couldn’t perceive this difference in auras, but with his Thousand-Mile Soul Lock having reached Perfection and his perception being extremely sharp, he could.

HUMMM—

Fang Han once again pushed his Thousand-Mile Soul Lock to its full power.

This time, he didn’t try to capture everyone’s aura. Instead, he began filtering through the thousands of auras to isolate those belonging to Upper Three Grades Martial Artists.

His nostrils twitched, his mind highly focused.

The thousands of auras were like thousands of threads of different colors, weaving and tangling in his mind.

He discarded the auras belonging to the Middle Three Grades, the Lower Three Grades, and even ordinary people.

He kept only the dense ones with a unique texture—the auras of Upper Three Grades Martial Artists.

One.

Two.

Three...

Fang Han sifted through these auras in his mind, eliminating and categorizing them one by one.

After several dozen breaths, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"Twelve."

He had found twelve auras belonging to Upper Three Grades Martial Artists. He had successfully narrowed the pool of over a thousand suspects down to just twelve.

’With the scope narrowed to twelve people, the next part of the chase will be much easier. I just have to investigate them one by one.’ The difficulty had taken a nosedive compared to before.

"This... aura?"

Suddenly, Fang Han’s expression changed drastically.

Among the twelve auras, there was one that felt familiar.

The aura was extremely faint; if his Thousand-Mile Soul Lock hadn’t reached Perfection, he might have even missed it. But it was domineering, carrying a scorching texture like a rising flame.

It was identical to the aura emitted by Qi Zhen, the Gang Leader of the Tiejiang Gang, in the ruins of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion that day.

It was, without a doubt, Qi Zhen’s aura.

’It can’t be such a coincidence!’

Fang Han’s expression grew grave. ’Although Qi Zhen’s aura is just one of the twelve, and he could have been a coincidental passerby—meaning he isn’t necessarily the culprit—my intuition tells me that this matter is inextricably linked to him. After all, the Tiejiang Gang, which he belongs to, originally planned to annex the major powers. They were only forced to stop because those powers chose to align with the Seven Sects. It’s entirely possible that they, not wanting to clash openly with the Seven Sects, have chosen to strike at the major powers in secret.’

’The other suspects can’t be ruled out, but Qi Zhen is definitely the most suspicious. I’ll start the investigation with him!’

Fang Han carefully sensed Qi Zhen’s aura and began tracking in the direction he had left.

But after chasing for only a few dozen li, he couldn’t help but stop.

On the road ahead, a man in a dark gold brocade robe had appeared.

The man was tall and powerfully built, with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. A wide leather belt was fastened around his waist, from which hung a long saber.

This man was none other than Qi Zhen, the very person he planned to investigate!