Chapter 25 - Unbearable Taste of Salt
Li Nan Ke entered a lush forest and followed a damp path lined with wild grass, arriving at Cuihong Mountain.
It was a secluded place.
Trees surrounded the area, and a cool breeze flowed through the air.
The clustered branches were covered with small green leaves, shimmering with a green light under the sun. However, the bloodstains on the ground added a chilling touch to the otherwise pleasant atmosphere.
This was the scene where Lin Jiao Yue and her two friends were attacked by the Demonic Creature.
He could almost smell the lingering scent of blood.
"After finding Lin Jiao Yue and Wan Ying Ying at the foot of the mountain, the authorities and the Night Patrol brought people to search for Wen Jin Er. It was here that they found her body."
Leng Xinnan said calmly.
Li Nan Ke carefully observed the bloodstains splattered on the ground, imagining the gruesome scene that had unfolded here.
Meng Xiao Tu, standing behind the others, took out a carrot from under her short skirt and, looking at the imposing Li Nan Ke, asked Guo Gang.
"Where is this pretty boy from? Is he a Night Patrol officer sent from the capital?"
"He's a coroner from the Dongqi County yamen," Guo Gang replied.
"What?"
The young woman's eyes widened in surprise.
She couldn't understand why Sister Leng valued a mere coroner so much.
Indeed, being handsome had its advantages everywhere.
Even Sister Leng, who usually disliked pretty boys the most, had fallen for his looks.
"Although he's a coroner, this guy is very smart. If it weren't for him, we would have been in big trouble."
Iron Ox explained the events and said with emotion.
"I realized that this young man is extraordinary, so I strongly recommended him to Sister Leng. That's why he's valued so much. If this guy rises to prominence in the future, I deserve the most credit."
Guo Gang rolled his eyes with disdain.
"Is he that amazing?" Meng Xiao Tu was skeptical.
Li Nan Ke squatted on the ground, carefully observing every bloodstain.
Judging from the distribution of bloodstains at the scene, it was consistent with someone being torn apart. He also found a bloodstained stone, but it wasn't stuck in the ground.
If Wen Jin Er had hit her head here, with such a severe injury, it would indeed be difficult for her to get up in a short time.
Naturally, she became the Demonic Creature's primary target.
"Lin Jiao Yue and Wan Ying Ying escaped in this direction," Leng Xinnan said, pointing to the forest path on the right.
"Because the Demonic Creature blocked their way, they could only flee in panic and ended up at the edge of the cliff."
Li Nan Ke stared at the path, deep in thought for a moment, and then continued to explore the surroundings.
When he reached a tree, he suddenly stopped.
He bent down and examined the tree trunk. About thirty centimeters above the ground, there were some marks as if something had been pressed against it. When he touched it with his hand, the indentation became more obvious.
"Did you find anything?"
As he was pondering, a clear and lively voice rang out beside him, accompanied by a sweet fragrance.
Li Nan Ke turned his head to see a cute, round-faced young woman squatting beside him, also staring curiously at the tree trunk. Her large ample bosom, pressed against her knees, was almost spilling out.
"Well?"
The young woman blinked her long eyelashes playfully.
Li Nan Ke coughed and was about to speak when Leng Xinnan grabbed the young woman's ear and pulled her aside.
"Get lost! Don't disturb Nan Ke's investigation," the woman said with displeasure.
Meng Xiao Tu rubbed her reddened ear and complained.
"I wasn't disturbing him. I was just curious. And you're calling him 'Nan Ke,' 'Nan Ke' so intimately. People who don't know any better might think he's your lover."
"Say that again, and you'll see what happens!"
Leng Xinnan's eyebrows shot up, and she raised her hand as if to strike.
Meng Xiao Tu hurriedly raised her hands to protect her head.
"Sister Leng, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Please spare me, Little Rabbit. I'll treat you to carrots."
"Hmph!"
Seeing the young woman yield, Leng Xinnan lowered her hand and said coldly,
"Who wants your salty carrots?"
But then she let out a surprised sound and grabbed the young woman's arm, staring at the light blue tendon rope wrapped around it.
"Dragon's Beard Tendon? Where did you get this?"
"I found it."
Meng Xiao Tu said with a grin, relieved that Leng Xinnan wasn't going to hit her.
Li Nan Ke looked over.
"What's Dragon's Beard Tendon?"
Leng Xinnan untied the tendon rope and handed it to him.
"It's a tendon rope refined from a special plant. It's very tough, and it expands when it comes into contact with water and then contracts."
Li Nan Ke was intrigued and started playing with it in his hands.
But when he heard the woman's last sentence, a flash of inspiration struck him, and his expression turned serious.
He quickly walked back to the tree trunk, examined it with the tendon rope, and then followed the direction of the bloodstains to another tree trunk across from it, where he also found an indentation.
"Do you have any water?"
Li Nan Ke suddenly asked.
Leng Xinnan was taken aback. She asked one of her subordinates for the water bag he carried with him and handed it to Li Nan Ke.
Li Nan Ke poured some water on the tendon rope, and as Leng Xinnan had said, the tendon rope, which was only about ten centimeters long, started to wriggle like a worm and gradually expanded, almost doubling in length.
Li Nan Ke immediately wrapped the tendon rope around a forked branch as thick as his arm.
After a while, the tendon rope, as Leng Xinnan had described, began to contract. The forked branch creaked and groaned in protest until, with a snap, it broke completely.
"Ha~"
The man looked at this scene and laughed inexplicably.
But there was no trace of a smile on his face. Instead, a coldness crept in, and a chill seemed to rise from the soles of his feet, rushing to the top of his head.
"Miss Little Rabbit, is this the only one you found?" Li Nan Ke turned and asked.
Seeing the man's sudden seriousness, Meng Xiao Tu nodded her head and replied crisply, "Yes, why?"
"Where did you find it? Take me there!" Li Nan Ke said immediately.
Seeing Meng Xiao Tu still in a daze, Leng Xinnan, realizing the man had discovered something, shouted.
"Are you deaf? Quickly take us there!"
"Oh, okay."
Startled, Little Rabbit hurriedly led everyone towards the forest.
As they carefully searched along the way, they soon found two more broken pieces of Dragon's Beard Tendon in the dense bushes, one of them even stained with blood.
"Is this easy to buy?" Li Nan Ke asked.
Leng Xinnan nodded.
"Very easy. Although it's tough, it can be easily cut with a sharp object. And after being soaked in water three or four times, it completely loses its toughness and isn't very durable."
Li Nan Ke stared at the Dragon's Beard Tendon in his hand. From the broken marks and the remaining barb on it, it was clear that it had been cut by a sharp piece of wood.
"I see, I see..."
The man paced back and forth, his breathing becoming rapid. He turned to Leng Xinnan and the others and said in a deep voice,
"Search! There must be another path nearby leading to the bottom of the cliff!"
As it turned out, Li Nan Ke's guess was correct.
In less than the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, someone discovered a hidden path.
It wasn't really a path, but a rugged trail that had been trodden on before, clearly traces left by herb gatherers in the past.
Carefully climbing down the path, Li Nan Ke arrived at a stone platform about half a meter wide, protruding from the cliff face. The space was extremely small, barely enough for two people to stand.
"About how high is this from the ground?"
Li Nan Ke asked Leng Xinnan, who was behind him. Below the platform were dense vines, bamboo, and intertwined branches, making it impossible to see the ground clearly.
Before Leng Xinnan could answer, Meng Xiao Tu jumped in and said, "I saw this platform when I came down here before. It's probably a little more than two zhang* high."
[TL/N: 1 Zhang = roughly 3.58 meters]
A little more than two zhang...
That was about seven meters high.
Li Nan Ke asked, "If someone jumped from here, what are the chances of them dying from the fall?"
Leng Xinnan looked down, her red lips slightly parted.
"A cultivator would be fine, of course. For an ordinary person, the chances of dying would be higher if they landed on their head. Jumping directly, the chances of dying aren't very high, and with so many vines and branches below, it's even less likely—"
At this point, Leng Xinnan suddenly understood and looked at the man beside her with surprise.
"Don't tell me you think..."
"To the Dustless Temple!"
Looking at the temple in the distance, Li Nan Ke made up his mind.
…
The Dustless Temple was the most prosperous temple in Dongqi Town.
It had a history of over a hundred years.
The temple grounds were surrounded by green trees and flowers, with a backdrop of verdant mountains, giving it a transcendent atmosphere.
Li Nan Ke stood in the prayer courtyard, filled with the lingering scent of sandalwood, staring at the enormous Bodhi tree in a daze.
The Bodhi tree was covered with small bamboo tubes, about the size of a thumb.
These were prayer tubes.
Each bamboo tube was engraved with a name and contained a written prayer, sealed with red thread.
Leng Xinnan brought the monks who were on duty in the prayer courtyard on the fourth of eighth. One was fat, and the other was thin, both quite young. Faced with the Night Patrol, they looked nervous.
"On the fourth of eighth, Lin Jiao Yue, Wan Ying Ying, and Wen Jin Er came here to pray and offer incense. You remember that, right?"
Li Nan Ke asked directly.
The fat monk's Dharma name was Chang Yu, and the thin one was Chang Ming.
Hearing Li Nan Ke's question, they exchanged glances. Chang Yu spoke first, "Yes, officer, I remember."
They had been questioned and given their statements before, so naturally, they wouldn't forget.
"After they offered incense and prayed, did they hang prayer tubes on the tree?"
"Yes, they did," Chang Yu said, nodding and glancing at the bamboo tubes hanging on the Bodhi tree.
Li Nan Ke turned to him.
"I want to find the prayer tubes they hung. Is that alright?"
"This..."
Both monks looked troubled.
Not to mention whether it would be easy to find them among so many bamboo tubes, the temple had rules. Once hung, they weren't allowed to be taken down and shown to others.
"Is there a problem?"
Leng Xinnan narrowed her eyes, emitting an intimidating aura.
Sensing the woman's imposing manner, the two monks didn't dare refuse and hurriedly shook their heads like rattles.
"No problem, we'll go find them right away."
With that, they quickly ran towards the Bodhi tree.
Leng Xinnan also led her subordinates to search together.
Only Meng Xiao Tu was slacking off.
"Want a carrot?"
The young woman took out a fresh-looking carrot from under her gold-trimmed skirt and offered it to Li Nan Ke.
Li Nan Ke hesitated and politely declined.
"No, thank you. I prefer lighter flavors."