I Can Devour Spirits

”Liu, I fear that Yang Zhen, that kid, might be in serious trouble!”

”I went to his house in Wutong Lane, knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered, so I climbed over...”

”Turns out there wasn’t a single person in the house, just this Barrier Saber dropped at the doorway of the main hall, and there were traces of blood on the tip...”

Zhu Baogui spoke in rapid succession, but suddenly stopped because his eye caught a silhouette sitting in the corner behind him.

Zhu Baogui turned swiftly, stared at that person, and recognized Fan Yuanhai at a glance.

Fan Yuanhai had stayed in Xianggu County for several months just over half a year ago, frequently coming and going from the government office. This time, he was also one of the Imperial Envoys for the Supervision Selection Conference.

Zhu Baogui was not blind.

Zhu Baogui raised an eyebrow and glanced at Liu Kui, implying that Liu Kui knew the Imperial Envoy was here but gave him no heads up.

Zhu Baogui bowed deeply towards Fan Yuanhai and said, ”Greetings, Imperial Envoy! I apologize for my lack of sharpness, please forgive me!”

Fan Yuanhai ignored him, merely flipping through the autopsy report, leaving Zhu Baogui a bit embarrassed.

After a while, Fan Yuanhai finally closed the autopsy report. Key points were already discussed by Liu Kui in the morgue; the report just detailed those aspects further.

Fan Yuanhai closed the autopsy report, then looked at Zhu Baogui and asked, ”Who did you just say is in serious trouble?”

Zhu Baogui’s voice trembled slightly. ”It’s one of ours, Constable Yang Zhen.”

”Yang Zhen?” Fan Yuanhai’s eyes moved with thought, asking, ”Is he the follower of Jie Daohan?”

Zhu Baogui replied, ”Exactly!”

Fan Yuanhai had some impression of Yang Zhen; the last time Jie Daohan came to Huaying Building, Yang Zhen was guarding the door.

At this moment, Yang Zhen was also involved in an incident, perhaps it might have some connection to Jie Daohan’s matter?

Fan Yuanhai asked, ”What do you mean by serious trouble?”

Zhu Baogui’s expression shifted.

”Please look, Imperial Envoy!” Zhu Baogui presented the Barrier Saber to Fan Yuanhai.

Fan Yuanhai took it, examining the saber carefully.

The Barrier Saber is the standard weapon for Qingzhou government office constables, each constable receives one when they join.

Zhu Baogui pointed to the handle of the saber in Fan Yuanhai’s hand, saying, ”All Barrier Sabers in the government office have numbers. The handle has the imprint of number eighteen, which is Yang Zhen’s number. The saber fell at the doorway of the main hall, and its tip shows bloodstains, suggesting that there was likely a fight in that room. The room was empty and Yang Zhen hasn’t shown up at the office for two days. He might already...”

Fan Yuanhai nodded, placing the saber on the table in front of him, suddenly saying, ”When I arrived, I noticed the door to Jie Daohan’s Chief’s Room was still locked?”

”Yes.” Zhu Baogui responded, ”Chief Jie left at noon on the first day after the Talent Selection Conference and hasn’t shown up since. The next thing we heard was the discovery of his corpse at the Wild Lake behind the City God Temple!”

Fan Yuanhai suddenly stood up, pacing the cramped Arresting Officer’s Room. In that moment, he seemed to grasp some very important information.

Fan Yuanhai paced and muttered to himself, ”The first day after the Talent Selection Conference... hasn’t shown up since...”

Fan Yuanhai suddenly stopped, looking at Zhu Baogui, saying, ”Open the door to the Chief’s Room!”

”This...” Zhu Baogui hesitated. They found the key on the day Jie Daohan’s body was discovered.

In Zhu Baogui’s hesitation, Liu Kui suddenly said, ”As a Sect Envoy, one has the authority to make immediate decisions in local affairs. Follow the Envoy’s orders and open the door.”

At this time, Shen Yanliu had already left Xianggu County, and the new County Magistrate’s arrival was uncertain. Liu Kui long felt that delaying Jie Daohan’s case would likely lead to loss of many clues. Now, with Fan Yuanhai stepping in, Liu Kui thought they should fully cooperate to find the killer promptly.

Zhu Baogui’s eyes flickered as he took out the key, saying, ”Please, Imperial Envoy!”

The three of them exited the Arresting Officer’s Room together.

Zhu Baogui opened the door to Jie Dao Han’s Chief’s Room, glanced inside, and then quickly stepped aside to the door.

Fan Yuanhai walked in slowly, with Zhu Baogui and Liu Kui peeking over his shoulder, curious to see whether Jie Daohan’s room before he left contained any clues.

But Fan Yuanhai turned around, looking at the two and said, ”You can leave now. I will call you if I need anything.”

The two nodded in agreement and left awkwardly.

Though it was daytime, the Chief’s Room remained somewhat dim as Jie Daohan drew out a flint to light the lamp on the table.

The lamp emitted a bright yellow light, revealing a tea cup without a lid beside it, its tea long dried out, with a few tea leaves dry-stuck at the bottom, unsure of how long it’s been left there.

Fan Yuanhai’s gaze jumped, seeing documents stacked on the table, all of which had been thumbed through.

These were likely the materials Jie Daohan was reading before leaving.

Fan Yuanhai immediately sat at the table, cautiously picking up the topmost manuscript.

This manuscript was the examination material for applicants for this realm’s Talent Selection Conference, and Fan Yuanhai noticed it was open to Duan Rong’s examination information.

In this realm’s Talent Selection Conference, Duan Rong’s humble origins and achievements in the Great Success Realm attracted quite a bit of attention, naturally remembered by Fan Yuanhai.

Yet Fan Yuanhai puzzled over why before Jie Daohan left, he was looking through the examination materials of applicants and had it opened to Duan Rong’s page?