I Can Devour Spirits

As soon as Pan Yong left, Yang Yi immediately put away his stern expression and said with a smile, ”Young Duan, after questioning all morning, I’m feeling a bit thirsty. Would it be possible to ask you for a cup of water?”

Duan Rong replied with a smile, ”Steward Yang, please help yourself.”

His gaze swept across Yang Yi’s face; he knew Yang Yi’s intentions, likely seeing him as the key to uncover the truth about the explosion at the pill furnace.

With Pan Yong, Yang Yi was all business, but as soon as Pan Yong left, he became amicable.

The two walked slowly into the cave.

Duan Rong lit a candle.

From a black pottery jar, he poured water into two bamboo tubes, giving one to Yang Yi and keeping the other for himself.

Yang Yi drank half of the clear water from the bamboo tube in one gulp, then looked at the candlelight and said with a smile, ”Young Duan, even in the cave, do you not like to have a light on?”

Duan Rong replied, ”I prefer to cultivate in the dark.”

Yang Yi nodded indifferently, his gaze sharpened, and he asked, ”Young Duan, what is usually the relationship between Chen Hu and Yin Cong? Is there any conflict?”

Duan Rong’s gaze flickered slightly; he knew what Yang Yi was asking about.

They were both crushed under the pill furnace, and Yin Cong’s foot was still entangled with Chen Hu’s Nine-Section Whip.

Duan Rong said, ”Steward Yang, I am a Registered Disciple this year, and I’ve only just arrived—not too familiar with their relationship.”

Yang Yi’s pupils contracted; he could see that Duan Rong was also someone hard to sway.

Yang Yi asked Duan Rong a few more questions, but Duan Rong’s face remained expressionless, and his answers were flawless.

Yang Yi’s originally amiable face soon grew cold and hard. ”Young Duan, may I see your Sect Cloud Scroll?”

Duan Rong handed his Sect Cloud Scroll to Yang Yi, who examined it carefully in the candlelight before returning it, his expression indecisive.

Yang Yi realized that further questioning would yield nothing, so he stood up from the stone chair and said, ”That’ll be all for today. If I have more questions, I will inevitably have to trouble Young Duan again.”

Duan Rong replied, ”Steward Yang, there’s no need for formality. I’ll be sure to speak openly.”

Yang Yi looked at Duan Rong’s gentle smile, his facial muscles twitching, then he left with a flick of his sleeve.

He had assumed Duan Rong, as a newly inducted Registered Disciple, might reveal something, but this young man was even more cunning than Pan Yong, speaking bland pleasantries so naturally that Yang Yi felt inadequate by comparison.

”It’s like hitting the thief’s den!”

Yang Yi cursed under his breath, already prepared to go back and close the case.

Shang Xiangyu is an Inner Sect Disciple and also a Pharmacist. Without solid evidence, there’s no way to prosecute him.

After Yang Yi left, Duan Rong continued to study the condensation of the Divine Soul Needle as if nothing had happened.

The next noon, Pan Yong came again to find Duan Rong, saying the Judgement and Rectification Department had already sent word—the case of the exploded furnace was closed.

Pan Yong came to fetch him, to handle the bodies of Chen Hu and Yin Cong at the alchemy cave.

The two returned to the crimson cave.

After the magma extinguished, the cave became cold and damp.

In just two days, Chen Hu and Yin Cong’s bodies were already covered in corpse spots, emitting a foul odor.

The two bundled the bodies into burlap sacks, carrying them to a secluded corner of the dense forest to bury them.

Pan Yong used a wooden board to erect a simple tombstone for each of them.

This mountain had a large forest, and no one knew where Pan Yong had buried Tang Zhu’s body.

Looking at the two graves ahead, Pan Yong suddenly said, ”Junior Brother, if one day Senior Brother dies, you don’t need to erect a tombstone for me.”

”I’m afraid I might vomit out of the grave.”

Duan Rong replied, ”So even Senior Brother knows how disgusting he is. Rest assured, Senior Brother; I’m not so free. Truth be told, I might not even bury you.”

Upon hearing this, Pan Yong stood there, laughing sinisterly.