I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 197 Man-made disaster, Li Hao takes action!

For such a long time, the white fox could only express itself through gestures and writing simple numbers.

Now that you have eaten the gallbladder of a gecko, you can speak?
Although it is not too difficult for monsters to learn to speak, this is a nine-life fox!

It seems that this snake gall is not only non-toxic, but also very nutritious.

Xie An was overjoyed. He picked up the white fox and looked at it carefully. "What did you call me just now?"

The white fox was naturally very happy to find that he could speak human language, and did not think much about it, "Big Brother."

Xie An felt that the sound was soft, crisp, and very pleasant, so he wanted to hear it again, "Call it again."

The white fox glanced at Xie An, obviously speechless, and seemed reluctant.

Snapped!
Xie An flicked the white fox's head fiercely, causing it to feel a buzzing in its head and a numbness in its entire body. Finally, it seemed to have adjusted its position and reluctantly called out, "Big Brother."

Xie An felt relieved after hearing this.

Are we one step closer to poaching Master Huang's employees?
Putting his thoughts aside, Xie An asked, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​eating snake gall?"

He didn't even know what kind of lizard this was, but Xiaobai could tell it apart at a glance. This was quite amazing.

Xiaobai scratched his head in confusion, "I don't know either, I just feel that snake gall is extremely precious."

Xiaobai looked very serious, and it didn't seem like he was faking it.

Xie An did not ask any more questions, but based on his experience, he still seriously reminded the white fox not to eat unfamiliar things in the future.

The white fox seemed to sense the concern from his elder brother, and was touched, nodding heavily to show that he understood.

Seeing it was well-behaved, Xie An must have understood the seriousness of the situation, so he gave up. But his mind was still swirling: Would a white fox continue to evolve and transform by consuming precious bones, precious medicine, and precious gallbladder? Could it even awaken its spiritual intelligence?

If I continue to feed it precious medicines and treasures, what will it become?

Will spiritual energy begin to grow in the body when one reaches a certain level?
Although this idea was bizarre, Xie An felt it was possible. He possessed memories from his past life and knew that living things themselves were like chemical reaction vessels. For example, plants absorb sunlight and produce various energy substances through photosynthesis, while humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

Perhaps the land of Daqian originally had no spiritual energy, but the Nine-Life Fox could produce spiritual energy by taking some kind of special chemical reaction in its body through taking some medicine and treasures?
After this idea came to mind, Xie An was very excited. He became more determined to poach Master Huang's talent...

Xie An looked at the white fox deeply, then put his thoughts aside.

[400 wisps of fairy energy detected]

Xie An absorbed it without thinking.

Absorbing 400 strands of fairy energy at one time will not cause much discomfort to the body. It will only cause a slight stinging sensation and then pass.

[Currently available Immortal Qi: 7600 strands.]

After absorbing the energy, Xie An carefully looked at the gigantic four-legged snake in front of him. Because its internal organs were scattered all over the ground, the surrounding space was filled with a disgusting stench.

Xie An covered his nose and used all his eyesight to examine it carefully.

It resembles a crocodile, a monitor lizard, but not quite either.

A species I've never seen before.

Although the Demon Suppression Division was established to slay demons and eliminate evil, there were still few major demons in Qingwu County, and Xie An had seen very few of them. It was normal that he didn't recognize them.

"This scale seems very hard... Is it a treasure?"

Xie An had long wanted to craft a set of armor with exceptional defensive power, giving himself a better chance of survival when facing a powerful foe. He had even visited the Demon Suppression Division's armory, but the quality was mediocre, mostly consisting of armor resembling those worn by soldiers. It was adequate for defending against low-level martial artists, but against attacks from martial arts masters... it was far from enough.

Although this four-legged snake is only at the level of an eighth-level martial artist, some monsters may be able to produce precious bones and scales that exceed their own strength?

Xie An jumped onto the lizard's head, snapped off a few scales, and then cut them with his Demon-Slaying Knife to test their hardness and toughness.

As a result, the scales were easily cut without much effort.

"no……"

With Xie An's current strength, only a martial arts master can threaten him.

The armor he wanted to make was naturally for dealing with martial arts masters.

Xie An then peeled off a few scales from the lizard's back to test, but none of them worked.

Finally, Xie An focused his attention on the scales on the abdomen.

The hardest scales on a snake's body are located on its belly, because the belly has to withstand more friction and pressure.

After some testing, the scales on the abdomen were easily cut open by the Demon-Suppressing Knife.

Xie An had to give up the idea of ​​taking its scales to make armor and began to think about the reason why the four-legged snake slaughtered the village.

"Would something like this run ashore and massacre a village?"

If it were a dog demon, or a monster that lived in the mountains year-round, it would be understandable that it would massacre the village on land. However, this lizard's four claws were very short, similar to those of a crocodile, and even shorter than the legs of a monitor lizard, making it obvious that it was adapted for life in the water. It would be very difficult for it to reach land.

Monsters are all intelligent. They won't go far away to attack someone near them. They know how to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

Xie An always felt something was wrong.

Xie An went to the valley again to check and found a large cave inside.

Judging from the size of the cave, it should be a gecko's cave.

Gusts of cold wind blew out of the cave, blowing on my face, making me feel cold.

Something doesn't look right.

Xie An threw a few stones in, but saw no reaction.

He was still worried, so he found a pile of dry firewood, lit it and threw it into the cave.

As thick smoke poured into the cave, even the most cunning monster hiding inside would definitely be unable to bear the smoke.

But all the dry firewood was burned out and there was no movement inside.

Only then did Xie An feel completely relieved and turned to look at Xiaobai.

Xiaobai quickly took two steps back, shaking his head like a rattle, indicating that it was impossible for him to go exploring first.

Xie An felt speechless and thought to himself that Xiaobai was really afraid of death.

"Get on my shoulders."

Xiaobai happily jumped onto Xie An's shoulder.

Xie An clenched the Demon-Suppressing Sword, opened his five senses to cover a radius of twenty meters, and walked inside step by step.

The cave is very shallow. After walking five or six meters, you will reach the end, which is a large stone chamber.

Relying on the charcoal that had not yet completely extinguished, Xie An could barely see the scene around him.

In addition to some rotting flesh and blood, there was a stone platform with an incense burner and a washbasin. In the washbasin was a special green liquid that smelled very pungent. However, Xie An smelled the scent of medicinal herbs.

This is definitely not a medicinal ingredient that can be made from a four-legged snake.

Although some top-level monsters have the ability to make medicine, this four-legged snake is definitely not at that level.

"Why do I feel like someone is raising this lizard?"

Beastmaster?
Does a beast tamer need to give medicine to monsters?

Xie An didn't understand the beastmaster's methods and couldn't make a judgment.

"First, take this incense burner and the liquid in this basin back home. Find a professional pharmacist to identify them."

Xie An took the incense burner and washbasin back to the sampan, and continued to head south by paddling with the nanmu bamboo.

Not far ahead is the place where the village was massacred - Baishi Village, Daze Township.

The snow was falling and the cold wind was howling.

Xie An looked around and saw a small village on the distant shore, and on the other side of the Huai River, there was a huge lake that stretched as far as the eye could see. Under the flying snow, it looked like a giant beast lying on the water.

……

Daze Township.

Baishi Village.

Snow was falling heavily and the courtyard of the ancestral hall was filled with bloody corpses.

A group of demon-suppressing guards in navy blue uniforms were carrying corpses. The strong, pungent smell of blood filled the air, making one nauseated.

"Oh, what bad luck! I came here from Nanyang Prefecture to take up a post, hoping to gain some wealth, but I didn't expect to encounter a monster slaughtering the village right after arriving. I'm afraid my future is over."

"I'm unlucky too. I worked so hard to improve myself, but in the end, an accident ruined my future."

"Stop complaining. The one who bears the greatest responsibility this time is Princess Zhao Qing'er."

"Indeed, Princess Zhao has a miserable life. Since arriving in Qingwu County, she has been diligent and dedicated to slaying demons and monsters. She never expected such a big accident to happen..."

There were lights on in the ancestral hall and people were everywhere.

Ye Luo bandaged the wounds of Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er, and placed a wooden board on the broken arm. Then he said to Chen Tie who was standing beside him, "Master Chen, the conditions here are simple, so we can only handle it simply.

Fortunately, Young Master Wei and Princess Zhao didn't suffer any internal injuries. Their broken bones and torn ligaments will recover after some recuperation."

Hearing this, Chen Tie finally breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Ye Luo, "Thank you, Master Ye. Please go outside and see if there are any other injured villagers. Please."

"It's my duty. Call me anytime if you need anything." Ye Luo bowed and left.

Wei Haoran had a bandage on his right hand and gauze wrapped around his head, but he jumped off the bed in a flash. "Damn that lizard! It actually massacred the entire village! If its scales weren't so tough, I would have stabbed it to death long ago."

Zhao Qing'er's situation wasn't much better than Wei Haoran's. She also climbed out of bed and said, "Brother Chen, this is my jurisdiction. I'll take primary responsibility if anything goes wrong. Since Brother Chen is here, let's go to Reed Island again and kill that evil creature. Avenge the villagers here!"

Chen Tie shook his head helplessly.

Ancestor...

It's a blessing that nothing happened to you two. Otherwise, how would I, Chen Tie, explain this to Duke Wei and Prince Bao?

However, Chen Tie also knew that the two hated evil and hated evil, so he did not discourage their enthusiasm. "The general manager has already gone to Reed Island. Let's wait for him to come back."

Zhao Qing'er was shocked. "Although Commander Xie is cautious, his strength is not much higher than mine. If he brought more people with him, we might have a chance of winning."

Chen Tie shook his head. "Director Xie went alone. Even Liu Chun was sent back by him."

Zhao Qing'er was horrified. "Alone? This is too dangerous."

Wei Haoran also said, "That's right. The General Manager was clearly on leave, and suddenly something like this happened, which is like cleaning up our mess. It's too unfair to let him go alone. I'll go and help."

After saying that, Wei Haoran limped out with a cane and a knife in hand to help.

Chen Tie was so unsteady on his feet that he felt speechless. "That's enough. You're more of a hindrance than a hindrance. Liu Chun also suggested that Director Xie bring more people, but Director Xie said more people would be a burden, so he went alone."

Wei Haoran threw away his knife in shame and sat back in his seat angrily. "Hey, if I had practiced more diligently, I wouldn't have to let Master Zongshi clean up my mess."

Zhao Qing'er also lowered her head in frustration. "This is not your fault, it's my fault. With such a big thing happening, I definitely can't continue my duties. I must have disappointed my father. Eh..."

At the end of her speech, Zhao Qing'er sighed and her eyes were red.

Prince Bao had high hopes for her during this training trip, hoping that she would help the eldest princess accomplish great things, so that she could return to the capital in glory and bring honor to Prince Bao.

Zhao Qing'er has always worked very hard.

I don’t want to… disappoint my father.

Eh.

Zhao Qing'er let out a long sigh, and most of her energy and spirit disappeared, becoming extremely depressed and lost.

Even though she is the daughter of Prince Bao, the competition among the second generation in Beijing is very fierce.

She didn't want to fall behind, and she didn't want people to say that she relied on her father, Prince Bao, for everything.

In the end... I still couldn't do it.

At this moment, a familiar voice came from outside the door.

"Princess Zhao, there's no need to be so discouraged."

The three people in the room looked up and saw Xie An walking in, exhausted, holding an incense burner and a washbasin in his hands, which gave off a pungent smell of medicine.

Zhao Qing'er was very excited, "Thank you, Chief, how is the situation on Reed Island?"

Xie An said casually: "I have killed the four-legged snake."

Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er, who were sitting in their seats, stood up suddenly in shock when they heard this and looked at Xie An in disbelief.

The two of them had led fifteen elite demon-suppressing guards to Reed Island to encircle and suppress the four-legged lizards, and had personally experienced the terrifying power of the four-legged lizards. How could they be single-handedly challenged by Xie An?
This……

Didn’t he go to the Demon Suppression Bureau’s pharmacy to pick up the Seventh Layer Internal Strength Pill a while ago?
How did you do it?
At this time, Xiaobai, who was lying on Xie An's shoulder, said calmly, "That little snake was nothing special. My eldest brother killed it with one sword."

A talking fox?

Killed with one blow?

The successive news made everyone's head spin.

After a while, Chen Tie was the first to speak, "General Xie is indeed the one chosen by the Princess. He really has hidden strategies.

When it gets light, I'll send someone to Reed Island to bring back the lizard's body, so that I can have an explanation.

However, after all, a tragedy like the massacre of a whole village had occurred, and punishment was inevitable. And with Li Hao adding fuel to the fire, the punishment would likely be much more severe than usual.

At the very least, Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran should be dismissed and investigated. I'm afraid my position as Deputy Director General will be untenable. I've failed the Princess's expectations in vain."

Xie An shook his head, "Not necessarily. Look at the green liquid in this basin."

Everyone's attention was focused on the washbasin, and three people went over to smell it one after another.

Chen Tiedao: "It's liquid medicine. Where did this basin come from?"

Xie An truthfully recounted the situation in the lizard's cave in detail, and finally offered his own analysis: "I've seen the lizard's legs. They are very short, not suitable for walking on land. The massacre of the village is already strange. Add to that the medicine and the incense burner... I suspect that the lizard was raised by humans and deliberately caused the massacre."

When this was said, everyone agreed with it.

If it is a man-made disaster, then... there may be hope.

Xie An said, "Chief Zhao, Deputy Chief Chen, you are both from the capital and are very knowledgeable. Do you know that beastmasters use medicine to control monsters?"

Zhao Qing'er shook her head. "Beast Tamers usually possess the ability to communicate with demons, and with professional training and the use of props and other tools, they achieve the desired effect. Using liquid medicine to control demons is extremely rare. After all, to a beast tamer, a demon is like another version of themselves, and they cherish it deeply. They won't use drugs to control a demon, as this might affect its development and growth."

Not a beastmaster?
Chen Tiedao: "I have heard that some powerful pharmacists and some wizards in the southwestern Miao area use drug witchcraft to control drugs."

The information was so complex that Xie An couldn't make a judgment, so he said, "Deputy Director Chen, please find a professional pharmacist to take a look at the specific ingredients in the medicine. That way, it will be much clearer."

Chen Tie suddenly came to his senses and said, "I'll have someone call Master Ye over right away."

Soon, Ye Luo came over and was shocked to learn that Xie An had killed the village-killing lizard. After all, in Ye Luo's mind, he always felt that Xie An's strength was not as good as Wei Haoran and Zhao Qinger, and that he got to the position of General Manager by relying on his connections.

Unexpectedly, this General Manager Xie hid so deeply.

After a moment of daze, Ye Luo squatted down and carefully checked the medicine in the basin and the ashes in the incense burner.

After a while, Ye Luo said, "I came here in a hurry and didn't bring enough tools and equipment. I need to take these two things back to the Demon Suppression Department's pharmacy and refine these medicinal liquids and incense ashes before I can identify the medicinal ingredients."

Chen Tie immediately shouted outside the door: "Call Liu Chun over and ask him to take Ye Luo back to the Demon Suppression Division as soon as possible.

Master Ye, if you have any results, please come here and report immediately."

"It should be so." Ye Luo picked up the washbasin and incense burner and was about to leave.

Xie An suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."

Ye Luo was stunned. "What else do you want, Chief Xie?"

Xie An said, "To be on the safe side, it would be better to ask Master Ye to write down the necessary equipment and tools on paper and have Liu Chun bring them over so that we can refine and test them here. After all, there are other factions within the Demon Suppression Division, and it's easy for them to cause trouble."

Everyone looked at Xie An and couldn't help but admire his meticulous thinking.

Chen Tie had missed it and immediately agreed, "General Manager Xie is indeed thoughtful. This is the way it should be."

Ye Luo went to the next room to write about his equipment and tools. Chen Tie took the opportunity to ask Xie An, "General Xie, are you worried about Zhou Xuan and his gang?"

Xie An always felt that this incident happened suddenly and it was probably not a coincidence.

The only people who can stir up the situation in Qingwu County are the eldest princess and Li Hao.

Of course, because there was no evidence, Xie An would not voice these suspicions. He only said, "It's always right to be cautious. If the news is leaked, we will be in a more passive position."

Everyone was greatly impressed. Because of Xie An's arrival and arrangements, everyone felt much more at ease.

Then Xie An asked his men to bring albums and writing brushes, and sat in the room to inquire in detail about what had happened between Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran, and to make detailed records.

Although Xie An became an official mainly for his own benefit, he also had to do his job well, otherwise his position would be in vain.

Liu Chun had previously given a rough account of what had happened, but oral information inevitably missed some details, so he still had to record them in detail and then make a critical analysis.

Time, place, specific changes...

After all are recorded.

The full picture of the matter emerged:

Half a month ago, four boat people approached the Demon-Suppressing Guards patrolling in Daze Township and reported that they had spotted a huge shadow in the Huai River outside Baishi Village, which had overturned the boat people's fishing boats and swallowed their catch.

The demon-suppressing guards didn't take it seriously and simply went to the Huai River to keep watch for a day. When they found nothing unusual, they left and told the boat people not to make a fuss.

In the following days, as the Lunar New Year approached, villagers who had left their homes to make a living returned home to celebrate the New Year, and Baishi Village became bustling. Two children went to the Huai River to play in the water and disappeared inexplicably, leaving behind only a severed hand.

At that time, Zhao Qing'er realized the seriousness of the problem, and took Wei Haoran to live in Daze Township day and night, and increased the intensity of night patrols on the Huaihe River.

Yesterday, New Year’s Eve.

Baishi Village invited a circus to perform in the riverside square, and then the villagers were massacred. When Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran arrived, no one was left alive. It was the four boatmen who revealed the shadow's lair.

In a rage, Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er led their men to the island to encircle and suppress the evil beasts, but they were severely damaged.

Every event has a relatively specific time.

Xie An looked at the record on the album, analyzing it word by word, and finally looked at Zhao Qing'er: "When those four boat people learned that Baishi Village was going to hold a circus performance by the river, did they try to stop it?"

Zhao Qing'er said, "Those four boat people have lived on the island in Hongze Lake for generations and are very familiar with the lake. Their leader is called Chen Ah Si, and that's what he said. When we first boarded the boat to the island, it was Chen Ah Si who led the way."

Xie An asked, "Where are they now?"

Zhao Qing'er said, "Just wait at the Demon Suppression Guards' temporary camp at the village entrance."

Xie An pondered for a moment, then wrote a line at the end of the album: It is very likely that Li Hao did it.

Then, Xie An closed the album, called over Xiao Hu, Liu Chun's confidant, and handed the album to him. "Send it to Xie's residence overnight and give it to Yu He. Remember, you must hand it to Yu He personally."

Xiaohu nodded in agreement, solemnly took the album and left.

Xie An was naturally not doing this for Yuhe, but to report to Su Yuqing.

Xie An had lived with Su Yuqing for many years and had long known that the Prince of Huainan was planning a rebellion. Li Hao was a pawn on the front line.

The reasoning was simple: Chen Tie, Zhao Qing'er, and Wei Haoran would all be dismissed and investigated, and Xie An, the Director-General, might also be removed. The biggest beneficiary was Li Hao. He could take sole control of the Qingwu Town Demon Division!
Don't underestimate the small office of Qingwu Town Demon Department. Now this office is the nail set up by the court on the front line. If this nail is pulled out, the court will become blind in the affairs of King Huainan and the Five Old Demons.

For a confrontation of this level, Xie An naturally needed the help of the eldest princess, so he had to let Su Yuqing know as soon as possible.

Xie An knew exactly what he had to do next: find the culprit behind the disaster and arrest him. With the help of the princess's influence in the government, he could resolve the crisis.

After making up his mind, Xie An stood up and said, "Deputy Director Chen, take me to see those four boat people."

(End of this chapter)