Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 1 Murder Case
"Name?"

"Lu Xingzhou."

In the Demon Suppression Division, Sheng Yuanyao stopped writing with his brush and looked up at the other person with some surprise: "That name doesn't seem like a good omen. Is it a real name?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly, his voice very charming and pleasant. "At first glance, you sound very cultured. There are many people with the same name. Come to think of it, I've even seen people name their children 'Shang' or 'Wang'. Why should you take it so seriously, young lady?"

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes moved slightly, as if she remembered something because of the word "Shang", and she looked at Lu Xingzhou carefully again.

The man was dressed in white and had a silver belt. He had a handsome face and was gentle and elegant. Even though Sheng Yuanyao was used to seeing noblemen in the capital, she still felt that this man's handsomeness and temperament were enough to rank him in the first tier. He was truly a man as beautiful as jade.

Unfortunately, he is a cripple and is currently in a wheelchair.

Although Sheng Yuanyao had little experience in the Demon Suppression Division, his eyesight was not bad. He could see that the man's leg muscles had atrophied, which was something he couldn't fake.

He is a real cripple and has been crippled for a long time. What a pity.

She gathered her thoughts and looked serious again: "Age?"

"nineteen."

"Judging from your accent, are you from Xiazhou?"

"I was indeed born here. I went to live with relatives in the south with my family when I was eleven or twelve years old. I only came back half a year ago."

"You went into the Huo family's old house at a quarter past noon yesterday. What were you doing there?"

"I'm an alchemist, so naturally I know how to heal illnesses." Lu Xingzhou replied calmly, "The old man of the Huo family has had some heart pain recently, so he asked me to treat him. I've been visiting him every day for the past two weeks. You can just ask and find out."

"Are you here again today for this?" Sheng Yuanyao stared at Lu Xingzhou closely.

Lu Xingzhou felt an invisible pressure, and his heart moved slightly. Sweat soon seeped out of his forehead in response to the pressure. He said reluctantly, "Of course, Mr. Huo's treatment hasn't ended yet. We have an appointment. Miss, why did you bring me to the Demon Suppression Division to ask these inexplicable questions?"

Sheng Yuanyao withdrew his pressure and said coldly: "First of all, that is not Mr. Huo. The entire Huo family has moved to the capital, and the only one left in the old house is the old housekeeper."

Lu Xingzhou was stunned: "I don't know that. I didn't know the Huo family before. Seeing his pomp and ceremony, I thought he was the old man."

Sheng Yuanyao stared at him closely: "Secondly, at the end of yesterday afternoon, Butler Huo was found dead in the house."

Lu Xingzhou immediately shook his head: "His heart attack is almost cured, he won't die suddenly."

Sheng Yuanyao slammed the table: "Stop pretending to be ignorant when you know the truth!"

"Miss, are you saying he was murdered?" Lu Xingzhou didn't fall for her threats, and instead regained his composure. "I entered yesterday at noon, stayed for only a cup of tea, and then left. I was back on the mountain by noon. Whatever you mean, it has nothing to do with me."

Sheng Yuanyao still stared at Lu Xingzhou's eyes.

She had tricked Lu Xingzhou to see how he would react. In reality, only the old housekeeper Huo had disappeared, and the dead were the other servants—all the servants of a certain age and seniority in the Huo family mansion had died, but all the young servants in their teens were still alive. It was a very strange situation.

According to the testimony of the surviving servants, the murders had indeed not occurred when Mr. Lu left. The victims' throats had all been slashed with sharp weapons, not poison. The possibility of a delayed poison being administered in advance could be ruled out.

Sheng Yuanyao once again examined Lu Xingzhou's legs. He thought to himself that the Huo residence was so large, covering over ten hectares, with the deceased scattered across the east and west wings. To kill a specific person without alerting anyone, such a stealthy act wouldn't be possible with the lame man before him.

What's more, that requires a thorough understanding of the terrain of the Huo family, which is difficult for an outsider who just goes straight to the main house for treatment.

Judging from Lu Xingzhou's reaction, he didn't seem to know what was going on. From all aspects, there didn't seem to be much suspicion, but the missing housekeeper Huo was the most suspicious.

However, this person was the only outsider who entered the Huo family's old house on the day of the incident. No matter how lightly suspected he was, he could not be completely ignored and had to be investigated in detail.

Sheng Yuanyao finally said, "You said you were already on the mountain at 5 p.m., what's your proof?" Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "When I came out, the elixir I had refined was almost ready, and I was in a hurry to return to the mountain. Miss, why don't you come with me back to the mountain to ask? You can help me push the wheelchair."

Sheng Yuanyao didn't push the car himself. He called two eight-foot-tall subordinates to help push it, and followed it all the way out of the Demon Suppression Division.

She was an official from the capital sent out for training, coming to Xiazhou for two years to polish her skills before returning. Unexpectedly, she'd only been in office for a few days, barely even recognizing her subordinates, when she encountered a major case involving 20 or 30 murders. She felt both irritated and aroused. Annoyed that the murderer had practically slapped her in the face; aroused because, after all, she'd chosen this line of work for the fun of solving crimes!
This is a first-line melon eater!
Daqian has a rich atmosphere of spiritual cultivation. Xiazhou, quite far from the capital, is considered a remote mountainous region, yet it is not impoverished. Because of its abundant production of various medicinal herbs, it is considered one of Daqian's medicinal herb bases. Many sects, families, and gangs, large and small, rely on the sale of medicinal herbs for their survival.

Some, not content with simply being medicine dealers, have also trained or hired alchemists to stay on site, refining and selling finished pills. Lu Xingzhou arrived in Xiazhou six months ago, and for unknown reasons, he was hired as the chief alchemist by the Danxia Gang on Danxia Mountain east of the city. Since then, the Danxia Gang has evolved from being a medicinal herb dealer to a manufacturer of pills, a remarkable development.

While most cultivators in the world can make a few pills, truly excellent ones are hard to come by and require a very high status. This Lu Xingzhou is said to be an eighth-grade alchemist, officially certified by the Alchemy Bureau. This rank is considered quite good in remote areas, and at this age, he has great potential.

Lu Xingzhou was only nineteen years old. Although being an alchemist didn't require high levels of training, it was a profession that required a lot of experience. It was already difficult for someone so young to reach the rank, let alone the eighth rank.

Danxia Mountain wasn't far from the Huo family's old house; it was actually the neighboring mountain behind the Huo family's house, which was probably why the old butler Huo asked Lu Xingzhou to treat his illness. The mountain wasn't high, mostly sloping, so Lu Xingzhou could go up and down in a wheelchair, but it was quite difficult.

In its early years, Danxia Mountain was relatively pristine and lush with trees. There once stood a dilapidated Taoist temple on the summit. Later, the temple was deserted and the mountain was taken over by the Danxia Gang, who built a large settlement, planted medicinal herbs throughout the mountain, and created a pleasant air.

Following Lu Xingzhou into the Danxia Gang's main alchemy room, Sheng Yuanyao saw a massive alchemy furnace. The furnace was already trembling slightly, and a faint aroma of elixir emanated from it. Lu Xingzhou's words hadn't lied; a newly refined elixir was indeed about to be released.

Sheng Yuanyao's gaze fell on the little Taoist child beside the alchemy furnace. He was about five or six years old, with a chubby round face and a round Taoist bun. He was as adorable as a piece of jade. He seemed not to notice someone approaching the door. Rubbing his hands together, he carefully took a stick and reached under the furnace, prying around. Quietly, he pulled out a few roasted sweet potatoes.

The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes overwhelmed the fragrance of the elixir.

Sheng Yuanyao twitched the corners of his mouth.

These sweet potatoes were imported from the distant seas a few years ago...

The boy who controls the fire for alchemy secretly roasts sweet potatoes with the fire. If it affects the elixir, won’t Lu Xingzhou beat you to death?
"Ah, Master!" The little Taoist boy then noticed Lu Xingzhou at the door. He jumped up and ran over, holding up a roasted sweet potato and laughing: "Master, eat sweet potatoes."

Sheng Yuanyao felt that this was simply a slap in the face, but Lu Xingzhou just rubbed the little Taoist boy's chubby face lovingly and said: "You eat it, let me take a look at the pill first."

"Oh..." The little Taoist boy glanced at Sheng Yuanyao and held up the sweet potato to her: "Would you like some, pretty sister? It smells so good."

Sheng Yuanyao smiled and shook her head, indicating she didn't want to eat. Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "Please wait a moment, young lady. The pill is about to be made, and I have to finish my work first. If you want to ask anyone else, please feel free to do so."

After all, he was not a criminal, so Sheng Yuanyao didn't say anything. He watched him sit cross-legged beside the alchemy furnace to adjust the fire. After adjusting for a moment, he cast a fire-enhancing spell at the bottom of the furnace.

The fire in the furnace suddenly became stronger, a faint glow appeared on the edge of the furnace cover, and the fragrance of elixir overflowed.

Sheng Yuanyao watched the alchemy with great interest. Even the two subordinates from the Demon Suppression Division who followed Sheng Yuanyao subconsciously held their breath to witness the scene of the new elixir coming out of the furnace.

The furnace cover slowly floated up, and nine pills automatically floated out, slowly rotating above the furnace.

Sheng Yuanyao's heart was pounding. "Eighth-grade Qi-boosting Pills, nine pills from one furnace, all of them of top quality... And this took over an hour to refine, with only the boy controlling the fire! It looks like an eighth-grade pill, but an eighth-grade alchemist could never achieve this level. He's not an eighth-grade alchemist at all, he's a seventh-grade! Probably even upper-seventh-grade!"

If reaching the eighth rank at the age of nineteen is considered to have great potential, then what about the upper seventh rank at the age of nineteen?
That's a rare talent, the kind that all the major forces are vying for! How could such a person be hiding in a remote place like Xiazhou, working for a low-class gang like the Danxia Gang?
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Lu Xingzhou quietly hiding three pills in his sleeves, leaving only six spinning in the air, as if he had only refined six pills in this furnace. The little Taoist child reached in and quietly took one away.

Lu Xingzhou glared at him, and the little Taoist boy smiled apologetically and touched the remaining five pills respectively.

Sheng Yuanyao watched helplessly as the little Taoist boy absorbed some of the medicinal power of the five top-grade pills, reducing their effectiveness and turning them into inferior products.

The little Taoist boy showed a comfortable expression.

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

A frivolous voice came from outside the door: "Tsk, refining a mere eighth-grade elixir, and only making five high-quality pills in one furnace... Yan'er, is this the level of your Danxia Gang's chief alchemist?"

(End of this chapter)