Ita Era

Chapter 168 Killed
Taoyuan is a village, and Tianmen is a village, but after repeated dungeon selections, the teammates from Tianmen Village have proven to be quite capable, so Ding Shi naturally won't stand idly by anymore.

The monk has a strong sense of the big picture; judging from his self-harm to save others yesterday, he is not someone who stands idly by.

The Daoist nun beside Ding Shi was a woman of fiery temper and quick to help others. Ding Shi had intended to chat with Liu Niang for a while first, but the nun lacked the patience and directly asked Liu Niang, "Where is the West?"

Today, Liu Niang is even more beautiful. If it weren't for the coarse gray clothes covering her, the Daoist nun wouldn't have been so impolite because of her stunning beauty.

Liu Niang answered crisply, "After Xi finished breakfast, he told me that he was going to the Divine Water Spring."

The Taoist nun squinted at Liu Niang: "You're lying. I live at the entrance of North Mountain and I didn't see the West Mountain at all." The Divine Water Spring is in North Mountain, and it's only a ten-minute walk from the entrance.

Like a wronged young wife, Liu Niang timidly said, "But, but that's what he told me."

The nun's tone was furious, and Ding Shi quickly asked, "Where's Tiger Head?"

Liu Niang replied, "Hu Tou is not feeling well and cannot be exposed to the wind, so he should stay in the room and play."

Ding Shi said, "I know the village chief is a highly skilled doctor. Why don't I go and invite him for you?"

Liu Niang said, "No need. It's not a bad thing for children to get sick occasionally. The village chief is very busy, and we shouldn't bother him with such a small matter."

Ding Shi said, "It's not good to delay when a child is sick. It just so happens that my friend is studying medicine. Why don't I let my friend take a look?"

The Taoist nun looked at Ding Shi and said: "I don't know how."

Ding Shi looked at the Taoist nun: Medicine and Taoism are inseparable.

Liu Niang still refused: "No need, thank you both. I'll talk to him when Xi returns. Please make yourselves at home." She then turned to close the door.

Ding Shi said, "Liu Niang, I have another question."

Liu Niang said impatiently, "I've already said that Xi went to Shenshui Spring, and I don't know anything else. I'm just the landlady, not his mother."

Ding Shi said, "I'm asking you a question."

Liu Niang suppressed her anger: "Ask away."

Ding asked, "Do you have a birthmark on your left thigh with three dots forming the shape of the Chinese character '品'?"

Liu Niang was taken aback, then flew into a rage, grabbed the broom beside her, and started hitting him all over: "I'll beat you to death, you lecherous scoundrel!"

Ding Shi took off running, and Liu Niang chased after him for about ten meters before realizing that some villagers had noticed her. Only then did she lower her head and turn to go home.

The Taoist nun was still standing outside the courtyard, looking completely bewildered: What's going on?
Ding Shi realized something: last night's hallucination was different from traditional hallucinations. Taking certain illegal drugs or poisonous mushrooms can cause hallucinations. In these hallucinations, what you don't know is simply not known. For example, Ding Shi had never seen the birthmark on Liu Niang's thigh. Even if Liu Niang wasn't wearing clothes in the hallucination, Ding Shi couldn't see the birthmark. What Ding Shi saw was his imagination of Liu Niang without clothes.

Last night, Ding Shi saw a birthmark. He had never seen a birthmark before, so last night's illusion was not a pure illusion.

However, Ding Shi's understanding of illusions and hallucinations was limited, and even with the clues, he was unable to analyze the connections between them.

The Taoist nun saw Ding Shi sitting on a stone bench by the roadside, deep in thought, and walked over to him, saying, "When Liu Niang chased after you, I saw Hu Tou. Hu Tou should be fine, but Liu Niang is the problem."

Ding Shi gestured for the Taoist nun to sit on a stone behind the roadside weeds, where there was shade from the trees.

Ding Shi took a handful of pumpkin seeds out of his pocket and handed them over, saying, "I think so too."

The nun said, "No, I think Tiger Head might not be Liu Niang's child?"

Ding Shi was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

The Taoist nun said, "Tiger Head's eyebrows and features, when put together, are quite dignified, but individually they are not particularly attractive. On the contrary, Liu Niang's features are all exquisitely beautiful, and when put together, they are a match made in heaven. However, I cannot draw a conclusion. If we could meet Tiger Head's biological father, I think we would have a better understanding."

Ding Shi said, "Little sister, is it possible that Liu Niang's secret weapon is sleeping with men? Every time she sleeps with a man, she becomes more beautiful, to the point that she doesn't resemble Hu Tou at all now?"

The Taoist nun gave her a dangerous look: "You think that women can't become beautiful without men?"

Ding Shi quickly stopped him, saying, "That's not what I meant. I meant that Liu Niang might have practiced evil magic. Think about it, she's an orphan and a widow, and Liu Niang is so beautiful. Someone must be after her, so why is she able to live such a peaceful life?"

The Taoist nun asked, "Where do you plan to begin your investigation?"

Ding Shi said, "Uncle Tiezhu said that the only street urchin in the village is named Wang Wu, and he has four evil spirits inside him. Unless he is incompetent, such a person would not be able to ignore Liu Niang. We can ask him for information about Liu Niang."

The Taoist nun said discontentedly, "Hey, Ding Shi, our goal is to find Xijiu, don't put the cart before the horse."

Ding Shi said, "Xi should be dead. Even if he isn't, I don't think he's our ally."

Before the Taoist nun could press for more information, a young nun hurried over, walked up to the two of them, and leaned down to whisper, "Wang Zhu is getting married the day after tomorrow, and Feng Qiniang will be the matchmaker."

The Taoist nun exclaimed in surprise, "Such a big thing, why is there no news at all?"

Ding Shi reminded him: "You are a tourist who has only been in Tianmen Village for 24 hours."

Xiao Ni said, "No, it's said that Feng Qiniang went to Wang Zhu this morning to discuss the marriage. Yuan Yue and I overheard it. Feng Qiniang said that now that things have come to this, this is the only way. Wang Zhu took a long time to reply: 'Okay, I'll tell Uncle Village Chief that I won't be helping out at the shop starting today.'"

The Taoist nun and Ding Shi said in unison, "How strange."

Xiao Ni said, "I told the monk about it, and he said it would be best to take action today. Everyone, think of a way. We'll meet at 1 p.m. and take down Wang Zhu."

"Ah."

Xiao Ni asked, "What about Xijiu? Any news?"

Before Ding Shi could answer, Hu Tou went out to play, heading towards the stream with two other boys. Although the three of them were by the roadside, they were in the shade, hidden by weeds, and Hu Tou didn't pass by or notice them.

As soon as the tiger's head disappeared, Yuan Yue appeared not far away. She walked furtively along the road, peeking out and craning her neck to look in the direction of the residents, until she walked up to Ding Shi and the others.

The Taoist nun placed a hand on Yuan Yue's shoulder, startling her. Seeing everyone looking at her with suspicion, Yuan Yue explained, "The Taoist priest, the idol Taoist priest, he was sneaking around on the side path, I don't know what he was up to."

The so-called path is the one that runs along the back wall of the villagers' houses. This path is uneven and is not usually maintained, with all kinds of grass and garbage piled up.

Ding Shi waved his hand, and the four of them followed furtively. Then they saw the Taoist priest enter Liu Niang's courtyard. Liu Niang peeked out, looked around, and then closed the courtyard gate.

The five people looked at each other.

Ding Shi led the way, skillfully peeking over the wall, and saw Liu Niang leading the Taoist priest into the main room. What happened next was obvious to everyone.

Xiao Ni blushed and said, "They, they, they..." Why don't you just say it?

The Taoist nun had a novel idea: "Do you think Liu Niang might be player number 13?"

Ding Shi said, "It's obvious that Liu Niang knew the Taoist was coming, so she chased Hu Tou out and then welcomed him into her home. The reason I wanted to see Hu Tou earlier was because I knew he was tied up yesterday. I could still see the marks on his wrists when he went out to play just now."

Ding Shi had intended to use the ligature marks on Hu Tou's wrist to extract information from Liu Niang, but Liu Niang saw through his plan. No matter what Ding Shi said, Liu Niang refused to let Hu Tou come out and meet anyone. Yuan Yue: "I feel the relationships in the village are a bit messy. Let's go back and sort them out."

……

Known 1: There is an evil spirit, a demon mother, in the village.

Known 2: Liu Niang has a close relationship with Xi Jiu and the Taoist priest.

Given 3: Wang Zhu and Feng Qiniang have a good relationship. Feng Qiniang seems to be helping Wang Zhu through marriage. What difficulties does Wang Zhu encounter?
Given 4: Tie Zhu said that Wang Zhu was a disciple of the ghost cultivator.

Known 5: Many people in the village have evil spirits inside them.

Inside Ji Yue and Ji Shan's new house, Sha Bi, Xi Jiu, the Taoist priest, and the Yuan Yue couple were not present; everyone else was racking their brains to think. The reason Yuan Yue and Yuan Shan were separated from the group was that they had volunteered to monitor Wang Zhu.

The Taoist nun spoke first: "Aren't we looking for the divine tree? Why are we getting involved in ghost cultivators and matchmakers?"

The monk replied, "Because of the hidden quest. Ding Shi said that Feng Qiniang is very likely to know the whereabouts of the Divine Tree. The advanced quest mentions Feng Qiniang, so I think Feng Qiniang should be a core NPC."

Ding Shi said, "I wanted to talk to Feng Qiniang, but her family has a vicious ghost that can kill people in broad daylight. She herself is unwilling to talk about anything related to the divine tree."

Ding Shi recounted in detail all the intelligence he had gathered that day. He explained everything clearly, including his embarrassing experience of peeping at Liu Niang over the wall the night before and entering the illusion.

Fortunately, no one blamed Ding Shi for this; instead, they fell into deep thought, unable to sort out their thoughts for a while.

The monk said, "There should be two forces in the village. On the surface, one is a ghost cultivator who uses yin energy to cultivate."

Ding Shi said, "There is another group, Uncle Tiezhu. They want to do something, but they know they are not capable, so they have the idea of ​​moving."

The monk asked, "Do you believe in the iron pillar?"

Ding Shi said, "It's hard to say I don't believe it. I must insist on believing in Tie Zhu before I can take action against Wang Zhu. Only by taking action against Wang Zhu can we truly see Tianmen Village clearly."

The monk said, "Then give me a reason why you don't believe in Tiezhu."

Ding Shi said, "Red and white clash."

Ding Shi explained, “It’s not that I don’t believe it, just that I’m suspicious. The Red Team had an auspicious time, while the White Team set off in a hurry. As the Taoist priest in charge, Tie Zhu decided on the time for lifting the coffin. Shuanzi’s house is on slightly higher ground, so he can see the road at the village entrance. The Red Team also has a suona horn band. If the distance is close, Tie Zhu can hear the suona horns. If the distance is far, Tie Zhu can see the Red Team at the village entrance.”

Ding Shi: "As a professional Taoist priest, his wife knew the consequences of the Red and White Clash, so he couldn't possibly not know. But I'm not sure. During yesterday's negotiations on the Red and White Clash, Feng Qiniang was very unwilling to cancel the wedding. It seems to indicate that the Clash was Feng Qiniang's doing, and as long as she has allies to cooperate, it seems she can also complete the Clash."

Everyone remained deep in thought; there were many clues, but they couldn't find the starting point.

"Is anyone there?" someone called out from outside the courtyard gate.

Everyone went out of the main room and saw Feng Qiniang. The monk stepped forward: "Hello, is there something you need?"

Feng Qiniang peeked inside and asked, "Are you the only ones here?"

The monk asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Feng Qiniang: "That young couple, I think the woman's name is Yuan Yue, right?"

The monk asked, "What do you want with them?"

Feng Qiniang said, "I have something to discuss with Wang Zhu."

People don't understand.

Feng Qiniang further explained: "Twenty minutes ago, I saw Wang Zhu talk with the couple for a while, then return home and leave in a hurry. Now I have urgent business with Wang Zhu, which is related to Wang Zhu's marriage."

They looked at each other. They hadn't started anything yet. Weren't Yuan Yue and Yuan Shan supposed to be keeping watch? Why would they make contact with Wang Zhu on their own initiative?

The monk asked, "Did you see Wang Zhu and that couple leave?"

Feng Qiniang: "No, I only saw Wang Zhu leave."

Ding Shi asked, "Seventh Sister, which direction did Wang Zhu go?"

Feng Qiniang: "I was busy responding to the man's family at the time and didn't pay much attention."

The monk said, "Let's go look for them. Everyone be careful. It seems like there are fewer and fewer people in the team." At first, everyone participated in the meeting, but later the number dwindled.

Ding Shi had a categorized list of villagers. Instead of asking the indifferent villagers, he went directly to the individualistic villagers and said that Yuan Yue and Yuan Shan might not know, but they all knew Wang Zhu very well. Ding Shi casually mentioned that Wang Zhu was getting married, and they all said that Wang Zhu was a good girl with a kind heart, and they hoped that she would be happy after her marriage.

The only useful clue came from Granny Liu, who saw Wang Zhu heading towards the sweet potato cave to the north.

The so-called sweet potato caves are similar to cellars, but they are not dug downwards; instead, they are dug into the mountainside. Usually, several neighboring households would dig their sweet potato caves together and use stacked wooden planks as doors.

Even in modern times, many rural areas still use sweet potato storage tunnels, some of which are located right by the roadside. These tunnels are typically used to store crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes.

Granny Liu was referring to the sweet potato burrows of five households to the north. Ding Shi and Xiao Ni, in a group, followed Granny Liu's directions and walked along the path for more than ten meters before seeing a row of sweet potato burrows. The wooden planks of one of the sweet potato burrows had been dismantled and placed aside.

Ding Shi made a shushing gesture, walked along the mountain wall towards the Sweet Potato Cave, and when he reached the entrance, he peeked inside twice before pulling his head back in.

Xiao Ni tried to step forward, but Ding Shi reached out and pressed her forehead, pushing her back. He said, "There are two corpses inside. Can you handle it?"

Xiao Ni was taken aback: A corpse?

When Ding Shi looked at the sweet potato cave again, the two corpses were none other than Yuan Yue and her husband.

Yuanshan appeared to have his head pinned to the ground, or to have been punched or hit on the head with stones, causing part of his head to be embedded in the soil, and the parts that were hit to be mangled and bloody.

In comparison, Yuan Yue looked much prettier; she died from a broken neck. It's like those scenes in movies and TV shows where someone's neck is twisted.

Ding Shi described the situation, and Xiao Ni replied, "I'll go get someone." Then she vomited. She ran while vomiting, and even tripped and fell along the way.

Before long, the monks and the others arrived.

The monk was the most composed of them all. Not only did he not feel unwell, but he also took the initiative to enter the sweet potato cave to conduct a preliminary on-site investigation and came to the same conclusion as Ding Shi.

The monk squatted beside Yuan Yue's body and asked, "Two murderers?"

Ding Shi shook his head: "I'm not sure, but judging from the style, this is a power-type killer." Like Wang Meng, they move with wide, sweeping motions. In contrast, Ding Shi prefers to use finesse; since he's killing anyway, why waste his strength?

The monk said, "They are all pure Force professions. Although they have few skills, they themselves are weapons. Unless it was a sneak attack, the murderer who killed them is extremely powerful."

Ding Shi said to the outside, "Daoist nun, I need your help to search Yuan Yue. I've already searched Yuan Shan, but I haven't found any clues or valuable relics."

(End of this chapter)