Kill the enemy and get a wife? I'll single-handedly slaughter my way through the Northern Barba

Wang Dahu took two steps back, his face slightly pale.

"Damn it, does that bastard really eat people?"

"It has no idea how many lives it has taken!"

After saying that, Wang Dahu rushed up and kicked the dead python's corpse twice.

Lin Feng glanced at him and said, "This man is dressed elegantly, so he shouldn't be a resident of Dragon Bone Town. Ten thousand coins, get some water and wash his face clean so the villagers can recognize him."

Lin Feng's deduction was correct; this person was indeed not a resident of Dragon Bone Town.

The hunters looked around and confirmed that the man was not from the town.

"Lord Lin, I... I think I've seen him before!"

Xiu Yuan moved closer to Lin Feng and watched with him.

Lin Feng was carefully examining the body, trying to find clues.

"Oh? Where have you seen me before?"

The carcass was severely corroded by acid inside the snake's belly.

Details such as palm lines and calluses on the palms have all disappeared.

Xiu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "He looks a bit like the peddler I once visited in town, but I can't be sure, his face is too badly damaged."

Lin Feng flipped the corpse over around its waist and suddenly touched something hard.

He reached out and pulled, and it turned out to be a jade pendant.

High-quality jade plaques are resistant to acid corrosion, so the characters on them remain clearly visible.

"Thirteen?"

The front of the jade plaque is engraved with the characters "thirteen," with no other information.

The back of the jade plaque is carved with an eyeball surrounded by patterns!

"Patterns, eyeballs, thirteen..."

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, glanced into the snake cave, thought for a moment, then turned around and ordered, "Wang Ling, take some men and go into the cave to investigate and see what's inside."

"Wanqian, you take the rest of the men and search the surrounding area. Don't miss any clues."

"With the others lending a hand, we'll cut that beast up. Let's not go back today; let's rest and recuperate before eating snake meat!"

Lin Feng's words drew cheers from the crowd. After several days of continuous trekking through the mountains, they were exhausted and finally able to rest...

That day, at dusk.

The python's entire body was dismantled.

Not a single part of the snake skin, bones, meat, and internal organs was wasted.

The hunters presented Lin Feng with their most precious snake gallbladders as a token of their gratitude.

Lin Feng did not refuse and gladly accepted.

As dusk fell, the group, who had been busy all day, cooked snake meat and wild game and enjoyed a hearty meal.

With the scourge eliminated, the people of Longgu Town were overjoyed to finally stop living in fear.

However, Lin Feng was pondering, piecing together the clues he had gathered that day.

First, Wan Qian and his companions found a short sword around the snake cave.

Upon comparison, the short sword matched the fatal wounds on the bodies of the dead people of Dragonbone Town, making it the murder weapon.

As for whose short sword it is, Lin Feng tentatively believes it belongs to the mysterious person inside the snake's belly.

Because the short sword was ornate and inlaid with silver, it was simply not something that ordinary people in the mountains could afford.

It matched the silk robes worn by the person inside the snake's belly.

Secondly, what was the motive for the person inside the snake's belly to kill?

He wanted to possess the giant python and claim it for himself.

Raymond Lam's "Dragon-Slaying Formation" to kill the giant python was certainly ingenious.

However, if the person inside the snake spends a lot of money to hire a snake catcher to catch the snake, there may be casualties, but in the end, they will still succeed.

Could it be that the person inside the snake's belly had already sent a message to the outside world, but unfortunately was swallowed by the python and died while waiting?

If he killed the python not to devour it for himself, then what was his motive?

Lin Feng had just arrived in Ruzhou and had not yet officially taken office when he encountered this strange incident.

He held the jade pendant and slowly walked out of the camp.

Suddenly, Lin Feng heard a gasp.

"Centipede! There's a giant centipede!"

Lin Feng looked in the direction of the sound and saw two young soldiers shouting and drawing their swords outside the cave entrance, ready to fight.

Their shout immediately alerted the people in the camp, who rushed over in a flurry.

"Where? Where's the giant centipede?"

Wang Dahu drew his sword, his killing intent palpable, and stood in front of the two soldiers.

One of the soldiers pointed to the dense vines above the cave.

"Sir, it's right under those vines! I just saw it, and it's moving!"

Behind the vines?

Everyone looked in that direction and could see shadowy figures inside, suggesting that there was indeed something there.

Lin Feng waved his hand: "Bring me my spear."

With his spear in hand, Lin Feng flicked the shaft, and the Amber Dragon Spear swept across and cleaved several vines, sending them falling to the ground.

When the scene behind the vines was revealed, everyone was greatly surprised.

Sure enough, several "giant centipedes" were hanging down behind them. Under the setting sun, the "legs" of those "giant centipedes" were still wriggling slightly, which was both eerie and disgusting.

"Centipede vine?"

Lin Feng blurted out that he could tell at a glance that those so-called "giant centipedes" were not real centipedes, but a peculiar vine that could be used in medicine.

Hunter Xiuyuan was very surprised.

"Lord Lin, you actually know about centipede vines? This thing is a unique treasure of our Ruzhou."

Lin Feng nodded slightly: "When I left Zhenyuan City, Physician Zhang Jing said that he hoped I could bring ten centipede vines to Zhenyuan City for him to treat his patients."

"This vine only grows in Ruzhou and is extremely special. Every day at sunset, it stretches out its branches and buds, resembling a centipede wriggling."

"It only matures once a year, and it is only ripe in late autumn, when it is best to pick it for medicinal use."

"Am I correct?"

The hunter Xiu Yuan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, expressing his sincere admiration.

"Lord Lin is knowledgeable and insightful; I admire him greatly."

"However, sir, the imperial court has strict laws regarding centipede vines. Anyone who discovers a centipede vine must report it to the court."

"The imperial court will send special personnel to guard and harvest the fruit, and then send it to the Ordnance Department for medicinal use."

"There's a place like this near our Dragon Bone Town where no one dares to pick the centipede vine except for the government officials."

Oh?

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, as if he had grasped an important clue.

"There's such a thing as centipede vine? What kind of medicine is the Ordnance Department using it for? What would its price be on the black market?"

Hunter Xiuyuan scratched his head and looked at the older hunter beside him.

Upon seeing this, the older hunter stepped forward and bowed, saying respectfully, "I dare not deceive Lord Lin. I have heard that the Armory has acquired centipede vines, which can be used to make highly effective anesthetics."

"A tiny amount of the drug, just a fingernail's width, can cause soldiers to become completely anesthetized and lose consciousness."

"That kind of anesthetic was only issued to the Beijing army, and it was very precious."

"As for the price of centipede vines on the black market, I've only heard about it secondhand. I've heard that a single mature centipede vine can sell for a hundred taels of silver!"

"However, they must be picked just when they are ripe in late autumn. If they are picked earlier or later, the price will be greatly reduced."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng nodded slightly: "In that case, the villain who was swallowed by the snake's belly was very likely after the centipede vine."

"He coveted the centipede vine but feared the giant python, and was also worried that the mountain people would discover this place."

"He killed someone with a knife and then threw the body into a deep pool. What a vicious and cruel man!"

After Lin Feng's analysis, the hunters of Dragonbone Town suddenly understood.

The older hunter was both angry and resentful.

"Lord Lin is right. That scoundrel killed four people in our town in order to monopolize the centipede vine."

"Absolutely inhuman!"

"Sir, please hand over that bastard's corpse to us! We want to grind his bones to dust! To avenge our dead fellow villagers!"

The hunters were furious, but Lin Feng did not stop them.

"Fine, do whatever you want with it."

After eliminating the "evil dragon," Lin Feng rested for a day before leading everyone back to Dragonbone Town.

The bones of that "evil dragon" were also taken back.

It is worth mentioning that a protruding bone actually grew from the center of the evil dragon's skull.

It stands tall and upright, like a unicorn horn.

In Longgu Town, drums and gongs are played as the bones of the "evil dragon" are carried into the Dragon King Temple, where a Nuo dance ceremony is held to seal the bones of the "evil dragon".

The people of Longgu Town firmly believe that this action will prevent the "evil dragon's" spirit from harming Longgu Town again in the future.