What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

I walked up to him and looked down at him.

Only when his rolling motions slowed down a bit and his groans turned into intermittent gasps did I slowly squat down.

Then, I slowly began to speak:

I ask, you answer.

"One wrong word, and your head will be gone."

I didn't use any threatening tone when I said that.

But it is precisely this calm stripped of all emotion that is most despairing.

Because he could clearly see from my eyes that killing him was as simple as stepping on an ant, requiring no psychological burden whatsoever.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Feng's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He looked at me, his lips trembling for a long time, and finally he could only nod weakly.

I squatted down in front of Qiu Feng, the cool aura between my brows circulating wildly, elevating my five senses to their peak.

I activated my perception of Qiu Feng to the maximum.

At such close range, I could precisely capture every rapid breath he took, every taut muscle fiber, and even the frantic beating of his heart in his chest, driven by fear.

In this state, if he lies, even the slightest changes in his heartbeat and blood flow will not escape my notice.

Looking at his pained and contorted face, I asked the first question in a calm tone.

"What happened at Old Man Huo's blacksmith shop in the north of the city this morning? Were you involved?"

I asked this question with a ready-made answer.

Before he died, Old Man Huo personally identified the murderer. My purpose in asking him was simply to test whether he was still being honest and whether his psychological defenses had completely collapsed.

Qiu Feng lay prone in the mud, his broken ribs causing his every breath to be laced with blood and foam.

When he heard my question, his body trembled violently, and a struggle flashed in his bloodshot eyes, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a deeper fear.

He swallowed hard, nodded very slightly, and said:

"Yes...it was me. Who...who are you?"

When people are in extreme panic and pain, they will subconsciously try to figure out who is the source of their despair.

It's an instinct.

But I don't intend to satisfy his curiosity.

I have no intention of engaging in any kind of role-swapping exchange with him in this stinking pigsty.

I looked at him expressionlessly, my left hand naturally reaching towards my lower back.

My fingertips touched the cold hilt of the knife, and I instinctively drew a willow-leaf knife.

Then, he stabbed directly into the palm of the man's left hand, which was desperately bracing itself against the mud.

"Pfft."

The sound of a sharp blade piercing through flesh and bone was exceptionally clear in the silent pigsty.

"ah--!"

Qiu Feng let out another scream.

The blade of the scalpel almost completely disappeared into his palm, pinning his left hand firmly to the mud mixed with pig manure.

Dark red blood gushed out rapidly from the scabbard, quickly mixing with the sewage on the ground.

He was in so much pain that his whole body was convulsing, and he tried to struggle.

But his ankles and hands were nailed down, and he suffered a severe chest injury.

So, like a fish out of water, it could only thrash about in despair for a few moments before gasping for breath.

I released my grip on the knife handle, placed my hands back on my knees, and spoke in a largely flat tone:

"You talk too much nonsense."

I looked into his eyes and said it word by word.

"Remember, I'll ask, you answer."

This physical punishment is more effective than any verbal threat.

The last glimmer of hope and probing in Qiu Feng's eyes was completely shattered.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain in his hands and ankles, nodding repeatedly, not daring to breathe too loudly.

I paused for a moment, giving him a few seconds to adjust to the pain, before asking my second question.

"You killed Ma Jianguo for that bronze animal head plaque."

I stared into his eyes and threw out this crucial clue that led to the entire incident.

How did you know he had that thing on him?

Also, is that thing on you right now?

Upon hearing the words "Ma Jianguo" and "bronze bronze animal head plaque," I keenly sensed that Qiu Feng's heart rate instantly quickened, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He seemed completely unaware that I could not only pinpoint his hiding place with remarkable accuracy, but also uncover the details of his secret murder and robbery.

He remained silent for a while, seemingly quickly sorting out his thoughts, afraid that saying the wrong word would invite another attack.

After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth:

"The military tally... the military tally is on me right now, in the inside pocket of my shirt."

As he spoke, he laboriously pointed with his still-functioning right hand to his gray-black short-sleeved shirt, which had been cleaved open by the black knife.

I glanced in the direction he pointed, but instead of searching immediately, I gestured for him to continue.

"As for... as for why I knew the military tally was on Ma Jianguo..."

Qiu Feng swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Because...because I was the one who instigated him to steal that thing."

Upon hearing this, I raised an eyebrow slightly.

This answer was somewhat unexpected.

I originally thought Ma Jianguo had stolen something and wanted to keep it for himself, but it turned out that Qiu Feng had targeted him and double-crossed him.

Unexpectedly, the source of all this was Qiu Feng secretly stirring things up.

"Tell me more details," I pressed.

Qiu Feng took a deep breath, seemingly trying to make his expression as clear as possible.

"A week ago, I used the drumsticks in my hand..."

He pointed in the direction of the bungalows.

Upon seeing this, I immediately understood that the "drumstick" he was referring to was that short stick with the animal head.

"Through the connection between the drumsticks and the military tally, I located an antique shop."

That shop appeared to be running a legitimate business, but secretly it was supporting a group of tomb raiders.

"I originally intended to just take action and seize the military tally."

However, after my secret investigation, I discovered that the owner behind that antique shop wielded immense power.

Although I know a little magic, I'm all alone. If I were to offend a powerful force like that, I'd be in deep trouble.

"So, that's why you went to Ma Jianguo?" I asked, following up on his question.

"right."

Qiu Feng nodded, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Ma Jianguo is the most greedy of those tomb raiders, and he has recently incurred a large gambling debt."

I approached him privately and promised him 100 million yuan in cash if he could steal the bronze animal head plaque and hand it over to me.

Furthermore, arrange for him to escape the country secretly by boat, ensuring that no one can find him.

I frowned, finding it somewhat unbelievable:

"One hundred million? And they'd even help him smuggle himself out of the country? He actually believed such an outrageous empty promise?"