Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

Fang Zheng had never heard of this so-called White Lotus Temple, but judging from the expressions on the faces of the two superiors, they didn't seem surprised at all.

After a moment of silence, Lü Zhengfeng nodded to Fang Zheng, "I will report the matter of the White Lotus Temple to the State Supervisory Commissioner."

"Fang Zheng, you can continue the interrogation."

Fang Zheng realized that the White Lotus Temple was a matter of great importance, and his official rank was only the ninth grade, so he did not have the ability to get involved.

He didn't care. He believed that as long as he was in a position of authority, he should do his job. If the sky fell, there would be someone taller to hold it up. He just needed to find out the cases in his hands.

Fang Zheng looked at Du Kang and asked again, "Now that you have a background to your Taoist skills, what about the He family massacre case?"

Did you do it?

Du Kang did not shy away from the truth: "As I killed more and more people in the painting, the painting became more and more bizarre and evil, and even began to actively bewitch me to do things."

Perhaps it was because He Tingtao kept chanting about the "Cold Fragrance Gathering Picture" all day long, and his heart was too sincere, that one night in my dream, this demonic painting instigated me to kill He Tingtao's entire family and use it as a blood sacrifice for myself.

"If I don't do it, even if I kill Yuanshan and Moxuan later, I still won't be able to perform that method of stealing heavenly secrets."

Upon hearing this, Chen Moxuan angrily retorted, "Nonsense! How could there be such a demonic painting?"

Du Kang, things have come to this point, you cannot escape death, yet you still try to pin your crimes on a painting?

Du Kang chuckled and shook his head. "That's just the way it is. If you don't believe me, then just sentence me to immediate execution."

Lu Zhengfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "The world is vast and full of wonders. Some magical treasures do indeed generate their own primordial spirit."

But this painting of elegant gatherings in the cold fragrance is so bizarre that it appears in dreams at night to kill people; I have never heard of such a thing before.

"Du Kang, please continue."

Du Kang revealed a sickly smile. "As per the requirements of that demonic painting, I secretly sold it to He Tingtao."

He was overjoyed at getting what he wanted and declared that he would have a big drink with his family.

I initially wanted to wipe out his entire family myself, but then I thought about it again. Over the years, I had done too many dirty jobs for the Cao family and the county magistrate Zhu Tianhua behind them, and they treated me like a slave.

That won't do; I need to have something on them too.

So I persuaded Zhu Hongcai to say that He Tingtao's son's birth date and time were suitable for refining evil elixirs that could cure his deficiency.

That very night, Zhu Hongcai broke into the He family home and killed the young man.

As arranged by me, He Tingtao, who was drunk, stumbled upon the scene and simply wiped out the entire He family.

Under the guise of settling accounts, I refined the corpses of the He family members into bone beads, nurtured them with an evil elixir, and buried them in the most yin and darkest place in the He family's residence using a blood-refining method.

The painting "The Elegant Gathering of Fragrance in the Cold" absorbed the blood and energy of the entire He family, making its effects even more potent, and began to drive me to continuously commit murder and sacrifice.

Fang Zheng's voice came from the side, cold as iron: "After that, you're going to kill the old scholar and the old painter?"

Du Kang raised his head: "Of course."

By killing Yuanshan and Moxuan and absorbing their luck, I can completely get rid of this demonic painting.

So while I was poisoning Mo Xuan, I was also creating evil spirits in various parts of Yongqing County, forcing Yuan Shan to run around exorcising demons, which greatly weakened his strength.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Hanxiang Gathering, making it the perfect occasion.

My original plan was to kill Yuanshan and Moxuan today, thus completing the theft of the Heavenly Secrets.

However, I never expected that Yuanshan would be so foolish as to sacrifice himself to save the people and destroy the ghosts, and that he would have the good fortune to be guided to the underworld to become a ghost official.

Left with no other choice, I tricked Brother Chen into going to Hanxiang Pavilion, hoping to marry his good fortune to me.

Unfortunately, you arrived at the last moment.

As he said this, a slight change finally appeared in his tone.

It wasn't regret, but remorse.

After listening to Du Kang's confession, Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun remained expressionless, but were filled with astonishment.

They held the rank of seventh grade official and had seen many grand occasions. They were used to seeing evil cultivators committing crimes and were not surprised by it.

What truly moved them was Fang Zheng's unparalleled detective skills.

Du Kang's account, aside from the unverifiable claim that the "magical painting" bewitched and killed someone, is almost identical to Fang Zheng's previous speculations.

The case of the Zhu family's massacre has finally been solved, but Fang Zheng is far from letting up. He presses on with Du Kang, asking, "What about Chu Tiankuo?"

Du Kang remained silent for a moment before speaking, "It was County Magistrate Zhu Tianhua who ordered me to kill him."

That night, Zhu Tianhua found me and said that Chu Tiankuo had been fixated on the He family massacre case and seemed to have found some important evidence.

Let's go all the way and kill him.

So, my spirit left my body at night and sneaked into the Chu residence. With the Hundred Ghosts Devouring Soul Curse, I killed Chu Tiankuo, who was resting in his bedroom, without anyone noticing.

The strange thing is...

Fang Zheng interrupted, "What's strange is that Chu Tiankuo is a high-ranking official of the eighth rank, and he is a master of the Meridian Opening stage who fought his way out of the army. He should have strong blood and qi."

You thought you would need to fight him, but he was completely unaware and offered no resistance, allowing you to curse him to death.

So you find it strange, don't you?"

Du Kang nodded silently. "I only found out a few days ago that Chu Tiankuo had already been placed under house arrest by his old servant Wu Gui."

The poison weakened his vital energy and blood, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.

At this point, he glanced at Fang Zheng and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Fang Zheng, you were able to uncover such a secret matter; you are truly a formidable young man."

Fang Zheng remained calm and said, "Continue."

Du Kang smiled somewhat mysteriously and said, "After that, I didn't have much contact with the Cao family or the Zhu family."

Until a month ago, the Zhu family's Bone Elixir had been nurtured for a hundred days and finally succeeded.

I heard that the Prefectural Supervisor and the Sima Mansion had sent people to Yongqing County to investigate the case, so I quickly sneaked back to the Zhu family's old residence, intending to retrieve the bone pill and destroy the traces.

But unexpectedly.......

On the other side, Guan Tieyi sneered, "I didn't expect to run into us. You fled in haste, leaving evidence of your crimes at the He family's residence!"

Du Kang shook his head and said nothing more.

Fang Zheng then asked, "Did you kidnap Sun Xianrong?"

Du Kang nodded and said, "Yes."

After you brought Sun Xianrong back to the county magistrate's office, Zhu Tianhua panicked and ordered me to lie in ambush outside the county magistrate's office, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Unexpectedly, someone actually took Sun Xianrong away, so I intercepted them halfway and took Sun Xianrong with me.

Later, following Zhu Tianhua's instructions, I killed Sun Xianrong and dumped his body at the bottom of a cliff outside the city.

Fang Zheng asked, "Do you have any evidence to support your statement?"

"Zhu Tianhua and the Cao family are very careful in their dealings. They always contact me through intermediaries and never leave me any written agreements."

But beneath my winery, there are tunnels leading to the Zhu and Cao families.

Fang Zheng frowned, then relaxed.

It's a pity there's no direct physical evidence, but the current chain of evidence is enough to bring the Cao family and County Magistrate Zhu Tianhua to justice.

Now, Fangzheng has asked all the questions it needed to ask and done all the things it needed to do.

He looked at Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun, both of whom nodded slightly, clearly having nothing more to ask.

So, Fang Zheng bowed slightly towards the candlelight beside him.

"Would Lord Li be willing to meet this thief?"