Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Chapter 1001: Suspicion

After leaving the house, Isaac planned to conduct further investigation.

The women told us that the children had in common that they had all gone to the town's clock tower, and the disappearances might be related to the clock tower or some other nearby place.

There's no need to specifically look for the clock tower; it's in a fairly conspicuous location in town.

However, the cases still need to be handled one by one. First, the arson case from a year ago needs to be investigated. However, the detective in charge of the case has now passed away, so this case has reached a stalemate.

Cases involving phantom books differ significantly from ordinary cases. Many logical fallacies do not hold true in phantom book cases, and they cannot be solved using the same methods as ordinary cases.

He thought about it and finally decided to go back to the town's police station first.

The police station hasn't taken on any new officers yet; only the old detective from before is still on duty.

"Sir, may I ask you something?"

"Lord Isaac?"

The veteran detective put down some case files he was holding when he saw the person who had arrived.

Is there anything you'd like to ask?

"Is there anyone who is familiar with Detective Morin, who was in charge of the arson case? Or is he a friend or something?"

"Yes, it's me," the old detective laughed. "Although there's a twenty-year age gap between us, we've worked together for many years and know each other well. We even go to bars together for drinks occasionally at night."

"I see. Did he find anything out before the incident and tell you about it?"

"No, he left in a hurry that day and didn't tell me anything."

"Hmm, do you know where he had the accident?"

"I know, it's on that mountain road to the west of the town."

"Well, thank you very much."

"You're welcome. It would be fortunate if you could actually solve the case."

"I'll try my best... By the way, how old are you this year, sir?"

"I'm already sixty," the old detective chuckled. "I'm only staying on the job because of my experience. I estimate I can retire in another two years; my health is starting to give out."

"Really? You seem to be in pretty good health. You should live to be a hundred without any problem."

"Hahahaha, you really know how to talk."

"Speaking of which, I heard an interesting rumor while investigating the missing persons case," Isaac suddenly asked. "Have you heard of the 'Ghost of the Clock Tower'?"

"I've heard of that. It's said that there's a ghost in the clock tower that can grant people's wishes."

The veteran detective thought for a moment before answering.

"However, the clock tower was sealed off after the mayor took office, and ordinary people cannot get in."

"I see."

"Is this where the accident happened?"

After leaving the town, Isaac followed the path westward to the mountain road the old detective had described.

The mountain road was very narrow and there were no railings around it, so the carriage had to be very careful to pass. The mountain next to it was covered with lush trees.

The landscaping is quite excellent.

"Was this where the accident happened?"

Isaac arrived at a place with obvious signs of dirt, where a road had been simply cleared.

A mudslide swept down the hillside, burying Detective Morin who was passing by, thus causing a tragedy.

Looking at the spot where the carriage had fallen, there was no doubt that a fall from that height would result in a fatal accident.

"Hey, young man, are you out of your mind?"

"Ok?"

Isaac turned around and saw a person in the distance, dressed in clothes covered in mud, calling out to him.

After shouting, the man quickly walked towards Isaac.

"Who would stand on the edge of a cliff and look down like that? What if you fall?"

"who are you?"

"I'm the forest ranger in this area, and I occasionally run into reckless lads like you."

The forest ranger's attitude was clearly not very good.

“I was sent by the mayor of the neighboring town to investigate the case. If you are a forest ranger, you should know that a few months ago a detective fell off a carriage here.”

"Oh, I know."

The forest ranger said casually.

"A reckless detective was speeding along a mountain road in the pouring rain in a horse-drawn carriage. It would be a miracle if he didn't fall off."

"With so many trees planted here, will there still be mudslides?"

The roots of large trees cover a wide area, which can stabilize the surrounding soil and prevent it from being washed away by water. Mudslides are formed slowly by rainwater carrying away the soil. With so many trees on the mountain, the probability of a mudslide is theoretically very low.

"There was thunder at that time, which snapped several trees in half," the forest ranger said. "I was in the cabin in the forest when I heard thunder. Then I went out to see what was going on outside the window, and I found several big trees burning there."

"I see..."

Even if a tree is struck by lightning during a heavy rain, it won't burn for long. Even if it burns completely, as long as the roots are still there, the soil will remain stable.

"That thunderstorm was quite terrifying; it actually burned several trees almost to the ground."

"...What kind of lightning is so powerful?"

"Who knows? I've worked here for over a decade and this is the first time I've encountered something like this," the forest ranger said, shrugging.

"Could you take me to see the tree that was chopped down?"

"That's not a problem."

The forest ranger led Isaac into the mountains, to the area that had been struck by lightning. A large expanse of land in front of them was scorched black, much of it having been washed onto the mountain road by mudslides, leaving only a pile of trees that had been reduced to carbonized stumps.

"It's burning really badly..."

"Yes, it's good that we lived far away back then."

Isaac walked over to the stake and dug away the soil underneath.

However, once you dig deeper, you'll find that the texture of the soil is very different from ordinary soil. From the surface to deep below, the soil has been burned into hard lumps.

"...Can a fire caused by a lightning strike really burn away the soil several meters below?"

By breaking apart the hardened clumps of clay, Isaac finally saw several roots inside.

The tree roots were also burned into charcoal, the kind that crumbles easily when rubbed.

"..."

Isaac's eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately moved to the other side and plunged his hand into the ground.

The soil is normal, and it's quite moist.

The tree roots were burned to charcoal, and the soil around them was all burned into hard lumps. This is definitely not something that could be done by being struck by lightning.

"It's somewhat like the tree itself starting to burn from the roots..."

Tossing aside the charred tree roots, Isaac turned to the forest ranger and asked, "Were you here the night of the incident?"

"No, even if I did, I wouldn't know. Who would go outside in the rain?"

"I think so too."

……

After saying goodbye to the ranger, Isaac returned to the mountain path he had previously investigated.

Looking at the cliff where the carriage had crashed and fallen, Isaac didn't hesitate and jumped off the cliff.

Chapter 1002: The Silver-Haired Girl in the Clock Tower

The wind whistled past his cheeks as Isaac's body plummeted with each jump.

When it reached a similar height, the anti-gravity device on its right leg activated, slowing its descent for a moment, and it slowly floated down to the ground.

Looking at the spot where he jumped from, he knew that most people would die from falling from there, and even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would probably just have to wait to die with the current technology.

Besides a large pile of rubble, you can see some remains of the carriage that crashed at the bottom, but the body is nowhere to be found. It is estimated that the town sent people to take it back for a proper burial.

"Ok?"

As Isaac walked on it, he noticed something was wrong. After kicking away the mud and pebbles under his feet, he picked up a buried fragment.

This is the wreckage of a horse-drawn carriage, seemingly left on the wheels. It fell from the sky and remained here after being buried by falling soil.

Gently brushing off the dust, Isaac also saw the marks left on the fragment.

"The wheels were also charred. It's surprising that charred marks appeared on the wheels after encountering a mudslide during a heavy rain... Just as I guessed."

Isaac casually pocketed the fragment as evidence.

The charred marks left by the uncles, starting from the tree roots, indicate that this was not a mudslide caused by lightning burning the trees, but rather a case of someone deliberately covering up a murder as an accident.

The reason is likely because Inspector Morin has discovered something shady.

"Although we've obtained this intelligence, it's useless. The investigation is still making no progress," Isaac sighed softly.

Even if we know that the person who killed Detective Morin was a user of the Illusion Book, and the same person who committed the crime a year and a half ago, what's the use? Who is using the Illusion Book remains unknown to this day.

"Never mind, let's go back first... huh?"

Just as Isaac was about to return to the mountain path, he felt his foot kick something—a shiny metal object.

"This is……"

Isaac picked it up; it was a ring. On the inside of the ring was engraved a name that sounded like a woman's, 'Martha,' and below it was the number 1879, which was probably the year.

"Silver...is it a wedding ring? But whose is it...?"

Detective Maureen was only forty years old when he died. He probably wasn't even born in 1879, so how could he possibly be wearing a wedding ring?

"There are more and more doubts."