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"Still here?"

Chen Ying’s eyes lit up. Just now, when Wei Gongcheng mentioned a spirit-devouring monster, she had thought that Murong’s spirit had met with misfortune, but now Wei Gongcheng said it was still here?

"Yes..." Wei Gongcheng glanced around and nodded, "I got here before you, and when I saw the scene, I knew that the child named Murong must have run away."

"Run away?" Chen Ying quickly asked, "How can you tell?"

"People from the underworld, including myself, have a natural tracking talent for spirits; we can judge the condition and state of any spirit from the traces they leave behind.

" Wei Gongcheng explained, "The gods who roam day and night also use this talent to track spirits. I checked just now, and the aura of Murong’s spirit after his death is very clear in this room, filled with immense fear.

According to the traces, he ran all the way to that spot. "

He said, pointing to the balcony in the room. Shen Xue’s room was on the forty-second floor, a very high position, and that spot—the glazed window—was obviously damaged!

"He jumped down?" Chen Ying couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes..." Wei Gongcheng nodded, "Normally, a spirit can’t escape from this room. Spirits and the ghosts the storytellers talk about that can fly through the sky and burrow into the earth are not the same; they can’t pass through walls, much less fly at will. The reason is simple; if it were like the storytellers say, that they could pass through all things, they couldn’t stand on the ground at all.

From the moment they became spirits, they would have fallen beneath the surface, down into the depths of the earth. "

"Uh..." Chen Ying was momentarily stunned, and you know, she really hadn’t thought about that aspect before.

Sometimes she listened to those storytellers talk about ghosts and spirits.

The ghosts in the stories couldn’t move worldly items and could only pass through physical objects and people like air.

Thinking about it now, it indeed doesn’t make sense.

If they could pass through walls and all objects, why could they stand on the ground?

Wei Gongcheng continued: "Spirits are very fragile and exist as human forms barely held together by human spiritual power. Using the terminology in your institution, they’re basically a cluster of Art Energy, barely maintaining shape through the suppression of the human psyche.

When facing a substantial shock, they might disperse immediately and cannot be gathered again.

This is what we truly call the ’scattering of souls.

’ That’s why work in the underworld is getting harder since many Wandering Gods find that when they capture souls, some people, because of too much shock or horror, scare themselves into dispersal upon death. "

"And a dispersed spirit is very hard to find. That’s why, often, the descendants continue to burn incense and pray to the gods, hoping their relatives are doing well in the underworld, but in fact, in Lyuzhou nowadays, there are already at least a hundred cases where the spirits cannot be found at all.

I’m even having a headache thinking about how to explain this to their families, especially since a part of them are relatives of the Warrior Army. "

Chen Ying: "...."

"Especially newly created spirits..." Wei Gongcheng pointed at the broken window, "Our Observing Stars Tower’s glazed strength is very high. A new spirit able to break it is one in a million. That Murong family’s boy was indeed outstanding.

Being only twelve years old and still able to make a clearheaded decision to choose the best escape route under the circumstances of a horrible death, and actually being able to break through here. "

"Murong broke this?" Chen Ying was taken aback; when she arrived, she had noticed the shattered glass in the room and always thought it was the trace of the monster’s invasion.

After all, it seemed unrealistic that Shen Xue killed Murong.

How could Shen Xue, a weak woman with a frail constitution and whose Technique was less than Seventh Rank, kill the future Priest of the Murong family?

"If I couldn’t see the traces, I would also find it quite unbelievable," Wei Gong explained as he walked closer for a look.

"Breaking through here requires a high degree of concentration for a spirit.

Currently, in the underworld, aside from the Evil Ghosts that run through the Path of Yin and Yang, only Lumings and Madam Lu who were imprisoned in Nanming Prefecture have such capability. "

"And then there’s the action he took while falling, the attacker used Wind Technique!"

"Wind Technique?" Chen Ying narrowed her eyes upon hearing this; indeed, that’s some rare talent. Most Magicians can project their spirits out of their body, but to be able to cast Technique after that, usually only Magicians above Fourth Rank have that capability. How old is that Murong boy? He’s already Fourth Rank? "

"Can we find him?"

"It’s a bit uncertain..." Wei Gongcheng sighed, "He made a very decisive escape, and he’s a meticulous thinker. After using the Wind Technique, many traces were also erased. In the vast expanse of Lyuzhou City, trying to find a spirit that’s deliberately hiding with the current personnel of the underworld, I’m afraid it will be tough. "

"Then, what should we do?"

Chen Ying felt some anxiety. She also knew about the shortage of manpower in the underworld.

Lyuzhou has been developing well, but the underworld has always been short-staffed.

The Wandering God Wei Gongcheng has always wanted to recruit some talent with criminal investigation experience, leaving positions open, but so far, there were only about twenty of them.

It’s said that those Wandering Gods are so busy every day that they barely touch the ground.

But the matter involving Murong must be resolved quickly, or else the reputation of the academy will suffer greatly!

"Let’s just start searching..." Wei Gongcheng looked out of the broken window, deep in thought.

Was the thing that killed Murong and the one that pursued Murong’s spirit the same entity?

He felt it probably wasn’t. After all, the monster that could completely eviscerate Murong proved that during Murong’s life, he had no ability to resist against the monster that killed him. But once he became a spirit, he managed to escape. Why?

Manipulating Techniques as a spirit after death is much more difficult than when alive. If he couldn’t escape during his life, why could he as a spirit after death?

There’s only one possibility – the monster that killed Murong couldn’t threaten Murong’s spirit, and the one pursuing Murong’s spirit was someone else...

Now that’s interesting. The monster that came from Capital City should logically be the Yin-Devouring Monster entrenched in the Court. If it was, then Murong, a newly-born spirit, escaping would be a miracle.

From what we see now, it’s likely not that. So, what could it be?

Is it related to the Yin-Devouring Monster in any way?

After Murong’s death, the one that forced Murong to jump out the window—could it be the Yin-Devouring Monster that came out from Daqing Mountain, disguised as Shen Qi?

Chen Ying watched Wei Gongcheng deep in thought and held back from interrupting him. After Wei Gongcheng took another look around, she finally said, "Should we notify His Majesty?"

"I’ve already done so," Wei Gongcheng said with a smile. "You don’t need to worry; His Majesty is handling things smoothly over there. If we can’t deal with it here, he will rush back immediately."

At these words, Chen Ying let out a sigh of relief. Her trust in Chen Qing had reached its peak by now; she almost believed that Chen Qing could solve any problem.

"Let’s go first, you need to calm those students down."

Chen Ying nodded upon hearing this, "Then I’ll leave this place in your capable hands, Senior Wei."

"Hmm, I’ll inform you immediately if there are any clues."

After Chen Ying bid her farewell and left, Wei Gongcheng’s expression turned grave as he watched the direction in which Chen Ying had departed.

There had been no response from his cousin in Daqing Mountain, and Wei Gongcheng couldn’t be sure to what extent Chen Ying’s memory had been altered—it was highly likely... untrustworthy!

Yet on this side of the world, the only one who could coordinate the troops to aid in the investigation was Chen Ying!

The second point was concerning His Majesty...

His Majesty had sent him a message—only ten words, "Enemy provocation... crack the case, maintain composure!"

Wei Gongcheng understood that remote communication greatly consumed faith, but were these words not too succinct?

Who was the enemy?

His Majesty was in the West Sea, so how could he seem to know who had made the move?

Crack the case... that must be referring to the Murong case, meaning Murong’s death was an act of enemy provocation? What exactly were they testing?

Maintain composure...

The last four words warranted further contemplation.

Having pondered since receiving the message, Wei Gongcheng could roughly understand Chen Qing’s intention—the recent series of events were all enemy provocations, the enemy uncertain of His Majesty’s true strength, so this case... was a red herring!

-------------------------------

"The rumors... are they actually true?"

In a certain corner of Lyuzhou, Murong Bingyun gazed in astonishment at his somewhat translucent hands, then quietly at the star-filled sky.

The rumors told that in Jiangnan, there existed a divine being of the underworld who, after death... did not enter the Path of Yin and Yang!

Many considered these tales from the merchants of Jiangnan laughable, as any household of sorcerers knew that the soul of a deceased person could not be preserved, no matter what.

Countless noble families had attempted this over the years, for if it were possible to retain a soul in the world of the living, those influential ancestors and immortals of the Sorcerer Families would not differ much.

Jiangnan... could actually achieve this?

If so, then the rumors of the divine being of the underworld holding power over the spiritual longevity of the deceased were also true?

Then, who exactly was Chen Qing?

Who had the capability to alter the very fabric of heaven and earth?

However, Murong Bingyun could no longer dwell on the vastness of Chen Qing’s divine skills, as now the question was whom to trust?

Murong Bingyun recalled the encounter in Shen Xue’s room, and once again, his already fragile spirit showed signs of further fragmentation.

He was certain that the creature... had come for him! Shen Xue was just a decoy; from the very beginning, that being had intended for him to take the bait. Its initial target had been him... no, rather, the wolf mark on his body!

Murong looked at the wolf mark on his arm, which hadn’t faded even in death, and fell into deep thought.

If that were the case, did his death have anything to do with Jiangnan at all?

Could it have been a trap set by Chen Qing?

If so... he should immediately flee Jiangnan, but according to the rules of life and death, if he left Jiangnan, would he lose the protection of its special laws and be directly pulled into the Path of Yin and Yang?

Yet if he stayed in Jiangnan, how could he avoid that creature’s pursuit?

What... should he do?