Chapter 25 Liu Family Village

The firelight flickered on the riverbank.

Zhao Shan put the blood-stained rags into the evidence bag, looked at the demon-suppressing envoys present, and said in a deep voice, "This case is cruel. The murderer dug out a person's heart, and we still cannot determine their motive. Judging from the traces at the scene, the murderer acted decisively, and it is likely that this was premeditated."

The demon-suppressing envoys present all nodded in agreement. Just as Zhao Shan had said, the victim's heart had been removed, and the perpetrator's methods were cruel. No one knew the perpetrator's purpose yet.

Recently, a series of incidents involving a corpse-eating woman, a missing person case, and a flower thief have occurred in Qinghe County, causing a great uproar and panic among the people.

Now this has happened again; it's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

Zhao Shan looked at Zhou Wu and Chen Biao: "Zhou Wu, you lead your men to thoroughly investigate all the shacks and abandoned boats within three miles upstream and downstream of the riverbank, and pay attention to whether any unfamiliar faces have appeared recently; Chen Biao, you continue to investigate the clues of the 'Blood Worship Cult,' and proceed with both cases simultaneously."

"Yes!" the two replied in unison.

Zhao Shan's gaze swept over Shen Lian, Chen Yun, and the other newly appointed Demon Suppression Envoys: "You will all come with me back to the Demon Suppression Division. The crime scene investigation has been completed, and the body has been transported back to the mortuary for further examination by the coroner. Remember, what you saw tonight must not be circulated, lest it cause panic."

"Understood." Everyone nodded.

Several demon-suppressing officials stepped forward, wrapped the corpse in oilcloth, and lifted it onto the cart they had brought. The group remained silent as they escorted the body back to the Demon-Suppressing Bureau.

It was already past 3:45 AM when they returned to the Demon Suppression Division.

Zhao Shan ordered the body to be sent to the morgue for a detailed examination by the coroner, and then convened a meeting with the junior officers that very night.

Shen Lian and the others watched as the body was taken into the morgue.

Li Hu said, "Brother Lian, the world is getting more and more turbulent. First, there were the remnants of the Blood Worship Cult, and now there's this madman who digs out hearts..."

Shen Lian pondered, "The murderer's motive is clear: after killing someone, he took their heart, which is very likely to be used to cultivate evil arts. Such people usually do not commit crimes only once."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yun frowned and asked, "Senior Brother Shen, do you mean there's a possibility of more victims appearing?"

Shen Lian shook his head slightly: "I hope my premonition is wrong."

Qinghe County today is like a pot of water about to boil, with undercurrents surging beneath the surface and more than one force at work.

Back in his quarters, Shen Lian was not sleepy.

He took out paper and pen and wrote down every detail of the night, including the characteristics of the wounds, the depth of the footprints, the direction of dragging, and the location of the fisherman's hut...

He tried to reconstruct the events of the crime in his mind.

Why did the killer choose the victim?

Was it a random act, or was it premeditated?

Where is the heart that was taken away now?

Everything is unknown.

Early the next morning, all the newly appointed Demon Suppressors began their training for the day, practicing the "Tiger Subduing Stance" in the training ground.

News of the discovery of a body on the riverbank last night has quietly spread within the Demon Suppression Division.

Shen Lian lowered his waist and dismounted, then activated the "Tiger Subduing Stance," circulating his qi and blood within his body, the martial arts mark between his eyebrows flickering slightly.

Having personally experienced the recent events, Shen Lian felt more and more that his strength was not strong enough and that he needed to improve it as soon as possible.

It was because we weren't strong enough that the flower thief escaped.

Now that flower thief is lying in wait, and we don't know when he will strike.

This has always been a hidden danger.

Then there's the missing persons case, which involves remnants of the "Blood Worship Cult." Even now, the motives of those involved remain unclear.

The fact that the victims in several missing persons cases had all had their life essence drained is enough to prove that the "Blood Worship Cult" is cruel and has big ambitions.

Then there was yesterday's murder case, where the victim's heart was ripped out, and the death was extremely gruesome. Clearly, the perpetrator had planned it all along.

These events put immense pressure on Shen Lian.

The deceased's identity was quickly determined.

Preliminary confirmation indicates that the deceased was named Wang Laosi, a fisherman living downstream of the river who made a living by fishing and had a simple social network.

Someone saw him mending nets by the river yesterday morning, but no one expected him to be murdered that night.

According to nearby fishermen, Wang Laosi was an honest man who had never made enemies, thus ruling out the possibility of a revenge killing.

The morgue performed an autopsy on the deceased's body and found no other external injuries besides the heart being removed.

Clearly, the killer's goal was to remove the heart.

Zhao Shan dispatched junior officers, including Chen Biao, to investigate the case, but after several days, they still hadn't found any clues.

Wang Laosi's death was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that gradually subsided.

On the training ground.

Shen Lian and Chen Yun faced off in battle, both exchanging calm and steady breaths.

"Junior Sister Chen, there's no need to hold back," Shen Lian reminded her.

Chen Yun nodded slightly, and the light purple martial arts mark between her eyebrows lit up. She immediately shifted her feet, grabbed her sword, and charged forward. Her long sword was like a rainbow, slashing straight at Shen Lian's left shoulder.

It was the "Wave-Cutting Style" that started the attack.

The three consecutive slashes were aimed directly at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian neither dodged nor yielded, but instead slashed upwards with his longsword in a counterattack using the "Mountain-Slaying Style".

clang!

Chen Yun's sword strike was blocked, so she suddenly changed her move, sweeping her long sword horizontally to attack Shen Lian's lower body, creating a gust of wind.

Shen Lian moved with a series of rapid steps, pressing down with his longsword to parry with the back of the blade, then flicking his wrist to unleash a powerful "Mountain Splitting Strike".

The blow was powerful and heavy, and Chen Yun dared not take it head-on. She quickly stepped back and leaned back, while simultaneously using the "Mountain-Slaying Style" to flick the tip of her blade upwards, aiming directly at Shen Lian's wrist.

Shen Lian lowered his wrist slightly, and his longsword slashed down, lightly touching Chen Yun's longsword.

The two exchanged more than ten blows, seemingly evenly matched, but Shen Lian held back his strength. He did this to help Chen Yun comprehend the wonders of swordsmanship.

After a few more moves, Chen Yun sheathed her sword and stood up, her chest rising and falling slightly: "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Shen. I feel that my swordsmanship has improved."

Shen Lian nodded and said, "Junior Sister Chen has made rapid progress, but the transitions between each move in her swordsmanship are still a bit stiff. With more practice, I believe she will be able to connect them even better."

"I've got it." Chen Yun gently stroked the blade, and the martial arts mark between her brows disappeared.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the training ground.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Yan rode up on horseback.

Many newly appointed Demon Suppression Envoys looked at Sun Yan, curious about why he had come.

"We received a report that a murder occurred last night in Liujia Village, five miles west of the city. Demon Suppressor who has broken through to the Body Tempering Realm, come with me to Liujia Village to investigate the case," Sun Yan shouted sternly.

"yes!"

The Demon Suppressor, who had broken through to the Body Tempering Realm, followed Sun Yan to Liu Family Village.

Liujia Village is located in the western suburbs of Qinghe County. There are twenty or thirty households in the village, most of whom are surnamed Liu and make a living by farming and gathering firewood.

The group rode their horses to Liujia Village, where some villagers had gathered at the entrance.

The crowd included elderly people, women, and girls.

Upon seeing the Demon Suppressor arrive, an elderly man named Liu Laogen, the village chief of Liu Family Village, hurriedly came forward to greet him.

"Sir, you've finally arrived," Liu Laogen said respectfully. "Last night, Liu San and his entire family of three died, and their deaths were truly gruesome."

Sun Yan dismounted: "What exactly happened?"

Liu Laogen answered truthfully: "Liu San is an honest man who lives at the east end of the village. This morning, a neighbor went to his house to borrow farm tools, but after knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. When he looked through the window, he found the whole family lying on the ground... covered in blood."

"Have you found anyone suspicious?" Sun Yan pressed.

Liu Laogen shook his head: "The villagers go to bed early and didn't hear anything. Besides, Liu San's house is a distance from the village, and there aren't many neighbors nearby."

Sun Yan waved his hand, indicating, "Take us to the scene."

Shen Lian, Wang Lin, Chen Yun, and other newly appointed Demon Suppressors followed Sun Yan and headed east of the village under Liu Laogen's guidance.

"Sir, this is the Liu family's residence," Liu Laogen said, pointing ahead.

The Liu family's courtyard was enclosed by a bamboo fence, with three mud-brick houses facing south. Before the group even entered the courtyard, they could smell a strong stench of blood.

"You two stay outside."

Sun Yan ordered two demon-suppressing envoys to stand guard outside the courtyard, and then led the others into the courtyard.

Pushing open the door of the adobe house, the scene inside stunned everyone.

A man and a woman lay on the ground. The man was about forty years old, and the woman was slightly younger. Both were dressed simply, and their chests were covered in blood.

Sun Yan stepped forward to check, his brows furrowing.

Shen Lian, who was standing not far away, glanced at it.

His heart was removed!

Sun Yan carefully examined the wounds on the two corpses. Their chest cavities had been ripped open by a sharp blade, and their hearts were missing, just like Wang Laosi's death.

"The modus operandi is the same; it seems to be the work of the same person," he said in a deep voice. "Search! See if there are any other clues inside."

Shen Lian, Wang Lin, Chen Yun, and the others dispersed and carefully examined the house.

No signs of a struggle were found inside the house, indicating that the murderer killed the person in a very short time, removed the heart, and left immediately.

Shen Lian went into the inner room and found a child lying on a small bed. The child was about seven or eight years old. His chest had been cut open and his heart had been removed.

"They didn't even spare the children; the murderer is utterly inhuman," Chen Yun said angrily.

Sun Yan stood at the doorway, his face ashen. His gaze swept over the child's corpse, then he turned to Liu Laogen: "Has the Liu family offended anyone recently?"

Liu Laogen said, "Liu San is an honest and upright person. I've never heard of him making enemies with anyone."

He had no enemies, yet he was killed.

This is truly perplexing.

"Sun Xiaoqi, look at this."

Wang Lin found a piece of cloth in the room, which looked like it had been torn from a piece of clothing.

Sun Yan took the rag. It was dark brown and very rough. "It has a faint fishy smell. It might have been torn from the murderer's body."

Chen Yun pointed to the windowsill: "There are footprints here."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over and saw a half-blurred shoe print on the windowsill.

"Write it down," Sun Yan gestured.

Wang Lin immediately took out his charcoal pencil and paper and quickly traced the shoe print.

Sun Yan immediately ordered, "Wang Lin, take two men and follow the footprints to see if you can find anything. If you encounter any danger, evacuate immediately."

"Understood."

Wang Lin nodded emphatically, then led the two away to pursue them.

Sun Yan looked at Liu Laogen and said, "Notify the villagers to lock their doors and windows after dark these days, not to go out alone, and to report any incidents to the police immediately."

"Yes, I understand," Liu Laogen replied repeatedly and hurried off to make arrangements.

Sun Yan turned to Shen Lian and the others and said, "Wrap the three corpses properly and transport them back to the Demon Suppression Division."

"yes!"

Under Sun Yan's instructions, the group quickly wrapped up the three corpses properly.

Sun Yan led the team to escort the remains of Liu San and his family of three back to the Demon Suppression Division. During the journey, all the Demon Suppression Envoys remained silent.

The night wind swept through the forest path, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

Shen Lian gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, lost in thought.

It had only been a few days since Wang Laosi had his heart ripped out, and this time the murderer killed three people and took three hearts.

What was the killer's purpose in removing the heart?

I have absolutely no clue what to do right now.

If the murderer is not apprehended and brought to justice as soon as possible, more people may die.

This is certainly not the situation that the Demon Suppression Division wants to see.

Soon, the three bodies were sent back to the morgue of the Demon Suppression Division.

After confirmation by the coroner, the wounds on Liu San's family and Wang Laosi's body were found to be completely identical, indicating that the two murders were clearly committed by the same person.

In response, Zhao Shan investigated the two murder cases together.

Moreover, Zhao Shan changed the direction of the investigation.

Previously, having the Demon Suppression Envoy patrol Qinghe County day and night ensured the safety of Qinghe County to a certain extent, but at the same time, it also let the other side know that the Demon Suppression Division was now watching them.

They naturally become more cautious in their actions.

It would undoubtedly be much more difficult for the Demon Suppression Division to capture them.

Therefore, Zhao Shan ordered some of the demon-suppressing envoys to secretly carry out patrol missions in plain clothes, so that the enemy would be less vigilant.