Chapter 8: Murder

The day started terribly. I wasn't expecting relentless knocks on my door early in the morning. It felt like an endless nightmare.

Summoning all my strength to get out of bed at such an early hour, fueled by anger, I flung the door open with force, ready to confront whoever was on the other side.

To my surprise, the person crazy enough to disturb me at this ungodly hour was Kang Duyi. I couldn't help but notice his disheveled hair and anxious expression.

"What happened for you to show up here so early?" I said.

Unlike the villagers in the village, Kang Duyi knew I was a cultivator, yet he decided to knock on my door at the break of dawn.

That could only be two things: the situation was truly dire, or Kang Duyi had completely lost his mind. I assumed it was the former.

"I apologize for disturbing you so early, Senior," Kang Duyi said with a trembling voice, "But the situation this time is very serious."

"How serious?" I asked.

My curiosity was ignited like a flame fueled by alcohol. I wanted to know, I needed to know.

"S-Someone died this morning! It seems that the beast we hunted either wasn't the right one, or there are others!"

A death! Now that was something truly grave. Riverside was a village with few inhabitants, so unlike bustling cities where some deaths went unnoticed, that was impossible in Riverside.

Everyone was in mourning, eager to understand what the hell had happened. Kang Duyi was the most skilled warrior in the village, and I had helped him last time, which was why he appeared at my door so early in the morning.

"Let me get ready real quick," I said.

Kang Duyi waited at the door while I changed clothes and grabbed some fruits to have for breakfast.

So we both left my farm and headed towards Riverside, which was nearby. As soon as I arrived, I noticed several people outside their houses, even though it was early in the morning.

Everyone had sad faces, crying, with empty expressions. And then I saw it, a completely mangled body near the woods!

Its stomach was ripped open, its guts scattered on the ground. There was a lot of blood.

"Excuse us, folks," Kang Duyi said, "Tian Li and I will examine it and try to figure out what happened."

All the villagers who were near the body left. They surely would be waiting for answers.

The unfortunate one was the town's blacksmith. A man in his fifties, without a family, but a friend to everyone in the village. The villagers were his family, and vice versa.

That's why everyone, without exception, was grieving that day. I approached the body and carefully examined it. In addition to the open stomach and scattered intestines, I noticed claw and bite marks.

"It must have been a beast," I said to Kang Duyi.

But how was that possible? The village hunters practically went out every day, walking around the woods, and found nothing!

The only thing different in the woods was the footprint that Kang Duyi and I saw, but it belonged to that wolf, a spiritual beast, and it was dead.

"This is very strange," Kang Duyi said, "We didn't see any traces of any other dangerous beast. Could this have been done by a... human?"

That idea was crazy, but it wasn't something we could dismiss. If in my world it was common for murderers to destroy bodies in such a grotesque way to make it seem like an animal attack, imagine in a place where people had powers?

With a single statement from Kang Duyi, everyone in the village became a potential suspect. If that atrocity had truly been committed by a human, there had to be evidence to uncover.

"You stay here and examine the crime scene. I'll try to find anything that indicates where the killer or beast fled after attacking this poor blacksmith," I said.

Kang Duyi liked the plan and continued analyzing the body and its surroundings. Meanwhile, I searched for tracks, but the situation only grew stranger.

There were no footprints, and it would be nearly impossible for a beast to cover all traces. It didn't make sense. For a beast to possess such intelligence to leave no evidence, it would have to be at least in the Foundation Establishment realm—a cultivation level much higher than mine or Kang Duyi's.

The chances of such a powerful beast being in that place were virtually nonexistent, so the possibility of a human culprit no longer seemed so insane.

I continued my search, meticulously examining behind every tree, bush, and rock, yet found nothing amiss. However, my quest took an intriguing turn when I stumbled upon a peculiar sight.

It wasn't just any ordinary discovery like a footprint; rather, it was a bloodstained kitchen knife. Its presence seemed out of place amidst the serene forest, and undoubtedly, the blood belonged to the victim we had just uncovered!

Acting swiftly, I cautiously retrieved the knife, wrapping it carefully in a cloth before discreetly concealing it. I refrained from disclosing this find to anyone, as everyone was a potential suspect. Revealing such information could potentially prompt the culprit to flee!

I chose not to divulge anything to Kang Duyi either. Despite appearing reliable, he harbored a deep fear of me. Nevertheless, I couldn't afford to take any chances, as he too was a person of interest.

It was best for me to keep all of that to myself. After the discovery, I continued searching but found nothing more. When I returned to Kang Duyi, he also seemed out of luck.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

With an innocent look, I replied, "Nothing. And you?"

"Nothing as well... Well, I'll help the locals bury the body. Let me know if you uncover anything."

Afterward, I decided to return to my farm and tend to my crops, which were already showing signs of life. In fact, they seemed to be thriving faster than I had anticipated! Could it be the soil? The Qi emanating from my body? Or perhaps my System?

Regardless, my time on the farm was brief. I had a lead to pursue: the bloodied kitchen knife.