Blood Traces (2)
"Let's head to the village leader's house and search for any survivor who may have successfully hidden or any clues related to Yi Zhan!" Huo Tie declares in a strong tone, his expression impassive. "I will use the Last Flame Gu to find anyone who died at the hands of one of his wives."
"Leader Tie... I would say that taking risks and following the horse tracks would be the best course of action at this moment," Huo Hei speaks honestly, trying to consider the best outcome for the success of the mission. "...It's entirely possible that Yi Zhan knows about the Last Flame Gu and has made sure none of his wives killed anyone."
"I would have to agree, since from everything we've heard from the mortals, no one has confirmed that one of Yi Zhan's wives killed anyone..." Huo Hou Hui comments on the side, seeing that Huo Hei's words make a lot of sense and aren't just meant to antagonize Huo Tie.
"Yi Zhan must be a demonic Rank 3 Gu Master...fools don't reach such a high level," Huo Tie, who was contemplating the advice, suddenly speaks.
"It's unlikely he left a clue... but it's certain that these tracks he left will lead to a trap, and since that's the case, there's no reason to rush," Huo Tie speaks with the heavy voice of someone who knows how great the responsibility on his shoulders is.
"Don't forget that in a situation like this, even the smallest detail or piece of information can save or cost one of our lives," Huo Tan, who usually remains silent, speaks with his hoarse voice that matches his partially burned face.
"We'll do as this. Huo Ni Ma and I will keep an eye on the mortals while still investigating parts of the village, and you all will explore the village leader's house, right?" Huo Tan speaks confidently but still seeks Huo Tie's approval.
This is because he is the second in command, so he is still under Huo Tie in authority. Even though he can outline the plan, he still needs Huo Tie's approval to put it into action.
"...Alright, let's go with your idea!" Huo Tie agrees with the simple yet effective plan before seeing Huo Tan extend his hand to him.
"Here, take this... You don't need an explanation on how to use the Gu, right?" Huo Tan, holding a Gu shaped like a red firefly in his hand, asks with a calm expression.
He knows there are not many risks in lending this Gu, as even though it is a relatively rare Gu that anyone might covet, Huo Tie wouldn't dare try to steal it on a mission directly assigned by a clan elder.
Huo Tie nods his head in agreement while taking the Gu, which has been and still is one of his greatest desires, but unfortunately, Huo Tan has only lent it to him temporarily to complete this mission.
"Well... if that's everything, let's go!" Huo Tie says, waving his hand for them to follow before he starts down the path that, according to the mortals, leads to the village leader's house.
------
"So... how did it end for them?" Huo Xue, who is usually lively and eccentric, asks with clear dismay in his voice.
"...They were also killed by Yi Zhan, without the slightest involvement of his wives, so there is no crucial clue to obtain," Huo Tie responds, repeating a phrase he has said several times today while looking unimpressed at the large blue flames that represent the end of two armed guards in full armor.
The bodie, which was cut and mutilated in various places, is now together while burning at an impressive speed until it become just a pile of ashes among the armor and soldier's uniform.
Now that the fire that turned it to ashes has died down, only a faint light from the sun enters through the small windows of the house, which would seem quite luxurious to a mortal's eyes.
"...It's nothing new that everyone so far was killed by Yi Zhan," Huo Hei sighs beside him as he looks at another pile of ashes that revealed nothing new for them.
Making their work of meticulously gathering all the body parts, which they have done several times to strengthen the effect of the Last Flame Gu, seem like a futile task.
And more than that, it delays them from pursuing Yi Zhan using the tracks left by the horses he rode, because even though it is likely a trap, he believe they can still handle it since they are one of the elite Gu Masters of the Huo clan.
"...But at least it shows that some disagreement probably occurred between Yi Zhan and Leader Xin if he killed his guards," Huo Hou Hui says quickly, trying to see the more promising side of their wasted effort.
"You might be satisfied while we waste time here, but now there's a demonic Gu Master loose, ready to devastate the clan's territory..." Huo Hei maintains a moderate indignation in his tone as he looks around, searching for the right words.
"Honestly, Elder Xi should have sent more people and resources for this mission, which cannot be taken lightly!"
He receives some indignant side glances from the Gu Masters who are members of Elder Xi's faction, and some supportive looks from those in rival factions like himself, but Huo Tie remains silent, seemingly indifferent to his words.
Huo Hou Hui sighs, as he is used to taking this kind of attitude lightly and calmly in his life, always staying calm and largely out of the clan's political disputes, which is probably why he ended up on this mission as a mediator.
"Don't forget that we are all clansmen of the proud Huo clan in the end..." Huo Hou Hui speaks in a calm voice.
Huo Hei snort since he isn't very satisfied with the fact that Huo Tie doesn't respond to his questions, but he chooses to stay quiet, knowing that his top priority is still the mission, not political disputes for now.
Huo Tie, who just ignores the conversations, looks down the hallway of the village leader Yu's house, which is now a mess full of blood and ashes of bodies.
"The deeper we go, the more unprepared the guards seem to have been before they died..." Huo Tie, his voice rough from the exhaustion of an entire afternoon of using the Last Flame Gu, says, "as if they were caught by surprise by the attacks."
"...Which proves the mortals' words that Yi Zhan was acting with the village leader," Huo Tie speaks, though even with the confirmation of his Gu that they believed they were telling the truth, anyone could see the flaw in this Gu because what the mortals believed to be true could have been a lie or just a guess collectively created by them that would eventually prove wrong.
"...I can say it's very unlikely they were killed by a high-level Gu!" Huo Lee, who was ahead, while licking the body of a guard as he's been doing with all the bodies he finds, speaks.
"I can taste the rotten blood, and after tasting it several times, I think it must be a Rank 2 Gu judging by how sour it is..." Huo Lee stands up and adjusts his clothes, which are stained with the blood, excrement, and other filth from the dead bodies.
"Of course, it could also be a Rank 1 Gu of incredible quality... or a Rank 3 Gu of very low quality," he continues, ignoring the side glances that had greatly diminished in disdain and disgust as the mission progressed.
This is a development he is quite accustomed to over time, so he never minds the initial disdain of those who don't know him well, as it doesn't take long for it to be replaced by admiration for his investigative abilities.
"Hm... It's more likely to be a Rank 3 Gu of low quality, especially with his status as a demonic Gu Master who lowers himself to the point of slaughter mortals for profane pleasures" Huo Hei, who hadn't been idle during this time and continued searching the corridor for any clues, speaks calmly.
"Don't forget that this Gu that controls blood has never been heard of in the clan, so it must be far below average in combat strength..." Huo Tie continues to walk deeper down the corridor, ready to burn another set of bodies to see if he can find any clues.
But as expected, though with some disappointment, these guards didn't reveal any clue or anything new, except that they continued the trail of death left by the demonic Gu Master.
And so, having obtained nothing more from the bodies that are now ashes on the ground, they continue with what can only be described as the tedious and almost never-told part of investigations, as they move at a snail's pace from room to room, corridor to corridor, inspecting every inch of the house for any tiny clue or secret passage.
And that's just speaking of the tedious part, not the despicable part of them having to gather and search through the excrement-covered bodies of mutilated and cut-up guards and maids that are scattered all over the place.
Of course, all the Gu Masters here are experienced members of the Huo clan who have done this kind of tedious, disgusting, repetitive, and even worse task in the past under mission orders, so no one raises their voice in complaint.
And no one even dares to complain when they have to dirty their hands by carrying bodies that shitted themselves in the face of death, because getting dirty isn't anything compared to Huo Lee, who has to lick them from head to toe to obtain information.
Which he did diligently without raising his voice to complain once, earning him complex looks of respect and pity from everyone.
-----
"Damn, honestly, when I get back to the clan, I'm going to take a mission to guard a village indefinitely if any half-assed Gu master like this can have a mansion like this!" Huo Xue exclaimed indignantly, tossing severed limbs of a guard into a pile that was gathering all the chopped-up body parts.
"Hell, a mansion this size in the clan would cost more than hundreds of thousands of primeval stones, but here, I don't even think he paid anything for it!" Huo Xue's tone grew louder with frustration.
"....ahhh, now I feel taken advantage of and tricked, paying dozens of primeval stones in rent for a house that isn't even a tenth of this size."
"Well, good luck selling all your Gu because there's no way you'll be able to feed them on what a mortal village leader makes," Huo Hou Hui said in a light tone, provoking the impatient young man who didn't seem to see the problems with his idea. "You can also give up on advancing your cultivation if you haven't already, hahaha."
"I'm dead serious about this; don't think I'm joking. The moment I get to the village, I'll take one of these missions and live like a king with Li Miu!" Huo Xue quickly responded with enthusiasm after seeing that not only Huo Hou Hui but one of his mission companions seemed to not believe his words.
"Good luck dealing with the beast tide too, hahaha," Huo Hou Hui said, making Huo Xue frown as he realized he had overlooked that part.
"You've already been a lucky bastard, managing to get a cute girl with that horrendous face of yours that only a mother could love," Huo Hei said simply, without even turning his gaze from the blue flames with moving images. "Do you want to risk losing her to some fat bastard because you decided to live in one of these crappy mortal villages?"
Huo Xue was now left speechless hearing this but could only remain silent while the Gu masters around him stifled their laughter, as Huo Hei and Huo Hou Hui were still his superiors.
"....nothing new yet," Huo Tie, who had been watching the flames and ignoring the exchange, sighed lightly.
But like a light at the end of the tunnel, Huo Lee, who had been exploring ahead, emerged from a dark corridor with an excited expression on his half-lizard, half-human face that seemed like it came from someone's strange dream.
"I found the corridor and door that lead to the basement the mortals spoke of...." Huo Lee blinked his eyes, which closed diagonally, and pointed to the path he had come from. "I didn't dare enter, but I bet if there's a clue to be found here, this must be one of the most likely places to find it!"
Huo Tie nodded, trying to keep his enthusiasm under control, at least to the point of not showing it to the others, and said, "You can lead the way then."
Huo Lee immediately followed Huo Tie's orders, leading the way he had memorized to the basement, moving quickly through the dimly lit corridors where candles lined the walls, as this part of the village leader's house had no windows, likely being at ground level.
"Here..." Huo Lee said when he stopped in front of a heavy, double iron door with a large trail of blood leading under it, which had initially guided him here.
Huo Tie signaled with his hand, and they all took up guard positions, ready to attack whatever lay behind the door, while Huo Hei, along with him, carefully opened it.
But to their relief, they were not met by any trap left by the demonic Gu master or a sudden attack.
On the contrary, they found a rather dirty basement filled with chains and shackles, along with water drinking areas that were relatively clean, a spot with some food, and a section apparently used for basic needs, all within the reach of the chains, from what could be seen.
"....Well, looking at this, it's unlikely we'll find anything new, but it's worth testing," Huo Tie said, his gaze ignoring everything in the dungeon except for a piece of the top of a head with white hair, which had been cleanly sliced diagonally.
"Unfortunately, the body isn't anywhere to be seen, so the Last Flame Gu will burn out quickly, so I'll have to be fast...." Huo Tie, under everyone's watchful eyes, approached the piece of the head that appeared to belong to an old person, with only half of one eye remaining.
Thus, Huo Tie quickly used the Last Flame Gu while seriously and carefully preparing the Tracking Flame Gu, given to him by Huo Tan, to be activated at any moment, as he had been doing with all the people he had burned using the Last Flame Gu since entering the village leader's house.
This had proven useless so far, as neither an image of Yi Zhan nor one of his wives had appeared, so he had never effectively used the Gu, which is the perfect combination with the Last Flame Gu.
"Finally! The heavens truly reward those who persevere!!" Huo Tie exclaimed with enthusiasm and a smile, seeing the moving images in the small flame.
Because now, the result was different because in the small and weak flame, almost nonexistent compared to what is generated by an entire body, he saw the image of Li Xin kneeling and begging for his life while crying.
But the reason for his joy was the image of a beautiful young girl with short hair and an innocent, cute appearance who closed her eyes, shedding small tears as she shot a blood blade that cleanly sliced Li Xin's head diagonally while he knelt, pleading for mercy.
"Quick!! You need to use the Tracking Flame Gu!" Huo Hei shouted to Huo Tie.
But it was unnecessary, as Huo Tie wouldn't let this opportunity, which he knew might not come again, slip by. At this moment, he had already instinctively used the Tracking Flame Gu, which, in its firefly form, flew quickly toward the image of the girl in the flames that vanished immediately, as the top of Li Xin's head had completely burned to ashes.
"..." Huo Tie remained silent, feeling the tension in the air due to the uncertainty of whether the Gu acted in time, but looking at the Tracking Flame Gu, whose abdomen glowed red like a flame, he sighed in relief.
"Well...now we're one step closer to killing that damned demonic Gu master and his wives!!!" Huo Tie said, raising the spirits of the Gu masters, who now seemed more energetic than ever.