"Xia Yunting!" Rong Zhi exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the newcomer. "Why are you here so quickly? Have you dealt with everyone at the foot of the mountain?"
"It's all handled."
"So fast?" Her eyes widened. It wasn't one or two people, nor twenty, but hundreds. How could Xia Yunting alone have wiped them all out so quickly?
Xia Yunting found it entirely normal, even feeling a touch of annoyance at himself for neglecting his martial arts practice in recent days, which had significantly slowed his speed.
He glanced inside and suddenly frowned, "Are they all dead?"
"Not completely dead, but they've lost all ability to act. If you need witnesses, I can save them."
"All of them," Xia Yunting stated, his voice firm.
Rong Zhi nodded, took out her silver needles, and pricked each person. Their rapidly weakening heartbeats suddenly began to recover, and their breathing grew steady. However, by now, none of them had any chance of getting up again.
She and Xia Yunting then used ropes to tie up these men.
Rong Zhi pointed towards the back of the residence. "I had the patients hide back there. They are important witnesses, and I was worried about who would look after them. Since you're here, you stay and guard them, and I'll go deal with the red-clothed men on the perimeter."
"I'll go instead," Xia Yunting said. He wasn't particularly good at taking care of people, especially the weak and infirm.
"Alright."
Rong Zhi then went to the back of the courtyard and found the patients huddled together against the wall, many of them shivering. They were clearly terrified.
"Don't be afraid. The bad guys are dead. As long as you stay here and don't leave my sight, you'll be safe."
She looked at a gaunt young man beside her. He was so thin that he seemed to be just skin and bones, his ribs clearly visible, his stomach sunken in as if he were a corpse that had been drained of all moisture.
Seeing such a patient, Rong Zhi instinctively felt pity. She crouched down and asked him, "Are you feeling any better?"
The youth instinctively tried to shrink away as she approached, but there was no space behind him. His expression shifted slightly, and he nodded.
"I'm sorry, but you can't go home yet. Once I've completely cured your ailments, you can return to your families."
As soon as she finished speaking, many eyes lit up, but the light was fleeting. It was clear that after experiencing so much, they no longer dared to hope for the best.
Rong Zhi checked on each of them, ensuring they hadn't sustained any new injuries. Throughout this process, the screams and cries for help from the distance continued unabated. At the same time, Rong Zhi caught the increasingly strong scent of blood carried on the wind.
She felt goosebumps prickle her skin.
She truly wondered how terrifying Xia Yunting's strength was. She had already witnessed his prowess on the long street before. She knew his martial arts surpassed hers, but this ability to fight a hundred men alone was truly uncommon.
After all, even the most formidable masters would eventually grow weary against a swarm of enemies. Xia Yunting had killed so many from the White Rat Hall and Black Face Hall, and now he was fighting so fiercely, yet he showed no signs of fatigue. It was as if he were made of iron.
About an hour later, Xia Yunting returned, covered in blood. His clothes were completely soaked, but none of the blood was his own.
"Xiao Mo, those people have been eliminated. I've already sent Chu Qingze to find the Prefect and notified the General's Mansion subordinates to come here quickly."
His tone remained calm, but a hint of relief was discernible. This had been a perplexing case that had troubled him for a long time, and it was finally coming to a close. However, he then felt that the matter had concluded too smoothly, as if something were still missing.
Rong Zhi nodded. "Collusion between officials and criminals makes these cases so difficult to solve. Perhaps your brothers were also affected by this. If they knew, they should be at peace now."
Xia Yunting paused for a moment, then nodded heavily.
The two of them searched the interior of the residence together. As expected, they found a large number of records detailing human experimentation, including birthplaces, names, genders, ages, and even portraits of the subjects.
This was the icing on the cake. Rong Zhi had been worried that these patients might be traumatized and unable to find their families, but now things would be much easier.
Xia Yunting carefully collected all the evidence. After this matter was resolved, he intended to settle accounts with the Blood Drinking Pavilion.
The people in the courtyard, having regained some strength, soon realized their predicament. Both the red-clothed swordsmen and the Five Ghosts were astonished that they had been defeated by a woman of seemingly limited power. Who exactly was this woman?
The shortest of the Five Ghosts stared at Rong Zhi, his eyes bulging as if he wanted to pop them out. He seemed to have thought of something, yet he hesitated to confirm it.
"What is your relationship with the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Yunting also turned his gaze to Rong Zhi.
"Little friend, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Who in this world dares to claim a connection with Medicine King Valley? Are you trying to harm me?" Rong Zhi brushed some dust from her sleeve, speaking with a hint of mockery.
"The more you deny it, the guiltier you seem. You must have a connection with Medicine King Valley. Our secret code is known only to the Valley Master. Are you her daughter?"
Rong Zhi fell silent. In such matters, the more one spoke, the more mistakes one made.
They waited for a long time, until late at night, when the sound of footsteps could be heard from a distance, along with exclamations of surprise and fear.
"Oh dear, oh dear, how barbaric! It's too barbaric! There's no place to step! Oh, I've stepped on something again! I'll have nightmares for three days and three nights when I get back!"
As the voice grew closer, a flickering torchlight illuminated the figure emerging from the wilderness. It was a stout body, broad shoulders, a fleshy nose, thick lips, clad in official robes and a gauze cap. This must be the Prefect mentioned by Chu Qingze. Behind him followed a group of constables, holding torches to light the way and clear the path.
Chu Qingze was also nearby. Compared to the Prefect's boisterousness, he was clearly more composed, though he kept glancing back.
As the group looked up, they saw a man and a woman sitting at the entrance of the courtyard, both of striking appearance, their faces calm. The woman even waved at them.
"Chu Qingze! You're quite fast."
Chu Qingze nodded. The Prefect beside him suddenly pointed at the two of them. "You... you... were you responsible for those corpses in the mountains?"
Rong Zhi patted Xia Yunting's shoulder. "My husband did it all by himself. But the people inside are my credit."
"Hiss!" The Prefect gasped so deeply that he almost fainted from fright. Chu Qingze quickly supported him.
"My Lord, calm yourself!"
"Ahem!" The Prefect adjusted his clothes to ease his embarrassment, then, with a twitch of his lips, said, "My name is Lu An, and I am the local Prefect. This incident occurred within my jurisdiction, and it is only right that I handle it. You two should step aside for now and allow me to thoroughly search this residence. Oh, and speaking of which, after you killed them, you didn't tamper with anything inside, did you?"
"No, we touched everything." Rong Zhi replied.
"What?" Lu An nearly choked on his own spit.
"Without the permission of the authorities, how could you have tampered with the crime scene? How am I supposed to find evidence, claim great merit, and get promoted... Puh! What did you find?"
"These are the evidence of their human experimentation. The list shows a total of 658 people, but we can only account for fewer than 100 patients now, meaning the rest have died here. They deserved to die for causing so many deaths."
Lu An accepted the evidence with doubt. As he examined it, he was stunned by its contents. It described how they first administered the Seven-Day Poison to patients, then experimented with the medicinal properties through various cruel methods, including severing limbs, disemboweling living people, and other barbaric acts. Knowing they were trying to cure diseases, one would think they were performing torture. This was a blatant disregard for human life, and these were tangible proofs.
"What about the witnesses?"
Xia Yunting and Rong Zhi moved aside, and Lu An led his constables inside. Upon entering, he nearly had his ankle pierced by a flying knife.
It turned out that the crippled man had attacked them when they weren't paying attention. However, the crippled man was severely injured, so his aim was off. Otherwise, the Prefect, who had made such a difficult journey up the mountain, might have met with a mishap, quite literally.
"Ouch!" Lu An cried out, only then realizing that so many people were tied up in the courtyard. He ordered the constables to count them and then approached one of them. "What is your name? What do you do? What bad deeds have you committed here? Tell me everything."
The man remained silent. Lu An's face darkened. "Now I hold the power, and you are at my mercy. You have only one choice: tell the truth, or don't blame me for being harsh."
"Lord Lu!" Rong Zhi reminded him. "That person is mute."
"..." Lu An's face flushed with embarrassment. He moved on to another person.
"And you, what is your name?"
Again, there was no response. This time, Lu An didn't ask further but looked at Rong Zhi.
"That one is deaf, and his eyes are also blind now."
Lu An's mouth twitched. He noticed that the few people close by were all strangely disfigured, especially one who was very short. He muttered, "Not learning to be good at such a young age... Hiss! And growing so fast." The short man tilted his head back, almost biting his finger off.
Lu An deliberately moved further away and noticed a person nearby who looked delicate and unlike the others who were rugged and oddly shaped. He seemed easier to interrogate, so he asked again, "What is your name?" The other person opened their mouth. Lu An, thinking he was about to speak, leaned closer. To his surprise, the person coughed, spraying blood all over his face.
Rong Zhi scratched her head. "I'm sorry, sir. I pricked his throat with a silver needle earlier. You should stay away from him, or he might spray blood."
Lu An: "..." Thank you for the timely reminder.
"My Lord, the headcount is complete. Shall we continue the interrogation?" A constable came over to ask for his opinion. Lu An waved his hand irritably. "What more is there to ask? Forget it, I'm not asking anymore!" It seemed pointless to question them now. Compared to these prisoners, he was more interested in the two young people.
Rong Zhi was in the middle of asking Xia Yunting and Chu Qingze how they had dealt with the subordinates of the Blood Drinking Pavilion when she saw Lu An approaching with a smile.
"You two are so skilled at such a young age, it truly impresses me. May I ask where you hail from?"
"We are merely wanderers of the martial world, my lord. You need not concern yourself with us," Rong Zhi replied, implying that she didn't wish him to pry further. However, Lu An was not one to let go of such an opportunity.
"The court is in need of capable individuals right now. If you two are interested, I can introduce you. Especially you, young sir, with such a dignified and imposing demeanor. If you were to serve the court, you would surely soar to great heights in the future, perhaps even become a great general, far more formidable than the renowned General Xia Yunting."
Well, it was rare to hear someone praising Xia Yunting in this region! Rong Zhi also put on a smile and asked, "Lord Lu, is this General Xia a very powerful person? Is he as legendary as they say?"
Lu An waved his hand dismissively. "Ha, I haven't personally met him to know if he's powerful or not. He might just be a gilded pillow, all talk and no substance. How could he compare to your skills?"