74 The Blood Ghost Plate and the Cannibal
In the cramped mine, the damp air mixed with the cold autumn wind blew, and the warriors couldn’t help but tighten their clothes. If an ordinary person entered the mine during this season, the only outcome was death.
“Move, move, Senior brother Qin is here!” Sun Ziyao led the way and revealed Qin Huai’s name.
In response, the group of martial artists lit up their oil lamps and made way for Qin Huai.
“Senior Brother Qin!”
Qin Huai and the others nodded and walked to the two fingers.
The blood on the ground had not dried up yet, and the fingers were still a little warm. The person should have died today. Maybe they panicked and didn’t use the lamp when cleaning up the scene, leaving these fingers behind…
“Who discovered it?”
“It’s Senior Brother Li Bowu and Senior Brother Jiang.
Qin Huai looked at Li Bowu and Senior Brother Jiang.
Senior Brother Jiang quickly said, “Ah, Senior Brother Li, and I met each other when we were leaving the cave. Senior Brother Li said that he wanted to go back and try his luck to catch a few Thunderbolt Dojo bastards to vent his anger.
“We thought it made sense, so we followed Senior Brother Li. When we got here, we saw these right away! I then sent someone to inform the people in our dojo.”
Li Bowu looked at Qin Huai’s gaze and subconsciously took half a step back. He immediately nodded. “Yes, yes.”
Qin Huai raised his head and looked at Sun Ziyao. “Have you ordered everyone in the dojo?”
Behind him, Senior Brother Qi Yangbing walked over quickly. “Yes, I have. A junior brother named Zhang Si has gone missing. He’s a second refinement martial artist and can be considered one of my subordinates.”
Second refinement… Then they wouldn’t be those mountain bandits who had taken the Sacred Heart sect’s secret manual. They simply didn’t have the strength to kill the warriors of the eight major martial arts centers, let alone the courage.
Had the Sacred Heart sect discovered the deaths of the black-robed man and the Hunchback man so quickly and sent reinforcements to investigate?
That didn’t seem right. Based on the behavior of those two, the Sacred Heart sect should be better at cultivating blood food in the dark.
Acting so arrogantly, could it be that the person was here to take revenge for the black-robed man and the other man?
“Let’s first have our fellow disciples enter the mines in groups of two or three,” Qin Huai suggested.
“I guess that’s the only way.” Qi Yangbing didn’t have any good ideas.
The next morning, as usual, after Qin Huai collected the training hall’s drill ground experience, he went to the Changshan ancestral house to visit his master, Sun Yuanshan.
After nearly a month of rest, Sun Yuanshan had regained his original sage-like leisure. But that was all.
With his injuries slightly healed and the loss of the six white dragons, his master didn’t have much combat power now. He could only cultivate his body and mind on the mountain and cultivate the medicinal field.
In the meantime, the eldest brother was in charge of all the major matters on the mountain.
“Master, I’ve come to see you.” Qin Huai was carrying the tea leaves he had asked someone to buy from the city to pass time for his master.
When Sun Yuanshan saw Qin Huai, his face was filled with excitement. “Huai’er, you’ve come at the right time… Hurry up and take off your clothes!”
Qin Huai’s expression changed. His gaze swept across the area and saw the large wooden barrel overflowing with thick smoke.
“I’ve perfected this medicinal bath. As long as you soak in it for three months, you’ll be able to cultivate a body that’s immune to all poisons. Of course, it also has the effect of improving your qi and blood.”
It was a strong medicinal bath that his master had given him. There were many poisonous substances in it, and it had the meaning of attacking poison with poison.
The effect was indeed good. It was just that the soaking process was too torturous. However, he could only slowly accumulate his combat power through this little bit of improvement.
After the fourth refinement, Qin Huai’s speed of collecting experience slowed down again, and he could only get a pitiful 500 to 600 points a day. It would take at least three months to break through to the fifth refinement.
However, there was still plenty of time. Pulling Reihom down from the throne was just a matter of time.
While soaking in the medicinal bath, Qin Huai told Sun Yuanshan about what had happened today.
Sun Yuanshan sighed. “I’ve told you everything I know last time… You can ask your disciple to go to the city lord’s mansion and ask. They have news from Lingjiang county, so they must know more inside information.”
“Alright.” Qin Huai nodded.
This kind of thing could not be allowed to happen. Firstly, in the long run, it would inevitably lead to the people’s morale slacking, and the available combat power would be reduced.
Moreover, his cultivation was all dependent on these people. The more people died, the slower the speed of his breakthrough. Therefore, whether it was for public or private reasons, Qin Huai had to find the murderer.
Qin Huai cleared his mind and then headed straight for the tiger battalion.
There were no twists and turns along the way. After Qin Huai found Hu Jinghai, two steeds left the camp with a few words and headed for the city lord’s mansion.
“Master, when we reach my house, it might take a while before I can talk to my father.” On the way, Hu Jinghai wanted to say something, but he held back. He felt like he was not afraid of death.
“City Lord is very busy, so I naturally understand.” Qin Huai nodded and didn’t think too much about it.
It wasn’t until they reached the gates of the city lord’s mansion that Qin Huai saw a refined middle-aged man holding a bunch of bamboo whips in his hands that he suddenly understood Hu Jinghai’s meaning.
Pa!
“You dare to privately order the tiger battalion to station their troops?!”
Pa!
“You won’t even go home for a month?!”
Pa!
“It’s fine if you don’t know how to do it, but you don’t even write a letter?”
The sound of the bamboo whip grew louder and louder. Qin Huai listened to Hu Jinghai’s wailing, but in the end, he still acted like a master.
“City Lord, Jinghai has also made some progress in his learning this month. When you attacked just now, you also secretly scattered a lot of hemp grass powder on Jinghai’s body to relieve the pain.”
Hearing this, Hu Guanpan’s bamboo whip finally stopped. There was a hint of relief in his eyes. “Then I’ve indeed learned something. Master Qin has taught me well.” He smiled at Qin Huai.
“I don’t dare, I don’t dare.”
There was actually still half a sentence that Qin Huai didn’t say. Hu Jinghai had even given his father some heart-cooling powder. It could freeze the blood and qi of a martial artist and some newly-joined martial artists.
However, it was useless against a top expert like Hu Guanpan. Qin Huai didn’t dare to say this out loud, afraid that he would have to send off the black-haired man.
At the side, Hu Jinghai pulled up his pants with his swollen butt.
Qin Huai also took the opportunity to explain his intentions.
“Then you’ve come to the right place.” Hu Guanpan ordered someone to bring him a bronze compass-like object. “After the rise of the Sacred Heart sect, the imperial court has been secretly searching for a way to distinguish the Sacred Heart sect disciples who have money with them.
“After all, eating people is against human ethics and morality, and it will also cause people to panic.”
“In the first year of Chengping, a master discovered that the qi and blood of people who ate a lot of people would also change. From there, they would emit a smell that the nose can’t smell.
“That’s how we got this item, the blood ghost plate. As long as you drip a drop of blood into it and look out through the mirror in the center of the plate, you’ll be able to see the green aura in the air within a twenty-meter radius.
Hu Guanpan explained further, “The only flaw is that the blood ghost plate can only detect those who have ‘strong auras,’ which are the Sacred Heart sect’s disciples who eat a lot of people.”
Qin Huai understood. This was a lack of precision. “Then how long will this smell last?”
“It’s usually twenty-four hours.”
…
In the mine, Qin Huai held the blood ghost plate and searched around.
However, he had not found anything even after he had explored the entire mine.
He stood on the mountainside and looked down at the entire mine.
His expression was grave. “No aura means it’s not within the range of the blood ghost plate. In other words, it’s likely that it’s the first time they’ve eaten people.”
Qin Huai recalled the scene from last night. There were no new signs of damage, so the battle should have ended in two or three moves.
“Also… If they’re from the Sacred Heart sect, they would be experienced experts who have shed countless blood to cultivate to such a state. In such a claustrophobic environment like the mine cave, it’ll definitely be easy to deal with the scene. There won’t be any traces left.”
A Sacred Heart sect disciple with a high realm but eating a human for the first time? What kind of person could satisfy such conditions? Only experts who joined the Sacred Heart sect midway…
And the people in the White Flow Mountain who met these conditions…
Qin Huai turned back and looked in the direction of the Thunderbolt Dojo and the Changshan Dojo.