Night Without End-Chapter 36 - 24 The Major Case

Under the faint night, towering mountains stood side by side, and the forest was blanketed with glistening snow. Strange birds circled low in the sky, and the cries of mountain beasts echoed nearby from time to time.

The chilly snowflakes that fell on his hair did not bother Qin Ming. Instead, he felt a great sense of satisfaction. Although today's foray into the mountain was fraught with peril, the rewards far exceeded his expectations.

His "nourishment" for the Second Rebirth was sufficient, meaning his strength would see a considerable enhancement.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

Qin Ming stood amidst the wind and snow, gazing at the forest floor stained with crimson blood. He had not wanted to do this, but the other party left him no other choice.

Since the other party had presented him with such a generous gift, he ought to bury the person properly. Let the deceased rest in peace; they no longer needed to wear cold armor.

He stripped off the Black Gold Armor and searched the corpse from head to toe, then placed the body deep in the dense forest, leaving it to the mountain beasts to serve as his pallbearers.

"What a fine sword!" Qin Ming caressed the long sword that was as clear as a spring, drawing it lightly through the night, its brilliant sword light sweeping across the sky like a ribbon.

However, he could not take it out of the mountain, which he found highly regrettable.

This sword was much stronger than the long blade used by Fu Entao. After Qin Ming had slain the Blood Snake, his blade was full of notches, but the sword in front of him, wielded by the man with the ashen complexion, was still sharp and mirror-smooth after it had killed the Blood Snake.

Qin Ming quickly cleared the battlefield. He "buried" what needed to be buried within the stomach and covered up the rest. These people were from Chixia City, and everything needed to be cleaned up thoroughly.

Whether it was the long sword or its owner's black armor, both were the best weapons and armor he could access so far, but they would have to remain hidden in the mountain.

"Dig them up when needed."

Clearly, the weapons left by people like Fu Entao and Feng Yi'an were now obsolete, having been severely damaged in the fight against the Blood Snake.

Several of them carried night silver, and the strongest man had thirteen pieces of Day Gold.

"Indeed, no one gets rich without windfalls, just as a horse doesn't get fat without grazing at night," Qin Ming remarked. Yet, he was reluctant to dwell on the Day Gold stained with blood.

Regrettably, he was unable to find the Meditation Technique or the Will Power he valued most. It made sense, though—who would bring scriptures or secret books on a perilous mountain expedition?

Qin Ming began his journey home, hunting down a massive wild ox along the way. After cleaning its internal organs, he stuffed the Blood Snake inside and sewed the belly back up.

Nothing untoward happened on his way back, and he returned home without incident.

"Fu Entao and Feng Yi'an have been dead for two days now. How come the news hasn't broken yet?" Qin Ming mused, feeling that it should happen soon.

After all, the Mountain Patrol that went to deal with the Blood Snake had sent people to scout out Fu Entao's base and discovered several wooden huts had vanished.

In fact, as soon as the day after Fu Entao, Feng Yi'an, and the others disappeared, people began to sense something was amiss. The catalyst liquid required for Black Moon plants in Fire Spring had been prepared, but when the time came, the head of the Patrol Team did not show up to collect it.

When Fu Entao still hadn't appeared after two consecutive days, and neither Feng Yi'an nor Shao Chengfeng visited Yinteng Town to mess around, those concerned realized something might have gone wrong.

After lunch, Qin Ming began practicing his blade skills earnestly.

He swung the long Wujin Hammer in the yard, causing the snow to whirl around. He made it snow heavily, and the sound of the hammer cutting through the air carried a faint rumble of thunder and wind.

It was not until his body was burning hot and he executed his mightiest Hammer Blade move, shattering the snowstorm in the sky, that he put down the hammer. Drenched in sweat, he stood in the courtyard, feeling invigorated.

Qin Ming had new insights into the combat sword styles recorded in the Blade Manual. He remained motionless, grasping those feelings and mulling them over.

Then, he began to study "He Guang Tong Chen," contemplating the state of empty stillness and concealing his vitality. As he delved deeper, his understanding grew.

As Shallow Night drew to an end, Xu Yueping returned from outside with an extremely grave expression, then called over all the newcomers in the village.

"Something big has happened this time!" His terse words instantly put everyone on edge.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

"Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and the others... there's a good chance they've been wiped out by a Mountain Monster," Xu Yueping concluded, unable to suppress a laugh that escaped him as he spoke.

He quickly composed himself, though, because it wouldn't do to appear too amused by the situation; if word got out, it might cause some trouble.

But the corners of his eyes crinkled with relief, even his movements brewing black ant tea became lighter.

"Is that true?" Yang Yongqing sprang to his feet, sensing the gravity of the news.

Xu Yueping nodded and said, "They've been missing for two days now. It's looking grim."

Old Man Liu, who was quite old and cared little for such matters, simply said, "Sss, the mountains truly are terrifying. Did Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng, those damned fools, actually die? That Mountain Monster is probably going to become a Mountain God!"

"How did you find out, Uncle Xu?" Qin Ming asked. As someone who was directly involved, he could not appear too nonchalant. Besides, he really wanted to know the latest developments.

"Just a short while ago," Xu Yueping explained, "a large group of Mountain Patrols, dozens of them, rushed into Qingsang Village to look for Xu Kong, a distant relative of that sick boy."

"Why are they looking for him?"

"Because Qingsang Village was the only one that did not plant Black Moon. Moreover, Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng had visited Xu Kong there the day before the incident."

Hearing this, Qin Ming seemed slightly startled.

Qingsang Village, Xu Kong, utterly perplexed—what kind of trouble had he fallen into? How did he suddenly become a suspect?

On that day, Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng had visited politely. Even given two sets of guts, they wouldn't dare threaten him. There couldn't possibly be any deadly enmity between them because they weren't even on the same level.

But right now, the Patrol Team is mobilizing in force, all armored and armed with Iron Arrows ready on their bows.

Furthermore, several top-level experts have personally arrived, leading sixty to seventy Mountain Patrols to encircle this area.

At the same time, the same Patrol Team that had once attacked the Blood Bamboo Forest has also been targeted, and their team leader Liu Huai Shan is even trapped by several other team leaders of the same rank.

"Everyone, what are you trying to do? Although I detest Fu Entao and the others, I wouldn't go so far as to slaughter them and put myself in a fatal situation," Liu Huai Shan spoke hurriedly.

Someone voiced sternly: "Then you tell us, why has your team decreased in number by several people, and why have you recently taken twelve sets of armor and also purchased a large quantity of poison? Do you still deny it?"

"I... I'm utterly wronged!" Liu Huai Shan was so anxious he was sweating profusely, explaining, "We took the armor and bought Medicine Powder to hunt for spiritual creatures in the Blood Bamboo Forest."

An elder shouted: "That adds up, the Blood Bamboo Forest lies within the area Fu Entao is responsible for, and his team has always wanted to hunt Blood Snakes. After you crossed into their territory, conflicts must have ensued. There is also a more egregious possibility, that is, while they and the Blood Snakes were both badly hurt, you attacked them in secret, adding harm to injury. Isn't that the case?"

"I..." Liu Huai Shan almost vomited blood; even to his own ears, all these pieces seemed to fit together, seemingly making perfect sense.

"Have you got nothing to say now?!"

In a rush, Liu Huai Shan shook his head and hurriedly explained aloud: "Old master, please don't act rashly, my colleagues please hear me out, we truly didn't commit a massacre. However, I seem to know who acted with a deadly hand, we once saw a man with a blackish-green face, who alone wielded a long blade to slay Blood Snakes, these past few days he likely had the power to do so in that area..."

He then added with a solemn expression: "What's most important is that we genuinely felt his intense hostility towards us Mountain Patrols, as he approached us with his sword, intending to kill us!"

"Take them all away for a thorough interrogation!" An elder instructed with a serious face.

Several elder experts with profound strength all looked troubled, such grave incidents had not happened in many years. A Patrol Team had actually been eliminated to the last man; if this was manmade, it would undoubtedly be a major case.

All the Patrol Teams in the area were mobilized, each taking separate actions.

One of the Patrol Teams came to Shuangshu Village and called not only the newcomers such as Xu Yueping and Qin Ming for questioning, but also cornered a few idlers in the village.

"Do you have anyone here holding grudges against the Mountain Patrol, like several of your village's newcomers, have they had conflicts with people like Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng?"

A Mountain Patrol asked several idlers sternly, including Ma Yang, Wang Youping, and Hu Yong, who had once tried to intercept Qin Ming's prey outside the village when he had just recovered from a serious illness.

"What are you looking at? I'm asking you, answer honestly!" The Mountain Patrol had little patience with them.

"Uncle Xu has always been kind, and Old master Liu is now trembling all over..." Ma Yang answered.

From a distance, Old Man Liu heard such talk and was so infuriated that his whiskers stood on end, almost rolling up his sleeves to pound Ma Yang.

"Qin Ming, brother Qin did beat us up, but I can't falsely accuse him. He's the least likely, he's newly reborn, a very kind-hearted and peaceful person, and has shared many of the prey he brought back from the mountains with the villagers, not holding grudges and even sharing meat with us."

Ma Yang, Wang Youping, and Hu Yong answered one after another, saying that the village's newcomers were all good and had not started any disputes or conflicts.

The group of Mountain Patrols turned and left, not staying long as they were just going through routine procedure and had to rush to the next village.

That night, Liu Huai Shan and a few of his surviving subordinates, who were not adept at drawing, still stubbornly sketched, revising over and over again, and finally managed to depict the heroic image of Wang Nianzhu wielding his sword to slay Blood Snakes.

Wang Nianzhu's stack of portraits was swiftly sent out and quickly distributed to all towns.

...

Nighttime, Qin Ming and Xu Yueping leisurely drank the aged wine Old Man Liu scraped from the bottom of his bed, the three of them sharing a small drink, all in a particularly good mood.

"Heh, last time Xiao Qin was cursing, saying so many 'what ifs,' and it really came true, they were actually dragged away by the Mountain Monster!"

Xu Yueping was in high spirits, tipsy not from the wine but from enjoyment, already feeling dizzy after just a few cups.

"I said it, the heavens couldn't stand them, sooner or later something would happen," Qin Ming replied calmly, as if the Heavens were a proxy for himself.

His mood could not be better right now, as he was preparing for Second Rebirth, and suddenly found the taste of this old wine quite agreeable.

Old Man Liu lamented, "Ah, this is a jar of old wine I've cherished for ten years, the only one, and after this, there will be no more wine left in the house."

"Uncle Liu, don't be sad. I will honor you with ten jars later on. Let's talk about the Second Rebirth. I've been feeling something lately, my body seems to be heating up."

"Am I... a Demon?!"

...

In the dead of night, Qin Ming brought out the Blood Snakes at home.

The injury on the second Big Snake was very deep. Qin Ming judged that aside from the sharp sword of the man with the blackish-green face, his strength must be very formidable, likely surpassing his own.

And given the man's greater speed, should they meet in a tight spot and fight to the death, Qin Ming might indeed be in danger.

A hint of gloom arose in Qin Ming's heart, suspecting all kinds of nefarious spirits had emerged in the mountains, growing ever more dangerous.

Yet when he thought of the man with the blackish-green complexion who had already undergone Second Rebirth, his mindset became very calm again. Currently, his arms had the strength of a thousand pounds, and if he underwent Second Rebirth, he could lift a cauldron weighing two thousand pounds, far surpassing the records of those exceptional talents in Chixia City.

At least in recent centuries, there had been no such astonishing records in Chixia City.

"Everything is ready, and now it's time for my Second Rebirth..."

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, good health, and all the best!