Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 434. Gathering Information

Amon’s traveling speed using his Flying Sword art was not as fast as the Great Eagle or even his previous Thunder Roc, but it was still faster than if he used Shadowless Sprint on land. The downside was that he was rather conspicuous. He could not fly high in the sky like when he rode a flying beast, so he attracted the attention of the travelers he passed. He paid them no mind, though.

He would be in trouble if the Temple of Divinity learned that he used the Flying Sword art. Since he was using knives instead of a sword, many should not register his art as the same one used by the members of the Temple of Divinity, but more experienced cultivators would. Even so, he wasn’t worried. He had put on a disguise after he separated from Zou Zhe. As for Zou Zhe himself, Zong Hua vouched for his discretion.

He considered using the Flying Sword art for travel as training. He had to maintain constant concentration all the time. After getting used to it, he even tuned it up a notch by cultivating while using the art. He positioned all four flying knives under him. The knives flew in unison at the same speed, forming a stable platform. He sat on them cross-legged and cultivated.

Travelers who saw him pass by in that position were fascinated by the sight. They wondered what kind of eccentric person was talented enough to perform that kind of travel but poor enough not to afford a transport beast.

Without needing to sleep, Amon flew for the whole day and night. After a few days, he saw the mountain range Zou Zhe mentioned. Following Zou Zhe’s instructions, he soon saw Changxiu City. It was a smaller city compared to Qishurg City. There was also no city wall. He landed outside the city. He sensed no formation protecting the city’s edge, so he entered without a problem.

The city was not so crowded. He noticed a few patrols as he wandered around. The city guards wore uniforms different from the Echos soldiers. Echos soldiers wore yellow uniforms under their armor, while Farghous’ soldiers wore uniforms with color dominated by red.

As for their cultivation level, it didn’t seem to be much different from Echos at first glance. The soldiers were primarily at the Transformation Stage. Civilian cultivators were mainly at the Strength and Transformation Stages.

Amon asked around while walking. From the information provided by the locals, he arrived at a small store that sold sweets and bread.

"Care to buy our sweets? They are the best in this city," the store clerk, a young woman, asked. Amon sensed the clerk was a Beginning Transformation Stage cultivator, so she might be older than she looked.

"I’m sure they are," Amon responded. He placed a handful of aer stones on the table.

"Uh... Do you wish to buy all the sweets," the young woman asked.

"No, I just want to chat," Amon answered. "This store should be less than seven years old. Do you know the old occupant of this place?"

"Um, I’m not sure there is an occupant. Before this store was built, a badly broken shack was on this plot of land. No one lived in it as far as I know," the young clerk answered. "And you are right about this store’s age. We bought the plot and built this store four years ago."

"We?" Amon asked.

"My mother and I. Oh! She might know the owner of the broken shack. The house next door is hers. She had lived there her whole life. I traveled to other cities when I was young and came back four years ago to settle down. My mother proposed that I buy the plot here so we can be together. So, I did."

"Is your mother home?" Amon asked.

"You mean next door in her house? No, but she is here in the backroom. Hey, mom!" The woman called.

An old woman who looked more like her grandmother than her mom appeared from the backroom. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"What is it? A customer?" The old woman asked.

"A customer... who wants to buy a chat rather than our sweets," her daughter answered.

"What a strange customer," the mother remarked. "So, mister, what chat would you like to buy?"

"Do you know the person who used to live here before this store was built?" Amon asked.

"Hm...? Oh, you mean Xiong Bao? That kid had always been a troublemaker his whole life," the mother said. "He hung out with unsavory people and went with them on dangerous trips. I at first thought it was one of his troublemaker friends who attacked him that night."

"That night? Did you see something during the night his house was broken into?" Amon asked.

The house Amon referred to was the home of the survivor rumored to have acquired the Longevity Tree’s fruit. This survivor was killed in his house, and the fruit was stolen. Amon came here to learn about the survivor before venturing into Basou Forest.

"I was sitting on the second-floor balcony of my house when it happened...," the mother answered.

"She enjoyed sitting out there at night watching the stars," the daughter explained. "She still did that every night."

"It is relaxing, and it helps you appreciate life. You should accompany me sitting there more often," the mother told her daughter.

"You were sitting there when Xiong Bao was attacked?" Amon tried steering the conversation back to the topic.

"I wouldn’t say attack. I didn’t see it happen. I assumed it did, like what I told the investigators when they asked me," the mother answered. "I saw Xiong Bao returning to his house after he was gone for a long while. I greeted him. The rude kid didn’t even look at me. Not long after he entered his house, I saw another person approach."

"What did this person look like?" Amon asked.

"The investigators asked the same question. They didn’t like my answer. I bet you won’t either. My answer to them was I can’t say for sure."

"Why? Didn’t you have no problem recognizing Xiong Bao when he returned to his house?" Amon asked. "The light should be bright enough if so."

"The investigators said the same thing, but I’m sorry. I truly can’t tell you. I don’t know if the problem is with my memory, but this person who visited Xiong Bao was kind of hazy. I can’t tell what he looked like. I can’t even say for sure whether he is a he."

"Hm..." Amon contemplated the information. He didn’t think the woman was lying.

"Anyway, after that person entered Xiong Bao’s house. An explosion occurred. The house blew up from the inside. I was so startled and scared. I’m not sure what to do. I heard a scary shriek then. Terrified, I hid inside my house. I only came out when the authorities arrived to check on the incident."

"Xiong Bao was dead then?" Amon asked.

The mother nodded. "I didn’t see his body, not interested to. I knew from hearing the words of people who crowded the place and from the investigators who came to question me."

"Did they ever catch the perpetrator?" Amon asked.

"Not that I know of," the mother answered. "You can go to the constable’s office if you want to know. I believe they could tell you more."

While that was true, Amon didn’t plan on doing that. He was in this country illegally. He didn’t want to risk getting involved with the authorities. That’s why he came here instead to look for information.

"Do you know Xiong Bao’s friends he used to go out with?" Amon asked.

"I did, but they were all gone already," the mother answered.

"Are you sure? There is no one left?" Amon asked.

"I said before that I at first suspected the person who attacked Xiong Bao was one of his friends, didn’t I? Although I couldn’t see the perpetrator, I did convey my suspicion to the investigators. However, they said it was unlikely. Those friends I mentioned, the investigators said they went with Xiong Bao to Basou Forest. Only Xiong Bao returned."

This information correlated with the rumor that Xiong Bao was the sole survivor after finding the Longevity Tree. Amon thought it was too bad. He had hoped there was untruth in the rumor, that one of the people who went with Xiong Bao was still alive. That way, he could pry the information from that person.

’Never mind,’ Amon thought to himself. He then tried another approach. "Do you happen to keep Xiong Bao’s possession? His clothes or something like that?"

"Why would we keep the clothes of a dead person who is not even our relative?" The daughter asked in return.

Amon nodded. That was understandable. He was just trying his luck. However, the mother uttered before Amon left, "Do you remember that box we said we wanted to throw away? Have you thrown them away?"

"What bo–owh...! That box!" The daughter ran to the backroom. Not long after, she came out with a box. She put it on the table and opened its lid.

"Yep, there are some clothes in there. They should be Xiong Bao’s. We have been thinking about throwing this box but never got to it. Guess we are doing it now," the daughter said with a grin.

Amon grinned as well. This trip wasn’t fruitless, after all.

"Thank you for your time." He took the box and placed another handful of aer stones on the table.

"Wow! You are very generous, mister. Thank you!" the daughter said.

"Oh! I suddenly remember something," the mother uttered. "I overheard the investigators mention one weird thing after they questioned me."

"What thing?" Amon asked.

"They said from the crime scene inside Xiong Bao’s house, the damage looked more like it was done by a spirit beast rather than a human."