The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 608 - 347 Gravel Gold
Miluo chuckled, "I’ve studied the habits of the Plague Demon. This demon has a particular fondness: it likes to torture and kill women, especially the beautiful ones. During the Middle Ages, the women it killed met with tragic and horrifying deaths. Moreover, it needs to capture someone for its amusement every few days. Now that it has just escaped from the underground palace, no one knows how many years it has been confined there. Its heart is filled with deep malice. Even if it lies low in this city, it will undoubtedly be unable to resist unleashing this deep-seated desire."
Being demons themselves, he and Changtian understood the nature of the Demon Clan’s spirit monsters all too well. The abilities of the Demon Clan might be innately powerful, but they are more prone to give in to their barbaric instincts, desires, and needs. Even an Ancient Giant Demon tends to be impulsive and commit many terrible acts.
Torture and kill? Ning Xiaoxian clenched her fists tightly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"Therefore, I had the city gates do a recount, and found that in this past month, there were thirty-six people who had traveled in and out of the city. Following their exit or entry, there were murders that occurred outside the city!"
She furrowed her brows: "Outside the city?"
"Exactly. Although the Plague Demon has an intense killing aura, it isn’t so overwhelmed to lose its senses. It knows that the public order within Chiming City is well-maintained, and even the disappearance of a mortal would be investigated. Moreover, with many cultivators in the city, it would accidentally reveal itself if it’s not careful. For a better experience of the joy of killing, it’s best to go outside the city. Don’t forget, it doesn’t just want to kill; it emphasizes the enjoyment of torture, and it must be done leisurely, without interference."
A cold smile slowly formed at the corner of his mouth: "Now that we’re down to only thirty-six people, the investigation will be much easier. After only three days of screening, a name came up—Situ Qing, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. He bought a large house to the east of the city three months ago. The house faces north, and within it, many large trees obscure the sky. The relationships within this house are quite simple; besides him, there are only four maids, three long-term workers, one garden master, one male cook, one female cook, and... Huo Mingzhu, the new concubine taken in this month. Interestingly, Situ Qing had originally kept a woman of lovely appearance in this house, but she suddenly passed away more than twenty days ago, and then he took in Huo Mingzhu."
The so-called "concubine" refers to a woman taken in by a cultivator or demon from among mortals, not through a proper marriage nor as a secondary wife. Simply put, the relationship between a cultivator and his concubine consists only of the deeds of husband and wife without the title. In the cultivator’s household, the concubine has no commanding power, but by relying on this relationship, the woman’s family can gain Silver Coin or protection. It’s a mutual need. On this continent, the lives of mortals are cheap, and such relationships have always been quite tolerated by society.
"Although only twenty-plus days have passed since her arrival, nothing has happened between them yet, as Huo Mingzhu had just begun menstruating, and she caught a cold in the following days, having been unwell since. Situ Qing’s cultivation technique is special, and he must not share a room with a woman when her body is not well, lest it damages his own cultivation. However, he is quite generous with the new concubine, providing fully for her food, clothing, and shelter. And within these twenty-plus days, he has been so busy that he has scarcely stayed in the courtyard for three days."
"Xiao Mei, the maid attending to Huo Mingzhu, complained while buying jelly in the market one day that her master is cold and indifferent, not fond of talking, and prefers to stay in his room alone without going out. When he occasionally returns to his maternal home, he does not allow Xiao Mei to follow."
She was taken aback and could not help but smile wryly. She didn’t expect that Miluo could find out even what the maids said while shopping; this demon was truly terrifying.
"I’ve checked, and Huo Mingzhu is indeed a local of Chiming City, but her maternal family lives in a manor on the western suburb. Before being taken into the Situ family, she rarely came into the city, maybe once every two or three years. However, since being taken in, she has already returned home twice. During this period, a disappearance case occurred at the time of her visit to her maternal home. The victim was said to be a beautiful girl living in the South City Suburb. She disappeared after going to the fields to bring food to her elderly father and never returned home. From this, it can be inferred that she encountered misfortune — the Plague Demon, after its torture, would not leave a corpse to allow for any deliberate investigation."
"When taking all the above into account, of all the people who entered the city, Huo Mingzhu is the most suspicious. Hence, I will send a woman to enter the Situ household to carry out further verification." This was the last sentence Miluo said that evening about this series of deductions.
But she didn’t expect that he would choose Ru Ji for this task. Perhaps he had other candidates in mind originally, but after today’s discovery of Ru Ji’s assassination attempt on her, he decided to abide by the principle of making waste serve a purpose, pushing Ru Ji into the arms of Situ Qing.
