Chapter Forty-Two: The Person Behind the Scenes Seems Rather Direct

The crimson glow in the sky was clearly intensifying—it could no longer wait for them to report it. Deng Zheng had initially wanted to argue further, but upon hearing Qing Ruowu’s words, he fell silent.

“So be it. If things go awry, I’ll simply make my escape, and then have the higher-ups deal with you. Assaulting an officer of the Heavenly Observation Bureau and obstructing an official investigation—those charges alone are enough to see you condemned,” he thought, a smile creeping across his face.

Fang Mu shot Deng Zheng a glance and said, “You lead the way.”

Deng Zheng froze, puzzled. “Why?”

“When you tried to apprehend me just now, weren’t you full of righteous bluster?” Fang Mu replied languidly. “What’s this? Lost your nerve? Aren’t you from the Heavenly Observation Bureau? What’s wrong with taking the lead?”

Deng Zheng looked toward Qing Ruowu for support.

“What now? You want a woman to go first for you? Doesn’t that shame you?” Fang Mu kicked Deng Zheng lightly, his butcher’s knife glinting. “I’ve given you your chance. Don’t throw it away.”

Gritting his teeth, Deng Zheng forced himself forward. The forest ahead burned red like fire, and once Deng Zheng entered, Fang Mu instructed Qing Ruowu to follow next, with himself taking up the rear.

Qing Ruowu was speechless.

Weren’t you just saying women shouldn’t lead the way? How come you’re at the back?

“I’m a young man with no strength to tie a chicken. Isn’t it only right that you two protect me?” Fang Mu said, brandishing his butcher’s knife as he followed behind.

Qing Ruowu said nothing, silently taking up her position.

As they walked, Fang Mu opened his wooden box and took out a long rope. This caught Qing Ruowu’s attention; she turned her head, eyeing him curiously.

“My tools of the trade. If we find any mutilated corpses, the rope helps measure the length of the missing parts,” Fang Mu explained without reservation. He pulled out a bloodstained undergarment, tied the rope to it, and said, “This way, it can fly.”

Qing Ruowu’s eyes lit up. She had seen the bloodstained undergarment before and knew its mysterious properties. Tied up like this, it could be used for ranged attacks and pulled back after being thrown—truly, its uses were endless.

“Let’s move on,” Fang Mu said.

The deeper they went, the more Fire Phoenix Fruit trees they saw, and the glow grew fiercer.

“Do you really want to kill me?” Qing Ruowu slowed her pace, whispering.

Fang Mu kept his eyes on Deng Zheng and replied without turning his head, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“If I kill Deng Zheng, will you report me to the higher-ups?”

“I will.”

“Then isn’t the answer obvious?”

Qing Ruowu fell silent; the logic was unassailable. She figured that even after resolving matters here, Deng Zheng was unlikely to escape death. The vengeful look in Deng Zheng’s eyes was unmistakable, and Fang Mu certainly wouldn’t let him live to plot revenge.

Taking a deep breath, Qing Ruowu whispered, “Stay calm. If Deng Zheng really seeks personal vengeance, I’ll testify for you—provided you’re truly innocent.”

Fang Mu smiled. “Why would you help me? I nearly killed you just now.”

“Because of my ideals,” Qing Ruowu replied solemnly. “I joined the Heavenly Observation Bureau to fight for justice. I will never wrong a good person, nor let a bad one go unpunished. If you are truly the mastermind, I will risk my life to tear a piece of flesh from your bones.”

Fang Mu was taken aback; for a moment, it seemed as though a radiant light shone from Qing Ruowu.

“We’ll see…” he murmured, and walked on.

In his mind, Deng Zheng had to die—no one could save him. Even if this incident was resolved, Deng Zheng would surely cause trouble elsewhere. Such a thorn was best removed. For a coroner, the only truly safe person is a dead one.

“What…what is this!” a voice cried out ahead, interrupting Fang Mu and Qing Ruowu’s exchange.

Fang Mu tightened his grip on the butcher’s knife and looked past Deng Zheng. He was stunned by the sight before him.

Not far ahead lay a clearing, at the center of which stood a dozen or so Fire Phoenix Fruit trees. Each tree had a person bound to its trunk.

These people’s faces were blank, made all the more terrifying by the red glow of the fruit.

“Be careful,” Qing Ruowu warned.

“There’s no need. No matter how cautious you are, you won’t escape now,” a voice rang out.

Fang Mu followed the sound, frowning. “It’s you?”

The newcomer wore the official robes of the Gu Yue nation—it was none other than Magistrate Zhang of Meng County.

Magistrate Zhang shook his head and sighed, “Why didn’t you just leave? Why are you so determined to pry into this?”

“So all of this was your doing?” Fang Mu asked, butcher’s knife in hand.

“More or less,” Magistrate Zhang replied with a faint smile.

“What do you mean, ‘more or less’?”

“You’ve guessed nearly all of it,” Magistrate Zhang said, raising his hand as red light gathered in his palm. “When I saw the tree bark, I suspected things might unravel. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.”

“A pity. I tried to kill you several times, but you seem to be blessed by fate—and you even acquired that remarkable thing.” He glanced at Ah Bai, perched on Fang Mu’s shoulder.

“You tried to kill me several times?” Fang Mu frowned, noting the way Magistrate Zhang looked at Ah Bai—it made him think of the Ghost Market.

Had the plot to eliminate him begun with the Ghost Market?

“Exactly.” Magistrate Zhang sneered. “I’d coveted the Ghost Market for a long time but couldn’t find a way in. Later, I came across an ancient method and sent someone to pose as a traveling merchant in that village, murdering the woman with the supernatural hair. That actually lured the Ghost Market out.”

“I then dispatched a wraith operative, but he failed to kill you and was slain instead. Now, I have no choice but to do it myself.”

So the woman in the blue dress had been killed on Magistrate Zhang’s orders, disguised as a traveling merchant to bait the real ones. No wonder—normally, the Ghost Market’s victims were heinous criminals, yet the blue-dressed woman had clearly been kind in life.

Still…

Fang Mu frowned, feeling there was more to this. Magistrate Zhang’s answers seemed too forthright.

As Magistrate Zhang finished speaking, the people bound to the Fire Phoenix Fruit trees began to change. Wisps of sinister energy coiled around them, and one by one, they dissolved into black mists that surged into Magistrate Zhang’s body.

Immediately, Magistrate Zhang began to transform. Pallid heads emerged from his body; in the blink of an eye, he became a monster made of human heads.

“To think a county magistrate would slaughter his own people—truly despicable!” Qing Ruowu raised her talisman sword, her eyes icy.

Magistrate Zhang burst out laughing, all the heads on his body cackling in unison. “Nonsense—they’re mere mortals. Becoming a wraith operative, now that’s power worth craving! As for them, they’re just materials—fodder to turn me into a wraith operative.”