Luckily, when I entered the city today, I didn't walk together with this fellow, choosing to enter separately.
County yamen!
In the yamen's corpse room, on several simple wooden beds, lay the bodies of Zhang Heng and the Huang Family members.
"Mr. Chen, what's there to be conflicted about? Both sides of the murder case are lying here."
"In my opinion, we should just let those arrogant beasts be taken back by the Huang Family."
"Leaving them here in the yamen is truly a bad omen!"
Liang Cheng looked at the bodies on the wooden beds with disdain, especially at the pile of red and white mixture wrapped in thick cloth, and the unconcealed white bones beside it.
This beastly thing, even in death, still makes people feel disgusted!
"Alright, go tell the others to get some ice from the ice cellar; these bodies need to be kept for a few more days."
"Tomorrow morning, I will report to Lord County Magistrate, as only he can decide."
Chen Shi did not take Liang Cheng's suggestion; he could see that there were still unresolved doubts about the case.
Moreover, the deceased is the county chancellor's own son, and this case must be presented to the county magistrate.
As dawn broke, the golden light pierced through the clouds, casting a thin veil over the county city's gate tower.
Not long after the gates of the county were opened, a horse galloped out at a tremendous speed.
Riding the horse was none other than Lu Xuan!
To avoid any unnecessary delays, Lu Xuan wasted no time and directly headed to Tongling Peak, as mentioned by Zhang Heng, in search of the Purple Blood Lingzhi.
Tongling Peak?
Regarding Zhang Heng's mention of the Purple Blood Lingzhi and its location at Tongling Peak, Lu Xuan did not completely believe his words, and rushed ahead to seek regardless.
Familiar with the experiences of countless cautious elders, Lu Xuan naturally remains vigilant about everything.
Therefore, before heading to Tongling Peak, Lu Xuan specifically sent someone to investigate detailed information about Tongling Peak.
After understanding the situation of Tongling Peak, Lu Xuan relaxed his vigilance.
Tongling Peak is only two hours' distance from the county, and at the foot of the mountain, there is a village that has been inhabited for generations.
Lu Xuan kept urging his horse to go faster, without any pause, and traveled along the official road.
In less than two hours, Lu Xuan left the wide official road and ran toward a secluded path.
Soon, a massive village appeared in the distance, looking multiple times larger than Liugou Village visited previously.
Riding along the path, Lu Xuan slowed his horse until he reached the village entrance.
Beside the path at the village entrance stood a polished stone stele, inscribed with the three large characters "Chenpo Village."
It seems I'm right, this is the place, Lu Xuan carefully scanned the stele.
Not far inside the village gate, there were villagers already out early in the morning for farm work.
Some of them raised their heads and noticed Lu Xuan at the village gate.
Before long, a burly man with sun-darkened skin walked over, his hands filled with calluses from heavy labor.
As he came closer, he saw Lu Xuan's exceptionally handsome face and the refined air about him.
The burly man, filled with curiosity and clasping his hands hesitantly, looked a bit nervous, then slowly spoke: "Sir, who might you be?"
Lu Xuan, sitting on the horse, glanced at the burly man and then dismounted, courteously clasping his fists and addressing him: "Brother, I hail from the county city."
"Could you tell me if this is Chenpo Village?"
Seeing Lu Xuan's politeness, the burly man quickly spoke up: "Ah, so the gentleman is an honored guest from the county. I'm Chen Dachun, and this is indeed Chenpo Village."
"What brings such an honored guest here?"
"I came seeking Tongling Peak; can Brother Dachun direct me to the way to Tongling Peak?"
Lu Xuan only knew there was a Chenpo Village at the foot of Tongling Peak but didn't know the specific direction up the mountain.
"Tongling Peak? Then the honored guest has asked the right person; our village has lived at the foot of Tongling Peak for generations, and that over there is Tongling Peak."
Zhang Dachun, understanding Lu Xuan's intention, decisively raised his hand and pointed behind Chenpo Village.
Lu Xuan looked in the direction pointed by Zhang Dachun and saw a towering mountain in the distance, its peak seemingly piercing the sky.
However, before Lu Xuan could take a closer look.
Zhang Dachun suddenly seemed to think of something, looking at Lu Xuan with some hesitation, he slowly said: "Honored guest, surely you're not thinking of going up Tongling Peak?"
"That's absolutely impossible!"
Seeing Zhang Dachun appear frightened, attempting to stop him, Lu Xuan was puzzled: "Why?"
"Tongling Peak is now very dangerous; half a year ago, something inexplicable happened on the peak,
the beasts living at the top went berserk and ran to the mid and lower slopes, sometimes even attacking villagers,
fortunately, the village's Martial Artist Defense Team managed to kill those beasts attacking villagers,
at this moment going up the mountain, you'll potentially encounter those fierce beasts."
Beasts from the mountain top coming down to attack villagers?
Lu Xuan frowned slightly but was not overly concerned, and spoke again.
"In that case, Brother Dachun needn't worry about me; I've practiced martial arts, dealing with some beasts on the mountain isn't a problem."
"Besides, I'm just going to pick some herbs not found in the county from a spot at the mountain's foot."
"Herbs?"
Zhang Dachun was startled, then realized that Tongfeng Ridge indeed had many herbs.
A portion of their village's income depended on harvesting these mountain herbs.
At this moment, Lu Xuan took out a string of copper coins from his pocket, about 20 or so, and handed them over.
"I'm troubled, Brother Dachun, to lead the way; this is a token of my regard."
"Ah? This… how could this be, honored guest you…"
Zhang Dachun, looking at the copper coins in Lu Xuan's hand, seemed somewhat at a loss.
"Brother Dachun, no need to be so polite; I need your help with something else. When I'm up the mountain, help me take care of this horse."
Lu Xuan directly placed the copper coins into Zhang Dachun's hand.
"This, this, this!"
Zhang Dachun, holding the copper coins, appeared a bit excited.
After all, the money in hand exceeded his monthly earnings.
Zhang Dachun's face was beaming with joy, then he bowed to Lu Xuan courteously, saying flatteringly.
"Alright then, honored guest, please follow me. As for leading the horse, leave such trivial tasks to someone like me."
After a while, once Lu Xuan had settled his horse, he followed the burly man to the foot of Tongfeng Ridge.
He saw before him a path leading up the mountain.
Zhang Dachun mentioned that this path was developed by their ancestors.
"Honored guest, here's the path up the mountain; would you like me to accompany you? That way, we can look after each other."
Zhang Dachun scratched his head sincerely, clearly feeling guilty taking Lu Xuan's money.
"No need, Brother Dachun; I appreciate your kind offer, but I'll bid farewell now."
Before Zhang Dachun could respond, Lu Xuan's figure had already advanced down the path, gradually vanishing.