“Corpse poison?”
Tang Fei froze, then said, “That’s impossible. I asked Uncle Mountain Guard, and he said the man only touched the bleeding pine tree before he died, nothing like a corpse.”
Ye Qiu said, “Based on my diagnosis, he died from corpse poison, and not just any kind—it’s from an ancient corpse.”
“An ancient corpse?” Tang Fei was still incredulous, “How could that be?”
Master Longbrow said, “The kid’s medical skills are renowned, his diagnosis is never wrong.”
Tang Fei frowned, “Could Uncle Mountain Guard have hidden something from me?”
Ye Qiu said, “Let’s go ask him.”
The three walked out of the tent.
“Uncle Mountain Guard!” Tang Fei waved him over.
Uncle Mountain Guard tapped his pipe on the rock to extinguish it, then ambled over, showing yellowed teeth as he asked, “Commander, you called?”
Tang Fei asked, “Uncle Mountain Guard, do you know how your nephew died?”
Uncle Mountain Guard said, “Didn’t I already tell you?”
Tang Fei explained, “Here’s the thing, I’ve brought two friends to investigate, and they’d like to hear how your nephew died. Could you repeat it?”
Uncle Mountain Guard glanced at Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow, saying, “My nephew and I were on the patrol team, our daily job is to patrol this forest. But this time, when we got here, we found a pine tree bleeding.”
“I’d never seen anything so strange, so I said we should report it and let the higher-ups send someone to check.”
“My nephew was diligent, he wanted to figure out the cause before reporting, but as soon as he stepped toward the pine tree, he collapsed and stopped breathing.”
Uncle Mountain Guard sighed deeply, “In his forties, not even married, and just gone like that, alas…”
Ye Qiu’s eyes narrowed, then he said kindly, “Uncle, I hear you’re very familiar with this area?”
Uncle Mountain Guard replied, “Sure am, been with the patrol team for decades, patrolling the mountains every day, I know it like the back of my hand.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Uncle Mountain Guard, if I’m not mistaken, this is the restricted zone, right?”
“Yes,” Uncle Mountain Guard nodded.
“I saw signs outside forbidding unauthorized entry, so since this is a restricted zone, how did you and your nephew end up here?”
At Ye Qiu’s words, Uncle Mountain Guard’s expression darkened slightly.
“Yeah, how did you get in here?” Tang Fei realized, saying, “I recall the patrol team has strict rules, you’re only allowed to patrol outside the restricted zone, not enter it.”
“Well…” Uncle Mountain Guard’s eyes darted, “Here’s what happened, while patrolling, we heard noises from the restricted zone, worried about poachers, so we came in.”
“We were just doing our job, after all, our family’s lived in Changbai Mountain for generations, we can’t let criminals ruin it.”
“Commander, we entered without permission, that’s on us, I’ll go to the higher-ups later and ask for punishment…”
“Enough, drop the act,” Ye Qiu cut him off, asking, “Tell me, what’s your real reason for being here?”
Uncle Mountain Guard said, “What else could it be? To stop poachers, of course.”
Heh…
Ye Qiu gave a cold laugh, “Old man, don’t think you can fool us.”
“You should know where we’re from, deceiving us has serious consequences.”
“I’m advising you, come clean and you’ll get leniency, resist and it’ll be worse.”
“I asked you those questions to give you a chance to make amends, but if you keep stonewalling, don’t blame me.”
Ye Qiu’s voice turned icy, a chill radiating from him.
As he finished, Master Longbrow spoke up, “Old man, you’re here to dig up a tomb, aren’t you?”
Whoa!
Uncle Mountain Guard’s head snapped up, staring at Master Longbrow in shock.
Seeing his reaction, Master Longbrow smiled, “Wondering how I knew there’s a tomb here?”
“Those seven pine trees, each centuries old, if you look closely, they’re arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper.”
Ye Qiu and Tang Fei turned to look, and sure enough, the seven pine trees matched the Big Dipper’s layout.
“In feng shui, stone is the bone of the mountain, soil its flesh, water its veins, and vegetation its skin, look at the mountain range behind the pines, stretching endlessly, vibrant with life.”
“There must be a grand tomb here.”
Master Longbrow looked at Uncle Mountain Guard, smiling, “Am I right?”
“Who are you?” Uncle Mountain Guard asked.
Master Longbrow flicked his whisk, exuding an air of mysticism, and declared, “Infinite Heavenly Venerate, I am the head of Dragon Tiger Mountain, known as Longbrow.”
“You’re the third-ranked Longbrow Master on the Dragon List?” Uncle Mountain Guard was stunned.
“Oh, you’ve heard of me?”
Before Master Longbrow finished, Uncle Mountain Guard spun around and bolted into the forest with a whoosh.
“Running? Hmph!”
Ye Qiu snorted coldly, his body blurring into an afterimage, catching up in an instant.
Uncle Mountain Guard was shocked, one Longbrow Master was terrifying enough, but Ye Qiu’s skills were even more frightening.
Uncle Mountain Guard was no slouch, comparable to a Dragon List expert, he lunged forward, grabbing a tree trunk, swinging like on a trapeze, leaping to another tree, moving like an agile ape despite his age.
In a few bounds, he escaped far.
“Think you can get away? Naive.”
Standing on the ground, Ye Qiu raised his hand, unleashing a sword qi.
Swoosh!
The sharp sword qi flashed thirty meters away, grazing Uncle Mountain Guard’s ear.
Ye Qiu only wanted to capture him, not kill, otherwise, that sword qi could’ve pierced his skull.
Uncle Mountain Guard, desperate to escape, used his familiarity with the forest, darting another几十 meters.
Ye Qiu, now angry, shot forward like the wind, closing the gap in just two seconds.
“Swoosh!”
Ye Qiu’s fingertip released a Six Meridians Divine Sword qi, this time slicing off a piece of Uncle Mountain Guard’s scalp.
Terrified, Uncle Mountain Guard leaped, reaching for another tree trunk, but another sword qi struck.
“Pfft!”
The sword qi left a bloody hole in the back of his hand, and Uncle Mountain Guard fell to the ground.
“Bang!”
Ye Qiu stepped forward, pinning Uncle Mountain Guard’s throat with his foot.
