Chen Shi sensed a pair of sharp eyes watching him from behind. The gaze was so intense that it stirred his blood and energy, making him feel an instinctive reaction. However, Chen Shi managed to suppress this reaction, keeping a calm exterior. His steps were light, appearing just like any normal child.
Heiguo, the black dog, secretly observed its young master. Chen Shi wore a smile, but it was becoming increasingly stiff. "I really can't figure it out. Where did I slip up?" Chen Shi pondered, "Is it really that hard to pretend to be normal after killing someone?"
By the Jade Belt River, the sound of sobbing reached him. Chen Shi stopped and looked towards the river. He saw a woman with a basket, burning paper by the riverbank. He recognized her as a woman from a neighboring village. Around this time last year, she had cried here for a long time.
"Yusuan, come home with mom. Mom misses you so much," the woman called out by the river.
"It seems today is the anniversary of her son's drowning," Chen Shi thought as he looked at the river. On the water's surface, three child water ghosts appeared again. One of the children, likely the woman's son, anxiously shouted, "Mom, don't cry! I'm here! I didn't disappear!"
"Mom, I've always been here. Look at me! Why can't you hear me?"
"Mom, my leg cramped, and I got stuck in the mud! Come save me!"
Chen Shi approached the riverbank. The woman clearly couldn't see or hear her son and continued to cry softly. The child called Yusuan ran around her, desperately trying to get her attention but to no avail.
The wind carried the ashes of the paper money into the air. Zhuge Jian, along with other officers, caught up and stopped their horses. They saw Chen Shi take off his clothes, leaving only his shorts, and jump into the river with a splash, diving into the deep water.
Zhuge Jian looked at the woman and then at the ripples on the water, frowning slightly. He suddenly took out a yellow talisman. This was a Heavenly Eye Talisman, which allowed one to see spirits.
As the talisman burned, Zhuge Jian gradually saw another world. Under the Jade Belt River, two water ghosts, like large fish, were trying to drown Chen Shi by grabbing his neck and legs. However, Chen Shi's strength was surprisingly great, and the two water ghosts couldn't hold him down. Instead, they were dragged along as he swam deeper.
Chen Shi was digging into the mud with his hands and feet, as if searching for something. "Sir, it looks like that child is being entangled by water ghosts," a group of officers said as they looked into the river, unable to see the scene below.
Zhuge Jian, witnessing everything, thought to himself, "Such strength and breath control, he could kill someone from a distance of ten feet."
The murderer at the Li family camp had killed from ten feet away, moving like lightning, taking lives with ease, even preventing Divine Fetus Stage cultivators from casting spells!
"But what is he risking being drowned by water ghosts for?"
At this moment, Chen Shi seemed to find something in the mud and sped up. Zhuge Jian was stunned to see Chen Shi pull out a black object from the mud, resembling a human.
Once the black mud was washed away by the water, it revealed the bones of a child around ten years old. Chen Shi held the skeleton and swam upwards, but the two water ghosts clung tightly to his legs. Chen Shi's chest was running out of air, his strength waning, and he was gradually unable to fight against the two water ghosts.
Just as he was about to be drowned, a younger water ghost swam over and started hitting the two water ghosts, crying and shouting something. Zhuge Jian's Heavenly Eye Talisman could only see spirits, not hear them, so he didn't know what the young water ghost was saying.
However, the two water ghosts apparently heard it and released Chen Shi's legs. Chen Shi used his remaining strength to swim to the surface, gasping for air, feeling relieved.
He had almost drowned in the river! Regaining his composure, he carried the child's skeleton to the shore. The woman burning paper money, with tear-filled eyes, saw him emerge from the water, holding a child's bones.
Chen Shi placed the skeleton on the ground. The woman rushed over and saw a longevity lock on the skeleton's neck, engraved with the name "Yusuan." She couldn't help but cry loudly.
"Mom, you found me!" The water ghost child who had helped Chen Shi was overjoyed and ran over, but seeing his mother cry harder, he couldn't help but cry too. "Mom, don't cry. You found me. Why are you still crying? When you cry, I want to cry too..."
"Yusuan, mom found you. Mom will take you home." Yusuan's mother hugged the child's bones, looked at Chen Shi, and knelt down, bowing to him repeatedly. Chen Shi was at a loss, not knowing what to do.
After Yusuan's mother left, Chen Shi stood by the riverbank, dazed. "You're a water ghost, and you have a mom, but I don't," he muttered, picking at the mud under his nails.
In the river, the other two water ghosts watched him eagerly. Seeing this, Chen Shi jumped back into the river with a splash.
"What a long breath!" Zhuge Jian restrained his restless horse, watching Chen Shi dive back into the water, his eyes shining. "Such a long breath indicates strong internal organs. His fists and feet must be extremely fast, like hammers and axes. If he finds the right opportunity, he could kill nine Divine Fetus Stage cultivators in a single breath!"
His gaze fell on the large black dog, Heiguo, on the riverbank, silently thinking, "A young talisman master around ten years old wouldn't usually raise suspicion, giving him the chance to strike!"
Just by retrieving bones from the river, he could conclude that Chen Shi was the real culprit who killed the nine cultivators at the Li family camp!
The water splashed as Chen Shi dug out another skeleton from the mud, another child who had drowned in the river. He brought this skeleton to the shore and dove back into the water.
After another quarter of an hour, Chen Shi surfaced again, holding another skeleton. He had found the remains of the third child who had drowned in the river.
The news spread quickly, and many people gathered by the river, with villagers discussing and relatives crying. On the water's surface, the two water ghost children saw their relatives, crying and laughing, bowing repeatedly to Chen Shi.
The relatives of the water ghost children also bowed to Chen Shi, but he hurriedly ran away with Heiguo.
Two years ago, during this time, the weather was hot, and children loved to bathe and swim in the cool river. The child named Yusuan swam to the deep water, cramped, and struggled on the surface. Others didn't dare to save him, but two other children swam over. One was tightly held by the panicked Yusuan, unable to break free, and sank with him. The slightly older child tried to save them but exhausted his strength and couldn't swim back up.
They became three water ghosts.
Chen Shi was often harassed by the three water ghost children, almost drowned by them. He could see spirits and noticed the three water ghosts often circled a spot, guessing it was where their bones lay.
Seeing the woman from the neighboring village crying so sorrowfully, Chen Shi decided to find their bones.
"Grandpa is still waiting for me to eat," Chen Shi thought, looking back at the people crying by the riverbank.
Zhuge Jian watched from afar. The Heavenly Eye Talisman's power had been exhausted, and his vision returned to normal. "You stay here and wait, don't follow," he instructed, dismounting and walking quickly towards Chen Shi.
"Young brother, you have impressive skills!" Zhuge Jian said as he reached Chen Shi's side, walking alongside him. Zhuge Jian was tall and burly, while Chen Shi was a small ten-year-old, creating an interesting contrast.
Chen Shi blinked, puzzled, "Sir, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Zhuge Jian looked ahead, speaking calmly, "Your breath is long. You can dive and retrieve bones from the mud while dealing with two water ghosts, lasting a quarter of an hour. You must be a master of body refinement! Your internal organs are like steel, and your hands and feet, when your energy flows, can be like sharp and heavy weapons, cracking skulls. You kill within ten feet, in a single breath, moving as fast as lightning, taking lives with ease."
Chen Shi was shocked but laughed, "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a kid!"
Zhuge Jian's gaze fell on Heiguo, "Talisman masters use black dogs for blood. This black dog looks good, all black and shiny, without a single stray hair. I hear such dogs have the strongest yang energy, scaring spirits. This dog would be favored by talisman masters."
Heiguo wagged its tail involuntarily upon hearing this.
Chen Shi laughed, "My dog is called Heiguo, like the soot at the bottom of a pot. But I won't sell Heiguo."
Zhuge Jian continued, "Coincidentally, four days ago, Li Xiaoding died in Heavenly Yang Mountain, and the person who killed him also had a black dog. This person was a talisman master, not tall, probably about the same height as you."
Chen Shi became secretly wary. Zhuge Jian's intentions weren't good. He must have sensed that Chen Shi was the killer, hence the probing.
"Now he's very close, within ten feet," Chen Shi suppressed the urge to kill, thinking, "If I strike now..."
Zhuge Jian continued, "This talisman master, though short, is very strong. He can step over ten feet and deliver a fatal blow, so as long as you're just outside his attack range, he can't do anything."
Before he finished speaking, Zhuge Jian suddenly moved, stepping just outside Chen Shi's ten-foot range. Then, Zhuge Jian took a step forward, entering within ten feet.
This retreat and advance triggered Chen Shi's energy, causing his blood and energy to surge, making a croaking sound like a giant toad in his belly!
Chen Shi was terrified, "This officer is really formidable!"
Zhuge Jian's retreat and advance seemed aimless but were actually meant to provoke Chen Shi's killing intent. He used words to focus Chen Shi's attention on him, retreating to trigger Chen Shi's energy, then stepping forward into his attack range. If Chen Shi were the killer, this would surely cause a reaction, stirring his energy or blood!
Chen Shi fell into his trap, his blood stirred, revealing his slip-up!
Chen Shi was about to attack recklessly when Zhuge Jian stepped back a foot, precisely exiting the ten-foot range.
This distance made Chen Shi extremely uncomfortable. If he attacked, Zhuge Jian would surely have spells ready, and advancing would be suicide. If he fled, he feared he couldn't escape the range of the Three-Eyed Fire Gun.
Zhuge Jian said calmly, "My Three-Eyed Fire Gun is loaded with one and a half ounces of black powder and one ounce of thunderbolt pellets. Within a hundred steps, it never misses. The thunderbolt pellet explodes with thunder, shattering a cultivator's Divine Fetus. The gun is also a big hammer. I've practiced the Eighteen-Style Hammer Technique since childhood, earning the nickname Skull-Smashing Thunderbolt Hand. In close combat, smashing a head is as easy as smashing tofu. The other end of the gun is a spearhead. To be honest, I've also practiced spear techniques."
Chen Shi groaned. He couldn't win a fight or escape. He had no chance of winning.
Zhuge Jian turned and walked towards the main group of officers, his voice trailing, "So, young brother, if you ever commit a crime again, make sure not to leave any clues, and don't let me catch you!"
Chen Shi was stunned, quickly asking, "You're not taking me back?"
Zhuge Jian stopped, turned back, and smiled, "Take you back? For what? To have you executed? You didn't hold a grudge against the water ghosts trying to drown you and even saved their bones. I find you interesting. Besides, Li Xiaoding deserved to die. I'm an officer responsible for solving cases. I've solved the talisman master's murder case. Whether or not to arrest someone isn't my concern."
Chen Shi asked, puzzled, "If you let me go, what about you?"
Zhuge Jian waved his hand and walked away, "Don't worry about me. With my skills, even if I can't stay in Water Buffalo County, I can thrive elsewhere, maybe even have a brighter future!"