On the second day, Lin Ji arrived at the yamen.
The case at the Song Residence had no leads for the time being, so it had to be set aside.
However, he instructed his four demon hunters not to act independently anymore, to roam around the county when free, and look out for any suspicious individuals.
Guo Yi and Ling Yin, both from the Qingcheng Sect, naturally had no objections to this request.
Lu Cong, as always, followed Lin Ji's orders without question.
Only Zhou Qian showed a hint of difficulty.
"What trouble do you have now?" Lin Ji glared at him.
"The madam from Minghua Pavilion found me last night, asking me to invest in Minghua Pavilion," Zhou Qian explained cautiously, watching Lin Ji's expression, "It requires quite a sum of silver, so I need to negotiate in person."
Lin Ji was taken aback.
He never expected Zhou Qian, a first realm cultivator, to be of much help. This lad became a demon hunter to take care of his own business, so everyone understood this unspoken agreement.
Therefore, Lin Ji didn't find him unreasonable, just the situation absurd.
"So, you're going to be the big boss of the brothel now? To reach your realm in whoring, that's quite rare in this world," Lin Ji sighed.
The other three demon hunters also turned to look at Zhou Qian.
Guo Yi remained expressionless, Lu Cong grinned, while Ling Yin looked disgusted.
Facing his colleagues' gazes, Zhou Qian explained, "No, Minghua Pavilion was destroyed, right? It requires a lot of money for reconstruction, so I'm contributing some funds for the renovation and taking a share in return."
"Alright, keep an eye on the situation in the county when you're free. I won't make things difficult for you, but don't push your luck," Lin Ji impatiently dismissed him.
"No problem," Zhou Qian quickly agreed.
This was Lin Ji giving him face, so he had to comply.
Lin Ji nodded, about to send the demon hunters away.
But when he inadvertently glanced back at Zhou Qian, he suddenly froze.
"Lu Cong, did you find this lad last night?" Lin Ji asked.
"No, I checked sixteen residences and even the Zhou family mansion, but couldn't find him," Lu Cong replied.
Lin Ji raised an eyebrow, looking at Zhou Qian.
"You even went to the brothel?" Zhou Qian chuckled nervously.
After sending the four demon hunters away, Lin Ji strolled around the county.
After a whole day of patrolling the streets, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
As evening approached, Lin Ji slowly made his way back home.
"Could it be that someone randomly killed a person and left? There are so many ways to kill, why turn them into zombies, isn't that unnecessary?" Lin Ji could only analyze the methods used, without pondering the motives.
Years of experience as a demon hunter and head told him that motives were often nonsensical.
It could be out of spite, or simply for amusement.
There were countless bizarre incidents; the thought process of monsters often differed from humans.
Like instinct taking over, such as vengeful spirits seeking souls for popularity.
Those evil cultivators who killed to enhance their cultivation by refining souls had ironically become the most reliable, at least they had reasons, regardless of their morality.
"Coming from the Qingcheng Sect, or learning Qingcheng Sect techniques from somewhere. Did Song offend someone? He values his life, and if he can't see through the opponent's depth, he wouldn't dare provoke them easily. How could he attract a cultivator seeking revenge?"
Just as Lin Ji was pondering this, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.
Turning around, he saw one of his ordinary constables.
"Lin Head, you should go to the Song Residence quickly."
"What's happened now?"
"Madam Song, she hanged herself!"
"What?!"
At the Song Residence...
Lin Ji hurried into the gate and made his way to the Song family's ancestral hall.
The demon hunters had already gathered, and surprisingly, Zhou Qian was also present this time.
Old Madam Song was hanging from the rafters, a white silk rope around her neck, eyes bulging, tongue elongated.
Seeing Lin Ji arrive, Guo Yi explained, "To let you see the scene, we were instructed not to take her down."
Lin Ji glanced at Song Da and Song Er, nodding, "No need, this is clearly targeting the Song Residence. Lower the body."
Lu Cong and Zhou Qian together took down the body and laid it on the ground.
Lin Ji looked at Song Da, his voice cold, "I'll ask you again, have you offended anyone recently?"
"N-no, how could I, I wouldn't dare," Song Da, devoid of any air of a gang leader, replied.
Lin Ji turned to Song Er, who also shook his head in denial.
"Yesterday it was your wife, today your mother, who will it be tomorrow?"
Lin Ji patted Song Da's shoulder lightly, speaking softly, "Your father, or your brother?"
Song Er shuddered beside him.
"Or... yourself?"
"Lin... Lin Head," Song Da's voice trembled.
"Scared? If you are, think carefully! You, mingling in all circles, haven't offended anyone? Are you fooling spirits? Just your enemies in the county, I can name three or four!"
"Think, write down all possible scenarios for me!"
"If you can't write them down, it's fine. Don't blame me for watching your family be wiped out."
"I-I'll write now!"
After dealing with Song Da, Lin Ji activated his spiritual eye and examined the old lady's body.
"There's another gathering of malevolent energy."
Lin Ji uncovered the old lady's arm, revealing a tattoo identical to yesterday's.
Following the strange occurrences from yesterday, Lin Ji inspected each one.
After a moment, he had a conclusion.
"It's another case of the living dead, using the same method as yesterday," Lin Ji looked at Guo Yi, "This hanging method, is it controlling the corpse?"
Guo Yi remained silent, personally examining the body.
After a while, he found a new tattoo on the corpse's thigh.
"It's a tattoo, the symbol of a puppetry charm."
"So many tricks," Lin Ji sneered, "Most likely done by someone from the Qingcheng Sect, whether a disciple or someone else, it's unclear."
"But regardless, Old Guo, this time it's worth your investigation."
Guo Yi nodded, "I'll return to the sect to investigate if any disciples from Qingyang County have grudges with the Song family."
"Good," Lin Ji was pleased with Guo Yi's quick thinking.
Compared to before, the scope of the investigation had narrowed significantly.
Just as Ling Yin had mentioned yesterday.
The second murder, though not something to hope for, as it meant another death, provided extremely useful clues for the investigation.
At least, there was now some semblance of a pattern.
After Guo Yi left, Lin Ji had the body taken away as usual, then called for Song Er.
"Song Er, take your brother and your elderly father, and move next door to my house."
"Thank you, Lin Head!" Song Er quickly expressed his gratitude.
"My neighbors are good people, don't mistreat them when buying the house."
"Don't worry, I'll handle this matter properly."
After seeing off Song Er, Lin Ji looked up at the white silk hanging from the beam, feeling somewhat troubled.
He didn't know if keeping the Song family under his watchful eye would draw out the culprit.
If it did, that would be best. No matter how much investigation was done, meeting the culprit face-to-face was incomparable.
If it didn't, it didn't matter. At least he could ensure the safety of the remaining members of the Song family.
"Darkness conceals the enemy, troublesome indeed."
(End of Chapter)