Chapter 23: The Mysterious Killer

“Mm.” Long Qi nodded. “Let me introduce her. Her surname is Wen, and her name is Wen Xiang. This is Su Tang; he will replace me in the future.”

“I tried to persuade you so much, but you just wouldn’t listen,” Wen Xiang said. “Why bother? Do you really care that much about her opinion?”

Wen Xiang was clearly mimicking Long Qi’s way of speaking. Long Qi smiled and replied, “I owe her.”

“No wonder people say those involved are confused while bystanders see clearly.” Wen Xiang sighed softly. “You feel it’s unnecessary for me to keep living here, and I also feel it’s unnecessary for you to sacrifice so much for her.”

“This is not a sacrifice, but…”

“I won’t argue with you about this.” Wen Xiang turned to Su Tang and gave a sweet smile. “Please, sit.”

“Don’t be fooled by her appearance,” Long Qi said. “The people here gave the three of them nicknames, and as the word spread, they became well-known. Tong Fei is called the Fierce Hammer, Xiao Buhui is called the Bone Thief, and she…”

“Stop rambling!” Wen Xiang leaned close to Su Tang, placing a fair and smooth hand on Su Tang’s shoulder. Because they were so close, Su Tang could clearly smell the orchid fragrance in her breath. “We will naturally get to know each other later…”

“He was personally chosen by the Grand Exalted,” Long Qi said softly.

“Which Grand Exalted?” Wen Xiang’s expression froze, and her sweet smile vanished without a trace.

“Which other Grand Exalted could it be?” Long Qi asked back indifferently.

Wen Xiang slowly straightened her body, and a smile reappeared at the corners of her mouth. “Mr. Su, you two please chat. I will go brew some tea for you.”

Su Tang looked at Long Qi with a questioning gaze. When they met Tong Fei and Xiao Buhui, Long Qi hadn’t mentioned the Grand Exalted. Why now?

“It had to be this way,” Long Qi said. “Otherwise, I was worried you wouldn’t be able to keep her in check.”

Su Tang almost stumbled. He truly could not understand Long Qi. If it was for Su Tang’s own good, couldn’t he have told him quietly before leaving? This room was pitifully small, and Wen Xiang was just on the other side of the screen; she must have heard everything clearly. Did the name of the Grand Exalted even have any meaning now? She might even doubt if it was true, which would make it even harder to keep her in check!

“Her nickname is the Demon Maggot. ‘Maggot’ as in the kind that clings to bones,” Long Qi said.

Wen Xiang walked back with a pout and slammed the teacups and teapot onto the table, glaring at Long Qi angrily.

“She became famous three years ago. That was the first time she killed someone…”

“I have never killed anyone!” Wen Xiang argued.

“Let me finish before you speak!” Long Qi said sternly.

Wen Xiang shut her mouth and looked at Long Qi with resentful eyes.

Long Qi acted as if he saw nothing and continued, “She killed one person over nearly three hundred days. That incident shocked the entire Changshan County; it was a true sensation! A Martial Artist named Tian Fengyang would mysteriously disappear every few days, only to reappear in a garbage heap, covered in wounds. Once or twice was nothing, but as it happened more often, it attracted a lot of attention. Even the Tie Family, Bai Family, Cheng Family, and Mu Family were alarmed.”

“Many people questioned Tian Fengyang, but he himself couldn’t explain what was happening. He only knew that he would mysteriously faint, and when he woke up, he would be in a gloomy, dark room. Then a person would appear and start cutting his body with a small knife.”

“The Tie, Bai, Cheng, and Mu Families are all Practitioner families, right? Would they care about the life or death of a Martial Artist?” Su Tang asked. He remembered that Tie Canglan, whom he killed in the Black Forest, was an Elder of the Tie Family.

“Of course they wouldn’t care,” Long Qi smiled. “The problem was that people from the four great families examined Tian Fengyang’s injuries and found that many of them were fatal. Once, a small piece of his skull was missing, and the membrane inside was visible from the outside… Haha, even then, he didn’t die. And no one knew what kind of medicine the killer applied to him; after one day, or at most two, his injuries would heal completely! Do you know what such medical skill means to a Practitioner?!”

Su Tang was stunned for a moment. “Did that Tian Fengyang never try to find a way to escape?”

“Do you think he was stupid?” Long Qi said. “He tried many, many times. He crawled out of the city through a sewer, hid under carriages, pretended to be a beggar, and even broke into the Miaodao Pavilion to ask me to send people to escort him out of the city. But every single time, he was caught and ended up back in the garbage heap.”

“The matter became more and more sensational, and more people came to watch. Later, whether it was day or night, Tian Fengyang was always surrounded by many people, but… he still disappeared regularly,” Long Qi said. “Finally, the Bai Family sent an Elder to monitor Tian Fengyang. They didn’t have any bad intentions, nor did they care if Tian Fengyang lived or died; they just wanted to find the killer and build a relationship with them before others did. In the end, Tian Fengyang disappeared right before his eyes.”

“This time, the four great families could no longer sit still. They deployed over three hundred Martial Artists and a dozen Elders, surrounding that garbage heap so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through. This was because this legend had already damaged the face of their Practitioner families. Until dawn, nothing happened. The people of the four families breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the legend had ended. Then, someone noticed the garbage heap was wriggling, and Tian Fengyang, covered in wounds and with only a breath of life left, crawled out of the heap.”

Su Tang listened in amazement. Could such a bizarre thing really be done by this sweet-looking girl? Not to mention her, even the Grand Exalted probably couldn’t do it.

If it was about defeating the Martial Artists of the four families and making them flee in terror, Su Tang believed it was possible. But to hide a person in secret while evading hundreds of pairs of eyes was incredibly difficult.

“I have always wanted to know, how did you do it?” Long Qi asked, turning his gaze toward Wen Xiang.

“What? What are you talking about?” Wen Xiang widened her eyes, looking completely confused. “I don’t understand a single word.”

“I asked for three years, and she never told me.” Long Qi gave Su Tang a helpless smile. “I only ask one thing of you: if she ever confesses to you in the future, you must tell me.”

“Brother Long, what was the Miaodao Pavilion doing at that time?” Su Tang suddenly asked. With such a sensational event, the Miaodao Pavilion would definitely not have stood by.

“Cough…” Long Qi’s expression immediately became awkward. “That… you can ask Xiao Buhui when you have the chance. But I should tell you that since then, both Tong Fei and Xiao Buhui have been somewhat afraid of her.”

“How did you find her?” Su Tang asked. He understood now; three years ago, Wen Xiang was not part of the Miaodao Pavilion. There must have been a search process. The four great families searched for so long and found nothing; was the hidden strength of the Miaodao Pavilion that powerful?

“Hard work pays off.” Mentioning this, a smile appeared on Long Qi’s face, clearly as it was one of his proudest achievements. “Two years before the incident with Tian Fengyang, a girl had been raped and murdered next to that garbage heap. Did you see a lame man pass by us just now? He is that girl’s father, and his home is less than a hundred meters from here.”

Su Tang understood everything instantly. Why Tian Fengyang suffered such extremely malicious torture, why the killer risked so much to insist on throwing him into a specific garbage heap, and how Long Qi found the mysterious killer—a single thread connected all the questions.

“What happened to Tian Fengyang in the end?” Su Tang asked.

“He died. He got dead drunk in a tavern and suddenly started cursing, saying that the pain of being disemboweled and having tendons and flesh cut was something no human could bear. He said that even if there was a hell, it would be a thousand times more comfortable than this world. Then he went home and committed suicide.”

Su Tang slowly exhaled. To be honest, Tian Fengyang’s will was exceptionally strong to have endured for so long. Of course, the killer’s will was even stronger to insist on torturing Tian Fengyang in such an inconceivable way.

“Wen Xiang, don’t you want to say something to Su Tang?” Long Qi said.

“How annoying… it’s only our first meeting, how could I be so bold,” Wen Xiang turned her head to the side shyly and said in a low voice, “Mr. Su, please come and visit often in the future.”

Su Tang gave a dry laugh, not knowing how to respond.

“That’s enough, let’s go.” Long Qi stood up.