Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 59: The Omen Must Die (Part 5)
"By the way, are there any common natural disasters around Xiyuan?"
While returning the roster to Team Leader Qiao, Fu Qian asked seemingly casually.
"How could there be!"
Team Leader Qiao clearly found Fu Qian's question very strange.
"Although Xiyuan City isn't large, it has existed for hundreds of years and has always been renowned as a leisure resort. Let alone natural disasters, even severe weather is rare."
"If you really have to say something related to a natural disaster, there's a volcanic crater about ten kilometers away from the city area, but there's no record of it ever erupting."
'An eruption of an extinct volcano? That would count as a disaster.'
But Fu Qian always felt it wouldn't be something so simple.
While he was thinking, someone came in from outside. It was Lu Jun and his colleague returning.
"How did it go?"
Team Leader Qiao, having clearly held back for a long time, quickly asked.
"It seems there are no issues for now."
Lu Jun shook his head.
"The deceased's husband is named Lu Xing, also a local. He and the deceased were childhood sweethearts. They've been married for just two years and have always had a very good relationship. The man was at home when the incident occurred.
Most importantly, this guy is an ordinary person."
"A very good relationship?"
Fu Qian looked at Lu Jun with a weird expression.
"That's right..."
"Then did he know about the lunch?"
"...No, he didn't."
Fu Qian sighed and suddenly stood up under the shocked gazes of everyone present.
"Let's go take a look."
"Look at what?"
Lu Jun clearly didn't quite grasp Fu Qian's meaning.
"A husband whose wife died but makes you feel he's completely free of suspicion... I'm suddenly a bit interested. Take me to see."
...
Outskirts of Xiyuan City.
"This is the place?"
Fu Qian looked at the uniquely designed small villa in front of him.
"Yes."
Lu Jun replied in a muffled voice. He still couldn't quite understand Fu Qian's decision to insist on coming for another look.
As for the reason Fu Qian gave, to him, it completely stemmed from a dark and twisted thought process.
"Looks like this model couple's financial situation is pretty good?"
Fu Qian observed the surroundings.
"Yes, Lu Xing made a fortune doing business out of town a few years ago and bought this property here. They also got married around that time."
"Mhm."
Fu Qian nodded, looking at the tightly shut door.
"Call them out."
Somewhat reluctantly, Lu Jun stepped forward and rang the doorbell.
However, after ringing several times, there was still no response.
Lu Jun's expression changed slightly.
But before he could do anything else, a flash of blade light shone, and the door sprang open.
Seeing the awe-inspiring Su Gao wielding her sword, the few Night Watchers felt a chill all over their bodies, and none dared to speak.
Lu Jun was the first to rush into the house, and he quickly found that it was completely empty.
Judging from the scattered items on the floor, the owner of the house had left in a hurry.
"Could it really be related to him? But he's clearly an ordinary person!"
Lu Jun was visibly starting to doubt his own life.
Fu Qian didn't answer him, but instead walked around, finally stopping in front of a tightly closed door.
Compared to the rest of the house, this door had a distinctly different design and looked much sturdier.
Without him needing to say a word, another flash of blade light shone, and the metal door sprang open.
Looking inside, the space behind it resembled a workshop.
'These two!'
Witnessing their domineering actions backed by perfect tacit understanding, the three Night Watchers were left speechless.
Su Gao also seemed to completely ignore the feelings of the three Night Watchers. After slicing the door open, she walked straight in, rummaged around, and brought out a string of items.
It was a pile of various small ornaments, crafted in different shapes and unified by the bizarre patterns covering them.
"This is..."
Team Leader Qiao looked shocked, clearly recognizing the goods.
"Ornaments with talismans drawn on them, some of which are still unfinished... They're useless to Beyonders, but some wealthy people like to spend money on such things. They have minor effects like boosting energy and strengthening the physique."
'There is absolutely no way an ordinary person could make these!'
Hearing the Team Leader's words, Lu Jun and his colleague exchanged a glance, incredibly shocked.
"To be able to make things like this, this Lu Xing is an unregistered Beyonder! He must have used some method to mask his aura previously!"
"Give me this person's file. We'd better verify his recent itinerary."
Listening to Su Gao's command, Lu Jun nodded with an ashen face.
"Usually, if a married woman is murdered, finding that her husband has a pile of suspicious motives is the normal phenomenon."
Fu Qian patted his shoulder, spouting nonsense with profound earnestness.
...
Fu Qian turned to look at Team Leader Qiao again. The latter's expression had grown much more serious by now.
This was completely understandable. Cooperating with the Executioner Group to catch a fugitive was one thing, but if this fugitive turned out to be from his own jurisdiction, that was another matter entirely. If it got serious, it could warrant a charge of dereliction of duty.
"Team Leader Qiao, take us to visit the Huang Family."
Team Leader Qiao paused.
"Shouldn't we track down this Lu Xing first?"
"It's better to take a two-pronged approach."
For some reason, Fu Qian just felt uninterested in this Lu Xing.
According to the report from Lu Jun's duo, they hadn't found any information on the person who stood Geng Yue up.
There wasn't enough time for a slow investigation.
Unraveling the mystery piece by piece was good and all, but time was of the essence; beating the grass to startle the snake was the right way to go.
And the Xiyuan City Huang Family, as local tyrants, were the best possible tools for beating the grass.
Of course, it would be even better if they had something to do with the snake.
Seeing Fu Qian's insistence, Team Leader Qiao turned his gaze to Su Gao, only to sadly discover that her gaze was even more resolute.
"Understood!"
Team Leader Qiao agreed, showing a keen understanding of the situation.
...
Soon, the Xiyuan Huang Family estate was in sight.
As an aristocratic family, their taste was truly extraordinary.
"Is this the extinct volcano you mentioned earlier?"
Looking at the massive complex of buildings halfway up the mountain, Fu Qian turned back to look at Team Leader Qiao.
"They believe the feng shui here is good... They spent a great deal of effort carving out the mountain to live here."
The implication was that he had better not make any reckless comments later.
"Anything else you'd like to remind me of?"
"Uh... in order to ensure the purity of their bloodline and maximize the proportion of Beyonders among their descendants, the Xiyuan City Huang Family, much like the main family, has maintained intra-clan marriages for many years. Thus, their facial features are rather distinctive."
Understood. High recognition, low resolution.
Actually, one could tell from how highly valued Wen Li was before: as long as supernatural powers could be passed down through bloodlines, these messed-up practices would definitely resurface.
"...However, thanks to this, the proportion of Beyonders across the entire Huang Family is exceptionally high. At least over half of the youths possess cultivation aptitude, and a quarter of them can cultivate the ancestral 'Human Emperor Qi'.
Huang Zhixun, known as the 'Blood Lion', hails from the Xiyuan City Huang Family. At merely forty years old, he is already at Tier 4 Peak, heavily favored to become the youngest high-tier Beyonder in decades."
"He's no good."
Hearing this, Su Gao, who had been resting with her eyes closed, interjected coolly.
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