Chương 134: Demonic Traces

In the pitch-black night. In this remote Yellow Leaf Town with no entertainment to speak of, the vast majority of households began cleaning up and preparing for bed as soon as the sun set. Sleeping a bit earlier saved a bit more lamp oil. For this impoverished place, every expense had to be meticulously calculated. Song Que and Wu Yi didn't have to spend too much effort to infiltrate the Lu Manor.

This Old Lu—whether he wanted to project an image of being incorruptible or simply didn't want too many people prying into his secrets—kept his entire manor courtyard desolate. There were only a handful of guards and servants, making it very convenient for the two men to enter. Approaching a small courtyard, Wu Yi lowered his voice and whispered:"This is Lu Chengcai's residence. I've observed him from a distance many times entering this place and never coming out. One end of the secret passage must be here."

Song Que nodded. Expanding his Domain to observe and finding no one inside, he signaled to Old Wu. The two gently pried the door open and slipped in. The room's furnishings were extremely simple. If one didn't know the truth about him, they would have to highly praise Old Lu for his incorruptibility! Besides the bronze censer burning incense and emitting a strong scent, there wasn't a single valuable item here.

Telling Old Wu not to move recklessly, Song 'Sherlock Holmes' began to act the part, lowering his head to observe. In reality, he extended his Domain deep underground and into the walls to search for the existence of a secret passage. It didn't take much time before he stopped, bent down to the floor, and gently pressed his hand down. Instantly, a brick tilted up, revealing a lever mechanism beneath it. Fortunately, the range of his Domain had now expanded to over ten meters.

Sensing no traps or ambushes below, Song Que gently turned the lever sideways. Click. The lock was released. Grandee Song signaled for Wu Yi to be careful, then lifted the trapdoor, flattening himself against the wall. With the trapdoor propped open, a deep, dark passage was revealed below. The flickering light from a faint fire made the atmosphere feel even more eerie. Holding his saber and jumping down defensively, he found nothing unusual and signaled for Old Wu to follow.

Following the gloomy passage forward for several dozen meters, a tightly closed door appeared before them. The two men pressed their ears against it, listening intently for any sounds inside. Boss Song's hearing far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even though the door was sealed tight, he still heard noises inside. Concentrating his senses, the human voices behind the door quickly entered his ears with crystal clarity. The voice inside indeed belonged to Lu Chengcai.

He was heard muttering endlessly, mixed with faint groans and muffled, sobbing cries. Because the distance was quite far and exceeded the range of his Domain, he didn't know exactly what was happening. However, combined with the bizarre atmosphere of this place, nine times out of ten, it wouldn't be anything good! Having resolved to investigate to the very end, Song Que didn't hesitate anymore. Signaling for Old Wu to pay attention, he raised his foot and kicked the door hard!

The pitiful wooden door, as if struck by a truck, instantly shattered into pieces. The scene inside clearly reflected in the eyes of the two men. Boss Song's heart instantly surged with towering killing intent! It was truly no different from a hell on earth!... In the Town Mayor's underground basement. A space roughly the size of a small soccer field was supported by several wooden pillars surrounding a pool in the center. The pool was filled with a red liquid.

The sickening stench of blood billowing up almost made someone with keen senses like Boss Song faint. He hurriedly pulled up a cloth to cover his face and simultaneously used Tesseract energy to paralyze his sense of smell. The scene inside the room left both him and Wu Yi with an unforgettable psychological shadow. On the far wall sat a row of wooden shelves holding all sorts of bizarre and grotesque items. But what was worse was that every single wooden pillar had a person nailed upside down to it!

Blood continuously flowed from their wounds into the pool below. It was more cruel than slaughtering livestock! Song Que's sharp eyes clearly saw several people whose blood had dried up, their faces pale and devoid of life, evidently having died a long time ago. A few others had perhaps been captured recently; they could still faintly groan and sob. Not far away, Lu Chengcai was standing in front of a bizarre cauldron. Hanging in front of him were several small, naked corpses.

They all shared one thing in common: their hearts had been gouged out, and blood was still dripping from them. Clearly, they had just met a tragic end.

"Beast!" Song Que roared furiously like thunder!

"It's you?!" Being barged in on so suddenly, Lu Chengcai was startled. Seeing the faces of the two men clearly, he blurted out in shock.

"You must die!" Never having hated anyone as much as he did today, Boss Song didn't want this man to exist in this world for another second! Furious, he gripped his saber and charged forward! Old Lu finally snapped out of his daze and wanted to turn and flee. But how could this decrepit old man ever match Song Que's speed, even if it had slightly decreased from practicing the Thousand Hammer Art?! Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Enveloped by chilling killing intent, Lu Chengcai was scared out of his wits. Knowing he couldn't escape, he rolled and hid behind the cauldron. Clang! Awooo... Regardless of what was in front of him, Song Que currently only wanted to hack it to pieces to vent his anger! His strike was completely merciless and utilized his full strength! The bizarre cauldron, made of an unknown material, actually managed to block this strike! However, a small groove was cleaved into its side.

Song Que also faintly heard what sounded like a miserable howl. But it didn't buy Old Lu any extra time. The cauldron was smashed away like a cannonball, crashing heavily into Lu Chengcai behind it! Both man and cauldron flew backward for several meters. The Town Mayor's chest was caved in by the impact, who knew how many bones were broken! Crash... Clang...

"Cough... cough..." Terrified, Lu Chengcai suppressed the pain and wanted to stand up to run. But with his age and severely declining physical condition, such injuries were too much to bear. He could only fearfully drag himself backward while sitting on the ground.

"A'Que, don't kill him yet!" Seeing Song Que's momentum as if he wanted to mince the man into meat paste, Wu Yi hurriedly shouted for him to stop. Boss Song also knew there were many questions this scoundrel needed to answer, so he stopped his actions, merely staring at him with cold eyes.

"Brother Yi, guard this old dog carefully. I'll go see if anyone is still alive." Dropping that sentence, Grandee Song suppressed his discomfort, walked around, and took down everyone nailed to the pillars. There were eleven people in total: seven adults and four children. The four young ones, two boys and two girls, whose hearts had been gouged out, were long dead. Of the seven adults, three had perished. Only two retained consciousness, while the other two had incredibly faint signs of life.

But with the current medical conditions, even 'Divine Physician' Song was helpless; they would undoubtedly die soon. Their blood had almost entirely drained away. Even the mightiest Tesseract would have to bow down to this. With a heavy heart, he gathered the people together and transferred a bit of life-preserving energy into the two survivors before starting to investigate the room.... The underground cellar was built quite solidly. Aside from the wooden support pillars, the surrounding walls were made of stone.

This project couldn't have been completed in a single day. The walls were lined with wooden shelves and various racks holding a multitude of bizarre items. There were trays of medicinal herbs, gold and silver treasures, various strange tools, and a considerable number of torture implements. These tools were heavily crusted with dried blood; who knew how many people had been tortured here!

"Hahaha, don't dream of getting anything out of this old man! The two of you shouldn't dream of escaping either! The people of the Blood Demon Cult will avenge for me! You, and all your family members, will end up like these 'human pigs', strung up and slowly bled to death! Haha... cough, cough..." Boss Song, who was still observing the surroundings, heard Lu Chengcai laughing wildly and threatening them. His expression turned even gloomier as he turned and walked over. Hearing the name of a demonic cult again...

it seems the trouble we've stumbled into today is not small!

"How is it, Brother Yi? He won't talk?"

"A'Que, it looks like we've run into some trouble today," Wu Yi said with an ugly expression.

"What's the matter? Is the Blood Demon Cult very formidable? If so, we'll handle this cleanly, set a fire, and ensure no traces are left." Before Wu Yi could answer, Lu Chengcai, lying on the ground, laughed loudly:"Haha, it seems Head Constable Wu is a man who knows how things work!" The old man looked at Song Que mockingly:"Don't harbor any wishful thinking! Our Blood Demon Cult isn't something little mice like you can comprehend! Don't dream of escaping; we have ways to find you!

When that time comes, you will have the pleasure of watching your loved ones subjected to a death by a thousand cuts right before your eyes! That taste... hahaha..." Smack! Still acting so arrogant?! Boss Song greatly admired this guy's courage and generously rewarded him with a tight slap across the face! Even though he had tried his best to suppress his anger, how immense was his physical strength?! Lu Chengcai was slapped so hard he flew and rolled far away!

His face swelled up like a steamed bun, and nearly half his teeth fell out!

"You... you... bastard... aren't you afraid of death...?!" His pronunciation no longer clear, Old Lu held his face in pain, asking in disbelief. The only response he got was Grandee Song's contemptuous smile. Spitting out the broken teeth and congealed blood from his mouth, and seeing Boss Song still looking at his old bones with malicious intent, Lu Chengcai trembled in fear and hurriedly tried to persuade them:"Since things have reached this point, why don't the two of you simply join my Blood Demon Cult?!

With my cult supporting you from behind, given your youth, breaking through to the First Tier in the future won't be difficult at all! Furthermore, the Blood Demon Cult is an extremely massive force; whatever resources you need, we have! Your future path will be paved for you, allowing you to ascend to the heavens in a single step!" Hmph! I thought I had met a tough bone, but it turns out he wants to use both the carrot and the stick! Trying to threaten and entice Boss Song?! You miscalculated, old dog!

Boss Song might fall for a honey trap, but he is absolutely not the kind of person who will yield to wealth or threats! Song Que sneered darkly:"This lowly one doesn't dare aim so high! Town Mayor Lu, you'd better honestly spit out everything you know to save me the trouble of getting my hands dirty! Otherwise, you might blame me for not respecting my elders!" Having only ever tortured others, the thought of those things happening to him made Old Lu's face turn pale.

His voice trembled:"Aren't you afraid of retaliation?! Aren't you afraid of implicating your family?!"

"Sigh, even now I can't clearly remember what my family looks like. Town Mayor Lu has wasted his concern." Seeing the youth before him still calmly joking, Old Lu's heart gradually filled with despair. He made one last effort:"You being unafraid doesn't mean Head Constable Wu is unafraid! They are just a few lowly lives; it has nothing to do with either of you! Why must you hold on so tightly?!"

"If we handle things stealthily today, who will know who did it? Brother Yi, you don't need to wade into muddy waters either."

"What are you saying?! Am I the kind of person who clings to life and fears death?! A'Que, do not look down on me!" Wu Yi, who had been feeling slightly uneasy, now spoke up loudly. He was only afraid of truly implicating his family; he had no worries for himself. At worst, it's just death! If I don't get justice for the commoners today, living will be worse than dying!

"Hehehe, the Demonic Cult has many secret tracking arts! Once a deed is done, it is done! Don't dream of erasing your tracks!" Lu Chengcai laughed disdainfully. Unwilling to spout nonsense with this scumbag anymore, since he wouldn't cooperate, Song Que would use his own methods to extract information. Expressionlessly picking Old Lu up like a chicken and tying him tightly to a rack, Boss Song's smile grew even more radiant as he watched the old man violently struggle and resist.

"Town Mayor, please cooperate a little. I will be very gentle."

"What... what... are you going to do?!"

"Brother Yi, there's no need. Let me handle this." Stopping Old Wu, who had brought over several torture implements to help, Boss Song expressed the need for 'civilized law enforcement'. Reaching into his robe, he took out the set of acupuncture needles he always kept in his dimensional space. Song Que enthusiastically evaluated Old Lu from head to toe, making the old man's hair stand on end and filling him with restless anxiety.

As a doctor, he knew best where the human body was most fragile and where the most nerves were concentrated. If injured there, the pain would make a person hover between life and death! With the Tesseract, he could infinitely amplify nerve sensations, ensuring Old Lu would experience a pleasure so intense it felt like ascending to immortality! As for a humanitarian spirit? Who cares?! The thing in front of him had ceased to be human a long time ago.

Seeing Song Que's demonic smile, Lu Chengcai's heart trembled even more violently. Struggling, he roared:"Don't... don't... stay away!"

"Hehehe... scream louder! Be a bit more professional!"

"Ah... ah... no...!!"... A moment later. Looking at the Town Mayor—covered in snot and tears, having lost control of his bowels and bladder, completely limp like a dead dog—Grandee Song looked at him in disgust and asked Brother Yi to splash several buckets of water over him. No wonder this old dog liked torturing others so much; it's not entirely unreasonable! After all, Boss Song feels much more refreshed now! He even harbored a faint expectation, hoping this old man's mouth would stay stubborn for a bit longer!