Turn the tables on them
What happened before our eyes exceeded everyone's expectations.
The twisted corpse of the cunning demon lay on the cold riverbank, its demon core ripped out, its death a gruesome sight. The only clue to survival had been abruptly severed.
"What a disaster!" Ban Ge'er kicked a pebble away in anger. "All that work for nothing! And the last bit of flavor is ruined!"
Ao Ming clutched his injured arm, his face pale from the deathly aura, but his eyes remained sharp: "The attack was clean and efficient, clearly a professional cover-up. It seems we've really stirred up a hornet's nest."
Tu Shanlan's expression was solemn, and a blue light flowed from his fingertips as he carefully examined his surroundings. In the end, he shook his head: "The aura has been completely concealed by the Yin energy of the Dark River, and no trace of tracking can be found. The other party is very cautious."
For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat somber, and the clues seemed to have completely dried up.
Just then, Qian Jin silently stepped forward, squatted down beside the corpse of the cunning demon, and instead of being disgusted by the filth and stench, began to examine it with unusual focus.
She turned the body over, examined the wounds, and pried open its stiff claws to look at them, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
“No…” she muttered to herself, “This doesn’t seem like a simple cover-up. Look at the marks around the wound, and the folds in its clothes…it’s like the killer was frantically searching for something on its body…”
A thought flashed through her mind like lightning! She suddenly stood up, took out the brocade pouch she had obtained from the cunning demon from her storage bag, and brought it to her nose again, taking a deep, careful sniff.
Besides the stench of the cunning demon itself and the chilling aura of the items from the underworld, there was indeed a very faint, almost imperceptible, peculiar fragrance remaining on it!
That smell... she must have smelled it somewhere before! And it was inside the God of Wealth's mansion!
A bold and chilling idea instantly formed in Qian Jin's mind. She abruptly raised her head, looking at her three companions, her clear eyes gleaming with a knowing light:
"We may all be thinking in the wrong direction. It may not be just the people of the Netherworld that are hunting it down."
Amidst the astonished gazes of the three, Qian Jin laid out his deductions: "This brocade pouch might not belong to those people from the Netherworld at all! Its original owner might actually be inside our God of Wealth's Mansion! The cunning demon just happened to steal his things, and might even have uncovered his secret with the middleman from the Netherworld, which is why he was urgently silenced! The ambush we encountered before, the information leaked so quickly and accurately, it simply doesn't make sense if there was no one inside to help us!"
She paused, then said with a resolute tone, "If there really is such an inside man as I mentioned, perhaps we can find a way to lure him out."
One stone stirs up a thousand waves!
"An inside man?!" Ao Ming exclaimed, his face turning extremely pale. He simply couldn't accept the idea of a traitor within his own ranks.
Ban Ge'er instantly bristled, his golden beastly eyes scanning Ao Ming warily, then glancing at Qian Jin. He instinctively took a half-step back, adopting a defensive stance: "What the heck! Seriously? Our own people are turning on each other? Then... then we're suspicious of everyone now?"
Although Tu Shanlan remained calm, her delicate brows were tightly furrowed. She gently pressed down on the restless Ban Ge'er, her voice still gentle but carrying strength: "Junior Sister Qian's deduction... is not without reason. But this matter is of great importance. We must not draw conclusions rashly without solid evidence, and we must not lose our composure."
The atmosphere became somewhat subtle and awkward for a moment.
Suddenly, Ao Ming chuckled, breaking the silence. He deliberately nudged Ban Ge'er next to him with his shoulder: "Hey, sick cat, you're acting all sneaky. Could it be you? You were the one who slacked off the most during the fight!"
Ban Ge'er immediately jumped up, baring his teeth: "Bullshit! You stinking worm! You're the one who's like the traitor! You whine and groan after getting hit, is that some kind of self-inflicted injury ploy?! Lan Jie'er, look at him!"
Tu Shanlan sighed in exasperation.
Qian Jin watched as the two clowns started baring their teeth at each other again, and couldn't help but roll her eyes. She also deliberately added fuel to the fire: "Oh dear, maybe it's Sister Lan? Sister Lan is so gentle and beautiful, she's the easiest to make people lower their guard."
Tu Shanlan: "..." She glared at Qian Jin, a rare occurrence for her, but her eyes held a knowing smile.
Ao Ming immediately retorted, "Nonsense! How could Sister Lan be!"
Ban Ge'er nodded vigorously: "That's right! Sister Lan is definitely the best!"
What seemed like a playful exchange of accusations and defenses actually eased the atmosphere of suspicion, and a tacit understanding of "we're all definitely okay" quietly formed in the hearts of the four. After all, they had just fought side by side and taken the fall for each other.
After the commotion was over, the three of them turned their attention back to Qian Jin.
"Alright, stop fooling around," Tu Shanlan said gently. "Junior Sister Qian, since you've brought up this idea, you must already have a plan. What should we do next?"
Qian Jin's lips curled into a sly smile, like a little fox, as she patted the brocade pouch in her hand: "Hmph, such a good script has been going on for so long, shouldn't we just play along and keep singing along with them?"
......
The group returned to the God of Wealth's Mansion on the North Road to report back.
In the main hall, facing the God of Wealth of the North Road and several presiding celestial officials, Tu Shanlan, as the representative, gave a "selective" report.
She focused on describing the ambush by the Black Fiend gang, the unexpected appearance and escape of the cunning demon, and its eventual discovery in the underground river where it was silenced, cleverly concealing the core speculations about the items from the Netherworld, the origin of the brocade pouch, and the possibility of an inside agent.
The God of Wealth of the Northern Route frowned upon hearing this, stroked his beard, and sighed: "So that's how it is... It seems that some remaining bandit forces in the Northern Territory are unwilling to let the trade routes reopen and are causing trouble in secret. I will send someone else to investigate this matter in detail. Your Chen Group has worked hard this time and was injured. You should rest well for a few days."
At this moment, Qian Jin immediately stepped forward, his face plastered with his usual harmless, money-grubbing smile, and his voice was clear and crisp: "Lord God of Wealth, when we were clearing out the bandits in Black Wind Gorge, we also collected some of their discarded depreciated materials and broken magical artifacts. Do you think... these should be left to our Chen Group to handle?"
As she spoke, as if presenting a treasure, she rummaged through her storage bag for scrap metal. In the process, she "accidentally" pulled out a delicate brocade pouch embroidered with cloud patterns, dropped it on the ground, and then "hurriedly" picked it up. She deliberately dusted off non-existent dust with her hand and even subconsciously sniffed it before stuffing it back into the bag.
"You silly girl..." The God of Wealth of the North Road was amused by her appearance and waved his hand helplessly. "Alright, alright, these are just some spoils of war. You can do whatever you want with them. The treasury will also allocate another sum of spirit stones and pills to your Chen Group as an extra reward for this mission. Go and collect them."
"Thank you, God of Wealth!" Qian Jin's eyes lit up, and she smiled sweetly.
After leaving the main hall and heading towards the treasury, the atmosphere among the four people and the dragon became much more relaxed.
Ao Ming nudged Qian Jin with his uninjured arm and asked curiously, "Hey, what kind of junk did you pick up? Are you really that happy?"
Qian Jin immediately began listing the dishes as if they were his own treasures: "So many! The fragments of the broken black iron are small, but the purity is good! There are also a few undamaged arrows, the arrowheads can be recycled! The luckiest thing is that I found a complete breastplate, it's just a bit dented, I'll have to melt it down..."
She chattered on and on, then, seemingly casually, with a hint of pride and boastfulness, added, "But what I like best is still that brocade pouch I found at the end! It's a bit old, but the material is really good, the embroidery is exquisite, and most importantly, you can smell it..."
She took out the brocade pouch again, waved it quickly in front of Ao Ming and Ban Ge'er's noses, then immediately put it back, took a deep sniff herself, and showed a hint of confusion on her face.
"...The scent is quite unique and pleasant, a very expensive sandalwood. It's just...it feels a bit familiar, like I've smelled it somewhere before, but I can't quite place it..." She tilted her head, looking like she was trying hard to think.
Daqiangzi immediately poked his head out from Qian Jin's collar, straining his nose: "Oh my god, little sister! Let me smell it! Let me smell it! I have a keen nose! I can tell what it smells like just by smelling it!"
Qian Jin deliberately held the brocade pouch up high, teasing him: "No, no! You big rascal, what if you drool on my precious brocade pouch?"
"I promise I won't drool! Little sister, please let me see!" Daqiangzi pawed at her anxiously.
"I won't give it to you~ Hehehe~" Qian Jin laughed and ran forward.
"Awooo! Little sister, you're bullying the dragon!"
Ao Ming and Ban Ge'er watched the two of them start arguing again, shaking their heads and laughing helplessly. Tu Shanlan also smiled slightly.
The five people joked and played around, their figures gradually disappearing into the distance, the noise fading away at the end of the corridor.
None of them noticed that in the shadow of the pillars not far behind them, a figure almost blending into the darkness had been quietly standing there for quite some time.
Those eyes, hidden in the shadows, were fixed on the brocade pouch that flashed past Qian Jin's hand. Especially when she said "the taste is familiar," her pupils suddenly contracted, and a hint of panic and ruthlessness flashed across her face.
......
That night, the moon was hidden and the stars were few.
A blurry black shadow, like a ghost, silently glided through the quiet corridors of the Prayer Hall, precisely avoiding all the patrolling guards and the warning formations, and arrived outside Qian Jin's room.
The dark figure stood silently outside the window for a moment, listening intently. The room was extremely quiet, as if the owner had already fallen into a deep sleep.
With a slight twitch of his fingertips, the simple restriction on the door rippled like water before silently dissipating. The door was pushed open a crack, and a dark figure slipped inside like smoke, the movement so subtle as to make no sound.
The room was dark, with only the dim light from the window outlining the furniture. The shadowy figure walked straight to the bed, vaguely seeing a bulge under the covers. A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and a sharp magical technique materialized in its hand, which it ruthlessly slammed down on the "figure"!
However, the expected sensation did not come. The immortal technique shattered the blanket, revealing that it was empty!
"Not good!" Alarm bells rang in the shadowy figure's mind, and he quickly retreated!
But at that very moment!
"Click!"
With a soft sound, several powerful talismans instantly lit up the room, the blinding white light as if day had suddenly descended, illuminating the entire room in perfect detail! At the same time, it completely exposed the figure of the dark shadow to the light!
At the same time, four figures appeared instantly in the corner of the room, on the beam, and behind the door, completely blocking all his escape routes!
Qian Jin sat leisurely at the table by the window, swinging her legs, holding half a pastry in her hand, a sly and smug smile on her face, watching the dark figure who instinctively covered his face in the bright light:
"Oh, fellow immortal, what brings you here so late at night?"
"We...have been waiting for you for a long time!"
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