Headless Immortal

Chapter 86 Simplicity
After a satisfying meal, we drank and ate our fill.

afternoon.

Cheng Yan was quite glad that he hadn't let Lü He get involved in the matter.

Things have developed to this point, and they, as fledglings who have just acquired true energy, are simply unable to handle it.

It's only because Uncle Cat is so capable, otherwise he would have ended up in the monster's stomach last night.

"Let's look for them separately."

Cheng Yan suddenly looked at the senior brother who had spoken.

Yang Shen continued, "Junior Brother Ma, go to teahouses and taverns, places where fishermen usually relax, and gather information. I'll go to inns, gambling dens, pawnshops... and brothels in the east of the city to ask if anyone has suddenly become rich. Junior Brother Cheng, I'll trouble you to visit the homes of those who have acquired gold and jewels."

"Okay," Cheng Yan readily agreed.

"Regardless of whether there is news or not, we will meet at the entrance of the post station at dusk."

Young people love to show off and act impulsively without considering anything else.

Yang Shen, still worried, instructed, "Even if you find any trace, do not follow rashly. Preserving your life is more important than anything else."

"clear."

It was obvious that he was talking to himself, so Cheng Yan quickly agreed.

He might have been impulsive in the past, but after witnessing the clash between Uncle Cat and Qinglin Ni Guai that day, he realized his own weakness.

Doing the tasks assigned by Senior Brother Yang is enough. Don't be reckless. Accumulate your true energy and magical power slowly and strengthen yourself first.

While things were unfolding here, things were also happening there.

Master Chen led his two disciples through the streets and alleys, while Master Jueming and the young novice also went around asking questions.

Head Constable Qian and Lao Cheng each took one, while the shaman was off doing something strange. The temple keeper walked towards the dock; given his status, he could directly ask the fishermen.

Check it out.

Cheng Yan hired a donkey cart and drove around the city.

When the cat yawns, people yawn too, and the mouse is not spared.

Cheng Yan lay on the cart, flipping through the household registration list in his hand. After all, he was not a real constable, nor was he an experienced criminal investigator. He was completely clueless about the roster that had been confiscated from the Dou family.

Let's just use the old-fashioned method and look for one nearby.

Ask them all, exhaustively.

In no time, he directed the driver to stop in front of a house.

He jumped off the donkey cart and knocked on the door.

Behind the flimsy door was a frail woman.

Cheng Yan, carrying a bag, opened his mouth to ask a question, but the woman in coarse cloth seemed to already know the young man's purpose. However, she did not open the door to invite him in. Her brows and eyes were filled with grievance and hatred, and her lips were pursed down as she coldly said, "Chief Constable Qian from the yamen has already come to inquire."

"I……"

"Please come back."

boom.

Cheng Yan, who wanted to say something, was turned away and sighed helplessly, turning around to ask, "Do I look like a junior constable?"

The cat and the mouse nodded together.

Very similar.

dong dong.

"Your county government's constables..."

Before the woman could finish speaking, she saw the strangely dressed young man take out a piece of silver weighing about two taels from his pocket, stuff it into her hand, and then hurriedly wave and ran towards the donkey cart, as if afraid that she would catch up with him.

"Hey."

"Let's go further away." Cheng Yan got on the donkey cart.

If the constable is visiting nearby households, he must avoid them if he wants to find valuable clues, lest he waste his efforts.

Cheng Yan rushed all the way to Peach Alley in the east of the city and knocked on the door.

A small head peeked out from inside and asked warily, "Who are you?"

"County constables..."

"Doggy, who is it?"

"Mother, they are constables from the county government."

The boy, who looked about twelve or thirteen, stepped aside and invited Cheng Yan inside.

The woman was mending clothes, with straw sandals she was weaving piled up beside her. She hurriedly got up and paused for a moment when she saw Cheng Yan.

Too young, and not even wearing a constable's uniform.

"Sister-in-law, my name is Cheng Yan. My grandfather, Cheng Dunhou, was the head of the county government."

The woman nodded in realization, put the needle and thread aside, and forced a smile, saying, "So you're Cheng Tou's grandson."

"Gouwa, bring Uncle a stool."

"No, no, I am..." Cheng Yan quickly explained his mission to exorcise the demon, then said, "I'll just ask a few questions and then leave." "Go ahead and ask."

When did your husband receive the jewelry?

The woman forced a smile, so desolate, so heartbreaking: "About seven or eight days later, he suddenly came back drunk."

"..."

Cheng Yan opened his small notebook, moistened his brush, and asked questions in the courtyard.

Lu Xun, the black cat, jumped off his backpack and went inside. The room was small and damp, consisting of only one large room divided into two smaller ones. It was pitch black without any lights on, but it was brighter than daytime for the cat.

Lu Xun lay on the ground and carefully smelled the aroma. It had been too long; apart from a slight smell of blood, there was no other scent.

What remains is nothing more than the human touch of women and children in their daily lives.

Just as he was about to set off, Lu Xun's cat paw paused, deeply catching a whiff of an unusual scent—greasy, smoky, musty, and sweaty, like a damp, fermented clump, sparse yet intense. The black cat followed the pale gray mist and spotted a straw raincoat and bamboo hat hanging on the wall; the scent was emanating from them.

The black cat approached the raincoat, tilting its head to stare, but unfortunately it couldn't smell any monster.

'Maybe we can find something on the boat.' Lu Xun felt that they still needed to go to the place where the fisherman and the monster came into contact, and that place was most likely the fishing boat.

Unable to reach Cheng Yan, Lu Xun waited for him on the wall.

Cheng Yan closed the small book, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and then took out two taels of silver: "It's not much, it's for the child."

After saying that, he walked away quickly.

He returned to the donkey cart and saw Uncle Cat waiting for him.

"Thank you, Uncle Cat."

Cheng Yan lowered his voice.

This silver wasn't his; to be precise, it never was originally his.

Uncle Cat killed Wang Erkui and Zhang Sixi. Cheng Yan used their heads to collect the reward money, intending to return it to Uncle Cat, but Uncle Cat refused, saying: "A real man cannot be without money for a day," and told him to keep it for his own spending money, which is why he wanted to thank Uncle Cat.

The old cat waved its paws calmly.

Then he wrote a character on Cheng Yan's palm.

"Boat."

Cheng Yan understood immediately and opened the small book: "The ship should now be inherited by his son."

The black cat shook its head.

"Get on the boat, front or back."

"Oh, Uncle Cat, you mean what her husband did before and after he boarded the ship?"

The black cat nodded.

"The only strange thing before boarding the ship was that I went to the old temple to pray."

"However, fishermen who sail usually go to the old temple to pray."

"They say it's very effective."

……

Cheng Yan used to think that Uncle Zhao, dressed in black robes and with a knife at his waist, was incredibly capable of catching demons and monsters, and that he was so dashing in his actions.

He has a chivalrous spirit.

When you actually let him do it himself, you realize that investigating cases is really that simple, relying entirely on your own two legs and your mouth.

Legs are for walking, mouths are for asking questions.

We don't know if what they're saying is true or false. It's one thing if some of it is all lies, but the worst is if it's half true and half false, nine parts true and one part false, or all true but with some parts hidden.

Whether it was true or false, Cheng Yan had taken the cat and mouse around for a while, and all thirty taels of silver on him had been spent.

Dusk.

Waiting at the entrance of the post station.

The orange-yellow sunset met the fiery red sky in the distance, stretching to the clean street in front of us. Brother Ma's appearance added a touch of desolation and coolness to the autumn wind.

In Cheng Yan's memory, Senior Brother Ma was a serious person, but now he had a bright smile and heavy steps, as if he was carrying something heavy in his arms.

It's a secret.

"Senior brother." Cheng Yan bowed respectfully.

Ma Ye returned the greeting with a bow and addressed him as "Junior Brother".

Both of his fellow disciples were quiet, and Cheng Yan felt a little uncomfortable until Senior Brother Yang walked out of the alley on the side of the street. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and greeted his senior brother with a big smile.

"Junior brother."

"Cat Senior Brother".

The academy emphasizes education for all, and it's a tradition to address the spirits of Class Yimao as "senior brother."

Yang Shen asked with a smile, "So, what have you gained?"

(End of this chapter)