Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 136 - 132: Trained by Hand (seeking subscription, seeking monthly ticket) _1

Chapter 136: Chapter 132: Trained by Hand (seeking subscription, seeking monthly ticket) _1

"It’s the elbow!"

Li Xuan’s gaze locked firmly with Duan Dong, the Marquis of Zhengdong. His voice was strong and resolute: "I’ve seen it before. It wasn’t just a simple impact. There was a broken tendon, slight sprains in the fascia, accompanied by bone fractures."

"Fascia sprain?" The Marquis of Zhengdong looked at Li Xuan and then at the corpse of the Old Madame Duan. His expression grew solemn: "Why so?"

"I suspect it was caused by the repetitive tug-of-war of the force controlling Old Madame Duan, which likely originated from within her bones. I’ve read Master Liu Sanjie’s notes, and the illusory fire of Zidie wouldn’t be so brutal. No, it was too strong, leaving the victim with no will. So, if we can confirm this point, not only can it clear your adopted daughter’s suspicion, but it can also help to find the real killer."

Li Xuan clasped his fist: "My Lord, I don’t need to eviscerate the old lady. I just need to inspect her arm."

Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Zhengdong walked over to Old Madame Duan’s side, grabbed her arm, pondering as if he was sensing something. His expression shifted, his pupils constricted, but his face showed clear hesitation, changing from pale to ashen.

Jiang Hanyun stepped forward: "Marquis of Zhengdong, we from the Liudao Division can attend if you wish. However, Zhuque Hall only has three senior examiners who must handle various difficult cases through the whole four states and fifteen prefectures of south Zhili. After the murder case at Lanyue House, Li Xuan has solved several major cases. Liu Sanjie himself once said that Li Xuan is the only worthy inheritor to his mantle."

"Did Liu Sanjie truly say that?" The Marquis of Zhengdong finally showed a reaction. After a moment of introspection, he exhaled slowly: "Just an arm? Are you sure?"

"Just the arm!" Li Xuan emphasised again: "My nephew only needs to inspect Old Madame Duan’s tendons and ligaments and everything will become clear."

"I will agree to this." The Marquis of Zhengdong glared at Li Xuan: "But if you cannot find anything, you will not be easily forgiven."

Li Xuan furrowed his brows, but still quickly walked over to the Old Madame Duan’s side.

He did not bring his tool box this time and directly borrowed a small knife from Jiang Hanyun.

Just as before, he covered his hands with the ’Yuanyi Spell’ and carefully cut through the skin of the Old Madame Duan’s elbow and forearm. He then proceeded to dissect deeper through the gap between the two muscle groups.

He was mainly examining the posterior compartment of the forearm, which was divided into two layers containing a total of ten muscles.

The moment the incision was made, Li Xuan’s expression became slightly serious; the inflammation of the tendons inside was visible to the naked eye.

Zhang Xu, standing behind him, showed a slight change of colour. Indeed, there were minor tears in the tendon and the ligaments also showed various degrees of damage.

Previously, such details might not have been noticed externally. But once Li Xuan had dissected Old Madame Duan’s muscles, the messy internal situation was laid bare.

This suggested that, before she died, the victim’s arm had been under constant strain in the opposite direction.

The Marquis of Zhengdong’s face cleared, he grumbled at the white-faced Zhang Xu, and then he humbly asked, "So, from where does this force originate?"

As a martial artist, he had medical knowledge. Consequently, when he examined Old Madame Duan’s right arm, he had already inferred the basics.

Thus, at this moment, he was more interested in the exact cause of his mother’s death and any clues related to the real murderer.

Li Xuan said nothing at first. He started to apply two spells to discern if there were any remnants of spells or traces of manipulation inside these muscles.

After failing to find anything, he dissected the muscles of Old Madame Duan’s forearm further revealing the radius and ulna bones. These bones showed minor fracture lines.

"It should be inside the bones."

Li Xuan seemed a bit doubtful at this time, but soon he resolutely decided to proceed. He directly cut into Old Madame Duan’s elbow with the knife and seamlessly separated the bones of the elbow joint between the forearm and the upper arm.

Then, with a flash of his hand like lightning, he grabbed hold of six blue threads.

These threads were initially hidden inside the radius and ulna bones. When Li Xuan separated Old Madame Duan’s elbow joint, these threads quickly retracted towards the humerus bone of the upper arm. However, Li Xuan was quicker and grasped them.

He tugged at the threads. Surprisingly, they were incredibly tough, neither breaking nor coming out when he pulled.

"What is this, nephew?"

The Marquis of Zhengdong’s facial expressions switched between surprise and rage. Zidie Demoness, Xia Nanyan, who was watching from a distance, also had a cold expression in her eyes. They could both imagine Old Madame Duan’s struggles and pain as she was controlled by these threads to commit suicide.

Sima Tianyuan and Lei Yun exchanged surprised glances, then they both looked at Li Xuan with amazement again. Sima Tianyuan couldn’t help but praise: "This young man is quite capable. It’s not surprising Liu Sanjie spoke so highly of him. His many accomplishments in recent days were not coincidental. How underestimated he was before."

Hearing this, Jiang Hanyun raised her chin: Her coroner had never let her down!

Indeed, this man was forced... ahem, trained by Jiang Hanyun personally.

Xue Yunrou, indifferent to the matter at hand, did not care about the threads in Li Xuan’s hands. She was focused only on Li Xuan, her eyes shining admirably.

To Xue Yunrou, her Xuan had a different kind of charm at that moment. It was different from when he demonstrated his responsibility and pride in the underground. However, it was just as attractive.

Princess Changle, standing beside her, was also observing Li Xuan attentively, her expression full of thoughts.

"This should be a kind of Gu, called Silkworm Gu." Zhang Xu looked at Li Xuan with a complicated expression, "If I’m not wrong, we can force it out of Old Madame Duan’s body by electrifying her heart."

Li Xuan was racking his brains upon thinking that he really provided a great help. While he did find the thread in the Old Lady’s bones, he had no idea what it was.

But he had no clue; he lacked knowledge.

"Monster Guide" does not record anything about the Gu insects, and he hadn’t even finished reading it. He was even thinking of asking Yue Qianqian for help.

Jiang Hanyun had already stepped forward, pointing his finger at the heart of the old lady.

She was on the cusp of mastering Thunder Style, which allowed her to strike the corpses’ hearts with the Power of Thunder but not physically harm them.

In the next moment, it became obvious that the Gu insect, which resembled a dragonfly but had hundreds of threads at the end, crawled out of the old lady’s chest.

Duan Dong of Zhendong Hou was furious and drew his sword, slashing at the Gu insect. However, he was blocked by Sima Tianyuan’s sword.

Their swords clashed, causing Sima Tianyuan to step back several steps. Lei Yun acted quickly and caught hold of the Gu insect.

"My lord, this Gu insect is still useful. It helps us identify the culprit who killed both old ladies through the help of knowledgeable Spellcasters," Lei Yun explained.

"Actually, we don’t need this insect."

Finally, Zhang Xu diverted his gaze from Li Xuan, "Just invite a Boshi of Demons to come in and ask. I remember this kind of Gu insect needs a special method to implant into the human body."

As a result, Yue Qianqian, who was waiting outside, was called in: "My lords, this Silkworm Gu requires the victims not to move or even faint within one hour. Also, you need to be in close contact and guide with your mana. The shell and limbs of this Gu insect are fragile, which indicates it was just hatched, and I predict it was implanted within the last five days."

Sima Tianyuan’s face changed upon hearing this, "Mr. Duan, have anyone in your mansion been in touch with Lady Duan and Old Lady Cui for more than one hour alone during the last few days? They must be at least at the fourth house level."

"There was one such person." Duan Dong, the Zhendong Hou, barely took time to ponder and stepped out of the courtyard with a stern look, "Where is Lu Xuanniang?"

After asking thrice without response, he was not angered and immediately headed east: "All martial masters and servant followers, search the entire mansion. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find Lu Xuanniang today!"

Following him, Lei Yun asked Lady Duan, "Madam, who is this Lu Xuanniang?"

"She was the personal maidservant of the old lady."

While walking quickly, Lady Duan explained, "She entered the house three years ago and won the heart of the old lady with her impressive massage and acupuncture skills. I heard that she’s a spell cultivator at the Fourth-Floor Territory."

Li Xuan, who was following behind, thought that everything made sense. To implant the Silkworm Gu, one does not necessarily need to be a spell cultivator at the sixth house level. Even a cultivator at the Fourth-Floor Territory, or even lower, could pull it off.

Lei Yun stroked his chin, "So, how did the old lady get those scars and scales?"

"You would have to ask that woman. Since she is favored for her massage and acupuncture skills, it would not be difficult for her to do this. If I am not mistaken, Old Lady Cui must have also been suffering from rheumatism. If she can implant the Silkworm Gu into both ladies, she can also fabricate traces."

Sima Tianyuan’s gaze flickered, "I’m only curious why a spell cultivator at the Fourth-Floor Territory would willingly become a slave in your mansion."

"It was said that her former master had offended someone. The martial masters and spell cultivators they sponsored were apprehended and sold as sin slaves. Actually, we have never treated her as a slave. She is treated just like any martial masters and spell cultivators in our house."

While Lady Duan was speaking, a flame erupted in front of her, followed by cries of ’Fire’, ’Fetch water.’

The faces of everyone present changed, and they quickened their pace.

They soon arrived at a row of rooms, and a roaring fire had already engulfed the third room from the left.

Zhendong Hou didn’t care about the flames and dashed directly into the fire, pulling out a woman’s body and tossing it with force on the ground outside.

But everyone could tell that the woman was already relieved of breath. There was a deep wound on her neck — she died in the same way as both old ladies.

Li Xuan recognized her as the maidservant who had previously answered Sima Tianyuan’s question in the Old Madam Duan’s room.

"Summon her spirit!" said the furious Zhendong Hou, as his glaring eyes swung between Li Xuan and Zhang Xu, "I want to know who the instigator was! Who on earth is so audacious and crazy enough to lay hands on my mother?"

"Let me do it."

Xue Yunrou walked gracefully towards them, "In terms of summoning spirits, no one in the world can surpass the Tianshi’s mansion."

None of the people present doubted this, as Xue Yunrou’s words were true.

There was a real-world example that proved the supremacy of the Tianshi’s mansion in Shenpo spells. The Emperor of Fengdu was created by the fourth-generation Heavenly Master of the Tianshi’s mansion.

And as a genius spell cultivator at the sixth house level, Xue Yunrou’s spell capabilities were indeed superior.

But when Xue Yunrou began to summon the remaining spirit by attracting scattered spirits around, she shook her head and voluntarily dispelled her spell, "Her Shenpo is incomplete and has completely scattered. She must have used some method to have her soul fly away and scatter. Summoning her spirit would be futile."