abnabooks Chapter 355 Conspiracy
Chapter 355 Conspiracy
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Two days later, in the early morning, in Shisong Subdistrict.
Chen Yan stumbled out of the tavern. A gust of cool wind blew by, and he couldn't help but shiver. The alcohol in his stomach surged up wildly. He leaned against a street lamp and gagged several times before he managed to stop himself from vomiting. After letting out a burp, he disappeared into a small alley.
The light in the alley was not very bright, after all, it was early morning, the sun was covered by layers of clouds, and the eastern sky showed a pale blue color. It was early autumn, and a cool breeze blew through the alley from time to time.
The alley was lined with small shops that hadn't opened yet, their neon signs flashing brightly. He was the only one in the alley, leaning against the wall, humming a mumbled tune as he walked forward, leaving the already bustling main street behind.
As he walked down the alley for more than ten meters, a cool breeze blew by, and he suddenly felt the urge to urinate. When he turned a corner to urinate, he saw the horrifying scene.
There was a person lying in that corner, a young woman, who had obviously been dead for some time, with a black lightning-struck wooden sword stuck in her left chest.
"Ah!" Chen Yan screamed, instantly sobering up considerably. Forgetting even to urinate, he frantically ran into the street, shouting in terror to passersby, "Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"
His shouts quickly attracted the attention of many people, who followed him to the crime scene. The moment they saw the body, everyone gasped, their expressions as if they had seen an extremely terrifying monster.
More and more people gathered in the alley, eventually attracting the attention of the patrol troops. When the patrol troops saw the body, their faces turned ashen. They immediately sealed off the scene and treated this murder case as the most important case in the past decade.
When the wood priest hurriedly told Qin Xiaochuan about the murder, Qin Xiaochuan was having breakfast with everyone in the royal dining room.
After the Wood Priest recounted the events of the case, even Han Kexin's expression changed. Qin Xiaochuan asked in bewilderment, "Although a murder case is not a small matter, this is Crescent City after all. The people here fight with demons and beasts all year round. They should be used to life and death by now. Why would it cause such a big impact? Even you, Wood Priest, seem to take it very seriously."
Upon hearing this, the wood priest stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "Because behind this seemingly ordinary murder case, there is probably a huge conspiracy."
Qin Xiaochuan put down his soup spoon and asked, "Why do you say that?"
The wood priest said, "Lightning-struck wood has the power to seal away spirits. Therefore, there is a taboo in our Blood Witch Clan: if someone dies from being pierced in the heart by lightning-struck wood, they cannot be reincarnated as an ordinary human through the Land of Rebirth. This is the greatest curse for the Blood Witch Clan. Even Blood Witches who kill using this method will suffer the same curse. Therefore, no one in the Blood Witch Clan would commit such a taboo and do such a thing."
"You mean? The murderer can't be a member of the Blood Witch Clan." Qin Xiaochuan instantly understood what the Wood Priest meant. If the murderer wasn't a member of the Blood Witch Clan, then it could only be an ordinary human or a demon. However, demons wouldn't be able to commit murder in New Moon City, so the only perpetrator was a human. But currently, the only known humans in New Moon City are him and Guo Shiyi.
"Not bad." The wood priest glanced at Guo Shiyi and said, "Not long after the incident, rumors started circulating among the crowd, saying that the murderer must be a human who returned to Crescent City with the Uncrowned Ones, clearly pointing the finger at Miss Guo."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaochuan slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily, "What makes them think that? What evidence do they have?!"
Guo Shiyi's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant, but she remained silent throughout.
The wood priest said in a deep voice, "There are rumors that Miss Guo is a demon hunter, someone who hunts down the Blood Witch Clan."
Qin Xiaochuan was stunned upon hearing this; such an excuse was indeed very easy to bewitch people.
Han Kexin sneered, "The Wood Priest is right. This is indeed a conspiracy. So many rumors have spread so soon after the incident. It was obviously planned in advance."
Qin Xiaochuan calmed down. He knew that getting angry wouldn't do any good at this point, so he asked, "Then who do you think is the mastermind behind this?"
The Wood Priest remained silent upon hearing this, but Han Kexin spoke without any restraint: "Why did this happen earlier or later, but precisely when Zhu Yihu was being brought back to Crescent City to face trial? They clearly wanted to use this to undermine your prestige. Who else could do something like this? Only the Gold Priest."
Qin Xiaochuan and the Wood Priest were aware of Han Kexin's suspicions, but they couldn't say it aloud because of their special status. The Gold Priest, on the other hand, was the actual ruler of Crescent City. Their judgment that the Gold Priest was the mastermind without any evidence was, regardless of its validity, a form of slander.
"In any case, someone will definitely bring this up in the council tomorrow morning, so please be prepared, Uncrowned One," the Wood Priest said.
Qin Xiaochuan had long anticipated that the Golden Priest would not let the matter rest, but he never expected the other party to use such a vicious trick, which hit his weak spot exactly. What he feared most was dragging Guo Shiyi into this. If Guo Shiyi were to suffer any harm as a result, he would be unforgivable. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel flustered and looked at Guo Shiyi. Guo Shiyi, however, held his hand that was on the dining table and gave him a fearless look.
Seeing her eyes, Qin Xiaochuan felt much more at ease. He had made up his mind that no matter what happened, he would take responsibility for Guo Shiyi and would never let her suffer any harm. Thinking of this, he turned to the Wood Priest and asked, "Wood Priest, what do you think I should do?"
The wood priest stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then said, "Actually, I was already thinking about this before I came here. This matter came too suddenly and has had a terrible impact. The other side obviously wants to crush you quickly with overwhelming force. We are unprepared to deal with a prepared one, which puts us at a disadvantage. We absolutely cannot confront them head-on, otherwise we will be playing right into their hands. I can't think of a good countermeasure right now, but there is a basic principle that will not be wrong."
"What principle?" Qin Xiaochuan asked anxiously.
"Haste makes waste," the Wood Priest said slowly, looking into Qin Xiaochuan's eyes. "They want to use speed to counter slowness, so we'll use slowness to counter speed. We need time to gather evidence that is favorable to Miss Guo."