Yang Jing instructed the workers to serve tea.

"Yes, Domain Master."

The workers went out, and after not too long, they came back to report, "Domain Master, Vice Domain Master Wang is not within the manor. According to his assistant Chen Qi, Vice Domain Master Wang went to the Cold Forest early in the morning for an investigation."

Yang Jing's face darkened, "Have you called the Vice Domain Master?"

The worker said, "A call was made, but it was Assistant Chen Qi who made the call, and the Vice Domain Master said he can't come back for now."

Yang Jing's expression turned ugly, "Did you tell Chen Qi that the emissary from the Ruins has arrived and wants to see Vice Domain Master Wang?"

The worker cautiously said, "I did tell him, but Vice Domain Master Wang said... said..."

Having said that, the worker cautiously glanced at Yang Jing, seemingly worried and afraid to continue.

Yang Jing couldn't help but scold, "What did Vice Domain Master Wang say?"

Only then did the worker carefully answer, "Vice Domain Master Wang said... said that even if the emissary from Headquarters has arrived, there is no reason to call back someone in the middle of a task. Moreover, receiving the emissary is the responsibility of the Domain Master, not the Vice Domain Master's."

"How preposterous, to actually ignore the emissary from the Ruins! Does Vice Domain Master Wang not realize the seriousness of the incident at Qinghu Lake?"

Yang Jing slammed the table angrily, then turned to look at Xiao Mu with a careful inquiry, "Mr. Xiao, what do you think?"

Xiao Mu faintly sensed the divisive intent in Yang Jing's words and naturally wasn't going to fall for it. He smiled and said, "Forget it, let's not wait for Vice Domain Master Wang. You go ahead and take me to Qinghu Lake to have a look. I'll see if I can find some clues and track the movements of the Mutated Beings from the Five Elements Sect."

Seeing that Xiao Mu wasn't taken in, Yang Jing felt a touch of disappointment, but his face didn't show it. He still respectfully said to Xiao Mu, "Yes, Mr. Xiao, please follow me!"

Xiao Mu nodded his head and stood up.

※※※

Yang Jing was once again leading Xiao Mu, heading towards Qinghu Lake.

Qinghu Lake was roughly located in the center of the Tianmen Domain, with the Cold Forest to the southeast of the lake.

The two of them continued to use their movement techniques, heading southeast.

The size of Tianmen Domain is considered small among the Eighteen Domains of the Great Tang Ruins, being only about one-fifth of the Ancient River Area, the largest domain.

Using their movement techniques, Xiao Mu and Yang Jing reached the vicinity of Qinghu Lake in about half a day.

Qinghu Lake was a natural lake formed after the World Mutation due to the Earth splitting open. There were minerals at the bottom of the lake and these minerals also underwent a Mutation due to the World Mutation, turning them into Spiritual Stones.

Because of these Spiritual Stones, the water in the lake acquired spirituality, causing the fish in the lake to mutate in large numbers, becoming spiritual creatures. Not only was their flesh delicious, but consuming them in large quantities had the effect of Energy Fruit.

The area of Qinghu Lake was not small, being roughly a hundred li in circumference. By the time Xiao Mu and Yang Jing arrived, there were quite a few Mutated Beings on the lake surface, catching fish by walking on water.

A Mutated Being caught a giant carp over a meter long in his hand and laughed heartily.

"Mr. Xiao, this is the place."

Yang Jing led Xiao Mu to a spot on the south side of Qinghu Lake, stopping at a place that was specifically marked and surrounded by a steel fence. He pointed inside the enclosure to Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu nodded, looking inside the steel fence.

The Bloodstains on the ground had already dried, yet they were still discernible.

The footprints on the ground were shallow and in disarray, with some places showing signs of reclining bodies. It was at this spot that the dozen or so Mutated Beings died.

The deceased were not far from each other's death sites, at most two to three steps apart.

There were few signs of battle, and the damp surface of the lake almost retained no footprints, which meant the battle was very short. In a very, very short period of time, the Mutated Beings of the Five Elements Sect had killed over a dozen ordinary Mutated Beings.

"Mr. Xiao, among the fifteen people who died, the strongest were at the Late Fifth Realm, a total of three people. Five were at the Mid Fifth Realm, six at the Early Stage of the Fifth Realm, and the rest were at the Fourth Realm," Yang Jing said.

Xiao Mu nodded without saying anything, staring at the ground for a while longer before suddenly saying, "The Mutated Being from the Five Elements Sect who killed them was alone, a man, with strength at the Early Stage of the Yin God Realm. He had fully mastered the Five Elements Power, successfully possessed the divine light of the Five Elements, and had only learned one Escape Art, the Metal Escape Technique."

"How... how can that be discerned?" Yang Jing wore an expression of utter astonishment. He had already surveyed this area but had found nothing apart from deducing from the wounds on the deceased that the murderer was from the Five Elements Sect.

However, Xiao Mu had only been here for less than a minute and had already deduced the strength level of the Five Elements Sect's killer and which Escape Art he had mastered from traces left several days prior.

"May I ask... Mr. Xiao, how did you discover that information about the Mutated Beings from the Five Elements Sect? Could you explain your method to me?"

Before Xiao Mu had arrived, the supervising emissary of Tianmen Domain had also examined the scene of the battle and found nothing.

The strength of this supervising emissary was at the Late Yin God Realm, which was higher than Xiao Mu's.

Therefore, Yang Jing had reason to believe that Xiao Mu was able to discern the information about the murderer from the Five Elements Sect not because of his strength, but because he had a special method.

"Your talent is too low; you wouldn't be able to learn it."

Xiao Mu shook his head slightly, rejecting Yang Jing's request, but in his heart, he couldn't help but mock his own answer.

It felt like being a charlatan.

But it seemed to be the best answer, for if he told the truth to Yang Jing, stating that his own ability to discern was due to the cultivation of Taoist Law, it might seem demeaning.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.