That day, the people of East Peak Mountain went around unearthing clues.
They found too many clues and suspects, which troubled them greatly.
East Peak Mountain had always been brazenly arrogant, and they had made many enemies. Moreover, those disciples had enemies of their own.
Looking at the pile of leads, they were not sure where to start.
“Damn, why are there so many leads?”
“We’ll investigate them all! Find out what everyone here did last night down to the smallest detail. I want to know even if they went to the outhouse.”
The group of people began to split the information.
“Tang Ritian?”
An elder looked at one of the profiles and frowned.
‘Isn’t Tang Ritian the medicine maker that has been very popular recently? It’s rumored that he is very powerful.’
Then, he remembered that when they went to Nanping, Guan Sheng and the others seemed to have had a conflict with that person.
“He’s suspicious!” He muttered.
Nanping Town was in that direction. Furthermore, they also knew that Guan Sheng and the others went to Nanping Town half a month ago. They were most definitely going to look for that kid.
However, that was only a hunch!
There were too many suspects that they had to investigate.
Most crucially, the culprit was in the latter or peak period of the State of Foundation Establishment, while Tang Ritian was only in the middle period.
Guan Sheng was also in the middle period, and he was also a martial arts prodigy. Tang Ritian should not have been able to kill Guan Sheng easily.
However, Tang Ritian was still worth investigating. After all, there was an established grudge.
Following that, he read the next piece of information.
That was the location reports of Guan Sheng and the others. They were going all over the place to search for the thief.
Half a month ago, they had indeed arrived at Nanping Town, but they did not go there afterward.
They stopped reporting their location two days ago. No one knew where they had gone!
That was strange!
According to the rules, the disciples had to report their locations every day. What could they have done that got them killed?
Did they manage to find the culprit?
That was possible. Those hot-headed youths might try to capture the culprit in an attempt to take all the credit.
If that were really the case, they would have been too impulsive. The thief was both brazen and meticulous, which meant that he was not an ordinary character.
After thinking for a long time, he stood up, took the information, and left with a group of disciples.
Along the way, they searched carefully and interrogated everyone they saw to find out the last location of Guan Sheng and the others.
However, they did not find anything.
At noon the next day, they entered Nanping Town.
“Gather here, everyone! East Peak Mountain is investigating a case. You’d better cooperate!”
The disciples yelled fiercely as soon as they entered the small town.
“Let me ask you, where were you the night before yesterday, starting from the evening? What were you doing? Did you see anyone suspicious?”
“The night before yesterday? I don’t think I remember… Oh! I remember now. I was in a brothel in Maple City that night! I was spending the night with the famous #3, Lil Miss Tao! Oh my, those legs, and those breasts! So tempting!”
“Damn!” The disciple who asked the question cursed softly. “Then… did you see anything suspicious?”
“No! We had some liquor and started to make out.”
“F*ck! What a pervert!” The disciple who asked the question was exasperated. “Next!”
He was becoming impatient.
“Hey! Don’t be like that. You have to be polite!” The elder walked over and said with a smile.
“Yes, Elder Zhong!” The disciple said respectfully.
Elder Zhong stood at the side and watched quietly. After the disciple finished interrogating the person, he stepped forward and tried to strike up a chat.
“Hey, hasn’t your town been quite famous lately?” He said casually.
“Yes! It’s all thanks to Storekeeper Tang!” The man said proudly.
Elder Zhong smiled and said, “I also heard that Storekeeper Tang is a master medicine maker! Say, do you know where he is from?”
“Uh… I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows!”
“Is that so? Then… do you know where Storekeeper Tang was the night before yesterday?”
“I’m not too sure. Oh, right, I think he went to Maple City and only returned the next day.”
The man said without thinking too much about it.
After he finished speaking, he realized that something was amiss and instantly became alert. “What are you doing? Are you trying to trick me? I’m warning you, you might be from East Peak Mountain, but don’t do anything reckless here. You might have a grudge with Storekeeper Tang, but that’s because your disciples were at fault. You can’t blame Storekeeper Tang.”
Elder Zhong smiled and said amiably, “I know. I’m just asking, don’t worry.”
After dismissing that person, he frowned and pondered carefully.
“He went to Maple City and only returned the next day? That was the night that Guan Sheng and the others were killed. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
He asked many people the same question. Many people were on alert and kept their mouths shut, while the others said the same thing as the man: Tang Hao went to Maple City that night.
The doubts in the elder’s heart became stronger and stronger.
He could tell that something was amiss.
If it were really that guy who killed Guan Sheng and the others, how did he do that? He could not figure that out.
“Let’s go and pay Tang Ritian a visit!”
He waved his hand and went to Ritian Pavilion with his disciples.
It was noon, which was peak hour at the store. Tang Hao was busy selling his second batch of medicine.
“His business… is really good!” Elder Zhong muttered as he watched the customers crowding at the entrance.
After everything was sold out and the customers left, Elder Zhong went into the store, cupped his fists, smiled, and greeted Tang Hao, “Storekeeper Tang!”
Tang Hao raised his head and glanced at him. He was secretly shocked, but he did not show it on his face.
“Welcome, distinguished guests from East Peak Mountain! You must be here because of that matter, right?” Tang Hao smiled drily. “I know you guys will eventually come.
“Come in and have a seat!” Tang Hao said.
“You’re too kind, Storekeeper Tang!”
Elder Zhong smiled courteously. His pair of eyes narrowed as he carefully sized up Tang Hao, hoping to discover some clues.
If the incident was related to that kid, he was sure to find something.
However, after careful observation, Elder Zhong did not discover any abnormalities. Tang Hao acted very naturally.
“Have some tea!”
Tang Hao brewed some tea and brought it over.
Elder Zhong picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and said with a smile, “Actually, I’m just here to investigate. Don’t be nervous, Storekeeper Tang. I definitely won’t trouble you if you’re not the one who did it.
“So, let me ask you… did you do it?”
As he said this, his eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at Tang Hao.
