Chapter 1430: Pursuing the Culprit, Fires in the Night!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Xia Fan didn’t like violence, but at times, it was necessary.
The Ink Eagles were now completely obedient, surrounding Xia Fan while sporting new b.u.mps on their heads. The bigger Ink Eagles even had footprints from Xia Fan’s kicks on their wings.
Xia Fan patted the dust off of himself and smiled, “You should have done this ages ago and saved yourself the pain. Truly, refusing a toast only to drink after losing the bet, forcing me to beat you until you behaved.”
The Ink Eagles were like children who had done something wrong, repeatedly nodding as if they could understand what Xia Fan was saying.
In truth, this was just a misperception. While Xia Fan was talking, he was also constantly letting out high-frequency sounds. These sounds had a magic power that could enter into the minds of creatures, linking directly with their nervous systems. Through this, the creatures could understand what Xia Fan was saying.
!!
At the start, the Ink Eagles were ignoring him, feeling that the strange sound in their brains was very annoying.
But now that they had been beaten and were behaving, they started to seriously listen to Xia Fan’s words. Thus, as everyone outside the cage watched, Xia Fan began to converse with the Ink Eagles.
Xia Fan finally understood what Hunter Grandpa meant when he said that he could control higher levels of creatures the higher his rank was. If he ran into a creature that wouldn’t listen, he could just capture them and give them a good beating. It was such a simple and crude line of logic.
The Beast Aria was essentially a super-high-frequency sound wave that could communicate with creatures. Beasts tended to avoid danger and do what benefitted them, so they would listen to whoever was the strongest. The reason there were beasts who wouldn’t listen was because the person asking wasn’t strong enough.
The pitiful Ink Eagles were best in speed, but Xia Fan was faster and more agile than them, making him their natural counter.
As the saying went, only speed could counter speed, and the Ink Eagles who were known for speed could only be considered unlucky after running into the faster Xia Fan.
Outside the cage, everyone was gobsmacked, unable to believe that Xia Fan could defeat the Ink Eagles and communicate with them.
Xia Fan didn’t need long to get the information he needed and leave the cage.
“Your Majesty, there’s something you need to see.”
“What thing?”
Xia Fan waved his hand, and the largest Ink Eagle flapped to the side of the cage, its large wings stirring up a dust storm that left everyone startled.
“Your Majesty, look. Someone has written something on this Ink Eagle’s leg.”
Eastsea Eagle was startled. Mustering his courage, he came forward to look. Sure enough, someone had written two words in crimson ink on the eagle’s thick leg. Although they had been worn heavily away, they were still identifiable.
“b.u.t.terfly Luo!!!” Eastsea Eagle cried out the two words, his face paling as he staggered backward.
Xia Fan looked and saw that the plump face of the imperial city steward had also frozen, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. It was clear that both he and Eastsea Eagle knew who b.u.t.terfly Luo was.
Xia Fan said calmly, “The Ink Eagle said that someone wrote these words on his leg while he was sleeping at night. He doesn’t know who did it or how it was done.
“The next day, when the previous emperor came to feed the eagle and saw those two words, he instantly paled. When he emerged from the eagle garden, he punished the guards, and he was restless after that.”
The new emperor Eastsea Eagle and the Imperial City Steward shared a look.
A minute pa.s.sed before Eastsea Eagle finally awoke from his stupor. With a bitter smile, he said, “The owner of that name pa.s.sed away thirty years ago.”
…
A secret chamber in the depths of the imperial city…
Eastsea Eagle slowly retold the story of b.u.t.terfly Luo.
The Eaglites had a custom of marrying sisters to the same person. b.u.t.terfly Luo and Eastsea Eagle’s mother b.u.t.terfly Yun were sisters, and they had both been married to the previous emperor Skyraiser Eagle. The old emperor had doted on them greatly.
At the time, the Chaos Eagle Empire had a great general called Scarleteye Eagle.
Scarleteye Eagle was born with red eyebrows, giving him a unique appearance. At the time, he had been one of the highest-ranked experts of the empire, an Advanced Star Region expert. He had dual Wind and Fire special abilities and was called the Magma Hurricane.
Scarleteye Eagle often went in and out of the Imperial City, and he eventually had an affair with b.u.t.terfly Luo. In the end, b.u.t.terfly Luo became pregnant with Scarleteye Eagle’s child.
The old emperor had believed that b.u.t.terfly Luo was pregnant with his own kin, but when the child was born, the infant had scarlet eyebrows. The emperor was instantly enraged, and he had b.u.t.terfly Luo drink poisoned wine, forcing her to commit suicide.
He then threw Scarleteye Eagle’s child into the eagle garden for the eagles to feast on.
The old emperor attempted to arrest Scarleteye Eagle, but he was a great general of the empire with many loyal followers. Those people notified him, and he was able to escape.
Enraged, the old emperor executed the entirety of Scarleteye Eagle’s family and all his close friends, in addition to attaching a giant bounty to him.
As one of the few mighty experts in the empire, Scarleteye Eagle naturally wasn’t easy to kill. As time pa.s.sed, the incident was gradually forgotten.
Now, thirty years later, the name of b.u.t.terfly Luo had reemerged in the Imperial City.
Xia Fan stroked his chin. “So there was this sort of story! It seems the old emperor’s death is linked to Scarleteye Eagle. Seeing b.u.t.terfly Luo’s name made him recall that past incident, which caused the change in personality.”
Wu Zhuo shook his head. “It seems like I’ve really gotten old. How is it that you knew from the start that the old emperor was killed? You weren’t even at the crime scene. All you had was looking at pictures.”
Xia Fan chuckled. “It’s nothing. It’s just that I happen to know about the poison the old emperor took.
“This poison’s name is Withering Extinction. It’s a fierce poison, and anyone who takes it will die from organ failure in a few seconds.
“From the pictures, we can see that the old emperor only let out some white froth. This means that his mouth was closed at the time so that he couldn’t make any noise, nor could he throw up the poison in his stomach.
“The old emperor has always lived in luxury and was getting on in years. I don’t think he’s someone who could endure the ferocity of the poison without making a single noise.
“What sort of reason could there be for him to not make any noise while he was in pain? Or was there someone restraining him so that he couldn’t make a sound no matter how much pain he was in? If any noise got out, the guards outside would hear, yes?”
Wu Zhuo was startled. “I personally inspected the corpse. The old emperor had no signs of being restrained. If someone was pouring poison into his body, there would definitely be signs of resistance!”
Xia Fan waved his hand. “This matter concerns the Ashen Moon Universe, so you can’t a.n.a.lyze it using common sense.
“What if I had a control-type special ability? If I wanted to make you take poison, I wouldn’t need to get close. I could just control you into drinking the poison without leaving any traces.”
Wu Zhuo’s eyes flew open, and he said in a raspy voice, “Are you saying that the culprit never entered the living chambers?”
Xia Fan sighed. “It seems so. See how swift and savage the Ink Eagles of the eagle garden are? Yet one night, someone managed to write on an Ink Eagle’s leg without it sensing anything. I’m guessing that the criminal used a control special ability that silently brought a brush into the eagle garden.
“On the same principle, he could control the old emperor from a long distance and make him take poison, leaving behind no evidence.”
Besides Traveling Buddha, who didn’t care about anything, everyone else in the room gasped.
The case was basically clear now. The criminal had a long-range control special ability. He had written a woman’s name on the Ink Eagle’s leg, causing the old emperor to panic, and then he had used the same ability to make the old emperor commit suicide through poison.
This was a murder!
The murderer probably wasn’t the wanted fugitive Scarleteye Eagle, but he was definitely connected!
“Tell us…how do we catch the culprit!” Eastsea Eagle stood up and clenched his fists, his face ashen.
Xia Fan indifferently said, “Long-range control murders are just too difficult to investigate. I’ve smelled the crimson ink, and it’s a very common sort which can be bought at one dollar per four bottles, so there’s nothing to be gained from that avenue.
“As for the scent of wild Moon Orchids in the living chambers, although I find it very strange that the scent is in the living chambers, since the criminal attacked from a long range, the scent can’t have been left by the murderer. Perhaps it was from a servant or a guard.
“In short, we can continue investigating that clue, but there’s little hope.
“The only hope is the poison itself. Withering Extinction has several ways of being concocted. If I can see the old emperor’s corpse, I might be able to use my Scent special ability to find a clue, such as the environment the poison was mixed in, whether it was the product of a lab or a master poisoner, and what materials were used and whether they were collected or bought. Through these clues, we can further our investigation.
“As for the empire side, if possible, it would naturally be best to investigate all the people with long-range control special abilities, but the chances are slim.
“When I arrived, I found that the empire doesn’t even have a customs check, and all s.h.i.+ps can go in and out as they please. In these circ.u.mstances, finding a single person is too difficult.”
Eastsea Eagle was momentarily speechless.
Xia Fan was telling the truth. Unlike the Inner Territories, the Outer Frontier could be freely entered and exited, and was rife with pirates.
Eastsea Eagle slammed the table and said, “Even it’s only a tiny bit of hope, we have to try!”
At this moment, the Imperial City Steward suddenly said, “Investigator Xia Fan, it seems you will still need to perform an autopsy on the body?”
Before Xia Fan could reply, Eastsea Eagle roared, “So what!? Father is already dead! Nothing is more important than finding out who killed Father!”
The steward panicked and said, “Your Majesty, calm yourself. I am not trying to stop this. It’s just that this matter is very important. Before the autopsy, the previous emperor will have to have his body bathed and his clothes changed. In addition, you should perform a ritual to explain to your father that you have no other choice.”
Eastsea Eagle was taken aback, and then he slapped his head and said shamefully, “I see! I wrongly blamed you. After all, you are the Chief Steward, so you know what is best.”
Turning around, Eastsea Eagle said to Xia Fan, “It’s already evening. Let’s have it done tomorrow morning.”
What could Xia Fan say? Although this was only an emperor of a local polity, he was still an emperor, revered by tens of millions of Eaglites.
Thus, after some discussion, they agreed to perform the autopsy the next morning. Tonight, the new emperor would accompany his father.
—
Once they had left the imperial city and were preparing to rest at the imperial hotel, Wu Zhuo saw that no one was around and then shook his head. “Only a local emperor of the Outer Frontier, but he thinks he’s something else.
“But back to the actual matter at hand, I’ve seen your ability today. Speed, smell, beast control,,, all three in one person truly amazes this old man. And you even know about poisons?”
Xia Fan nonchalantly replied, “Not a lot, only enough to get by.”
“Only enough to get by? We’re all idiots in front of you. You can hardly call it that!
“I didn’t see Lang Yonghe around. This guy was probably so badly humiliated by you that he wasn’t able to stick around. But I’m not leaving. Tomorrow, I will watch with my own eyes as you solve the case!”
Xia Fan said nothing, only smiling.
…
The Outer Frontier was impoverished, so the rooms at the Imperial Hotel and the feast for Xia Fan and the others would have been quite mediocre if measured by the Union’s standards.
After dinner, Traveling Buddha said he wanted to go on a walk. This was Xia Fan’s first time in the Outer Frontier, so he agreed. The imperial guards wanted to follow them, but Traveling Buddha scared them off with a glare.
Xia Fan went to the reception and exchanged a thousand Union Dollars for the local currency. The exchange rate was rather generous, at a thousand Union Dollars for twenty-four thousand Eagle Dollars. Traveling Buddha also traded in some.
Although they were in the capital of the Chaos Eagle Empire, the city only had a population of five million, equivalent to a small city of the Starcloud Union. The buildings imitated the style of the Inner Territories and were of little interest.
The Eaglites, whether young or old, man or woman, liked to have an eagle perched on their shoulder. Having a pureblooded hunting eagle was a symbol of wealth and status. Even the stall owners lining the streets would have wooden racks next to their stalls where two eagles could perch.
As this place was very close to the Inner Territories, trade was thriving, and the Eaglites didn’t find anything strange about two foreigners like Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha walking around. On the contrary, they took them as country b.u.mpkins, particularly Traveling Buddha, who tried to eat anything new he came across. When he found something that tasted good, he would make a big deal about it.
The two of them spent a lot of time in the night market, and Xia Fan discovered that he shouldn’t have exchanged for money. So far, he had only spent four Eagle Dollars and bought two skewers packed with local fruits. He simply couldn’t find a place to spend his money, as there was nothing he wanted to buy.
Traveling Buddha bought some roast meat, which he and Xia Fan ate together using toothpicks. He said, “Everyone says that the Outer Zone is a savage place, but it doesn’t seem that bad. I don’t see all the pirates and wanted criminals, and the food isn’t even that good. How boring.”
Xia Fan rolled his eyes. “Pirates won’t walk around with their jobs on their faces. Moreover, this is only three days away from the Alliance, so this was never a chaotic place.”
“Eh, whatever, I’m bored. You can investigate the case, but I’ve got nothing to do.”
“It’s not like anyone is stopping you.”
“Forget it. I’ve got no interest in investigating cases. I prefer fighting.”
The two of them chatted away when they suddenly heard a ma.s.sive boom from the direction of the Imperial City.
*Kaboom!*
The sound was so loud that it could be heard from several dozen kilometers away, and then fire erupted toward the heavens.
“What’s going on?”
“Let’s go and see!”
The two of them threw aside the plate of roast meat and hurried toward the Imperial City.