Daishan Turns The Wind Chapter 12

The first step was unsuccessful, and they didn’t know how to proceed with the next. Feng Yuluo and Shan Wuzhou exchanged glances for a moment, then started reviewing the facts from the beginning.

People started disappearing eleven days ago.

A total of twenty-three people vanished.

The disappearance sites had withered poplar leaves.

Everyone had minor or major illnesses.

Sixteen families did not want them back because of ongoing disputes. Two of the missing individuals had severely lacking moral character.

Seven families desperately wanted them back because the missing people were very good to their families.

Commonalities were difficult to determine, so Yuanbao’s host was unknown, as was the purpose for capturing these people.

Feng Yuluo recited these clues, feeling like he was going crazy. He laughed and asked Shan Wuzhou, “Forget it, let’s skip the commonality for now. Assuming we found the commonality, what are your thoughts on the next step?”

Shan Wuzhou replied that after finding the commonality, they would disguise themselves as people sharing that trait and wait for Yuanbao and the host to capture them.

Feng Yuluo chuckled, “We are two peas in a pod! That’s the theory, but Zishu City is so vast, and there are so many people. How long would we have to wait before we get captured?”

The heat was intense, light and shadow flickered on the walls, and the air felt stagnant. Cicadas chirped incessantly and annoyingly.

After a long silence, the two slowly looked at each other.

The commonality among the missing people must be hard to pinpoint, suggesting that many people possess this trait—it must be a common aspect of human behavior, thus easily overlooked.

Zishu City was too large. The furthest distance between the disappearance sites was forty li. Yuanbao and the host must be somewhere within this area, looking down on the mortal world, observing this specific behavior, and then taking those people.

In other words, those people had all been to the same place.

The long street was bustling, yet aside from the cicadas, it was strangely quiet at this moment. This quietness seemed to be waiting for something to arrive.

With their exceptional hearing, they caught the faint sound of a zither drifting through the stifling air.

Illusion Moon Pavilion.

How could Feng Yuluo have forgotten Yuanbao’s hint? Illusion Moon Pavilion.

The two stood up and looked at the tall building several zhang away.

Illusion Moon Pavilion was bustling with people. It was both the place Yuanbao was watching and the place the host chose victims.

Shan Wuzhou’s eyes were calm: “Should we go ask those families if the missing people had visited Illusion Moon Pavilion?”

It would just be their sixth trip.

“No need,” Feng Yuluo said, having a moment of clarity. “First, Kang Zhiwei went there.”

Second, he opened the case file and looked at the disappearance times of the twenty-three people. Starting eleven days ago, three people vanished in the first five days. From the sixth day onward, more than three people disappeared every day, with a maximum of six people on one day.

Six days ago, Gan Youyou rehearsed her repertoire. Five days ago, she formally debuted, celebrating her birthday and three years on stage. She announced that she had composed fourteen new pieces and would perform them for seven consecutive days.

During this period, Illusion Moon Pavilion was packed every night! The number of disappearances also climbed rapidly!

Since the commonality hadn’t been found, they didn’t need to play roles yet. The next step could be to investigate the disappearances after yesterday’s performance. There must have been people who vanished yesterday; they needed to check for connections.

With a new direction, Feng Yuluo rubbed his shoulders, feeling a surge of motivation. The two immediately rushed through the city.

The results came quickly. Three people had indeed gone missing last night. When their families were questioned, all three had visited Illusion Moon Pavilion.

Feng Yuluo and Shan Wuzhou still remembered one of them: Gan Daqiang’s attendant.

Yesterday afternoon, Gan Daqiang brought people to Illusion Moon Pavilion. Kang Xiaole was busy with hospitality and almost bumped into them after stepping on a fruit peel.

Although Shan Wuzhou helped him back up, the attendant still rushed over to harass Kang Xiaole.

Gan Daqiang and his group went to Illusion Moon Pavilion, likely to intimidate Gan Youyou. The owner came out and persuaded them to leave; the whole incident took less than a quarter of an hour.

During that time, the attendant stayed by Gan Daqiang’s side and only did one thing.

He cursed Kang Xiaole.

They had finally stumbled upon a lead. Using this as a starting point and recalling the information gathered earlier, the sixteen families didn’t want the missing people back because of constant disputes. The other seven families had fewer internal conflicts, but what if the conflict was external?

Arguing with others and making things difficult for people is common; almost everyone argues with others in life.

This could be the universal commonality.

Feng Yuluo shook his head to clear his thoughts, worriedly asking, “Do you think the person Yuanbao is targeting might be Kang Xiaole? All the missing people went to Illusion Moon Pavilion and harassed Kang Xiaole.”

The clouds had drifted away, and the sun beat down relentlessly, causing irritation.

Shan Wuzhou recalled many things: Kang Xiaole diligently working, his cautious gratitude for the help he received, humming tunes to himself after work, and asking Gan Youyou to compose music for him…

But behind the happiness, his younger brother was bullied and drowned himself, and his biological father took money to settle the matter, even saying those disgusting words to Kang Xiaole…

It was perfectly normal for someone who struggled to live, constantly harassed by family and outsiders, to develop inner demons.

The hatred festered, leading him to capture everyone who had insulted, beaten, or humiliated others.

The murderer captured last time was trapped in a painting, and judging by his terrified attempts to escape, he must have suffered severe torture. What fate awaited the people captured this time?

Feng Yuluo noticed his melancholy and said, “Time is short. The performance is probably over, and the crowd is leaving. We need to hurry over, put on a show, and get captured along with the person chosen today.”

Hopefully, Kang Xiaole only captured them to vent his frustration and hasn’t caused more serious consequences. If so, there was still time.

Feng Yuluo was dizzy from the heat. He patted his face to wake up. Just as he was about to fly, Shan Wuzhou calmed himself, pulled Feng Yuluo close, and ran across the rooftops, reaching the entrance of Illusion Moon Pavilion in a few leaps.

Like a hawk snatching a mouse.

A dense crowd was pushing its way out of the pavilion.

Feng Yuluo suddenly realized the younger man often did this. Displeased, he pulled away and complained, “I can fly myself.”

Shan Wuzhou: “…”

Sometimes he didn’t know what to say and could only continue to ignore it.

Preparing to blend in and look for people who were arguing, the two scanned the crowd with wide eyes. They spotted someone looking unhappy and quickly squeezed toward him.

Just then, wailing came from the street. An old man scrambled over, his face full of terror, pointing behind him and shouting:

“Someone’s dead! There’s a dead person!”

Gan Daqiang was dead.

He was hanging from a tree in the suburbs. His heavy, lifeless body bent a branch low. Blood dripped into the soil, staining a large area dark red.

Feng Yuluo quickly covered Shan Wuzhou’s eyes, pushed him aside to watch the crowd, and went to examine the corpse himself.

This man, who had been perfectly fine this morning, arrogantly pressuring Gan Youyou, was now a pathetic sight, surrounded by flies.

The back of his head was caved in, struck hard by a hammer, with white and red matter matted in his hair. The side of his ear was torn and hung down toward his neck. His face was relatively intact, but his eyes were wide and bleeding, and his purplish lips were fixed in a stiff smile.

The dappled shadows of the tree branches moved across his face, making him look momentarily alive.

But he was definitely dead. His body was covered in wounds inflicted by daggers, scissors, and clubs, with at least eight fatal injuries.

The constables rushed over. Feng Yuluo didn’t want to be misunderstood, so he quickly retreated.

The coroner briefly examined the body before covering it with a white cloth and quickly carrying it away to prevent panic. However, with hundreds of onlookers, the matter could not be concealed.

The constables were questioning Gan Daqiang’s attendants.

The attendants were badly frightened and recounted the situation incoherently.

Gan Daqiang felt hot in the city and wanted to go to the suburbs to escape the heat. A group of five packed up and set off, stopping here to rest. Gan Daqiang said he wanted to walk around in the back. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, they went looking for him. After searching for nearly another quarter of an hour, they found Gan Daqiang already hanging from the tree.

Feng Yuluo quickly scanned the onlookers. Among the fearful and curious bystanders, he noticed one person whose eyes showed surprise, followed by panic, and who was trying to leave.

Feng Yuluo raised his chin to signal Shan Wuzhou. The two caught the man, one on the left and one on the right.

He was a middle-aged man, nearly forty.

The man’s legs went weak, and he slid down, pressing his palms together to beg for mercy.

Shan Wuzhou quickly sealed his mute point and dragged him to a secluded spot.

“Speak, what did you see?”

The man shook his head, his face tear-streaked.

With a dead body involved, Feng Yuluo grew anxious. He held a stick against the man’s neck and threatened fiercely, “I know you didn’t kill him, but tell me what you know, or else…”

The man trembled, shaking his head wildly. He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot: “It really has nothing to do with me! My family is also a victim! That Gan Daqiang is scum. He bullied my child and forced me not to report it to the authorities. I have no power or influence; how could I fight him? I had no choice!”

Feng Yuluo was shocked. The stick slipped from his hand. Gan Daqiang had done such a thing!

“Did he also give you money?”

The man’s eyes darted around, and he lowered his head, trembling.

Shan Wuzhou held him down as he tried to run: “Besides your family, who else did Gan Daqiang bully? Tell us everything you know.”

The man cried out in pain as his shoulder was gripped, his face contorted. He urgently said, “I, how would I know? People wouldn’t tell me. Anyway, there must be many.”

“Snap!” Feng Yuluo broke the stick and kicked the ground angrily.

The man immediately fell silent, looking at him in terror.

Feng Yuluo took a deep breath, forced a smile, and led the man toward a secluded patch of woods, comforting him not to be afraid. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he emerged alone, clapping his hands clean.

Shan Wuzhou waited for the Patriarch. He didn’t ask questions, only took Feng Yuluo’s hand to check it and applied ointment to a scraped area.

Although the Patriarch was eight hundred years old, he often remained in seclusion. When he did emerge, he mostly spent time playing with his disciples, living a simple, happy life. Seeing such things seemed to be too much for him to bear. Shan Wuzhou regretted it; he should have investigated alone.

Feng Yuluo was still dazed.

After a long while, he spoke: “Kang Xiaole’s brother suffered the same fate. Kang Xiaole said that person died. Gan Daqiang also died today.”

Once at Illusion Moon Pavilion, and once at Gan Youyou’s residence, Kang Xiaole seemed somewhat flustered every time he encountered Gan Daqiang.

So, the enemy was actually Gan Daqiang.

Just as they suspected Kang Xiaole was targeted by Yuanbao and had captured many people, Gan Daqiang died. It was highly likely that Kang Xiaole was taking revenge.

But if he was the killer, he could have easily captured Gan Daqiang into the illusion. Why choose to expose the body in the wilderness, allowing others to discover it so quickly?

Feng Yuluo’s mind was in turmoil again. Shan Wuzhou said, “Gan Daqiang died within the last half hour. There are no traces of demonic arts. Let’s go to Illusion Moon Pavilion and see where Kang Xiaole was during that time.”

—

The result was somewhat unexpected, yet not surprising. Kang Xiaole was there wiping tables, collecting dishes, sweeping, and mopping the floor, busy as a bee. He was humming a new tune, completely content.

Seeing the two of them, Kang Xiaole exclaimed, “Oh?” His eyes sparkled. “You’re here! Why now? It’s all over. Today was even better than yesterday!”

Feng Yuluo leaned against the doorway and watched for a moment before walking over in disbelief, grabbing Kang Xiaole for a thorough examination.

Pulse, heartbeat, gaze, expression, scent… everything was normal.

Feng Yuluo sighed, rubbing his forehead, and sat down on the side.

Kang Xiaole scratched the cleaning cloth: “What’s wrong?”

Shan Wuzhou also sat down, looking at him. He said slowly, “Gan Daqiang is dead.”

Kang Xiaole nodded: “I heard. It’s terrifying.”

Shan Wuzhou: “You don’t seem surprised.”

“I am surprised. Everyone here was just talking about it. Lots of people ran off to see, but unfortunately, I can’t skip work, otherwise…” Kang Xiaole smiled sheepishly again. “Never mind, I wouldn’t dare go anyway.”

Shan Wuzhou and Feng Yuluo exchanged glances, indicating they hadn’t detected anything unusual.

Kang Xiaole found this strange and brought over tea, pouring them both a cup.

Feng Yuluo was anxious. He grabbed Kang Xiaole again, sincerely saying, “Xiaole, be good and tell the Patriarch the truth. I will figure out a solution for everything.”

Kang Xiaole looked bewildered.

Feng Yuluo lowered his voice: “Do you know Yuanbao?”

“Who?”

Feng Yuluo was blunt: “Forgive my intrusion, but did you kill Gan Daqiang?”