Shi Lang looked at the reports on his communicator and located a spot where a drop of blood was left over. He recalled all the nanoprobes back into the communicator and scanned the place.
The communicator showed that the blood was that of a human. Shi Lang did not waste time and generated a DNA sequence from minimal blood. Then he collected samples from the family of the victim. They did not understand why this immortal master was collecting their hair.
They found that none of the samples matched. Meaning this drop of blood was not from these people. He thought of something and drew an array pattern on the floor. He was not spending his entire time on cultivation. Array formations were the subject of his interest.
His brain was also instilled with the knowledge of arrays from when he discovered the first ruin on a foreign planet. While engraving the array, the young man smiled as he recalled 3PO.
The array activated, and a few scenes flashed in Shi Lang's mind. He used a recalling array to find out what was going on here. He saw a lean man tying a young girl and slitting her wrists and ankle to collect her blood. This wasn't all. He violated the girl sexually. During her last breaths, the girl managed to bite off the wrist of the old man. The wound was deep, but it was as if his body was dry. No blood flowed out.
Shi Lang finally saw the young lady spitting out the content of her mouth. The man said something, and all the wounds on the young lady's body began to heal miraculously and vanish. The young man did not say much but clenched his fists in anger.
Suddenly he caught the sight of a booklet lying on the side. It said, 'Blood Moon Sutra.'
Shi Lang realized why this guy killed victims on a new moon night. He was using this method to improve his cultivation. The person he was looking at was a demonic cultivator, and Shi Lang decided to kill this man. However, the strength of his enemy was at least an Immortal General.
He was not sure if he would be able to take this guy down. Thinking about what happened here, Shi Lang decided to stake out. He left the room and said, "Xiao Sung, will the villagers listen to something I say?"
Xiao Sung bowed and said, "You are an immortal master, Sir. They will listen to you. I will gather them."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "Gather them all in front of the village chief's house. I will meet you there."
Xiao Sung nodded and left the place quickly. Shi Lang observed the house and soon set up an array around it. After an hour, he finished, sprinkled some dried herbs in the courtyard, and then left.
...
A crowd was gathered before the village chief's house. A burly man asked, "Chief, what about the immortal master? What can we give him?"
Another lady echoed his thoughts, and the village chief said, "Calm down, Xiao er, Ming Yue. Calm down. The immortal master will soon be here and tell you his purpose."
The people did not trust the so-called immortals much, but they had no other options. They still respected the wise old village chief. Hearing this, they all fell silent. They all waited, and after a few minutes, Shi Lang came over.
He smiled amiably, and the people felt a pressure radiating from him. The terran smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Shi Lang. I have come from the Spirit Heart Sect to investigate a few things happening here."
The people nodded, and after a slight bow, the man, Xiao Er, asked, "Sir, are you talking about the deaths of the two girls?"
Shi Lang nodded and said, "I am talking about that case. From the clues I have deducted, there will be another death."
The villagers were shocked, they could not understand it for a second, and the last asked, "You mean to say, one more death?"
Shi Lang sighed and said, "Yes."
The people were shocked, and Shi Lang continued, "That man has been killing women all over the place, and he is using the night of the full moon for these atrocious actions. Tomorrow happens to be a full moon night. I am sure he will come here."
The village chief asked, "Immortal master, why do you think he will come here?"
Shi Lang replied, "In the past, he has killed three women in every spot. He will come here for sure."
The people were shocked and feared that Tsu Zheng would kill someone among them. Shi Lang saw their faces littered with fear, and the young man said, "You do not have to worry much. I will protect you all. However, I want to ask you a few things."
The people looked at him, and Shi Lang asked, "Would you all like to avenge those innocent girls who have been killed?"
The people froze, and Shi Lang took the cheap emotional card from his pocket and said, "If it were your daughter who faced such injustice and cruelty, would you still sit back?"
The people were inspired enough, but they could not decide who should reply, and the old Village Leader came to their defense, "Immortal Master, you do not have to worry. We are all here to lay down our lives to get those poor souls justice. Please tell us what we need to do."
The terran replied, "You all need to gather all the girls in the last victim's house, the village chief. I will handle the rest."
The people were confused, and the village chief asked, "Immortal Master, what about the rest of the people?"
Shi Lang shook his head and said, "They will not be harmed. However, if you are all still worried, gather at the village chief's house. I think it is big enough to accommodate you all till I am done finishing this guy off."
The people discussed, and the plan was set. Now they needed to wait for the night to fall.
…
The villagers were all inside the village chief's house, and Shi Lang had cast a double barrier array around the house. Although they were safe, their mind was constantly dwelling on the issue. The tension was almost tangible.
On one side, they were worried about their safety; on the other, they were all consoling each other. Shi Lang watched all this and lamented, 'To say that these people are on the lowest level of the power chain makes me restless. How can someone endure so much?'
'Instinct, Lang. They all endure the way of instinct.', said Raksha.
Shi Lang nodded and moved to the victim's house. His final preparations were yet to be handled. He moved through the array but did not enter the house and said to one of the girls, "Miss, please come here."
The girls were startled, but they still moved. Shi Lang smiled, watching how they were all moving in a group. He could sense their unease and distrust towards him, but it did not matter at the moment. If he were in their shoes, he would have done the same.
When the girls were five feet away, Shi Lang took a few jade slips and handed them to the girls. He said, "If you find a lean man has stepped inside the courtyard, then break these jade slips pointing at him. Be careful when breaking them. They contain a hint of sword intent and can save your lives."
The girls were surprised and bowed to Shi Lang. After the terran retreated, the girls discussed whether such a thing was real. Shi Lang caught the sound and could not help but chuckle.
…
The night passed, and a shadow lurked in the streets. It seemed like a part of the night sky had fallen on the ground and was moving around. After the shadow finished searching the entire village, it groaned.
The figure moved to the village square, removing the black cloak wrapped around its body. A lean man with sunken features appeared. Suddenly, the person turned around and gazed at one of the rooftops.
Shi Lang stood there with his hands behind his back. He pretended to be surprised, "Oh, you caught me."
The man glared at Shi Lang with reddish eyes and said, "You are the one who foiled my plans, maggot?"
Shi Lang chuckled and said, "A piece of rotten flesh can call me a maggot. How ironic."
The next moment his gaze turned cold, and he asked, "You are the wanted Tsu Zheng, right?"
The demonic cultivator was surprised, but he regained his senses and said, "So what if I am? What are you going to do? Do you know how many righteous path cultivators came after me and how I killed them? Originally I planned to kill just three women in this place, but your foolishness has forced me to kill every woman in this village. I wonder if the family members will think."
Shi Lang smiled calmly and said, "What amuses me is that you cannot even locate the people of the village, and you want to kill them? Did you think I would be so foolish that I will not send for help as soon as I find out about your Moon sutra?"
The demon was shocked and asked, "How could you?"