Chapter 9: Responding to Heaven's Mandate

  The next morning after the incident, it was still a bit dark, and the east had not yet risen to the white fish belly. After the beginning of autumn, the temperature in the mountains became colder, with frost in the mornings.

  However, Yu Xingyao sat cross-legged on a large stone in front of the bamboo house with his knees exposed. He was practicing the breathing method taught by his master, which is simply put as internal strength.

  Actually, internal strength isn't as mystical as it's made out to be in martial arts novels. The effects of this kind of training are similar to those of yoga. Both can calm the mind, focus the spirit, and regulate breathing, achieving a state of mental clarity and tranquility.

  The purpose of cultivating internal strength is not only to strengthen the body, but more importantly, it allows practitioners to maintain their true nature. They will not become arrogant and unruly just because they have exceptional martial arts skills, causing trouble everywhere.

  The east gradually brightened with a fish-belly white, and a wisp of white smoke floated up from Yu Xing's body. A drop of dew also rolled down his skin.

  Don't think that practicing internal strength really has true energy leaking out; the white smoke is the temperature of Yu Xingyao's body evaporating dew after exercise.

  At this moment, he had already opened his eyes, but the expression in his eyes still hadn't calmed down. He stared at a figure running towards him from the woods below the mountain.

  Although the light in the woods was still quite dim, Yu Xianyao had already seen clearly who the newcomer was.

  He sprang up and rushed over to the newcomer. Before he could react, he asked: "Qiaozi, why did you come so early?"

  Qiaozi was still climbing the mountain with his head down, when Yu Xingyao suddenly spoke out and scared him. His foot slipped, and he almost fell over. However, Yu Xingyao reacted quickly and held onto him.

  "Something's happened at your house! Something big has happened!" Qiao Zi said, panting and supporting Yu Xianyao's shoulder, his face deathly pale, his thin short-sleeved T-shirt soaked with sweat.

  Yu Xianyao hastily gave Qiaozi some medicine to calm her down, then anxiously asked: "What's wrong? What big thing has happened?"

  "This morning I was preparing to find you together to look for Xiao Hai, but when I went to your house, I found that your wife and Luo Luo were lying on the floor, and the room was also messed up, with blood on the ground."

  "I was scared at that time and called you, but you didn't respond. I guessed you had gone back to the mountain, so I came up to find you. Hurry back and take a look, or it will be too late!"

  Qiao Zi's face was anxious, after he caught his breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and pulled Yu Xingyao to leave.

  Seeing him like this, Yu Xingyao's heart was also very uneasy. The opponent had actually made a move so quickly, and he himself had been negligent, not protecting his sister-in-law and Luoluo!

  A pang of pain in his heart, he thought of the meticulous care his sister-in-law had given him over the years. His heart ached even more, and his footsteps quickened, eager to rush home immediately.

  He is worried about his sister-in-law and Luoluo, two of Yu Chengyao's only three family members now.

  As soon as he arrived at the door, the house was surrounded by people. He broke through the crowd and rushed into the house. As soon as he entered, he was completely stunned, the room was in a mess. The walls were painted with strange patterns everywhere, looking eerie.

  There was also a large patch of dark red blood on the ground, which had now solidified.

  Pan Ling'er and Yu Ru Luo, mother and daughter, lay in the middle of the hall, inside a palm print made of black powder, with the palm curled into a claw shape.

  The two people's clothes were all intact and there was nothing out of the ordinary about them.

  However, their faces were pale with a greenish tint, which was very frightening.

  Yu Xianyao was shocked and immediately rushed towards Pan Ling'er and her mother, then checked the two people's bodies. Pan Ling'er's heartbeat was extremely weak, and her pulse could hardly be felt.

  Yu Luoluo's heartbeat had completely stopped, and both of their bodies were very cold. What was strange was that both of their breathing was extremely stable, just like a normal person after falling asleep.

  Yu Xianyao hastily carried the two into the bedroom and put Pan Ling'er and Yu Luoluo on the bed.

  Then they began to check the bodies of the two, no injuries were found, not even a bruise. The sudden change in front of them seemed very strange, Yu Xingyao didn't know what had happened, but he could confirm that his sister-in-law and Luoluo were absolutely still alive.

  He closed the bedroom door and returned to the hall, carefully observing the strange ghostly symbols in the hall. In the center of the hall was a black powder-sprinkled handprint-like pattern that could accommodate five or six people lying inside.

  The surrounding area of the palm print is connected to the five fingertips, and there are also five dark red lines that radiate outward. The ends of the red lines are all connected to a strange symbol, which seems to be reflected in the light, and suddenly becomes clear.

  These symbols are very similar to those ghostly scribbles in the black notebook left by Master Ling's old spirit, and the rules within them are surprisingly similar.

  These strange symbols were still unclear what they represented, but he had already determined that this was absolutely not an ordinary homicide case.

  And that dark red bloodstain on the side can no longer be determined what kind of blood it is, but fortunately for Yu Xianyao, this is not the blood of his sister and Luolu.

  There are similar patterns on the walls at home, but these patterns look messy and don't know who is so perverted. Murdering and being arrogant is one thing, but actually painting these ghostly symbols to scare people is another.

  Yu Cheng's eyebrows furrowed tightly due to the suddenness of the matter. He was somewhat flustered, but after calming down, he thought even more.

  Since Zhu Zi's incident in the cave, Xiao Hai has been acting strangely. His death is also full of question marks and seems very unusual. Master had specially mentioned about the events that took place in the cave before, and said that his sister-in-law's great calamity was approaching.

  Looking at these mysterious symbols on the ground again, could it be that all three things are connected?

  The murder was reported by villagers and soon Female Officer Xiaoyue came in with two male officers.

  She and two police officers got off the car and told the villagers: "Director Chen will arrive later, first protect the scene, we need to collect evidence!"

  Xiao Yue was the female police officer who went to Xiao Hai's house with Director Chen that day. Meeting her in daylight allowed him to see her appearance clearly, which also surprised Yu Xianyao a bit.

  Xiao Yue looks quite young, with a hint of childishness on her face. Yu Xiangyao is very suspicious that her age should be similar to his own.

  She is about 165cm tall and weighs around 55kg. She has long black hair, fair skin, red lips and white teeth, slender eyebrows and bright eyes, a delicate nose. She looks like she's sixteen or seventeen years old, but her figure can rival that of Pan Ling'er.

  It's even more perfect, with the convex being convex and the concave being concave, which is not the human development standard that she should have at her age.

  However, such a beautiful person was picked out by Yu Xianyao from the eggshell, and he actually found an unremarkable place. That is, under the female police hat that covered his brow, there was a faint wisp of black air lingering.

  This was still discovered by Xiaoyue when she raised her head, and it made Yu Xiangyao feel a little puzzled. Xiaoyue's face was rosy and didn't look like someone who was sick.

  He wanted to see that faint black fog again, but since it was a girl's house, he felt embarrassed to speak up. Thinking of this, Yu Xianyao's heart became even more chaotic.

  He sighed and thought to himself that he already had a bunch of his own troubles, yet he still had the energy to mind other people's business. Thinking this, he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

  Xiao Yue walked over from the crowd and said seriously to Yu Chengyao, "There have been two bizarre cases in Zhuzikeng Village, Director Chen attaches great importance to this! You are the owner of this house, please cooperate with our investigation!"

  Yu Xingyao woke up with a start in the sweet and melodious voice of Xiao Yue, gazing at the stunning beauty right in front of him, not forgetting to take a deep breath.

  A faint scent of sandalwood, subtle yet so familiar.

  Is there such a perfume? Yu Xianyao muttered to himself, but he was a country bumpkin and didn't know much about perfumes, so he couldn't be sure if such a perfume existed.

  Xiao Yue glared at Yu Xingyao and suddenly became fierce, staring him down before rebuking: "Please cooperate with our investigation!"

  "Ah, sorry about that, beautiful policewoman please come in!" Yu Xingyao stood at the door and looked at Xiaoyue's figure, still feeling a bit uneasy, so he quietly followed her.

  Xiao Yue looked around and then beckoned those police officers over to take photos, collect evidence, etc.

  Xiao Yue then said to Yu Xingyao who was following behind her: "I want to check on the victim!"

  Yu Chengyao frowned at this time and shook his head: "Unless a forensic doctor is present, otherwise I disagree!"

  "Why? This is official business, please cooperate a bit!" Little Yue's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her expression somewhat dissatisfied.

  "Do you understand medicine? Or does that police officer know anything about medicine?" Yu Chengyao sneered, not giving this beautiful woman any face.

  Xiao Yue felt like she had been slapped in the face and suddenly felt utterly humiliated.

  She let out a hum of anger and walked towards the door, looking at her back, Yu Xianyao always felt that something was not quite right, what exactly was not quite right?

  She's too young, yes, that's it, she's too young. A 16-year-old police officer, and a female one at that. It's unthinkable in Yu Xianyao's mind. Is it because of her good family background or is it because of this beautiful face?

  It is obvious that anyone who pays a little attention will think of this thought-provoking question.

  Yu Xingyao couldn't help but smile inadvertently, but his mouth corners froze in the next moment.

  Something's off! Xiao Hai's case is really off! What's missing? Yu Xiangyao looked at the messy scene in his home, which was scribbled and painted all over, and suddenly realized where Xiao Hai's strange case didn't add up!

  It was on the spot! It was right there on the spot! At that time, the room was so dark that it was impossible to see the surrounding situation clearly. After Director Chen and Xiaoyue arrived, they did not carefully inspect Xiao Hai's room either.

  Could it be that the clue is in his room? Yu Xingyao thought of this and his heart was stirred, he hurriedly walked out of the gate to go to Xiao Hai's house to take a look.

  "Hey, short-lived kid, where are you going?" Behind him sounded the call of Little Moon, who was not allowed to let the owner of the house leave before the on-site investigation was over.

  After hearing her cries for help, the police officers in the house also rushed out to stop Yu Xianyao.

  Two police officers grabbed Yu Chengyao's arm and wouldn't let him leave.

  Yu Xiangyao turned his head to look at Xiaoyue and said helplessly, "Beautiful policewoman, I'm not a suspect, I'm the victim! Please let your colleagues show some respect for the victim, or else I'll file a complaint against you!"

  Xiao Yue hastily waved her hand to dismiss the two police officers, and Yu Xingyao was finally released. He twisted his arm and said, "The matter I need to attend to is extremely important, it's related to Xiao Hai's cause of death!"

  "Are these two cases related?" Little Moon's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of imperceptible surprise flashing in her eyes.

  Yu Xingyao didn't notice and just nodded before pushing through the crowd and leaving.