Chapter 92: Clues

After killing Jin Zhongyi, Iron Cliff tossed the corpse aside. “Take the alive ones away!”

Not many people in the alleyway were standing. Those who could run had run a long time ago. Those who could not run were crawling on the ground and whimpering.

Zhou Hong walked over and knocked them out one by one, then tossed them into the cart out back - they were going to be turned into research subjects as per usual.

If it weren’t for the fact that Su Chen needed to completely intimidate the criminal gangs, Jin Zhongyi might have already been laid out on Su Chen’s research workbench. Furthermore, if he were lucky and an experiment were completed, giving him some kind of additional abilities, he might even survive to become one of Su Chen’s underlings.

Unfortunately, these if’s didn’t matter in this world. Since Su Chen’s plan required that he be killed, then he didn’t even have the right to become a research subject.

Zhou Hong walked towards one of the wounded Origin Qi Scholars on the ground and was just about to reach out his hand to pick him up when Iron Cliff suddenly yelled, “Get out of the way!”

What?

Zhou Hong was stunned and didn’t react in time.

Iron Cliff charged over, sending Zhou Hong flying with a shoulder. At the same time, the person in front of him pounced forward, a black streak of light shooting forth from their blade and slamming into Iron Cliff’s chest.

Bang!

Iron Cliff’s heavy body was sent flying, blood splashing from the wound in his chest.

The ambusher took advantage of the opportunity and leapt forward again. A dagger glinted underneath the moonlight.

Iron Cliff punched out with his fist, the blood-colored fog congealing into a fist that shook the air nearby and boomed like the sound of thunder.

The ambusher didn’t dare take the blow head-on. He was able to evade, but he had also missed out on his opportunity to kill Iron Cliff. The next moment, even more blood-colored fog seeped out, completely covering Iron Cliff.

That person didn’t seem to mind at all. He chuckled darkly, “It seems you have some skill, but you’ll still be dead in the end.”

As he spoke, he silently disappeared into the darkness.

Zhou Hong charged over in a hurry. “Iron Cliff, are you alright?”

Iron Cliff didn’t say anything. He stared off into the darkness in front of him silently.

He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Zhou Hong saw something within that blood squirming around. A chill went up his spine.

Iron Cliff’s body began to weaken. “There’s poison in the wound. Take me to see master.”

————————————————

Within the Su Palace.

Zhou Hong waited anxiously outside.

The lights within the room flickered, reflecting the constantly fluctuating state of mind that he was in.

Finally.

The door creaked open.

Su Chen walked out from inside, holding a vial within his hands. Within the vial was fresh, scarlet blood.

“Young Master, how is Iron Cliff?” Zhou Hong asked as he got close.

“He’ll be fine. He just needs a bit of rest,” Su Chen wiped the blood on his hands as he replied.

“It was my inability that dragged down brother Iron Cliff!” Zhou Hong cried regretfully.

“This isn’t your fault. You just aren’t strong enough yet. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. You and Mingshu have both been following me for many years, but I have never really increased your strength,” Su Chen said.

Zhou Hong hurriedly knelt and said, “Young Master has taken care of me extremely well. How could this little one think so rashly!”

“Alright, let’s not talk about this for now.” Su Chen waved his hand. “I didn’t increase your strength in the past firstly because my research hadn’t reached a point that I was satisfied with it and secondly because I feel that you are my family members and didn’t want you to participate in these dangerous expeditions. But in reality, danger is everywhere in this world. Keeping you behind me isn’t going to be a solution anymore. Thankfully, I’ve made some breakthroughs in my research of bloodlines this time. It is about time for you guys to get stronger.”

Zhou Hong was both surprised and excited when he heard this.

“Before this, however, I need you to do something for me.”

“Young Master, just give the word!”

“Go and notify Ji Hanyan. Tell her...... I’ve found the person she was looking for. Let her come as soon as possible,” Su Chen said as he inspected the vial in his hands.

——————————————————

Within the main hall of the Su Palace.

“What did you say? You found that Spirit Race individual?”

Ji Hanyan stared intently at Su Chen.

Su Chen continued to drink his tea nonchalantly. “Truthfully, I’ve found a clue regarding the Spirit Race.”

“What clue?”

Su Chen pulled out a vial of blood and placed it in front of Ji Hanyan.

“This is......” Ji Hanyan didn’t understand.

“This is Iron Cliff’s blood. A bunch of gang members were making trouble in front of one of my shops and were dealt with by Iron Cliff. But after he took care of them, someone suddenly ambushed him. While I was curing him after the fact, I discovered that his blood contains a very unique substance. This kind of substance is very small and basically is invisible to the naked eye, but it has very distinct capabilities...... Hm, let me just tell you in the simplest way possible. This kind of substance, when mixed with a few specific Origin Energy techniques, can become a curse.”

“Curse?” Ji Hanyan was stunned.

“Yes, curse. Coincidentally, I have seen this kind of curse before. Guess who used this before?” Su Chen smiled gently.

Ji Hanyan had an epiphany. “Wei Liancheng!”

Su Chen nodded. “More specifically, it’s Long Shaoyou. Wei Liancheng put a curse in his body, and the substance that Wei Liancheng used is identical to the substance in this blood. As such, we can basically confirm that that person from the Evil Tiger Gang is also a puppet being controlled by the Spirit Race.”

Ji Hanyan stood up immediately. “He’s in Clear River City!”

“I think so too,” Su Chen replied.

“Where is that guy from the Evil Tiger Gang right now?”

“I’ve already sent the Shadow Servants to go find him. The main question is whether that guy is aware that he’s been detected after making the attack, but I don’t think that the possibility of him realizing is high. This kind of substance is very difficult to discover, and puppets are still just puppets in the end. The Spirit Race couldn’t have possibly informed him about Wei Liancheng. As such......”

Su Chen hadn’t finished his thought when his eyebrow suddenly twitched. A smile appeared on his face. “They’re back.”

A person appeared out of thin air. It was the Shadow Servant Chang Er.

He cupped his hands and bowed to Su Chen as he spoke, “This little one greets Master. We have found the target.”

“Speak.”

Chang Er said, “This person is called Yu Wei. He’s one of the small ringleaders within the Evil Tiger Gang. After wounding Iron Cliff, he returned to the Evil Tiger Gang. Right now Senior Brother Gui and the others are keeping a close eye on him.”

“He didn’t try to escape?” Ji Hanyan’s eyebrows jumped.

Su Chen said, “Most likely he doesn’t realize yet that his identity has been revealed. Also, do you not think it’s strange? Clear River City has so many people. Why would the Spirit Race choose such a low-status criminal to control?”

Ji Hanyan replied, “The Spirit Race’s control over puppets has certain limitations. Not every person is a suitable target. “

“But that doesn’t mean that he’s the only suitable one in all of Clear River City,” Su Chen said.

If the restrictions over who the Spirit Race could control were too great, Wei Liancheng couldn’t have possibly been controlled by the Spirit Race previously.

“Then you mean......”

“The Spirit Race definitely has some plans for the Evil Tiger Gang.”

“What kind of plan do you think

Su Chen didn’t reply. He turned around to ask Chang Er, “What was the little ringleader doing?”

“He’s responsible for guarding the storehouses.”

“Guarding the storehouses?” Su Chen’s eyes lit up. “This means that the Evil Tiger Gang has something that the Spirit Race wants.”

“That makes sense.” Ji Hanyan nodded.

The Spirit Race didn’t do things without a good reason to do it. Since they had chosen one of the Evil Tiger Gang’s storehouse guards as a puppet, they most likely had some kind of ulterior motive they were trying to achieve.

“This puppet is still here, so they might not have been able to get what they’re after yet...... Not good!” Su Chen’s expression suddenly changed. “Iron Cliff killed the leader of the Evil Tiger Gang. Right now, the Evil Tiger Gang is definitely in turmoil. It’s the perfect opportunity for them to steal something!”

Ji Hanyan stood up immediately. “Let’s go to the Evil Tiger Gang immediately!”