"It is an honor to have an adult from the Demon Eradication Division visit my humble abode," Xu Mu said, kneeling on one knee, his fists clasped respectfully before the figure in red.
The words "Demon Eradication Division" carried immense weight in this chaotic world.
After the Apocalypse, the civilization of the West Asian continent was annihilated by a great fire, followed by the disappearance of the Tess continent. The East European continent was thrown into disarray until the woodcutter awakened his extraordinary abilities, giving humanity a fighting chance.
Extraordinary abilities were essential for the survival of the entire human race, and the faction to which this woman belonged, the Demon Eradication Division, was the most formidable among all extraordinary ability users.
This was because the founder of the Demon Eradication Division was the very woodcutter who first awakened his extraordinary abilities. He was now a legendary figure, ranked first among all in the world of extraordinary abilities.
As Xu Mu pondered these thoughts, he was startled. Had a powerful individual from the Demon Eradication Division discovered the secret of his body and sent someone to capture him for research?
...
Of course, things were not as Xu Mu imagined.
As she looked at Xu Mu kneeling before her, Yin Shui'er's eyes gradually filled with a hint of coldness.
Early this morning, an urgent report arrived stating that Xiaokang Village had been invaded by aberrant spirits, leaving none of its fifty-one households unscathed.
After a preliminary investigation, they deduced that the aberrant spirits' initial target should have been Fengqing Village.
But why had Xiaokang Village suffered disaster while Fengqing Village remained untouched?
"Rise," Yin Shui'er said.
"Thank you, esteemed sir," Xu Mu replied, rising and meeting Yin Shui'er's gaze.
"What happened here last night?" Yin Shui'er inquired.
However, Xu Mu himself did not know what had transpired, as those memories did not belong to him. He could only clear his throat awkwardly.
"Reporting to you, sir, when the aberrant spirits came last night, I drove them away, and then I returned home."
After saying this, Xu Mu tiptoed and added, "Is there a problem?"
"Is there a problem...?" Yin Shui'er repeated Xu Mu's words with a peculiar expression, extending her hands from her sleeves.
Aberrant spirits came, and he drove them away?
Those were aberrant spirit swarms capable of slaughtering an entire village. She herself might not be able to handle them. Was he asking if there was a problem?
"Of course, there's a big problem!" Yin Shui'er's eyes flashed with anger as she pointed at Xu Mu and said, "Do you know how many people died in the aberrant spirit invasion last night!"
"One," Xu Mu replied, a trace of sadness in his eyes, thinking she was referring to Wu Kui's incident. "It was my dereliction of duty. I am willing to accept punishment."
Yin Shui'er, observing Xu Mu with his head bowed, froze in the midst of her reprimand.
One? If only one person had truly died, would the governor of the Gloomy Night Domain have personally ordered her to investigate the case?
Yin Shui'er scrutinized Xu Mu once more, from head to toe.
The young man's eyes were filled with sorrow, his tone sincere. He appeared ordinary, not like someone who would lie.
"Could it really have nothing to do with him?"
Yin Shui'er found it hard to believe. She had never expected the night watchman of Fengqing Village to be unaware of this.
With such a major event, the entire Xiaokang Village wiped out, how could he know nothing!
"You truly know nothing?" Yin Shui'er asked, still unconvinced.
Xu Mu also blinked in surprise, then looked up. "Are you not asking about this matter?"
Yin Shui'er shook her head and sighed deeply. She took a step back, spread her palms, and water droplets rose with a faint white mist, conjuring a water mirror out of thin air between them.
"Last night, the neighboring Xiaokang Village was invaded by aberrant spirits. All fifty-six households were brutally killed, with no survivors."
The water mirror displayed the tragic scene in Xiaokang Village. Xu Mu shivered, then stood frozen.
The mirror reflected the village in the early morning, with no smoke from cooking fires. The dirt paths were densely littered with corpses, both human and livestock. The remains were mangled, and the villagers' blood mixed with the previous night's rain, creating a murky mess. Pine trees, snapped by immense force, lay on either side of the road, crashing into the courtyards of various houses.
"This... is this real?"
After a moment, the water mirror vanished. Xu Mu came back to his senses, looking dazed and disbelieving. Yin Shui'er nodded.
"Yes, a sea of corpses and blood."
"So, do you now understand why I've come to find you?"
Yin Shui'er's hand disappeared into her sleeve, her sharp gaze fixed on Xu Mu.
"According to intelligence, these aberrant spirits did not directly attack Xiaokang Village. They first went to Fengqing Village, ten li away."
Xu Mu's hair stood on end, a chill running down his spine. He instinctively sensed a killing intent.
In the next second, a dagger was at his throat, and Yin Shui'er's lips curved into an icy smile.
"So, how did you, so weak, manage to survive?"
...
"Esteemed sir, please speak calmly. Little Xu Ge is definitely not a bad person!" Zhao Dayong, seeing the situation, suddenly knelt at the entrance of the courtyard, kowtowing and shouting.
Xu Mu looked at the blade pressed against his neck with a hint of helplessness.
He knew the night watchman of Xiaokang Village. He was not weak, though not as strong as himself. He shouldn't have been slaughtered without a sound.
Yet Fengqing Village had been unharmed last night. It must be that the person in his body had done something extraordinary.
"Aren't you afraid?"
Seeing that the young man didn't beg for mercy and that the panic in his eyes flashed by, as if he didn't care about death, Yin Shui'er was somewhat surprised.
Xu Mu shook his head and slowly raised his hand to push the blade away.
"Fear is useless."
"I don't feel like you want to kill me. Come in."
"Yes, yes, yes. Little Xu Ge, you must treat the esteemed sir well," Zhao Dayong said with a fawning smile.
Xu Mu turned and walked into the house, then dragged out a dusty wooden chair from the corner, pushing it towards Yin Shui'er.
"Please sit. I don't often have guests, so please don't mind the humble accommodations."
"No need for ceremony," Yin Shui'er waved her hand, moving away from the chair with apparent distaste.
"Table, chairs, benches, a stove, a hearth. Very ordinary furnishings, except for a faint fragrance, there's nothing remarkable."
"Hmm... fragrance?" Yin Shui'er observed Xu Mu's room and discovered a sachet hanging by the window.
She took the sachet down, held it in her hand, and sniffed it carefully. Her eyes then became extremely peculiar, as if she had seen a new species.
"This is a sachet of the Luanwei flower, very popular in the capital. Some young men with a penchant for men will make them and give them to their beloved."
"If the recipient accepts and uses it, it signifies acceptance of the suitor's affections."
Yin Shui'er's gaze was strange. She had investigated Xu Mu's information before coming, but his file didn't mention him liking men!
Then, Yin Shui'er examined the young man carefully from head to toe.
"At first glance, he seemed unremarkable, but now, looking closer, his lips are red and teeth white, his brows and eyes are clear. He truly has some charm."
...
"Uh, uh, uh, no, listen to my explanation!"
Xu Mu was so flustered he stammered, shaking his head and hands frantically, as if greatly alarmed. This sachet had been given to him by Zhao Dayong before, who claimed he found it on the road. But now, thinking about it carefully...
"Oh, my god!" The scene was too much to bear, and Xu Mu cursed, his eyes stinging and unable to open.
"Hahaha..." Yin Shui'er leaned against Xu Mu's bed, laughing uncontrollably.
"Just teasing you. How could you be so foolish?"
Yin Shui'er looked at Xu Mu with a smile. Based on their brief exchange, the young man's reactions seemed normal, not like a suspect, just a bit too amusing.
"Heh... hehe."
Three black lines appeared on Xu Mu's forehead. He stood up with a speechless expression.
"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. Charles was right."
"Who is Charles?" Yin Shui'er asked nonchalantly, staring at the bluestone slabs beneath her feet.
"A friend with a not-so-good mind," Xu Mu said blandly.
"The most perfect robot in the world," Charles floated out of Xu Mu's body and replied.
"Host, one should be honest. I strongly suggest you answer her again."
Charles's tone was serious as he accused Xu Mu, because Yin Shui'er couldn't hear him.
Xu Mu, however, cast a slightly contemptuous glance at Charles.
"Indeed, there was a problem with what I said. You don't have a bad mind, you have no mind at all."
...
"Oh," Yin Shui'er's gaze was sharp. She didn't care who Charles was. She was talking to Xu Mu to make him lower his guard.
Before setting out, she had considered Xu Mu a major suspect. Now, she needed to see if there were any secret passages in the house.
She had already searched everywhere else, leaving only the spot where Xu Mu was sitting.
"What's under your backside?"
Hearing this, Xu Mu's heart leaped, but he showed no outward reaction. He blushed and said, "What do you want?"
Seeing Xu Mu's shy yet expectant gaze, Yin Shui'er's skin crawled.
"What is that expression!"
Xu Mu swallowed dryly, then lowered his head with feigned shyness.
Seeing this, Yin Shui'er became quite frustrated. She didn't know how things had escalated to this point; it was utterly baffling!
Suddenly, Yin Shui'er seemed to recall something. Her expression shifted subtly as she extended two slender fingers.
Above the hot tea cup, she gently pinched and condensed a crystal-clear water droplet.
Xu Mu watched her hand movements, feeling a headache coming on.
"So the sachet was to mask the smell of blood? Don't you want to explain?"
Yin Shui'er stared at Xu Mu, a chilling smile on her beautiful face.
The water droplet in her hand, though seemingly clear, was not pure. Upon closer inspection, one could see a faint mist of blood within.
This was the ability of an extraordinary ability user! Xu Mu braced himself and walked to a corner of the room.
"Explain... I truly don't know where to begin. However, the aberrant spirits last night were indeed somewhat strange."
Xu Mu bent down and picked up the large red lantern and the ancient bronze bell. He looked at them on both sides, then forced a bitter smile.
"Perhaps I have some talent. These two items are very useful to me."
"Based on this, you think I'm intellectually disabled?"
Yin Shui'er sneered. She was very familiar with these two artifacts, as they were crafted by the Demon Eradication Division and distributed to the night watchmen in various villages.
These items were useful, but in the hands of ordinary people, their power was reduced to a tenth, only capable of driving away simple aberrant spirits.
"With official government-issued artifacts for night watchmen, you managed to drive away aberrant spirit swarms capable of slaughtering a village?"
Xu Mu nodded. "Yes."
"It does sound strange. The aberrant spirits last night were indeed more ferocious than before, but not to the extent of slaughtering a village."
As Xu Mu spoke, he pointed towards the doorway where the water curtain had been, the horrific scene of Xiaokang Village still vivid in his mind.
"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"
Yin Shui'er was amused to the point of anger. She never expected to hear such a response from Xu Mu. According to protocol, she should probably resort to means to interrogate the young man before her.
But she didn't want to. Violent law enforcement was not her style.
Yin Shui'er frowned. After a moment of thought, her eyes brightened. She lifted her delicate chin.
"Show me."
Xu Mu was stunned. "What?"
Yin Shui'er narrowed her eyes and pointed at Xu Mu, who had used the lantern and bell, her killing intent palpable.
"You said you have some talent. Then let me see how far you can go with these things."
...
"Come on, show me!"
Charles lunged towards the ceiling, circling Yin Shui'er's head excitedly.
He was too curious about the extraordinary ability users in this world, dreaming of fighting them.
"If you want me to get beaten up, just say so directly. This is an extraordinary ability user!"
Xu Mu was speechless and flatly refused Charles, then weakly looked at Yin Shui'er.
"I'd rather not embarrass myself."
"The key is Xiaokang Village, not me."
Yin Shui'er didn't reply. She inexplicably felt a gust of wind above her head and looked up, but saw nothing.
"Perhaps, esteemed sir, you have a better way to investigate this case. I will cooperate in any way I can!"
Seeing that Yin Shui'er seemed hesitant, Xu Mu quickly added.
He spoke from the heart. The reason Wu Kui was infected was still unclear, and someone must be behind it. If the Demon Eradication Division were to investigate this case, it would be a great help to him.
Yin Shui'er frowned. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
What Xu Mu said made sense. The key was not in his strength. As a night watchman appointed by the court, there was no reason for him to do such a thing.
But why was Fengqing Village untouched?
Yin Shui'er couldn't figure it out and could only stand there staring at Xu Mu. Xu Mu, unable to guess the thoughts of the Demon Eradication Division extraordinary ability user, dared not speak rashly, and the two fell into a silence.
The atmosphere grew tense.
The situation was awkward.
...
After a long while, Yin Shui'er dispelled the scarlet water droplet, turned around with a smile, and sighed.
"Night watchmen see a lot of life and death. It's normal for there to be blood qi in the room."
"But the smell of this sachet is really unpleasant, and the matter of liking men is also true. Don't put it out next time."
"Oh," Xu Mu replied, then asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Otherwise, are you expecting me to stay here?" Yin Shui'er stepped over the threshold, then suddenly stopped, looking at Xu Mu, who was still standing there in surprise. "What are you looking at? Hurry up and follow me!"
Xu Mu stood there scratching his head. "Follow you... for what?"
"Nonsense, of course, to investigate the case!" Yin Shui'er said with a serious expression. "Since the aberrant spirits came here last night, they must have left some clues."
"Fengqing Village is complex in terrain, and you are more familiar with this area, so hurry up!"
...
"Tsk tsk, quite the lucky man."
Charles whispered teasingly in Xu Mu's ear, then burst into uproarious laughter.
Xu Mu didn't have time to think. He quickly followed Yin Shui'er's footsteps, replying grumpily, "What luck? This is a trap."
"You taught me that. Don't forget the wise words of that great man from Blue Star."
"Beautiful women are all dangerous!"
...