A week later, Mo Di and the rest finally returned. Judge Cui woke up 2 days after me but he had to stay in bed because he had dizzy spells. I had already recovered and I was only waiting for my skin to be pretty again since I only suffered minor burns.
The person who required the longest time to heal was Uncle Tang. The numerous exchanges he had with the tiger alone caused his bones to fracture and even cultivators would need some time for their bones to heal.
It is quite ironic how the ones who suffered injuries are the strongest and the weakest people in our group. None of the guards received any serious injuries as they were fighting as a unit and the tiger could only defend against the attacks. It is also clear that the tiger was the strongest person among us and if the tiger’s soul was not being burned constantly, causing him much pain, he probably could have killed us all if he could fight at his full power.
Anyway when Mo Di and the rest returned, what they reported was not surprising.
“When we arrived, the village was already in ruins. We circled the village several times to confirm that the attackers were gone and eventually went into the village to take a look when it was clear that the attackers had left.” Mo Di reported.
“The tracks of the attackers were organised, almost as if they were marching, similar to the tracks found here. However, we could not find any signs of combat or bodies of the villagers. It was as if all of them disappeared and then someone smashed all the buildings.” Mo Di said with a frown.
The smell of a conspiracy is getting stronger. Uncle Cui and Uncle Tang both have frowns on their faces.
“Should we return to report to father?” I ask everyone.
“Nothing seems to be right. At Xin Cheng village, an injured and strange man appeared and resold the stolen chickens he stole but nobody could provide a proper portrait of him even when he had lived with them for months. At Long Xing village, the bandits slaughtered the entire village and placed their severed heads outside of the village. We later found a monster in the prison and then the villagers who were imprisoned somehow learnt how to summon monsters and could master a soul taming technique. Not to mention that they even summoned the damned tiger. Now all the villagers of Pu Zhang village have disappeared and the village has turned into ruins! It is also likely that Pei She village is ruined too!” I complained and poured out my thoughts about this journey in exasperation.
Everyone is now frowning because they know that what I have said is right. Pei She village is the other town that was reported to be attacked by the same bandits and we were supposed to check on them after going to Pu Zhang village and Yao Feng town.
“Don’t forget, all the information we have gathered about the bandits point towards the fact that they are an organised group and they had never acted like bandits. The bandits we came across on our previous riding circuit would rarely slaughter entire villages and would take everything of value, as they themselves too were poor before turning to the life of life.” Judge Tang said with a frown.
“I don’t agree with going back to the capital. Going back would require a journey of roughly two weeks right now and the villagers of Pu Zhang village and Pei She village could still be alive. We might be able to save them if we head towards the suspected location for the bandit’s base right now but if we return to the capital, they will all be dead before troops can be sent.” Judge Cui voices out his opposition to returning.
“Yes, I agree with Judge Cui, we asked for reinforcements due to situations like this. We should have enough firepower to take them all down.” Ding Sha agrees with Judge Cui and voices his opinion.
“This is above our pay grade. What if the army is involved? The prints the bandits left were those of a marching army! We were formed to take care of bandits, not an organized troop! Also, what will happen if the bandits use the villagers as hostages? How will we proceed?” Sima Di who had experienced many hostage situations says with a frown.
“Let’s vote. We’ll vote after dinner when everyone has given our next move enough thought.” I interrupt the conversation and say. I guess democracy is best for situations like these, especially since few of us here could accept the consequences if we made the wrong decision.
…
After the discussion, I left the house that we used as lodging near our carriages. We are still in Long Xing village and while I could move freely the last few days, I did not move around much so that my skin would heal properly since even stretching would cause the healing skin to tear.
I walked around the ruined village aimlessly for a while and eventually reached the mayor’s house that has burned into the ground. There are pits all around that was created during the fight with the tiger and a crater that was probably caused by my <Onerous Blow> and the tiger blowing himself up.
I cannot help but sigh softly, looking at the ruins and thinking if we could have saved the village if we arrived earlier. As I walk around the ruins of the burned house, I eventually step on a book that was not burned completely.
I pick it up and rubbed the black soot off its cover. It is the <Soul Capture> technique manual and I start reading it…because that’s what you do when you hold a book.
“Soul Capture Taming Technique… Created by Ancestor Ling Du of the Blood Fist Sect, this sacred skill is for all disciples to learn and to enslave useful people or enemies. This technique will force complete obedience from the target. Every time there is defiance from the target, a soul fire will burn the target’s soul and eventually, the soul will be completely incinerated and what remains will be an empty husk. At that point, the person will not die but there will not be any consciousness. The soulless body may be used as a replacement body if the need arises.”
An evil skill…this is an evil skill!
(System! This is an evil skill! You let me inherit an evil skill!)
[Beep!] [I already told you there is no such thing as an evil skill as good and evil depends on how you use the skill.](How can you say this skill is not evil! Look at what it does!)
[Beep!] [If you use this skill on criminals and prevent them from committing crimes, is it still evil? If you use a “good” skill to slaughter innocent people, is the “good” skill still a good skill? Host, you have the memories of two lives, why can’t you become smarter? You have chosen the life of a cultivator on your own when I suggested that you should just live an ordinary life and die of old age, why are you still acting like you believe that the laws of the empire are useful?](No! If I learn this and people find out, I will be hunted down! I am not strong enough to go against the laws of this world yet system!)
