Chapter 151: The Killer is a Child?

“Hiss... this place is so cold and gloomy!”

Du Feng’s cultivation was limited; he couldn’t see the malevolent aura.

Yet he could feel that the temperature around these grave plots was much lower than elsewhere in the burial forest.

Even with his cultivation, he had to activate his blood energy to feel more comfortable.

“The chilliness is due to the heavy resentment lingering here,” Liu Zhi explained after bowing respectfully to Shang Lu, pointing to the scattered crushed bone fragments on the ground.

“We investigated, and the resentful energy emanates from these bone fragments, spreading outward and seeping underground. Such intense resentment is rare, especially coming from these decayed old corpses...”

Shang Lu and the others followed Liu Zhi’s gesture.

They not only saw a ground full of bone fragments but also several skulls still clinging to rotten flesh, propped up with sticks beside the tombstones.

These skulls had their mouths grotesquely pried open into eerie, mocking smiles.

Du Feng wanted to take a sharp breath but feared inhaling floating bone dust, so he quickly covered his nose and mouth, muttering hoarsely, “Grave robbing and corpse exposure—no, this isn’t just exposure; the bodies have been crushed to pieces. What great hatred could cause such brutality? No wonder these corpses harbor such deep resentment; after death, they were torn apart. How could they not be vengeful?”

He turned to Liu Zhi and asked, “Old Liu, have you found out who did this?”

“No,” Liu Zhi shook his head.

“We discovered this situation and immediately began inquiries, discreetly questioning many people, but no one knew anything. We also looked into the grave owners; they were ordinary folks, and nothing valuable was buried there.”

“We find this matter very suspicious and suspect it’s related to the Chu Kingdom’s secret tomb spies, so we dispatched someone to report to you, sir.”

Feng Nan took over from Liu Zhi.

“Sir, we believe the grave robbers who destroyed the corpses will return.”

“How so?”

“We found several graves partially dug up in the burial forest. Judging by the traces, these were freshly excavated but abandoned halfway for some reason. Therefore, we judge the robbers will likely come back.”

After reporting, Feng Nan led Shang Lu to inspect these unopened graves.

The traces indeed appeared very fresh.

Shang Lu even suspected they were dug just last night, as fresh burn marks remained nearby—likely from torches used by the grave robbers.

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Moreover, Shang Lu noticed some footprints on the ground.

The prints were small and shallow, unlike those of adults.

“Grave robbers are a group of children?” Shang Lu guessed.

But what kind of children could commit such deeds?

One thing was certain: from these traces, the grave robbers would probably return.

While Shang Lu observed the surroundings, Feng Nan pointed to a nearby tree.

“Sir, I have placed a wooden hawk with an egg on this tree to monitor this area at all times.”

Shang Lu squinted at the tree Feng Nan indicated. It took a moment, but he spotted a crude nest on a branch containing a wooden egg.

The craftsmanship was strikingly realistic.

Even Shang Lu, without a hint, would have difficulty noticing the wooden egg in the tree.

“Set a few more traps around, activate them only when necessary, then everyone withdraw from the burial forest.”

Shang Lu intended to stake out outside the forest to avoid alerting the grave robbers.

Although the footprints looked like those of children, they could be a ruse or even tracks of some small, mischievous spirits.

Some spirits are child-sized and highly sensitive to the presence of the living, making it easy to expose themselves in a place so saturated with yin energy like a burial forest.

No matter how well they hide, they stand out like fireflies in the darkness unless they have special techniques to conceal their aura.

Feng Nan, an experienced scout, was adept at setting traps.

The only tricky part was Shang Lu’s requirement that these traps be manually activated to avoid premature triggering and alerting the grave robbers.

Fortunately, Feng Nan had a solution.

He arranged traps around large trees and stationed a wooden hawk to keep watch from the air and activate the traps when necessary.

Once the traps were set, Feng Nan and Shang Lu’s group withdrew from the burial forest, carefully erasing footprints, hoof marks, and other traces.

This saved San Niang, who was helping with the aftermath, much trouble—she only needed to erase their residual aura.

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Outside the burial forest, Shang Lu instructed Feng Nan to plant several wooden eggs around the perimeter for surveillance.

They did not enter the nearby Yunxi Town but found an abandoned temple ten miles away to rest temporarily.

The temple’s location was excellent—far enough from the forest that even cautious grave robbers would not venture so far during reconnaissance.

Even if they came to investigate, the wooden eggs and hawks monitoring the forest would alert Shang Lu’s group in time to relocate.

With official horses, the ten-mile distance was covered swiftly.

The temple’s deity statue was broken, its identity unknown, so Shang Lu refrained from offering incense.

Carelessly burning incense in such a neglected shrine could invite unwanted spirits.

As night fell, the burial forest remained silent and undisturbed, with no sign of activity or visitors.

Shang Lu was unhurried, cultivating inside the temple and refining the marrow in his left hand.

Feng Nan, Liu Zhi, and Du Feng kept a close watch on the bronze mirrors, monitoring the images relayed by the wooden hawks and eggs, fearful of missing anything.

Yet the mirrors showed nothing but darkness.

Growing impatient, Du Feng suggested sending a few men to investigate during Shang Lu’s cultivation break.

Just as Shang Lu was about to refuse, Liu Zhi called out, “Sir, something’s happening!”

Shang Lu and Du Feng hurried over to one bronze mirror where a flickering firelight appeared.

Feng Nan turned to report, “Sir, the firelight is from the wooden egg facing Yunxi Town. Should I send the wooden hawk to get a closer look?”

“Yes,” Shang Lu nodded. “Have the hawk fly higher and stay hidden.”

“Understood!”

Feng Nan held a bronze mirror, took out a talisman, bit his fingertip, and dripped blood onto it.

He tore the talisman in two, placing one half on his forehead and the other on the mirror.

Closing his eyes, he connected with the wooden hawk circling the burial forest and directed it toward the firelight.

Soon, the group saw on Feng Nan’s mirror a group of torchbearers heading into the burial forest.

They were small in stature and youthful in appearance.

They truly were a group of innocent children!