Chapter 53: A Corpse Hidden in the Snow

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Chapter 53: A Corpse Beneath the Snow

“Minister? You…”

Qin Zhe turned around in delight, but the words died on his lips when he saw that Liu Qingzhi’s clothes were stained with blood.

“Don’t worry. It isn’t mine.”

Liu Qingzhi spoke calmly as she came to stand beside him, her voice gentle.

“The president sent me a message by flying sword not long ago and told me what happened. You were far too reckless. Faced with five fourth-rank opponents, you shouldn’t have acted so rashly.”

Hearing the concern in her voice, Qin Zhe felt a faint warmth in his chest. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, “I had no choice. I was surrounded and trapped in an illusion array. If I hadn’t faced them head-on, I couldn’t exactly…”

Before he could finish, Liu Qingzhi shook her head lightly.

“The process isn’t important. What matters is that you don’t take such risks again.”

Qin Zhe blinked, then nodded silently.

While the two of them spoke, the academicians nearby, led by Shangguan Yan, were working themselves into a frenzy.

“Within fifteen kilometers of the scorched-earth boundary. The position may be off, but conservatively, the margin of error should be no more than two kilometers.”

“Enlarge the map and analyze it! Send a few people to make a cross-reference comparison. Simulate the giant’s entire route, both before and after!”

“How are the logical calculations coming along? Is the giant’s route a straight line?”

The academicians shouted over one another. Qin Zhe and Liu Qingzhi could not get a word in and could only stand there, staring at each other awkwardly.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sensation surfaced in Qin Zhe’s heart.

He could not tell where it came from, but it faintly indicated a direction: east.

Before Qin Zhe could figure out what was happening, Liu Qingzhi murmured, “It’s a distress signal sword. Someone is calling for help, and they’re not far away.”

With that, Liu Qingzhi stepped forward and stopped Shangguan Yan, who was practically sprawled across the keyboard in concentration.

“Academician Shangguan, someone from the academy is in danger. Qin Zhe and I need to go to their aid. Bring up the terrain map, and I’ll point out the giant’s last known location and the direction in which it left.”

“All right.”

Shangguan Yan nodded and promptly brought up a flat map of the scorched earth.

…

Before long, Liu Qingzhi carried Qin Zhe away from the camp on her flying sword, heading straight east.

As they sped through the air, Qin Zhe asked, “Minister, can you tell who sent the distress signal?”

Liu Qingzhi remained silent for a while before answering, “No.”

“Hm?”

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Qin Zhe was taken aback. He had not expected that answer.

He had asked only because Li Zongheng had been able to determine his identity when he came to their aid earlier, so he had assumed Liu Qingzhi could do the same.

“There’s something wrong with the distress signal, but we have no choice but to investigate.”

As she spoke, Liu Qingzhi stared straight ahead.

“We’re almost there. Prepare for battle. There may be an ambush.”

“All right.”

Qin Zhe nodded and looked into the distance.

His ability to sense such things was weak, so the distress signal had reached him only as a vague impression. He knew little more than its general direction.

But now that they were nearing the signal’s point of origin, he could barely determine its exact location.

A short while later, the two of them arrived at the source of the distress signal.

It was an extraordinarily quiet mountain forest. There was no sign of spiritual beasts or even ordinary animals moving about—only a blanket of snow covering the ground.

“Over there.”

Liu Qingzhi pointed in a direction. Qin Zhe followed her gesture and saw a vivid smear of blood across the snow.

Liu Qingzhi descended on her flying sword and surveyed the surroundings.

“I can’t sense anyone nearby. This blood…”

“It’s already cold.”

Qin Zhe stepped forward and touched the blood, confirming its temperature.

“Are we too late?”

Liu Qingzhi murmured to herself. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “Look around. There are no obvious signs of a fight here. See if you can find any other traces.”

She had barely finished speaking when the corner of her eye caught sight of a corpse concealed beneath the snow nearby. Her flying sword shot out and plunged into the ground, blasting the snow apart.

“An Eagle Nation soldier?”

Qin Zhe was astonished when he saw the corpse in full. He stepped forward and touched it as well.

“It’s stiff. He’s been dead for quite some time. The timing doesn’t match.”

“…”

Liu Qingzhi fell silent. Her beautiful eyes fluttered twice before she asked, “Qin Zhe… aren’t you afraid of dead people?”

“I’ve already killed two. If I’m not afraid of the living, why would I be afraid of the dead?”

Qin Zhe answered, then suddenly froze. Turning around, he discovered that Minister Liu was still standing where she was and had not moved.

Qin Zhe did not know why he was so calm at the sight of a corpse, nor did he care to investigate the reason.

But why was the minister standing so far away without moving—and why had she asked that question?

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Glancing at the blood staining Liu Qingzhi’s collar, Qin Zhe felt uncertain.

There was such a large smear of blood on her clothes that she might well have slit some unlucky fellow’s throat. Who would believe she was afraid of corpses?

Under Qin Zhe’s puzzled gaze, Liu Qingzhi answered frankly, “To be honest, I’m not very good at dealing with scenes like this.”

“Oh…”

Qin Zhe responded blankly, then coughed and said, “It’s fine. I’m here. I’ll handle the dirty and tiring work.”

As he spoke, Qin Zhe tore open the corpse’s clothing to examine the cause of death and discovered an opening in its chest.

It appeared to be a knife wound. Whoever had struck had done so with great decisiveness, ensuring that the victim had died without suffering.

A single stab through the heart would result in instant death unless the victim’s strength surpassed the fifth rank.

Qin Zhe analyzed the matter inwardly, then grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it over his hands before returning to Liu Qingzhi’s side.

“Minister, what do you think?”

“This was the work of a martial artist at close range. The methods of immortal cultivators and demon cultivators are far more violent than this. They couldn’t have left behind such a clean, precise knife wound.”

Liu Qingzhi analyzed the scene. Biting her red lips lightly, she pondered for a moment before continuing.

“You were the only martial artist who entered the academy this time, so we can be certain this person was killed by someone else. The Supernatural Disaster Bureau has no martial artists among its personnel, so they can be ruled out as well. The people from the Research Institute are even less likely. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that those researchers are incapable of harming a chicken. The odds of the Eagle Nation soldiers turning on one another are low; everyone who came this time is quite powerful. Since this person died so cleanly, he was most likely ambushed. The attacker may have been Tang Xiaoyou.”

“Tang Xiaoyou?”

Qin Zhe stared in surprise, sinking into thought.

“At present, that’s the only explanation.”

As she spoke, Liu Qingzhi raised her hand and called back her flying sword.

“Even Zhou Wu, a member of the academy’s board, could become a lackey of the Eagle Nation. It isn’t surprising that one of the students might betray us—especially when her parents have always been very close to the Eagle Nation.”

Qin Zhe had once shared a meal with Tang Xiaoyou, and the two of them had gotten along fairly well. Though he was uncertain whether she had entered the secret realm with the Eagle Nation willingly or under duress, he instinctively wanted to speak up for her.

But after thinking it over carefully, he sensed that something was wrong and raised his head woodenly.

“Zhou Wu was a lackey of the Eagle Nation?”

“The president didn’t tell you?”

Liu Qingzhi asked in return. Seeing his utterly bewildered expression, she continued, “After we entered the secret realm, someone went to the infirmary and tried to lure the president away. Zhou Wu took the opportunity to abduct James and disappeared. The hidden surveillance cameras in the infirmary captured everything. The evidence is conclusive—he was the traitor. As for why he couldn’t restrain himself and exposed his hand, it was probably because William forcibly opened the secret realm in his impatience, disrupting Zhou Wu’s original plan.”

“Then Zhou Wentong…”

Qin Zhe was completely stunned. He had never imagined that events would unfold this way.

End of Chapter.