The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#677 - The right time

Xin Daofu disappeared over two hundred years ago and never returned, so it's highly likely he died back then.

Therefore, it's not surprising that he has wounds on his body.

It's just that the location of these wounds... now it seems a bit subtle.

It's actually near his back heart.

Xin Daofu was at least a third-rank inspector, dealing with strange objects all year round, and he was out on a case, so he would definitely have basic vigilance.

The probability of being stabbed in the back heart should be very small.

Of course, there is also the possibility that he had already lost his ability to move.

But if that were the case, the murderer wouldn't need to come from behind to finish him off, they could have just chopped off his head, or stabbed him in the front heart with a knife.

Wounds in the back heart are usually caused by sneak attacks from behind.

Thinking of this, Lu Jing's heart stirred.

He took out the dagger he had found first.

Because it was an object from more than two hundred years ago, and it wasn't well preserved, the dagger now looked rusty.

After confirming that it wasn't a magic weapon, Lu Jing didn't look at it carefully at the time.

Now, holding it up to his eyes, he looked at it carefully again, and saw a small nick on the blade.

Although he couldn't confirm that this nick was left because it pierced Xin Daofu's back heart and hit his ribs, this dagger did become suspicious in Lu Jing's eyes.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything else in that dry well that could further confirm or refute his guess.

Moreover, Xin Daofu being killed by his own dagger doesn't seem to make sense.

In the end, Lu Jing didn't guess blindly anymore, after all, this was something that happened two hundred years ago, and the murderer must have died beyond death like Xin Daofu.

Who it was is no longer so important.

........

Lu Jing packed up the bones and returned to the academy with Amu.

Then he found Chen Bo and asked him to find a place under the big banyan tree to bury the package of bones, and then added a memorial tablet for Xin Daofu in the main hall behind the banyan tree.

Lu Jing also burned two incense sticks for Xin Daofu to thank him for his legacy.

As a result, before he could leave, he heard bells ringing in the distance.

This was someone summoning all the teachers and students of the academy.

Lu Jing did not neglect, inserted the incense in his hand into the incense burner, and then stepped out of the main hall door and came to the schoolhouse where he usually listened to lectures.

And here, many academy disciples had already gathered together.

Their faces were filled with excitement and apprehension, and many people nervously clenched their fists, even their knuckles were a little pale.

Lu Jing saw Yan Yun in the crowd and took the initiative to greet the girl.

And Yan Yun didn't avoid him, nodding generously as a return greeting.

Ignoring the strange gazes around him, Lu Jing approached Yan Yun and asked, "What happened?"

Yan Yun raised her eyebrows, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Today is the day everyone goes out to investigate cases for the first time, of course, it's not the first time for the great hero Lu." Yan Yun said lightly.

Lu Jing slapped his forehead, he really forgot about it.

Recently, he has had too many things to be busy with, and he was also immersed in the joy of having the fourth flying sword. Seeing that Professor Xu's one-month period had arrived, Lu Jing had already thrown the matter of going out to investigate the case to the back of his mind.

He then realized that he didn't seem to have made any preparations.

Well, he didn't need to prepare much, because he had handled enough cases.

But for other academy disciples, this was the first time in their lives that they had officially participated in strange object cases.

And now, before the first year of study was over, the Department of Celestial Observation had to conscript them in advance due to insufficient manpower.

In addition, they had also encountered the once-in-ten-thousand-year decline of secret power. Now, even the concentration of secret power in the academy had decreased a lot, and the disciples had felt a sense of impending storm.

However, even so, no one chose to back down.

When Su Tixue and Huang Jianyuan came to the outside of the schoolhouse, they saw that all one hundred and twenty-three academy disciples had arrived, and the originally tightly locked brows also relaxed a lot.

But after a pause, Huang Jianyuan still opened his mouth, pouring a basin of cold water on everyone first, "The work of an inspector is not so easy to do."

After speaking, his gaze swept over everyone present, staying a little longer on Yan Yun and Lu Jing, and then continued, "To tell you the truth, in the recent month, the Department of Celestial Observation has lost seven more inspectors, and one of them was a fourth-rank inspector."

His words made the academy disciples in front of the schoolhouse gasp.

Seven inspectors died in a month, putting aside the initial turbulent years, this is probably already one of the top events in the history of the Department of Celestial Observation.

It can be seen that the burden on the Department of Celestial Observation has indeed reached its limit recently.

Everyone had more or less heard some rumors that strange objects were now emerging one after another in various places, and often an inspector had to handle several cases at the same time, which further increased the danger they faced.

Even fourth-rank inspectors could die due to a carelessness, let alone these newcomers who were still studying at the academy.

But on the other hand, everyone was also clear in their hearts that they had no way to retreat in the current situation.

If the strange objects really got out of control, it would be useless to hide anywhere.

So after Huang Jianyuan finished speaking, no one had the intention to retreat.

Everyone just quietly waited for Huang Jianyuan's next words.

And this time, Huang Jianyuan didn't say any more nonsense, and directly said, "Okay, since no one is withdrawing, then wait for the messengers to pick people. I have already reported each of your specialties and introductions to the Department of Celestial Observation. The lords of the inspectors will choose people according to their respective needs, and they will naturally contact you after they have chosen."

"At that time, you can go to meet your partners on your own."

Just as Huang Jianyuan was speaking, Yan Yun also said to Lu Jing, "You are just standing by my side like this, aren't you worried?"

"You are not afraid of those rumors, what do I have to be afraid of." Lu Jing said.

"I'm not talking about rumors," Yan Yun shook her head, "Didn't you tell me that you wanted everything that night? But if this goes on, you might lose that Miss Xia."

Lu Jing was speechless.

Indeed, since the events of that night spread, the person he was most afraid of facing was no longer Yan Yun, but Xia Huai.

Lu Jing didn't even dare to imagine how sad the girl would be after hearing the rumors about him, Yan Yun, and Wen Xiaochuan, so he planned to find a time to talk to Xia Huai about his future plans.

It's just that he hasn't been able to find a suitable opportunity.