Chapter 318 - Seamstress

“Hmm... This pattern...”

Li Huowang frowned as he looked at the cracks on the skull and compared them with the pattern marked in the book.

“The Heaven’s at the top. The wind is situated below the Heavens, but just above the strong women. A mountain beneath Heaven, asking to be kind but strict to despicable people...”

These were the three patterns that Li Huowang identified with the help of the book. But surprisingly, the book did not explain them, nor did it tell what to expect. The only instructions about it that were written told the reader to burn the talisman and swallow the ashes.

Staring at Magistrate Lou who was waiting for an answer beside him, Li Huowang took out his flint and burned the talisman.

The talisman burned in an eerie green fire. As he stared at the flames, Li Huowang raised his chin with unease. He could hear something whispering around him, but he could not make out what it was talking about.

The talisman continued to burn, but rather than scattering to ashes, it slowly contorted and shrunk for a while before turning into a piece of burned paper, looking quite similar to his burnt skin.

As he stared at the thing in his hands, he hesitated for a while before dunking the burnt paper into his tea and drinking it whole.

Then, Li Huowang waited. He waited, but nothing happened.

Soon, the rooster was crowing outside but Li Huowang and Magistrate Lou just continued to stare at each other silently.

Wait, is it working? Isn’t it supposed to guide me? What’s going on?

Li Huowang stared at the book and started doubting it.

Sensing that something was wrong, Magistrate Lou read the room and tried to break the uncomfortable silence, “My Lord, you’ve worked hard through the night. How about you go back and rest first?”

However, Li Huowang was too awake to rest. He frowned and continued flipping through the book.

Just then, a youthful girl walked into the room and tugged at the magistrate’s clothes. “Father, why are you still awake?”

Magistrate Lou was extremely kind to his daughter, to the point that he couldn’t bear to scold her. Thus, he tried his best to persuade her to leave the room. “Aiya, my cute little daughter. Go ahead and have breakfast with your mother first. I will come soon.”

“Hmm~ But I don’t want to! You said the same thing last night,” said the little girl, clearly showing just how close she was to her father.

Just then, a low shout startled the father and daughter duo. When Li Huowang approached them, Magistrate Lou paled and quickly hid his daughter behind his back. “My Lord, this is my daughter!”

However, Li Huowang pushed him away and approached the girl. Under her fearful eyes, Li Huowang tore off the cloth pouch hanging from her waist. When Li Huowang examined the patterns on the pouch, he had a revelation.

“Who made this?” asked Li Huowang. The patterns on the pouch were similar to a portion of the pattern on the skull!

The magistrate’s daughter, feeling frightened by the fierce man, turned toward her father. However, when she saw that her father did not try to help her, she started trembling. “This... th-is was given to me by my seamstress...”

“Seamstress? Bring her in!” said Li Huowang. Coincidences did not exist in this world. He had a feeling that the talisman might be working, and this was the guide that Li Huowang needed!

Soon, the guards brought the seamstress in question and presented her in front of Li Huowang. She looked to be slightly older than the daughter of the magistrate, and was equally dainty, as if a wind could blow her off the ground.

“Did you make this pouch?” Li Huowang questioned the seamstress.

“Yes...” The seamstress answered in a small voice, not daring to raise her head.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“Why are the birds embroidered onto the pouch?” asked Li Huowang.

“These are Mandarin Ducks...” replied the seamstress.

“I’m asking you why did you embroider them onto the pouch?!” Li Huowang’s angry shout startled everyone.

Scared by Li Huowang’s sudden outburst, the seamstress was on the verge of tears. “Mandarin Ducks... That’s how they are embroidered...”

Li Huowang stood up and approached the seamstress. His steps echoed loudly as he slowly unsheathed his sword. When he fully unsheathed the sword, the killing intent radiating from it suffocated everyone within the room. With this, Li Huowang looked even more menacing.

Now standing right in front of the seamstress, Li Huowang’s pressure almost made her crumble and go crazy.

“I don’t know! My grandmother taught me how to do it! The Mandarin Ducks have always been embroidered in this pattern since a long time ago!” The seamstress dropped to the ground and started crying.

However, the entire room was silent. Everyone was stunned by what they heard, regardless of whether they were the guard or the officers. All of them were staring at the seamstress.

Her voice had suddenly turned into a man’s voice!

One of the guards was the first to react and immediately ran over to the ‘seamstress’. Then, he touched the seamstress's chest and was surprised. “My Lord! These are fake!”

Hearing this, Magistrate Lou's face paled and he immediately turned to look at his daughter.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang grabbed the ‘seamstress’ by the neck and raised him up into the air. “Magistrate Lou, it seems that we have managed to find the man responsible for the rape cases.”

“Lock him up in the prison! Interrogate him!” Magistrate Lou shouted in a fury. Both of his hands were trembling from anger.

Finally having found a clue, Li Huowang did not pass up on the chance to interrogate the culprit. He followed the guard into the prison while holding onto the culprit.

Soon, the culprit was crying out in pain within the prison.

“Talk! Where are your comrades? Where are they hiding? Why are you stealing the babies?!” asked the interrogator.

Li Huowang frowned when he saw the culprit’s skin bubbling from the hot red brand, as well as the whip immersed in the salty water.

“Alright, step down for now,” said Li Huowang as he stood up and approached the culprit. At this point, the culprit had already been beaten beyond recognition.

Li Huowang ignored the interrogator’s branding iron. Instead, he approached the culprit directly and removed his veil.

The rate at which Li Huowang recovered was very fast. However, while his face was already halfway healed, he still looked monstrous.

When the culprit, who had already grown tired from the torture, saw Li Huowang’s face, he felt a sudden surge of energy in his body. He quickly retreated, fearing that Li Huowang would eat him.

Ding ding ding~

The sound of metal clanking rang out as Li Huowang unfolded his bag of torture tools. “Talk.”

“I really don’t know! I did rape the girls, but I didn’t steal the babies!” The culprit’s pants were already wet, but he still didn’t say who stole the babies.

“Is that so?” Li Huowang picked up a small hacksaw and pressed the culprit’s head onto the wall as he started sawing.

Immediately, the culprit howled out in pain and despair, far exceeding the cries of pain he was letting out before.

An hour later, Li Huowang started chanting the Fiery Sutra to heal the culprit who was on the verge of death.

That’s strange. Does he really not know who did it?

Li Huowang was sure that the culprit was telling the truth after he interrogated him. There was no way the man wouldn’t have cracked under so much pain.

Unless... there were two people responsible for the cases? One who did the raping while the other stole babies? Maybe the two cases were happening at the same time and everyone just thought that it was all done by a single culprit?

Realizing that he might have lost his only lead, Li Huowang suddenly felt frustrated.

Li Huowang hadn’t felt this powerless in a long time. An enemy that refused to show itself was extremely irritating and hard to deal with. It was only now that he realized that the missions given out by the Surveillance Bureau were not as easy as he had thought.

Just then, Li Huowang heard his stomach rumbling. He hadn’t eaten for quite some time and was hungry.

Li Huowang took one more look at the mutilated man before walking out of the prison.

The interrogator saw Li Huowang was leaving but didn’t send him off. Instead, he kicked one of the prison guards beside him.

Left without a choice, the prison guard in question forced a smile as he escorted Li Huowang out of the prison. “My Lord, please have a safe trip and come visit us again if you have the time. My Lord’s technique was quite exquisite!”