A Clash of Gods - Chapter 204

Chapter 204 Conjectures

Ximen Zhanying was in awe of Divine Marquis obviously. Although she was unwilling, she still walked back and came to the table. Qi Ning smiled. “Lady Zhanying, thank you.”

Ximen Zhanying stated involuntarily, “Don’t call me like this.”

Divine Marquis Ximen coughed, and Ximen Zhanying had to stand aside, letting her hands hang by the sides, but her pretty face seemed to be covered with frost.

“Lady Zhanying, in fact, you don’t need to force yourself if you are unwilling.” Qi Ning sighed. “I and Divine Marquis are drinking. If you look distant, er…” He shook his head with a bitter smile.

Ximen Zhanying knew that Qi Ning intentionally added fuel to the flames, so she wished to cut him to death with a knife, yet under Divine Marquis Ximen’s stare, she had to say, “Marquis, please drink. I just serve you and won’t influence your mood.” She glanced at Divine Marquis Ximen. Obviously, she even blamed her father.

Qi Ning picked up the cup. “Divine Marquis, thanks for your invitation today. I will propose a toast to you first.” He drained the cup in one gulp at once.

Divine Marquis Ximen smiled. “It appears that you can drink without delay, like your father did.” He drank off his cup and glanced at Ximen Zhanying, indicating her to pour liquor.

Ximen Zhanying held the pot and poured liquor for the two men expressionlessly. Qi Ning expressed with a smile, “Lady Zhanying, you are good at pouring liquor. You just make the cups full without flowing over.”

Ximen Zhanying glared at Qi Ning, while in front of Divine Marquis Ximen, she didn’t dare to say anything.

“It’s said that you have seen the murderer that night?” Divine Marquis Ximen picked up some dishes. “Do you still remember his figure or appearance, Marquis?”

Qi Ning knew that Divine Marquis talked about the blood-sucking murderer, so he shook his head. “Divine Marquis, you have misunderstood. I did see the murderer, but I couldn’t see his appearance clearly. He draped a black cloak over his shoulders and covered his figure, and he wore a mask on his face. He looked horrible and intended to conceal his true face.”

“He committed such a capital crime, so he certainly wouldn’t show his true face.” Divine Marquis nodded slightly. “Marquis, did you hear him say anything? Do you remember his voice?”

Qi Ning shook his head. “He didn’t say anything from beginning to end, but…hmm, I remember that he screamed twice seemingly. His voice was weird, like a beast’s roar.”

“So you saw a murderer with a cloak and a mask,” Divine Marquis stated. “Marquis, can you tell whether it’s a man or a woman?”

“Ah?” Qi Ning was stunned and asked in surprise, “Divine Marquis, do you think that it may be a woman?”

Divine Marquis looked serious. “Before the evidence is clear, we should consider all the assumptions and judgments. If the murderer is a woman beyond expectation, but we conclude that it is a man from the beginning, when we look for the clues, we will be poles apart and go farther away.”

Qi Ning thought that the older, the wiser, and he nodded. “Divine Marquis, you are right, yet judging from the voice that night, it must not be a woman.”

Ximen Zhanying snorted, so Qi Ning asked with a smile, “Lady Zhanying, what’s your opinion?”

Ximen Zhanying replied, “Marquis of Honor, please forgive me if I speak straightforwardly. You have never investigated a case, and perhaps you have seen too little. Sometimes, when a person’s voice is like a man’s, we can’t decide that it is a man. The eunuchs in the imperial palace speak in a sharp voice, like a woman’s, but do you dare to say that the eunuchs are women?”

Qi Ning smiled. “Lady Zhanying, as you said, I want to ask you. Are the eunuchs in the imperial palace men or women?”

Ximen Zhanying was stunned and then had a blush on her face. She turned away and ignored him.

“Marquis, don’t lower yourself to the same level as her.” Divine Marquis smiled. “This girl’s mother passed away when she was young, so I indulge her. She is spoilt at ordinary times and doesn’t know the immensity of the universe. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Qi Ning waved his hand and responded without feeling shame, “Lady Zhanying is still young, and I won’t bother about her. Divine Marquis, don’t worry.”

“You…” Ximen Zhanying frowned and looked angry.

“Divine Marquis, why did that person kill people and suck their blood?” Qi Ning looked at Ximen Wuhen before Ximen Zhanying exploded. “I saw the dead body, and more than half of the blood in his body had been sucked. How can a person’s tummy bear so much blood?”

Divine Marquis answered, “In fact, something like this is not strange.”

“It’s not strange?” Qi Ning was shocked. “Have you seen some people suck blood?”

Divine Marquis replied, “To be frank with you, I have never seen it before, but…there are such rumors in society.”

“Father, what rumors? Why didn’t you tell me?” Ximen Zhanying asked in an instant.

“It’s not something good. Why would I tell you?” Divine Marquis glanced at Ximen Zhanying and then added, “Many years ago, I heard that some scum in the gangdom practiced weird skills, which were evil skills of all sorts of back doors and unpresentable, disdained by the people in the gangdom, yet in all fairness, if the evil skills are practiced successfully, they are quite powerful and awesome.”

“Divine Marquis, do you mean that the murderer sucks blood in order to practice skills?” Qi Ning frowned.

Divine Marquis explained, “If they practice evil skills, they can be opportunistic and rapidly promote their martial skills with methods frightful to the ear. For example, some scum practice evil skills by having sex, and some use rank poison to promote their strength. Although it’s rare to practice skills by sucking blood, there are some people doing it.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “As far as I know, more than seventy years ago, a man called Blood-sucking Demon King made trouble in society and killed countless people. He practiced by sucking people’s fresh blood.”

Ximen Zhanying turned pale and asked in fear, “Father, does this murderer have something to do with Blood-sucking Demon King?”

“Lady Zhanying, Blood-sucking Demon King lived more than seventy years ago. How can he be still alive now?” Qi Ning laughed. “Only if he has become a demon who can live forever.”

“How is it impossible?” Ximen Zhanying sneered.

“Even if he can really live for one hundred years, he can’t be alive now,” Qi Ning explained. “Do you think that the people in the gangdom can let such an evil demon go? Divine Marquis, if I guess right, Blood-sucking Demon King must have died long ago. Otherwise, if that guy hasn’t died, after more than seventy years, his martial skills must be invincible in the world. Can anybody kill him?”

Divine Marquis laughed. “Marquis, you are right. Blood-sucking Demon King had been savage for only a few years in the gangdom, and then he was encircled and killed. He is not existent since long ago.”

“Didn’t he have disciples?” Ximen Zhanying was still reluctant. “Father, perhaps the people doing evil in the capital now are that demon’s disciples and their disciples.”

Divine Marquis shook his head. “No way. That demon was arrogant, and I have never heard that he had disciples. If he had, the disciples wouldn’t show up all of a sudden after hiding for more than seventy years.” He frowned slightly. “If this murderer really sucks blood to practice skills, we should capture him as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we give him more time, he may cause more trouble.”

Qi Ning hesitated for a while and then finally stated, “Divine Marquis, I think that the murderer’s identity may be extraordinary.”

“Oh?” Divine Marquis asked, “Why did you say so?”

“I saw that man’s figure. He was not like an ordinary person but looked majestic.” Qi Ning furrowed his brows. “He stood on the roof then, and his cloak danced in the wind. He looked down at me, and his momentum…well, when I looked at him then, it seemed that a general was reviewing his soldiers. I don’t know why I had such a feeling, yet…that feeling was strong then, so I thought that the murderer is extraordinary.”

Divine Marquis nodded slightly. “Xiaocang has told me that you provided that guy’s information that night.” He pondered for a moment and then added, “A person can’t gain his temperament overnight, but it has been cultivated year after year, while after he gains the temperament, it can hardly be concealed in every act and every move.”

“There is another strange problem,” Qi Ning said. “Divine Marquis, if the murderer just wants to practice evil skills, why would he choose to commit crimes in the capital? Anybody knows that the capital is the heart of the country, and there are many great martial masters here. It’s heavily guarded, and your mansion is here. This person kills people and sucks blood, so he can’t escape from others’ attention. Doesn’t he look for trouble to do that? The world is so big. If he wants to suck blood to practice evil skills, it’s not difficult to suck people’s blood in some remote areas, yet he is in the capital, so there must be something odd.”

Ximen Zhanying didn’t like Qi Ning, yet she frowned after hearing that. “Father, what…he said makes sense. The murderer certainly knows that he will attract the imperial court’s attention after he commits such crimes, but why did he do that?”

Divine Marquis looked at Qi Ning and asked, “Marquis, what’s your opinion?”

Qi Ning replied, “I have thought about it, and it’s the most possible that the person…can’t leave the capital, or because of his identity, he can’t leave the capital for a long time.”

“Oh?” Divine Marquis expressed with interest, “Marquis, your conjecture is reasonable.”

“Why can’t he leave the capital for a long time?” Ximen Zhanying looked at Qi Ning and asked.

Qi Ning picked up the liquor cup and drank clean at one gulp. Then he looked at the liquor pot. Ximen Zhanying was curious, yet Qi Ning’s reaction made her furious. However, she could do nothing but hold the pot and refill his cup.

Then Qi Ning asked, “Lady Zhanying, think about it. What kind of people can’t leave the capital? Once they leave the city for long, it will arouse suspicion?”

Ximen Zhanying just frowned and didn’t answer.

“In my opinion, that person must be the center of attention, and at least, most people are familiar with him,” Qi Ning added slowly. “He can’t be like the businessmen or tourists who won’t attract people’s attention wherever they go. Such a person can’t leave the capital because he has duties here. Once he leaves, even if most people don’t know, at least the people around him will find it and even suspect him.”

Divine Marquis looked serious and stared at Qi Ning, with bright piercing eyes.

“So after I pondered over it, with the clues that we know, I think that the blood-sucking murderer may be an official at the imperial court.” Qi Ning looked solemn. “And this man may even be a military officer.” After pausing for a moment, he added, “And there is a key clue.”

“What clue?” Ximen Zhanying couldn’t help but ask.

“I have said earlier that the person can’t leave the capital for a long time, but it doesn’t mean that he can’t leave for a few days,” Qi Ning answered. “Many officials in the capital won’t attract people’s attention if they leave for several days, yet after a long time, it will arouse suspicion. If the murderer just wants to suck blood to practice skills, he can find time to leave the capital for two or three days occasionally, and it won’t attract people’s attention, but why does he do evil in the capital at the risk of being captured by the imperial court?”

Ximen Zhanying was interested in Qi Ning’s analysis obviously and asked, “Why?”

“Because the murderer may not be able to control the time.” Qi Ning stressed each word. “He can’t kill people and suck blood according to his free time but needs it at any time, and he can’t control it.”