Do you know where he is now?

I dont know. Im not even sure whether hes alive or dead, let alone his location. I heard that when he escaped from the stockade, he had a fight with the villagers and was severely poisoned.

Xu Xinyuan was silent for a long time.

Is there anyone dissatisfied with Miao Xihe in the stockade now?

Yes, of course, there is. While Miao Xihe seems fair, he is actually a bully. There are definitely dissatisfied people. As for who they are, Im not sure. After all, I have been away from the stronghold for many years.

After the conversation, there were no new leads. He returned home without accomplishing anything.

Xu Xinyuan was disappointed, but he had no options. He still could not make out anything about the situation.

In He County

Miao Changhong went to the funeral home and looked at the bodies of the people. He wanted to find out how and when they had been poisoned, and he succeeded.

The poisoning happened about six or seven days before their deaths, he said. They were likely poisoned through food.

Six or seven days before their deaths? Yang Guanfengs eyes slightly brightened. This was a very useful piece of news.

Yes, we can find out where they lived, Lu Xiufeng said.

These three people had lived in the same village and worked in the same place. It was not a particularly difficult investigation. In the end, they found a clue, which was something very important.

A stranger wearing a hood had appeared at different times where the people lived and worked. No matter which camera they looked through, they could not clearly see the persons face.

This man is very suspicious. Yang Guanfeng and Lu Xiufeng said at almost the same time.

It was not a normal thing to deliberately cover ones face in a place that was not cold, but many criminal suspects had the habit of doing so.

Lets go to the neighborhood to see if there is a shop or something where we can see his face clearly.

Sure.

They immediately set out and went to several places to check footage from before the accident had taken the lives of those three people. They again found the face of that man on the footage from a shop, but it still couldnt be seen clearly. Only half of his face was exposed, and it was slightly fuzzy.

This man is an old hand! Yang Guanfeng remarked.

Yes, he has a very strong anti-investigation ability. Lu Xiufeng lit a cigarette.

There are usually several possibilities for such a person. The first is that he is a habitual offender who has a good understanding of the polices criminal investigation routine and a strong ability to deflect investigation. The other is that he received special training and is familiar with the routine and means of anti-investigation methods. Of course, some people are born with this ability, but that is a rarity.

Although they couldnt see this persons face clearly, they had professional personnel who could infer what he looked like through the fuzzy half-exposed face that had been captured. This method was highly credible.

At this stage of the case, there was finally some progress.

These two people have a good set of skills, Lu Xiufeng said.

I keep thinking that they are still hiding something from us. Yang Guanfeng lit a cigarette.

That is for sure. Their purpose here is not pure. The fact that they could tell us what they did was probably the result of a discussion after reporting to their bosses.

In a hostel in He County

Is it necessary for us to stay here? Miao Changhong asked. Weve already done what we can do. If we stay, we wont be of much help.

What they could say, they had already said. What they couldnt say, of course, they wouldnt tell outsiders. Furthermore, they had already done everything they could.

Lets wait a little more, Miao Qingfeng said. He had already told the chief everything that was happening there. He was waiting for the chiefs orders to determine their next step.

Alright.

Yang Guanfeng and the others received another message.

Come and have a look. Theres news from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine again.

Whats the matter?

The message contained a picture of a dead man.

Has someone died again?

The death depicted in the picture was gruesome. The face had turned blue, and there were some disgusting sores on it.

Well, is that really a dead man? Lu Xiufeng looked at it carefully.

Please, dont joke around at times like this, Yang Guanfeng said.

From this depiction, it is clear that he has been dead for more than a day.

Not necessarily. Dont forget, they are experts there who use poison, Yang Guanfeng said. There should be a big difference between poisoned corpses and those who died in other ways.

Ah, one case has hardly been solved and another happened, Lu Xiufeng said. Why are there so many troubles? No wonder the fortune teller said that this year was not going to be good!

Ha, do you still believe in those things? Yang Guanfeng asked with a chuckle. We cant deal with this case anyway. Even though we know someone has died, we wont be able to find anything much if we go there. What we can do is to pay attention to the case.

The Valley of Thousands of Medicine was definitely hiding many secrets, but it was so exclusive. Yang Guanfeng had gone there twice and been poisoned twice. The case hadnt been solved, and his life had almost been sacrificed. There might be another accident if he were to go again.

I have a hunch that well have to go to this Valley of Thousands of Medicine sooner or later, Lu Xiufeng said.

Why? Do you miss the good wine and food there?

To be honest, I do miss it, but I dont want to go back there again. Youve been there twice, and youve been poisoned twice. I didnt have any accidents this time. I feel lucky. if I were to go back, something might happen at that time!

In the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, hundreds of miles away

Master.

How is it?

Its still not working.

Miao Xihe remained sitting still.

How about the person?

Hes dead.

I got it, Miao Xihe said. Stop everything for a while and deal with the matter properly. Clean up all the places thoroughly. Be careful. You must not leave anything behind.

Yes.

The middle-aged man retreated after replying. There was only one person left in the room, Miao Xihe, who was quietly sitting.

Its not possible yet. What is lacking?

In another city in southern Yunnan, two people were sitting in a restaurant facing each other. Looking at their faces, they appeared fatigued. It was as if they had just experienced heavy physical labor.

Do you believe it now? The man in the baseball cap had a hoarse and scratchy voice, and his face was a strange cyan color.

I believe it, but I didnt expect that such a thing existed in the real world, the man sitting opposite him said. His complexion had turned a little white.

Have they found us?

We should have already been discovered, but it doesnt matter. We are not the only ones keeping an eye on that place. Last time I went there, I heard gunshots.

Blood Orchid. The tall and strong man sighed in a low voice.

Can this kind of thing really allow people to live forever?

Havent you read those two notebooks from your grandfather? the baseball-capped man asked as he took a sip of tea.

Yes, but not all.

Alas, its a pity. The real wealth of the old chief was in those notebooks, but your family didnt know how to cherish it. Now, it is in the hands of Miao Xihe. Ive read two notebooks, but I havent read them all either. The notebooks recorded the six miraculous medicines in southern Yunnan. This Blood Orchid is one of them. It can allow people to live longer and alleviate various diseases. He had once seen it and used it. If it wasnt for Miao Xihe, he might still be alive now.

His death has little to do with Miao Xihe.

Why would I lie to you about this? The old chief was definitely killed by Miao Xihe.

The tall and strong man was silent.

It was a long time before he asked, What shall we do next?

Lets get close to the stockade and have a look. Miao Xihe should be using the Blood Orchid for experiments. I have been there several times before and found some clues, but they realized it. I have failed to further explore.

Alright.

The night grew deeper.

The jungles in southern Yunnan were dense.

Caw! Caw! Caw! Some animals were calling out.

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Two figures were shuttling along amid the jungle.

Do you smell something?

Its the smell of rotting corpses.

Yes, the place should be nearby.

Whoosh Whoosh Something was moving around in the grass.

This is a red-headed centipede. It was raised and bred in the stockade.

Its become a housekeeper now.

They came to where Yang Guanfeng and Lu Xiufeng had been.

This is it.

They went through the jungle. The mountain appeared in front of them.

There are caves and figures in there.

You wait here. Ill go check it out.

Ok.

The slightly shorter man covered his face as he quietly approached the mountain.

There were caves in the mountains and people in the caves.

Its going to be a success. Why dont you stick with it? Someone was talking.

There are too many rumors outside. The two criminal investigation experts who came last time found this place. We injured one of them. It was a very risky act. If they come again, theyll definitely come back here. What should we do then? Injure another one?