Han Yu frowned slightly after hearing the informant’s words.
"What about the latest eleven corpses?"
This ti the informant’s expression changed faintly.
"They were seized."
"Seized?" Han Yu repeated.
The man nodded.
"A local powerhouse intervened before anyone else could properly inspect them."
Han Yu leaned back slightly.
"Who?"
The informant answered imdiately.
"Palm Hand Lu."
Han Yu silently repeated the na internally.
’Palm Hand Lu.’
He had not heard the na before and it was not within Daoist Snake Face’s report either. Which ant either the man did not deem him important or this Palm Hand Lu had managed to evade suspicion.
That alone already said sothing.
Even if Daoist Snake Face was ignorant, Han Yu’s own intelligence network within the Blood Continent was extensive. Any cultivator with notable influence usually appeared sowhere within his gathered information eventually.
Yet this person remained unfamiliar.
That ant one of two things.
Either Palm Hand Lu deliberately stayed hidden...
Or he appeared here relatively recently.
Han Yu calmly poured more wine for both of them.
"What kind of person is he?"
The informant shrugged faintly.
"Mysterious."
"Very little is known."
"Most people in town avoid offending him."
"He rarely acts personally. His subordinates handle nearly everything."
"Even his exact cultivation level remains unclear."
Han Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.
That made the situation more troubleso.
Unknown strength.
Hidden background.
Remote territory.
A private organization.
And now involvent with suspicious corpses.
None of that sounded comforting.
"Why did he seize the bodies?" Han Yu asked.
The informant lowered his voice again.
"Among the eleven dead..."
"...so are suspected to have connections with his organization."
Han Yu’s fingers paused briefly.
Connections.
Interesting.
"Family?" Han Yu asked.
"Possibly. Followers at minimum."
Han Yu drank slowly while considering the implications.
Then he asked the next important question.
"Why did your people fail to acquire the corpses first?"
The informant grimaced faintly.
"We simply reacted too slowly."
"Palm Hand Lu’s people discovered the bodies before dawn and removed them imdiately."
"We only learned afterward."
"How?" Han Yu asked.
"One servant from their estate beca drunk several nights later."
"He ntioned helping transport frozen corpses during the night."
The man swallowed slightly.
"He sounded terrified while describing them."
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
That ant the bodies likely contained sothing disturbing enough to frighten even servants used to frontier violence.
He ntally noted the detail.
Then another thought surfaced.
"Where does Palm Hand Lu reside?"
"He owns a manor within town," the informant answered. "Though we believe he rarely stays there."
"The actual residence lies deeper within the forest roughly one hundred kiloters northeast from here."
Han Yu imdiately followed with another question.
"How far from the corpse discovery site?"
The informant answered almost instantly.
"Approximately thirty kiloters."
Han Yu’s expression remained calm outwardly.
Internally however...
His thoughts sharpened imdiately.
Thirty kiloters was far too close.
Especially in a region like this.
For cultivators, thirty kiloters ant practically nothing.
Even powerful beasts could cover such distance quickly.
That naturally raised suspicion.
Was Palm Hand Lu involved sohow?
Or...
Was he the intended target?
Han Yu could not determine which possibility troubled him more.
If Palm Hand Lu truly stood behind the incidents, then Han Yu needed to approach carefully.
But if Palm Hand Lu himself was being targeted...
Then that implied sothing far more dangerous lurking nearby.
Han Yu quietly ate another Coconut Worm while thinking.
The child corpse still bothered him deeply.
That detail simply did not fit.
Han Yu rembered Madam Cold Fang clearly.
Though terrifying, she never struck him as soone who killed randomly.
Especially children.
If this truly involved her...
Then there had to be a reason.
Or perhaps...
This was not her at all.
Han Yu did not allow himself to grow fixated on a single possibility.
The similarities between these deaths and the Frost Plu Town incident certainly existed.
Frozen internal organs and bite marks.
But the Blood Continent contained countless strange techniques and creatures.
Assuming too much too early would be foolish.
Especially since Frost Plu Town lay extrely far from here.
The Harrow Mountains alone stood roughly two thousand kiloters away from the northeastern frontier.
And Frost Plu Town rested even further beyond that.
Such enormous distance naturally raised questions.
Why would Madam Cold Fang suddenly appear here after all these years?
And why start killing seemingly random people?
No...
Sothing still felt incomplete.
Han Yu finally looked toward the informant again.
"Tell about Palm Hand Lu’s organization."
The man nodded slowly.
"They call themselves the Palm Hall."
"Officially they operate as traders and escorts."
"Unofficially..." the man hesitated slightly, "they control much of the movent through the northeastern routes."
"Protection fees?"
"Among other things."
Han Yu understood imdiately.
A frontier power.
Half rchant group.
Half criminal syndicate.
Perfectly normal for regions beyond direct sect control.
"Strength?"
"Several Core Condensation realm cultivators."
"At least one Nascent Soul realm expert confird."
"No one knows how many hidden mbers exist."
Han Yu nodded faintly.
Strong enough to dominate a frontier town.
Weak enough to remain beneath major sect attention.
Again...
Very normal.
Which strangely made the situation more suspicious.
The most dangerous groups often hid themselves behind normality.
Han Yu finally slid a small pouch across the table casually.
The informant accepted it naturally without checking contents.
Spirit stones.
Enough to satisfy him for now.
"Continue monitoring Palm Hall quietly," Han Yu instructed calmly.
"No direct contact."
"No investigation that attracts notice."
"If more bodies appear, inform imdiately."
The informant nodded seriously.
"Yes, senior."
Han Yu stood slowly afterward.
The tavern remained noisy around them, completely unaware that discussions involving mysterious deaths and hidden organizations had just taken place openly within one corner.
Before leaving however, Han Yu paused briefly.
"One more thing."
The informant looked up.
"The eleven smiling corpses..."
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed faintly.
"Were they found together?"
The man swallowed slightly before answering.
"Yes."
"Arranged in a circle."
A chill finally passed through Han Yu’s mind.
That...
Was definitely deliberate.
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