Chapter 416: Burial
Chapter 416: Burial
"The coroner from the Dao Court went into the mine to examine the bodies and finally concluded that these miners were killed and eaten by demonic beasts..."
"Someone from the Lu family came forward and said they would compensate with spirit stones."
"The families of the miners will receive spirit stones, so they won't make a fuss anymore."
"And that's where the matter stands with the Dao Court for now..."
Steward Fang sighed helplessly.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly, "It can't be that simple..."
Aside from anything else, those miners were definitely not eaten by demonic beasts.
Having dealt with demonic beasts frequently in Dahei Mountain, Mo Hua was certain of this.
When Si Tu Fang saw that there was no one else around, she lowered her voice and said, "You're right. That coroner lied."
Mo Hua was puzzled, "How do you know he lied?"
"I gave him spirit stones, and he told me himself," Si Tu Fang said.
Mo Hua nodded.
Spirit stones indeed had a way of making people honest.
He had given two spirit stones to the broker who sold the cave mansion, and the man had spilled everything.
Si Tu Fang continued, "The coroner told me that the miners were killed by someone first and then eaten by something unknown..."
"They've been dead for quite some time, and the foul air in the cave is heavy. So, the putrid and deathly aura is mixed, making it hard to determine what exactly ate them."
A chill ran through Mo Hua's heart, and he then sighed.
Despite the miners' gruesome deaths, the coroner was still able to determine the cause. Indeed, he had real talent.
In the cultivation world, even seemingly insignificant and lowly regarded professions had their unique intricacies that couldn't be underestimated.
"Then why didn't the coroner tell the truth?" Mo Hua asked, "Did someone stop him from speaking out?"
"Yes." Si Tu Fang nodded, "Zhao Dian Si from the Dao Court hinted to him to keep quiet."
"Zhao Dian Si?"
Si Tu Fang lowered her voice, "He has more experience than me. He's been a Dian Si in the Dao Court of Nan Yue City for six or seven decades and has earned the trust of the Zhang Si."
Zhang Si?
Mo Hua began to understand.
So, the Zhang Si of Nan Yue City had instructed that the matter be hushed up, finding a "convenient" reason to downplay the incident.
When cultivators kill, it is murder.
But when demonic beasts kill, it is considered an accident.
Since it was an accident, it was somewhat unavoidable.
The Dao Court didn't need to investigate, and the Lu family's responsibility wasn't that great either, as long as they compensated with spirit stones.
The families of the miners would receive spirit stone compensation and wouldn't continue to make a fuss.
The matter would then be settled...
On the surface, it did seem "convenient."
Mo Hua glanced at Si Tu Fang's expression and saw that she was still troubled, so he asked softly, "Sister Si Tu, do you want to continue investigating?"
Si Tu Fang hesitated and nodded, "You're right. It's not that simple. We need to find out who killed the miners and what ate their bodies."
Si Tu Fang sighed, "If we don't figure it out, more miners might end up dying like this..."
"Your Zhang Si won't agree to you continuing the investigation, will he?" Mo Hua asked.
"It's fine. I'm on rotation, and my family backs me. I just need to be polite to him on the surface and not worry too much about him," Si Tu Fang said nonchalantly.
Mo Hua nodded and praised, "Sister Si Tu, you have such a kind heart!"
Then he patted his chest and said, "I'll help you investigate!"
Si Tu Fang looked at Mo Hua doubtfully, "What will you investigate?"
"The cause of the miners' deaths, of course," Mo Hua replied.
"I'm investigating because it's my duty, but why are you getting involved in this mess?" Si Tu Fang asked, perplexed.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "I want to find Yan Jiao Xi since he also disappeared in the mine. There might be a connection between his disappearance and the miners' deaths."
"Also, I want to uncover the truth. We can't let these miners die without knowing what happened."
Of course, there was also the crucial point about the absolute formation.
Mo Hua had sensed the sinister aura of the absolute formation on the miners' bodies.
He wanted to know what this formation was and why it had an evil aura.
Who was using this formation to harm people...
However, Mo Hua didn't mention the matter concerning the absolute formation.
Si Tu Fang thought it over and nodded, "Alright."
Then she cautioned, "But you must be careful. This matter is likely more complicated than it seems. If things turn sour, run without hesitation."
"No matter how much influence they have, it's limited to Nan Yue City."
"Once you leave Nan Yue City and return to Tong Xian City, you'll be back on your family's turf, and you won't have anything to worry about."
Mo Hua's eyes flickered, and it seemed that Si Tu Fang had also sensed something.
Mo Hua nodded, "Alright!"
...
Although they intended to investigate, the clues were limited.
Mo Hua wanted to examine the miners' bodies first.
He wanted to use his spiritual sense to perceive the deathly aura on the bodies and compare it to the usual aura of the world.
He also wanted to recalculate and see if he could gain more clues about the absolute formation.
After the mine tunnel was cleaned up, the miners' bodies were sealed and stored in the Dao Court.
Si Tu Fang also frowned, "Who allowed this?"
"Who else could it be?" The coroner scoffed, then glanced around and used his hand to gesture upwards, indicating the one in charge of the Nan Yue City Dao Court.
Mo Hua's mind raced as he realized the haste in which the bodies were disposed of suggested something amiss with the one in charge.
It also implied that the bodies held secrets that someone wanted hidden.
Si Tu Fang's eyes darted, sharing a similar suspicion.
However, they didn't intend to confront the one in charge, knowing it would be futile.
"Let's ask the families of the miners," Mo Hua suggested.
Si Tu Fang nodded.
The miners lived in shabby houses near the mine, cramped, dirty, and filled with smoke.
The miners themselves were unkempt, their faces covered in grime.
It was lunchtime, and many were eating thin porridge with dark, hard pickled vegetables.
The porridge was mostly noodles with barely any rice grains.
Children running in the narrow alleys were also dirty and unkempt.
Si Tu Fang's face showed her sympathy.
Even Mo Hua, who was used to seeing struggling lone cultivators, sighed softly.
These miners were among the poorest of the poor, even among the struggling san Xiu of Tong Xian City.
Mo Hua had always thought that the san Xiu in Tong Xian City had it tough, but the further he ventured, the more he realized there was always someone worse off.
Elder Yu's words rang true, "The san Xiu of Tong Xian City have it hard, but beyond its borders, there are countless more facing even greater hardships..."
Mo Hua's eyes clouded with emotion as he reflected on these words.
Si Tu Fang led Mo Hua to a dilapidated house with its door shut.
After inquiring with the neighbors, they learned that the Dao Court had cremated the bodies and returned them, and the family had proceeded with the burial.
The burial site was in a large wasteland to the south.
It was a mass grave.
When Mo Hua and Si Tu Fang arrived, they saw numerous tombs scattered across the desolate ground, some with inscriptions bearing the names of the deceased, others with wooden plaques, weathered by wind and sun, the wood decaying.
Most tombs, however, were unmarked, leaving the identities of the buried unknown.
In one corner of the graveyard, a new grave was being prepared.
As they approached, they saw three or four households gathered, dressed in white, burning paper money, and sobbing softly.
In front of them was a single coffin.
Upon inquiring, they learned that the five miners had been torn to pieces, their deaths horrific, their bodies unrecognizable.
The Dao Court had cremated them together, and so the families could only bury them together in one coffin.
Si Tu Fang's anger rose, "How could they do this?"
A haggard middle-aged woman, accompanied by a thin child, replied helplessly, "Even if they were separated, we couldn't afford individual coffins. This one coffin is all that we four families could scrape together."
"Shouldn't there be five families?"
"One of the wives has already remarried and left with her son. No one is here to bury him."
Si Tu Fang was at a loss for words.
The woman sighed, "We don't blame her. As a widow with a child, she had no choice but to remarry to survive."
Si Tu Fang's brow furrowed, "Didn't the Lu family compensate with spirit stones?"
"They gave a hundred, but by the time it reached us, we only got twenty. Those twenty spirit stones won't last long."
Si Tu Fang's face turned cold, "Who took the rest?"
The woman stammered, unable to answer, her face filled with anguish.
Si Tu Fang asked again, but the woman only shook her head, remaining silent.
An uncomfortable silence fell upon the group.
In the desolate graveyard, the atmosphere turned deathly still, punctuated only by the soft, weary sobs.
Once the tomb was erected, the families offered incense.
The smoke curled upwards as the tomb stood solitary.
The miners' families wore pained expressions, their lives as harsh as the miners themselves, never knowing when tragedy would strike in the mines, adding another grave to this lonely hillside.
Eventually, these graves would become nameless, forgotten mounds of earth and stone.
Mo Hua surveyed the surroundings, a sense of desolation and sorrow washing over him.
A moment later, he started, his gaze falling on the families of the miners, his brow creasing in suspicion.
He recalled how, when the families had demanded answers from the Dao Court, several burly men had accompanied them.
Yet now, only women, children, and elderly remained.
A few young miners were present, but they were frail and thin.
Where had those men gone?
Mo Hua's eyes turned cold.
(End of Chapter)
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