I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 176 - 146: Tracing the Clues

Bang!

Qin Yuesheng slammed his palm directly onto Wei Shenpo’s head, pressing her whole head forcefully onto the table. With a loud bang, the table’s surface instantly cracked with numerous fissures. If Qin Yuesheng hadn’t controlled his strength, the table might have shattered into pieces.

"You!" Wei Shenpo’s face was covered in blood, looking incredulously at the young man.

She couldn’t believe how suddenly the other party had attacked, leaving her no chance to react.

But this woman was not somebody to be trifled with. In an instant, she grabbed a white bone dagger from the table and directly stabbed it towards Qin Yuesheng’s abdomen.

Qin Yuesheng didn’t even attempt to dodge. This kind of attack couldn’t even harm his body; his Inner Strength alone was enough to fend off the assault without letting it advance.

Indeed, the dagger in Wei Shenpo’s hand stopped about five or six fingers’ width away from Qin Yuesheng’s body. It wasn’t that she wanted to stop, but an invisible force seemed like an air wall blocking her attack.

Wei Shenpo’s face changed instantly; she knew she had encountered a tough opponent this time.

Discarding the bone dagger, she immediately formed a claw and fiercely reached for Qin Yuesheng’s chest. Qin Yuesheng grabbed her wrist and pinned it onto the table with a twist.

With a loud crack, Wei Shenpo’s arm was completely dislocated.

"Big one! Second one! Third one! Come in and save me!"

As Wei Shenpo shouted, a cacophony of monkey cries echoed from outside the house. Qin Yuesheng turned to look and saw the three monkeys who had been eating apples outside suddenly charge into the room.

"Ee-ee oo-oo! Ee-ee!" The three monkeys skillfully picked up machetes from the corner near the door and leaped towards Qin Yuesheng, raising their blades to slash at him as soon as they got close, revealing their ferocity.

Qin Yuesheng casually struck out with a palm, his Inner Strength surging like waves. The monkeys couldn’t even touch Qin Yuesheng’s body before they were sent flying out, crashing onto the ground.

However, they quickly got up, untied the iron chains from their necks, and began swinging them like lariats.

It turned out that these chains were not meant to restrain them but were the monkeys’ hidden weapons.

The three monkeys each stood in a position, their eyes fixed intently on Qin Yuesheng, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Suddenly, they moved.

The three chains lashed toward Qin Yuesheng’s head, arm, and leg, wrapping around his neck and limbs like snakes. As soon as they succeeded, the monkeys began running in circles, quickly binding Qin Yuesheng tightly with the chains. Together they pulled, attempting to drag Qin Yuesheng to the ground.

It must be said, these monkeys were quite proficient in the Capture Skill, practicing it well and skillfully. If it were an ordinary Martial Artist or an External Martial Artist, they might easily fall into their trap by accident.

Unfortunately for the monkeys, their opponent this time was Qin Yuesheng, a Martial Artist in the Third Layer of the Internal Power Realm.

As Qin Yuesheng slightly struggled, the chains snapped instantly. He seemed unaffected, but the monkeys were thrown uncontrollably, staring at Qin Yuesheng in fear, no longer daring to attack the dangerous man.

This little episode hardly affected anything.

Qin Yuesheng mockingly said to Wei Shenpo, who was still pinned under his hand, "Looks like you’ve got quite a few self-defense tricks, Wei Shenpo."

"I, I..." Wei Shenpo trembled, frightened that Qin Yuesheng might twist her neck at any moment.

"I don’t want to waste time with you. What exactly is this Three Earth Goddess you mentioned? Are those children’s disappearances really related to her?" Qin Yuesheng drew his blade to Wei Shenpo’s neck, "Don’t give me convoluted answers and waste my time. I want the truth, or I’ll chop off your head in a flash."

Feeling the sharp blade against her neck, Wei Shenpo panicked immediately and hesitantly spoke in a low voice, "It’s something I made up to deceive people; there’s no Three Earth Goddess. I just wanted to use this ruse to swindle money from them."

Qin Yuesheng couldn’t believe things turned out this way. He had thought the Three Earth Goddess was some kind of ghostly entity masquerading as a deity, controlling Wei Shenpo, or that Wei Shenpo worshipped it for some reason and acted for it.

He was prepared to eliminate this supposed entity, but it turned out there was no Three Earth Goddess at all.

"Are you telling the truth?" Qin Yuesheng asked in disbelief.

"Every word is true."

"Why would you concoct such a lie at this critical juncture? Aren’t you afraid that the parents of the missing children will all come looking for trouble?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

"When people are driven mad, they lose their reason, which makes it easier to swindle them. I’ve helped them solve many issues in the past, and people in this town respect me tremendously. How would they dare to confront me?"

"Then what about the missing children in Lucky Town? Do you know anything about it?"

"I’m not very clear. This issue suddenly arose. If you want more detailed information, you should ask those whose children are missing," Wei Shenpo trembled as she spoke.

Putting his blade away, Qin Yuesheng said, "You look decent and clean enough, yet instead of earning money the right way, you’re up to these shady tricks. Remember to avoid making such immoral gains, or you’ll end up paying with your life sooner or later."

"Yes, yes, young man, you’re right. I’ll remember it well. Please spare me and don’t kill me. I’m just a wandering sorcerer doing some low-level tricks to earn a meal. I really have no other way."

"Why would I kill you for no reason."

After speaking, Qin Yuesheng walked out of the house.

Since there’s no such thing as the Earth Goddess, and Granny Wei is unrelated to the missing children, there’s no point in continuing the investigation here.

Watching Qin Yuesheng leave, Granny Wei immediately crawled up from the table, clutching her chest with lingering fear: "Oh, heavens, I thought I caught a big fish, dressed scantily to charm him, but who knew it would be a harbinger of doom."

...

In Lucky Town, many families had lost their children. It wasn’t difficult for Qin Yuesheng to find someone. By stopping a few passersby on the street and spending some silver taels, Qin Yuesheng soon arrived at the home of a farmer named Zhang Nankang.

According to the locals, Zhang Nankang’s child went missing two days ago.

Entering through the unlatched door, Qin Yuesheng saw two women sitting inside reciting Buddhist scriptures, likely praying for protection.

Knock knock knock!

Qin Yuesheng knocked on the door and asked, "Is Zhang Nankang here?"

The two women immediately turned their heads, saying with a sob in their voice, "Who are you?"

"I am an officer specially dispatched from Cyan Yang City to investigate the missing children case," Qin Yuesheng replied. "Can you tell me how your child went missing?"

Upon hearing that Qin Yuesheng was an officer, the two women reacted as if they had grabbed a lifeline, rushing over and immediately kneeling before Qin Yuesheng.

"Officer, please help us, save my child, help bring my child back."

"Please, help my sister-in-law, Officer, I’m begging you."

Qin Yuesheng wasn’t quite used to this treatment. Even in the Qin Mansion, the servants didn’t often kneel to him.

So he hurriedly said, "I will certainly handle this matter. Both of you, get up first. Tell me the details related to this case, and stop kneeling, so as not to waste time."

The two women promptly stood up, invited Qin Yuesheng to sit by the table, and began describing the events of that night.

It turned out that the matter of missing children in Lucky Town had been going on for five or six days, with a total of about thirty children gone missing during this time.

The Zhang Nankang couple had only one six-year-old child, and naturally, they feared for their child’s safety day and night.

Zhang Nankang followed others’ example and went to the blacksmith to buy six iron handcuffs. Every night, he would carry the child to the center of the bed, and the couple would cuff their hands and feet to the child before sleeping together.

Despite such a sure-fire measure, the next morning they found the center of the bed empty, the cuffs on the child had somehow been quietly undone, and the child was nowhere to be seen.

"How could such actions be so silent?" Qin Yuesheng wondered.

From what the woman described, it was clear that the mysterious entity snatching children had an incredibly high level of agility, to manage to silently unshackle a child sleeping between two adults and then take the child away.

A ghostly presence? An enigmatic being? Or a martial artist with exceptional skills?

There’s no denying that any of the three could be possible.

Seeing the woman start to cry again, Qin Yuesheng waved his hand and said, "I will continue investigating this matter. You don’t need to worry. If I have news, I’ll come and inform you. For now, I’ll take my leave."

Since the issue occurred within Lucky Town, it was crucial to first explore the area and familiarize himself with the terrain, hoping to find some clues as well.

If the child thief was still hiding in Lucky Town, Qin Yuesheng was determined to root them out.

Leaving the house, Qin Yuesheng took out the Spirit Fox’s Insight and Exorcism Toad and began wandering aimlessly around Lucky Town.

According to the Spirit Fox’s Insight, there were no abnormalities in Lucky Town, not a trace of malice. The glazed plate on the Exorcism Toad’s back also indicated everything was normal, leaving Qin Yuesheng puzzled.

Could it be the Ghost Race?

The Ghost Race, which had previously hidden in Cyan Yang City to plot the sealing, also possessed a method to conceal their malice.

As Qin Yuesheng roamed, he arrived at the outskirts of town, suddenly smelling a nauseating stench in the air.

Looking toward the source of the stench, he saw an old and worn-looking inn.