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How could Ferris be dead? Du Cheng couldn't believe it. He had certainly beaten Ferris badly the night before, but it should have been non-lethal!
"How could this happen?" Du Cheng walked up to Ferdinand and asked in confusion, "Could it be that his injuries were too severe, and he died from them?"
"No, the holy priests already treated his wounds; it wasn’t from his injuries that he died!" Ferdinand's purple eyes flashed with a sharp light, his voice rising a few tones. "He died in the guest room of this cathedral, not more than fifty meters away from me!"
Though this old charlatan was still maintaining his composure, Du Cheng could feel it—Ferdinand was furious!
As the religious leader of the Laning Diocese, Ferdinand held an extremely high status, and Saint John Cathedral was the spiritual home of all Battle Gods in the Laning Empire. However, last night, Ferdinand's prisoner had been killed, and it happened right under his nose.
How could Ferdinand not be enraged? What was more, outsiders didn't know that there were hundreds of powerful Battle Gods hidden in Saint John Cathedral, and that Ferdinand himself wasn’t an ordinary figure. Yet, even with all of this, someone had still managed to sneak in and kill Ferris!
Du Cheng lowered his head and said, "I’m deeply saddened by Ferris's death. After thinking about it last night, I believe he wasn’t trying to kill me but was just trying to restore the face he lost at the banquet. But... sigh, Father Ferdinand, is there anything I can do for you now?"
He was worried—Ferris was dead. Was the ransom still valid?
"Go and say your goodbyes to Ferris!" Ferdinand led Du Cheng through a side corridor of the hall and up the stairs.
As Du Cheng climbed the stairs, he noticed something strange. The wall where Ferdinand had been standing had a patch of damaged marks that had been hidden by Ferdinand.
The marks were over a person’s height, and Du Cheng suddenly realized—just like the chipped tiles on the church’s main door, this wall had once had a statue, but it had been destroyed!
At the top of the stairs, Du Cheng found himself in a long corridor. The floor was covered with red carpet, and white doors lined both sides. One door had two fifth-level blue-clad martial artists standing guard.
Seeing Ferdinand walking towards them, one of the guards opened the door.
A strong smell of blood filled Du Cheng’s nostrils. Even though he had seen many things in his past life, when he caught a glimpse of the body inside, he nearly vomited.
Ferris's body was curled up on the carpet, as though he had been skinned alive, his fresh red flesh exposed. His limbs were tightly curled, and the bones were clearly visible. His pallid face bore eyes that bulged, filled with blood vessels, resembling two blood-red balls.
The most horrifying thing was that, through his curled arms, Du Cheng could faintly see his internal organs behind his ribs, and his heart was still beating!
With each beat of the heart, the veins in the corpse pulsed as though Ferris hadn't fully died!
Du Cheng took a deep breath, trying to suppress the churn in his chest before looking at Ferris's body again. But just then—
Ferris's eyes moved, glaring at Du Cheng with a grotesque expression!
"Battle God bless!" Du Cheng jumped back, hiding behind Ferdinand. "He's not dead yet?"
"No, he is dead," Ferdinand said calmly, his gaze fixed on Ferris's body and his still-moving eyeballs. "This is a very cruel method of murder. Ferris's soul is gone, but his pain continues. Sigh, if it weren't for the need to investigate the truth, I would have given him peace."
Du Cheng swallowed hard and forced himself to shift his gaze from Ferris to the crime scene.
The room was an ordinary bedroom with white walls, a white canopy bed, and white furniture. But the sanctity of the white color made the scene all the more eerie.
Du Cheng was puzzled. "Where’s the blood? And Ferris's skin?"
"Your observation is sharp!" Ferdinand pointed to the room, his voice cold. "Everything in the scene is intact, and two fifth-level martial artists were guarding Ferris last night. But when the servant brought his meal this morning, this was the scene he found."
"Father, you mean someone sneaked into Saint John Cathedral, killed Ferris under the watch of two fifth-level martial artists, and left no trace?"
"No, he did leave a trace!" Ferdinand stepped forward, gently opened Ferris’s curled arms, and pointed to his throat. "Look here. The killer sliced Ferris's throat and began skinning him from the neck. This method of murder is a clue itself!"
"Who would use such a method? It’s too cruel!" Du Cheng tried to resist looking at the body.
"This is an ancient form of execution called 'skinning and hiding clothes.' It was used by humans long ago to execute magic race prisoners of war! Now, only older Battle Gods from the Holy Church and some ancient family heirs still use it!" Ferdinand said slowly. "The executioner would often collect the skin of the victim as a mark of honor, so Ferris’s skin is the clue!"
My God, the Ains continent is so barbaric! Du Cheng couldn’t help but swallow.
"Francis, say goodbye to Ferris, then tell me everything you know about the masked Battle God you encountered last night!"
"Father, you suspect that the masked Battle God is the killer?" Du Cheng asked.
"Yes. Aside from him, I can’t think of anyone who would have a reason to kill Ferris. From my analysis, he must be a ninth-level Battle God traveling through Saint John City. First, he stole Kaman’s holy artifact, and then, for some reason, used a ram-horned war hammer to save you. But for a Battle God, theft is a disgrace, so he had to kill anyone who saw him using the war hammer! But there's one more question—why didn’t he kill Ferris on the spot? And with his strength, even without the holy artifact, he could have easily killed him. There was no need to use stolen goods and leave clues…”
Ferdinand laid out his analysis, which made Du Cheng laugh and cry at the same time.
Stealing holy artifacts and injuring people were things Du Cheng had done, but who had infiltrated the cathedral to kill Ferris? Du Cheng knew he didn’t have those skills, nor the cruel methods.
"Say goodbye to Ferris, then tell me everything about the masked Battle God you encountered!"
Du Cheng, holding back his urge to vomit, said a few words to Ferris’s body, then spoke, "Father, last night, Ferris chased me into the seventh district, where I encountered the masked Battle God in a narrow alley. He was very tall, very strong, and his voice was hoarse. After defeating Ferris, he flew away!"
"Very tall, very strong, and hoarse-voiced. Hmm, thank you for the clue!"
Ferdinand led Du Cheng out of the room and back to the hall. "Francis, you can go back now. Keep this matter confidential and be ready to answer my summons. As for the ransom... wait for my instructions. Also, be extra cautious lately. It would be best if Duke Angus could assign a guarding Battle God to protect you. After all, you’ve seen that masked Battle God!"
Du Cheng smiled. "Since he saved me, he shouldn’t kill me, right?"
"Who knows? High-level Battle Gods have very strange temperaments, and they don't always act according to reason!"
So high-level Battle Gods do things based on their moods. Du Cheng left the cathedral, still thinking about the murder case inside, but he was completely confused, with no clues.
However, Ferris's death definitely wasn’t because of the masked Battle God he had seen, so Du Cheng didn’t worry about his own safety.
Steve was still waiting outside. Du Cheng didn’t hide anything from his older brother. When Steve heard Ferris was dead, he laughed three times, then wailed, "Ancestors above, let the ransom still stand!"
On the way home, Steve kept praying that the ransom would still count. He seemed more anxious than Du Cheng. After all, he was waiting for his brother to strike it rich and then casually lend him a few gold coins to woo some beautiful ladies!
In the midst of Steve’s rambling, the carriage entered the noble district in the east of the city. Suddenly, they heard a sharp voice outside the carriage: "Stop! There's an emergency in the East District. No passage allowed!"
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