At this moment.
Zhao Desheng stood in front of a carriage, carefully examining every detail, starting with the tracks left on the ground by the wheels.
Though these details seemed insignificant.
When pieced together, they would reveal clues.
Lin Fan watched silently from the side. The veteran was investigating, and he only needed to quietly observe.
After a long while.
Zhao Desheng's expression turned grave, "There are no signs of a struggle, which rules out human involvement. But if it were demons, the caravan would have panicked and fled in all directions, yet there are no footprints on the ground. What's going on?"
"Perhaps the demons swept away the footprints," Lin Fan suggested.
"Hmm, that's possible. Actually, I lean toward it being the work of demons. After all, the goods are still here. If humans were responsible, they would definitely take the cargo." Zhao Desheng concluded this based on his thirteen years of experience, arriving at what he believed was the most likely scenario.
"Chief Zhao makes a valid point." Lin Fan patted one of the cargo boxes, clearly agreeing with his reasoning.
He wasn't here to face demons head-on, at least not for now.
His preference was to deal with weaker demons first, gradually strengthening his abilities over time. That was the most reliable approach.
Regardless of what Chief Zhao said, Lin Fan would just offer one response: "You're absolutely right."
Thump, thump!
Lin Fan stopped patting the box. It was hollow. How could this cargo box be hollow? He climbed onto the carriage, attempting to open the box, but found it sealed shut.
He noticed fingerprints along the edge of the box. Running his fingers across them, he brought them to his nose to sniff.
Without hesitation, he drew his blade and wedged it into the seams of the box, prying it open.
"Lin Fan, have you uncovered something?" Zhao Desheng asked in confusion after noticing Lin Fan's movements.
Squeak!
The moment the box was opened.
A strong stench of blood hit them like a wave.
"Chief Zhao, the bodies are all here." Lin Fan was stunned. Instead of goods, the box was filled with bones streaked with blood and flesh fibers.
Zhao Desheng quickly jumped onto the carriage, and when he saw the contents of the box, his expression grew even grimmer.
"This is the work of demons."
Only demons could commit such heartless and horrifying acts.
Using humans as food, blood-drenched and gruesome.
"I feel there's more to this. If demons wanted to harm people, why go through so much trouble? Why place the bones inside the cargo box, and even clean up the surrounding traces? Don't you think this is excessive?" Lin Fan remarked.
Zhao Desheng pondered, "Hmm, you make a good point."
Lin Fan jumped down from the carriage, placing his hands behind his back as he surveyed the surroundings. Slowly, he said, "Based on my inference, this is likely the result of a collaboration between humans and demons."
"What makes you say that?" Zhao Desheng asked with surprise. He stared at Lin Fan, puzzled. There wasn't a single shred of evidence so far, so how could Lin Fan deduce human-demon cooperation?
As Zhao Desheng questioned him.
A glimmer of brilliance flashed in Lin Fan's eyes—it was Conan mode activated: Wherever there's a corpse, you'll find me.
"Demons who want to eat humans would do so carelessly. Even if the ground were covered in bloodstains, they wouldn't care. But now, the area is spotless, clearly cleaned by professionals. This isn't to conceal something but to delay our investigation," Lin Fan explained.
Zhao Desheng, bewildered by Lin Fan's reasoning, thought hard about it.
The logic of the situation didn't add up. If they wanted to hide something, why leave the bones in the cargo box? Moreover, why clean the scene so meticulously?
Seeing Zhao Desheng's confusion, Lin Fan didn't hold back, "Their actions indeed seem excessive. But precisely because of this excessiveness, it lures us into staying here to investigate further."
"When I pried open the box just now, I discovered fingerprints along its edges, and I smelled herbal scents on them."
"Earlier, didn't you tell Lord Wang in front of Master Sun that Master Sun pointed out the caravan was slaughtered? Yet when we arrived here, what was our first impression?"
"There's not a single trace of a massacre visible. How could a mere doctor have sharper judgment than us?"
"So, this was all Master Sun's ploy to lure us here."
At that moment, Lin Fan's image soared in Zhao Desheng's eyes.
Zhao Desheng stared at Lin Fan with admiration.
He realized that his thirteen years of experience paled in comparison to Lin Fan's brilliance.
"No wonder Lord Wang thinks so highly of you." Zhao Desheng praised, his gaze toward Lin Fan filled with newfound respect.
"Chief Zhao, I must say, they have some skill. However, in front of me, Lin Fan, such tricks are nothing more than child's play. Their brains aren't sharp enough." Lin Fan said confidently, then asked, "By the way, Chief Zhao, tell me honestly—how many can you handle?"
"Hmm?" Zhao Desheng was baffled. "Lin Fan, what do you mean by that?"
Lin Fan didn't respond and simply pointed toward the direction they had come from.
Somehow.
Five demons emerged from the shadows.
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and surround them!" Lin Fan shouted at his subordinates. But faced with the demons, his colleagues trembled, their legs weak, and even though they held knives, it looked as if they were wielding toy weapons.
"Boss, I'm scared…" They whimpered, hiding behind Lin Fan, their hands clutching knives that shook uncontrollably.
"Scared of what? Can't you see Chief Zhao is here? These demons won't cause much trouble," Lin Fan declared with confidence. Despite his bold words, he too felt uneasy.
Oh, dear.
He suddenly remembered an important detail.
According to typical tropes, whenever constables inspected crime scenes in the wilderness, the chance of being ambushed was as high as ninety-nine percent.
Lin Fan nearly slapped himself.
Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
He should've approached stealthily, entered from the side, hidden in the shadows, sent decoys to inspect, waited for the enemy to appear, then ambushed them. Instead, they'd now gotten themselves surrounded by demons.
Lin Fan looked at the five demons.
When he saw the words floating atop their heads.
He felt a surge of anticipation.
But excitement aside, he knew he had to hold his ground.
Clang!
Zhao Desheng gripped his long blade tightly, "Lin Fan, when the opportunity arises, you and the others should leave first. I'll hold them off."
His expression was unusually serious. These five demons weren't ordinary. While he could handle any one of them easily, dealing with five at once would be a problem.
"Chief Zhao, they're trying to make it seem like a clear case of demons eating humans." Lin Fan said, considering the suggestion to leave. He wanted to escape too—but they'd need an opportunity first.
In their current situation, if these five demons killed them.
The narrative would change from a conspiracy involving humans and demons.
To a straightforward massacre solely committed by demons.
What a cunning setup.