May got up from her seat. She looked at the two talking people. She didn't know if it actually had anything to do with parasites, but she couldn't completely rule out that possibility.

  However, she wouldn't find out anything more here. The woman continued to gossip, while May needed confirmed information.

  She left the tavern and went outside. The sun was slowly setting, but it was still early. May decided to find one of the men and ask him about the whole situation.

  She had two options: either ask Ze Yun for help or investigate the situation on her own. The first option seemed more logical, but she couldn't just go to him with unconfirmed information. She needed some evidence.

  She thought that if they really were parasites, the man would not ignore it. As the Elder of the sect, he could not allow these monsters to run rampant and spread in the middle of the city. The consequences could be dire.

  Finding one of the men was not difficult. He was sitting leaning against the wall of one of the buildings, just a few meters away from the inn. He was the father of the deceased girl and the husband of the woman who had fallen into a coma. May approached him with confidence.

  She moved closer and looked down at him. He reeked of alcohol and seemed to be in poor condition. May tried to speak, unsure of how to address him.

  “Good evening,” she began with a simple greeting.

  Hearing a child's voice, the man was about to shout and try to chase away the person standing in front of him, thinking it was one of the homeless children trying to beg.

  However, the man was no fool. As soon as he took a closer look at her, he noticed her expensive orange uniform. He might have been just a mortal, and not a very educated one at that, but he was no fool. He could recognize a cultivator belonging to the sect he was a subject of.

  However, her appearance puzzled him slightly. People of her age usually spent all their time in academies, so it was strange to see such young people walking around in sect robes. However, he did not intend to question it. Life was still dear to him, so he knew he had to show proper respect.

  “Good evening, well...” He didn’t know what title to use to address her. Calling her Lady or Mistress was rather inappropriate given her age, but he still had to address her with due respect.

  May, guessing his dilemma, decided to interrupt him. She didn't particularly care about trivial matters such as showing respect or using the right titles. She didn't have time for that.

  “Relax, you don't have to worry about titles.” she reassured him. The man suddenly stood up with great difficulty when he realized that it was inappropriate to speak to a cultivator while sitting.

  “Ugh... Okay? So... Lady... What do you want from me? I don't have much...” He said uncertainly and with slight fear. He didn't know much about cultivators, but he knew that the wrong word could even end up killing him.

  May was slightly surprised to see his reaction. In the city where she grew up, people didn't react so violently to cultivators.

  Was it because cultivators are rare here? Or maybe they have a bad reputation? Judging by his reaction, it's not out of the question.

  “I don't want anything from you. I would say quite the opposite. I have a matter concerning you in which I could be of assistance.” She spoke slowly because the man was still drunk and she wanted to make sure he understood everything correctly.

  “Good cultivator... I'll do whatever you want. Faithful and loyal to the sect...” He said quickly, his whole body trembling.

  “I heard your conversation, or rather your argument, in the tavern,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “For some reason, I became interested in this matter. I think I could help with this case.”

  The man frowned in slight surprise. He didn't understand what she was talking about. After a moment, however, his attitude changed completely.

  “Please! Good lady, help a poor man!” he shouted, sensing his chance for revenge. His desire for justice was much stronger than his fear.

  “Silence!” May said in a strong tone, irritated by the fact that his shouting had drawn the attention of everyone on the street. The man immediately tried to apologize, but May shook her head. “Let's talk somewhere more secluded.”

  She didn't want the whole street to overhear their entire conversation. Rumors spread very quickly, and May already stood out enough as it was.

  She led the man to a place on the outskirts of town. She didn't have many places where she could be completely alone. In taverns and the like, someone would surely eavesdrop on them. And her private room was also out of the question. She was afraid that someone else would see them entering the same room.

  So they finally arrived at a place in the city that was basically its outskirts, devoid of people. However, she didn't care about the surroundings and the views, she just wanted to be alone with him.

  “I heard something about an accident and a coma. Can you elaborate?” She asked directly, wanting to quickly find out if the parasites had settled in this city.

  “The accident... My daughter had it. And my wife is in a coma,” he replied.

  “I already know that. Get to the point and tell me what happened.”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Okay, okay, ma'am... My old friend, his name is Kai Sheng, I left my little girl in his care... But she had an accident, at least that's what everyone says. She fell off the roof. But where was he then?! He was supposed to be looking after her, so what was she doing on the roof?”

  “So you think he killed her?”

  “I'm sure of it!”

  “How can you be sure?” she asked, trying to understand the situation better.

  “Because there's no other explanation. You see, Kai's life wasn't going well. He was always jealous of me, I was blind to it, but out of envy he killed my child and then poisoned my wife!”

  “But you still left the child in his care?”

  “I didn't know that then. I mean, I knew he was a jealous son of a bitch, but I didn't think he would go so far as to commit a crime!” he shouted. “I beg you, help me. If there is any justice in this world, you must help me and bring this criminal to justice.”

  Could she have been mistaken, and was it really just a simple murder? So far, there was no evidence of the involvement of parasites. She felt a little bad, but if it wasn't related, she wouldn't be able to help him and would only give him false hope.

  “What about your wife? Tell me about her coma.” she said, changing the subject.

  “A few days after the tragedy, she fell into despair... And a while later she fell into a coma. Doctor said it was due to stress, but that doesn't make sense!” He became agitated again. “Yiqi was a strong woman, she raised eight younger siblings on her own, just her and her mother! Sure, she was devastated, but she definitely wouldn't have fallen into a coma because of it!”

  Even May had to admit that a coma caused by despair didn't seem very realistic, but she wasn't a doctor herself, so how could she tell?

  “Did she behave differently? Or anyone else around you?” she asked, wanting to determine if it was related to the parasites. People who were infected behaved unnaturally shortly before falling into a coma, trying to infect others, just as Senlin had tried to infect May.

  The man was surprised by her question.

  “Of course she behaved differently! She had just lost her daughter! It would be strange if she didn't behave differently.” he said.

  May quickly realized how stupid her question was.

  “All right then, what do you suspect?” she asked. “After all, you disagree with the opinion of an educated doctor.”

  “Educated? He's self-taught... But never mind. Poison! That's it! I'm absolutely sure of it!”

  “You're absolutely sure of a lot of things,” she replied briefly. “So explain to me where all your confidence comes from.”

  “Let me explain. It all started shortly before this. The same symptoms and the exact same thing that my wife had experienced. Kai Sheng's mother-in-law also fell into a coma a few days before this incident. People said it was due to old age, but I think Kai poisoned her!” He said with great seriousness in his voice. “He didn't like that his mother-in-law was living with them. They were always arguing. So he got rid of the problem. And seeing that he got away with it, he decided to do it again!”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “About two weeks ago. Even though everything seems obvious, no one wants to believe me! It's absurd.”

  It was indeed suspicious. According to what Scar had told her, the parasites were leaving the academy ground in smaller groups. So it was possible that this could have been one of the first groups. Especially since it had all happened recently.

  However, she didn't have much time. They were supposed to leave this place tomorrow. Only if they really were parasites could their time here be extended. But that was still a distant thought. May had to hurry. Not much could be achieved at night.

  “Can I see your wife?” May asked.

  She wanted to see her condition. Although she would not be able to distinguish between a coma caused by a parasite and poison, in the worst case, she could ask the system. However, she wanted to see her condition first.

  “Yes, but...” he replied uncertainly.

  “But what?”

  “We live quite modestly. I'm afraid it's not fitting for such a cultivator to enter...”

  “It doesn't matter. Don't worry about such details and lead me to where she is.”

  The man nodded and began to lead her to his place of residence. It was quite a long way away. They had to cross a bridge over a cliff and finally reached a crooked wooden building on the right.

  They went inside, which had the distinctive smell of old people. There was also an unpleasant smell of animal feces visible on the floor. They had dogs and cats, but they didn't seem to feel like cleaning up after them. May, however, did not plan to comment on this in any way.

  Finally, he led her to the room where the woman was. She was pale and covered in bruises that did not seem natural. She sighed quietly and moved closer. After approaching, she placed her hand on the woman's forehead. Her head was burning with fever.

  This could be a symptom of her mind being taken over by parasites. Fever is a common symptom. But it could also be the poison. It's impossible to tell.

  May began to doubt whether it really had anything to do with parasites. The woman's coma was most likely just a coincidence.

  Leaving him now seems inappropriate. I gave him hope that I would help him, but what can I do? I am not officially part of the sect, and I will not ask Ze Yuna for help. He would probably refuse anyway.

  She sighed. She wasn't sure if it was definitely murder, but if it wasn't related to the parasite, it wasn't really her business. She took a step back from the woman.

  She looked around the room to see if there was anything that could help her solve the problem. Unfortunately, there was nothing noteworthy there. As a last resort, she turned to Minnie.

  “Oh, May, my May. You always try to rely on yourself, but what's the point? You end up turning to me anyway. Like a lost sheep returning to its shepherd...”

  Minnie, I'm not in the mood for your chatter. Tell me, how much does something that could help me cost?

  “You don't have much money,” said Minnie.

  She wasn't wrong. She hadn't earned anything in a long time. Although she still had some money left, it wasn't anything remarkable. It wouldn't even be enough for a decent E-class skill.

  You can't even tell me if it has anything to do with parasites, or to identify the poison?

  “Of course I can, but each of these things will consume almost all of your funds. Do you really want to waste money on this person you barely know?” she asked.

  May was surprised, as Minnie usually wanted her to waste as much money as possible. But this time, it seemed to her that Minnie was trying to stop her?

  “If you insist, I won't stop you, but I don't recommend you do it.”

  Why are you stopping me? You usually want me to squander money.

  “Because I want you to squander it. But on beneficial things. Even when I show you ads, they are always for practical things. When you die, I will also cease to exist. So when I see you trying to waste money, it hurts me.”

  Minnie was right. Wasting thousands mu would be a mistake.

  Was this really how it was going to end? No. She intended to resolve this matter by morning, without spending a penny!