"How did it go? Did you encounter any problems with your mission?" Khanh asked Le Vy, still flipping through a notebook filled with notes on socioeconomic issues.
Le Vy sighed, her face bearing a tension and weariness entirely different from her usual sharpness. She recalled the day she received the mission slip from her master, Bui To Nhu: "Intermediate – Investigate the cause of divine corruption."
Thinking it simpler than the previous merchant caravan escort mission, she soon realized she was mistaken. Having to follow leads on her own, constantly moving between village temples at a high intensity, Le Vy was nearly exhausted. She was worn out… "Over there, a group of women are gathered. They might have some information," she thought.
She walked closer. Several women sat in a circle on an old mat in front of the communal house yard. They sewed while whispering, their eyes flickering with worry. Le Vy approached and listened.
"He definitely killed his wife on purpose. How could she have possibly burned herself to death?"
"Some kids said when she died, she was even smiling as the fire burned her."
"Maybe she was possessed by a nearby demon?"
"Don't speculate too much. The temples nearby have been strange lately."
Listening for a while, Le Vy began to understand. It seemed in this village, a deity might have been corrupted into a demon, and that woman was seen as a sacrificial offering for that transformation. "According to the documents I received, that could be true," she thought to herself.
Following her experience from An Trach village before, she began her investigation. First, checking the temples, suspecting a demon might have possessed a statue to draw power from the villagers' faith. Then she combed through the streets, the bustling markets. "Nothing… or did I miss something?"
Suddenly, a man rushed toward her. He held a large cleaver, repeatedly stabbing an old woman.
"Die! You're not my mother! Die… Die… DIE!"
Each shout was accompanied by a thrust, the blade sinking into flesh, blood splattering. Right before Le Vy's eyes, the scene unfolded so fast she could hardly react. The woman collapsed in agony.
Another man pulled the attacker back.
"What are you doing?! Didn't I tell you to try and endure it?"
"I can't take it anymore! Every time I see her face, I remember mother. Wasn't it because of her that our mother died unjustly?"
The other man stood silent, his face full of sorrow.
Then, the woman who had just collapsed suddenly came back to life. "Is this the host body the demon possessed?" Le Vy muttered.
She swung her three-section staff. Whoosh! With just one strike, the spirit was forced out of the woman's body.
Villagers swarmed around, murmuring about Le Vy's brutality. But soon, the story shifted to the man who had killed the woman.
Not long after, soldiers of Dai Long arrived. They gradually explained the situation to the villagers. As for Le Vy, she was questioned, but after introducing herself as a member of the Heaven's Fracture and being exempt from prosecution this time—since she belonged to the group investigating such cases—she was permitted to join the interrogation.
In a dark room.
"Confess. Why did you kill her? Your brother said you were incited by him. Is that true?"
"You don't need to bait me with questions like that. I willingly killed her. She was the reason my mother died," the man replied.
"So you intentionally killed with clear motive and purpose? What did this woman do to make you kill her so savagely?" the interrogator pressed.
"… It was my father's fault from the start. He openly brought that woman home, indulging in debauchery right in front of my mother. Even though my mother tried to ignore it, time and again, along with the beatings and curses from him, she fell into despair and took her own life… The fault is partly ours too, us brothers. We weren't financially capable of helping her. Maybe if we had spent more time with her, taken her out somewhere, comforted her, things would have been different." The man spoke slower and slower, tears streaming down.
"So you believe that woman exploited your father, ruined your family, indirectly killed your mother, and that's why you killed her for personal reasons?" the interrogator asked again.
Outside the room, Le Vy burst out angrily, "Enough! You're being too cruel. Stop digging into his pain!"
"Yes… perhaps you could say that. I acted without thinking," the man answered.
In the same room, the elder brother was also being interrogated.
"So the two of you conspired to kill her?"
"No. Just me. That bitch deserved to die. I forced my younger brother to act. He had nothing to do with this."
A while later, the interrogator stepped out.
"I'm afraid this case will be classified as confidential," he said.
"So what will you do? They didn't kill without reason, did they?"
"Unfortunately, I must follow the law. The fact that they killed publicly in front of everyone and we have stepped in to investigate means the law must be enforced. Especially since this involves Void Lust."
Hearing that, Le Vy realized the truth. It was Void Lust pulling the strings behind it all. "If he's doing this, what's the goal? Could he be scheming to strengthen the Lust Demon?" she wondered.
"Hey, what about the information? Are you even listening to me?" Khanh asked.
"Of course I am. The information is confidential now, haha. By the way, why are you reading that book today?" Le Vy replied.
"Ah… Master La Diep told me I should read it."