"I see." Hao Yu contemplated for a moment before asking, "Are there any more demons in this brothel?"
"Yes." The cultivator took out a pouch containing a rainbow-colored powder. "Like us, cultivators, they exude an aura. However, this aura is different from what we have. By dispersing this powder, it will react to an aura that is fundamentally different from mine."
"So, it first reacts to your aura and goes around to find a different aura?"
"Basically."
"And it still reacts in this brothel?"
"Yes. I've found reactions from three brothels. After killing the third woman, I still had a reaction. That's why I'm here now."
"How do you find out that the other party is a demon?" Hao Yu tried to probe as much information as he could from Ding Ruoling. After all, the demons were still considered cultivators, which aligned with his goal.
"No. I have no way to find them. If I could, I wouldn't have killed other people without any reason. The only way to do it is by talking to them and if I find any suspicion, I will attack them. The problem is that… sometimes, the demons don't attack you because they still want you to believe that they are humans. So, it's too confusing."
Hao Yu turned to Zhao Ru. "Where are those three people buried?"
"Don't tell me, you're going to dig up their remains?!" Zhao Ru's face became pale.
"As an official, I have to do what I need to do. Since the demons are daring enough to hide in this city, I will definitely not let them off. The magistrate wouldn't have sent me here just to deal with your issue; he must have caught wind of this and wants to confirm it through me."
"Sir Administrator, I don't think it's better not to involve the government."
"What do you mean?"
"If we get the government involved, the demons will know that we're hunting them. Right now, they only see me as someone who has anger issues and kills women nonchalantly because of that very business fight. So, they don't know that they're being hunted yet."
"You don't have to worry. The fact that I'm talking to you here should be a bit suspicious for the demon lurking in this building. What I want to do is get the remains of the demon to lure them out."
"Hmm?" Ding Ruoling furrowed his eyebrows. "How do you plan to lure them out?"
"It's simple. We will show them the corpse of their fellow. The Demon Clan is under one banner, meaning that they treat each other as comrades unlike the human races who are often taking territory from each other. And what do you think will happen if we show them the corpse?"
"They might be hiding their expression, Sir."
"No. The human race will definitely be disgusted, but the demon race will definitely give a sign of anger, which they will conceal right away before telling their comrades."
"Ah!" Ding Ruoling never thought of such an idea. "But how will we know about their meeting place? They are extremely sneaky."
"They are adept in illusion and charm, right?"
"Yes. Don't tell me… It's too dangerous, Sir!" Ding Ruoling gasped.
"Do you have anything to resist their charm?" Hao Yu asked with a solemn tone. That was right. Hao Yu was planning to use himself as bait.
By being charmed by their power, they would think Hao Yu was doing everything under their command. And that was when he would tell Ding Ruoling about their location. One misstep would definitely kill Hao Yu and he couldn't afford it.
"I do, but it's too dangerous, Sir. If something happens to you, Elder Bing will definitely kill me!" Ding Ruoling shook his head, rejecting the idea.
"I know it's dangerous. But the sooner we solve this, the faster I can get back to the construction project. And if we successfully pull this off, I won't forget to add some good words to Elder Bing." Hao Yu looked at Ding Ruoling as if he had done this for both of their sakes.
Ding Ruoling looked reluctant, but he seemed to have no choice. He couldn't think of another way that could catch them all in an instant.
Hao Yu looked at Zhao Ru and said, "You are going to follow my directions if you want this matter to be solved. Once we get rid of all the demons, your people won't be killed anymore. And you can take care of the rest, are we clear?"
Zhao Ru didn't like the disrespect they had to do to the deceased, but Hao Yu held the authority to dig the bodies up. In fact, if Zhao Ru didn't accept this plan, it would be easy to realize that Zhao Ru was actually the demon.
Unfortunately, they seemed to have to launch their plan as Zhao Ru actually gave permission. "I understand. What should I do?"
"Mr. Ding will be taking out the demon corpse and showing it to the people. This way, the demon will be pressured and forced to capture me as a shield. She should have seen how Ding Ruoling acted passively against me earlier, so I will be the perfect bait.
"I'll resist the charm and lure them all out. Mr. Ding will then take care of the rest. Still, do you have enough people to kill them?"
"Elder Bing has known about my mission and if I request some help, he will definitely send a few disciples to help."
"That's good then. Mr. Ding will leave this place with a sad expression first and return like you are doing something crazy to prove something to me. Meanwhile, Miss Zhao will be accompanying me as if you're trying to lure me into taking one of the girls to convince me to help you with the brothel. That's when we will begin our plan."
Ding Ruoling took a deep breath before taking out a piece of white paper that had the character 'Charm' on it. He handed it to Hao Yu, explaining, "As long as you have this near your body, you won't be affected by their charm ability. But it will be a different matter if the other tries to strip you."
"Alright. Let's start."