The gentle and continuous drizzle fell outside the window, sounding like a quietly flowing hourglass, peaceful and lingering, making one feel as if they were in an eternal realm in a trance.
Shasha...
Luo Ning, dressed in a cyan dress, sat sideways by the window. She rubbed the Longtan Tourmaline in her hand and stared at the lake water outside the window, lost in a multitude of thoughts.
Was I out of my mind today? That little rascal was clearly cheating. How could I fall into a series of traps...
It's only been a few days. How did he get favored by the Princess?
Pei Xiangjun's hair has turned whiter overnight...
She's really worried about his charming and enchanting female employer...
...
The room had an elegant and refined environment. On the bed not far away, Zhe Yunli, wearing a bellyband with a little bird pattern, was sleeping soundly while hugging the quilt, revealing a small, white, and unblemished waist.
At an unknown hour of the night, a dull thunderclap sounded.
Rumble...
Zhe Yunli's eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes sleepily and looked towards the window:
"Master's wife... Eh? Master's wife, you're back?!"
Zhe Yunli flipped up and put on her clothes, then ran to the window:
"Did you see Brother Jingtang? How did Brother Jingtang become the young leader of Honghua Tower? Did Master's wife tell him to come to the Pingtian Sect?"
Luo Ning came back to her senses. A hint of guilt flashed in her eyes. After a moment of thought, she said:
"He... He accepted money from Honghua Tower to help them in a match. Don't tell anyone about this. As for the Pingtian Sect, after he finishes dealing with Honghua Tower's matters, he will follow me to Nanxiao Mountain."
Zhe Yunli's eyes lit up: "Then will Brother Jingtang be my junior martial brother in the future?"
"What junior martial brother? He will be the protector of our Pingtian Sect. You'll have to call him Uncle in the future."
"Ah?"
Zhe Yunli's expression was slightly stunned. She thought for a while: "Brother Jingtang is only two or three years older than me. Calling him Uncle is probably..."
Luo Ning jumped down from the window, pulled Zhe Yunli to the bed, and lay down:
"We'll talk about these things later. Take a rest. We have to set off for the capital as soon as it's dawn."
Zhe Yunli had no sleepiness at all. She lay on the pillow with her chin in her hands:
"Then won't Brother Jingtang become the Pingtian Sect's spy beside the Princess? Will Brother Jingtang be in danger?"
"Don't worry. Your Brother Jingtang understands the principle that 'a true man can bend and stretch'. If it weren't for Jian Yuhua being too chivalrous and Zhou Huaili having murderous intent today, your Brother Jingtang would have already considered the overall situation and not bothered with that despicable Zhou Huaili."
"Zhou Huaili is really shameless. Brother Jingtang clearly won, but he blatantly distorted the truth. If Master were here, he would have slapped Zhou Huaili to death on the spot."
"Ye Jingtang is not your master. How dare he take action against Zhou Huaili on the Zhou family's territory..."
"Third Uncle! Third Uncle..."
Tap tap tap——
While the two, who were like a mother and daughter, were chatting, they suddenly heard rapid footsteps and shouts coming from outside the Zhou family's ancestral residence in the distance.
Several courtyards by the lake were the residences for distinguished guests. As soon as the commotion started, the sounds of clothes breaking through the wind could be heard around:
"Master Guang, what's going on? Is it a night attack by Honghua Tower?"
"Doesn't seem like it. Let's go and take a look... Hongzhi, what happened to the Zhou family?"
"I don't know. I just woke up too..."
...
Luo Ning frowned, feeling that something was wrong. She turned over and got up, put on a veil, and walked out of the courtyard.
"Master of the family——!"
"Who did this..."
It was already early morning. Zhou Manor, which had already turned off the lights and gone to bed, became as bright as day in just a short while.
Under the octagonal archway outside the manor, countless disciples of the Zhou family holding swords gathered. Some of them didn't even have time to put on their shoes and just stood there in a daze.
Outside the octagonal archway was the owner of a shipping firm dressed like an official. His face was deathly pale. He was holding a sword and a bronze token in his hand, not daring to say a word, just shivering in place.
At the feet of the owner of the shipping firm was a stretcher covered with a white cloth. Several servants were soaked through but held up an oilcloth to prevent the rain from falling on the body covered by the white cloth.
Tap tap tap...
In an instant, dozens of renowned figures in the martial arts world who were staying at Zhou Manor and waiting to return the next day rushed out from the manor. When they saw the famous sword "Dew of Dawn" with a blue and white hilt, their eyelids all twitched—this was the sword of the leader of Shuiyun Sword Lake!
"This..."
"Who has the guts to do this..."
All the renowned martial artists in the martial arts world looked at it in disbelief!
They had just been thinking that this disturbance might end with the mysterious and sudden death of the young leader of Honghua Tower.
Who would have thought that just a few hours later, Zhou Huaili had slapped them hard in the face with his own body, showing them what a truly mysterious and sudden death was.
How could Zhou Huaili be dead?
As long as the contemporary Sword Saint was still alive, who in the martial arts world would dare to kill him easily?
Could it be that he drank too much just now, went to the city to visit a courtesan in the middle of the night, and died of a sudden illness...
"Big Brother!..."
While everyone was looking at each other in dismay, rapid footsteps came from behind the crowd. Zhou Huaiyi, who had just gotten up, rushed out of the crowd with a pale face. When he saw the stretcher on the ground, he directly stumbled and fell to the ground. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and then they turned bloodshot, showing extreme anger and resentment.
Xuan Yuanhongzhi had joined forces with Zhou Huaili to put pressure on Honghua Tower in the afternoon. Now, in the early morning, the body was right in front of him. Surprise also appeared in his eyes:
"Did Honghua Tower do this?"
The owner of the shipping firm had just put out the fire at the dock and found this body. He was scared out of his wits on the spot.
Now that the big shots in the martial arts world were asking, the owner of the shipping firm knew nothing and didn't dare to talk nonsense. He just shakily handed over the bronze token in his hand.
The bronze token was made of brass. On the back was carved a python dragon, and on the front was engraved the character "Jing".
Xuan Yuanhongzhi saw the token that was only held by the Chief Catch of the Black Yamen. His expression became solemn, and he quickly took the token to confirm its authenticity—the token was obviously genuine.
Zhou Huaiyi, filled with resentment, knew that something was wrong. He stood up, waved his hand to dismiss the young onlookers:
"All of you go back."
The young martial artists who had come to watch immediately scattered. Only four or five renowned figures were left standing under the archway.
"Where was the body found?"
"It was... at Huangsong Dock. The fire was too big, and there were all stones inside. We didn't send anyone in to clean up until it had almost burned out... Then... Then we found this token, which was nailed to the wall with a sword..."
After stuttering through his words, the owner of the shipping firm bowed deeply and ran towards the outside of the manor.
Xuan Yuanhongzhi frowned: "Let's take a look at the injuries first."
Zhou Huaiyi gritted his teeth, knelt down beside the white cloth, and raised his hand to lift it. He saw a charred corpse inside. The flesh was basically burned clean, and the charred remains were stuck to the bones. It was impossible to identify.
But Zhou Huaiyi was very familiar with his elder brother's bone structure and recognized him at a glance. His hand trembled slightly.
The Three Wonders Immortal Venerable came forward and squatted down, carefully examining the marks on the body:
"The chest and back suffered heavy blows, and it's impossible to tell what kind of move it was; the fatal injury was a saber wound, one on the side of the rib and one that pierced through the skull from the lower jaw. The bone in the left arm was shattered... What kind of saber technique is this?"
Everyone turned their eyes to Xuan Yuanhongzhi. After all, Junshan Terrace was the sect where the current Saber Champion of the world was from, and no one was more familiar with the saber techniques in the world than them.
Xuan Yuanhongzhi walked forward slowly, examined the two broken ribs on the side of the rib, and in his mind, he began to visualize the posture, strength, and speed of the unknown killer striking from behind and hitting Zhou Huaiyi...
Shasha...
The rainy night fell into silence, and everyone waited with full concentration.
Xuan Yuanhongzhi's eyes moved slightly. A hint of shock flashed in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he looked at the skull again.
The Three Wonders Immortal Venerable came to the head of the charred corpse and carefully examined the hole in the skull:
"The saber is two and a half fingers wide, and the blade is straight. It looks... quite common."
Although the Three Wonders Immortal Venerable said this, the look he gave Xuan Yuanhongzhi was meaningful—this was the style of the Chi Dragon Saber.
Xuan Yuanhongzhi gently rubbed his fingers. His eyes moved slightly, as if he had something on his mind. After pondering for a long time, he opened his mouth and said:
"I can't tell what kind of saber technique it is. Including Ye Sishang, there are only four top-notch masters in Honghua Tower. No one's saber technique is so proficient. They just had a conflict in the afternoon, and Honghua Tower has already taken back the Qingjiang Dock. They're not stupid enough to kill someone outside Qingyun City at night... This doesn't seem to be the doing of Honghua Tower. There is another killer."
Everyone thought the same. After all, Honghua Tower was a renowned martial arts family in the martial arts world, not street ruffians. If they really wanted to kill someone, they would do it secretly without leaving a trace. How could they be so blatant and act as if they were afraid that others wouldn't know they did it?
Luo Ning, who was standing behind, was filled with surprise and suspicion when she saw the saber marks. Afraid that everyone would suspect Honghua Tower, she interrupted:
"Why did Leader Zhou go to Huangsong Dock alone in the middle of the night?"
The renowned martial artists present also showed confusion when they heard this and looked at Zhou Huaiyi.
Zhou Huaiyi's eyes moved, and he didn't speak immediately. After all, his elder brother went out in the middle of the night to kill Jian Yuhua, the rebellious disciple, and bring the Second Miss back.
Jian Yuhua had a good reputation in the martial arts world and was considered chivalrous today. If this matter got out, it would be a family disgrace. He couldn't even tell the disciples, let alone the martial artists present.
"Big Brother... went back to his room to rest after the banquet. I don't know why he suddenly went out."
"..."
When the people present saw that Zhou Huaiyi didn't tell the truth at this time, they could probably guess what Zhou Huaili had gone out to do in the dark:
To clean up the family's disgrace for the Zhou family!
It was said that although the wrong person had died, the goal had been unexpectedly achieved...
And by piecing these clues together, they could probably infer the sequence of events:
Jian Yuhua left the Zhou family, took the Second Miss to Huangsong Dock, and was going to elope.
The Zhou family learned the news. Zhou Huaili couldn't swallow this humiliation and went to clean up the family's disgrace in the middle of the night. But unfortunately, he ran into a master from the Black Yamen.
Jian Yuhua had a good reputation in the martial arts world. Zhou Huaili's action could be considered killing the innocent. After the master from the Black Yamen discovered it, he was so angry that he killed Zhou Huaili.
As for leaving the identity token, it might be that the master from the Black Yamen didn't want to cause a disturbance in the martial arts world and openly showed his identity, allowing the Zhou family to verify and reason with the imperial court.
This logic and motive made sense. Everyone present looked at each other, feeling that this matter was probably difficult to handle.
The people from the Black Yamen were all bodyguards of the current Empress's younger sister. Even if the Black Yamen was in the wrong for killing someone, it would be judged according to the law. No matter how powerful the Zhou family was, they couldn't drag out the people from the Black Yamen and impose private punishment...
Zhou Huaiyi knew that it was difficult to handle this matter in a martial arts way. After thinking for a long time, he looked at Xuan Yuanhongzhi:
"Lord Xuan Yuan is a Marquis granted by the imperial court. I wonder if Brother Xuan Yuan has a way to find out the identity of the killer?"
To be honest, Xuan Yuanhongzhi's mood was heavier than that of Zhou Huaiyi, who had lost his elder brother.
He could be certain that the saber user used the Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique.
The ability to shatter the arm bone and kill Zhou Huaili indicated that the saber user had already reached the level of a master. Not having a reputation in the martial arts world so far meant that he was most likely lying low, waiting for the day when his saber technique reached perfection to do something.
And this thing, without even thinking, was to avenge the heir of the Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique who was crippled in the past!
If that was really the case, the death of Zhou Huaili in the Zhou family was really not a big deal. After all, the person only killed Zhou Huaili and didn't target the Zhou family.
And Junshan Terrace might have the enmity of "killing the father or the master" with the heir of the Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique!
But being under the command of Jingwang and as a founding Marquis of the Great Wei, Junshan Terrace really didn't dare to act recklessly...
Xuan Yuanhongzhi wiped the rainwater off his face, stood up, and after thinking for a while, said:
"Huaili and I were as close as brothers. How could I stand by and do nothing when he suffered such a tragic death? I will definitely try my best to help the Zhou family find out the truth about this matter."
Zhou Huaiyi quickly cupped his hands in a salute: "Thank you, Brother Xuan Yuan, for your great kindness. As long as you help the Zhou family find the killer, our Zhou family..."
"First, give Huaili a proper burial. This matter involves the imperial court, so we need to act with caution. Let's find out the truth first. Everyone, please disperse."