Chapter 253: Blood Ice and Cold Mist

Yu Lieting and Xiao Nan looked at Luan Jingfu's dust-covered head and the mutilated corpse floating with blood streaks before them, their expressions finally softening.

Neither of them had expected that it would be so laborious for the two of them to join forces and kill Luan Jingfu!

Xiao Nan said, "Helmsman, we really put in a life-and-death effort to clean up Ruan Fengshan's mess this time."

Yu Lieting said, "Ruan Fengshan helped us once two years ago; this time, we're even..."

As the two were chatting, they heard the faint sound of horse hooves coming from the direction of the Official Road, like the sound of vast and distant drumbeats...

Yu Lieting leaped up onto the treetop beside him and looked toward the sound. He saw a rider approaching from afar. Although he could not see the person's face clearly, the wings of the black gauze hat on the rider's head fluttered incessantly like bird wings as the horse galloped; the person was clearly an official.

Seeing that there was no time to destroy the evidence, Yu Lieting said, "We're retreating."

The two quickly darted into the Wild Forest by the side of the road, and after a few flashes, their figures disappeared...

After receiving the news last night, the Temple Keeper of the Xiangu County City God Temple immediately contacted the nearest branch to Xiangu County, the contact point of the Ninefold Branch.

There was already a tradition of mutual support between the branches of the Filthy Blood Sect, and since Ruan Fengshan was on his way back to Xiangu County from the Prefecture City at the time, his specific location and itinerary were impossible to estimate. The Temple Keeper decided on the spot to notify Yu Lieting and begged him to save the brothers of the Xiangu Branch and intercept Luan Jingfu.

Shen Yanliu saw a black dot standing on the treetop of a poplar tree by the Official Road from afar, and it suddenly leaped down like a falcon... He suddenly kicked the stirrups and soared into the air, his legs surging with True Qi, leaping and bounding, leaving the Black Spirit steed far behind.

Shen Yanliu arrived at the ridge and saw the corpse of Sun Huang, who had been cut in half at the waist; the blood flowing out had already congealed into blood ice in the cold weather.

Beside it was Luan Jingfu's severed head...

And in the wild field by the road, among the withered and fallen leaves, lay a mutilated corpse with blood streaks floating...

Shen Yanliu's expression was full of annoyance; he had clearly arrived too late.

He cast his gaze out, but in the mountains and fields, the cold mist was settling; where was there even a shadow of a person...

With Luan Jingfu dead, the most important lead was broken.

Since there were two True Qi Realm experts, Luan Jingfu and Wei Yutian, within Xiangu County, both of whom were members of the Filthy Blood Sect, it was evident how deeply rooted and powerful the Filthy Blood Sect was in Xiangu County.

He had originally intended to pull this group up by the roots to build an unparalleled merit, but at this moment, the cold mist and blood ice of the mountains had already severed this thought.

With the lead of Luan Jingfu broken, Shen Yanliu was annoyed, but he quickly accepted the reality; he still had other leads to dig into, and it was not certain that he would be without results.

Shen Yanliu then tied the corpses of Luan Jingfu and Sun Huang to the sides of a horse's saddle, then mounted another horse himself, riding one and leading the other, and galloped back the way he came.

Both corpses were evidence, especially Luan Jingfu's, which bore traces of the Filthy Blood Divine Art. As long as the Filthy Blood Case was reported, the Sect would certainly send a special envoy in person. Whether the case was big or small would depend on the rhetoric built upon these pieces of evidence.

When Shen Yanliu rode into the city, the sky was already bright and the streets were bustling with crowds. People looked at the two mutilated corpses hanging from the saddle of the horse behind Shen Yanliu, and their faces were immediately filled with fear. Coupled with the news that had already spread through the streets in the morning about the raiding of Wei Yutian's and Luan Jingfu's homes, all kinds of rumors began to ferment.

On the street, a woman carrying a vegetable basket, about forty years old and somewhat plump, was buying tofu at a stall when she suddenly felt the people around her whispering. She turned her head and saw Shen Yanliu riding past. People were dodging, and she immediately hid to the side as well.

She didn't think much of it when she saw Shen Yanliu, but when she saw the mutilated corpse hanging from the saddle of the horse Shen Yanliu was leading, she almost vomited. She wanted to run away and was no longer prepared to buy the tofu, but she suddenly stopped, because she felt that the corpse cut in two hanging on that side of the saddle looked somewhat familiar.

She endured the fear and nausea, looked carefully at the person's appearance, and then looked at his clothes; wasn't it the corpse of her neighbor, Escort Head Sun Huang?

The woman let out a cry of "Ma!" and turned to run into the alley...

Shen Yanliu rode back to the County Government Office and handed the two mutilated corpses to the yamen runners for safekeeping.

He called for Li Chong and inquired; Su Di and Luan Bao had already been locked in the Dungeon, with special personnel guarding them.

The others were imprisoned in the residences of Wei Yutian and Luan Jingfu respectively.

Shen Yanliu nodded, quite satisfied with Li Chong's arrangements.

"I will interrogate Su Di and Luan Bao personally! As for the others, you will interrogate them together with Clerk Qin!"

"Yes!" Li Chong clasped his fists in response and turned to walk out.

Only then did Shen Yanliu remove his rather heavy iron gloves. He rubbed his temples, took a sip of the ginseng tea on the desk that had already gone cold, and then walked quickly into the Dungeon; he still had to interrogate Luan Bao and Su Di thoroughly, as he might be able to dig something out.

About an hour later, Shen Yanliu walked back with a weary expression. His face and official robes were splattered with quite a few blood spots. He picked up the teacup on the desk, only to find that it was already empty, but he did not call for anyone to bring tea. Usually, he rarely came to the study this early in the morning, so the servants did not have the habit of bringing tea to the study at dawn.

Shen Yanliu paced back and forth in front of the desk, repeatedly pondering this major case.

From Luan Bao, there was no news about the Filthy Blood Sect; when he even heard that his father was a member of the Filthy Blood Sect, he cursed loudly and denied it vehemently.

Shen Yanliu could see that Luan Bao's emotional outburst was not an act; he truly hated the Filthy Blood Sect. It seemed Luan Jingfu had always protected Luan Bao, not letting him come into contact with matters related to the Filthy Blood Sect.

From Su Di, nothing had been dug up either. In Wei Yutian's Secret Chamber Mandala, besides himself practicing, the only other person who had ever been there was Luan Jingfu.

Shen Yanliu understood that the leads for this case were broken; it was difficult for him to continue digging. Luan Jingfu was killed clearly because those guys from the Filthy Blood Sect discovered he was exposed and thus eliminated this hidden danger.

"The speed of the strike was truly fast!"

What Shen Yanliu was pondering at this moment was not how to wrap up this case, but how to use this case to increase his political achievements. To say he destroyed a branch was clearly lacking evidence, but with Wei Yutian's Secret Chamber Mandala, plus the corpses of the two True Qi Realm experts Wei Yutian and Luan Jingfu, it was still logical to say that he had destroyed an important stronghold...

As for Duan Rong, at the hour of the Ox (1:00 AM - 3:00 AM) at midnight, after bidding farewell to Shen Yanliu at Wei Yutian's mysterious residence, he returned to the Yuanshun Escort Agency with Xiao Yu.

Just as the two reached the entrance of the Escort Agency, they saw Xiao Zongting walking out, limping with an anxious look on his face.

Earlier, because Duan Rong was anxious to find Xiao Yu, he had walked quickly and left Xiao Zongting on the ground, but he had, after all, fed Xiao Zongting the life-saving Medicine Pill left by Shen Ping. Xiao Zongting had lain there for a while and actually woke up on his own. Once the old man woke up, he immediately thought of his daughter being abducted, so he immediately left the courtyard, intending to go to the street to find clues; he originally knew some pickpockets and beggars, and perhaps someone would have some news...

"Dad!" Just as Xiao Zongting left the Escort Agency, Xiao Yu saw him from across the street and immediately called out with a trembling voice.

"Yu'er!" As soon as Xiao Zongting saw Xiao Yu standing alive across the street, his whole body trembled, as if his soul had returned to his body, and two lines of turbid tears overflowed.

(End of chapter)