Chapter 170: The Case

The prefectural government office of Sheng Prefecture.

The walls of bluish-gray bricks tower high, the threshold is wrapped in iron, and the vermilion-painted great doors are carved with the auspicious beast Xiezhi, so lifelike that yet, during the day, the high gates remain tightly shut.

The carriage of Hu Rui'an and his party stopped on the street before the stone steps; the four great martial arts families had mobilized vast numbers of troops to surround and exterminate the Lady Murong family, seemingly affecting the entire prefectural city, so that even the street before the government office was empty of people.

Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong lifted the carriage curtains, and Li Musheng and the others successively stepped down from the carriage.

At this moment, Hu Rui'an raised his head to glance at the government office before him, but suddenly his brows knitted tightly together.

Seeing this, Cheng Zhong beside him seemed to notice his strangeness and asked in a low voice:

"My lord, have you discovered some problem?"

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an slightly narrowed his eyes, a trace of solemnity flashing in his gaze, and said:

"There is a smell of blood inside."

Hu Rui'an rose from the lowest ranks of the Tianjin Guard, clawing and scrambling for years by his own ability to reach his current status, thus possessing a sense of smell and experience in investigating cases far beyond that of ordinary people.

As outstanding figures of the younger generation in the Tianjin Guard, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong had not detected anything, but he, having merely glanced before the government office, immediately discovered the problems and tricks within.

And upon hearing Hu Rui'an's words, both Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong's expressions changed, obviously they heard the subtext in the other's words.

Immediately, the two turned their heads together to look at the prefectural government residence before them, and at the same time, a thought involuntarily arose in both their hearts: it is highly likely that something has happened!

"Let us go in first to see the situation before saying anything else."

Hu Rui'an did not speak much, merely signaling Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong to go open the door.

And the two did not hesitate; Wu Shang walked to the front, placed his palm on the vermilion door surface, and gently vibrated it with martial arts true qi.

In the next moment, the tightly locked door latch silently broke, and the tall vermilion door before them slowly opened with a "creak."

Behind the door revealed a bluestone-paved path leading straight to the main hall of affairs; a flock of black crows perched on the flying eaves atop the building, and upon suddenly hearing the door sound, they abruptly took flight with a flapping of wings.

Inside the entire prefectural government office, there was not a sound; although the light between the halls was not dim, at this moment it was quiet to the point of being eerie.

Hu Rui'an lifted his step forward, crossed the iron-wrapped threshold, called out to Wu Shang and the other, and then walked straight into the inner part of the government office.

Li Musheng glanced at the government office before him, his brows slightly furrowed, but he shook his head.

He merely came and sat in a corridor hall in the front courtyard entwined with flower vines, but did not proceed to the rear of the government office.

Meanwhile, as soon as Hu Rui'an arrived at the rear courtyard, what met his eyes were scattered corpses; on the doors, windows, brick walls, and stone pillars, there were everywhere blotches of blood.

Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong immediately checked the situation of the corpses on the ground, while Hu Rui'an continued to search everywhere.

Finally, in a side room of the largest hall within the government office, he found the corpse of Zhu Ziming, dressed in the official robes of the prefect.

Hu Rui'an's eyelid jumped; he immediately went forward to check the condition of the corpse, but found that the other's body had no other external injuries, nor any signs of poisoning.

The true cause of death was having his throat sealed directly by a sword, and the time of death was approximately two hours ago.

After checking the situation, Hu Rui'an had no intention of staying any longer; finding Wu Shang and the other, he immediately returned to the front courtyard.

Mainly, after leaving a certain distance from Li Musheng, the three of them at this moment all began to feel somewhat panicked; only staying by the other's side made them feel relatively secure.

Beneath the corridor hall, Li Musheng leaned against the railing, while Shen Anran and Lady Murong Xiaoya similarly followed by his side.

Just after Hu Rui'an and the others left, Lady Murong Xiaoya also curiously followed to take a look at the rear courtyard, but upon seeing the corpses all over the ground, she ran back with a somewhat pale face.

It seems that although the other is the youngest daughter of the Lady Murong family, seeing so many corpses must be her first time.

"My Lord Hu, how is the situation?"

Li Musheng looked at Hu Rui'an walking toward him, while the other shook his head with a heavy expression and said:

"Inside the government office, including Zhu Ziming, a total of one hundred and seventy-six officials and yamen runners have all been killed; not a single one survived."

"The murderer likely killed these people shortly after they began their shift, about two hours ago; as for the reason the other killed, it is currently unknown."

Hearing this, Li Musheng nodded slightly, then swept his gaze over the other, Wu Shang, and Cheng Zhong, but did not ask anything more.

As a capable hand of the Tianjin Guard's main headquarters, how the matter should be handled next? Naturally, he did not need to say much.

"The officials of a prefectural government office being slaughtered to extinction is a major event that would shock the court and the world even if it were transmitted to the Imperial Capital."

Hu Rui'an's face looked somewhat ugly as he said:

"This matter must be promptly notified to the Six Fan Gate, the Tianjin Guard, and the Sheng Prefecture garrison of the prefectural city; the three parties must jointly seal off the entire government office, and then report to the Imperial Capital court to determine the next steps in the investigation."

Speaking thus, Hu Rui'an looked at Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong; originally, he intended to dispatch the two to immediately inform the three parties of the government office murder case.

But thinking of the other's current situation and his own, he immediately swallowed the words that were about to leave his mouth.

"My lord, this matter might as well be entrusted to Elder Cao to handle."

Wu Shang's mind turned, and he quickly spoke out to suggest.

The ghostly figure in the Tianjin Guard branch office had not yet appeared; at this time, he did not want to leave Li Musheng's side even for a step.

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an nodded and said:

"We can only do so; we will temporarily guard this place, wait for the Six Fan Gate and the three parties to send people here, and then act according to the situation."

Having said this, he entrusted the matter to Cao Gaoshan; the other did not speak much and drove away on horseback.

Hu Rui'an and the other six remained in the front courtyard of the government office; Li Musheng leaned against the railing, looking at the lush locust tree in the courtyard and shaking his head.

The matter of Sheng Prefecture appears to have signs of becoming increasingly complex; court officials secretly colluding with Jianghu forces, Jianghu forces fighting and killing each other in disputes; now, one prefectural government office has been completely wiped out by someone.

One can only say that the Great Li Jianghu before us is still too chaotic; all along the way, grievances and bloody killings are ceaseless everywhere, a scene of blood and wind.

Li Musheng was thinking thus when suddenly his gaze moved, looking at Lady Murong Xiaoya not far away.

The other, dressed in a lotus-colored short jacket and skirt, was standing on one side of the corridor hall, seemingly idle due to waiting.

And upon suddenly meeting the gaze coming from Li Musheng, the other's body trembled slightly, as if startled.

Immediately, she hurriedly lowered her head, her pale white hands tightly pinching the hem of her skirt, completely in a state of unease.

Seeing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and still rose to walk toward the other.

Perceiving Li Musheng walking toward her, Lady Murong Xiaoya seemed even more nervous; her lowered eyelashes fluttered incessantly like butterfly wings, and the light in her eyes was panicked and flickering.

Quickly, Li Musheng arrived and stood before her.

He rubbed his chin, glanced at the other, and saw that her pretty face was full of blush, her ear tips red as if dripping blood, yet she pressed her lips and forced herself to appear calm.

(End of this chapter)