Chapter 175: Still Not Dead?

At almost the same time, the heads of the three great Wudaoda Sect families—Yuan, Zhu, and Cen—along with the person in charge of the Bai Li family, all received orders from General Han Chuiyuan of Sheng Prefecture.

"Maintain the status quo. Before midnight, take down the Lady Murong family."

Upon seeing these orders, the four great families immediately convened an emergency meeting.

The final result, under the premise of seeking Han Chuiyuan's help, was that the four families unanimously agreed to act according to Han Chuiyuan's orders.

The four great Wudaoda Sect families would launch a decisive battle against the Lady Murong family; the four families vowed to erase the Lady Murong family from the entire prefectural city within a single day!

The government office of Sheng Prefecture.

After Hu Rui'an and Wu Shang, along with a third person, arrived in Sheng Prefecture, they began investigating the murder case at the government office under the leadership of Yao Lingyuan, the Golden Badge Chief Constable of the Six Fan Gate.

By all rights, at this time, the three parties of Sheng Prefecture must jointly report to the Imperial Court in the capital; only after obtaining permission from the Ministry of Justice could they dispatch an envoy to Sheng Prefecture to gain full authority to investigate the case.

However, with Li Musheng present, this step could be temporarily skipped; as long as Yao Lingyuan and the others acted under his witness, they could thoroughly investigate the current murder without being restricted by rules of recusal.

Of course, Li Musheng had no intention of managing this matter; only at Hu Rui'an's request did he reluctantly take on the responsibility of "supervising" the various parties.

And the reason Hu Rui'an wanted to investigate this case was naturally to investigate the connection between Prefect Zhu Ziming and the Falling God Peak, as well as the leak of secrets by the Tianjin Guard.

Mei Yanyu, the son of Mei Yan, the Vice Prefect of the Tianjin Guard, also represented the Sheng Prefecture Tianjin Guard in participating in the investigation.

However, the other party's attention was not on the investigation, but rather on Hu Rui'an from time to time.

Or rather, he was secretly watching Hu Rui'an, Wu Shang, and Cheng Zhong.

As for the reason, it went without saying.

He was waiting for the ghost in the Tianjin Guard branch office to strike and take the lives of the three.

As time passed, the unease in the hearts of Hu Rui'an and the others gradually grew; although they had the protection of Li Musheng, a prince with terrifying Wudaoda cultivation, they could not help but feel panicked in their hearts.

After all, Li Musheng was only one person; if that ghost was truly too strange and difficult to deal with, even profound Wudaoda cultivation would have limited effect.

Or if Li Musheng accidentally failed, this could lead them to follow in the footsteps of that Vice Commissioner.

Thus, even though they held Li Musheng in such high regard as if looking up to a high mountain, knowing the possibility was very low, they could not withstand the chance of a mishap!

In this atmosphere where everyone had different thoughts, time passed until noon.

During this period, Yao Lingyuan, true to his reputation as a Golden Badge Chief Constable, was as meticulous as silk and had eyes like torches; after inspecting only the one hundred and seventy-six corpses, he confirmed that there were seven murderers in total.

Among them, the person who wielded the "Azure Dragon Thousand Swords" was likely the ringleader; not only did he kill the most people, but his Wudaoda strength was also the highest, reaching at least the realm of Half-Step Heavenly Man.

It was also this person who killed Prefect Zhu Ziming; the Prefect of Sheng Prefecture was a civil official, and although he possessed Wudaoda cultivation, it was only at the level of a Great Wudaoda Master, so he was almost powerless against the murderer.

"The murderer clearly searched the rooms, but the other party did not interrogate Lord Zhu; they directly sealed his throat with a single sword strike."

"This indicates the murderer came prepared; it is highly likely they were someone Lord Zhu knew well and were aware of a certain object on his person."

Yao Lingyuan spoke slowly, while Zhang Feng, the Vice General of Sheng Prefecture standing nearby, frowned and said:

"According to Constable Yao's meaning, is the reason for the government office murder case killing for treasure?"

Yao Lingyuan nodded, then immediately shook his head, saying:

"Judging from the scene, it does seem so, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the murderer was putting on airs, fabricating the crime scene."

Hearing this, Vice General Zhang Feng frowned, looked at the other party with suspicion, seeming to feel that what the other party said was no different from saying nothing.

At the same time, Mei Yanyu looked up at the sun above the government office, then shifted his gaze to Hu Rui'an and the others, who were still full of life and energy.

For a moment, a look of shock and doubt appeared on his face.

As the son of the Vice Prefect of the Sheng Prefecture Tianjin Guard, he was naturally more aware than anyone else about the haunting in the Tianjin Guard branch office.

According to past patterns, anyone who saw ghosts in the Tianjin Guard residence at night, without exception, no one could survive past noon the next day; all were strangled to death before that time.

But now, to his great surprise, Hu Rui'an and the others had undoubtedly broken this "convention"; the other party was still alive and kicking up to now, and nothing had happened at all.

Looking at Hu Rui'an and the others, Mei Yanyu could not help but frown, thinking silently:

"What is going on? Even my father, under the protection of my mother and Mu Lao and a group of experts, could not escape before noon and was attacked by the ghost, suffering deeply; why are they fine?"

Just as he was puzzled beyond comprehension, a black messenger hawk suddenly flew over the government office, circled once, and then dove down to land on Mei Yanyu's shoulder.

Seeing this, Mei Yanyu immediately composed his thoughts and instantly took down a bamboo tube, the size of a finger, tied to the hawk's leg.

Then, he released the hawk, opened the bamboo tube, and glanced at the note inside.

Quickly, Mei Yanyu's entire face froze in shock; he then carefully read the content on the paper again.

Finally, he suddenly looked up at Hu Rui'an, then his gaze swept over Li Musheng, Lady Murong Xiaoya, and the others.

For a moment, his expression appeared somewhat changeable and uncertain.

At this time, a servant following behind Mei Yanyu seemed to notice his abnormality and immediately used Wudaoda true qi to transmit a voice, asking:

"Young Master, has something happened?"

Hearing this, Mei Yanyu let out a light sigh and said:

"I just received news; Bai Li Changfeng is dead!"

Upon hearing these words, the servant behind him narrowed his eyes slightly, then asked:

"Did the old immortal from the Lady Murong family make a move?"

However, he saw Mei Yanyu in front of him shake his head imperceptibly and say:

"No, it was Hu Rui'an and the others who did it, and Bai Li Changfeng was suppressed and killed by a single finger."

As he spoke, Mei Yanyu suddenly seemed to remember something, froze for a moment, then looked enlightened and said:

"I finally understand what Hu Rui'an meant just now; it turns out they not only killed Bai Li Wei, but they even slaughtered Bai Li Changfeng as well!"

Upon hearing these words, the servant behind Mei Yanyu also fell silent.

After a while, he frowned and continued to transmit a voice, asking:

"As for Hu Rui'an's Wudaoda cultivation, I can see through it at a glance; the other party could absolutely not be a match for Bai Li Changfeng. Young Master, do you know who actually made the move?"

Hearing this, Mei Yanyu thought for a moment, but shook his head and said:

"The news of Bai Li Changfeng's death has been blocked by the four great Wudaoda families; our people can only learn limited information, so we do not know who actually made the move."

As he spoke, Han Meiyan's gaze shifted, looking at Li Musheng beneath the corridor hall not far away, and he said:

"However, I guess that person is most likely related to this Eighth Imperial Prince."

(End of this chapter)