Chapter 53: Zhang Lei

Li Yi collapsed, and Ning Wu had one leg broken by a kick.

The fight ended there, as both of their bodies had reached their limits and could no longer continue.

“Both sides badly wounded?” Kong Sheng, inside the building, paused in surprise.

“Li Yi, why aren’t you dead yet?”

But Ning Wu had not given up; she still had strength to move, and despite immense pain, she tried to draw closer to finish off this stubborn creature like a cockroach.

Li Yi did not respond; he no longer had the strength to speak.

If Ning Wu truly came at him again, he would surely die.

But he knew he wouldn’t die.

Kong Sheng was still watching nearby; if Ning Wu had a real chance to kill him, Kong Sheng would intervene.

After all, if he died, no one could prove Kong Sheng’s innocence—he’d have to take the blame for today’s mess and be sent to the Investigation Bureau.

But it seemed Kong Sheng wouldn’t need to act after all.

Li Yi now saw figures rushing toward the neighborhood entrance—uniformed, well-equipped.

The Investigation Bureau had arrived!

Li Yi even spotted a familiar face: Wang Jian.

“Surround the entire neighborhood. Don’t let a single suspicious person escape. Anyone who resists, shoot on sight.”

“Be careful—the wanted criminal Wang Kui may still be here. He possesses a supernatural M200 sniper rifle. Extremely dangerous.”

“Wang Jian, you’re in charge of this zone. Take your team and secure those two cultivators.”

A middle-aged man in a trench coat, with a scar across his forehead, strode forward with a stern expression, issuing orders while scanning the surroundings as if sensing anomalies within the building.

Suddenly.

He snapped his head up, staring directly at Kong Sheng’s position.

“That’s Zhang Lei, the Investigation Bureau’s squad leader. He’s a master with spiritual perception. Terrifying—I did nothing here, and he spotted me at once.”

Kong Sheng immediately stepped forward, raising his hands in surrender, afraid that any delay might get him mistaken for the killer and eliminated.

“I’m Kong Sheng, Li Yi’s friend and also a victim. Just now, I killed the wanted criminal Wang Kui inside the building. The body’s in the stairwell.”

He quickly identified himself and provided key information.

“Captain, found it—there really is a corpse. Looks like Wang Kui, but his sniper rifle is missing.” Suddenly, an investigator dragged out a body.

After identification, there was no doubt—it was the wanted criminal Wang Kui.

Zhang Lei glanced at the corpse, then at Kong Sheng, and ordered: “Take the body and both survivors back. We’ll sort everything out after investigation.”

Kong Sheng gave a nervous smile and went along quietly, not daring to resist.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Wang Jian had already secured Ning Wu, robbing her of any chance to kill Li Yi. She screamed in frustration, but it was useless.

“Ning Wu, I told you a month ago I’d be watching you. I warned you to behave, not to cause trouble. Now look—you’ve sparked a major massacre in the Old City District. See how you get out of this.”

Seeing the scene, Wang Jian roughly understood what had happened.

He’d seen Li Yi before in the Ruined City District—a regular young guy.

Clearly, this time he was the victim, targeted by Ning Wu and nearly killed.

What puzzled Wang Jian was how Li Yi had changed—just a month later, he’d become a Spirit Medium cultivator and fought Ning Wu to this extreme.

That wasn’t something an ordinary person could achieve.

“Wang Jian, if you hadn’t interfered with me in the Ruined City District back then, none of this would’ve happened.” Ning Wu’s anger flared again at the sight of him—she wanted to kill him too.

Wang Jian snorted heavily: “You lured nearly twenty residents from the Old City District into the Ruined City District. If we hadn’t lacked evidence and someone had protected you, you’d have been executed long ago. Where’s Lao Ya?”

“Dead,” Ning Wu bit out coldly.

“Dead? Good. Captured, he’d have been executed anyway—saves us the paperwork. We’ll deal with your case later.” Wang Jian gestured, and they took Ning Wu away.

“You’re Li Yi, right? How are you holding up? I’ve already called an ambulance.”

Then Wang Jian approached Li Yi.

Unlike before, his tone toward Li Yi was noticeably softer.

Wang Jian knew clearly: Li Yi had no power or influence, just an ordinary young man from the Old City District—he was the true victim here.

“I won’t die, but if I can get to the hospital, that’s best. Still, I’ve got parents at home to care for. I need to make a phone call.” Li Yi said.

Wang Jian replied: “I’ll contact your relatives—they’ll come look after them. Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

“Alright, thanks for your help,” Li Yi finally exhaled slightly.

Though he rarely kept in touch with his relatives, they’d surely help care for his parents after such a major incident. Besides, his home had stockpiled nutritional fluids—enough for two or three months.

Soon.

Medical staff arrived and lifted Li Yi onto a stretcher, placing him in the ambulance.

With Investigation Bureau experts involved, the rest was beyond his control.

“Wang Jian, have you figured it out? What happened?” Moments later, Zhang Lei called Wang Jian over for a report.

Wang Jian said: “Captain, the situation’s clear. A woman named Ning Wu hired a hitman—Wang Kui was the hired killer. The victim, Li Yi, was forced to defend himself, leading to this bloodbath. Survivors: Ning Wu, Li Yi, and Kong Sheng—all secured. Everyone else is dead.”

“Eight dead. All Spirit Medium cultivators.”

“Only Li Yi did the killing?” Zhang Lei’s gaze sharpened—he found it hard to believe.

Wang Jian nodded: “All the corpses show blunt-force trauma from fists. Wang Kui too. Kong Sheng left no signs of combat—he’s lying about killing Wang Kui, probably to claim the bounty.”

“The young man taken to the hospital—Li Yi—his cultivation level must be Spirit Medium too,” Zhang Lei frowned. “And Ning Wu, the leader, has awakened her spiritual sense—she’s a Spirit Awakening cultivator. So many surrounded one, yet eight died and one was critically wounded?”

“According to our current investigation, yes,” Wang Jian said. “I encountered Ning Wu and Li Yi a month ago, but that case was closed.”

“Send me the relevant files later. Write a detailed report today. Also, have your team search thoroughly—Wang Kui is dead, but that rifle must be recovered. It can’t stay out in the open. You know its power—if someone malicious gets hold of it, more chaos will follow,” Zhang Lei said gravely.

Wang Jian nodded: “We’ve already sent people to search. But the rifle’s probably hidden—it’ll take time.”

“Also, keep a close eye on Li Yi. His power is abnormal. And interrogate Ning Wu thoroughly—why go through such trouble and pay such a high price to kill an ordinary cultivator? If you uncover anything unusual, notify me immediately.”

As squad leader, Zhang Lei sensed something unusual beneath the surface.

This wasn’t just a simple hired killing—something else was definitely involved.

Wang Jian nodded and immediately went back to work.

The chaos in his jurisdiction would give him headaches for a long while.

Not long after.

The corpses upstairs were carried out one by one.

Zhang Lei, directing the scene, gestured, and one body was brought forward.

He examined the wounds on the corpse.

Fist marks pierced through the body—single blow, fatal.

“Brutal fist technique. One strike kills someone of the same realm. No wonder even a Spirit Awakening cultivator couldn’t take him down. Who’d have thought the Old City District could produce such a talent?”

Zhang Lei’s eyes gleamed—he instantly recognized Li Yi’s fist art wasn’t ordinary boxing, but a profound martial technique.

“Li Yi is probably around twenty—very young, highly moldable. Now he’s burdened with so many deaths—he’s a potential threat. If he goes down the wrong path, it’d be a waste. So why not recruit him into the Investigation Bureau as an external combatant? His addition could ease our manpower and combat shortfall.”

He began considering recruiting Li Yi, for the Investigation Bureau urgently needed young talents like him.

Cultivators were increasing, and so were murders.

But many cultivators refused to join the Investigation Bureau—too many missions, no time to cultivate—so the Bureau had to hire external combatants to make up for the shortage.

But the Investigation Bureau wasn’t a restaurant—anyone could walk in. It required vetting, clean records, and above all, real power.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Zhang Lei sensed something. He glanced sideways toward Li Yi’s window.

The window was dark and hollow, radiating a suffocating aura.

But just now, someone had been watching him… and that gaze felt strange—not human, but eerie and chilling.

Was it an illusion?

Zhang Lei stared again for a moment.

He found nothing.

Finally, preferring to avoid trouble, he abandoned further investigation.