Chapter 113: Ransack the Estate!

"Who are you? This is an affair between Wind Thunder Valley and the Demon Suppression Division. I hope you won't interfere."

Du Wenzhong lowered his voice and spoke in a deep tone.

"You don't recognize me?"

Qin Shuo raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

He glanced at the soldiers below; many were familiar faces.

Logically, when he had beaten Xue Chengkong to death earlier, they should have all seen it. Why are they now pretending not to know?

Du Wenzhong said nothing.

He certainly knew who the person before him was, but he could not say it, nor did he dare to.

In front of the entire city's populace, he had literally beaten to death the demon god-like Xiaoyue Yaowang—who would dare say they didn't know him?

But now, he dared not acknowledge him.

Because if it were only He Mingjing, he could still rely on pulling a tiger's skin, using Wind Thunder Valley's name to negotiate with the other party.

But the person before him was different.

The other party dared even to kill the City Lord of Xue; he, a nominal disciple of Wind Thunder Valley, would be killed for nothing if he tried.

Moreover, given the other party's strength, even if the Prefecture Master of Songyang came, it might not be enough to detain them.

So, even before coming here, he had already given instructions.

Regarding Qin Shuo's beating to death of Xue Chengkong, no one is permitted to mention it; everyone must pretend ignorance.

When the sect's people arrive later, someone will naturally avenge the City Lord; there's no need for them to worry.

What they must do is insist stubbornly that Xue Chengkong had nothing to do with the Ten Thousand Spirit Blood Array, that everything was the Xiaoyue Yaowang's scheme.

Only then can they wash away the suspicion of colluding with demons and avoid the death penalty.

Colluding with demons—this in the Great Li Dynasty is more serious than rebellion; no one dares to treat it lightly.

Qin Shuo glanced at He Mingjing, then at Du Wenzhong, as if understanding something, and suddenly laughed.

"Since you don't recognize me, let me introduce myself—I am the one who just killed your City Lord with three punches."

"How about it? Do you recognize me now?"

Du Wenzhong's face darkened, as if water were about to drip from it; his fist in his sleeve clenched until the knuckles turned white, yet at this moment he dared not utter a word.

The other soldiers also lowered their heads, none daring to meet Qin Shuo's gaze.

They had personally witnessed the other party, with bare fists, literally beating the City Lord to death.

That violent, bloody figure had already been deeply etched into their minds; they would never forget it in this lifetime.

Facing this killing god, even a timid soldier was nearly wetting himself, his gun-hand trembling, his calves twisting, nearly collapsing to the ground.

It was only because his comrade beside him supported him that he managed to stand firm.

The soldier who supported him was also drenched in sweat, fearing that the youth, who seemed like a demon god, would become displeased and beat both of them to death.

Qin Shuo's gaze swept through the crowd; seeing no one dare to meet his eyes, all trembling, he continued:

"Since you all recognize me now, that makes things easier."

"Now I give you two choices: either tie yourselves up and wait for He Mingjing's judgment, or I will eradicate you completely, treating you as demon accomplices and killing you all together."

"You dare? We are disciples of Wind Thunder Valley..."

Bang!

Before Du Wenzhong could finish speaking, a silver-white moon blade slashed down upon him.

The moon blade was over a foot long; it pierced through Du Wenzhong's chest and abdomen, then struck a soldier behind him.

The soldier's chest armor shattered instantly; the terrifying force sent him flying horizontally, and several soldiers behind him were also blasted away together.

"What are you mumbling about?"

Qin Shuo looked impatiently at the remaining soldiers: "It's your turn to choose!"

As soldiers of the City Lord's Mansion, when had they ever seen such a brutal person? Now they all showed fear, looking toward a leader.

The leader of the City Lord's Mansion turned pale, gritted his teeth, and finally ordered:

"Tie each other in pairs, do not resist. I trust He Mingjing, and I trust the Elders of Wind Thunder Valley; they will surely give us justice."

"Quite sensible, not bad!"

Qin Shuo nodded in satisfaction and said: "What is your name?"

"I am Lu Rong, the garrison commander of the City Lord's Mansion." The middle-aged commander said respectfully.

Circumstances are stronger than the individual; he could not help but bow his head.

The person before him dared even to kill Xue Chengkong; they, these nominal disciples, would die in vain if they fought.

It would be better to wait until entering the Demon Suppression Division, until the Valley Master and others come to rescue us—better than being treated as demon accomplices and beaten to death on the spot.

"Very well, Commander Lu, now we need to go search the property of that old bastard Xue Chengkong. Trouble you to lead the way." Qin Shuo said lazily.

"You dare!"

The not-yet-dead Du Wenzhong shouted angrily: "The matter of Xue Chengkong colluding with demons is not yet settled; you have no right to ransack his home!"

Afterwards, he pressed his bleeding chest, struggled to stand, and shouted loudly at Lu Rong:

"Lu Rong, do you really want to become a traitor of Wind Thunder Valley?"

"He Mingjing wants to frame Xue Chengkong to cover up his own inadequacy; as a disciple of Wind Thunder Valley, how could you lead him to ransack Xue Chengkong's home?"

"If the Valley Master and others find out, even though Yunzhou is vast, there will be no place left for you, Lu Rong, to take refuge."

Upon hearing this, Lu Rong's face also became uncertain.

Du Wenzhong's words were not false; if he became a guide for the enemy, no matter whether the Demon Suppression Division finally releases him or not, Wind Thunder Valley will never let him go.

But thinking that if he defied the youth before him, he might very well now be separated head from body...

He gritted his teeth and said coldly:

"Master Du, whether City Lord Xue colluded with demons is unknown to me, Lu.

But since Lord He has his suspicions, by law, whether it is City Lord Xue or myself, we should both undergo investigation.

Now that City Lord Xue is dead, I believe Lord He will not falsely accuse a dead man for no reason.

Let him investigate thoroughly within the mansion, so as to clear City Lord Xue and his brothers of any wrongdoing."

Lu Rong's words were so flawless that even Du Wenzhong, upon hearing them, could not immediately find a rebuttal.

Qin Shuo, seeing this, also gave a slight nod.

This surnamed Lu is indeed sharp-minded; these words of his, even if the master of Wind Thunder Valley himself came, could find no fault.

By providing himself a reason to lead the way and ransack the residence, he also left himself an escape route for future questioning in the valley, to wash away the suspicion of being a traitor.

Afterwards, Lu Rong had people tie up Du Wenzhong, while he himself took Qin Shuo and He Mingjing to search the residence.

On the way, He Mingjing whispered:

"Qin brother, this is indeed against the law. According to procedure, we must first take these to the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, convict Xue Chengkong, before we can ransack the residence."

Qin Shuo did not turn his head, merely saying indifferently: "This is your Demon Suppression Division's rule; what does it have to do with me?"

He Mingjing was startled, then immediately realized: this fellow wants the Demon Suppression Division to take the blame for him.

Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Qin Shuo's impatient interruption:

"Stop nitpicking, the man is dead—who knows what's in his house?

By the time you finish your procedure, you can just come back and ransack the house again, right?"

"Damn, why didn't I think of this?" He Mingjing's eyes lit up.

When the Demon Suppression Division ransacks a residence, eighty percent of the loot must be turned over to the state treasury; the profit from capturing demons is limited.

But now it's different—Xue Chengkong is dead, and whatever is in his mansion is whatever he says it is.

Thinking of this, He Mingjing immediately gave a nasty laugh.

Lu Rong, walking ahead, curled his lips.

He had figured it out: that boy is a bandit come to rob, City Lord Xue's death this time is not unjust—running into such a shameless, powerful, and unreasonable brute, it's hard not to die.

Under Lu Rong's guidance, the two successfully arrived at Xue Chengkong's alchemy room.

En route, they happened to pass the very place where he and Xue Chengkong had their great battle.

Qin Shuo casually picked up the fallen Jingtie Daji and slung it on his back, then pulled the Wind Thunder Falcon from the earth and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

The Wind Thunder Falcon is a spirit beast; its flesh and blood are a great tonic, absolutely not to be wasted.

Though its appearance is somewhat miserable, battered and torn from Qin Shuo's beating, after plucking and cleaning, it can still be stewed in a pot.

Pushing open the door, a rich medicinal fragrance immediately assailed the nose.

Immediately after, a string of dazzling text surged into Qin Shuo's vision:

【Discovered Ingredient: Wind Thunder Treasure Furnace】

【Discovered Ingredient: Thousand-Year Fire Lingzhi】

【Discovered Ingredient: Nine-Leaf Dragon Saliva Grass】

……