Chapter 192

Yunzhou City, inner city.

Squads of Demon Suppression Office lieutenants clad in armor and wielding sabers galloped their horses along the street.

Qin Shuo led the charge, upon entering the inner city he headed straight for the Xiao family manor, giving no thought to whether Yang Si and the others behind could keep up.

"This kid, he's really a tough nut!"

All along the way, Yang Si waited for Qin Shuo to yield to him.

But seeing that they were about to reach the Xiao manor, the other side showed no intention of stopping his horse to talk, which made Yang Si furious.

"Brother, if you ask me, he's just trying to show off—let him go ahead first.

We'll follow from a distance, then after the Xiao family throws him out, we'll rush in to clean up the mess.

By then we'll see if he still dares to be so arrogant and ignore us."

Yang Jing watched the figure ahead almost disappearing from sight, charging away, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Not bad, we'll just follow—won't delay the mission and we'll let that kid suffer a bit." Another Golden Eagle Lieutenant echoed.

"Everyone fall in; without my order, no one is to act rashly!"

Yang Si bellowed, lashing the black horse's haunches hard; the steed neighed in pain and galloped forward with renewed vigor.

Behind him followed two Golden Eagle Lieutenants, ten Greedy Wolf Lieutenants, and nearly a hundred Cloud Pattern Lieutenants, all keeping close.

"Whoa~"

Qin Shuo pulled tight the reins, halting his horse before the gate of an exceptionally grand and imposing residence.

He did not act immediately, but waited silently.

Not long after, the thunder of horse hooves shook the street as Yang Si led his troop onto the same avenue, stopping about a hundred meters from Qin Shuo.

"Seal all entrances and exits of the Xiao residence; from now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave the Xiao mansion."

Having spoken, he did not wait for Yang Si's reply, swung off his horse, and strode straight toward the Xiao mansion's main gate.

"Hah, who does he think he is? Dreaming if he thinks he can order us around!"

Yang Jing snorted coldly, a mocking smile curling his lips.

However, after weighing the situation, Yang Si issued the order: "First, surround the Xiao mansion; idle persons are forbidden to approach or enter."

"Brother..."

Yang Jing wanted to dissuade him, but Yang Si raised a hand to stop him, telling him to carry out the order.

It wasn't that Yang Si suddenly changed his mind and stopped giving Qin Shuo trouble; rather, he understood the importance of the matter.

No matter how much he disliked Qin Shuo and wanted to teach him a lesson, the mission to search the Xiao residence could not be delayed,

otherwise, if the Office Chief blamed him, even he could not bear it.

Don't think his bluster before General Chen Ao of the Moving Mountains means anything; when it came to facing Chief Fu's reproach, he still felt a bit of apprehension.

He could stand by and watch Qin Shuo suffer at the Xiao residence, but he would absolutely not allow any Xiao family member to escape his control at this time.

After all, according to his plan, once Qin Shuo is thrown out by the Xiao family, the search mission would still need to be carried out by him.

Only then could he prove to the Office Chief that he is the one capable of standing alone.

As for that Qin fellow, he's just gotten lucky—utterly unfit for important use.

Swish swish swish~

As squads of Demon Suppression Office lieutenants in sturdy armor and sharp weapons marched out, the Xiao manor was quickly surrounded, and every accessible gate was heavily guarded.

At that moment, Qin Shuo had already stepped up to the front gate of the Xiao residence.

"Who are you? Why do you barge into my Xiao residence?"

A stern-faced old man with white hair and beard stepped out from behind the studded vermilion door, his eyes icy.

"I am Cloud Dragon Lieutenant Qin Shuo of the Demon Suppression Office, acting on the Office Chief's orders to search the Xiao mansion; anyone who obstructs will be killed without mercy!"

Qin Shuo produced his Demon Suppression Office waist token, then took a step forward, about to enter the Xiao mansion.

"Bold!"

The stern old man suddenly bellowed, stepped forward likewise, and blocked Qin Shuo's path,

"What nonsense Cloud Dragon Lieutenant, this old man—"

Clang!

The long sword was drawn, and as a blade of extreme sharpness flashed past, a white-haired head thudded to the ground.

The gatekeeper's eyes still burned with anger, but his pupils had already rapidly dilated; his formerly vigorous arms, poised to strike forward, slumped limp.

He could not believe to his dying breath that a youth not yet twenty could be so vicious, delivering a killing blow with his first strike.

Originally the master had instructed him to use measured force, merely to drive the opponent out the door.

But it was precisely because he held back, leaving himself an opening, that Qin Shuo slew him with a single blade.

He felt a great hatred!

Alas, it was already too late!

Had he known this would be the outcome, he ought to have shown no mercy then and slain that ruthless youth outright.

Too bad… he no longer had the chance!

Qin Shuo kicked the headless corpse aside, wiped his blade on the dark blue robe, and spoke coldly:

"I said, the Demon Suppression Office conducts its business, but those who obstruct—"

"shall be killed without mercy!"

His voice was not loud, yet everyone present heard it clearly.

In an instant, the bustling street, thick with onlookers eager for a spectacle, fell silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Even Yang Si and the Demon Suppression Office lieutenants behind him were dumbfounded.

Is this Qin fellow crazy?

They started killing before even conducting a search……

If the search turns up something related to demons, that would be fine; but if they find nothing, won't the Xiao family cut him into eight pieces?

Moreover, doing this would be tantamount to completely breaking ties with the Xiao family, making it utterly impossible to later get them to cooperate meekly with the search.

"Madman, this is damn pure insanity!"

Yang Si cursed repeatedly in his heart.

Doesn't that brat realize that Xiao Changgong is an expert who has condensed the true vigor furnace?

Provoking him would force even someone at the great completion of viscera refinement to temporarily blunt their edge—how dare a country bumpkin like him?

Yang Si felt his lungs were about to explode from anger.

He wasn't worried; he was wondering whether Xiao Changgong would soon cut that clueless brat into eight pieces.

But then, completing his mission to search the Xiao manor would become all the more difficult.

Originally he had thought that after the brat hit a wall, he would step in and have the Xiao family give him some face.

He would also order his subordinates not to go overboard during the search—some things could be checked or not, yet they involve others' privacy and dignity,

For example, the ancestral hall and the storehouse—just a brief glance would suffice; no need to cause damage.

But now, thanks to this Qin-surnamed fellow stirring things up, the Xiao family will surely vent their earlier anger on him as well.

This makes the situation troublesome.

"Damn it, damn it!" Yang Si cursed furiously in his heart.

Behind him, Yang Jing and another Golden Eagle Colonel were also stunned by this sudden turn of events, unable to speak for a long while.

Qin Shuo paid no heed to the gazes behind him—whether shocked, panicked, or angry,

but instead, holding his knife, he walked unhurriedly through the gate.

It wasn't that he was ruthlessly slaughtering people, beheading them at the slightest disagreement.

but rather, the gatekeeper old man himself had issues.

After all, no power would be so extravagant as to assign a warrior who has accomplished viscera refinement to guard a door.

The Xiao family never intended to meekly accept the search from the start.

Since the other side intended to give him a show of force to embarrass him, it's no wonder he turned ruthless.

However, just as he stepped into the Xiao family's outer courtyard, a murderous intent like a surging tide struck instantly.

At the same time, a voice of uncontainable rage exploded in everyone's ears:

"Who dares, a madman, to kill my clansman?"