Chapter 158: Coming to Your Door!

Zhou Bozhi was completely stunned, his face written over with confusion. "My Zhou family may have no deep ties with the Qi family, but we've also never had any enmity. Why would they strike so ruthlessly? My lord, this matter is of great consequence—do you… do you have evidence?"

"No evidence."

Chen Mu looked at him calmly. "Although there is no physical proof, I can say with certainty that it was him. After Zhou Boli left my residence last night, the only person he met was Qi Jingxiao of the Qi residence. The treasure map was also given to him by Qi Jingxiao, and was taken back last night. Zhou Boli left empty-handed and was then killed."

No evidence—only an almost arbitrary accusation.

Zhou Bozhi's face shifted unpredictably. Reason told him this was too bizarre, but looking at Chen Mu's assured gaze, and recalling Zhou Boli's manner of death and those terrifying rumors, a chill and fury gradually overpowered his doubts.

"The Qi family… are they trying to kill with a borrowed knife, or are they trying to utterly destroy my Zhou family?" Zhou Bozhi's voice trembled, laced with hatred.

"Now is not the time to pursue the reason."

Chen Mu's tone was calm. "I only ask you—do you want to avenge Zhou Boli?"

Zhou Bozhi's breathing grew rapid, his hands clenched tight, fingernails nearly digging into flesh.

He stared fixedly at Chen Mu. After a long moment, he suddenly gritted his teeth hard. "I do! But my Zhou family now… is greatly weakened in strength. How could we possibly stand against the Qi family?"

"There's no need for your Zhou family to stand against them alone."

Chen Mu said, "You only need to gather every able fighter your Zhou family can still muster. In half a shichen, assemble at the gates of the Qi residence. The rest, I'll handle."

Zhou Bozhi looked at the unquestionable confidence and killing intent in Chen Mu's eyes, and finally nodded heavily. "Good! My Zhou family will follow you, my lord!"

……

The murderer identified.

Chen Mu left Zhou Fu, first found Tong Yuanshan, who was investigating the source of the rumors, and told him to start with the Qi family members.

Tong Yuanshan was greatly shocked, but without asking where the information came from, he hurried off to handle it.

With a target in hand, finding the people spreading the rumors became several times easier.

Chen Mu returned to the Zhenwu Division and mobilized his men.

Half a shichen later.

Before the Qi residence's grand vermilion-lacquered gates, two groups of men appeared.

Chen Mu rode at the forefront, behind him over a hundred elite guards of the Zhenwu Division, each wielding a standard-issue heavy crossbow. The cold arrowheads glinted with a chilling light in the setting sun, bristling with killing intent.

There were also several hundred strongmen, led by Zhenwu Division guards, dispersed around the perimeter, completely encircling the Qi residence.

On the other side, Zhou Bozhi led the greater part of the Zhou family's remaining able fighters—some thirty-plus men—each with grief and fury in their eyes, weapons in hand, loosely blocking the Qi residence's gates together with the Zhenwu Division's men.

Such a huge commotion had already alarmed the entire Tai'an Prefecture.

Countless martial artists who got the news came pouring in from all directions, watching from afar, their chatter surging like a tide.

"What's going on? The Zhenwu Division and the Zhou family have surrounded the Qi residence?"

"Could the treasure map be with the Qi family?"

"Impossible, right? Wasn't it said to be in Chen Mu's hands?"

"This situation… I can't make heads or tails of it."

……

Inside the Qi residence, chaos had already broken out.

The servants and guards were in a panic. The senior members gathered in the great hall, every face deathly pale.

"How could this be? How did Chen Mu find his way to our door so quickly?"

Qi Jingxiao was like an ant on a hot pan, spinning in frantic circles, his face full of terror and disbelief. "How could the information have leaked? We were so covert!"

The family head, Qi Jinghong, was also in utter turmoil, but he forced himself to calm down, drew a deep breath, and said sternly, "What's there to panic about! Losing our heads and breaking formation is the true path to death! We left behind no evidence whatsoever. That Chen Mu has nothing but empty words, making baseless accusations. If he uses force against us, the prefecture city's Zhenwu Division will absolutely not let him off!"

He swiftly made his decision. "Yunpan! Immediately take all the younger generation and leave the estate through the secret passage. Go to the villa outside the city to take shelter for now! Without my word, you absolutely must not return!"

"Father…" Qi Yunpan still wanted to say something.

"Go now!"

Qi Jinghong roared.

Qi Yunpan dared not hesitate any longer and hurriedly led the people away.

Having arranged the escape route, Qi Jinghong straightened his robes, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. "Come! Follow me out to meet this Inspector Chen! I want to see just what evidence he can produce!"

The great gates of the Qi residence slowly opened.

Qi Jinghong stepped out with Qi Jingxiao and the other senior members of the Qi family, faces forcibly contorted into expressions of puzzlement and grievance.

Qi Jinghong cupped his fists toward Chen Mu, his voice loud yet carrying a trace of the indignation of the wronged. "Inspector Chen! What is the meaning of this? Leading a great force to blockade my Qi residence—what law has my Qi family broken, or where have we offended you, my lord? Please make it clear!"

Chen Mu stood at the very front, his gaze cold, and got straight to the point. "Qi Jinghong, no need for theatrics. Hand over the Haoran Sect treasure map, and the murderer who killed Zhou Boli. Otherwise, today not a single chicken or dog in the Qi residence will be left alive!"

At these words, not only did Qi Jinghong's face change drastically, the watching martial artists around them erupted in an uproar!

"What? The treasure map ended up with the Qi family again?"

"The murderer who killed Zhou Boli is also someone from the Qi family?"

"This… what on earth is going on? Just who has it?"

"……"

Cries of shock kept rising.

Qi Jinghong was inwardly horrified too, but on his face he only grew more "aggrieved," loudly protesting his innocence. "Inspector Chen! How can you make such slanderous accusations! What treasure map? What killing of Zhou Boli? These are all baseless fabrications. My Qi family has always acted with upright honor—how could we possibly commit such murder and robbery?"

"If you cannot find the true culprit and wish to pin the blame on someone, my Qi family is by no means a soft persimmon to be squashed! Commander Han of the prefecture city's Zhenwu Division is a close friend of my Qi family. For Inspector Chen to slander us so, I, Qi, will certainly report this to him!"

"Though my strength, Qi, is ordinary, I do possess an unyielding heart."

"May I ask whether Inspector Chen has any evidence? Proof that it was we who killed a man and seized the treasure map?"

Qi Jinghong shouted loudly, his voice impassioned and stirring, as if he had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable, drawing looks of doubt from many of the onlookers.

"My lord…" Zhou Bozhi, seeing this, turned his head to look at Chen Mu.

"Evidence? Of course there is!"

A voice came from outside the crowd.

Only to see Tong Yuanshan leading several Zhenwu Si guards, shoving in three people bound tightly, their faces bruised and swollen.

Tong Yuanshan first cupped his fist toward Chen Mu, then faced all the onlookers and declared in a clear voice, "Reporting to my lord! After a thorough investigation by your subordinate, it has been confirmed that the very three people who maliciously spread the rumor 'the treasure map is in Lord Chen's hands' in the city at noon today are these three!"

He pointed at one of them. "This man is the steward from the household of Qi Jingxiao's wife's younger brother! The other two were both acting on his orders, spreading the rumor in the major taverns and teahouses. Caught red-handed, all have confessed!"

Waaah~!

The crowd instantly exploded into an uproar.

Every gaze focused in unison on the ashen face of Qi Jingxiao's wife's younger brother's steward, then snapped sharply toward Qi Jingxiao and Qi Jinghong, whose expressions changed in an instant.

The rumor had actually been secretly manipulated by the Qi family.

At this moment, all of Qi Jinghong's explanations and performances appeared utterly pale and laughable!