Chapter 240: Massacre!

Xie Baichuan naturally understood this principle; he had merely tried just now out of a slim hope.

Seeing their firm refusal, his face grew even more disappointed; he shook his head and sighed, "Ah, I know this puts both of you my lords in a difficult position. But the bitterness of being falsely accused is truly unbearable."

Speaking, as if remembering something, he turned his gaze toward Chen Mu and added with implied meaning, "Just as the Inspector Chen was slandered by Huang Kaiyuan not long ago—this kind of suppressed rage, I'm sure Inspector Chen can understand at least a little."

Chen Mu, hearing him draw a parallel to himself, couldn't help but chuckle bitterly and waved his hand, "Master Xie, my situation differs from yours. Huang Kaiyuan was definitively caught framing a superior, with both evidence and the culprit in hand. But your case? Truth and falsehood remain shrouded in mist."

Saying this, he said no more, bowed to Xie Baichuan, "I must return to the bureau to handle official duties. I take my leave."

With that, he ignored Xie Baichuan's shifting expression, called out to Yu Shoujiang, and led the entire Zhenwu Corps away.

…

Xie Baichuan watched the group's figures vanish at the road's end; his face instantly darkened, so grim it seemed ready to drip water.

He spun around abruptly and returned heavily to the wreckage of the Heishui Men base.

The Heishui Men disciples were silently gathering the corpses of their fallen comrades; the atmosphere was oppressive and filled with grief and fury.

Xie Baichuan walked to the center of the square, halted, scanned everyone present, then unleashed his qi to amplify his voice, roaring with suppressed rage.

"Listen to me, all of you!"

"Now, I ask one final time—who took the Xu family's belongings?"

"Step forward now, return the items, and I, Xie Baichuan, as Master, swear I will not pursue punishment!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept like a hawk over faces—bewildered, furious, sorrowful—and his voice rose sharply, laced with lethal intent.

"If you do not speak now, and I find out later… don't blame the sect's rules for being merciless!"

"…."

The square fell utterly silent, not even a pin could be heard.

All Heishui Men members exchanged glances, then lowered their heads, none answering.

Several elders, unable to bear it, stepped forward to speak.

"Master, we swear on our lives—no one took anything from the Xu family!"

"Yes, Master, this is clearly a setup to frame us, aiming to destroy Heishui Men utterly!"

"Please, Master, investigate thoroughly!"

"…."

Hearing the elders' words and seeing the expressions of his disciples, Xie Baichuan himself believed them nine out of ten.

Yet his face remained dark, and he said nothing.

It was too late now—anger and haste were useless; the only way out was to uncover the thief who stole the treasure and framed them.

But the problem was, they had no clues whatsoever—like flies without a head.

…

On the other side, after returning to the Zhenwu Corps, Chen Mu privately retrieved the Twin Bamboo Sliver and briefly conveyed to Zhao Fuzhou the clash between Heishui Men and the Xu family, with each side losing over ten men, and warned him to watch for further developments.

Zhao Fuzhou replied quickly.

【Received. Prince Jing'an's tactics grow ever more ruthless—I will keep close watch.】

Chen Mu read the message, put away the bamboo sliver, and made no further move, waiting silently for results.

The cards retrieved from the dead of Heishui Men and the Xu family had been checked: nine Inner Strength cards, three Power cards, two Skill cards; the rest were either Stamina cards or Energy cards.

From the casualty count, the dead fell within both families' acceptable limits.

If even one or two Innate Realm cultivators had died, Xie Baichuan and Xu Ziluo would surely have erupted in true fury!

…

…

The news of the large-scale battle between the Xu family and Heishui Men by Blackwater Lake spread like wings, swiftly reaching every corner of the state capital, sparking a massive uproar.

In streets and alleys, teahouses and taverns, every cultivator was discussing it.

"Did you hear? The Xu family and Heishui Men fought! Many died!"

"So, did Heishui Men steal the Xu family's treasures or not?"

"I'd say they definitely did! Otherwise, why would the Xu family fight so desperately?"

"Not necessarily—maybe they were set up. Heishui Men may now be stained beyond washing clean, even if they jumped into Tianmen River."

"Now there'll be a good show…"

…

The crowd argued endlessly—some convinced Heishui Men had stolen from within, others suspecting a conspiracy—but after an entire day passed, no one produced concrete proof, and the matter remained deadlocked amid the clamor.

The next morning.

Before Chen Mu even entered the Zhenwu Corps gate, he saw Yu Shoujiang leading a squad of elite Zhenwu Corps guards hurrying out from behind.

Yu Shoujiang spotted Chen Mu at once, hurried forward, and bowed to report.

"My lord, Heishui Men was wiped out last night!"

Chen Mu's face showed appropriately stunned shock, as if utterly unprepared for such an event—but deep inside, he felt a flicker of "admiration" for Prince Jing'an's ruthless decisiveness.

To gather blood essence, he had simply annihilated Heishui Men!

So ruthless!

"Go!"

Without delay, Chen Mu followed Yu Shoujiang, leading the troops swiftly out of the city toward Blackwater Lake.

Upon arriving at the Heishui Men base, he saw what had been a bustling sect just yesterday now lay utterly silent.

The intact main gate stood wide open; thick, reeking blood filled the air.

Everywhere he looked, corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the ground, their blood staining the soil a dark red.

Even Master Xie Baichuan, the Earth Altar Realm cultivator with the Three Flowers Converging, had not escaped—he lay dead in the center of the main hall, eyes wide open, his face frozen in shock, rage, and unwillingness, a fatal wound piercing his chest.

【DISCOVERED CORPSE. PICK UP?】

"Yes!"

……

With a handful of cards in hand, Chen Mu carefully examined the scene and found that most of the dead bore the same death marks as Zhang Tieli before.

Their faces were as pale as paper, their blood qi completely drained—clearly, their essence and blood had been stolen by some sinister method.

Yu Shoujiang and his men thoroughly inspected the area inside and out, then returned to report to Chen Mu.

"My lord, preliminary judgment: this was committed by someone familiar, very likely an insider. Especially Master Xie—he was assassinated from behind at close range, a single fatal strike! Otherwise, with his cultivation, he could never have been killed so easily."

Hearing this, Chen Mu understood at once.

This was indeed the Jing'an Prince's usual method: using bribed insiders to coordinate from within, creating slaughter and collecting essence and blood.

"The mastermind behind this is no ordinary person."

Chen Mu fell into thought.

He walked among the scattered corpses.

Moments later, Yu Shoujiang completed his count and handed Chen Mu the list of the deceased.

Chen Mu swiftly scanned it, then suddenly frowned.

Someone was missing!

The corpse of Yan Song—the elder who had struck first yesterday, escalating the conflict—was not among them!

"Have you seen Yan Song?" Chen Mu asked.

"Yan Song?"

Yu Shoujiang thought back. "Seems not. He didn't die? Ran off in the chaos?"

"Possibly."

Chen Mu's eyes flickered.

Yan Song ran off—how convenient!

Yesterday, it was Yan Song who, when faced with the Xu family youths' insults, "impulsively" struck first, directly triggering the two families' battle!