Chapter 1235

Li Changxing sat motionless in the study, an arrow struck his forehead, the arrowhead pierced his skull and protruded from the back of his head, blood all over his face had congealed, the whole study filled with a pungent smell of blood. Li Mingju saw the scene, he cried out heart-rendingly: "Father..." then his vision went black and he collapsed face up onto the ground.

Hu Xiaotian followed behind him, hastily reached out to support Li Mingju, pinched his philtrum to wake him from faint, Li Mingju slowly came to, seeing his father miserably dead before him, tears streamed down, he flung himself onto his father's corpse, grabbed his father's knees, and wailed: "Father! Father... wake up... wake up..."

Hu Xiaotian also could not bear to look at the scene; from Li Changxing's death state, it seemed he was shot dead by an arrow, the killer who shot Li Changxing was likely the same person who ambushed Li Mingju in front of the Haiyun Lou gate; Hu Xiaotian dared not be careless, he went outside the study to check the surroundings, although the night rain was not heavy it was continuous, visibility became worse.

The constables escorting Li Mingju hurried to report to Jian Tieshou; Jian Tieshou was still investigating the scene at Haiyun Lou and had not finished, he immediately rushed to the Li residence; the killing of the Bohai State Ministry of Justice Minister was no small matter, and it also greatly shocked these constables.

Hu Xiaotian stayed at the Li residence for more than an hour; he had to cooperate with Jian Tieshou in the investigation, after all he happened to appear at the crime scene twice tonight; Li Mingju wept until heaven and earth darkened, he had lost his mother since childhood, his father never remarried, father and son depended on each other, he never expected his father would end up like this, truly grief-stricken beyond consolation, even when Hu Xiaotian bade farewell and left, he was in a daze and unaware.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Zhichunyuan; fortunately he did not delay his meeting with Yan Tianlu. Xiao Lizhi saw him return and respectfully said: "I thought you wouldn't come back tonight, sir."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "It's still early. Manager Xiao, you needn't worry I'll break my promise."

Xiao Lizhi lifted a lantern and led the way ahead, guiding him to the small building, pointing to the second floor and said: "The island master has been waiting for a long time."

Hu Xiaotian's heart jumped; he hadn't expected Yan Tianlu to arrive so quickly, he guessed there must be a passage inside Zhichunyuan connecting to the outside, allowing him to slip in unnoticed; otherwise, with many eyes and ears inside Zhichunyuan, letting people see him come and go freely would be troublesome.

Hu Xiaotian nodded, went up the stairs; the second floor indeed had lights on, Island Master Yan Tianlu of Mangjiao Island sat there, sipping tea and quietly waiting for Hu Xiaotian's arrival. Seeing Hu Xiaotian appear before him, Yan Tianlu smiled faintly and said: "With a beauty by your side, Hu junior, do you no longer wish to return to Shu?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "At this moment, even a beauty cannot compare to your charm, sir."

Yan Tianlu chuckled; his laughter lacked its former extravagance, obviously restrained. He filled the Lan Chazan with tea and pushed it across. Hu Xiaotian sat opposite, lifted the Chazan and drank it all in one gulp, then said softly: "Tonight's rain is truly worrisome."

Yan Tianlu's deep eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian's face: "Why do you say that?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I had originally planned to meet Xue Lingjun at Haiyun Lou for a meal, but when we got there she changed her mind and stood me up."

"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, originally hard to fathom." Yan Tianlu said meaningfully.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I had intended to return early and await your arrival at home, but I encountered Li Mingju, son of the Ministry of Justice Minister, and someone wanted to shoot him at the Haiyun Lou gate!"

Yan Tianlu's pupils suddenly contracted; he had not yet heard this news, his heart was greatly shocked.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I saved him, but only after sending him home did I learn that the Ministry of Justice Minister Li Changxing had been shot dead!"

Yan Tianlu's thick brows knit together: "Who did it?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I blocked that arrow for Li Mingju at the Haiyun Lou gate; the arrow had reached the level of shooting with qi, I am very familiar with such archery, I dare assert the killer is from Luoying Palace, his archery is certainly not inferior to Tang Jingyu's, perhaps even Tang Jingyu himself."

Yan Tianlu clenched his fists, his finger joints crackling like firecrackers: "Luoying Palace is really bold, daring to assassinate a high-ranking court official."

Hu Xiaotian slowly poured a cup of tea, took a sip, then said: "This is likely only the first step; Luoying Palace and Baimanmen have already joined forces, perhaps they also have contact with Li Chen Zhou."

Yan Tianlu said: "I came to find you to tell you that Bo Guang is under the control of the Northern Swamp Old Monster; this has been ascertained."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, he fell silent for a moment, desperately trying to derive a pattern from these chaotic clues, to find a lead; the Bohai King wants to eliminate Yan Tianlu, Xue Daohong wants to eradicate Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun, they exchange interests, who is the biggest beneficiary? Li Mingju's ambush tonight was no accident; the enemy likely aimed to wound the Ministry of Justice Minister Li Changxing by shooting Li Mingju, and when the assassination failed, immediately chose to kill Li Changxing.

Li Changxing's death was entirely due to the Yuan Tianzhao case; Li Changxing has always been upright and impartial, perhaps in handling this case he could not satisfy the enemy, so they decided to eliminate him.

Yan Tianlu said softly: "Li Changxing is a loyal minister; it seems he has become a thorn in the side of some people."

Hu Xiaotian said: "It's not Yan Dongsheng; even if he were dissatisfied with Li Changxing, he would have no need to use such means."

Yan Tianlu nodded and said: "Someone worries that long nights bring many dreams, finally unable to resist taking action; they want to quickly conclude the Yuan Tianzhao case, convict Yuan Tianzhao, let the Ju Bao Zhai collusion with Yuan Tianzhao and Mangjiao Island be realized, thereby dragging the fire onto Prince Yan Xue Shengjing." He paused and said: "If not Yan Dongsheng, then who is it?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "It could be Li Chen Zhou, or perhaps..." He lifted his head to look at Yan Tianlu and asked: "After Yuan Tianzhao is convicted, who has the best chance to take his place?"

Yan Tianlu, upon his question, suddenly felt enlightened, he exclaimed in surprise: "Zou Yong!"

Hu Xiaotian stood up, walked a few steps inside the room, and said softly: "I always feel Zou Yong is not an ordinary person, and his appearance closely resembles that of someone."

Who?

The young master of Luoying Palace, Tang Jingyu!

Yan Tianlu said: "I will have someone investigate their relationship; this time I will make Zou Yong's background completely clear."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But they have already acted; if we still do nothing, the situation will likely become even more unfavorable."

Yan Tianlu said softly: "What do you intend to do?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "When it's time to act, just act; simply stir up this pool of water thoroughly."

Where should we start?

Hu Xiaotian said: "Guo Zhenhai!"

Fine rain like sesame oil struck the roof of Fuking Lou densely; this tiny sound was continuously amplified in the dark night; Xue Lingjun lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep, she heard the rain, heard the water dripping from the eaves, the night rain was like sprinkling on her heartland, beating her mind into chaos; Hu Xiaotian's parting words still lingered fresh in her memory; Guo Zhenhai and Li Chen Zhou have met; if even Guo Zhenhai has been bribed by Li Chen Zhou, then her situation in Bohai is already extremely perilous.

Suddenly a furious shout came from outside; Xue Lingjun sprang up from bed and sternly demanded: "Who is it?"

The guard outside respectfully replied: "Your Highness, an intruder has sneaked in."

Xue Lingjun felt an inexplicable panic; she quickly got up from bed, dressed, pushed open the lattice window and looked out; the dense fine rain obscured her view of the outside, she only heard the clashing of weapons.

Guo Zhenhai led six Jinlin guards in surrounding a black-clad person; that black-clad person's movement was extremely agile, leaping over the wall of Fuking Lou and fleeing desperately outward. Guo Zhenhai shouted angrily: "Where are you fleeing?" He stepped forward to pursue, but a sudden wind came from behind; turning around he saw a burly masked figure descending like a heavenly soldier, striking with a fist toward him.

Guo Zhenhai snorted coldly; he had trained in boxing for years and was quite confident in his skill; at the instant their fists collided, his body shuddered, feeling a massive, unmatched inner force surge from the opponent's fist; despite exerting all his strength he could not resist, his steps retreated continuously; meanwhile, the black-clad person he had just chased away turned back, his long sword flashed, cutting off his retreat from behind.

Only then did Guo Zhenhai realize the intruder who had sneaked into Fuking Lou was merely a bait; he shouted: "Come here..." but before he finished, his voice was choked, suppressed by the powerful fist wind of the masked opponent; he could only meet force with force and throw another punch—Peng! —the opponent had exerted full force in that punch; although Guo Zhenhai was deputy commander of the Jinlin guards, his martial arts had not reached the top tier, moreover, when he previously went to Dongliang Jun he had been injured by Hu Xiaotian, his internal wounds not yet healed, this punch from the masked man shocked his chest with severe pain, a mouthful of hot blood rushed up his throat as he retreated; the sword-wielding black-clad person had already consecutively knocked down two Jinlin guards coming to reinforce, he showed no mercy, his blade repeatedly stabbed, piercing through the chests of two Jinlin guards and killing them on the spot.

Faced with the pincer attack of two top experts, the situation was perilous; having just exchanged two blows with the masked man and knowing the opponent's ability far surpassed his own, Guo Zhenhai steeled himself, chose the sword-wielding black-clad man, resolved to fight to the death, drew his waist sword, roared, and slashed at the black-clad man.

The black-clad person drew his blade faster than Guo Zhenhai; his sword, though launched later, arrived first, striking squarely on Guo Zhenhai's sword blade with a clang—his sword split in two; the masked man behind seized the moment, delivering a heavy punch to Guo Zhenhai's back—Peng! —a tremendous boom, the fist's inner force entered Guo Zhenhai's body, gathering at his chest and then expelled entirely; the powerful inner force shattered Guo Zhenhai's heart into fragments, he let out a miserable cry and fell forward stiffly.

The black-clad and masked individuals exchanged a glance, then both leapt onto the adjacent roof; upon the roof they darted about like rabbits, and in an instant vanished into the night. (To be continued~^~)