Chapter 228: The Tremor of Lou Lou Hechuan! The Lord of Uncle Xuan Palace, Jiang Jiang Yunxian

The ancient capital of six dynasties, the dawn moon over Qinhuai, as if a wind of battle arose, and in the vast heavens and earth, the figure of Ren Xiao appeared.

In the black night, beneath the bright moon.

That figure appeared as if out of thin air, without warning; his face bore an extraordinarily peculiar mask—a single character " Ren," shocking and unmistakable.

Zhang Fan had never seen Ren Xiao before, yet upon seeing this man, he reacted instinctively…

This is Ren Xiao!

The first of the Thirteen Zodiacs!

"H-how could this happen…"

"W-who is this person?"

At the end of the alley, Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu's faces trembled; they had not even seen how this eerie figure appeared, yet his power was so violent, so beyond reason—he reached out one hand, as if severing the threads of heaven's design, and pierced straight through Meng Meng Qinghuan's chest, gripping her heart, pulsing with vital energy, in his palm.

Hum…

At this moment, Meng Meng Qinghuan's widening pupils reflected an indescribable shock and terror.

The terror of the boundary between life and death.

Her 【Nishang Feather Robe】 crumbled like withered leaves under the intruder's touch, dying, gradually withering, the drifting mists dissolving into nothingness beneath the dimmed glow of twilight.

This aura infected the surroundings; heaven and earth seemed plunged into grim slaughter, and every heart stirred with sorrow, as if caught in the chill of a winter night—yang exhausted, yin born, all life extinguished.

Such power, even Daoist divine arts would pale and wither in comparison.

"Ten thousand things… born of Jia… end in Gui… Gui's death…" Meng Meng Qinghuan trembled, her voice trembling with suppressed shock.

As a disciple of Qi Yun Mountain and a prodigy of the Dao Alliance's central council, she finally realized—the power this eerie figure wielded was none other than…

"The Nine Internal Elixir Methods: Jia gives birth, Gui brings death." Zhang Fan's gaze sharpened into a single thread.

At this moment, Zhang Fan was certain—this man before him was Ren Xiao.

This matched the intelligence provided by Lin Jianyue.

In this lifetime, two anomalies emerged among the Thirteen Zodiacs, both possessing the Nine Internal Elixir Methods.

One was Chen Long, who perfected the 【Five Elements Misplaced King】; the other was Ren Xiao, who forged the 【Jia Gives Birth, Gui Brings Death】.

Boom…

At that instant, the eerie figure interlaced his five fingers and gently closed them—the pulsing heart exploded violently, spraying flesh and blood ten paces away.

With the body dead, the soul-spirit could no longer be sustained; for an ordinary person, the soul-spirit would be instantly destroyed—either annihilated entirely or becoming a lost wandering ghost.

But Meng Meng Qinghuan had already cultivated to the Great Master stage; her soul-spirit's nature was luminous, and as long as that luminous nature endured, she could find a new body and possess it to be reborn.

Almost simultaneously, a blinding white light shot skyward, enveloping Meng Meng Qinghuan's soul-spirit.

Boom… boom… boom…

The eerie figure's hand seized with brutal, inhuman force, like a vast curtain blotting out the sky; his aura surged with chilling slaughter, heaven and earth fell silent, all things withered—and crushed that luminous nature into shards.

"Y-you… are Ren Xiao…"

Meng Meng Qinghuan's soul-spirit screamed in disbelief, her voice shaking uncontrollably—this heavenly prodigy could no longer suppress her primal terror.

"D-do you know what consequences you'll face for killing me?" Meng Meng Qinghuan still struggled.

Hum…

The eerie figure reached out, seized her soul-spirit in his palm, and with terrifying force like a raging tide, crushed it outright into fragments.

In an instant, a surge of potent essence slowly dispersed.

The eerie figure drew in a gentle breath—and swallowed the essence born from Meng Meng Qinghuan's soul-spirit.

"D-dead… she's… just dead!?"

Time seemed frozen; every breath vanished, every thought locked in place.

No one had expected it—Meng Meng Qinghuan, the heavenly prodigy, the favored disciple of Jiang Your Majesty, the elite of Qi Yun Mountain—had died here, tonight.

So sudden, yet so quiet.

Huh…

The night wind stirred, brushing the eerie figure's hair; beneath his mask, his deep eyes resembled a ten-thousand-zhang abyss—he seemed not to see Zhang Fan, turned, and walked toward the alley's mouth.

"Go!"

Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu's faces turned ashen; they spun to flee.

Huh…

Yet as they turned, a figure slammed down upon them, a massive hand descending onto their crown points.

"Y-you…" Xu Qinglai's eyes trembled, barely uttering a syllable.

Boom…

The sound of skulls cracking echoed through the night, crimson blood dripping to the ground as their bodies collapsed straight down…

Simultaneously, two soul-spirits were forcibly extracted by the eerie figure, fingers interlaced, crushed into a single mass, and devoured.

Crunch… crunch…

The quiet sound of chewing echoed through the grim, silent night.

In that moment, beneath the chewing, the silence grew even deeper.

In the long, narrow alley, one end and the other, Zhang Fan and the eerie figure faced each other across the distance; the latter turned, and in the shadows, he seemed to be watching Zhang Fan.

The next instant, he turned and walked away, out of Zhang Fan's sight.

Sss… sss… sss…

The dim streetlamp still flickered; the long, narrow alley held only Zhang Fan alone.

Meng Meng Qinghuan lay dead before him; at the alley's mouth, two corpses were growing cold.

"They're all dead!"

At this moment, Zhang Fan's brow tightened as he struggled to calm himself.

Three lives—gone in less than half a minute, all over in the blink of an eye.

Every moment, every detail of what had just happened was beyond his imagination.

"This is a massive disaster."

Zhang Fan exhaled slowly, murmuring to himself.

Meng Meng Qinghuan was no ordinary Daoist disciple—she was an elite of Qi Yun Mountain, a Great Master, and the Dao Alliance's appointed supervisor; in ancient times, she would have been an imperial envoy.

With such status, her death in Bai Yujing City would bring ruin to many.

As for Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu, their backgrounds were no less significant—but compared to Meng Meng Qinghuan, they seemed negligible.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fan dialed a phone.

"Hello, I need to report a crime!"

Moments later, the alley was sealed off; no one could approach. Officials secured the scene and began collecting evidence.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

Sui Brother Chunsheng arrived immediately, staring at Meng Meng Qinghuan's corpse, then at Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu's bodies—his mind reeled in shock.

Without exaggeration, this was the most shocking night of his entire career.

"I don't know—he suddenly appeared, killed Meng Meng Qinghuan, killed those two from Mount Qingcheng Mountain…" Zhang Fan shook his head.

Honestly, he truly didn't know—he was still stunned.

He couldn't understand why Ren Xiao had appeared here, or why he had suddenly killed these three.

"Do you know who that man was?" Sui Brother Chunsheng's face darkened, voice low.

"Possibly… possibly… Ren Xiao." Zhang Fan spoke uncertainly.

"Ren Xiao!?" Sui Brother Chunsheng's face twitched violently, his expression growing heavier.

"This is trouble. Do you understand how much trouble this is?"

Sui Brother Chunsheng glanced involuntarily at Meng Meng Qinghuan's body, now covered by a white sheet.

"I know." Zhang Fan gave a bitter smile.

He was the only survivor at the scene—and that alone made him suspect; like Fang Fang Changle before him, he couldn't be proven guilty, but neither could he be proven innocent.

"Go back for now. You cannot leave Bai Yujing City during this time." Sui Brother Chunsheng clapped Zhang Fan on the shoulder.

"I'll inform you if anything comes up."

"Alright." Zhang Fan nodded, watching the three bodies being carried away, then turned toward Hongfu Hongfu Huayuan.

…

Half an hour later. Jiangnan Province Dao Alliance Headquarters.

Third floor, Chairman's office.

"Dead? How could she be dead?"

Lou Lou Hechuan's raised voice rang from inside the room, his tone rising like his blood pressure.

Before him stood a dozen men, tightly packed.

Lou Lou Hechuan's face was the color of overcooked pig's liver—alternating red and blue, utterly ghastly.

He knew Meng Meng Qinghuan was scheduled to leave Bai Yujing City by high-speed rail tomorrow.

Even if she died outside Jiangnan Province, it would have nothing to do with him.

But in a single night, this black mark grew so massive it made his scalp crawl—he dared not imagine what punishment awaited him if he reported this to the Dao Alliance's central council.

"Zhang Fan reported it? Why was he there? Is he involved?"

Lou Lou Hechuan stared at the compiled reports and case details, his temples throbbing with bulging veins.

Original text under review!

Again, this Zhang Fan—why is he always everywhere?

"We reviewed the surveillance footage from Bai Yujing Hotel; tonight, Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu visited Meng Meng Qinghuan."

At that moment, a fat Daoist reported.

"I suspect Xu Qinglai and Lan Lan Tingzhu sought Meng Meng Qinghuan's help to confront Zhang Fan."

Sui Brother Chunsheng spoke: "That's why they appeared on the route Zhang Fan must take to return home."

"According to the on-site surveillance... Meng Meng Qinghuan, Xu Qinglai, and Lan Lan Tingzhu arrived at that alley fifteen minutes before Zhang Fan."

Another staff member, staring at his report, said gravely.

"Looking for trouble!?" Lou Lou Hechuan frowned tightly.

"Who killed them? Where's the surveillance?"

"That person's abilities are extremely potent and interfered with the surveillance."

As he spoke, Sui Brother Chunsheng handed his tablet to Lou Lou Hechuan.

Forces of the bizarre and supernatural disrupt magnetic fields and naturally interfere with electronic devices.

On the tablet, the image flickered and twisted, faintly revealing the scene of Meng Meng Qinghuan's death—but the shadowy figure was too blurred to determine how he struck.

"What about witness statements?" Lou Lou Hechuan's expression darkened with each passing moment.

"Zhang Fan said the man acted for less than half a minute—his methods were brutally violent..."

"Half a minute, three dead—all disciples of the Ten Great Dao Sects..." Lou Lou Hechuan gritted his teeth in fury.

He could imagine his phone would be flooded within the next twenty-four hours.

Mount Mount Qingcheng would call him.

Qi Yun Mountain would call him.

The Jiangnan Dao Alliance headquarters would call him.

"Zhang Fan was there because he was returning home—he was entirely passive, even a victim; we can rule him out as a suspect," Sui Brother Chunsheng concluded.

"I have a question."

At that moment, Ma Ma Buting, who had been listening silently, spoke up.

"If he was at the scene, why didn't he intervene?"

At these words, Sui Brother Chunsheng frowned.

"Didn't you see? He killed three people in under half a minute—so utterly ruthless. If you were there, would you step in?"

"We Dao cultivators must uphold..." Ma Ma Buting straightened his back, speaking with moral certainty.

"Now you're preaching? Stick to the point."

Lou Lou Hechuan glanced up and cut him off.

"My biggest question: if this man is so monstrous—he killed three people—why didn't he kill Zhang Fan too?" Ma Ma Buting said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Sui Brother Chunsheng frowned, speaking low and stern.

"Given his nature—he treats human lives as grass—yet he spared Zhang Fan alone..."

"Could I interpret this as some special connection between him and Zhang Fan? Or that they already knew each other?"

"Nonsense!" Sui Brother Chunsheng snapped sharply.

"Zhang Fan is a disciple of Zhenwu Mountain—a reputable sect. How many cases has he assisted us with in Bai Yujing City? The higher-ups have recognized him..."

"How could he possibly know such a monstrous killer?"

Sui Brother Chunsheng himself had awarded Zhang Fan his three golden banners—these honors were official recognition, irrefutable.

Moreover, Meng Meng Qinghuan and the others came to seek revenge; how could Zhang Fan have foreseen their arrival on his homeward path—or predicted the killer's appearance?

"Or perhaps the killer deliberately left Zhang Fan alive to send us a warning—or perhaps Zhang Fan was never his target..." Sui Brother Chunsheng listed several possibilities.

"Don't speak nonsense without evidence," Sui Brother Chunsheng said sternly to Ma Ma Buting.

"This is a reasonable inference," Ma Ma Buting countered.

"Enough. What did Zhang Fan say? Any leads?" Lou Lou Hechuan interrupted their argument.

"He said the man... is suspected to be Ren Xiao," Sui Brother Chunsheng said gravely.

"Ren Xiao!?" Lou Lou Hechuan's eyebrows twitched, his expression growing heavier.

After a moment's silence, he said: "For now, Zhang Fan is not a suspect—but for the next few days, he must not leave Bai Yujing City."

"I've already warned him," Sui Brother Chunsheng nodded.

"Everyone, stay alert. From now, within the next twenty-four hours, I need the full movement records of Meng Meng Qinghuan, Xu Qinglai, and Lan Lan Tingzhu over the past seventy-two hours."

"Who they met, where they went—even how long they spent in the restroom—I want every detail."

"Understood?"

"Understood!"

In the office, a sea of figures responded in unison.

Night deepened.

A black car pulled up before a private club on the city's outskirts.

The door opened, and an elderly figure stepped out slowly—it was Lou Lou Hechuan, Chairman of the Jiangnan Dao Alliance.

"Chairman Lou, Miss Yun has been waiting for you."

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit stepped forward.

"Take me to her."

Lou Lou Hechuan, his face grim, followed the suited man into the club and arrived before a door.

"Chairman Lou, Miss Yun is waiting inside."

The man bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Lou Lou Hechuan's gaze sharpened; after a brief hesitation, he pushed open the door.

Inside the elegant room, incense burned gently. A woman with a graceful figure and a neat bob was brewing tea. Seeing Lou Lou Hechuan enter, she smiled faintly—a touch of refined charm.

"Chairman Lou, you never come to me. What's so urgent tonight?"

"Someone is dead," Lou Lou Hechuan sat down, expressionless.

"Which day in Bai Yujing doesn't have someone dead?" the woman replied coolly.

"It was Meng Meng Qinghuan. You know she was sent by the Dao Alliance headquarters. The killer..."

"Ren Xiao!"

Lou Lou Hechuan leapt to his feet, glaring coldly at the woman.

"You promised me he wouldn't lose control!"

"Chairman Lou, have you ever heard of a stepmother who can control her stepson?" the woman smiled.

"You're not just a stepmother—you're the Uncle Xuan Palace Mistress of Wu Wei Sect..."

"Jiang Jiang Yunxian!" Lou Lou Hechuan's eyes burned as he gritted his teeth.

(End of Chapter)