Chapter 58

"So ruthless, who did it?"

Sha Lifei found it unbelievable when he heard this.

Even Li Yan frowned.

Wiping out an entire family was a great taboo in the martial world!

The conflict between the two sides was merely a struggle for interests. Although they had already torn off their masks, they still abided by the rules of the martial world and would not challenge the bottom line of the government.

Don't look at how noisy they were now; in the future, they might even shake hands and make peace.

Therefore, he had deliberately said he wanted to assassinate the Left Assistant Minister, pretending to be a reckless fool, just so he wouldn't get too deeply involved with the Zhang father and son.

What family friendship—when it came time to betray, they wouldn't talk about these things anymore.

How could such chaos break out just one day after he left?

The Zhang father and son weren't that stupid, were they?

"That's the problem!"

Shopkeeper Wan shook his head. "No one knows who did it. It was the neighbors nearby who discovered something was wrong in the morning and reported it to the officials, only then was it discovered."

"The whole family, including several personal disciples who were serving nearby, all had their throats slit, and it was done with a Guanshan Dao!"

Li Yan frowned. "A swordsman?"

"Who knows?"

Shopkeeper Wan sneered. "Everyone knows that swordsmen take money to sell their lives. If they don't want to reveal their identity, they can directly frame someone else. Anyway, Guanshan Dao blades aren't hard to get."

"Just today, people from the Zhou family ran to the Zhang Martial Arts Hall to make trouble, demanding they hand over the murderer. The Zhang family naturally wouldn't admit it, and now both sides are bickering."

"What's more critical is Zheng Xianhuai's identity. The government wanted to play deaf and dumb, but now, they have no choice but to be dragged into it."

Li Yan nodded, also recalling Zheng Xianda's identity.

The Eight Great Vajras of the Zhou family each had different identities.

Zheng Heibei and Yuan Qu controlled the two major gangs of hoodlums in the city, specializing in collecting money for the Zhou family and doing dirty work that couldn't be brought to light.

Wang Yao ran a medical clinic. Besides treating injuries for the Zhou family and the two gangs, he often provided free treatment to build a reputation.

Zhou Peide was mainly responsible for the operation of the Zhou family's martial arts hall.

As for the remaining four Vajras, two were chief escorts at the largest local escort agency, and the remaining two were instructors at the Shaanxi Shaanxi Shen Quan Hui, responsible for teaching boxing in various villages.

These people ate from both the black and white paths, forming the Zhou family's interest network.

Zheng Xianhuai was one of the instructors of the Shaanxi Shaanxi Shen Quan Hui.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a semi-official identity.

The Xianyang government couldn't *not* pursue it.

Sha Lifei said speechlessly, "The Zhang father and son would have to be brain-dead to take action against him."

Shopkeeper Wan also nodded. "Who's to say? But things have come to this, and even Zhou Pan can't suppress it. During the day, there were already people fighting with blood in the streets."

"To appease the situation, the court has also tacitly accepted that it was a swordsman who committed the crime. Right now, they are sending out yamen runners to search everywhere, and Little Feng Feng Shixiong Li is also one of the suspects."

"Just this morning, the yamen runners went to the Asking Dao Hall for a frantic search, saying you were fleeing in fear of crime and planning to issue a wanted notice, but later they were stopped by the head catcher Guan Wanche, and it was left unsettled."

Upon hearing this, Sha Lifei became anxious. "Isn't this clearly a case of having nowhere to dump the shit, so they're framing us!"

Shopkeeper Wan shook his head. "No way. Once the yamen opens its mouth, it doesn't matter if you did it or not; in any case, don't enter the city first."

"Everyone just stay here with peace of mind. Once the wind blows over, I will personally testify for you and clear this matter up."

"Then many thanks, Feng Feng Shixiong Wan."

"Fellow travelers in the martial world, it's only right."

Shopkeeper Wan exchanged pleasantries, ordered people to bring food and drink, arranged their accommodation, and finally busied himself with dismantling the lightning-struck wood.

Inside the room, the three of them looked at each other.

"It's fortunate we left early."

Sha Lifei said with lingering fear, "If we had left a day later and been blocked by yamen runners early in the morning and thrown into prison, and the Zhou family made trouble, we wouldn't be able to escape execution in the autumn."

Li Yan and Wang Fu also nodded in agreement.

They were people wandering the martial world, and they knew very well what kind of people those yamen runners were. In order to fulfill their quotas, they would do anything.

In the current situation, who the murderer was no longer mattered.

Whether there could be an explanation to appease the situation was more important.

At that time, to clear their suspicion, the Zhang father and son might even play deaf and dumb.

And they would die in prison without rhyme or reason.

"Let's hide for a few days."

Li Yan was lost in thought. "I suspect someone did this, very likely to take advantage of the chaos to sow discord and profit from it."

"Perhaps they will continue to take action..."

Although this matter had occurred, the three of them were not worried.

Such was the world; who didn't have a few rivals? Moreover, they had long planned to watch the fire from the other side of the river, so they simply rested in this Shangyi Village for a period of time.

Added to the fact that they hadn't slept all night yesterday, after eating a messy meal, the three of them blew out the lamps and rested early.

Of course, wandering the martial world, one must have a heart to guard against others.

The three of them slept in their clothes and took turns keeping watch...

…………

The candlelight was dim, and the sound of a woman sobbing was constant.

Zhou Bai lay on the bed. Although he had already awakened, his face was pale, and he stared at the roof beam with dull eyes, like a dead person.

His heart was indeed dead. Since he was young, he had carried the name of a genius, surrounded by flattery, and was arrogant, thinking that after a great victory in the martial arts arena, he would wander the martial world and make a name for himself.

At the foot of Mount Song in the Central Plains, the custom of practicing martial arts was rich, and experts were as numerous as clouds...

The chief escorts of the Jinzhou escort agencies all had unique skills...

Jiaozhou, Xiangxi, Jiangnan... among the Eight Dark Sects, strange people emerged in large numbers.

He had listened to these stories since he was a child, making him yearn for it.

However, now, it had all become empty.

He had become a useless person who couldn't even stand up to urinate!

A fat woman sat by the bed wiping away tears; it was his biological mother, the Jia clan.

And Zhou Peide stood at the door, his face gloomy. Hearing the woman's crying, he couldn't help but feel irritable and scolded, "What are you crying for? Is it useful?"

It would have been fine if he hadn't spoken, but at this scolding, the fat woman suddenly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and shrieked, "You old thing, our son has been beaten like this and you don't say a word, but you come to take it out on me!"

As she spoke, she pounced on him to scratch.

The Jia clan of the Zhou family was notoriously shrewish and cunning. In Xianyang City, she was always someone who only took advantage and never suffered a loss.

!.

Zhou Peide was holding back his breath, and in a moment of carelessness, his face was scratched by the Jia clan. He was immediately furious and slapped her twice.

The Jia clan was slapped to the ground, beating her chest and stamping her feet, wailing loudly.

Zhou Bai was also brought back to his senses by the two of them arguing. His face was flushed, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and his trembling hands gripped the quilt tightly. He stared at Zhou Peide and gritted his teeth:

"Father, avenge... avenge me!"

"Rest assured, Bai'er, I will definitely take that brat's head for you!"

Evil fire rose in Zhou Peide's eyes, and he turned and left.

After leaving the courtyard, Zhou Peide hadn't walked a few steps before he was stopped by a patrolling disciple, who arched his hands carefully and said, "Jian Sanye, where are you going?"

Zhou Peide said coldly, "Where I go, do I have to tell you!"

The disciple's face was awkward, and he hurriedly apologized. "Jian Sanye, don't be offended. It's just that Uncle Zheng just had an accident. The private secretary said someone wants to profit from the situation, so he told us to be alert at night and no one is allowed to go out."

"I have urgent business, get lost!"

Zhou Peide pushed the disciple away, but after walking a few steps, he turned back and threatened, "Just pretend you didn't see me. If you dare to talk nonsense, you know the consequences!"

"Yes, Jian Sanye."

The patrolling disciple's face was bitter, and he dared not speak again.

Zhou Peide snorted, turned, and left the Zhou family mansion through the side gate, disappearing alone into the night.

His footsteps were fast, and before long, he arrived at a residence.

The residence was brightly lit; it was clearly Yuan Qu's home.

Disciples were already guarding outside the gate. With a report, Yuan Qu walked over quickly and personally welcomed Zhou Peide into the courtyard.

Zhou Peide's face was gloomy, and he didn't waste words. After entering the main hall, he sat directly in the main seat and said coldly, "How is it? Have you found out?"

Yuan Qu's face was hesitant. "I did find some clues, but the matter is not easy to handle..."

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you stuttering!"

Zhou Peide slammed the table fiercely and scolded.

To tell the truth, he didn't look down on Yuan Qu at all, and even more so because the other party had indirectly caused Zhou Bai's injury. It would have been good if he hadn't taken action directly.

But there was no way around it; he controlled the martial arts hall in the Zhou family.

Ever since the disciple he sent was discovered, he had completely lost the trail of Li Yan and his group, and he was completely in the dark, so he had no choice but to find Yuan Qu.

"Yes."

Yuan Qu wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly arched his hands. "The news was still obtained from the Taixing Carriage Firm."

"Feng Feng Shixiong Zhou also knows that the Taixing Carriage Firm has always been at odds with us and has been colluding with Old Man Zhang and the others, so I sent someone to infiltrate."

"The secret sentry just found out today that these three rented horses to go to Chunhua County, not knowing what they were doing, and have now returned, hiding in Shangyi Village outside Xianyang City."

"Then why aren't you going to catch them!"

Zhou Peide gave a furious shout.

Yuan Qu said with a bitter smile, "Feng Feng Shixiong, please calm your anger. This Shangyi Village is not ordinary. That Shopkeeper Wan of the 'Sound-Hearing Pavilion' is not only a Mystic Sect craftsman and has ties to the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, but he is also an elder of the Xianyang Craftsman Guild."

"It's already chaotic enough. The Craftsman Guild seems inconspicuous, but there are many experts. If they are also dragged into this, I fear the Master won't spare us."

Zhou Peide frowned upon hearing this.

This Craftsman Guild belonged to the "Eight Crafts" of the Five Elements and Eight Crafts in the martial world. The carpenters, stonemasons, and bricklayers in the city were all under its management.

These people seemed to only do business and value harmony, but he knew some secrets—there were many Mystic Sect members inside, and they were very hard to provoke.

Going to the village to demand people—if they blocked them and said there was no such thing, there was nothing they could do.

Moreover, seeking revenge after the martial arts arena—this matter itself was not reasonable.

Thinking of this, Zhou Peide couldn't help but frown and stared coldly at Yuan Qu. "I know you have many ghost ideas. Since you said it, you must have a way."

"This..."

Yuan Qu looked around, chased his subordinates out, and then arched his hands. "There is a way. If it succeeds, not only can we avenge him, but the Craftsman Guild will have no reason to continue intervening. It just depends on whether Feng Feng Shixiong dares to do it."

Zhou Peide gave a miserable laugh, his eyes full of grief and indignation. "Things have come to this, what else is there that I wouldn't dare to do."

Yuan Qu said in a low voice, "I know a high-level expert of the Dharma lineage. As long as he takes action, he can lure that brat Li Yan out of the village, and then send swordsmen to surround and attack him, definitely making him die without a burial place."

"It's just that the price for this expert is not low."

Zhou Peide glanced coldly. "How much money? I've saved some over the years, and there's also a treasure to suppress the house. If it's done, I can give it to him."

"He doesn't want money."

Yuan Qu lowered his voice: "The person... wants young boys and girls!"

(End of chapter)