Chapter 22

The man in black lowered his head and stole another glance at him.

You said you were just a client, yet you're angry that our rules are loose... and you're scolding me. Is this something a client can scold me for...

A-Nuo sat on the side, munching on a sweet potato, and sighed like a little adult.

"Forget it." Lu Xingzhou took a deep breath to calm his mood and said faintly: "Your mere branch in Xiazhou lacks the strength. Submit a request upward and have some experts come."

The man in black asked carefully: "What is the deadline, what are the requirements?"

"They must arrive before nightfall tomorrow. What level can come?"

"Tomorrow night..." The man in black calculated: "At this time, even if we use the fastest communication talisman to have people come, the distance is too far. At most, we can only send fifth-grade ones from the prefecture. If we also have to deliberately avoid those people, the number of people who can come is even harder to control. There might only be one we can confirm."

"That's enough. I didn't want to find anyone too high-level anyway. The higher they are, the easier it is for those people to know I'm here. Fifth-grade is just right, and it fits this mission." Lu Xingzhou managed a faint smile and handed over two gold ingots: "This is the deposit... I actually can't afford anyone higher right now."

The man in black's expression became very strange: "I can't accept this money..."

"No, you must accept it."

"That's too much..."

"With the extra money, take some people and help me secretly keep an eye on the Huo family's movements. Once Huo Yu goes out, you must immediately help me do one thing..."

…………

Sheng Yuanyao stepped into the Huo residence.

She had been working overtime for the past two days investigating the demon case, but she hadn't found any clues externally for the time being.

She hadn't yet acted on Dugu Qingli's suggestion to check on the death-row prisoners, not wanting to startle the snake, and was preparing to find a proper excuse to probe quietly. At this juncture, Huo Yu invited her to the Huo residence to discuss the Huo family murder case and the matter of Huo Shang in detail.

Sheng Yuanyao was exhausted from investigating the case and really didn't want to go. Honestly, as a ranked official of the Demon Suppression Division, and with Huo Yu being just a playboy without any official position, even a little bit of etiquette would dictate that Huo Yu should come to see her. For him to invite her so arrogantly was truly repulsive.

But unfortunately, her father was only a deputy, not the Chief. Only the Chief of the Demon Suppression Division was a first-rank high official. To get full respect from the Huo family, one had to remove the "deputy" title.

In order not to add trouble to her father, no matter how repulsive she found it, Sheng Yuanyao unwillingly entered the Huo residence.

Just as she entered the main hall, she saw a scene of decadent singing and dancing. Huo Yu was holding a maid and kissing her wildly, while another maid was peeling grapes and feeding them to him at every opportunity.

Sheng Yuanyao's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

This was too disrespectful... not to mention that she was a woman; this could almost be considered harassment.

There were even people who wanted to arrange a marriage between her and this guy. It was truly disgusting. Fortunately, her father didn't want to get too involved with the Huo family and had directly declined. Otherwise, just having discussed this matter could have become a stain on her record.

Lu Xingzhou's image inadvertently flashed through her mind... If he were Huo Shang, then none of the Huo family disciples could compare to him.

Fortunately, the Huo family wasn't brain-dead enough to turn the Deputy Chief of the Demon Suppression Division into an enemy for no reason, so Huo Yu didn't dare to actually harass her. Glancing at Sheng Yuanyao's dark face, Huo Yu finally didn't go too far. He coughed twice, let go of the maid in his arms, and straightened his posture: "Miss Sheng, please sit. It's been a few months since we last met, right?"

Sheng Yuanyao maintained a professional attitude and sat in the guest seat: "Let's skip the small talk... I've already written the details of the case very clearly in my report. Young Master Huo should have seen it."

"I have indeed seen it." Huo Yu looked at Sheng Yuanyao with a bit of surprise, thinking to himself that while this woman was beautiful, she had been a wild girl running around everywhere when they were in the capital, and he hadn't felt anything. Now that she had come out to be the head of a small place, wearing a cloak and holding a saber at her waist, with her pretty face stern, she actually had an imposing temperament that was inexplicably seventy or eighty percent more alluring. And it hadn't been that long...

"Since you've seen it, and now that the old steward is awake, asking him is much more direct than asking me. What do you want to ask by inviting me over?"

Huo Yu barely managed to hide the desire in his eyes, trying hard to put on a serious look: "Naturally, I'm asking for clues about Huo Shang. After all, Miss Sheng has been investigating for so long, you should have gained something?"

Sheng Yuanyao was expressionless: "Sorry, Yuanyao's ability is insufficient, and I really haven't found any clues, which is why Young Master Huo needs to take action personally, isn't it?"

Actually, saying this, Sheng Yuanyao was very confused about what Huo Yu was doing.

You, Huo Yu, came to investigate clues about Huo Shang and kill him on sight, yet you came with such a fanfare that the whole city knows. If Huo Shang were hiding here, he would have run away long ago! What did you come here for? Just to show off your wealth and power? It's simply putting the cart before the horse.

As a result, what Huo Yu said shocked Sheng Yuanyao even more: "If I, Huo, take action and solve this matter, does it count as a merit for Miss Sheng? How will Miss Sheng thank me?"

Sheng Yuanyao almost vomited: "This is Young Master Huo's own family feud. If I don't thank you, will you not investigate? Then Young Master should eat well and drink well, and return to the capital after you're done."

"I have never put that bastard in my eyes. He was a piece of trash back then, and how strong could he be now?" Huo Yu chuckled, then changed the subject: "I heard Miss Sheng investigated a cripple named Lu Xingzhou before. Could he be Huo Shang?"

Sheng Yuanyao clearly felt that there was a certain possibility that Lu Xingzhou was him, but she replied: "It shouldn't be. I know all the young masters of the Huo family, and they all have similarities in appearance. This Lu Xingzhou doesn't look like any of them at all, and I can't find a trace of your father's likeness in him."

"Can't appearance be changed? Or masked by magic?"

"...His face has no such traces." Sheng Yuanyao actually wanted to say that he looked much better than you, and it's your face that has been tampered with.

Huo Yu sneered: "His mother was a lowly maid. Perhaps he takes after his mother, who knows."

Sheng Yuanyao finally couldn't help but frown: "What does Young Master Huo mean by saying these things?"

"Better to kill the wrong person than to let one go. Even if it's not him, can't he be killed?"

Sheng Yuanyao stood up abruptly and said sternly: "As a commander of the Demon Suppression Division, I will not sit idly by and watch such indiscriminate killing of the innocent!"

"Just a joke, a joke. Why is Miss Sheng so nervous?" Huo Yu smiled and pressed his hands down: "I didn't expect Miss Sheng to be so righteous and heroic now. It's truly impressive. Hmm... it's almost lunchtime, why don't we have lunch together?"

Sheng Yuanyao endured the disgust in her heart: "Yuanyao still has official business, so I won't disturb Young Master Huo. If there's nothing else, I will take my leave."

Watching Sheng Yuanyao walk away, Huo Yu's gaze became somewhat ferocious: "Unappreciative."

Liu Qingcang emerged from behind and said with a fawning smile: "How is it? I told you there must be something fishy between Sheng Yuanyao and Lu Xingzhou. I highly suspect that Lu Xingzhou is Huo Shang and Sheng Yuanyao is covering for him. Otherwise, as a dignified commander of the Demon Suppression Division, how could she not find a single clue after investigating for so long? It makes sense if she is helping to cover it up."

"A cripple with mere seventh-grade cultivation, plus a child who just entered the ranks?" Huo Yu almost wanted to laugh: "It seems it was making a mountain out of a molehill for my father to send so many guards to me. Uncle Fu, you make a move, just don't kill him. Whether he is Huo Shang or not, he must be brought back to be confirmed, so as not to let the real Huo Shang slip through the net."

The old man standing behind him bowed slightly and quickly disappeared.

Huo Yu sighed: "Gang Leader Liu, you are also a dignified sixth-grade martial cultivator, leading a large gang. How could you be made into such a state by a mere cripple? In the face of absolute strength, schemes are useless. He pitted you, why didn't you kill him?"

Liu Qingcang also sighed: "How could I not want to? But either Sheng Yuanyao is obstructing, or it's Shen Tang. This cripple has quite the romantic luck."

"Romantic luck?" Huo Yu sat up a little: "Does that mean that Shen Tang is as beautiful as Sheng Yuanyao?"

Liu Qingcang was extremely sincere this time: "She is as her name suggests, like a blooming begonia, peerless in elegance... It's a pity she's also a cripple."

Huo Yu's eyes lit up, and he stood up abruptly: "Is it the Shen Clan Trading Firm that occupied your old station?"

Liu Qingcang was secretly happy: "Yes, but Young Master should be careful. She has a white-haired, blue-eyed woman by her side whose cultivation is strange and whose swordsmanship is extremely strong..."

"A white-haired, blue-eyed woman?" Huo Yu was not interested in this, frowning: "With such a monstrous appearance and being extremely strong, how could she be unknown? I'm afraid her strength is limited. Gang Leader Liu, you really are getting worse..."

Liu Qingcang thought that Huo Yu should be able to handle it anyway, so he didn't give any more warnings, just smiled fawningly: "Yes, yes, of course it will be easy for Young Master."

"Then let's go." Huo Yu shook his fan and walked out leisurely: "Let me see that peerless cripple."

Huo Yu led the guard team, and the group crossed the fields, heading straight for the Shen Clan Trading Firm.

Before they even reached the door, a subordinate called out in a panic from behind: "Young Master! Young Master! It's bad, the steward has been kidnapped, and a blood-red 'Shang' character has been left on the wall!"

Huo Yu stopped abruptly, looking at the Shen Clan Trading Firm close at hand with an uncertain expression, his face turning blue and white. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and decided: "Go back first. Huo Shang is more important. We'll talk about the Shen Clan matter later."

Inside the trading firm, listening to the subordinate's report that Huo Yu had led his men here but was called away by something, Shen Tang was silent for a long time, then said in a low voice: "My judgment was correct, wasn't it?"

Dugu Qingli was silent.

He actually really attracted Huo Yu's attention, exposing himself to the line of fire, just to avoid implicating them.

But this wasn't just not implicating them; this was already protection.

The abrupt request to treat her leg earlier was indeed a kind of "arranging affairs." In case he failed, the prescription for Shen Tang was still there.

"Keep an eye on Huo Yu." Shen Tang said faintly: "There will be a time for us to take action."