Chapter 23: The Cutting Edge

Back in the steward’s room at the Huo residence, Huo Yu stared at the massive, blood-red character for "Mourning" on the wall, his face ashen.

The old steward was no longer living in the main quarters, but in the steward’s room he had occupied ten years ago. That the culprit could abduct him during the brief window while he led his men out meant they undoubtedly possessed a deep understanding of the Huo residence’s layout and everyone’s living arrangements.

To be honest, the Huo family had been somewhat skeptical of the investigation results regarding Sheng Yuanyao. After all, Huo Shang had been buried; how could he possibly crawl out from underground? But looking at it now, there was no other possibility besides Huo Shang. He likely hadn't died completely and had been dug up and taken away by someone.

In reality, Lu Xingzhou didn't know the layout of the Huo residence or everyone’s quarters that well either. No matter how close he had been to Huo Shang back then, they would never have discussed such things.

He had studied it slowly from the heights of Mount Danxia, looking out into the distance... This was the primary reason he had stayed on Mount Danxia after returning to Xiazhou.

His subordinate hadn't finished speaking; there wasn't just a character here, but a drawing—a face with a slanted, mocking grin, the height of derision, practically a slap to Huo Yu’s face.

He had made such a grand show of returning to handle the Huo Shang matter, only to achieve nothing, and instead have Huo Shang break in, kidnap someone, and leave a mocking drawing. If this got out, Huo Yu would become a laughingstock.

"Can someone tell me, what is that bastard doing kidnapping the old steward?" Huo Yu’s voice was squeezed through his teeth. "If he wanted to kill the steward, he could have done it before. Why specifically sever the hand tendons and wait for me to arrive before kidnapping him? Is it just to slap my face?"

Everyone fell silent; no one could answer that question.

Only Liu Qingcang’s expression shifted slightly. "Did you apply the medicine for severed tendons to the old steward, Young Master?"

Huo Yu narrowed his eyes. "You mean, he deliberately severed the steward’s tendons just waiting for this moment?"

Liu Qingcang said in a low voice, "If Huo Shang is indeed Lu Xingzhou, then Lu Xingzhou is a cripple..."

"But can someone tell me, how does a cripple come and go without a trace!"

Liu Qingcang opened his mouth, but he couldn't answer that either.

"Why hasn't Uncle Fu returned yet?" Huo Yu suddenly realized. "Let's go, let's go see!"

The group rushed toward the small courtyard of the inn where Lu Xingzhou was staying. It was already empty, and Uncle Fu’s corpse lay horizontally on the ground, his eyes wide with terror, dying with his eyes open.

Huo Yu felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He had thought he was entering Xiazhou with overwhelming force, yet on the second day, a loyal servant who had followed him since childhood was already dead...

Uncle Fu wasn't one of the two fifth-grade guards, but he was a veteran sixth-grade Wu Xiu, a high-stage sixth-grade! To die so silently... even looking at the furniture in the room, it felt as if there hadn't been any intense battle at all. In other words, a sixth-grade Wu Xiu had died on the spot without even putting up much of a fight!

How did that cripple and the child manage that?

Liu Qingcang felt his entire body go numb.

He had always assumed Lu Xingzhou was devious in his schemes but lacked personal strength. Yet, seeing a powerhouse of his own rank dead on the spot, Liu Qingcang finally realized what kind of person he had been opposing for so long... His previous methods had truly been gentle; only after the Huo family arrived had he truly shown his cruel and ruthless side!

"Regardless, Lu Xingzhou is Huo Shang; that can be concluded." Huo Yu said decisively. "Issue the order: search the entire city, find Lu Xingzhou’s whereabouts! A reward of one hundred taels for anyone who provides information, and one thousand taels for Lu Xingzhou’s head!"

Huo Yu believed that under heavy rewards, there would be brave men, and the whole city would give the Huo family face... However, after the order was issued, the effect was not what Huo Yu had imagined.

If it was confirmed that Lu Xingzhou was Huo Shang, then this was an internal Huo family matter... The significance of an internal matter was that Huo Shang was also a damn Huo family member!

Who knew what the Huo family head was thinking? He was his own son, after all. It was one thing for the Huo family to kill him themselves, but for an outsider to do it? If the Huo family head decided that outsiders had no right to kill his son, then instead of merit, one would be burdened with the blood feud of killing his son. Who would be stupid enough to do that?

Even the City Lord, Xu Bingkun, whispered to his confidant, "This matter... just go through the motions on the surface. We won't get our hands dirty with this."

"City Lord, Sheng Yuanyao’s movements have been a bit strange these past few days. It seems she’s investigating something..."

"It’s normal for the Demon Suppression Division to investigate cases we don't know about. No need to be overly sensitive. Even if she discovers something, with Huo Yu here, she won't be able to do anything."

The order was issued for an entire day, and Xiazhou was in an uproar, looking like a bustling scene with scouts everywhere. Yet, by late night, there was not a single piece of news, as if Lu Xingzhou had never existed.

…………

"This time I’ve let you eat the whole melon, don't say I’m eating alone."

Lu Xingzhou, who couldn't be found anywhere in the city, was openly sitting in the small home of the Demon Suppression Division commander, leisurely unwrapping the bandages on the old steward’s hands and scraping off a layer of black ointment.

Sheng Yuanyao sat to the side, watching his actions with cold eyes. She didn't show any reaction, just said coldly, "Done pretending? Do you really think I wouldn't dare arrest you?"

"You were investigating the case for the peace of Xiazhou, but later, when you found out it was a Huo Shang matter, it wasn't a criminal act, but an internal Huo family affair. You didn't want to care about it anymore, did you?" Lu Xingzhou smiled. "The Demon Suppression Division doesn't handle these things anyway, and besides, Huo Yu seems to make you very disgusted. Why would you help him?"

"So you really are Huo Shang?"

Lu Xingzhou didn't answer.

"Then you have to tell me, how did you commit the crime back then, to the point where no matter how I investigated, it felt unrelated to you?"

"That day I went down the mountain alone and was questioned by you, creating a cognitive bias. You naturally thought I went to the Huo residence alone the day before... In reality, A-Nuo pushed the wheelchair every day. I returned to the mountain early to create an alibi, and A-Nuo stayed there and didn't return with me. You only checked if I was on the mountain at the time, you didn't ask A-Nuo."

Sheng Yuanyao pulled a long face.

As the lead investigator on this case, being misled by the perpetrator to such an extent was simply a disgrace to her career. Sheng Yuanyao really wanted to grit her teeth and arrest this guy; it was too infuriating.

Glancing at the Little Daoist squatting to the side, cupping his hands and smiling apologetically, Sheng Yuanyao felt even more incensed.

He was even acting with a fortune-telling banner there; so this little thing was the real culprit. Return my two taels of silver!

However, the experience of eating the whole melon was excellent, and it made her mood feel a bit better. Sheng Yuanyao said stiffly, "Your style of acting this time is very different from before, quite aggressive, and it seems you are deliberately putting yourself in the limelight. Is it to attract Huo Yu’s attention to pin him on you, so he has no mind to deal with the Shen Clan Trading Firm?"

"Hmm..." Lu Xingzhou said faintly, "The Shen Clan Trading Firm has nothing to do with this. They shouldn't have to bear this just because they rented my place. This is my own business."

Sheng Yuanyao said with some sarcasm, "You’d rather put yourself in more danger?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled. "When I am Huo Shang... it’s not as dangerous as imagined. At least you won't care, and most others won't either. As for the few who want to lick Huo Yu’s ass, how many of them are worth looking at?"

"You don't want to drag Shen Tang down, but you run over to drag me down? Are you addicted to pitting me?"

"After my identity was exposed, I felt you would be very angry that I played you... I came here actually to express my apologies. I’ll explain things to you and leave, just pretend you never saw me."

Sheng Yuanyao was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is scraping this ointment useful?"

Lu Xingzhou was sniffing the ointment on his fingertip, analyzing the ingredients, then shook his head. "Truly cold-blooded. The old steward worked his life away for their Huo family, and when his tendons were severed, they gave him this grade of ointment... This stuff is indeed beneficial for reconnecting severed tendons, but relying on this alone isn't enough. There must be internal medicine, which should be on Huo Yu."

Sheng Yuanyao asked curiously, "Isn't this what you went through all the trouble for? Are you not disappointed with this result?"

"Wrong. I didn't have high expectations for this to begin with. That it has an effect is already quite good; at least it’s useful for Shen Tang." Lu Xingzhou put away the ointment, his smile somewhat cold. "My situation is very serious; even the internal medicine they brought might not be of much use to me. I’m aiming for something else."

Sheng Yuanyao felt a chill in her heart. Since concluding that Lu Xingzhou was Huo Shang, everyone guessed he would come for the medicine Huo Yu brought to treat the old steward’s hands, but in reality, it wasn't that!

Her desire to eat the melon was stirred up again, and she wanted to ask but didn't know how. If she asked about this, then whatever Lu Xingzhou did afterward, she would become an insider, and the nature of things would change...

But she really wanted to ask!

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, somewhat amused. "Don't worry, after this matter, as long as I’m alive, I’ll crawl back to tell you the whole story."

Sheng Yuanyao felt much better and was very satisfied. "Consider you have some conscience."

Lu Xingzhou suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of which, the eyes of the whole city are on me now, and the City Lord is the same. This is a great opportunity for you to investigate the demon case; don't bother with Huo Yu."

"I know." Sheng Yuanyao nodded and added, "One more question."

"Hmm, go ahead."

"Why did you dare to judge that the Huo family wouldn't directly send a top-three-grade powerhouse to eliminate future trouble? If the person who came was strong enough, wouldn't your plan to lure people over to kill them be seeking your own death?"

"Hmm... do you know why I stayed in Xiazhou for half a year before making a move?"

"Why?"

"Waiting for the right time. For example, you coming as the commander of the Demon Suppression Division is one. You won't be like the local old oil-slickers who torture a suspect to death; you will investigate and report the Huo Shang matter according to what I want."

Sheng Yuanyao’s face turned black again. "And the second?"

"The second... there was a change in the capital last month, the Princess went missing. The capital should be in a tense state right now, with undercurrents surging. Unless the Huo family members are brain-dead, they wouldn't transfer a top-three-grade powerhouse at this important juncture... Are top-three-grade powerhouses Chinese cabbage? Losing one would make them lose an arm. Would they send one out at this juncture just to deal with an eighteen-year-old Huo Shang?"

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

"The one who came here is Huo Yu, so one can judge that the Huo family is treating this as training and experience for the young. The Huo family head might even feel that the experts sent are a bit too many, which would lose the effect of the training." Lu Xingzhou smiled. "He will regret this judgment for the rest of his life."