Chapter 42: The Invitation

Lu Xiaofeng was shocked, rising abruptly: "She Wang is dead?"

"Yes... She Wang, the old man... was killed..."

"Xue Bing, what about Xue Bing?" Lu Xiaofeng suddenly appeared before the man, grabbing his arms with both hands, his strength unconsciously increasing.

"Miss Xue... she left with Yu Liancheng." The man grimaced in pain from Lu Xiaofeng's grip. Lu Xiaofeng realized his mistake, released him, and hurriedly pressed on: "What!? What does this have to do with Yu Liancheng?"

The man revealed a look of terror: "It was him... he was the one who killed She Wang... he was the one who caused most of our brothers to be killed or wounded!"

"What!!"

Not only Lu Xiaofeng, but everyone present showed expressions of astonishment.

"What exactly happened? Tell me from beginning to end, in detail."

"Yes... yes..."

When speaking of Yu Liancheng, the man seemed shrouded in a shadow of fear; his whole body trembled, cold sweat poured down, and his speech was stuttering.

In his description, Yu Liancheng had become a cold-blooded Demon who killed without blinking, ignoring all reason. The moment he entered the courtyard, he began a bloody massacre of their brothers. Finally, he broke into the room where She Wang was, killed She Wang, and took Xue Bing away.

Lu Xiaofeng and the others naturally did not fully believe his one-sided story, and one after another, they unleashed their movement techniques, darting toward the direction of Black Street.

These few were all top-tier experts of the current age, and before long, they arrived in the courtyard.

In the courtyard, people were still moving in and out, clearing away corpses. The stench of blood remained thick, with a nauseating, vomit-inducing odor. Pits and damaged walls were visible everywhere, a scene of utter chaos.

No one had entered or exited She Wang's room; they were waiting for Lu Xiaofeng to finish his investigation before cleaning it up.

Thus, as soon as Lu Xiaofeng and the others entered the room, they saw She Wang—they saw She Wang's corpse.

He seemed to have taken a palm strike to the face; his entire face was covered in flowing blood, blurred beyond recognition. But both Jin Jiuling and Lu Xiaofeng could recognize that this was indeed She Wang; there could be no mistake.

Lu Xiaofeng did not find Xue Bing.

Xue Bing had been taken away, but Lu Xiaofeng knew she had some connection with Yu Liancheng, so he was not overly worried.

"Such audacity! Although Yu Liancheng is a peerless expert, to kill with such fanfare is to show no regard for the Six Fan School." Jin Jiuling's face darkened: "Hmph, once I find his whereabouts and gather the experts of the Six Fan School, I will certainly make him understand what it means to be unable to escape the net of justice!"

Jin Jiuling naturally knew of Yu Liancheng's martial arts cultivation, but he did not know what She Wang had said before he died. However, if Lu Xiaofeng were to find out that She Wang had been acting under his instructions to drug Xue Bing, he would likely find it difficult to explain.

He turned to leave; although Yu Liancheng was formidable, could he really stand against the entire Six Fan School?

A figure in white suddenly drifted in: "Jin Jiuling, what are you going to do?"

Jin Jiuling cupped his hands: "Greetings, Prince. That Yu Liancheng is truly lawless. To kill and injure so many people in a single day, committing such a monstrous crime—his arrogance is sky-high. I am just about to send men to investigate his whereabouts and bring him to justice."

Nanwang Shizi let out a cold snort: "If I remember correctly, this is Black Street."

Jin Jiuling paused: "It is indeed Black Street."

"Among this group of people on Black Street, there is hardly a single one who is clean. And that She Wang has committed countless heinous crimes; even dying ten times, a hundred times, would not be enough to pay for his sins. Your Six Fan School has been derelict in its duty, never once managing to wipe out She Wang's gang—you are simply useless."

Nanwang Shizi said coldly: "Yet Master Yu punishes the wicked and eliminates evil, acting for the benefit of the people. You, however, want to arrest him. Does this not imply that you were already in collusion with She Wang? Otherwise, why would you act this way?"

"Prince, you misunderstand. I have no connection with She Wang, it is just..." Jin Jiuling was completely stunned; he truly could not have imagined that the Prince would speak up for Yu Liancheng.

"Since there is no collusion with She Wang, then there is no more to be said." Nanwang Shizi waved his hand and said coldly: "I have my own plans for this matter; your Six Fan School need not intervene."

"Yes." Jin Jiuling's mouth twitched. Although the Prince held a high position, he could not simply dictate to the Six Fan School.

But the Prince was indeed speaking the truth.

She Wang and his subordinates were a bunch of scum. If he used the pretext of avenging She Wang, he might instead get himself implicated and provide others with leverage against him.

Jin Jiuling's mind raced, and he suddenly said: "By the way, I recently investigated a person; perhaps she is related to the Embroidered Bandit?"

"Who is it?" Lu Xiaofeng pressed.

Jin Jiuling said: "Gongsun Daniang!"

Lu Xiaofeng frowned: "Gongsun Daniang?"

"Correct!" Jin Jiuling said: "The Female Butcher, Peach Blossom, the Five Poisons Lady, and Xiaohun Polao are actually all one person, and that person is Gongsun Daniang. Her sword technique is superb, and her pair of short swords are sharp and peerless. She also controls an organization called 'Red Shoes'. One of the members of Red Shoes is called Jiang Qingxia..."

"Jiang Qingxia, Jiang Zhongwei's sister." Lu Xiaofeng exclaimed.

"Correct, and only she could easily steal the treasury key," Jin Jiuling said decisively.

"So you are the Embroidered Bandit; why didn't I know?"

Just then, a clear and resonant voice suddenly rang out. Everyone followed the sound and saw that Yu Liancheng was standing on a nearby tree branch, no one knew when he had arrived. The branch only pressed down slightly, as if he weighed less than a bird.

And beside him was a woman who was both noble and beautiful. This woman also stood gracefully on the branch, displaying superb light-body technique, though the branch dipped slightly more than it had under Yu Liancheng.

"Don't say you didn't know; even I didn't know myself." Gongsun Lan giggled, her voice crisp and pleasant, possessing an indescribable, soul-stirring quality.

Everyone could not help but widen their eyes, truly unable to believe that a woman like this was the legendary, cold-blooded Gongsun Daniang.

"Kid Yu, where is Xue Bing?" Lu Xiaofeng glared.

"She is drunk, and she doesn't really want to see you right now." Yu Liancheng smiled slightly: "However, you will certainly be able to see her at Woyun Lou in two days."

Lu Xiaofeng frowned slightly: "In two days, at Woyun Lou?"

"Correct." Yu Liancheng pulled several invitations from his robe. The invitations moved without wind, as if controlled by several invisible hands, and floated lightly to land before Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, Ye Gucheng, and the others.

"In two days, at Woyun Lou, I will personally reveal the true face of the Embroidered Bandit. Everyone is welcome to attend."

Yu Liancheng's gaze turned back to Lu Xiaofeng, and a smile seemed to touch the corner of his mouth: "Little Chicken Lu, I have specifically left these two days for you. If you cannot find the Embroidered Bandit, then prepare to shave off your eyebrows and hair and become a monk in two days. If you truly have no leads, you might want to think carefully about the hints I gave you before."

Having said this, he wrapped his arm around Gongsun Lan's slender waist, and with a flash of his figure, they drifted away like a flying immortal under the moon.