Chapter 74 "Fatal Strike

"Consider him a friend, I suppose."

Yi Xiuzhu replied nonchalantly.

"A ginseng seller, we have professional dealings."

"Ahem!"

Deng Ying coughed, her face flushed.

A body seller.

Professional dealings.

That’s a lot of information to digest!

Looking at Yi Xiuzhu with her water-like eyes, Deng Ying was at a loss for words.

Li Jing and Lu Yangcheng, who were focusing on their meals and paying no mind, were also caught off guard by Yi Xiuzhu’s abrupt remarks.

With a quirky look, Li Jing hesitated to speak.

Seeing his cousin blush because of Yi Xiuzhu’s words, Lu Yangcheng could not resist and spoke up.

"Xiuzhu, it’s better to keep some personal things to yourself, no need to share them out loud."

Yi Xiuzhu frowned at his words.

"Private?"

Seeing that he was oblivious, Lu Yangcheng scoffed.

Just about to say something, Yi Xiuzhu noticed the strange expressions of the three present, and said secretly.

"My friend sells ginseng."

"...."

Lu Yangcheng held back his retort, his face full of disbelief.

"Could you be more explicit next time instead of being so cryptic?"

"Blaming me for your dirty mind?"

Yi Xiuzhu replied flatly.

Li Jing who wanted to join in, heard this and silently closed his mouth, not wanting to be labelled as having a dirty mind too.

Lu Yangcheng was left speechless.

Indeed, Yi Xiuzhu’s words were unclear and caused some misunderstanding.

But he had to admit that he was also at fault for misunderstanding.

While Lu Yangcheng was speechless, Yi Xiuzhu turned to Deng Ying, her cheeks still red.

"Captain Deng, it is understandable for Li Jing and Lu Yangcheng to be confused. You were at the scene last night, you must know that the victim was a man?"

?

Li Jing looked up.

The drowning victim was a man?

He looked at Deng Ying without a word, his face turning strange.

Lu Yangcheng also twitched at the corner of his mouth, looking at his cousin with furrowed brows.

"....."

Deng Ying covered her face.

Once she confirmed that it was a ginseng seller, she wanted to step in and move the conversation forward.

Unexpectedly, after rebuking Lu Yangcheng, Yi Xiuzhu turned around and delivered a "fatal blow" to her.

Her gentle image was almost completely shattered at this moment.

Not to mention Li Jing, but the way her cousin was looking at her...

Not daring to meet Lu Yangcheng’s gaze, Deng Ying spoke softly.

"Can we please skip this topic?"

"Okay."

Yi Xiuzhu nodded, then asked.

"Captain Deng, did you notice anything unusual at the scene last night?"

As he spoke, he added.

"My friend was an excellent swimmer and had a Second Realm Cultivation Level, it’s unlikely he would have drowned accidentally."

"There was nothing out of the ordinary at the scene. The victim was alone, and there were no other victims of drowning."

Deng Ying spoke with a straight face, replying.

"The verdict of accidental drowning was given by the patrol and the Forensics Department on the scene. They conducted an extremely meticulous investigation on the beach, so there should be no mistake."

"Well, I have no further questions."

Yi Xiuzhu replied, and continued eating his meal without saying more.

Li Jing frowned slightly at this.

Given Yi Xiuzhu’s nature, if he took the initiative to inquire, it’s likely that his relationship with the drowning victim was not as simple as just conducting business together.

Reflecting on Yi Xiuzhu’s previous words.

Excellent swimmer, Second Realm Cultivation Level.

Given these conditions, the likelihood of accidental drowning was indeed extremely low.

Looking at Deng Ying, who had just died of "embarrassment", Li Jing did not comment further at the table.

...

After a fulfilling meal, it was time for their shift.

Deng Ying said goodbye to the three of them and flew off towards the area supervised by the Night group.

Li Jing and the others also flew off towards the area supervised by the Heavenly King group.

Upon reaching the location and completing the handover with the on-duty members of the Patrol Group, the three of them began their first round of patrol.

After surveying their assigned area from the air, the trio landed on the rooftop of a seaside house for a break.

Taking advantage of the break, Li Jing started.

"Xiuzhu, about your friend’s incident..."

"I merely asked because Captain Deng happened to be there, don’t think too much about it."

Yi Xiuzhu replied.

"I’m not very close to that man. My family’s club often procures high-grade ginseng, so we have some dealings with him. His family didn’t agree with the conclusion of the patrol last night. They believe something is not right, and are looking for help anywhere they can. When his wife and daughter heard that I work in the Assistant Inspector Department, they came to me last night and asked if I could help with the investigation."

Knowing that Yi Xiuzhu’s relationship with the drowning victim was not that close, merely helping out, Li Jing nodded silently.

Lu Yangcheng sighed after hearing the details.

"It’s indeed hard for the victim’s family to accept, especially when the breadwinner of the family dies. The conclusion of an accidental death is definitely unacceptable to the mother and daughter."

As he spoke, he took out three cans of cola, handing one each to the two.

"It is indeed strange for someone with a Second Realm Cultivation Level to drown accidentally, but it’s not completely impossible. It’s just the way of life, when your time has come, you can’t escape."

"Life and death are fated, indeed."

Yi Xiuzhu could neither agree nor disagree, and accepted the can of cola.

"But since I accepted their request, I should do what I can. Leaving the mother and daughter in agony is not right. The dead are gone, they have to move on. There isn’t much I can do for them. At most, I can help them dig deeper into this matter to give them closure."

Li Jing responded with a knowing smile.

Yi Xiuzhu was just being Yi Xiuzhu, clearly wanting to do something for the mother and daughter, but phrasing it as if he wanted to give them closure.

If you didn’t know, you would think he was up to some treacherous act.

As they were chatting, a hundred sword lights came flying from the direction of the Outer Sea.

Catching sight of the sword lights, Lu Yangcheng raised an eyebrow.

"The patrol that went to the Outer Sea has returned, it seems that the source of the Monster Miasma has been taken care of."

"Yes, it’s about time."

Li Jing agreed, watching the hundred sword lights streak across the dusk sky towards the mainland before taking out his phone.

The fifteen-day period was here, he wondered how Liu Sisi was doing.

When will the Chicken Shop open?

Has her special constitution been figured out yet?

Just as he found Liu Sisi in his contacts, a beep sounded in his earpiece.

The voice of Kong Wu then followed.

"All members of the Patrol Ninth Group, please note, there has been a drowning incident at the Blue Sky Beach in the area supervised by the Night Group. Please go there immediately to assist."

He continued.

"Patrol and Forensics Department personnel are on their way, you should start evacuating the bystanders when you arrive. There’s something off about this incident, the accidental drowning incident yesterday also happened around dusk, stay vigilant and do not let your guard down."

Hearing this sudden contact, Li Jing frowned.

Another drowning incident? And at the same location and time?

This...

Pressing his earpiece, Li Jing responded.

"The Heavenly King Group has received the message, we are on our way to the scene now."

After responding to the communication, Li Jing put away his phone, nodded at Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu, and flew off.

Seeing this, the other two also followed.

Kong Wu’s communication was meant for all the members of the Patrol Ninth Group.

They also heard the instructions stated.