Chapter 48: Chapter Forty‑Eight: Heroine, You Must Protect Me!

Hearing that the perpetrator was an acquaintance, the flag officers on the scene immediately understood.

In the dead of night, the killer didn't go through the main gate but climbed over the wall to find Qin Gui; Qin Gui neither shouted for servants nor likely had much defense.

Thus he was easily killed without any signs of struggle; the most reasonable explanation is that this person obviously knew Qin Gui.

To conceal the fact that the killer was an acquaintance, he deliberately messed up the tables and chairs inside the house, creating the sound of a fight between two people.

When leaving, he wore the clothes that had long been prepared for Qiu Feng, thereby framing Qiu Feng's descendants or a vengeful corpse for the murder.

Although this is only a possibility and still needs evidence, with this assumption everything actually makes sense.

"Young Master Jiang is amazing!"

"Otherwise, come work as a coroner with us! Our two coroners just died."

"Pah! Is that even human speech?"

Yang Hanlu wondered:

"There's still a weak point: Qin Gui is also an expert, and the two coroners related to him were just killed; in such a special period, even if it were an acquaintance, he shouldn't be so unprepared, right?"

"That makes sense; if he could still be off‑guard at such a time, it shows the comer must be someone he absolutely never suspected."

Zou Zhen waved his hand:

"Hold on, hold on, hold on! Let's not worry about whether it's an acquaintance or not—we're getting off track! If it isn't Qiu Feng's descendants coming for revenge, who else has a motive to kill? Besides Qiu Feng's heirs, it seems no one else would have a motive to kill both the coroners and Qin Gui."

Jiang Yunzhou shrugged:

"That's right; to figure out the motive, we first need to clarify what exactly happened in the old Silver Carriage robbery case, so we can know who else is involved in this case."

Yang Hanlu nodded:

"I've already sent people to retrieve the files related to Qin Gui; they should arrive shortly."

Zhen Qing took out a talisman from her waist, waved it, and the paper instantly ignited.

The originally rising flame, visible to the naked eye, gradually turned green.

Jiang Yunzhou stepped back to Zhen Qing Shen's side and whispered:

"How is it? Great Heroine Zhen, any discoveries?"

Seeing the green flame, Zhen Qing also felt a bit strange and lowered her voice:

"There's no corpse energy gathering inside; instead, it seems there is a demonic aura."

"Demonic aura?"

Just then, a subordinate ran in with the files.

"Chief Flag Officer Yang, as you requested, we have looked again for the basic data on the old Silver Carriage robbery case, but the page about the relevant personnel is missing. However we found the file from that year for Chief Flag Officer Qin; during the Silver Carriage robbery, Qin's partner was the current Chief Flag Officer Fang Tao of the Northern Peace Office."

"Is Fang Tao at the Northern Peace Office?"

"I just asked; he's taking personal leave at home."

Everyone exchanged glances; this time they didn't dare delay, and Yang Hanlu immediately arranged:

"Leave two teams here to search the scene for other clues; the rest follow me to find Fang Tao."

"Yes!"

Worried that Fang Tao might also be silenced, everyone acted swiftly.

Zhen Qing mounted first; just as Jiang Yunzhou thought Heroine Zhen was finally fitting in, Zhen Qing didn't wait for him and spurred her horse to follow the troop.

"Hey!"

"Senior Sister, is this all right?"

"Don't worry; that guy could reach the roof last night, showing he has some lightness skill—let him run!"

However, seeing this, Yang Hanlu still stopped, pulled Jiang Yunzhou onto the horse, and the two rode together to catch up with the group.

Zou Zhen watched and thought to himself, 'Yunzhou, you kid are great—this morning you sat on one, now you've switched to another.'

And seeing Jiang Yunzhou sit on the horse of Yang Hanlu, the cold‑faced female constable, Zhen Qing felt an inexplicable irritation.

Being jealous is impossible, impossible for a lifetime; surely it's a love‑spell causing trouble!

Soon everyone arrived at Fang Tao's mansion; unlike Qin Gui's or the coroners' mansions, which are secluded, his place is right beside the bustling market.

Also fearing unnecessary panic, everyone dismounted low‑key and came to the gate.

However, no matter how they knocked or called, there was no movement inside the courtyard.

Seeing this, Yang Hanlu leapt first into the courtyard, and the others followed suit.

All they saw was the courtyard doors tightly shut; with a bad premonition, Yang Hanlu and Jiang Yunzhou walked toward the main hall door.

Jiang Yunzhou lifted his leg to kick the door open the old‑fashioned way, when suddenly the sound of a blade being drawn rang out from inside.

Clang!

"Watch out!"

With a warning, Jiang Yunzhou quickly grabbed Yang Hanlu and jumped backward.

Almost at the same time, the prepared Yang Hanlu drew her sword to block.

Immediately after, a domineering burst of qi shattered the doors and windows and swept outward in a horizontal slash.

Clang!

Yang Hanlu blocked with both hands on her sword, but the lingering force of the qi still cut Jiang Yunzhou and her arm.

Everyone inside was also startled, hastily drawing weapons to guard; as the doors and windows were sliced apart, they finally saw the interior situation:

The originally sealed main hall was in utter chaos; Northern Peace Office Chief Flag Officer Fang Tao's clothes were torn, he held a long blade, his face ferocious, eyes blood‑red, and upon seeing the outsiders he let out a beast‑like low growl.

Yang Hanlu glanced at her wound, raised her blade, and said:

"Chief Flag Officer Fang, what do you mean by this?"

However, Fang Tao seemed not to understand, tilted his head slightly, and the blood‑red qi surged again into his great blade.

Zou Zhen cursed:

"Damn, this guy must have gone insane, right?"

Seeing no response to his words and knowing persuasion wouldn't work, Yang Hanlu said in a low voice:

"Form the formation! Take him alive."

The people of the Zhen Ning Bureau behind him pressed their fingers onto the blade of the Wild Goose Feather Blade together, and the runes engraved by the Wuji Temple on the blade lit up with golden light.

As everyone released the Wild Goose Feather Blade, the long blades in their hands didn't drop but instead achieved an effect similar to sword control within a shorter distance.

Swish swish swish!

More than ten blades slashed at Fang Tao inside the house all at once.

However, Fang Tao was after all a Chief Banner of the Zhen Ning Bureau; seeing this, he swiped his finger across the blade.

Then he let out a loud shout, and the erupting qi force instantly shook off the incoming Wild Goose Feather Blade, followed by a swift, fierce slash.

Boom!

The doors and windows of the surrounding houses were also chopped to pieces, and Jiang Yunzhou, who hadn't prepared to reveal his cultivation, and Zhen Qing, who didn't want to get involved, jumped straight onto the roof.

Seeing blood still on Jiang Yunzhou's arm, Zhen Qing confirmed it was only a superficial wound and stepped forward, saying:

"You alright? With your skills, you'd better not get involved—first tend to your wound."

"Fine, fine, fine—then you, Senior Sister Zhen, gotta protect me."

Although Fang Tao in the courtyard managed to block the first attack, more blades quickly flew in, leaving wound after wound on his arms, forearms, calves, etc.

Even so, Fang Tao still didn't surrender, hacking left and right with his long blade, struggling to carve a path out.

If it were an open plain, two rounds would surely subdue Fang Tao, but setting up a formation in this courtyard is really inconvenient.

I thought that after failing to break through head-on, Fang Tao would choose to leap onto the roof to find an escape route, and the Zhen Ning Bureau personnel all leapt high, preparing to intercept.

But unexpectedly, Fang Tao then turned and slashed his blade at the corner wall of the small courtyard.

Crack!

The wall shattered on impact, and Fang Tao, gritting his teeth against the pain, charged straight out onto the street outside the courtyard.

Yang Hanlu hurriedly warned:

"Stop him! Don't let him hurt any civilians!"

Saying this, she was the first to step onto the wall and leap out in pursuit.

Having reached outside, Fang Tao seemed to realize he couldn't escape; seeing the Shangyang City residents who hadn't yet evacuated outside, he raised his blade, intending to kill someone as a shield.

Swish—thud!

At the critical moment, Yang Hanlu leapt forward, gathered strength, and flung her long blade.

The Wild Goose Feather Blade pierced Fang Tao's shoulder precisely, preventing him from swinging that blow.

Nevertheless, relying on his body's remaining strength and frenzied energy, the already severely wounded Fang Tao gritted his teeth and, turning back, dealt a lethal slash at the pursuing Yang Hanlu.

Yang Hanlu also focused, channeling strength into both hands, preparing to disarm him bare-handed.

Just then, a talisman shot out from the roof behind him, striking Fang Tao squarely in the chest; everyone then saw his movement suddenly halt, and he collapsed, powerless.

Yang Hanlu exhaled in relief, nodded slightly toward Zhen Qing on the roof, stepped forward, kicked the blade from Fang Tao's hand, and pressed his pressure points to make sure he wouldn't resist again.

But at this moment, Yang Hanlu discovered to her surprise:

Fang Tao had not only been hit with a binding talisman on his chest, but a silver needle was also stuck in his neck.