"What?! Hu Er's entire settlement was wiped out?! How is that possible?!"
While Lu Sanniang stood up from her seat, her disbelief palpable, Hua Jinrong calmly fanned herself, then bowed to Lin Qingge with clasped hands.
"As expected of you, my lord. First one by one disappearing, then several at Wolong Mountain Villa, and now an entire settlement gone. At this rate, will entire cities start disappearing next?"
Lin Qingge, whom they had jokingly called the King of Hell, retorted without thinking, "If that were to happen, I'd send Master Hua away first!"
"Oh dear, I'm so scared~"
"Enough fooling around. Ling Han and the numbers will stay to protect the women. The rest will follow me to the crime scene."
An Yi to An Wu: ...
"I'll go with you."
Leng Ningyue said with concern, but Lin Qingge refused with a shake of her head.
"No need, Madam. Please watch Mo'er. I'll be back soon."
"Tsk, so sickeningly sweet."
Murong Bai clicked his tongue and instructed Qin Han beside him, "This trip is likely a wasted effort. Bring less, so as not to be wasteful."
"Yes, Young Master."
Led by Lu Sanniang, everyone arrived at the mountain where Hu Er resided. The usually bustling settlement was now deathly silent, with only the faint glint of flowing crimson visible...
Even Lu Sanniang, who had weathered many storms, couldn't help but clench her fists, her eyes reddening at the sight.
"Which bastard did this?! Is there any humanity left?! These were all living people, how could they be killed so casually?"
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are on Earth. In the eyes of some, the lives of ordinary people are perhaps held cheaper than ants."
Gritting her teeth, Lin Qingge uttered this sentence, her face grim and her expression as dark as water. Behind her, Yan Tinghao, fighting off a wave of dizziness, stumbled to the side and vomited profusely.
"My lord, I've taken a rough look. These people all died from a single fatal blow. And judging by the arrangement of the corpses, although everyone was fleeing in panic at the time of the incident, they were brutally and unilaterally slaughtered by the killer."
Lin Qingge, who had also noticed this, rubbed her chin and continued, "So, we can infer that the killer is a trained practitioner, and quite skilled at that?"
"My lord, I found more than one set of bloody footprints in the settlement!"
"My lord, I have a discovery here too!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingge turned to look at the bruised and swollen Lu Mingxuan. She seemed to ask a silent question with her eyes. After Lu Mingxuan nodded affirmatively, indicating he was fine, she gave instructions to everyone.
"Zhou Zeli, you will accompany Lu Mingxuan to survey the bloody footprints at the scene and verify the total number of perpetrators.仵作 Mu Rong, Qin Han, and Lin Yan, the three of you will be responsible for counting the bodies, with a focus on checking for any survivors. Ye Shengxiao, go scout the vicinity and see if there's anyone suspicious. Oh, and bring Xiao Hei along. After killing so many people, the killer must be covered in the scent of blood. Your nose isn't as good as Xiao Hei's, so let Xiao Hei help you determine the general direction of the search. Also, don't go too far; keep Xiao Hei and yourselves safe."
Ye Shengxiao, who was inferior to a dog and couldn't argue: ...
Seeing everyone diligently carrying out their duties, Lian Cheng Yi, who was the only one not assigned a task, said with some surprise, "Indeed, it is said that there are no weak soldiers under a strong general. If all government offices operated as efficiently as Lord Lin and his subordinates, there would be far fewer wrongful convictions in the world."
"General Lian praises me too much. I am merely fulfilling my duty in my position."
While Lin Qingge spoke, she had already reached Hua Jinrong's room. Stepping inside, she found it unusually messy. Clothes, in particular, were strewn haphazardly across the floor, yet the vanity and the bed nearby showed no signs of disturbance.
"Reporting, my lord. I've already checked. Apart from the wardrobe, the killer did not touch anything else in the room. The mistress of this room's jewelry box and the silver hidden at the head of the bed were untouched. Not only this room, but the one next door is the same!"
"In other words, the killer wasn't after money?"
Reaching this conclusion, Lin Qingge narrowed her eyes, stared at the scattered clothes on the ground for a long time, and then suddenly ran out. Seeing this, Lian Cheng Yi, acting as a temporary guard, though unsure of the reason, prepared to follow with his long strides. However, just as he reached the doorway, his path was blocked by a fan.
Lian Cheng Yi glanced coldly at the owner of the fan, who smiled nonchalantly.
"Master Hua, you can tamper with things from the shadows, and it's fine to secretly contact Prince Wu Cheng in private. But if you intend to do anything detrimental to my lord or his family, I advise you to abandon that thought as soon as possible. Of course, if you don't, that's fine too. Although it will be a bit troublesome, I don't mind keeping you, General Lian, here forever. After all, this place is surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, making it a perfect burial site~"
Lian Cheng Yi's eyes flashed with surprise upon hearing this, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Master Hua, this humble general does not understand what you are saying, nor do I believe that you, a mere pavilion master of Tian Ji Pavilion, have the ability to keep this humble general here."
"General Lian, as a mere advisor, how could I dare to speak recklessly in front of you? What I just said was merely a unilateral notification! However—even if I don't say it, you, General Lian, understand one thing. Although our lord is occasionally unreliable and not good at handling official affairs, he is a rare and good official. If anything were to happen to him, it would be a great loss to the people of Da Xia. Even though the well-being of the people of Da Xia has nothing to do with me. I imagine Madam Lin feels the same way. Therefore, even if you were to raise an army to rebel and slaughter everyone in the world, Madam Lin would probably not even bat an eye. But if even a single hair on Lord Lin or the young master were touched, no matter who it was, Madam Lin would deem them unworthy of continuing to live in this world~"
Lian Cheng Yi, whose arm was starting to ache again, looked at the man before him, who was speaking the most dangerous words with a smug tone. His expression was grim and uncertain.
Meanwhile.
Lin Qingge examined all the nearby rooms, her brow furrowed as she analyzed.
"All the rooms that were ransacked had their male occupants' clothing disturbed. The women's dresses and undergarments were all neatly placed in their original positions. Did they slaughter an entire settlement for a few sets of clothes? And the cheapest coarse cloth and linen clothes? But what would they want with men's clothes? To give them away? That would surely end any friendship instantly. To wear them themselves? What kind of person, and for what purpose, would wear used, second-hand clothes, especially ones so worn that they have patches?"
As if struck by an idea, Lin Qingge suddenly slapped her forehead and shouted towards Lu Sanniang in the distance, "Leader Lu, do you know where this settlement usually kept their belongings?"