Chapter Ninety: Killed by Someone He Knew

“Th-this... this...”

Hao Donglai had rushed back from the hideout.

All they had gained were a dozen or so shattered ships.

Besides that, there were more than eighty Japanese raiders and pirates.

At dawn, they returned to South Mountain County.

What met their eyes was a battlefield of appalling carnage.

Yet the garrison soldiers were strangely exhilarated.

The Japanese raiders had been slain. The pirates had been slain.

At last, they could breathe a little easier.

As for the demons and specters that had appeared from time to time, they had long since vanished without a trace.

“We won?”

Hao Donglai felt no joy.

Instead, he fell into silence.

He had taken Baili Feihong for a chess piece, only to discover that he himself had become the other man’s piece.

So this was the source of his confidence.

“Something is wrong.”

“Baili Feihong’s cultivation is definitely not at the Aperture Refining Realm.”

“The traces left on the ground... could it be that Gongyang Yan made her move?”

At that moment, cheers erupted throughout the city.

Countless commoners flooded both sides of the streets.

Baili Feihong rode through on horseback, a saber hanging at his waist, galloping straight down the main avenue toward the city gate.

He was leaving.

As for the mess in South Mountain County, he would leave it to Hao Donglai.

“Thank you, Lord Baili.”

No one knew who began it, but someone dropped to their knees.

Then the residents lining the entire street all knelt in gratitude.

Baili Feihong merely inclined his head, a faintly pleased smile touching his lips. He slapped the horse’s flank and spurred it forward, swiftly departing.

The gratitude of ten thousand people was not something he could bear.

Nor was he sentimental enough to linger. Better to leave at once; once he was gone, the people would return to normal.

The fine horse raced on.

Soon he encountered the Demon Suppression Envoys led by Hao Donglai. It seemed they had reaped a decent haul, having captured several dozen men.

That counted as merit as well.

Hao Donglai’s future, at least, was secure.

Baili Feihong did not stop to greet them, but rode straight toward East Coast City.

He had been away from East Coast City for two days, and his hands were steeped in blood.

“It seems I was fated to be a butcher.”

He had slaughtered rather a great many.

And this was not the end, only the beginning.

Yet Baili Feihong’s heart was cold as iron.

He felt no discomfort at all.

Under the divine art of Blood Quelling the Mountains and Rivers, no vengeful ghosts remained.

“My lord, what do we do now?”

“Submit a memorial and claim the credit.”

Hao Donglai’s face showed gratitude.

“Report everything truthfully, but add one point: that our Demon Suppression Office cooperated with Demon Suppression Envoy Baili’s plan, withdrawing from South Mountain County to create the illusion of an empty stronghold, luring out the Japanese raiders and pirates and wiping them out in one stroke.”

The great merit could not be claimed, but a lesser share was harmless enough.

As things stood in South Mountain County, the advantage was now theirs.

At that same time, in East Coast City—

“Rest in peace.”

“Elder Tie...”

Gongyang Yan’s face was full of grief.

But she knew that grief was not the most important thing now.

What mattered most was finding out who had killed Elder Tie.

She lifted her gaze to all the members of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Every one of them had gathered.

More than a dozen demons had appeared within East Coast City.

That alone had already kept these people overwhelmed.

More terrifying still, those demons had seemed to appear out of thin air.

Their origin could not be found.

Their source could not be traced.

The Demon Suppression Envoys kept their heads lowered. They were exhausted now, and heartsick.

More than that, they were afraid.

The one who had died was a Guard Commander—

and the right hand of Lady Gongyang Yan.

“You, go in my stead and take a trip. Convey Elder Tie’s body back to his hometown.”

Gongyang Yan gave the order to Linghu Xue.

Linghu Xue nodded gloomily.

He and Elder Tie had been friends despite the difference in their ages.

“My lady, East Coast City is in grave peril right now. There are too many enemies hidden in the shadows, and our manpower is already insufficient. I fear for you...”

Linghu Xue understood all too well the position Miss Gongyang now faced.

“Do not worry. The heavens will not fall.”

Gongyang Yan’s voice was icy.

She was truly enraged now.

Urging his horse onward at full speed, Baili Feihong did not return home, but came directly to the Demon Suppression Tower.

The moment he stepped through the main gate, he sensed that something was wrong.

Then he saw the corpse lying in the great hall, and the familiar face made his heart tighten.

The Right Guard Commander, Tie Wuya.

His chest had been pierced through by a hand, his heart crushed to pieces.

“Not a demon.”

The thought flashed through Baili Feihong’s mind.

At that moment, Gongyang Yan noticed him as well.

“The matter in South Mountain has been settled?”

Her tone was very calm, yet Baili Feihong could hear the suppressed fury and killing intent within it.

“It has.”

His answer was concise.

He did not even attempt to claim credit.

The slaughter of several thousand Japanese raiders would be dazzling merit anywhere.

“Good. Since you have returned, the Right Guard Commander was murdered in the vicinity of Fairpeace Town. I am assigning this case to you.”

Gongyang Yan’s sharp gaze fell upon Baili Feihong. “I am giving you one month. Find the killer.”

“This subordinate accepts the order.”

Baili Feihong shifted his eyes away from Tie Wuya’s body.

The death of a Guard Commander was a major event for East Coast City.

“From today onward, you are the Right Guard Commander of East Coast City.”

Gongyang Yan withdrew the edge from her gaze and announced the news before all the Demon Suppression Envoys.

The expressions of the four Guard Commanders of Eastern Province changed at once.

“I object.”

Lin Zhiyuan, whose injuries had not yet healed, immediately spoke out.

Gongyang Yan struck backhandedly with a palm.

Terror showed on Lin Zhiyuan’s face, but the blow from across the air sent him flying on the spot.

Several teeth scattered across the floor, and the bones of half his cheek were shattered.

“This is not a place where you are permitted to speak.”

Gongyang Yan’s voice was frigid.

Azure Lotus Sword hastily stepped in front of Lin Zhiyuan and cupped his hands.

“Lady Gongyang, Brother Lin spoke rashly. Please do not lower yourself to his level.”

Only then did Gongyang Yan let the matter rest.

Azure Lotus Sword quickly signaled Tie Hushan with his eyes, telling him to take Lin Zhiyuan away.

“Miss, please take care of yourself.”

Linghu Xue bowed respectfully.

He summoned two men, had them lift Tie Wuya’s body onto a bier, and left the Demon Suppression Tower.

“You may all disperse.”

Gongyang Yan gave a wave of her hand.

Only then did the Demon Suppression Envoys, who had been crushed beneath her pressure, breathe out in relief and hurry from the building.

“My lady, how did Elder Tie die?”

Baili Feihong asked.

“A surprise attack. A hand used like a blade pierced his chest and crushed his heart.”

Forcing herself to remain calm, Gongyang Yan recounted the manner of Tie Wuya’s death.

“With Elder Tie’s skill, apart from this penetrating wound, were there any other fresh injuries?”

“The coroner has already examined him. There was only the fatal wound to the chest.”

Baili Feihong seemed to understand something and nodded.

“Have you thought of something?”

“It was done by someone he knew. It seems Elder Tie trusted the other party enough to expose his back to the killer.”

That was Baili Feihong’s deduction.

“A trusted acquaintance?”

Gongyang Yan’s brows drew together slightly.

Tie Wuya was an old hand in the martial world; he would not make such a crude mistake.

For that reason, she had always held one view: the killer was at least at the Nascent Core Realm.

In a single instant, the assassin had closed in, struck by surprise, and pierced Elder Tie’s chest.

The killer’s strength had been so overwhelming that Elder Tie had been slain before he could even react.

“My lady, how long has Linghu Xue been with you?”

Gongyang Yan’s expression changed slightly. “Enough. Without evidence, do not make reckless guesses.”

Baili Feihong cupped his hands in farewell, then turned and left.

Gongyang Yan stood in a daze in the hall of the Demon Suppression Tower.

Elder Tie had been at the peak of Spirit Refining.

With one foot already over the threshold of the Nascent Core Realm, even Gongyang Yan herself would need several moves to kill Tie Wuya.

“Uncle Linghu cannot possibly be the killer,”

Gongyang Yan said coldly.

At that moment, Baili Feihong turned back and returned.

“The Left Guard Commander is nowhere to be found. Elder Tie was sent home under the escort of two martial masters he arranged.”

Baili Feihong told Gongyang Yan a cruel truth.