He Piaojian did not listen to the rest of what Xia Baoguo said. He stared fixedly at the longsword in his hand, his eyes full of admiration.
"A fine sword, a truly fine sword."
Xia Baoguo's face darkened. For some reason, he felt as though He Piaojian was insulting someone.
He Piaojian edged over to Xia Baoguo and whispered, "Where did you get this sword? Give it to me, will you?"
Xia Baoguo shook his head helplessly. "No."
"If you don't tell anyone, and I don't tell anyone, and I give the sword's original owner something in exchange so he won't tell anyone either, the boss won't find out I secretly kept a sword." He Piaojian muttered to himself. He truly loved this sword.
After several fierce attacks, the sword had not suffered any damage at all. It was simply perfect for him.
"It's not that I won't help you. The main thing is, if you take it, you might really not be able to hide it."
He Piaojian looked puzzled and waited for Xia Baoguo to explain.
"You know the sword's owner," Xia Baoguo explained, pointing to Fan Daoyi, who was resting against a tree at the back. "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"
He Piaojian immediately deflated. "Hmm... I'd better return it."
Xia Baoguo called in the group of Azure Dragon Guards standing watch nearby to search the place and handle the aftermath. He sent some others to capture the survivors who had escaped from the Wang Family and bring them back for questioning.
Meanwhile, Dao Er, having finished his act, was complaining nonstop in Fan Daoyi's head.
"The fourth time! That was the fourth time! What happened to letting me show off!? Fan Daoyi, I can't trust a single punctuation mark out of your mouth!"
Fan Daoyi refused to admit to this baseless accusation. "In my script, you were supposed to make your entrance, introduce yourself, open the door, drop a few lines, and then enter Guixu to end the show. You had nothing better to do, added your own scenes, failed to show off, and now you're blaming me?"
Dao Er would not listen and proceeded to offer a series of friendly greetings. Dao Yi grew tired of listening and blocked and muted him.
Just then, He Piaojian came strolling over with the sword. The closer he got to Fan Daoyi, the slower his steps became, reluctant to part with the sword in his hand.
When he was close enough, He Piaojian casually struck up a conversation. "Hey, nice spot. You can see the whole scene from here."
With that, He Piaojian gave his wrist a gentle flick and tossed the sword over. Fan Daoyi watched it casually and raised a hand to catch it in one fluid motion, without the slightest hint of hesitation. He gripped the hilt and deftly slipped the sword back into the bamboo staff.
"The Wang Family's affairs have come to an end for now. What are you planning to do next?" Fan Daoyi looked at He Piaojian and asked softly.
He Piaojian thought for a moment. The corners of his mouth rose in a sly smile. An idea that was perfect as far as he was concerned occurred to him, and a glint flashed in his eyes.
"The difficulty of this mission wasn't what it was supposed to be. Shouldn't I squeeze some more out of Old Xia?" As he spoke, he rubbed his chin, apparently planning in his head how to bring it up with Old Xia.
"Gentlemen." A call interrupted He Piaojian's daydream. An Azure Dragon Guard appeared and walked toward them. "Something has come up with Lord Horn Wood Flood Dragon. Please follow me."
The two exchanged a glance and followed the Azure Dragon Guard through the ruins, corridors, and stairways, finally arriving at the ancestral hall beneath the villa. Upon entering, a smell of formalin filled their noses.
When they walked over, a number of people were gathered around Wang Haotian's corpse, recording something.
"You're here." Xia Baoguo saw the two of them, and his deeply furrowed brow relaxed.
He Piaojian walked over to the corpse and examined it carefully. He noticed that Wang Haotian's body was covered in all kinds of wounds, seemingly inflicted by a variety of weapons. He could not help murmuring to himself, "What happened here?"
Xia Baoguo stepped forward and explained, "The exact cause is still unclear, but judging by the traces at the scene, Wang Haotian's body bears traces of all sorts of different weapons. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks... you name it."
He Piaojian could not help clicking his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What did this guy do to make heaven and people alike hate him? Did he fall out with the Four Fiends Cult, or did they kill him to silence him?"
As someone directly involved in the incident, Fan Daoyi stood quietly to one side without saying a word, his eyes innocent and faintly doubtful, as though he knew nothing about what had happened.
Besides, dealing with the traces had little to do with him. Dao Er had done it all.
Several people could vouch for him, giving him a perfect alibi. Who would suspect him?
Xia Baoguo continued, "However, all the wounds deliberately avoided vital areas. What actually caused his death was probably here." As he spoke, he pointed to the hollow in the left side of Wang Haotian's chest.
He Piaojian's gaze had remained fixed there. Where the heart should have been was now a ghastly cavity, with ragged flesh around it and the broken ends of bones clearly visible, a gruesome sight that struck terror into the eye.
If Wang Haotian had survived that, he would have had a tough life indeed. He could not help retorting to Xia Baoguo's analysis, "I'm not blind."
"Could you focus on the point? Is that the point? Shouldn't the point be why his heart was dug out?" Xia Baoguo was left speechless by He Piaojian's bizarre train of thought.
Xia Baoguo analyzed it on his own. "They deliberately avoided his vital spots, probably to interrogate him for information. The heart that was dug out may hold important information."
"Ah, my head hurts. I don't want to hear it." He Piaojian looked listless, his head drooping, showing no interest in Xia Baoguo's analysis. "You should find someone else for this sort of thing, not me."
Xia Baoguo looked away from He Piaojian and turned to the quiet Fan Daoyi beside him. Fan Daoyi stood there, his face pale as paper, drained of all color.
"Dao Yi, are you all right?" he asked with concern, his voice tinged with worry.
Fan Daoyi shook his head slightly. "I'm fine. It's just that the smell is a little unpleasant."
Under their gaze, he wrinkled his nose ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, trying to ease the discomfort caused by the pungent smell of blood mixed with formalin.
Only then did Xia Baoguo suddenly realize that this kid had only just come of age and had probably experienced no more than two games. How could he bear to look at such a bloody scene for so long? Perhaps he had been forcing himself to endure it all along.
Ah, those freaks in [Eight Trigrams] had made him look at everyone through an abnormal lens. Dao Yi was a good kid in [Eight Trigrams], normal and caring toward his elders.
A trace of guilt welled up in Xia Baoguo's heart. He turned and waved a hand at He Piaojian. "Forget it, forget it. I can't count on you. You and Fan Daoyi can leave first."
However, He Piaojian suddenly blurted out, "Fifty percent."
Xia Baoguo was momentarily bewildered. He paused, then thought back on He Piaojian's behavior and immediately understood. He refused outright. "That's illicit money."
He Piaojian immediately put on a constipated expression, frowning and clutching his chest in an exaggerated, comical performance. "What do you think is happening to me? I suddenly feel unwell."
"Twenty percent. That's the maximum I can request from the higher-ups." Xia Baoguo was numb. Unwilling to watch He Piaojian's terrible acting, he could only send him off quickly.
At that, He Piaojian's back stopped aching and his legs stopped limping in an instant. He straightened up. "Deal."
As they were leaving, Fan Daoyi smiled at Xia Baoguo. "Sorry to trouble you with the rest."
Look at that, what a good kid!
Listening to Dao Yi's words, Xia Baoguo sighed inwardly. Watching their departing backs, he sighed again to himself.
Such a good kid. He hoped He Piaojian would not lead him astray.
And our Fan Daoyi had successfully washed himself clean of every possible suspicion, cut the grass and pulled up the roots, and withdrawn after achieving his goal.