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"Miss Phoenix Butterfly!"

Liang Yue lunged forward, wanting to help her up, but Phoenix Butterfly's chest was already soaked with black blood, and she was on her last breath, clearly not going to make it.

In her final moments of delirium, she struggled to lift her hand and touch her back shoulder.

Liang Yue followed her gaze and saw a purplish-black tattoo on her fair shoulder. It was a long, narrow, strange flower with three heads growing from a single stem, a type of flower he had never seen before.

Could this be what the man she mentioned earlier left for her?

In just a blink of an eye, Phoenix Butterfly's breathing stopped.

The beautiful woman who was full of life just moments ago was dead.

Before he could think further, he heard a series of whooshing sounds from outside. Swish, swish, swish, swish. In an instant, several figures appeared beside Liang Yue.

It seemed that seeing Phoenix Butterfly dead, the Evil Extermination Division personnel who were monitoring from outside stopped pretending and all revealed themselves.

Wen Yifan was among them.

She was still in her golden hairpin and red dress, stunningly beautiful, but her eyes held a sharp, murderous intent.

"Senior Brother Shang, were you all guarding the surroundings?" she asked.

"That's right," replied a young man in a blue and white robe with a broad forehead and cloud-like hair. He had a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, and his appearance seemed quite upright. "We have been monitoring Water Ripple Courtyard these past few days, and absolutely no suspicious person has approached this place."

Someone had already pushed Liang Yue aside and carefully examined the body, then reported, "Her death is consistent with Yu Wenlong's. Both were poisoned by the Heart-Destroying Gu."

"Heart-Destroying Gu again," the young man surnamed Shang murmured.

"What kind of poison is that?" Liang Yue asked.

The young man glanced at him and replied, "It's a type of Gu poison produced by Nine Yang. After a person takes it, their heart meridians will be devoured within moments, leading to death. However, before that, they won't feel anything."

Liang Yue got his answer and then turned to look at Phoenix Butterfly, who lay dead on the ground. "She was with me here the whole time and I guarantee she didn't eat anything."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt a little worried.

Could he be a suspect again?

What was going on these days? It seemed like wherever he went, someone died.

Fortunately, Wen Yifan was reasonable and said, "Liang Yue was someone I temporarily asked to help, and I've been in contact with him using the Following Jade Talisman, so he shouldn't be a suspect."

"I didn't suspect him either, it's just really strange how these people administered the poison," the young man frowned in thought, then said, "Since Phoenix Butterfly is already dead, let's call everyone from Mystic Sound Pavilion over for questioning."

Although they said this, Liang Yue knew that as soon as he returned, they would immediately investigate his identity and background thoroughly.

After all, he had appeared in situations related to Nine Yang spies twice in a row, and this time he was the only witness to Phoenix Butterfly's death.

And he had the potential to be a suspect.

If the Evil Extermination Bureau easily overlooked such a person, they wouldn't be trusted by the court to deal with Nine Yang spies.

It was only because he was considered to have been invited to help, and there was no direct evidence pointing to him, that they were being relatively polite.

Perhaps he was getting used to it, but his mood was not as tense as it was when Zhen Changzhi died last time.

Let them investigate.

Whatever.

While waiting for people to arrive, Liang Yue also chatted with the people from the Evil Extermination Division. He learned that the man's name was Shang Yunhai, a successor of the Dragon Transformation Branch of the Mystic Sect.

And Wen Yifan was a successor of the Sword Control Branch of the Mystic Sect, both from one of the eight branches.

The first to arrive was naturally Phoenix Madam, the manager of the pavilion. When she saw so many officials with murderous intent standing in the room, and then saw Phoenix Butterfly's corpse on the ground, her face instantly turned pale.

"What happened?" she asked tremblingly, "What happened?"

Shang Yunhai said gently, "Don't panic. Miss Phoenix Butterfly might be connected to a case and was murdered. We called you here to ask for some information."

His voice was also gentle and kind, making people feel at ease when they heard it.

"Ah..." Phoenix Madam looked at Wen Yifan, then at Shang Yunhai, "I knew this young lady with such appearance and demeanor wouldn't come here to make a living. So it turns out..."

"Did Phoenix Butterfly have contact with any suspicious people before? Do you know?" Wen Yifan didn't exchange pleasantries with her and asked directly.

"I'm not very clear. I'm just responsible for greeting guests at the front. The matters in each courtyard are decided by the young ladies themselves," Phoenix Madam replied, "Regarding Phoenix Butterfly's daily affairs, you should ask her personal maid."

Wen Yifan then said, "Call her over."

"Miss—" As soon as Phoenix Butterfly's personal maid came in, she immediately threw herself beside the corpse and cried out, "Miss, what happened to you?"

"You were in charge of Miss Phoenix Butterfly's diet these past few days. Did she eat anything of unknown origin?" After she had cried for a while, Shang Yunhai asked.

"Probably not..." The maid sobbed and replied, "The food Miss ate was all brought back from the kitchen by me. It was specially made for her by the kitchen master."

"We have secretly checked the wine and dishes that entered the Water Ripple Courtyard these past two days," Shang Yunhai continued, "There were indeed no problems."

Liang Yue observed the furnishings in the room on his own, looking at the row of bottles and jars on the shelf, which were covered in a lot of dust, and a pile of flutes of various materials in the box.

However, his identity was also suspicious, so he didn't dare to touch anything randomly.

"Miss..." The little maid lay beside Phoenix Butterfly, crying miserably.

"The Heart-Destroying Gu will take effect in a moment. In such a short time, the murderer shouldn't have gone far," Shang Yunhai said, "We still need to investigate the people in the Water Ripple Courtyard."

"First, seal off the Water Ripple Courtyard and take all of Phoenix Butterfly's things back for examination to see if there are any items related to Yu Wenlong." Wen Yifan still calmly gave orders, seemingly unaffected by death and failure in the slightest.

Liang Yue asked again, "Didn't Miss Wen say before that she noticed someone spying on your people? Did you go after them? Maybe there will be clues."

"After Junior Sister Wen sent the message, we sent people to follow and watch," Shang Yunhai replied, "Those two people didn't have any abnormal behavior. They left the Mystic Sound Pavilion after the performance and got rid of our people after a few streets. They definitely have cultivation, but it should have nothing to do with the murder case in the Water Ripple Courtyard."

"Is that so..." Liang Yue turned his head. It was another useless clue.

Phoenix Butterfly hadn't seen any outsiders for two or three days. Under the secret surveillance of the Evil Extermination Division, the only people who could have contacted her during this time were Phoenix Madam, the maid, and himself.

It seemed that if there was a murderer, it was most likely among the three of them.

He had a bit of a headache.

Why was he always involved?

The people from the Evil Extermination Division were already preparing to wrap things up. Shang Yunhai said to Liang Yue, "Captain Liang, thank you for your hard work this time."

"Sigh," Liang Yue sighed, "It's a pity I couldn't help. She even died in front of me."

"Those Nine Yang spies are extremely cunning and sly. If they were easy to deal with, they wouldn't have come to us," Wen Yifan looked at the dark night outside the window, her eyes like torches, "But since we are here, we will definitely dig them all out."

This night was far from peaceful.

Besides the murder that occurred at the Mystic Sound Pavilion in the Red Sleeve Brothel, a little earlier, in the nearby Fukang Ward's Peaceful Lane, a group of uninvited guests arrived outside the Liang family's gate.

"This is that kid's house. Hall Master Bai instructed us to break his limbs, throw him outside the city, and remember not to reveal our identities. If things go wrong and we get caught, just say it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and don't involve the gang. The higher-ups will get you out quickly," the leading black-clothed man ordered.

"Don't worry, we're all new faces recruited from out of town. Even if that kid sees us, he definitely won't recognize anyone," a scar-faced man with a fierce aura chuckled.

"Don't be careless. Things are tense right now, and this kid is somewhat of an official figure. Be absolutely cautious," the leader glared at him and warned again.

Another black-clothed man laughed, "A subordinate guard is considered an official figure? Haha."

The leader frowned and said, "Don't underestimate this task just because it seems simple; it's very important. If you mess this up, and Hall Master Bai reports it, you'll be waiting for the gang leader's punishment."

The few black-clothed men opposite immediately grimaced and stopped joking around.

"Hide yourselves well in a moment and wait patiently. The Imperial Capital Guard's time to come home is almost here. If someone wearing the Imperial Capital Guard uniform comes through this door in a bit, act immediately. Absolutely do not let him make any sound, understand?"

"Understood!" everyone responded in a low voice.

In the narrow Peaceful Lane, the black-clothed men all hid in the shadows opposite the Liang family's gate. At a glance, not a single flaw could be seen.

The current information was that the subordinate guard had a Second Realm martial arts cultivation, so the team the Dragon Tooth Gang sent this time consisted of a Third Realm martial artist leading several First and Second Realm thugs. It was basically foolproof.

To ensure this matter was 100% secret and wouldn't involve the Dragon Tooth Gang even if exposed, the people who came were all fierce thugs recruited from out of town who hadn't met anyone in Fukang Ward. Although none of them had seen Liang Yue, this was the safest way, meaning Liang Yue definitely hadn't seen them either.

It didn't matter that they didn't recognize the target; they had found his doorstep, so they wouldn't hit the wrong person.

These people the Dragon Tooth Gang's Tiger Hall recruited from out of town were all desperate individuals who specialized in dirty work, each with several murders on their backs. They were like tigers and wolves waiting to hunt, patiently lurking in the shadows.

After a moment, a figure flashed at the entrance of the lane.

Everyone immediately held their breath, concealing their aura to prevent their surging vital energy and heartbeat from being sensed by a martial artist.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of the approaching person's footsteps on the gravel continued until they stopped in front of the Liang family's gate and raised a hand, about to open the door.

The few black-clothed men looked at the back of this person, who was indeed wearing an Imperial Capital Guard uniform.

The target was home!

The leader waved his hand, giving the signal, and everyone instantly pounced out.

Act!

Good morning.