Rattle the Mountain to Startle the Tiger, Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake

When Qu Feng heard this, he immediately began to think back.

Though he and another Blood Changing Realm martial artist had joined forces last night, they had still been in constant peril against their opponent.

It could be said that he had truly not paid much attention at the time. Had the people outside not heard the commotion and rushed in at once, he likely would not have escaped the venomous hand either.

Under everyone's gaze, Qu Feng pondered for a long while before suddenly saying, "I think I remembered something. Before Brother Wang died, the other party grabbed him in his hand."

"At the time, I saw Brother Wang's face suddenly twist into a ferocious grimace, as though he were suffering unimaginable pain."

"After that, he was viciously hurled to the ground. Once we forced the other party back and saw the corpse, we discovered once again that a great deal of blood was missing from his body."

"To be honest, I can't be certain either, but otherwise, I truly don't know how the other party did it."

When everyone heard this, they could not help sinking into thought.

Yet even after racking their brains, they still could not figure it out.

Could someone really take so much blood in less than a minute just by holding someone?

Or did the other party possess the ability to suck blood, which was why this had happened?

But no matter what, since so many corpses were like this, the other party definitely had some method of drawing blood quickly.

Though they had never heard of such a martial skill or cultivation technique, that did not mean one did not exist.

As for why the other party did this, that was not something they could know at present.

Bai Ze glanced at the others, then said expressionlessly, "Since we can't make sense of it now, we'll understand once we catch him."

"Right."

The few people beside him nodded in agreement.

After they talked for a while longer, Bai Ze left with the others, leaving only Qu Feng behind.

After all, this was what they had discussed with the County Magistrate during the day.

They would use Qu Feng as bait, pretend to leave, then quietly return.

They would observe every move from the shadows. So long as the other party dared show up again, they would join forces and take him down.

After watching the others leave, the County Magistrate rose to his feet. He patted Qu Feng on the shoulder and said, "Qu Feng, you still need to be careful."

"After all, you're the only one I have left now. If anything happens to you too, I truly won't know what to do."

"Rest assured. No matter how things turn out tonight, I will definitely fulfill what I promised before."

"Thank you, County Magistrate."

"Mm. I'll be leaving first, then. I can't be of much help here."

"Take care, County Magistrate."

After reaffirming his promise and offering a few words of encouragement, the County Magistrate quickly left, leaving Qu Feng alone.

There were still seven or eight yamen runners guarding the entrance. If there was not even anyone watching the door, that would look even more suspicious.

Meanwhile, All the forces throughout Blackwater County dispatched their men and began a carpet search.

To ensure their safety, each team had quite a few people, for they were facing a vicious and ruthless criminal.

They held torches in their left hands and gripped broadswords tightly in their right, their eyes watching in every direction and their ears alert to every sound, not daring to relax in the slightest.

"Quick, go over there! Don't miss a single place!"

"If anything happens, fire a signal flare immediately!"

"Damn it, we have to find him today!"

"Open the door, now! Everyone inside, come out at once! If you don't, we're charging in!"

Every team knocked on doors from house to house. So long as there was movement inside and no one came out, they would immediately lead people inside.

Seeing this, many people were thrown into panic.

After all, with someone knocking in the dead of night, they thought their household had gotten into some sort of trouble.

Faced with all manner of questions, they answered everything they could, only hoping this group would leave quickly.

They were merely ordinary people—how would they dare conceal anything?

At the largest inn in Blackwater County, the door was also pounded with loud bangs.

"Open up, now!"

"I'm coming! Stop knocking! If you want to eat or stay the night, come back tomorrow!"

"What eating and staying? Open the door already! If you don't, I'm leading people straight in!"

Clearly, the people outside were not going to indulge them. If they refused to open the door, they truly dared to charge inside.

Hearing them put it that way, the waiter inside opened the main door. He wanted to see who had such nerve.

But the moment he opened it and saw the scene outside, he was completely dumbfounded.

More than ten people stood there with torches in hand and steel blades gripped tight, glaring at them with fierce momentum.

The attendant who saw this was so frightened he trembled as he said, "No, wh-what are you people doing? This is County Magistrate's property!"

"Cut the fucking nonsense. Have any outsiders come through here lately?"

"Yes, but this is an inn. Isn't it normal for outsiders to come and go?"

"Did I ask you that? Tell me, have you seen the person in this portrait?"

When the attendant saw the portrait handed over by the other party, he was dumbfounded as well.

What the hell was this?!

The portrait itself was fine, but the person in it was dressed in black and had half his face covered with black cloth. How was he supposed to recognize anyone from that?!

If not for the fact that they outnumbered him, the attendant truly wanted to go up and slap every one of them across the face.

But a wise man did not fight when the odds were against him. He could only pretend to examine it carefully for a few moments before shaking his head to say he had never seen the man.

The leader saw this and could not help rolling his eyes.

With the person in the portrait looking like that, even someone who had seen him would not be able to recognize him, would they?

Still, he did not say this aloud. He merely told the attendant to report to the county offices immediately if he saw the person in the future, then left for the next location.

At that moment, Bai Ze was standing not far away and happened to witness the scene, but he paid it no mind.

After all, the drawing had merely been made based on Qu Feng's description, and the other party had covered half his face. It was difficult to tell who he really was.

Bai Ze and the County Magistrate had them do this only to beat the mountain and startle the tiger, to stir the grass and alert the snake.

At the same time, they wanted to give the other party the impression that the most dangerous place was the safest place.

Once the other party saw everyone scattered throughout the city, it would also give him another opportunity to strike.

Most importantly, the fact that he had dared to enter the heavily guarded county offices and kill someone showed that he was extremely confident in his own strength.

And precisely because of that, barring any surprises, he would make another move tonight.

After casually wandering around for a while longer, Bai Ze silently returned to the county offices.

He was not the only one. The other Blood Changing Realm martial artists did the same.

All of them hid in the locations arranged beforehand. The moment they heard the signal from inside, they would rush in immediately.

In the courtyard, Qu Feng's eyes shone brightly. He gripped a massive saber more than twice as wide as an ordinary sword or blade as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

Time passed bit by bit.

Then, a yamen runner hurried in from outside and respectfully cupped his fists. "Commander Qu, the men below have searched all of Blackwater County, but found nothing."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Feng rose to his feet. He stared coldly at the man and barked, "What, can he fly into the sky or something?"

"Tell everyone below that no matter what happens today, they must find him and avenge my brother!"

"If you cannot find him, then you bunch of useless trash need not come back either!"

"Yes, yes."

The yamen runner answered at once and immediately ran back out.

Naturally, this had also been arranged beforehand, all to make the other party lower his guard.

While no one knew the other party's whereabouts, a black figure appeared atop the roof behind the courtyard.

He had seen everything that had just occurred. His gaze remained fixed on Qu Feng below, but for the moment, he had no intention of making a move immediately.