The Death of Fan Xingwei

The morning sun rose, casting a ray of light downward.

Inside the Town Martial Division.

Listening to his subordinate's report, Sun Wangxian's expression was incredibly grim.

"Dead? How could he suddenly be dead?"

"I don't know."

The subordinate sighed. "Come to think of it, he was quite pitiful. He had several mouths to feed at home, but very few people who could actually work and earn money."

"As a bailiff, he didn't dare offend anyone in the Division, living his life with extreme caution every single day."

"His salary wasn't even enough to support himself, yet he had to provide for a whole family."

"It's tragic!"

Sun Wangxian ignored this, continuing to ask a few basic questions. Even after receiving the answers, his tightly furrowed brows did not relax.

Noticing something was wrong, the subordinate asked, "Captain Sun, what's the matter? Is there a problem?"

Sun Wangxian did not answer. Instead, he inquired, "I heard a few days ago that someone died at the Government Office. How did he die, and what was his name?"

The subordinate thought for a moment.

"I don't know his name. I only heard he was a newcomer with average strength. His state of death was extremely miserable; he had been tortured to death."

"After his body was discovered, everyone gasped in horror."

"There was hardly a single intact spot on his entire body. He looked particularly wretched and terrifying."

He scratched his head, then realized something. "Oh, right, Captain Sun, you should have met him. He went on a mission with you—the one where you were punished."

"I see."

He nodded calmly.

Although the subordinate found it a bit strange, he didn't think much of it.

Not long after.

He An arrived as well.

Before he even entered the Town Martial Division, he saw Sun Wangxian from a distance, as if he were waiting specifically for him.

"Brother Sun, why are you here?"

Sun Wangxian grabbed him and, seeing that no one was around, whispered, "Kid He, something major has happened. You are very likely in danger."

"Me?"

He An looked bewildered.

"Yes, you. Do you know that the Town Martial Division has had another death, and it's someone you know?"

Inside the Town Martial Division.

People dying was perfectly normal.

But if the person who died was someone He An knew, that was somewhat abnormal.

After all, there were very few people he actually knew.

"Who is it?"

"Fan Xingwei!"

Upon hearing the name, He An instantly recalled what had happened that day and asked, "What exactly happened? How did he die?"

"I don't know, and don't worry about that."

Sun Wangxian waved his hand. "If it were just him who died, I wouldn't be this worried. But the crucial issue now is that he isn't the only one who has died."

"In the past few days, another person in the Division has died, and someone from the Government Office has died as well."

"Including him, this is the third."

He An immediately realized something was wrong. "Brother Sun, you aren't trying to say that all these people who died were the ones who carried out that mission that day, are you?"

Other than that, He An could not think of any other possibility.

After all, the only connection he had with Fan Xingwei was that mission.

Sun Wangxian nodded.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, a chill flashing through both their eyes simultaneously.

A few seconds later, He An broke the silence.

"Brother Sun, do you mean that the two people we let slip away during that mission didn't actually run off, but returned to take revenge?"

Sun Wangxian nodded.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't help but think that way.

Compared to Sun Wangxian's uncertainty, He An knew exactly what was going on. He even understood what the purpose of their return for revenge was.

Medicinal pills!

The Blood-Connecting Pill in his hand.

The other party had hidden the Blood-Connecting Pill clearly for his own breakthrough, wanting to become an Entering the Ranks Martial Artist.

Yet who could have imagined that it would be intercepted by He An.

Anyone else in his shoes would likely find this unacceptable. That was why, after recovering from his injuries, the first thing that person did was return for revenge, determined to find out who had taken his belongings.

Thinking of this, He An felt a sense of self-reproach.

If not for him, perhaps Fan Xingwei and the others would not have died at all.

He sighed, feigning ignorance as he said, "Brother Sun, regardless of the circumstances, we must investigate this matter thoroughly."

"If it truly is those people returning for revenge, we must capture him this time."

"Otherwise, not only might I die, but you and the other brothers might not necessarily be able to escape either."

"It is easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark."

"Even if your strength is great, there is still the risk of being assassinated."

Sun Wangxian agreed with this completely.

"Let's go. We'll check Fan's home first; perhaps we can glean some information from there." He waved his hand, leading He An toward Fan Xingwei's home.

Like Wang Zheng, Fan Xingwei's family also lived outside the city.

A family of six, all squeezed into a small courtyard, with hardly any valuables in the house.

Fan Xingwei did not die at home; his body was discovered on a street not far from his house.

The time of death was late last night.

He had gone out to use the latrine and was killed while walking outside.

Because of this, his body was not discovered until this morning.

Stepping into the courtyard.

The yard was in a state of utter chaos.

Seeing the uniforms the two men wore, an old woman immediately lunged toward them.

"My lords, avenge my son! You must find out who the murderer is, you must find them!" the old woman cried bitterly.

The sight made He An's heart tighten abruptly.

"Ma'am, please get up."

"Rest assured, no matter what, I will definitely find the killer and avenge Brother He's death."

After much tugging and pulling, the old woman was finally helped up. Her face was covered in tears. "Sir, tell me, who on earth would want to kill my Wei?"

"He was always so cautious, terrified of offending anyone. How could he... how could he be killed by some godforsaken murderer today!!"

"Wei, you died such a miserable death!"

Her wretched wailing echoed throughout the courtyard, and the others present all wore expressions of deep sorrow.

He An stood where he was, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Sun Wangxian was clearly experienced with this. After comforting the old woman, he had her family members take her inside first.

Afterward, he and He An began to inspect the courtyard together.

"Sir, nothing is missing from our home. Of course, we don't have anything worth stealing anyway. Who do you think would want to kill little Wei?"

"Is it possible he was killed out of vengeance?"

"After all, everyone knows that your Town Martial Division is the easiest place to make enemies."

Fan Xingwei's older brother speculated.

Sun Wangxian did not answer directly. Instead, he pointed around the courtyard and asked, "Why is your home in such a mess? Was it like this originally?"

The older brother scratched his head, his memory a bit hazy.

"No, although our family is poor, it definitely wasn't this messy before."

He guessed, "The state of our courtyard now must have been caused by the people from your Town Martial Division and the Government Office."

"Before you arrived, others had already come to inspect the place."

Sun Wangxian narrowed his eyes and made a mental note of this.

They walked into the house.

Compared to the courtyard, the interior was significantly cleaner.

However, both He An and Sun Wangxian noticed clear signs that the room had been ransacked.