The next day
At dawn, two heads hung outside Lei Hall.
A pool of dried blood lay on the ground.
"Ah!"
The Lei Hall servant opening the door saw the two heads and let out a frightened scream.
At his cry,
several people quickly appeared inside the hall. When they saw the two people at the entrance, they cried out in shock.
Whoever saw two heads hanging there so early in the morning was bound to gasp.
"That's Protector Lei Ao!"
Someone shouted in disbelief.
Another person quickly rushed inside the hall.
Before long, a man dressed in close-fitting clothes appeared at the entrance.
He was Lei Yao, one of Lei Hall's four protectors and a cousin of Lei Mu, the head of the Lei Family.
By seniority, he was a generation above Lei Ao.
Seeing Lei Ao's head hanging outside the entrance, his face turned dark. With a sweep of his palm, a streak of force shot out and severed the rope. Then he grabbed both heads.
"Search the entire city for me. Find Protector Lei's body!"
Lei Yao ordered coldly.
The people of Lei Hall immediately sprang into action, while Lei Yao carried the heads inside.
He also quickly sent word to Lei Family head Lei Mu and Second Master Lei Mo.
Lei Mu was both the head of the Lei Family and the master of Lei Hall.
Lei Family Second Master Lei Mo usually handled the affairs of Lei Hall.
But Lei Ao was Lei Mu's adopted son, as well as one of Lei Hall's four protectors.
Lei Ao had been killed, and his head had been hung at Lei Hall.
It was a humiliation to Lei Hall.
It was a matter that had shaken the heavens.
Soon, Lei Hall's men discovered Lei Ao's body in a small alley.
The news quickly spread throughout Qingcheng City.
Lei Hall was the most powerful force in Qingcheng City, and Lei Ao was one of its protectors—a major figure in the city.
Now someone had cut off his head and hung it at the entrance.
Everyone in the city was talking about it. As for the person who had been hung alongside Lei Ao, hardly anyone knew anything about him. Those gossiping hadn't even paid attention.
At the Su residence, in the rear courtyard,
Shangguan Ziyun stared at Xiao Lan in surprise. "You're saying that the killer was beheaded alongside Lei Ao and hung at the entrance to Lei Hall?"
"Do you know who killed them?"
They had only just tracked down that killer, and now someone had killed him—along with Lei Ao.
If their heads hadn't been hung at the entrance to Lei Hall, she would have thought the killer had been silenced.
But hanging them there seemed like an act of vengeance.
It probably wasn't the hidden person trying to silence them. Someone hiding their identity wouldn't have made such a conspicuous display.
"Our people were watching outside. They didn't hear any fighting inside," Xiao Lan replied.
"Who was watching over there? Bring her to me," Shangguan Ziyun asked after a moment's thought.
No sounds of fighting meant there were two possibilities: either the person had been drugged, knocked unconscious, and beheaded, or the attacker had struck before the killer could react.
But the man was a killer, highly alert. It seemed unlikely he'd been drugged and knocked out.
To strike without giving him any chance to react, the attacker must have been formidable.
"Miss, she's already in the secret chamber. She also brought back the killer's body," Xiao Lan said.
"Come on. Let's take a look at the body!"
Shangguan Ziyun's eyes lit up, and she rose to her feet.
The two went to a room on the first floor of the pavilion.
Xiao Lan pressed a hidden button in the room, and an underground passage appeared before them.
Luminous pearls were set into the passage walls, illuminating it brightly.
They walked for a while, until a stone door appeared before them.
Xiao Lan went forward and pushed it open. Beyond it was a spacious stone chamber.
A woman stood inside.
She was dressed in black, with an ordinary face and an average build, and held a long sword in her hand.
When the stone door began to open, her expression turned serious, and she instinctively went on guard.
She looked like someone who had spent years living on the edge between life and death.
But the moment she saw who had come, she stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, Saintess!"
"Is that the body?" Shangguan Ziyun asked, looking at the headless corpse beside the woman in black.
"Yes. When the news spread this morning, I went straight to the killer's room and brought the body back," the woman replied.
Shangguan Ziyun nodded and went over to the corpse.
"The killer was a Yellow Card Killer from Happy Pure Tower. There are no obvious wounds on the body, and there are no traces of force or drugs left inside."
"The attacker killed him with a single strike."
"I also went to the entrance of Lei Hall and questioned some people. Judging by their expressions and contracted pupils, they must have been shocked when the heads were cut off in a single strike."
"From what we've learned, the wounds on the two men are identical. The attacker used a blade—an incredibly sharp one, possibly of Artifact Grade."
The woman in black reported what she had found.
Shangguan Ziyun crouched beside the body, placed a hand on the wound, and examined it carefully.
Then she stood and said, "The blade probably hasn't reached Artifact Grade yet, but it must be close. Still, the attacker's swordsmanship and strength are extraordinary. He even killed a Yellow Card Killer from Happy Pure Tower without letting him cry out."
"What clues were there on Lei Ao's body?" Shangguan Ziyun asked about the other man killed alongside the assassin.
"Lei Hall is keeping a close watch over the body. I couldn't examine it," the woman in black said.
"Look into who Lei Ao has been spending time with lately," Shangguan Ziyun instructed.
Now that the killer and Lei Ao had both been killed, the only way to find any clues was to investigate Lei Ao.
Meanwhile,
Su Chen was waking up slowly in bed.
After killing Lei Ao and the assassin the night before, Su Chen felt at ease.
The lingering fragments of the original owner's thoughts had vanished in that instant, and his mind felt clearer than before.
He stretched.
Then he got out of bed.
Seeing that the number displayed beside the White Draw Cards had risen to three, Su Chen smiled.
After he killed Lei Ao and the assassin last night, Su Mengbai's mission was completed, earning him three White Draw Cards.
"Next, I need to find out why Qin Hao came to Qingcheng City."
"I hope Ling Tianhe can find out soon."
Su Chen thought it over.
Then he used all three White Draw Cards.
[Obtained 100,000 Silver Notes, 100 enhanced Qi and Blood Pills, and one Beginner Beast Taming Card!]
The first two items weren't anything special.
But the Beginner Beast Taming Card was impressive. It could let him tame a vicious wild beast.
Of course, success wasn't guaranteed.
Su Chen took out the items and put them straight into his Space Ring.
He pushed open the door. The sun was already shining brightly outside.
He headed out into the courtyard. With Steward Fu's arrangements, Su Chen finished breakfast.
This time, he ate alone. He didn't see Shangguan Ziyun or her maid.
After a quick breakfast,
Su Chen rode in a carriage to Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.
The news about Lei Ao had already spread that morning.
Even inside the carriage, Su Chen could hear people on the street talking about Lei Ao being beheaded and hung at the entrance to Lei Hall.
"Things are spreading nicely. What will the people behind Lei Ao—and Lei Hall—do now?"
Su Chen said coldly from inside the carriage.
Before you continue