Bad News

Two Rivers Prefecture lay in the south, but even here the calendar had already turned to the twelfth lunar month.

Snow fell upon Jiangnan, and pear blossoms lined both banks.

After a single night, a thin layer of snow blanketed all of Two Rivers Prefecture.

"Not bad—I've already comprehended one hundred and sixty strands of Literary Qi. This Sea of Consciousness Space truly is a sharp tool."

As Zeng Anmin stepped out of the academy-provided lodgings, his gaze fell upon the shallow snow, and a smile tugged at the corners of his eyes.

This counted as one of the few good pieces of news in the two days since he'd entered the academy.

He only needed to gather another five hundred and forty strands of Literary Qi, then he could condense Vast Righteous Qi within his Sea of Consciousness and become a contender at the Confucian Path Seventh Rank, the Purple Mansion Realm.

In this side of the immortal cultivation world, that would finally give him a foothold.

And to add joy upon joy, his progress in the Martial Arts Realm was also quite gratifying.

In just one night, he'd vaguely felt the illusion of being able to open a dantian in his abdomen...

For breakfast, he ate three wheat cakes, two steamed buns, and two bowls of soup.

Zeng Anmin finally stretched, looked at Qi Dachun who was still wolfing down food, and said:

"You keep eating. This Young Master is off to class."

"Mmph... okay..." Qi Dachun stuffed a large flatbread into his mouth and continued burying his head in his meal.

Zeng Anmin walked into the classroom, took his seat, and quietly read his books.

But after reading for a while, the Teaching Master still hadn't shown up.

It was clearly past the time class should have started...

Zeng Anmin was immersed in his studies and didn't think much of it.

Before long, however, he heard the Teaching Master's voice:

"Wenhua, come here for a moment."

Zeng Anmin looked up. The one being called was Zhang Lun's deskmate.

What was strange now was that Zhang Lun wasn't in his seat either.

Since both of them were day students, they'd been seated together.

Zeng Anmin frowned slightly and thought to himself, Could Brother Tongyu have something going on at home today?

He didn't dwell on it and lowered his head to continue reading.

A moment later, he saw the student named Wenhua return with a pale face.

Zeng Anmin noticed and asked in a puzzled tone: "What's wrong? What did the Master call you for?"

The student flinched violently. After seeing Zeng Anmin, he slowly let out a breath, then pressed his lips together and said:

"Zhang Lun is dead..."

"The body is outside the academy gate, waiting for the Xuanjing Division to come investigate."

After saying this, Wenhua's face was ashen.

This was the shock and lingering fear of a companion he'd walked home with just yesterday, now suddenly gone without any warning.

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire classroom fell silent.

Zeng Anmin froze abruptly, the hand holding his book trembling along with it.

He stared hard at Wenhua and asked, word by word:

"Zhang... Lun... is dead?!"

He had only known Zhang Lun for two days, but they'd talked at length, and he'd already come to regard him as a friend.

Now, suddenly, news of his death arrived.

It gave him a sharp, deeply unreal sense of wrongness.

He stared at Wenhua and asked again: "Where's the body?"

"The Teaching Master has people guarding the scene, just not far from the academy gate... Where are you going?!"

Before Wenhua could finish, Zeng Anmin's body shot up from his seat, and he was already at the classroom door.

At the entrance of Shuidu Academy.

In a certain dense grove of trees.

Wang Daoyuan's face was dark and gloomy. He took a deep breath, his thick fingers gripping the saber at his waist.

Over the past two days, the looks his colleagues gave him had been grating on every nerve in his body.

A few days ago, he had chosen the wrong side in a power struggle and become the biggest joke in the entire yamen.

Now he had been demoted to an ordinary Red-robed Guard Patrol Captain in the Xuanjing Division.

The title sounded impressive, but in truth it was nothing more than a petty clerk that even a dog would look down on.

Yet what made things worse was that this morning, just after he had finished roll call at the yamen and was about to return to his quarters to rest, his subordinates informed him that a murder had occurred at the gate of Shuidu Academy.

He had rushed over at full speed, and when he saw the naked corpse lying on the white snow, his brow twitched slightly.

A student of Shuidu Academy.

In Two Rivers Prefecture, this was absolutely a major case.

If he mishandled it, he might well be dismissed on the spot.

But the scene before him was far too strange.

The student had been killed, and then stripped naked as an added humiliation.

Just how deep must the hatred be?

In an instant, the path of reasoning in his mind became clear.

"Patrol Captain Wang, any leads?"

Beside him, the Teaching Master of the academy wore a mournful expression as he stared at Wang Daoyuan and asked in a low voice.

Wang Daoyuan lifted his gaze, and when he saw the Teaching Master, he instinctively hunched his shoulders slightly and said thoughtfully:

"It should be a revenge killing. After murdering him, they stripped off his clothes. If it weren't a deep grudge, the Bandit wouldn't have gone to the trouble."

"Mm."

The Teaching Master's eyes flickered with a Sharp Light as he raised his head and looked into the distance:

"For now, we should first find out who Zhang Lun has been in conflict with these past few days, or who he has been in contact with."

"Right." Wang Daoyuan nodded slowly.

Just then, a jarring voice suddenly rang out.

"It's not a revenge killing, and the murderer is an idiot."

Zeng Anmin walked expressionlessly from the academy gate toward the crowd.

At these words, everyone furrowed their brows and turned toward the source of the voice.

When he saw Zeng Anmin, Wang Daoyuan's entire body jolted.

He instinctively wanted to call out "Young Master Zeng," but caught the extremely stern look in Zeng Anmin's eyes and immediately shut his mouth.

"Zeng Anmin?"

The Teaching Master's gaze instantly darkened.

This brat had just been punished by him yesterday, and today he was already so eager to stick his neck out?

"Why aren't you in the classroom studying? What are you doing here?"

His voice was extremely harsh.

Zeng Anmin paid no heed to the Teaching Master's words.

He stared at the naked corpse lying in the snow.

Zhang Lun's body had already frozen stiff.

In his hands, he was still clutching two familiar steamed buns.

Zeng Anmin pressed his lips together.

A friend he had been chatting with about life just yesterday was now separated from him by the boundary between heaven and earth.

He crouched down, carefully examining the corpse bit by bit.

Looking at the wide, unwilling eyes on the dead man's face, he sighed deeply in his heart.

Brother Tongyu, go in peace.

Anmin will surely bring the murderer to justice!

"If it's not a revenge killing, then what do you think it is, sir?"

Wang Daoyuan's attitude was extremely respectful as he cautiously looked at Zeng Anmin and asked.

Seeing this, the Teaching Master frowned.

Why was Patrol Captain Wang acting so strangely?

Zeng Anmin gave Wang Daoyuan a faint, knowing smile.

Then he slowly stood up, pointed at the scattered bloodstains on the thin layer of snow on the ground, and said:

"There's a lot of blood, consistent with the amount from a cut throat."

"So this is the primary crime scene."

After saying this, he slowly circled the corpse, his eyes blazing like torches as he stared at the body.

"There are no signs of a struggle at the scene. The victim was killed with a single blow."

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head: "In other words, the killer far surpassed the victim in both strength and speed."

"Moreover, aside from the victim's footprints, there are no others at the scene."

"Walking on snow without leaving a trace..."

"To accomplish this, the killer must be at least a Martial Artist who has entered the ranks."

"He appears cautious, deliberately avoiding leaving footprints or other clues, yet in truth, he has very clearly conveyed his own information to me."

As Zeng Anmin said this, a flash of ruthlessness crossed his face.

Mm?!

Hearing his voice, everyone abruptly looked up.

Their thoughts were instantly untangled by Zeng Anmin's words!

These details seemed simple, but without a careful examination of the scene, it would be difficult to analyze them so clearly.

"Let alone when Zhang Lun could have incurred the enmity of a ranked Martial Artist."

Zeng Anmin wasted no words, pointing at the marks on the ground:

"If it were a revenge killing, the killer, being a Martial Artist, would have toyed with a defenseless scholar like a cat with a mouse, humiliating him before killing him."

"That would inevitably leave traces. Yet look—last night's light snow has fallen, but the ground shows no chaotic marks..."

"Moreover, the victim's pupils are contracted, his eyes wide open—he must have been struck when caught off guard."

Zeng Anmin slowly rose and looked at Wang Daoyuan and the Teaching Master:

"Therefore, stripping off the clothes is merely a crude tactic by the killer to confuse us."

"He did this to conceal his true purpose!"

"What purpose?" Wang Daoyuan asked instinctively.

Zeng Anmin said coldly: "Zhang Lun's valuables!"

The crowd fell silent for a long while.

"Ridiculous!" The Teaching Master's voice suddenly rang out. He glared sternly at Zeng Anmin and pointed out a logical flaw in his words:

"If what you say is true, why would a ranked Martial Artist stoop to covet the belongings of a commoner like Zhang Lun?!"

Zeng Anmin was unhurried and gave a faint smile:

"..."