Dire News

Though Two Rivers Prefecture lay in the south, it had now entered the twelfth lunar month.

Cold snow descended upon Jiangnan, pear blossoms falling along both banks.

After a single night, a thin blanket of snow covered 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 weapon."

Zeng Anmin stepped out of the lodging provided by the academy. When his gaze fell upon the light snow, a smile lingered at the corners of his eyes.

This counted as one of the few pieces of good news he had received during his two days at the academy.

He only needed to gather another five hundred and forty strands of Literary Qi to condense Vast Righteous Qi within his sea of consciousness and become a Confucian Path Seventh Rank Purple Mansion Realm cultivator.

In this world of immortals and martial heroes, he would then have a foundation upon which to stand.

Better still, his Martial Arts Realm had progressed in a most satisfying manner.

After merely one night, he had vaguely felt as though he could open up a dantian within his abdomen...

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

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

"You keep eating. This young master is going to class."

"Mmph, alright..." Qi Dachun stuffed a large flatbread into his mouth and continued burying his head in food.

Zeng Anmin entered the classroom, took his seat, and read quietly.

Yet after reading for some time, the instructor still had not appeared.

It was clearly already past the time for class...

Absorbed in his studies, Zeng Anmin gave it little thought.

Before long, however, he heard the instructor's voice.

"Wenhua, come here."

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

Strangely enough, Zhang Lun was not at his seat either.

Since the two of them were commuting students, they had been assigned to sit together.

Zeng Anmin lightly furrowed his brow. Could Brother Tongyu have something to deal with at home today?

He did not think much of it and lowered his head to continue reading.

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

Seeing this, Zeng Anmin asked in confusion,

"What happened? Why did the instructor call you over just now?"

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

"Zhang Lun is dead..."

"His body is outside the academy gates. They're waiting for people from the Xuanjing Division to come investigate."

After saying this, Wenhua's face turned somewhat pale.

This was the shock and lingering fear of seeing a companion who had gone home with him only yesterday suddenly die today without warning.

The moment those words came out, the entire classroom fell silent.

Zeng Anmin froze abruptly, and even the hand holding his book trembled.

He stared fixedly at Wenhua and asked, word by word,

"Zhang. Lun. Is dead??"

Though he had only known Zhang Lun for two days, they had talked at length, and he had long regarded him as a friend.

Yet now, news of his death had suddenly arrived.

It gave him an intensely unreal feeling.

He stared at Wenhua and asked again, "Where is the body?"

"The instructor has taken people to guard the scene. It's not far from the academy gate... Where are you going?!"

Before Wenhua had even finished speaking, Zeng Anmin sprang to his feet and was already at the classroom door.

Outside Shuidu Academy.

Within a stretch of dense forest.

Wang Daoyuan's expression was grim. He drew a deep breath, his thick five fingers gripping the saber at his waist.

Over the past two days, the looks in his colleagues' eyes had stabbed at every nerve in his body.

Some days ago, he had backed the wrong side and become the greatest laughingstock in the entire yamen.

Now, he had been demoted to an ordinary Red-robed Guard patrol captain of the Xuanjing Division.

The title sounded impressive, but he was no more than a petty clerk not even dogs would spare a glance at.

What vexed him even more was that early this morning, just after he had checked in at the yamen and was preparing to return to his office to rest, his subordinate had informed him that a murder had occurred outside Shuidu Academy.

He had rushed over at full gallop. When he saw the naked corpse lying atop 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 murdered, and his clothes had even been stripped off to humiliate him.

How deep must the hatred have been?

In an instant, the thread of thought in his mind became clear.

"Patrol Captain Wang, have you found any clues?"

At his side, the academy instructor wore a sorrowful expression as he looked at Wang Daoyuan and asked in a low voice.

Wang Daoyuan raised his gaze. Upon seeing the instructor, he subconsciously lowered his shoulders and pondered for a moment before saying,

"It should have been revenge. After killing him, the murderer even stripped off his clothes. If it were not a bitter feud, there would have been no need to go to such lengths."

"Mm."

The instructor's eyes flashed sharply. He raised his head and looked into the distance.

"For now, we should first determine whom Zhang Lun had clashed with in recent days, or whom he had come into contact with."

"Right." Wang Daoyuan slowly nodded.

At that moment, a piercing voice suddenly rang out.

"It wasn't revenge, and the killer was an idiot."

Expressionless, Zeng Anmin slowly walked out from the academy gate toward the group.

At those words, everyone frowned and turned toward the source of the voice.

When Wang Daoyuan saw Zeng Anmin, his entire body jolted.

He instinctively wanted to cry out, "Young Master Zeng," but when he saw Zeng Anmin's exceedingly stern gaze, he immediately shut his mouth.

"Zeng Anmin?"

The instructor's expression darkened at once.

This boy had only been punished by him yesterday, yet today he was already so eager to play the hero?

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

His voice was extremely severe.

Zeng Anmin turned a deaf ear to the instructor's words.

He looked at the naked corpse lying in the snow.

Zhang Lun's body had already frozen stiff.

His hand still clutched two familiar steamed buns tightly.

Zeng Anmin pressed his lips together.

The friend with whom he had spoken freely about life yesterday was now separated from him by life and death.

He crouched down and carefully examined the corpse before him bit by bit.

Looking at the corpse's wide, unwilling eyes, he let out a deep sigh inwardly.

Brother Tongyu, go in peace.

Anmin will surely bring the murderer to justice!

"If it wasn't revenge, then what do you believe it was?"

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

The instructor frowned at the sight.

Why was Patrol Captain Wang acting so unusually?

Zeng Anmin gave Wang Daoyuan a faintly smiling look.

He then slowly rose to his feet and pointed to the mottled bloodstains on the thin snow.

"There is a great deal of blood, consistent with the amount that would spill from a slit throat."

"Therefore, this was the primary crime scene."

After saying that, he slowly circled the body once. His gaze was blazing as he stared at the corpse.

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

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head. "That means that whether in strength or speed, the killer vastly surpassed the victim."

"Moreover, aside from the victim's footprints, there is no trace of a second person at the scene."

"Leaving no trace upon the snow..."

"To accomplish that, the killer had to be at least a martial artist who had entered the ranks."

"He appeared to be acting carefully, unwilling to expose clues such as footprints, but in truth, he had made his own information very clear to me."

At this point, a trace of ruthlessness flashed across Zeng Anmin's face.

Hm?!

Hearing him, everyone abruptly raised their heads.

Zeng Anmin's words instantly straightened out their tangled thoughts!

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

"Not to mention when Zhang Lun could possibly have formed a grudge with a ranked martial artist."

Zeng Anmin did not waste words. Pointing at the traces on the ground, he said,

"If this had been revenge, then as a martial artist facing a helpless scholar, the killer would certainly have played cat and mouse, humiliating him before killing him."

"That would inevitably have left traces. And look, a light snow fell only last night, yet there are no chaotic marks on the ground..."

"Furthermore, the victim's pupils were slightly contracted, and his eyes were wide open. He must have been struck without any time to react."

Zeng Anmin slowly stood and looked toward Wang Daoyuan and the instructor.

"Therefore, stripping off his clothes was merely the killer's crude method of throwing people off the scent."

"He did it to conceal his true purpose!"

"What purpose?" Wang Daoyuan blurted out instinctively.

Zeng Anmin said coldly, "Zhang Lun's possessions!"

The crowd remained silent for a long while.

"Absurd!" The instructor's voice suddenly rang out. He glared fiercely at Zeng Anmin and pointed out the flaw in his reasoning.

"If it was as you say, why would a ranked martial artist care about the possessions of Zhang Lun, who came from a commoner family?!"

Zeng Anmin remained unhurried and gave a faint smile.

"..."