Brother Tongyu is dead; I have no heart left to distinguish right from wrong.

Prince Jiang's Estate's Young Master, Wang Lin, acted with utter lawlessness, sending his men to murder an innocent student of Shuidu Academy and seize the student's treasure.

After the crime was committed, he shifted all the blame onto that underling, while he himself remained free and unpunished.

Of course, this was the version whispered among the students and circulated among the common folk.

The official answer from the Two Rivers Prefecture Xuanjing Division was:

Everything was because that Martial Artist named "A Da" was simple-minded, impulsive, and quick to anger, and he killed the student of Shuidu Academy.

At the entrance of Shuidu Academy.

On a forest path, an old woman in plain cloth robes hobbled over.

Her face was aged and lined with wrinkles, her eyelids drooping weakly over blurry, dim eyes.

Those eyes were still, lonely, and hollow.

Leaning on her walking stick, she gazed at the pale white snowflakes around her, her expression utterly numb.

"Thud~"

Perhaps due to the misery in her heart.

She did not notice the pebble before her. With a careless step, she trod on it, her foot twisting sharply, and she fell straight to the ground.

She paid no heed to the pain of the fall, trembling as she rose, and looked toward the gate inscribed with "Shuidu Academy."

"Plop~"

She knelt on the ground, her hair streaked with white pressed against the icy stone steps.

"I beg the Academy, return my son his justice..."

Her voice was hoarse beyond measure. She could no longer squeeze out tears, so her eyes were profoundly dim.

She could no longer shout, only forcing a few words from her already bitter, raspy throat:

"My son Zhang Lun died a cruel death, and the murderer roams free... Heaven's justice is blind, Heaven's justice is blind..."

She had knelt at the gates of the Xuanjing Division's yamen.

But was ruthlessly driven away.

With no other recourse, she knelt at the Academy's entrance.

She remained kneeling, unable to rise.

Soon, many students gathered at the Academy gate.

"Alas~"

Some heard her words.

Finally, someone could not bear it and approached the old woman:

"Old mother, the case has long been closed... It cannot be overturned."

The Old Woman's expression remained numb, only repeating in a murmur:

"Heaven's justice is blind..."

"The man who killed your son was my guard, and he has already faced the law. Old mother, why do you persist so stubbornly? What's the point?"

A voice, fairly gentle, rang out.

The old woman stiffly lifted her head.

Wang Lin wore a trace of pity on his face as he came to the old woman's side, lightly placing his hand on her shoulder:

"Go back now, don't catch a chill."

"It was you... it was you... you killed my son! Prince Jiang's Estate's Young Master, Wang Lin!"

Hearing these words, the old woman jerked her head up, her voice extremely hoarse, but the grief and fury in her tone cut like blades across Wang Lin's face.

The old woman revealed her withered visage, her eyes filled with a venomous hatred that made one's skin crawl.

"You can talk nonsense about food, but you can't spout nonsense about words. Your son's death has nothing to do with me. If you keep raving like a madwoman here, the upright Lord of the Xuanjing Division isn't just sitting around eating!"

Wang Lin's voice gradually turned icy.

"What are you all gathered here for?!"

Qin Shouchang, as the Dean, naturally received the news immediately and rushed over without stopping.

"Dean, this old woman insists on slandering me..."

Seeing Dean Qin come out, Wang Lin put on an innocent expression.

"Silence!" Qin Shouchang glared darkly at Wang Lin. "Have you read the sages' books in vain?!"

"Dean, seek justice for my son... I beg you, Dean, seek justice for my son..."

Seeing the Dean, the old woman acted as if she had found a lifeline. With strength she didn't know she had, she kowtowed rapidly, one after another. Bloodstains appeared on her forehead in an instant, yet she paid them no mind.

"Old mother."

Qin Shouchang dared not accept such a courtesy; he quickly stepped forward and helped the old woman up:

"This matter has already been tried by the three courts and laid to rest. There are no hidden circumstances—do not listen to outside rumors."

Hearing this, the old woman trembled all over and raised her head in disbelief.

Qin Shouchang looked into those eyes, filled with despair, numbness, and daze.

His heart tightened in response, and he turned his head aside:

"Go back now. Do not make a scene. Zhang Lun, knowing this from below, would not wish to see you like this."

The old woman's lips quivered, a bitter smile spreading across her face.

She was about to speak, but overcome by grief, she suddenly fainted.

"Old woman... old woman..."

"Hurry, summon a physician!"

"..."

"Heh, Brother Tongyu died because of me, after all. This medical expense, I'll cover it."

Wang Lin looked at the fainted old woman, a grin spreading across his face, revealing a kind smile.

Zeng Anmin stood expressionless among the crowd.

Wang Lin's utterly hypocritical display was not lost on him.

Zeng Anmin said nothing, closing his eyes, sensing the ornate short blade suspended within the Purple Mansion space.

After a long moment, he opened his eyes, and deep within his gaze was a chilling cold.

"Since Confucian Law cannot punish you, it so happens I know a bit of the blade as well."

That night.

On the official road of Liangjiang Prefecture City.

Though the hour was late, a few carriages and sparse pedestrians still moved about.

A fine horse snorted, its hooves going "clop, clop."

The man on the horse was none other than Wang Lin, the Young Master of Prince Jiang's Estate.

A cold wind suddenly rose, and snowflakes began to fall.

"If I'd known it would snow, I'd have taken a sedan chair back to the estate."

Wang Lin's expression was extremely displeased.

He cast a faint glance at A Er, who was leading his horse.

A Er stroked his bald head and immediately grinned foolishly:

"Just two more turns and we'll be at the estate, Young Master. Bear with it a little longer."

"Oh." Wang Lin's face was blank as he slowly looked up.

He stared at the dark alley ahead, a restless unease rising inexplicably in his heart.

Wang Lin pulled a jade pendant from his waist—it was Zhang Lun's Shuidu Order.

Looking at the Shuidu Order in his hand, Wang Lin let out a sneer:

"That old hag thought she could get that Qin fellow to seek justice for her?"

"Never mind whether that Qin has the guts—even if she appealed before the Sage himself, what crime have I, the Young Master, committed?"

His voice dripped with biting mockery.

Hearing this, A Er pursed his lips. He stared blankly at the jade pendant in Wang Lin's hand, unable to understand...

What was so good about this pendant?

Because of it, his older brother had lost his life.

"There's nothing truly satisfying under heaven—the most satisfying thing is death."

A Er suppressed the restlessness in his heart and blurted out a thoughtless reply.

He was about to say something more.

But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something amiss.

Suddenly, a flash of silver light flared.

Splitting the falling snowflakes of the cold night into a fine line.

Even the breath he exhaled while speaking in the chill air scattered to both sides.

"Shh~"

A barely perceptible sound rang out.

A Er looked bewildered, still unaware of what had happened, when he heard Wang Lin above the horse staring in terror at his own neck:

"Shoe?!"

What shoe?

A Er wanted to say something more, but felt a searing heat radiating from his neck.

He looked down. Countless drops of blood were splattered across his collar.

Only then did he realize that what the Young Master had said wasn't "shoe"—it was "blood."

"Is this... my blood?"

As that final thought surfaced in his mind, he lost consciousness.

Thud.

The body hit the ground.

In the darkness, a figure wearing a hood slowly emerged.

It was a black hood, shaped into a cartoon cat.

If any transmigrator had been present, they would have inevitably quipped that the stern, impartial Black Cat Sheriff was being worn on this guy's head.

"You... who are you?"

Wang Lin stared at the unfamiliar hood.

This sudden turn of events caught him completely off guard. His face showed terror, but also the deep breaths of someone trying to calm himself.

The Black Cat Hood held a razor-short blade in his hand.

Without a word, he slowly, step by step, walked toward Wang Lin.

"Stop! Don't come any closer!"

Wang Lin understood the man's intent. He racked his brain, desperately searching for placating words:

"If it's money, if it's power—whatever you want, we can negotiate. Money? I can give it to you right now!"

His body shook uncontrollably. With trembling fingers, he pulled a stack of banknotes from his chest.

For a moment, he even forgot to spur his horse forward.

Slap!!

The Black Cat Hood reached out, grabbed Wang Lin's hand, and yanked him straight to the ground.

Thump~ Wang Lin landed flat on his back.

Banknotes scattered everywhere.

Tap, tap, tap...

The figure slowly walked forward.

"Don't..." Wang Lin frantically scooted backward on his rear:

"Don't do anything rash! I am the Young Master of Prince Jiang's Estate! My father is Prince Jiang, personally appointed by the reigning Sage!"

"Think carefully about who I am. If I die, the entire Two Rivers Prefecture will be in chaos. Rooting you out is only a matter of time..."

"Killing me ends it cleanly, but think of your own parents, your own family!"

His voice trembled.

The Black Cat Hood paused. The ornate short blade in his hand gathered a chilling edge.

Seeing him stop, Wang Lin thought his words had worked. Joy surged in his heart.

He quickly fanned the flames:

"Think it through. Think it through carefully. Don't make an irreparable mistake."

After a moment, a familiar voice sounded from beneath the black hood:

"A mistake? Since Brother Tongyu is dead, right and wrong—I have no heart left to distinguish them."

Wang Lin jolted violently. He looked up in disbelief: "You... you're..."

The sound cut off abruptly.

A blade flashed. A silver line sprang up.

Blood sprayed across the black cat's eyes, adding a sharp, vivid color.

"Uh..."

Wang Lin desperately clutched his throat, but could not stem the life draining from his body.

Thud~

The Black Cat Hood slowly crouched down.

He picked up a jade pendant from Wang Lin's waist. What else to say—he tucked it into his own bosom.

"Ah!!!!"

Only then did the terrified screams of passersby ring out on the street.