The Killer?

"Master."

Inside Spring Return Hall.

Elder Wu was writing a prescription when he heard the voice and instinctively looked up.

When he saw the young man at the door grinning at him, the old man froze for a moment. Then a hint of warmth crossed his gaunt, cool face.

He nodded to the young man before returning to his work.

After finishing the prescription, he handed it to the elderly woman waiting before him and said calmly, "Go up front and get the medicine. Take it as prescribed for ten days, one bowl a day, then come back to see me."

The elderly woman hurriedly said, "Thank you, thank you..."

Elder Wu waved her off, and she left gratefully.

Only then did Elder Wu turn to the young man at the door. "What brings you here today? Is the yamen not busy?"

The young man grinned. "No matter how busy I am, I still have to come see you, Master..."

As he spoke, he walked over and lifted the things in his hands. "Heh, I brought some good food. It's been ages since we drank together. Look, beef from Old Huang's Shop and Eternal Drunkenness from the Ji Clan... Your disciple spent several taels of silver on these!"

As he spoke, he set the things on the table.

"Master, please take the seat of honor!"

The young man quickly laid out the food and wine, then grinned and invited Elder Wu to sit.

Elder Wu shook his head, but still went over and sat down. The young man hurried to fill his cup, poured one for himself, then took the seat below him.

"Master, cheers!" The young man held up his cup in both hands.

Elder Wu raised his cup. The young man quickly clinked his cup against his master's, then drained it in one go.

"Fine wine!"

He praised it.

The Ji Clan's Eternal Drunkenness was probably the most famous wine in True Martial.

Elder Wu smacked his lips too, a trace of enjoyment crossing his face.

"Master, try this. It's freshly sliced."

The young man politely offered him the prepared bowl and chopsticks. Elder Wu nodded, took the chopsticks, and put a piece of beef in his mouth. He chewed and gave a slight nod.

"Not bad, right?"

The young man chuckled.

Elder Wu swallowed the beef and looked at him. Then he said evenly, "You've got something on your mind, don't you?"

The young man froze, then gave an awkward grin. "That's why they say you're always so perceptive, Master. I do have something..."

"Speak." Elder Wu looked at his disciple.

The young man sighed, his face full of helplessness. "Master, the matter you asked me to handle last time... It looks like it might be difficult."

The matter he had asked him to handle?

Elder Wu froze, then furrowed his brow. "What happened?"

The young man told him the whole story.

In the end, he said helplessly, "You know An Changyu and I have been at odds for a long time. Now he's been transferred to the Household Department, and he's deliberately obstructing me. There's really not much I can do... The magistrate is also too busy dealing with the refugee revolt to look after anything else... So..."

Hearing this, Elder Wu furrowed his brow and fell silent for a long while before asking, "Then what do we do now?"

"Even if I swallow my pride and go straight to An Changyu, I doubt it'll help. He's narrow-minded and vindictive; he won't just let what happened last time slide... So the only thing we can do for now is wait."

Zhou Xing said helplessly, "Wait and see how things develop. If Master Yang gets through this ordeal safely, then everything will be easy. It'll only take a word from him... Otherwise, we'll have to wait for the new county magistrate to arrive and see if we can find a way then."

Elder Wu's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Can we afford to wait?" he asked after a pause.

"It shouldn't be a problem."

Zhou Xing said seriously, "The refugees have already been suppressed, and the higher-ups could send someone over any day now... But things are chaotic in True Martial, and there probably won't be a large-scale investigation anytime soon. It could take who knows how long for everything to settle down completely... By then, things should be fine."

Elder Wu said nothing more. He seemed about to drain his cup, and Zhou Xing hurriedly refilled it.

"Master... who exactly is this Qin Fang? Why do you care so much about him?"

Zhou Xing asked tentatively.

Though Elder Wu had asked him for help, the old man had never liked explaining himself. So, although Zhou Xing had agreed to help, he still didn't know who the owner of this Identity Plate, Qin Fang, actually was.

After hesitating for a moment, Elder Wu shook his head. "I'll tell you later."

He didn't know how to explain it either.

After all, Qin Fang was still only a "registered disciple."

He was still hesitating and observing, deciding whether to truly take him into his school.

Seeing that Elder Wu didn't want to say more, Zhou Xing was curious but didn't press him. He and the old man continued drinking and chatting about this and that.

Most of the talking came from him.

As they chatted, the conversation turned to the case from that day...

"...The killer wasn't even a martial artist. He used nothing but a handful of Flying Darts to kill eight people in one night... Three of them were killed in Lan Gui Fang. In the end, he most likely escaped by staging a trick to make himself look injured..."

Elder Wu's hand froze as he raised his cup. He interrupted Zhou Xing.

"Tell me, who were the dead?"

Zhou Xing froze, then answered truthfully, "Wang Long of the Iron Tiger Gang... Wang Hu's older brother, along with a few thugs under him, his mistress, and a degenerate gambler called Scar-Head Li..."

Elder Wu's eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment's silence, he asked, "The killer didn't know martial arts and relied on Flying Darts? How did you determine he didn't know martial arts?"

"He climbed over the wall from the neighboring courtyard to get into Wang Long's home. He even fell when he landed and left marks by the base of the wall... Someone who knew martial arts couldn't have been so clumsy."

Zhou Xing replied.

Elder Wu's expression shifted slightly, his eyes flickering.

Zhou Xing noticed Elder Wu's expression and suddenly froze. He asked in a low voice, "Master... you don't happen to know who the killer is, do you?"

Elder Wu came back to himself, furrowed his brow, and drank his wine. "How would I know?"

Zhou Xing looked at him. Elder Wu furrowed his brow. "What? You're suspecting your own master now?"

"Uh... no, no..." Zhou Xing froze and hurriedly said, "How could I dare? You're overthinking it, Master... Let's drink, let's drink..."

Elder Wu ignored him and continued eating and drinking by himself.

After eating and drinking his fill, Elder Wu put down his chopsticks. "All right, I know about it. Just keep an eye on things and do your best."

"Uh, all right."

"If there's nothing else, go take care of your own business... I've still got a pile of things to do here."

Elder Wu waved him away.

"Okay, then... Master, I'll head out. I'll come see you in a couple of days."

Zhou Xing stood up.

"Mm, go on."

Elder Wu waved his hand.

Zhou Xing bowed again, gathered up the leftovers from the table, and then took his leave.

Once he was outside, Zhou Xing's brow furrowed tightly.

His eyes flickered.

Though his master had denied it and tried hard to cover it up, his professional instincts told him... his master might really know the killer.

He pressed his lips together and fell silent for a moment. Then he glanced back at Spring Return Hall before finally walking away, his steps heavy.

Elsewhere, after Zhou Xing left, Elder Wu's expression changed too.

After his eyes flickered for a while, he stood up and left Spring Return Hall, heading toward Ram Horn Alley.