The Murderer?

"Master."

Inside Spring Return Hall.

Elder Wu, who was busy writing a prescription, subconsciously looked up at the sound.

When he saw the young man grinning at him from the doorway, the little old man paused for a moment, then a flicker of softness crossed his austere, cold face.

After nodding at the youth in the doorway, he returned to his work.

Once he finished the prescription, he handed it to the old woman waiting before him and said calmly, "Go to the front to have this filled. Take it for ten days, one bowl a day, and come back to see me after ten days."

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

Elder Wu waved his hand, and the old woman left in gratitude.

Only then did Elder Wu look at the youth in the doorway and say, "What brings you here today? Is the yamen not busy?"

The youth laughed. "No matter how busy I am, I have to come see you, Master..."

As he spoke, he walked over and lifted the items in his hands. "Heh, I brought some good food. It's been a while since we had a drink together. Look, yellow beef from Old Huang's place, Eternal Drunkenness from the Ji Clan... it cost your disciple quite a few taels of silver!"

While speaking, he placed the items on the table.

"Master, please take the seat of honor!"

The youth nimbly arranged the wine and food, then grinningly invited Elder Wu to sit.

Elder Wu shook his head but sat down nonetheless. The youth hurriedly filled Elder Wu's cup, poured one for himself, and then sat down in the lower seat.

"Master, bottoms up!" The youth held his cup with both hands.

Elder Wu raised his cup, the youth quickly clinked it against his master's, and they both downed the wine in one gulp.

"Good wine!"

He exclaimed.

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

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

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

The youth diligently handed over the prepared bowl and chopsticks with both hands. Elder Wu nodded, took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of yellow beef, chewed it, and nodded slightly.

"Not bad, right?"

The youth chuckled.

Elder Wu swallowed the beef, looked at the youth, and said plainly, "You brat, you've got something on your mind, don't you?"

The youth froze, then gave a silly smile. "Why else would you be the wise one? There is a little something..."

"Speak." Elder Wu looked at his disciple.

The youth sighed, looking helpless. "Master, the task you asked me to handle last time... it looks like it might be a bit difficult now."

The task from last time?

Elder Wu paused for a moment, then furrowed his brows. "What happened?"

The youth had no choice but to explain everything in detail.

Finally, he said helplessly, "You know that An Changyu and I haven't gotten along for a long time. Now that he's been transferred to the Household Department, he's intentionally obstructing me, and there's really nothing I can do... The Magistrate is also overwhelmed by the refugee rebellion... so..."

Hearing his disciple's words, Elder Wu's brows knitted tightly. After a long silence, he asked, "So what do we do now?"

"Even if I were willing to swallow my pride and go directly to An Changyu, it would likely be useless. An Changyu is narrow-minded and vengeful; he won't let the previous matter go easily... so the only way right now is to wait."

Zhou Xing said helplessly, "Wait and see how the situation develops. If Master Yang can safely survive this disaster, then everything will be easy—it would just be a matter of a word from him... Otherwise, we wait for the new Magistrate to arrive and see if we can find a way then."

Elder Wu's brows furrowed even deeper.

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

"It shouldn't be a big problem."

Zhou Xing said earnestly, "The refugees have already been suppressed, and the people from above might arrive in just a few days... but the situation in True Martial is chaotic right now, so there shouldn't be any large-scale investigations for a while... By the time things are completely settled, who knows how long it will take... By then, there shouldn't be any issues."

Upon hearing this, Elder Wu said nothing more. As he thought, he finished the wine in his cup, and Zhou Xing hurriedly refilled it.

"Master... who exactly is Qin Fang? Is he worth you being so concerned?"

Zhou Xing asked tentatively.

Although Elder Wu had asked him for help, the little old man never liked to explain things, so even though he had agreed to help, he still didn't know who this "Qin Fang" on the identification document really was.

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

He didn't know how to introduce him.

After all, Qin Fang was still just a "nominal disciple."

He was still hesitating and observing whether he should truly take him into his sect.

Seeing that Elder Wu was unwilling to say more, Zhou Xing, though curious, did not press further. He simply chatted and drank with the old man, one sentence after another.

Most of the time, it was he who did the talking.

As they chatted, the conversation drifted toward today's case...

"...The killer isn't even a martial artist, yet they managed to kill eight people in a single night using nothing but throwing knives... Three of them were killed right inside Lan Gui Fang, and they likely escaped by using a bitter-meat scheme."

Elder Wu's hand, mid-air with his cup, suddenly froze as he interrupted Zhou Xing.

"Tell me, who were the victims?"

Zhou Xing was stunned for a moment before answering truthfully: "Wang Long of the Iron Tiger Gang... Wang Hu's older brother, along with a few of his thugs, his mistress, and a degenerate gambler known as Scar-Head Li..."

Elder Wu's eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of silence, he asked, "The killer knows no martial arts and relied on throwing knives?... How did you determine they lack martial arts training?"

"They entered Wang Long's courtyard by climbing over the side wall, and they even tripped upon landing, leaving marks near the base of the wall... Someone trained in martial arts wouldn't be that clumsy," Zhou Xing said.

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

Noticing the change in his master's demeanor, Zhou Xing paused, then asked in a low voice, "Master... you don't happen to know who the killer is, do you?"

Elder Wu snapped back to reality, frowned, and downed his drink: "How would I know?"

Zhou Xing stared at him, prompting Elder Wu to knit his brows: "Hm? You brat, are you starting to suspect your own master?"

"Uh... no, no..." Zhou Xing stammered, quickly adding, "How could I dare? You're overthinking it, Master... let's drink, let's drink..."

Elder Wu ignored him, continuing to eat and drink on his own.

Once he had his fill, Elder Wu set down his chopsticks and said, "Alright, I'm aware of the matter now. Just keep your wits about you... and try to handle it well."

"Uh, right."

"If there's nothing else, go attend to your business... I have plenty to do here."

Elder Wu waved his hand, signaling for him to leave.

"Alright then... I'll be off, Master. I'll come visit you at home in a couple of days."

Zhou Xing stood up.

"Mm, go on, go on."

Elder Wu waved him away.

Zhou Xing bowed, tidied up the leftover scraps on the table, and then took his leave.

Once outside, Zhou Xing's brows furrowed tightly.

His eyes flickered with thought.

Although his master had tried his best to deny and conceal it, his professional instincts told him... his master might actually know the killer.

He pursed his lips, stood in silence for a short while, then glanced back at Spring Return Hall before finally walking away with heavy steps.

On the other side, after Zhou Xing left, Elder Wu's expression also began to change.

After his gaze flickered for a moment, he rose, left Spring Return Hall, and headed toward Ram Horn Alley.